"Tsk.."
The man holding the crimson blade clicked his teeth. His hair was as red as the katana in his hand and the stylized Grimm mask on his face was easily recognizable.
Adam Taurus.
The soldier kept his broadsword pointed directly between the eyes of his opposition. The short blonde hair, the dark lens goggles, and specially crafted mask. It was unmistakable who stood against the bull faunus.
"The Winter Soldier," Adam spat. "Of course it's you."
"..." The Winter Soldier said nothing. He only stared back at his enemy.
"You've killed countless of my brothers and sisters. It was you who killed my squad, wasn't it?" Taurus' voice was strained.
Only more silence followed. He couldn't read the blonde's face and that only further irritated him. He could at least show some kind of emotion. Hatred, like the one most of his kind held towards him and the faunus. Vengeance, for someone close to him dying in their attempts to subjugate the faunus. But no, it was this persistent, emotionless silence.
The bull faunus growled, his grip on his katana tightening to the point his knuckles were white. Another step forward and the Winter Soldier held his own sword just a little tighter as well. One more step and he'd be in range for a strike. The slight cock that the soldier gave him made it clear that he dared him to try.
He had his orders and his orders were absolute. As all the scum of the Atlas military.
"It is no matter, you will die here, human..." Taurus replied, with a dark gleam in his eye. "Not just for me. But for all of my brothers and sisters who have fallen before you. I will avenge them and cut you down, here and now." The Winter Soldier was still silent, still unmoving. Adam's lip curled in a sneer as he took his katana into both of his hands. "This is the end of the line!"
The Winter Soldier lowered himself into his stance, shield risen just under his eyeline.
"Oi, what is all this commot-"
The warriors paused at the sudden intrusion. A worker had appeared behind the soldier and caught the two mere seconds before they collided.
"Humans," Taurus spat again. "Too many of your filthy kind. Is there no end to your poison?" The unmistakable sound of a shotgun racking echoed through the yard and the worker froze. Taurus's finger tightened on the trigger, threateningly, ready to fire upon both humans. "I'll cleanse this world body by body until your disgusting stench is wiped away."
The Winter Soldier did not move or make any attempts to shield the worker. His mask hid all emotion but Adam felt as if the soldier was giving him the go ahead by lack of any defense for the human. The faunus shifted his eyes between them before noticing the swift movement of his opponent.
Pow!
The shot rang loud, almost taunting due to the way it echoed through the yard. It was barely a breath between the moment Adam saw the shimmer of the gun and the bullet firing. The worker fell silently, the hole between his eyes easy to see.
The Winter Soldier reclaimed his sword, having placed his gun back into its holster just as fast as he had pulled it. By the time Adam registered what he saw, the blonde soldier was back into his original stance against him.
"..." There were no words exchanged between the two sides. The Winter Soldier hadn't even cared about his recent action. He had shot one of his own without a single hint of remorse. In fact, it was still that same blank, unreadable, masked expression.
It was a human. And yet he felt so angry at that moment.
Adam moved first, swiping his sword in a vicious sidelong slice with a roar of rage. The Winter Soldier rose his shield and deflected the blade with ease before bringing his own sword down in an overhead arc. Adam stepped to the side, twirling on his heel, striking for the soldier's exposed side. The Winter Soldier saw it coming, twirling as well and bashing his shield into the faunus' side.
The soldier was on him within the second, slashing at him once more. Adam recovered enough to catch the attack with his own blade but the weight pressing down forced him to take Wilt into both hands and adjust his footing. The Winter Soldier continued to press down on him, showing his superiority in strength. Adam had to move.
Thinking quickly, he grabbed his scabbard and jabbed Blush into the soldier's gut. The Winter Soldier released a grunt and the power behind his strike was weakened just enough for Adam to slip out from the exchange of power. Statically blocking the soldier's strikes wasn't a good idea and his best chance was to stay mobile.
The bull faunus leapt up and gave a solid kick to the human's sword hand, pushing it back into his chest, and sending him stumbling back a couple of feet. The sword had also fallen from the soldier's hand but the gun from earlier filled it almost immediately when he turned back to his opponent. Six more shots sounded through the yard, all of which were deflected with ease, Adam's blade glowing as it caught each bullet.
The Winter Soldier didn't waste time and retrieved his sword, turning back in time to block a two handed lunge from Taurus. His shield rang before a disgusting sound of the sword scraping upward against the metal warned him of what was to come next. He tried to move the shield up with the attack but not quick enough as the katana slid over the lip and dragged across the side of his mask. Adam pulled back and the blade cut across the blonde's goggle strap, ripping them off and the remainder of the attack left to chip at his aura.
Adam didn't see the uppercut coming and felt the full force of the shield catch him in his jaw, lifting him off the ground, before a powerful kick knocked the wind out of him and sent him back into a train car.
The goggles fell from the Winter Soldier's face, revealing cobalt blue eyes staring back at the recovering faunus. He stalked dangerously towards his opponent, still no signs of emotion. It was almost mechanical how he moved.
Their swords connected once more, Adam forced back against the train car. He made to jab Blush into the human's gut once more but the Winter Soldier was ready this time. He raised his knee, stopping the scabbard dead in its track. Adam moved to stomp on his foot but was met with a shield bash to the chest.
The faunus was knocked against the steel frame of the car before stumbling back towards the open ground. The soldier followed him with another shield bash. He continued to stumble, almost losing his footing. There was a jab. He dodged but not without giving up his footing, rolling into the dirt. The Winter Soldier fired several more shots. The first three rang against the redhead's aura but he recovered and deflected the remaining.
Once the clip ran dry, the soldier made to pull his blade from the ground he had stabbed it into. Getting back to his feet, Adam returned Wilt to the scabbard before aiming and taking fire at the soldier.
The Winter Soldier yanked his sword from the ground and raised it to swat away the sword just as it reached him. The force behind the slug was more than enough to make him stumble several paces back. Adam took the offensive.
The bull faunus covered the distance and landed a solid kick to the soldier's chest, throwing him back a few more steps. He quickly followed with a few slashes, all of which caught the soldier's aura. He stomped on his foot, jabbing the hilt into his chest, following with the scabbard for a strike of its own before locking it in his arm and twisting the sword free of the soldier's grip. It had been like pulling iron apart but another strike of Wilt's hilt had done the job. This time, it was the Winter Soldier who's back slammed into the train car.
The impact was enough for the human to finally regain his footing just in time to parry the next slash with his shield. He grabbed the faunus' wrist and charged forward with a shoulder tackle into his chest. Keeping a firm grip, and Adam stunned, he did it two more times. The blonde followed up with a thrust kick that made the faunus bounce off his back and onto his front.
Adam leapt back to his feet as the soldier reached him. Without his sword, he opted for hand to hand. Adam swiped with his katana but a quick punch with the shield knocked it back before another punch met his gut. His aura flashed as it was an attack towards his solar plexus, mitigating most of the force. Another shield punch came but he was able to raise Blush to block it.
The soldier surged forward, forcing Adam to dig his heels in or be knocked over once more. But as soon as he pushed back, the human pulled back, making Adam stumble forward. He fell into the arms of the enemy as the human snaked to his back and tightened his grip around the faunus' waist. He then lifted him and arched him over his head, slamming Adam onto his neck and shoulders.
The Winter Soldier followed with a kip up, turning back to Adam who was staggering back to his feet. He rushed him, the bull faunus barely able to respond. He threw a hook with his shield that Adam ducked before encircling the arm. Having dropped Wilt, the faunus favored Blush, using it to stop the elbow that was thrown back at him. In one smooth motion, he used his free hand to hold the appendage and snaked Blush underneath the soldier's arm to jab it in a makeshift uppercut, throwing the human's head back. Adam turned his back to the soldier's, reaching his free hand around to grab the other end of Blush and pull up, sending the soldier over his shoulders.
The distance had returned to their initial standoff as the Winter Soldier rolled to his feet. Their eyes met again but the faunus' would widen at what met him.
Looking down at the ground, he saw the mask had finally fallen off. It became a, sort of, side goal to rip the mask off of the soldier's face to find out who was underneath it. He wanted to see the face of the man he would kill and finally put an end to his anonymity. But, now that he looked upon it, there wasn't that same fire from before. The only thing he could feel was shock. As if he was seeing a ghost.
And not to beat the nail in but it was as if he had.
So many years had passed but he knew that face. He knew that face. He couldn't believe it.
"J-Jaune..? He said in disbelief.
The Winter Soldier, for the first time, reacted. His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"Who the hell is Jaune?"
That was when the two warriors heard it. The distinct roar of an Atlesian bullhead. Taurus cursed under his breath.
Adam met the soldier's gaze once more. Those same dark cobalts, much different from that of the past. But why? How? What had happened to him?
The roaring was getting closer.
The faunus had to make a decision. He had to get away, lest he rot in a cell or be killed.
But he was alive. Jaune was alive! There was something more to fight for. He couldn't leave him here, not when whatever had happened to him made him into this. It was clear though that the soldier still wanted to fight and the only thing stopping him was the clouded look in his eyes.
Adan would need to retreat for now and rethink a lot of things. But now, now there was a new goal to achieve.
"Jaune!" The Winter Soldier scrunched his face even more, almost as if he was trying to see through a fog. Adam didn't have time to wait. "Don't die from this..."
He sheathed Wilt, feeling the rumbling deep within his blade, focusing on the anger from earlier. His grip on the hilt tightened and he watched as the Winter Soldier's eyes widened at the realization. He closed his own, unable to watch what he was about to do.
The soldier rose his shield in a last ditch effort to try and block. It was not enough. Nothing ever was for this attack. It was his trump card.
The unstoppable force.
The blood red blade of Moonslice cut through the air. The echo of tortured metal pierced the skies, going so far as to even drown out the bullhead, as the shield bent in on itself before snapping in half. Shards flew, some piercing the wielder, and the straps were torn off, throwing the shield from the soldier's...
Wait, where was his arm?
Thud! THUD!
There were two distinct sounds of things hitting the ground. The soldier spared a glance to see. The first was a small piece of his shield. The second was of the bigger shard of his shield.., his arm still attached to it.
The Winter Soldier turned back to Adam. The bull faunus had taken the distraction to flee. Only moments later did the bullhead's engine reach his ears again and the bright headlights landed on him.
-Flash-
"Mission report," The General ordered as he walked into the room. No one paid him heed as the scientist and doctors moved about the room. "Mission report!"
A scientist moved towards him immediately. It was the head scientist of the operation.
"Dr. Merlot, where is he?"
"You should not be in here, General," the short man replied with obvious disdain.
If The General took any offense, he didn't show it. The first response was slightly narrowed eyes. "I asked a question, David.."
Merlot clicked his teeth. "He isn't ready to be pestered by you. He needed immediate surgery and will need another mind wipe."
The General's brow furrowed ever so slightly. "And why is that?"
"Taurus recognized him before he escaped. There is a possibility of his subdued memories resurfacing if there's any more connection or reminder of his past."
Now this made The General's eyes widen but only for a fraction of a second. Anyone not looking for it would have missed the look entirely. There was a deep inhale and sigh that Merlot found incredibly suspicious.
"I thought that The Washing was absolute."
"Then you're simple minded. You can't destroy the memories, only repress them and replace them with new ones. If he continues to dig deeper, he will figure out where he's come from. You opening your fat mouth might be what's needed to awaken him."
The General glanced down at the scientist. "Then wipe it again immediately. Start over."
"His injury has already strained him. Any more and there will be a problem. It will take weeks before we can."
"I'm going to him."
The General shoved past the scientist. Merlot moved to stop him but the gun at his back, trained by The General's guards, made him stop dead in his tracks. The only thing he could do was level a heated glare at the back of The General's head, the same as the barrel that sat at the back of his.
The General shoved away the curtains of the makeshift operating room to see several scientists surrounding the one bed. All eyes immediately turned to him, silence filling the room almost instantaneously.
"Move." Was all he said. What followed were several pairs of feet shuffling across the floor as the bed was cleared, revealing the Winter Soldier bedridden. His entire left arm was missing, having been amputated up to his shoulder.
The General paid it no mind and came to meet the misty gaze of his project.
"Mission report."
There was no reply.
"Mission report, now!" He ordered, fist clenched.
Still no reply.
The General backhanded him. Merlot shouted out and went to move but the soldier behind him forced him to the ground and pressed the rifle into the back of his head. His disturbance went completely ignored by the two men.
The Winter Soldier's eyes focused and finally looked at The General. "He knew me..."
The General scowled. "Of course he does. He knows you're a threat to his evil plans. He knows that you can and will stop him."
The Winter Soldier paused. His one hand clenched the bed frame. "But...I know him."
The General clenched his jaw but took a long, deep breath. "Of course you do, soldier. He is a terrorist against the people of Atlas. He's a monster against humanity! He is your target!"
A stray strand of hair fell between The General's eyes.
The Winter Soldier was unaffected. He still had this searching look in his eyes, still trying to understand the blurred patches in his memory. He even flinched, as if he'd been struck by a jolt of electricity, as he tried to dig into his mind.
Finding nothing, he focused back on The General who was looking nuclear. He didn't care.
"That isn't it, Sir. I know him..."
This made The General snap. There was no explosion, no yelling, not even a physical reaction from the man. Just a simple response that betrayed his earlier expression.
"Terminate the project..."
Gunfire lit up the room. For five seconds, the room was riddled with shells, walls and equipment were painted red, and the screams of many filled the air.
The General's eyes never left the Winter Soldier's. Even as every scientist, doctor, and nurse hit the ground, never did his piercing gaze stray from those same cobalts that stared back.
Once the gunfire ceased, another roar of pure rage exploded from Merlot. He tried to wriggle himself free of the soldier's hold. He no longer cared for the knee pressed into his back. He no longer cared for the gun pointed at his head. He no longer cared for the iron fist of The General. He only cared for one thing.
"You bastard! You hypocritical, barbaric, clod bastard! I'll kill you! I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!" He cried out as he continued to struggle.
The General casted a glance over his shoulder at the scientist.
"Be lucky that you're still needed, Doctor. If it wasn't for your work and usefulness, I'd put a bullet in you myself," he admitted, resting his hand on one of his revolvers.
Merlot snarled. "This is your fault! You did all of this! My work was by your demand, your damn, inhumane demand! You're just as much to blame as I!"
"The more you talk and the more I wish I could end this mistake."
"You do not get to take the high road in this, James! You abducted him, brainwashed him, trained him, everything here is your mistake!"
"Is that so..?" He replied cryptically. The barrel of Due Process was pressed against the Winter Soldier's forehead. "Then allow me to rectify it. You want something done, do it yourself. And next time, there will be no mistakes."
The blonde soldier looked up at him, unfazed at the gun between his eyes. Merlot had gone silent, shock written across his face. The General had resolve in his eyes, unwavering as he was in everything he did.
"You are dismissed, soldier..."
"No!"
Bang!