Power and Control

written by Duke Aster Williams

Disclaimer: No Beta.

Trigger Warning: Dark, sexual, and mature themes. This may include, but not limited to, sexual situations, sensitive topics, racism, slavery, dehumanization, under-aged sex, character death, rape, etc. This will not be a safe place.

Have not watched majority of RWBY, all information gathered is from the wikia. Characters may seem OOC due to this reason. Apologies in advance.

Edit 2020.06.05 - Minor grammatical corrections.

the Beginning of the End

There are many words that could describe Adam's predicament. Many of his subordinates would describe it as a step towards the right direction. Others would describe it as an opportunity to gain some control over the Schnee company, the driving force of discrimination against the faunus. However, Adam would sum up his situation in one word: bittersweet.

Down the hall, chained up and collared to the wall was a cold-blooded heathen. It was a hostage, caught by his men, that could be used a leverage towards his ultimate goal: equality for the faunus. Adam knew plenty of his men wanted access to it. Be it to beat the sack of meat to death or to rape a ripe piece of fruit, or even both, each had their own means of satisfaction. However, Adam knew that letting his men loose was not the smartest move, especially when they needed it alive.

A part of him wanted to agree with them, the bull faunus was not opposed to merely killing it - after all, that was what he usually did to any poor excuse for a hunk of meat. His reputation was to leave no survivors, be it hired assassins to take him out or innocent bystanders that got caught in the crossfire. Adam was savage, ruthless, merciless. And keeping it alive was damaging his reputation. His only saving grace were the smarter ones of the group, who knew the value of keeping the disgusting thing alive.

The bull faunus gripped the edge of the table, leaving over it as he tried to stabilize himself. His masked eyes were concentrated on the wood surface below as he meditated over his next course of actions. His head was pounding over the high of the accomplishment his men had done. The opportunities that it was giving him was almost overwhelming, but he had to play his cards right. Adam could feel the sweat build up on the back of his neck, dripping down his spine as he dared to look up at himself in the mirror. But instead of his calm and collected demeanor, he was greeted with an image of a boy. A scared little bull faunus, wide eyed and shaking in his boots. And within a flash, a blink of an eye, that image was cracked and shattered. It was broken when his fist collided with the mirror. Shards dropped to the floor as he heard his men shuffle outside his door.

"SIR!" they cried out, "Are you ok? We're coming in!"

Adam bit his lip as he snapped back into reality. He had to maintain his image: the strong and ruthless leader of the White Fang. He was the faunus that took no hostages, who showed no mercy towards the disgusting humans who treated them like animals. He straightened his back and took a deep breath, he was scared to let out the fear of his emotions getting the best of him. Adam swallowed some saliva, exhaled slowly and relaxed. These were his men who would follow him to the ends of the earth. He must relax. Adam relax. Relax.

"I am fine, nothing more than restraining myself from damaging our card," Adam said nonchalantly. His gaze cast down at his fist where he noticed the skin was torn and blood was starting to surface. His men surrounded him, one of them went to fetch the first aid kit as Adam held his hand out so they could treat his injury. Like the villain in a movie, Adam stood proud as he let them wrap and dress the wound. He diverted to a different subject, "Status report on the Schnee Company."

"None reported yet, sir."

"Ah, and here I thought they'd be knocking at our doorstep right now," Adam mused, almost gloated as he looked at the time. It was dark, he doubted the Schnee Company would take any action tonight, given their past encounters. They were a slow-moving company, despite how efficient they'd like to project to the public. They were a cautious bunch, preferring to think and then act rather than making a wrong move. It was shown in their fighting styles, elegance, precision, and grace. Adam sighed as he took back his newly bandaged hand. "Stand guard as I check the state of the hostage."

And with that order, Adam started to make his way out of his room with his men trailing behind him. Their bargaining chip was being kept down the hall, chained and collared to the wall like an animal. It was an ice demon, a cold blooded and heartless monster that did not care for anything but its own selfish desires. So when Adam approached the door, he stood staring at the wood for a few moments. His hand reached for Wilt, his trusted chokutō, and used it to further calm himself. He tapped the handle of the blade once, ready to use it should the demon escape its chains. Adam took a deep breath. He was in control. He IS in control. He HAD to be in control.

With a turn of the knob, he entered the room alone. The door shut behind him as he felt the air grow cold and silent. On the opposite wall was where his men had chained it up. Although dark, he could see perfectly. Every nook and cranny of the room was kept in tip top shape, far too luxurious for a heathen, but that couldn't be helped. Besides, the monster was severely beaten, clothes torn in various placed, and hair matted from blood, sweat, and tears. What a pathetic state it was in, far from what was expected from a Schnee. However, Adam could feel the resemblance of evil within the spawn of the devil. But more importantly, it held the same piercing blue eyes.

And it made Adam's gut turn.

The hand on his chokutō tightened before he forced himself to relax. He let his hand drop as he regained control of himself and he sauntered over to the hostage, squatting down to be at eye level with it. However, he made sure he was out of harms way. The collar around its neck prevented it from activating its aura to a threatening level, but he more than anyone knew not to underestimate brute strength. The Schnee were capable fighters regardless of aura, and Adam was not going to think it was some helpless animal. That would be an insult to faunus.

"What do you want," it asked in a low and groggy voice.

"It isn't about what I want," he answered, "it's about what is best for my people."

"Your people?" it croaked, "Is that your excuse for terrorism?"

"It's exactly why we do what we do Schnee," he hissed the cursed name.

But their conversation quickly fell into silence. The hostage was too exhausted for anything other than breathing and Adam wasn't one to gloat too much, he was only here to check up on the state of the beast. The small exchange of words was a fruitless argument. They were on opposite sides of a war. For years, the Schnee and White Fang had been at each other's throats, but never once did either of them hold such an important hostage. The White Fang was quick to execute anyone who aligned themselves with the Schnee company, and the same went for the Schnee family. They were both heartless, doing anything to win. And both knew that too well.

"If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so already. So, what do you want?" it repeated with a crack in its voice.

Adam clenched his fists, refusing to give into his inner desire to wring and snap its neck. It was taunting him to give into his selfish desire. He was urged to grind his foot into that fragile creature, to put it down like a savage animal. He wanted to induce fear, to make it fear him worse than a reoccurring nightmare. And he did give in a little, it had pushed just enough buttons that his hand reached out to grasp the messy ponytail and yanked it down. It screamed as in the sudden pain as he made the pathetic soul look up at him. He knew his eyes were glowing in the darkness and through the slits of his mask. He was worse than a ravage grim with glowing eyes. He was intelligent, one with tact and can appear more human that a wild rampaging soul.

He leaned forward. With their faces so close, he could hear the worn out voice cry so loudly against his ears. He could see every detail of its face twisting in pain. The contorted flesh was disgusting, the whiteness of its skin and mane were sickly pale and it made his hair stand on end. It truly was a horrific creature walking in human flesh. It was a thing that haunted him in his nightmares.

"I want to destroy every fiber of your body," he growled in a low voice.

He practically purred those words as he felt the urge to hurt it more. His satisfaction to break every Schnee to nothing but dust was starting to peak its head up as he wanted to damage their cards more. It took so much for him to refrain from clawing those disgusting eyes out, breaking those fragile ribs, or doing everything they had done to him. His free hand rose, shaking as sucked air through is teeth. But as he forced himself to regain control, he breathed out and ran his knuckle against the exposed side of its neck. It was soft, sensitive and vulnerable. He knew he could feel the monsters pulse if he wanted, but instead he wouldn't dare let him make a mistake. He would just induce fear, make it remember his voice and scent. He'll appear in its dreams.

He leaned down further, their bodies were pressed up almost against each other as he breathed right next to its ear. He wanted it to listen to his words loud and clear. Its hands were chained, he could tell with a quick glance it was shaking from the pain and weren't going to break out of them any time soon.

"My men want to devour you," he cooed, almost teasingly as his grip on its mane loosened. "They want to devour you like the animals you think we are. Sink their teeth into your flesh. Claim you, break you, use you as a pet. All like your kind do to our fellow faunus brother and sisters."

His hands threaded through that silky mane matted with sweat. The flesh was soft as he leaned back and pushed some stray locks behind its ears. In a single motion, he grazed his knuckles against the fragile jawline. It was in this moment he realized how tiny it was compared to him. His hand could easily break its jaw with a simple squeeze, or choke it with a single hand. He also realized how pink its face was, with skin so white such pigmentation were easily shown. What was more pathetic was the makeup it had dolled itself up with was not running down its face. A pathetic sight, yet it was so beautiful to see a Schnee ruined. Adam wanted to enjoy it, savor the moment as he saw the demon break down when nothing bad has even been done yet.

"Is that the answer you wanted to hear?"

"Monster," it whispered.

"Oh, but aren't we all dear," he cooed.

He was toying with it. How sadistic it was to go through this whole act, but as natural it came to him it was a new side to him that was more than just a killer. He was beginning to feed his inner sadist as he could only hope he could bring every Schnee to its knees. But, his time was growing short. He had to prepare for the next day and he needed his rest. The next day was surely when the Schnee Company would want to speak with the White Fang, they would want to get their precious cargo back.

With a fluid motion, Adam stood up and brought his hand to Wilt, making sure that it was still in his possession, and it was. His heels gave a soft echo was he crossed the room and back to the door where he stoppedmomentarily.

"Tomorrow, we'll be negotiating with your father," Adam said as his hand grasped the doorknob. There was a rattle of the chains, he could feel those eyes on him. So, it still had some energy left. "Pray that he actually cares for his family and doesn't think of you as another disposable pawn."

And with that, he exited the room satisfied with his visit. His men departed as Adam returned to his bedroom and the door was shut once more. Crossing the room, he collapsed onto his bed and loosened his clothes to escape the heat. He was exhausted, the sweat dripping down his back was uncomfortable and he cursed silently to himself. He cursed his men for managing to capture a Schnee. If it were any other human, Adam would have executed them on the spot. He would have remained this ruthless leader that left no survivors. He avoided the Schnees for that exact reason. Both sides were pent up with anger, and if they were to cross paths surely a quick death was not on the table. He couldo only imagine what was in store for him once the Schnees had found out what he had done to their precious spawn.

But as he remembered the satisfaction of the ice demon's contorted face and the gasps of pain, he inhaled and closed his fist. He could still feel the silky strands of its hair between his fingers. He could feel how soft they were despite the matted mess of sweat it held, how it could wrap around his hand like a rope. Adam could smell the soft perfume, high quality, and so subtle that even his nose didn't detect it until he was pressed up against its ear. And the feeling of cold breath against his neck, the pace it breathed, how it quickened and broke from sobbing, it sent shivers down his spine and right to his groin.

Adam frowned as he realized the affect the heathen was having on him. Disgusted and appalled, Adam was almost ashamed of himself. He wasn't a monster, he wasn't a sadist. He wasn-a knock at the door caught his attention. With the deep knocking sound, Adam knew that it was his right hand man who was visiting him. It was like the lieutenant was reading his mind.

"Come in," Adam said as he pushed himself off the bedding to sit up properly.

The two of them didn't need to make eye contact, not when the door was shut and locked tight. No words were exchanged as Adam turned his head slowly towards the door and saw his lieutenant walk towards him. Large, muscular, the opposite of his female partners and of his own body type. And as such, Adam didn't mind when his lieutenant caressed his cheek and tilted his head upwards like Adam had done to their hostage. A thumb was presented against his lower lip, inching closer until Adam's mouth was wrapped around it. Another battle was going to start between the Schnee and White Fang, so who knows how long it would be until they would be able to have such an intimate moment like this. Adam needed to release all the stress away to be their calm and collected, fearless leader.