You know how last chapter I said I was starting to get sick? Well, apparently that was the signal for illness to kick my ass. Apologies for any quality drop as a result.

Individual System

Adam pulled his sword out of IXA's body and flicked the blood away. He pushed the dying body away from him and turned his back on it as it fell to the floor with a dull thud.

As far as Adam was concerned, there was no need to wait. His sword had gone right through the man's kidney. His renal artery was cut. In a little over a minute, IXA would bleed out and die. That armor was bound to be worth something, so he'd have to send some men to recover the corpse later. Right now, the hostages were his priority.

Adam had only taken three steps when he felt it.

In an instant, he turned around even he backed away. Blinding white filled the room. Aura of such potency he had no trouble feeling it washed over him. It couldn't be! Even if the man inside the suit had Aura left, he shouldn't be in any condition to activate it, and even if he could, his Aura shouldn't be anywhere near this potent.

Yet it was.

IXA rose, its body coated in blinding white. The wound Adam had made closed with speed that simply shouldn't be possible.

Then Adam heard the words.

Burst Mode. Engaged.

Adam crossed his arms in front of him as a wave of heat erupted from the suit. He could feel it bite against his Aura, yet he stood his ground. He covered his mouth as the blazing air threatened to enter his lungs, yet he never tore his eyes away from the sight in front of him.

IXA's black visor peeled away to reveal twin red lenses. As the visor peeled back, so did the gold around IXA's head, changing to something resembling a horned crown.

It wasn't a significant change. It shouldn't mean anything.

The person inside the suit was still the same. His Aura should be low from having to heal that wound. The heatwave just now had been impressive but no more than that. That was what Adam's brain was telling him.

Yet, as IXA took a step forward, steam rising from its body, Adam took a step back.

IXA's eyes glowed.

Adam barely got his weapon up in time to block IXA's punch. The armored soldier roared as, rather than backing away, he put even more power into his fist, knocking Adam back even as the faunus' Semblance drained most of the blow's energy.

As he was sent flying back, Adam aimed Blush at IXA and fired. Rather than trying to dodge, IXA just bulldozed through his bullets.

Adam growled and swung his blade at IXA as it came close. Unlike before where it had been helpless against his speed, IXA brought his arm up to block and smashed his fist against Adam's mask. Spit flew from Adam's mouth as IXA followed it up with a flurry of punches to his torso.

What was this?

This strength. This speed.

Where had it come from?

Adam roared as he used the energy gathered by his Semblance to boost his body. An incoming punch was blocked by his blade, further increasing his stockpile. Adam gritted his teeth as he pushed IXA back, power crackling around him.

"Do you even understand what you're fighting for right now?! If so, just lie down and die already!"

Pure red erupted from his sword. Unlike before when Adam had allowed the stored energy to surge from his blade for added range, this time Adam kept all that power contained within Wilt. With all the power IXA had fed him throughout the fight, cutting through that armor would be child's play. It was time to end this.

IXA dodged.

Moving with speed it hadn't possessed before, IXA managed to sway out of the way. His timing was impeccable. Almost as if he had expected it.

Adam's eyes widened. A hand caught his throat.

IXA jumped.

For the second time that day, a hole was torn through the decks of the Argonaut. This time, it was caused by IXA and Adam rocketing all the way to the top.

Adam gasped as his back hit a Griffon.

Wait, a Griffon?

Even as his blade lashed out to slash the Griffon's head off, cold realization washed over Adam's body as he took in his surroundings and the pain in his back made itself known.

The lunatic had jumped all the way through the ship!

Twisting his body in mid-air, Adam managed to land on his feet. IXA was not so lucky.

However, that thing stood up all the same. Its red gaze never left Adam.

"Are you crazy?" Adam yelled as IXA ignored the Grimm entirely and went for him. Not only had it dragged him all the way outside, where they could be attacked by Grimm at any moment, it also wasn't even attempting to fight the Grimm!

It was insane!

Adam attacked IXA with renewed vigor, but the damned thing just wouldn't go down. Blows and counters rang through the sky. Any Grimm unlucky enough to get close was cut down to ribbons or punched into smithereens. With each blow, Adam's frustration grew.

It didn't make any sense!

Just moments ago, this man had been full of hesitation. How could he be so strong now? How could he fight so fiercely?

His foe offered no answers.

IXA kept advancing towards him.

xXx

Combat was a weird beast.

Sometimes a minute could feel like an hour. Sometimes, the opposite happened. As if the longer combat dragged on, the shorter it became in a person's mind. Guns fired. Grimm screeched. Things exploded. It all started to blur together. The mind trying to protect itself, someone had told Red once.

Red didn't know about stuff like that. Brainy stuff was always more Blue's thing.

Red could only speak of his own experiences. He'd like to say that eventually one got used to it. He was a soldier. He had faced combat several times. He had fought against the Creatures of Grimm and come out victorious. Naturally, he'd become inured to the whole thing, right?

Wrong.

As it turned out, one never really got used to life or death battles. Did it get easier? Sure.

It just never became easy. Not in a way that mattered.

The sound of claws digging into the deck was his only warning of the Griffon about to pounce on him. Red rolled and shot as the beast sailed over him. It was the height of unfairness for something so big to be able to sneak up on people, but that was Grimm for you.

As Red's bullets tore into the Griffon's belly, multiple people joined in. One of the huntsmen sliced the thing's head off. However, there was no time for celebration. No time to stop.

There were still many monsters to kill.

How many Griffons had they killed by now? Red didn't know. The Giant Nevermore had been taken down within the first few minutes of the fight. That much, he knew for sure.

After that, things became blurry. Red had no idea how many Grimm had been killed already or how long they had all been fighting. The Griffons were many and relentless. They never let them have a moment's rest.

Dodge. Attack. Kill.

The pattern repeated itself numerous times. The more they fought, the more used they got to working together. On the downside, the more they fought, the more Aura they used and the more vicious the Griffons became.

"Is that Ja-IXA?"

Blue's voice took Red's attention for an instant. Sure enough, IXA had joined the fight, but he wasn't fighting against the Grimm.

"What the fuck is the White Fang doing here?"

Even as Red asked that question, several things became clear. Why had the shields not worked in time? Why had the weapon-delivery system failed? Why weren't the ship's defenses backing them up? It was all clear now.

And yet, even as those questions were answered, a new one took their place.

"How the fuck did they get someone that good working for them?"

Red watched with stunned eyes as Jaune fought the black-suited White Fang member. When wearing IXA, Red knew Jaune was more than capable of kicking his ass. It hurt his pride a bit to admit a fifteen-year-old with a few months of training could beat him, but it was the truth. As long as Jaune was wearing IXA, even the students from the four Academies weren't much.

Right now, Jaune was fighting harder than Red had ever seen him fight before. He moved through the deck as quick as lightning. Any Grimm that got close to him received a swift end.

Yet, the black-suited man was keeping pace with him.

Black and white raced around the deck, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake. They moved so fast, Red could barely make out their forms. Any thoughts of trying to back Jaune up were lost with the realization he couldn't even aim at his foe. It was enough to make the huntsmen on deck look unimpressive by comparison.

It didn't make any sense.

The White Fang was a large organization, but its individual members were not that strong. They had a few veterans from the Faunus Wars in their ranks, but those guys were already past their prime. While there were a few good fighters among their younger members, they had nothing that could actually be compared to real huntsmen.

So, who the hell was this guy?

Distracted as he was, Red failed to heed Blue's voice warning him. A Griffon leaped at him. Too late, he saw the beast coming. He braced himself for the hit he was sure to receive.

It never came.

One of the ship's turrets fired on the Griffon, pushing the beast back. All around them, the ship's defenses were finally doing their job. A grin spread over Red's face.

About time!

xXx

"What? No!"

Ashton White furiously tried to regain control of the ship, but no matter how much he tried to slow it down, the ship wouldn't obey him.

It didn't make any sense. All of a sudden, the ship began to pick up speed without any input from him. Not only that but the weapon system had been engaged. At this rate, the Grimm would be destroyed before they had fulfilled their purpose.

"Why isn't it working?" Ashton yelled, furiously and futilely gripping the controls. If things kept going this way, not only would they have all the security personnel to deal with, but the ship would deposit them right outside the Argus base.

The loss of more hostages than planned would become a certainty at that point.

"What have I done?" Ashton muttered to himself as he backed away from the controls. "What do I do?"

Why was the ship of Jacques Schnee failing at such a crucial moment? Wasn't it supposed to… Wait!

The secondary controls!

"Of course!"

Realization flashed across Ashton's eyes. The secondary control room! How could he have forgotten about it? Was he so shaken by everything going on that his brain somehow failed to make such an obvious connection?

No matter.

He needed to inform the others of this. He needed to let them know someone had hijacked the ship and…

Ashton stopped.

As he picked the intercom to inform his fellows of the problem, he stopped. He hesitated, one thought running through his mind.

Was this the right thing?

It was just a few seconds. Who knows what decision Ashton White would have made if that moment had stretched any longer?

It was swiftly cut down by a strong blow to the back of his head.

Ashton crumbled to the floor. His partner, Finn, had regained consciousness without him noticing and managed to undo his bindings while Ashton panicked. Ashton never saw him coming.

"Fuck you, Ashton," Finn said, breathing heavily. "Fuck you."

xXx

Weiss Schnee stared at the ceiling with a complicated expression on her face.

"Are you sure this is the right place?"

"100%, ma'am," came the voice from her scroll. "You're right below it."

By it, the technician meant she was directly below the center of the ballroom. The ballroom was rectangular in area, so Weiss was not exactly equidistant to every corner of the room. However, this was the best she'd get, an empty cabin whose doors she had already secured.

"Very well. Start transferring the security feeds to my scroll," Weiss said, laying her scroll on a table, a frown on her face.

This… was going to be difficult.

The ship was on its way to Argus, and according to the crew, it seemed they'd get there earlier than expected. Once they were in range, calling the Atlas military base would be a simple matter. Even if the White Fang realized what was happening, Weiss would like to see them try to get past all the ice she had left blocking the way to the secondary control room.

With the turrets up and running, those who were fighting the Grimm would soon be free to help. Taking into account the number of White Fang grunts Jaune had brought down beforehand, it was clear that the White Fang would soon lose control of the ship. They were outnumbered and outgunned.

However, that presented a new problem.

The White Fang still had an entire room full of rich and influential hostages. Knowing the lunatics, they'd probably try blowing themselves up the moment they were cornered. That simply couldn't be allowed to happen. Weiss had memorized the guest list in preparation for the party at Argus. She understood how dire the consequences of the passengers' deaths could be.

Which meant it was up to her to stop it.

Weiss' eyes carefully tracked the motions of every White Fang grunt in the room above her through the security cameras. The passengers were all squashed against walls. The grunts, meanwhile, kept watch over them from the center, with at least five of them guarding each of the doors.

It was not as bad as it could be, but there were still dozens of them to deal with, and Weiss needed to do it all at once. She couldn't risk bullets being fired.

Even for a fully-trained huntsman, breaking into the room and taking down so many people in the blink of an eye would be exceedingly difficult if not outright impossible. However, Weiss was a Schnee. That gave her a unique advantage over regular people.

Her Semblance.

The Schnee Family Semblance.

If Weiss could make her glyphs appear under each of the terrorists, then taking them all down by channeling Dust through them was not impossible. However, such a task would demand intense concentration. Weiss needed to know exactly where to make each of her glyphs appear, which was why she staring at the security feed so intently.

No one could be unaccounted for. There was no room for error. Weiss needed to imprint every corner of the room and all their movement patterns into her mind.

Weiss found herself wishing she had packed more Ice Dust. If she had, this would be considerably easier. When channeled through her glyphs, Ice Dust would ensure the automatic incapacitation of her targets. However, Weiss had used most of her Ice Dust while fighting the White Fang and then while securing the doors.

That left Weiss with only one choice.

Gravity Dust.

If there was one type of Dust the Argonaut wasn't lacking, it was Gravity Dust.

Weiss slowly placed vials of Gravity Dust on the desk and took out her sword. She pressed the call button on her scroll.

"I'll start the process in a minute," she said to the crew. "Be ready to inform the passengers."

"Understood, Miss Schnee!"

Weiss closed her eyes and held Myrtenaster in both hands. She focused on an image of the ballroom drawn inside her mind. In a few seconds, she was going to create more Glyphs at once than she ever had before. The Gravity Dust would bind the White Fang momentarily.

That was when the security personnel inside the ballroom needed to act. They couldn't fight while the White Fang held so many hostages, but the moment she incapacitated them, they'd be free to do so.

Gravity Dust glowed all around Weiss as she bound it to her will. Weiss gritted her teeth from the effort, her Aura rapidly draining away. A brilliant glyph erupted beneath her feet. The desk and her scroll started floating.

Please work.

Weiss Schee brought her sword down.

xXx

High above everyone else, the two fighters clashed. They leaped from one Griffon to another as they chased after each other, the impacts from their strikes ringing all the way down to the lowest decks.

Adam Taurus fought for a cause. He believed in the White Fang's mission. He believed in rising against the humans who had terrorized and oppressed them for so long.

That was why he could stand up. That was why he could keep fighting, no matter how tired he was.

However, why did Jaune Arc fight?

Was Jaune Arc fighting to stop the White Fang?

Was Jaune Arc fighting to save the passengers?

Perhaps a proper, righteous hero would be fighting for those things, but Jaune had already lost sight of such motives. From the moment Adam's sword pierced his body, only one thought had remained in Jaune's mind.

He didn't want to die.

There was nothing more to it than that. It was an instinct that could be understood by any living creature.

Jaune Arc fought not to save or protect anyone, but rather because he desperately didn't want to die. It was the only thought still running through his mind, and so, while desperately afraid of death, he raised his fists time and time again. Jaune had long since lost sight of where he was and what he should be doing. The shock of almost dying had been that great. The only thing Jaune knew for sure was that if he lost to Adam, he'd die.

That was why he needed to defeat him.

Jaune fought fiercely, but not mindlessly. Each of the lessons Winter had beat into his body, now guided his movements. The longer the fight dragged out, the more used he became to Adam's fighting style. His timing adjusted with each blow. Adam's sword skill, which had seemed like such an insurmountable obstacle before, became a known variable. Jaune could see the red blade moving through the air. He could strike its flat side to protect himself from its edge, leaving Adam exposed.

Slowly but surely, it was Adam who was losing ground.

A roar.

A fist.

Adam crashed into the deck. The faunus stood up, coughing yet not beaten. He barely raised his sheath in time to block the incoming kick. IXA's red eyes burned menacingly, and for the first time in a long while, Adam felt a stab of hesitation.

There was no time to process it. IXA didn't give him time. He twisted his body and drove an elbow into his chest. Spit flew from Adam's mouth as he was blown back several yards.

Adam breathed heavily as he stood up. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

No, Adam narrowed his eyes. He was thinking about it the wrong way. Between the two of them, it had been him who had taken less damage throughout the fight. The soldier's Aura had to be at its limit. If he could just last a couple more blows and absorbed enough power, then he could turn the tables.

Yes, he just needed to last a few more exchanges-

An explosion rocked the ship. Adam used the interruption to jump away from his foe. As he did, a pair of arms hooked under his shoulders and dragged him up.

"Yuma," Adam said, recognizing the man who had quite literally pulled him out of the fight.

"Plan's shot to hell," the bat faunus said. "We're pulling out."

What?

Adam frowned, but the lights of Argus shining in the distance soon showed him how dire things were. He saw the military ships in the sky, and perhaps more importantly, he saw there was no barrier of Hard-Light Dust in the way.

That meant either someone in the ship had managed to turn off the barrier or perhaps more worryingly...

"We blew up the barrier generator."

"We did."

Which meant control of the ship had been completely taken from them. Adam clicked his tongue. However, there was only one course of action available to them right now.

"All forces… retreat."

Not needing to be told twice, Yuma flew him to the White Fang ship.

IXA's red gaze followed him all the way.

xXx

Military ships were not the only ones approaching the Argonaut.

Lisa Lavender was aboard a helicopter. Her cameraman captured the sight of the ruined Argonaut and the fleeing terrorists for the people of Remnant to see from their homes.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Lisa Lavender said. "We're still not clear on the details, but it seems the international terrorist organization known as the White Fang has attacked the Argonaut, and they're now fleeing from the scene! I repeat! The White Fang is on the run!"

The intrepid reporter squinted her eyes.

"I think I see something on top of the Argonaut. Can we get a better picture?"

Even as her cameraman did his best to get a better view, the helicopter moved closer to the ship with each second.

"I think… Yes, it is IXA! IXA stands at the top of the Argonaut! Ladies and gentlemen, to all the people watching us, it seems that IXA has driven the White Fang away!"

Lisa Lavender smiled to herself. Making the trip from Atlas to Argus overnight had been the right call. She could already see the headlines.

"I repeat! IXA has saved the Argonaut from the White Fang."

If she only knew the hero of the hour had already lost consciousness.

AN:

This is one of the shortest chapters of the story, if not the shortest. I could blame it on the sickness, but it really didn't want to be larger than this. Well, originally there was going to be an explanation of Adam's Semblance and how he uses it in combat, but it was too long and broke the flow. I'll save it for later.

Anyway, one of the things I wanted to show here is that Adam is kind of a big deal, even by huntsmen standards. He's no Qrow, but who is?

Next chapter should be the last one of this arc. Lots of things happened. It's time to deal with the fallout.

'Till then!