Chapter 53

Salty sea spray sprang up around him as the boat took off from the pier. Adam closed his uncovered eye and enjoyed it.

Their journey to Mistral had begun. According to the captain, the same one that had brought Adam to Menagerie, they would arrive with only a few days to spare before the White Fang attacked Haven. That included the walk from the closest port to the capital city.

And if we include the possibility of being stalled… we'll arrive with barely any time to spare. We'll have to act quickly.

The boat was filled with those who were prepared to fight. Ghira would lead their largest force while Kali went to the police in Mistral for aid. Team SSSN, currently below deck comforting Neptune over his fear of water, would be right behind Adam come the battle.

We have to disable whatever explosives they have, beat Blake and her forces and then battle her human allies and stop them from claiming whatever it is that they want from Haven. A tall order. It was hard to see them succeeding at all. There was a very low chance of them being able to stop the Humans from taking what they wanted. They had to stop Blake first after all. If only we had allies in Haven.

Adam sighed and looked out over the great blue of the ocean. After a moment he reached into his pocket and drew forth his old blindfold. It had protected him in Beacon, but he didn't need it anymore. He was moving onwards.

He held it out over the ocean and tried to 'pour' the old him into it. Every mistake, choice, murder and villainous thing he did. He would leave it all behind and march towards a new, brighter future.

The blindfold flapped in the wind as he let it go. He watched as it was carried far away. Would it land on one of the stone outcrops? Or perhaps it would be taken beneath the sea? It didn't really matter.

He let go of his last and kept moving forward.

When this is done I'll find the others. Is Weiss still in Atlas? What about everyone else? Are they in Vale still? Or perhaps they will get caught up in all of this, like we did back at Beacon. He thought with a smile. No matter where they are, I'll find them and apologize for leaving the way I did.

His scroll blinked, alerting him that a message had been received. His hand trembled as he picked it up and opened it.

The plan will proceed. Tell them to come to the academy. Make sure no one else is there. You will be rewarded.

- W

Leonardo gulped. He didn't want to do it. Of course, he didn't. But what choice did he have? It was too late to turn back now.

I'm sorry Qrow. He thought as he typed out a message. He told the old bird that the council had agreed to lend them Huntsmen. That they should come to discuss the plan while the Huntsmen gathered. A reply came quickly. Qrow would be there.

For what felt like the millionth time Leo wondered if he had made the right choice.

This is all for Mistral. All to protect them.

"Do you think this is a trap?" Qrow asked.

Ozpin sighed. "I'm not sure. He's acted strangely that's for sure. We should be prepared in case it is a trap. I'll leave Oscar in control and keep my presence a secret until we know for sure he can be trusted again."

"Got it. I'll let the kids know."

The great hall of the White Fang was impressive, to say the least. Ilia wasn't sure how she should react. The room, despite its size, was spartan. There was little in the way of furniture or the like.

There was only the throne, and the beautiful woman who sat atop it.

Blake smiled as Ilia approached. Neither wore masks. Ilia's was sitting on her hip, attached to her belt. Blake's, or more accurately Adam's old mask, was sitting on one of the throne's arms. The Supreme Leader of the White Fang left her throne and came down the stairs to being Ilia into a tight hug.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Ilia."

"I… thank you. It's good to see you, Blake. Uh, Supreme Leader. Sorry." Ilia awkwardly replied.

"You don't have to call me that. Not when it's just us two." The cat Faunus admonished with ease.

"Right. Sorry."

"Ilia. You don't have to apologize to me." Blake said as she pulled back, a bright comforting smile on her face. It sent Ilia's heart fluttering.

"I…" Ilia swallowed. "Blake I wanted to ask why you had me saved." She winced as she spoke.

"Why? Well you're my friend, aren't you?" Blake responded with a confused look.

Ilia's chest contracted in pain at those words for multiple reasons. However, she forced herself to speak. "You really only had me freed because we're friends? But the others were all so much more talented or more useful!"

"The others? You mean Corsac and Fennec, who failed despite all the resources I gave them? Or Trifa, who's just a member of Yuma's squad?" Blake dismissed them all easily. "Ilia. You are far stronger and more important than any of them! Especially because we must fight Adam. You and I know him, so we have a much better chance than any of the others."

"I… okay. I'm sorry for questioning you." Ilia hung her head in shame.

"Ilia…" Blake's voice took on an edge. "I said you don't have to apologize to me. You're my best friend. No apologies needed."

"Alright." Ilia smiled, trying desperately to hide her pain. She was nothing more than a friend to Blake and would likely never get further.

She hid her feelings, just like she had been doing for years.

Oscar swallowed as they walked through the empty academy. Night had fallen long ago, leaving the whole place to look creepy. He clutched his cane tightly. Ruby gave him a warm smile when she saw how he was acting. She always seemed to know just how to allay his worries.

She is quite talented at that, isn't she? A warm smile or encouraging words can do a lot and she is a natural. Ozpin chimed into his mind.

Yeah. She's pretty amazing.

Qrow pushed open the heavy doors, letting the large group into the main hall of Haven. It was a wide-open space with a few support pillars along the side. It was easily two stories tall with a raised floor at the back of the room. A pair of beautiful staircases wrapped around an impressive statue of a woman. Standing at the top of the stairs was the Headmaster.

Something about the statue felt familiar, though Oscar had never seen it before in his life. He filed that away later as something to ask Ozpin.

"There's… rather more of you than there was before…" Lionheart said, his voice stilted.

"Well Leo, we came. Just like you asked. What's the council given us?" Qrow called out.

"Uh. Well…" the lion Faunus pulled at his collar.

Yang's voice cut through the building tension. "Mom?"

Qrow immediately drew his sword and fired at an upper floor bannister. A raven flew down from above, flying behind Leonardo. As it passed behind the Headmaster something changed, as out the other end came Raven Branwen.

"Raven!" Qrow growled.

"Hmph. Is that any way to welcome your sister?" Raven replied, folding her arms with a look of superiority.

"Damn it! Leo! What the hell did you do!?" Qrow yelled.

"I…"

"He made the smart choice." Raven interrupted, stalking down the left staircase. "He saw what was out there and made the choice to survive."

"You!" Qrow cried out, tears in his eyes. "Leo it was you! You helped kill all those Huntsmen! I couldn't find anyone! All of them are gone!"

"Don't hold it against him, dear brother. He was only doing whatever it took to survive."

"Shut up about survival!" Yang snarled. "People are dead because of him."

Raven scoffed as she reached the ground floor. "So what? Qrow has killed before as well."

"I never killed any of my allies! I didn't kill any of my friends! Damn it, Leo!" Qrow was angry.

Ruby stepped forward. "You both betrayed us! For Salem!? Why?" The red-headed girl asked.

"How many times must I say it?" Raven pinched the bridge of her nose. "We saw our options and the both of us chose survival!" The black-haired woman drew her sword and slashed the air, creating a black and red vortex of energy.

A ball of fire flew from it, slamming into Ruby and sending her to the ground. Cinder Fall stepped out, Emerald and Mercury at her sides with a woman Oscar hadn't seen before. However, the description from Yang, Pyrrha and Weiss of the woman Vernal fit. This is bad.

The slamming of doors echoed through the room. Oscar turned, cane drawn, to face the noise. The man who helped him get on the train pulled back from the doors he had just slammed shut.

Oh no.

What!? Who is he?

Hazel Reinheart. He's a formidable opponent. Be careful.

Great. Weapons were drawn all around them as everyone prepared for a fight.

"Alright, we can talk this out." Qrow tried to desperately calm things down. But it was already far past the point of de-escalation.

"The White Fang are planting their bombs. Let's finish this quickly." Hazel's deep voice filled the room.

"I was planning on it." Cinder said with a smirk.

Ruby pulled herself back onto her feet, scythe in hand. "We won't let you get away with this!"

Cinder laughed. "You can try all you like but today is the day you all die."

The Battle for Haven kicked off a moment later as Cinder fired another ball of flame.

Blake watched as Hazel went into the main academy building. He'd travelled with them all this way but he had business inside. Blake wanted to know but he wouldn't talk. Oh well.

Her loyal soldiers, led by Yuma, were setting up the explosives now. Banesaw patrolled around with his chainsaw at the ready. Ilia stood at her side. The area was peaceful. Their mission going well.

Once we claim victory here I can use it to shut up the other factions. They'll fall in line, especially once I show off the power they have promised me. Cinder and Hazel working at my side to claim a Kingdom. It will be glorious. Menagerie will need to be claimed first of course. At least to quiet down those loyal to the Albain's.

Soon she would have the power to show Adam how wrong he was.

As the thought crossed her mind Ilia nudged her and pointed. Following it Blake saw the very man she had just thought of standing atop a nearby roof.

"Adam." Blake called out.

"Blake." He called back. "It's time to stop this."

Blake scoffed. "Stop? Why would I? Come now you must have realised you won't win! Since you left you got weak. Soft. You can't win. Just come back to us!"

"Sorry, Blake. But I will never let myself fall like that again. I've given you the chance to surrender. I am sorry about this." Adam jumped down in front of Blake and Ilia.

Blake drew her weapon. Ilia followed suit. Adam lay a hand on his hilt. "One more fight Blake. And this time you won't win."

He lunged forward.

A/N: And so the Battle of Haven begins. Adam put to rest his old self and is moving forward whilst Leo is moving backwards due to his fear and cowardice. And Ilia? Well, she's friend-zoned hard. Poor girl. At least Blake freed her thanks to nepotism! I'm sure that won't have any problems later on! Of course, she isn't wrong either. Corsac and Fennec failed hard despite getting Yuma, Trifa, Ilia and Banesaw along with plenty of grunts. Trifa is just a lady with webs so meh. The fight is also interesting considering the amount of fighters has changed. An extra goodie on the inside and three good and bad extras on the outside. Though Adam, when in his right mind, is much stronger than Blake. And he ain't holding back anymore.

I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you next time!