Finally! There has only been one delay after another. I had some writer's block for a while and decided to take a week off from writing. Forcing myself to write would only make subpar work and make me dislike this hobby. It worked, but there was a catch. Getting back into the swing of things took a few more days. Eventually, I got back into my old groove and started writing good chunks at a time again. Then SilverFang was busy for a few days once I finished before he could review. After all that, we still finished. Things are wrapping up on this arc and a big event is about to occur. Someone is going to be unhappy.

Alucardeverlasting: Do you know how hard it is for either of them to get someone? And you want to put them together? That would take work.

Orakle: They may not end up together, but they are both strong-willed individuals.

Machcia: Third comment in a row asking about them. Heh.

Guest: Maybe? Find out below.

ChancePluto: Assuming IT appears, I wonder how it would affect people.

Ahsoei: Eventually. It's bound to happen.

Inacio: Nah, no pairings are decided yet with Yang. There might not even be one.

Guest: Raven likes strong guys. She probably wants him to join her tribe.

Jayz21501: I can assure you a lot of people want that.

Xperior: No! It's a trap!

Guest: I have a theory where Dust comes from. It's considered supernatural in my story because of that. I do have plans for Accelerator's transformation. I figured the dragon sleeping within Touma is a good source of fear for Grimm. Not to give anything away, but RWBY season 6 was great.

Awardedall: I try to deliver.

ultron emperor: I feel like Vernal and Accelerator would get along. Well, that is relative, but they would understand each other's frustration at least.

HydraLightning: Best way to shatter illusions.

WiliamZ0: Both sides happen at the same time. Sure, neither interferes with the others, but doing one completely then the other makes you feel they aren't happening simultaneously. Falling into a world full of monsters isn't misfortune? Man, your definition must be insane. Never show your enemy everything you have at the start. Merlot and Aleister were bros. Obviously, they worked together. I think Touma would be the person to actually listen to Ozpin's side. The other's had were too personally involved. Everyone wants Touma to lose an arm. You monsters! Adam is so underused. I want to do more with him. Death to OCs! Death flags everywhere!

Fernandamichelleraya: It's always easy to write them. They can get into deep conversations with snide remarks and little bit of humor. Nah. Merlot was a legit scientist and didn't bother with conspiracies. Raven would probably give her body for Accelerator to join her clan though, once she sees his true power. Heh, she would order Vernal to do whatever he wants to get that power. I feel Ruby reminds Accelerator more of Last Order which would prevent him going any further.

Guest13: Neo is going to get a TON more screen time after this arc. I love her. I don't think Qrow got it immediately. It just sort of happened. Would have to check RWBY again. I got plans for IT and Touma's soul.

Guest: Jaune already has healing and Neo illusions. If something comes to me I really want to use, I might figure out how to do it.

Mr. X: 1) Think it's more of Touma's body is the container, the hand is the lid, and his soul is the bindings. 2) Touma is into older women. Once he sees her personality though I doubt he would like her. 3) I considered Aura a supernatural manifestation of souls. It just makes the soul normal. As for Penny, well… not sure yet.

Missingmoney: People always underestimate Accelerator. Sometimes you just need someone to call out your shit. Get rid of those yes-men. Accelerator might make a snide comment about if Yang was his daughter and made those jokes, he would leave too. Still, he wouldn't go with canon Raven. She could get pretty persuasive once she sees his power.

Gamator: Touma affects everyone he meets. I have big plans for him meeting Salem. Season 6 wrote the ending of SV. I know exactly where it's going.

Sora with an S: Magic could easily be a science with different rules that is followed.

Cthulujr: Exactly. He will understand and hate her.

ShadowBloodedge9396: I just wanted them to meet due to shipping name: Yang's Nightmare. In the RWBY universe, you can ship anyone with anyone. Nah. If we sent Touma and Accelerator home already, that would be boring. I feel Glynda would be able to resist the Kami-yan disease. Penny is a mystery here.

The Coke-aholic: Nah. Touma will convince Adam to sit down and talk over some coffee while Blake watches incredulously. Touma then convinces him to stop all the violence and the White Fang becomes peaceful. She then falls for him completely.

Plague: Crossovers are fun, but hard to write. There's only so much you can do with OP characters. Weakening him by making his ability drain energy effectively keeps the time limit his choker would have for all out fighting.

SamGuy: Thanks.

AMTT94: Nah, everyone wants that to happen for good times.

alaude hibari: For which pairing?

A certain guest: She can try. There are people she can offer him. Nothing is off the table. Obviously that is what she wants. You seem to understand Raven really well. She's strong, there's no doubt about that, but there are people far beyond her. It's going to be hilarious when Accelerator tells Yang he met her mom. Only a few people know Grimm's origin. Since they were made by a god, they are magical. Aleister of course is doing something. We just don't see it. Coincidence. Sure. Nothing to do with Grimm. Black is just a typical color for unknown evil. At the end of your omake Touma would ask if a pile of money would come out so he can buy food.

Gamecubenut: Raven saw something she wants and she will do what she can to get it.

vampireharry the 2: Sorry it took so long.

rougethebatfan11: Adam's Semblance is energy, easily enough. For magic from maidens, he would need to experience their unknown vectors.

Boshwa: Getting more people involved in the fandoms is always good to know.

Jiraiya223: Kind of? Since they don't know about Academy City's powers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or RWBY.


Gunfire echoed through the canyon and bullets ricocheted off the stone walls.

One of the key advantages humanity had against the Grimm was the fact they had ranged weapons. Without them, flying Grimm like Nevermores would rain down destruction by releasing their feathers. Once they got big enough, those feathers could break trees. Most Grimm didn't have this option.

As the army of Beowolves leaped down the cliff, Ruby and her team had the opportunity to thin the numbers. Ruby wielded Crescent Rose in its gun mode, accurately sniping any of the Beowolves that would land right next to them. Yang, using her shotgun gauntlets, blew away any of the Grimm that would actually land directly on them. Her blasts sent them flying into the canyon walls. Weiss unleashed a couple waves of fire to burn a few and then shifted the dust cylinder in her rapier.

A wall of ice appeared behind them, trapping several Beowolves who had landed and were beginning to charge them from the ground.

"Good idea, Weiss!" Yang shouted over her shoulder. An explosion followed her words as another Grimm was blown out of the sky.

"It won't hold forever!" Weiss called out, already hearing the sounds of claws scraping against the ice. "At best, we have a few minutes!"

"Thin their numbers!" Ruby cried. Her weapon shifted into its scythe mode and was quickly followed by two decapitated Beowolves. "And keep them off of Uncle Qrow!"

That last order seemed to be unnecessary.

Steel clashed against claws as Qrow and the intelligent Beowolf exchanged blows.

Shockwaves erupted from each exchange.

It wasn't like Qrow didn't want to go back with his nieces' team; it was that he couldn't. Normal Beowolves would just charge with their claws out or try to sink their teeth into his flesh. Typical attack patterns allowed him to kill hordes of them easily enough. The difficulty was when they surrounded him because he could only block so many attacks at once. He figured that would be the case here. This intelligent Beowolf was much stronger and faster. If a couple normal ones got behind him, he would either need Ruby's team to provide some cover fire or he would be in a tight spot.

That was not the case.

It almost seems like it wants to fight me alone, Qrow thought, as he deflected one of the claws away with the side of his sword.

This Beowolf wasn't charging forward and reaching out to disembowel him like a normal one. Instead, it approached him on its hind legs and made systematic attacks, alternating between left and right blows. Almost like it was using swords or daggers instead of natural claws. The speed and power was far beyond typical Grimm and Qrow was hard-pressed to stand his ground. Each time the claws collided with his blade, he could feel the power ripple through his arm. Taking a blow head on would not end with him coming out unscathed.

What piqued his curiosity the most, to the point it was almost distracting, was how the other Beowolves passed him by and went for the others. They normally didn't have a higher plane of thought like that. Usually they would just attack the nearest person they saw unless someone was already surrounded. These seemed content to letting the intelligent Beowolf take him down while they took down the rest. This was actually a smart idea. Let the leader hold off the strongest enemy and allow the others to wipe out his reinforcements.

This would be great if I wasn't on the receiving end of this, Qrow thought angrily.

A Beowolf rushed past him too close for comfort and his body moved out of instinct. His blade came down and slashed the Grimm in half. That movement had left him vulnerable for a fraction of a second.

That was enough.

The Beowolf leader brought down a claw and Qrow's danger sense rang out. He pushed himself backwards with his foot, not caring about proper stance. His reaction time was virtually instantaneous, being honed by years of fighting. The claw grazed his shoulder, tearing his shirt like it was paper. His skin was barely touched by the claw. Even with the monster's increased strength, it wouldn't have done much damage. His Aura would have absorbed the little bit of force even if it did.

Pain shot through his shoulder as if he had been shot.

"Shit!"

The word escaped his lips as the burning spread from the place the Beowolf had touched. Qrow jumped to the side to avoid another claw aimed directly at his chest. He brought his sword down on the arm and it barely sunk through the skin. It felt like he was trying to cut through steel. There was still a little damage, indicated by black blood on his blade. The Beowolf howled, but it seemed to be more in anger than in pain. Qrow took the opportunity to glance at his shoulder. The torn shirt allowed him to see the wound directly.

A small amount of ice coated the place where the Grimm touched him. His skin had a slightly blackened look to it, like it had frozen. It was fading away and Qrow made note of his Aura healing the damaged tissue. This wasn't good. One well placed hit, even if it didn't break through his defense, could incapacitate him for a bit. Even a few seconds would be fatal in a fight with something as strong as this Grimm was.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby yelled, having noticed his cursing. She bolted to the side at superhuman speeds, slashed one Beowolf in half, shot another, and used the push back from the high caliber round to knock her towards two more, which she decapitated with a well-placed swing.

"I'm fine, squirt!" Qrow answered, not taking his eyes off the Beowolf leader. "How are you three hanging on?!"

"There's no end to them!" Weiss screamed, as the wall of ice began to break down. She shot a ball of fire at one Beowolf and then used a Glyph to propel another back as it tried to flank her. Then she jabbed another one between the eyes, causing it to collapse in front of her.

"We need to get out and regroup!" Yang added, delivering a bone shattering punch into the gut of one of the Grimm, sending it barreling into three more.

The three of them were guarding each other's back, but the Grimm horde was virtually endless. They were trapped and surrounded. For each one that fell, another two took would rise and take its place. They began to accumulate bruises and tears on their clothes from the claws. Aura protected them from the worst of the blows, but it could only protect so much. They were getting tired from constantly fighting and that was on top of hike to get here in the first place. Weiss was probably low on several types of Dust, as she had to repair the ice wall and continued to blast groups with fire.

"We need to warn the village!" Qrow ordered. "I have my hands full with just this-…" His words were cut short from the metal clanging when his sword caught the Beowolf's claws. Blade met claws and another round of shockwaves boomed around them. Even with him unable to finish the sentence, the others knew what he was about to say.

Ruby and Yang especially didn't take the news well.

"We aren't leaving you behind!" Ruby yelled immediately. "There's no way we will leave anyone!" Spinning on the ball of her foot, she whirled around and cleaved through several more Grimm drawing near.

"Don't even suggest that again!" Yang roared, punching a Grimm directly in the face. The sound of bones shattering followed right afterwards.

"He's got a point." Weiss informed them. Her eyes traveled to the ice wall that was about to break. Cracks were covering most of it. There was also barely in any ice dust left in her weapon.

"No!" The two sisters overrode her.

"Our duty is to protect that town first!" Qrow scolded, trying to keep his footing as the intelligent Grimm kicked out at his leg. The Grimm was learning as it fought and was fighting more and more like a human. It was rather unnerving. "They have to be warned. I'll hold this guy off as you three get out of here."

"Very… noble," the Grimm coughed out. A weird sound was emerged from its throat, almost like it was coughing something up.

It took a moment for Qrow to realize it was laughing.

"Something funny?"

"Remember… last man… to say that." The Grimm licked its lips. "Tore him… in half."

"Bastard." Qrow's eyes narrowed and he increased the speeds of his strikes. Unprepared for the sudden attack, he managed to get a good blow into the Grimm's shoulder. Again, he felt the blade break the skin but didn't get any further that it otherwise should have. There was still blood and the fact the Grimm could be injured was a glimmer of hope in their situation.

"We need a plan," Ruby told the others, as Qrow's battle with the boss continued. They were holding their own due to their formation, but the Grimm were continuing to come. The second one broke through, pandemonium would arise and they would get swarmed. "I could carry someone up the side of the cliff with my Semblance-…" She stopped talking for a moment as she cut down another Grimm. "But that would leave two behind."

"You could leave me," Yang suggested. "Uncle Qrow and I can handle ourselves for a bit." She punched a claw away from her and then kicked a Grimm in the stomach.

"Don't be stupid," Weiss snapped, impaling her blade multiple times into the chest of a Beowolf before it lifelessly fell in front of her. Sweat poured down her face and her clothes were torn in several places. Out of all of them, her stamina was going to reach its limit first. "You two would be swarmed the second we stepped out of this formation."

"Then why don't you just fling us up there with one of your glyphs," Yang snapped back in irritation. Even while talking, they couldn't look at each other. Their focus had to be on the incoming Grimm.

"…fling us up?" Weiss's eyes flicked up to measure the height. It was a rough estimate, but that was all she could manage before being swarmed by more Grimm.

"Weiss?" Ruby found time to glance over her shoulder for a moment. "Can you do that?"

Weiss didn't say anything for a moment. Her attention occupied by three Grimm she was struggling to hold back. Blasting one of them with fire and quickly piercing the remaining attackers with her rapier.

"I think I can," Weiss admitted. "I have plenty of Gravity Dust, but for four people? We need to be stacked together."

"Gotcha." Ruby beamed at her partner and best friend. Weiss would deny the second half of that if she said it out loud so she merely thought it. "Uncle Qrow! We have a plan!"

"Do it, brats!" That was his only response.

"On the count of three!" Ruby called to her teammates and made a slight gesture to Qrow.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw that two-fingered gesture. It was a familiar gesture and one he knew quite well. It was one he used to give her when the two of them snuck out for some bonding time when her dad or Yang grounded her for doing something bad. He took her out to one diner in town most of the time until she was older and then they went out and fought Grimm. He was such a good uncle. She learned a lot from him and everything he taught her became useful eventually.

"One…two… THREE!"

On three the girls and Qrow jumped backwards to meet each other, firing their weapons to keep any Grimm from approaching. Qrow's shotgun blast hit the leader of the Grimm in the stomach full force. While it wasn't strong enough to kill it, that amount of raw power at point blank stopped its momentum and even pushed it back tad bit. Ruby fired a few bullets, Yang unleashed her own shotgun shots, and Weiss flung a wave of fire. Their backs all pressed up against each other and the sounds of the mechanisms in Weiss's rapier began to move.

A white rune formed under the four of them and began to spin as Weiss ran her finger along the rapier's blade.

White turned to black as she added the Gravity Dust.

The Beowolf leader had to know what Weiss's Glyphs were. She had used them multiple times in the fight. However, it was mostly to conjure ice shards, flame, or barriers. There was no way it could know what Weiss planned to do. Instinct trumped knowledge in this case. It knew they were planning to try something and it wanted to cut them off. Snarling in a very Grimm-like manner, it fell to all fours and charged. The claws were less than a foot away when Weiss released the rune. Creating a repelling force between it and them, the four of them were shot up into the air. Being a perfectionist, Weiss added a slight angle in propulsion so they would fly out of the canyon and land on the ground, rather than just falling straight back down.

"Woooo!" Yang cried out in excitement.

"Awesome plan, Ice Queen," Qrow complimented.

"We still have to land!" Weiss reminded them. "This brings back so many bad memories!"

"But our initiation was awesome!" Ruby contended.

Everyone split apart from each other in the air and used their own version of a landing strategy. Yang shot off a few blasts behind her to give herself more horizontal momentum and slid across the ground. Weiss conjured a few glyphs to use as makeshift stairs. Ruby spun around at high speeds and the moment her foot hit the ground she flew forward and then looped around to stop near Weiss. Qrow just landed on his feet, bending his knees to absorb the impact.

"Looks like we have a few stragglers," Commented the adult, gesturing to the Beowolves still on the ledges. "Really, this entire mission turned out to be such a pain."

"We can handle these, no problem," Yang replied. "Especially now that we aren't surrounded."

"It will also take the ones down there some time to get back up," Weiss added. "The only slope is supposed to be on the farsi-…"

Her words were cut off as the sound of claws scraping against stone. The Grimm near the canyon edge separated and a large black Beowolf jumped out. It landed on all fours and the stood up on its back legs.

Red eyes watched them angrily.

"Good job, Weiss." Yang said.

"It's not my fault!"

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby crotched slightly in her starting combat position.

Qrow hesitated for a moment. This Grimm was in a league of its own. The hide was difficult to cut, but wasn't impervious to damage. It wasn't like the town didn't know about it. Their report would only cause a panic and attract even more Grimm. Still, they needed to have the cannons ready and they might be able to take it out with them. However, they just forced a large number of Grimm into a position where they can't spring out and surround them. There really wasn't a better opportunity to try to kill this thing.

"Ruby," He said at last. "You're the fastest one here. I need you to warn the town about this. Yang, Weiss, and I will try to take care of it now, while we have the upper hand. If we fail… the town may need to be evacuated and the defense is up to you and the rest of the team."

"But-…!"

"No, buts," Qrow snapped back. "You're the only one fast enough to give the town time to prepare. We can't run back with this thing on our trail."

Ruby didn't want to leave everyone behind and her eyes met her teammates. Weiss nodded slowly, agreeing with Qrow's plan. Yang smiled and gave a thumbs up.

We got this.

"Okay," She finally relented. "But I will never forgive you if you don't come back."

"When have I ever not come back, shrimp?" Qrow laughed, but there wasn't much entertainment in his tone.

With one last look, Ruby disappeared into the trees in a flash of rose petals.

Qrow, Yang, and Weiss stepped forward and raised their weapons as the intelligent Beowolf held out its arms. Wordlessly, the others began to move forward.

"You won't…escape."


"Get down!" Jaune yelled, raising his shield as he dove for cover behind the ramp. Pyrrha and Eliza didn't need much pushing on his part and were already moving. Gunfire ricocheted off the machines, floor, and walls soon after.

"Can't you animals hit anything?" Roman demanded, leaning on his cane "Try not to damage the machines any more than necessary. Aim then shoot. Don't just flail wildly."

Jaune gulped.

The good news was that the number of shots firing had dropped. The bad news? If any part of their body stuck out, it was immediately shot at. Jaune's shield could protect most of his body, but it would take time to reach them without exposing his limbs. Rushing would allow him to reach them faster, but his legs would be wide open. One well-placed shot and he would be a sitting duck.

His head shifted as he glanced over at Pyrrha and Eliza. Pyrrha met his eyes, her back pressed against a machine blocking her from view of Roman's forces. Eliza was coaching down next to the gate, gun drawn. Both were much further away than he was. Pyrrha could probably take them all if she tried, but Jaune doubted she could protect Eliza from random ricochets. His eyes scanned the room as the White Fang slowly, carefully, made their approach.

An idea came to him...and he didn't like it at all.

It's the best course of action, he thought and signaled Pyrrha with two fingers. Her eyes darted toward the wall and then to where the feet were visible from under the ramp. She nodded and Jaune took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

His shield rose as he jumped out of his hiding place. Half a dozen bullets clanged loudly against his shield but that was all they were able to get off before another loud clang distracted them. Pyrrha threw her shield at an angle and bounced it off the wall. The shield then collided into the side of one of the White Fang, knocking him off their feet. As the shield rebounded off the grunt, it hit the wall and flew back toward Pyrrha's location. The girl jumped, somersaulted, grabbed the shield and threw it again. Another White Fang was down before any of them could react.

By now, they began to turn their guns at her.

"HRAAAAHHHH!" Jaune yelled the best battle cry he could muster, causing his assailants to falter for a moment. Everything sounded louder from echoing around in the lab.

This sudden outcry carried on as he rushed at the group with his shield still raised. This caught the nearest White Fang gunman off guard, allowing Jaune to slam his shield right into the man's face. The force knocked the man out cold while he began to swing his sword at another. He was attempting to slice the gun but, unfortunately, Jaune was not fast enough and had lost the element of surprise. He wasn't a speed or agile fighter and some of the White Fang members were rather well-trained. The blade was parried with the barrel of the gun and a foot was firmly implanted into Jaune's stomach.

"Oomph!"

Jaune gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs. He fell backwards and slammed into the ground. Funnily enough, this wasn't a new experience for him. Cardin had knocked him down like this countless times during their sparring matches. It was weird that it was thanks to his bullying that Jaune knew how to respond in this situation. He rolled to his side as a bullet hit the ground where he had been a second before and kicked the White Fang in the shins. The man tripped and Jaune pushed himself up before slamming his shield into the grunts head to knock him out. Free for a moment, his eyes darted to Pyrrha and Eliza.

Eliza had disabled three gunmen with her precision shots and was expertly avoiding two others trying to shoot her back. Pyrrha had already cleared most of them and was pushing them back toward the ramp leading out of the Gateway room. Checking on his teammates caused Jaune to make a cardinal mistake. He took his eyes off his enemies. That brief moment of distraction cost him.

A sharp pain exploded on the side of his head and his vision blurred as he fell to the ground.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled and her movements grew even faster, sending three more White Fang members flying as she prepared to make her way to him.

"Not so fast," She froze at the sight of Roman standing over Jaune. The tip of his cane pressed against the blonde's ear as he laid on the ground motionless. "One wrong move and his brains are going to cover the floor."

Pyrrha's body remained still except for her eyes, which narrowed in seething hatred.

"Now," Roman continued mildly. "Why don't you drop your weapons? I have some questions." When Pyrrha and Eliza didn't oblige immediately, his finger tightened on the trigger. "That wasn't a request."

"Coward," Pyrrha spat out, yet nevertheless complying. Eliza lowered her gun and finally let it clatter on the ground moments later. Roman nodded to the remaining White Fang, who started waking up their companions. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Eliza were just incapacitating, rather than aiming to kill.

"Grow up," Roman countered. "You may have rules in that arena of yours back home, but this is the real world. The winner is the one who comes out on top. The loser is usually dead."

"What do you want?" Eliza asked seriously. "You were looking for this place too."

"Exactly right," he agreed. "Glad there's an adult among you brats. An associate of mine discovered this place from an unlucky individual and I was asked to check it out. You know, keeping a low profile after that little mishap in the city not too long ago."

"Mishap?!" Pyrrha gasped. "Innocent people died because you brought Grimm into the city!"

"Calm down," Eliza muttered. She was angry too, but Pyrrha's outburst wasn't going to help anyone. "Do you even know what this lab is for? Or did your puppet masters send you in blind?"

"I was asked to learn what was going on here," Roman stated unabashed, pulling out a cigar and lighting it one hand. The other was unmoving from its position on the cane's trigger. "So, tell me what's going on and pass over all the information you have."

Pyrrha glanced at Eliza anxiously, who kept a straight face, refusing to give anything away.

"I'm not going to ask again," Roman stated firmly. "If I have to, this boy is never going to wake up."

Pyrrha felt her body tense up even more than it already was. Jaune was unconscious and probably low on Aura. Roman wasn't a slouch and hit him when he was unprepared. She still had her Semblance as a last resort and Roman's cane did have some metal parts. There was a chance she could yank it from him without it going off on Jaune. However, with his finger so tightly clamped to the trigger, there was a good possibility it would go off.

Pyrrha would not risk his life that carelessly.

"This is an old Merlot Lab," Eliza finally answered and Pyrrha gaped at her.

She had expected some kind of lie or delay tactic. Anything really. Not for Eliza to give away the information immediately.

"Yeah, yeah." Roman waved his hand dismissively. "That much was obvious. His logo was plastered all over the place." He jabbed his cigar at the Gateway. "That is what I'm interested in. It seems like the lab was designed to work on that project."

"It's a Gateway," Eliza continued. "Merlot was researching alternate dimensions. You know him, trying to push science to the extreme. He even had some crackpot theory that the Grimm were from another world."

It finally dawned on Pyrrha what Eliza was doing. She was setting things up so that it would seem like they were sent here to discover what the lab was for too. The White Fang would see it that way at least. The problem was with Roman. He knew about Touma and the others. From the change in expression, Eliza's words told him exactly what Pyrrha knew they would. They were there to research how to get Touma's group back home. It was unclear how much Roman told the White Fang about Touma. Pyrrha couldn't see under their masks, but a few of them looked at each other.

"Interesting," Roman mused. "Does it work?"

"Seems there were some documented cases of successful viewing," Eliza continued. "And he's using some weird power source."

"Maybe something to do with the Grimm in those containers?" Roman prodded.

"Maybe; I haven't had time to actually go through everything. It blew up after the first attempt and second one was never finished."

"Shame." Roman glanced over at the White Fang members. "Well, that gate's too big to move without equipment. Especially with these mutts, they would just break it. And, frankly speaking, I'm not being paid enough for this crap." He puffed on his cigar and blew some smoke into the air. "Give me everything you have on this. Data, research papers, engineering diagrams, I don't care. Just make sure it's all of this, otherwise blondie here is going to find out what life's like without a head."

"You wouldn't," Pyrrha hissed. If Roman harmed a single hair on Jaune's head, he would regret it. Right now she had to force herself not to move. Her eyes did dart toward Eliza, who was staring back at Roman resolutely.

"You'll let us go if I do?" Eliza asked.

"Maybe." Roman shrugged. "I would at least be in a good mood then." His eyes narrowed and he smirked. "There's a chance that way. If you want to be a hero, the boy dies." He was deadly serious and Eliza sighed and rubbed her face with her hand.

"Fine," Relented the woman with a sigh, though it sounded like she wanted to spit on him. "I need to use that terminal over there. Can I trust you won't have me shot in the back?"

"I do hate wasting perfectly usable resources," Roman stated and waves his hand forward, sprinkling ashes of his cigar over Jaune. Pyrrha was shaking in rage. "Now, why don't you get to work? My generosity only lasts so long."

"What are you doing?" Pyrrha whispered under her breath, moving her lips as little as possible.

"Saving us all," Eliza muttered back, equally as quiet.

She walked to the computer and started typing, her fingers a blur on the keyboard. Roman watched her closely and Pyrrha was aware of several guns aimed at her. Her mind was racing through possible ways out of this. It would only take a moment to use her Semblance to pull her weapons toward her. The problem was during that time she would be peppered with dust rounds from every direction. She might be able to get out by herself. Aura could take a beating and she was still pretty well off. The problem lies with Jaune and Eliza. By the time she tried to counterattack Roman, Jaune would be killed and Eliza could easily be hit by a stray bullet.

There wasn't a good option available.

"Hurry up." Roman growled, bored after about five minutes.

"Merlot encrypted all the files," Eliza replied, her eyes not leaving the screen. "Do you want only part of the data or all of it?"

"Keep smarting off and I'll blow a hole in this kid to stem my boredom."

"You won't get away with this," Pyrrha told him. "We stopped you once before and there are others that know you are out here."

"Which by the time any noticeable reinforcements arrive, we will be long gone." Roman pretended to yawn. "You got a lot to learn about the real world, Champion. The strongest don't always win. The people with the strongest will to survive do. I will do whatever it takes. Lie, cheat, steal-…"

"Warning, unauthorized security breach!"

Alarms rang out and red lights flashed.

"What the hell!?" Roman shouted and then his eyes narrowed on Eliza. "What did you do!?"

"Taking you down with us," Eliza replied, a dark grin on her face.

"Perimeter defenses are offline. Primary user's code is no longer valid. Activating emergency containment measure. Lab will self-destruct in five minutes. Evacuation is advised."

"Are you nuts?!" Roman demanded and stared incredulously at her.

"You weren't going to let us go," Eliza explained over the alarms. "Once you had what you wanted, loose ends had to be tied up. We would be executed by your goons. This information isn't for you, the White Fang, or anyone else working with you."

"Orders?" One of the White Fang grunts said to Roman.

"Retreat," He spat out angrily. "No point in dying over this." He waved them on. "Get going you mutts." His eyes narrowed at Eliza, who was still grinning at him smugly. His eyes flashed and he raised his cane. Pyrrha had just started to move forward when he fired.

Eliza dove to the side as Roman's blast hit the computer where she had been only a moment before. The explosion from the Fire Dust engulfed her right side. The door behind Roman slammed as he exited, following the other White Fang.

"Eliza!" Pyrrha cried, rushing over and crouching down to check out her wounds.

"I'll live," Eliza uttered, holding her right arm with her left. The skin was partially burnt. "How's Jaune?"

"I'm up," Jaune's groaning voice answered and he rubbed his head. "What's going on?"

"You got knocked out and the base is about to blow," Pyrrha answered.

"Oh… WHAT?!"

"I wasn't going to let them have this information," Eliza added. "We can't go out the way they did. The second we exit the lab we would be gunned down."

"You have a plan… right?" Pyrrha understood Eliza did what was necessary. Still, there was a small part of her hoping she had an idea how to get them all out alive.

"You mentioned Merlot would have a backway when we first entered," Jaune stated, sounding rather hopeful. "Please tell me you know where it is."

"As a matter of fact, I do." Eliza pushed herself to her feet with Pyrrha's help. "Let's go. We don't have much time."


Something's not right, Qrow thought, as he sliced through another Beowolf.

He, Yang, and Weiss were holding their own. Sure, they were outnumbered, but it was a lot more manageable now. Out in the open, the girls were able to shine. Weiss propelled herself using glyphs to dodge and counterattack. Yang was bashing skulls in as she plowed through the Grimm. Qrow could handle a large number of basic Grimm without issue. Usually he only worked alone to keep his Semblance from affecting his allies. Thanks to Touma, he didn't have to worry about it, though it wasn't helping him. Even against insurmountable odds, Qrow had ways to escape. He wouldn't leave his niece and her teammate behind though.

The issue was the intelligent Beowolf leader seemed content in letting the rest of its pack fall to their blades.

If it attacked me and forced a one on one confrontation, Qrow thought, swinging his blade in front of him. This fight would be a lot more challenging. Normal Beowolves can't do much against trained hunters. A frowned formed on his lips as he examined the leader. It was watching him and the girls, never blinking. The expression was a little disconcerting.

"Their reinforcements are almost finished." Yang huffed, noticeably winded and wiping some sweat off her forehead, but otherwise not quite running on fumes.

"Don't let your guard down," Weiss warned. "The mutated one is still there."

Out of the three of them, she was probably the worst off. Her stamina was a lot lower than the others. She was designed for quick intense fights, not long drawn out ones.

"I know, I know."

"She's right, Yang," Qrow agreed. "This one is in a league of its own."

The two girls nodded and they finished off the rest of the Beowolves. Well, the ones closest to them. Howls from the canyon and in the distance indicated there were more. Now all that was left was the intelligent one. A human might have had a look of disbelief or concern as their forces were wiped out, but Grimm did not have many expressions. This one was different. Qrow would swear its eyes were sparkling in amusement.

"You… look tired," the Grimm stated, as it flexed it claws. Its lips curled into an unmistakable smile.

"This was just a warm up," Qrow answered.

His words were the exact opposite of what he was thinking.

Fuck!

Again, he underestimated how intelligent this Beowolf was. It was letting them run themselves ragged on fodder. Grimm that could be easily replaced. At the same time, it was probably examining how they fought and determining how to counter their attacks. Before it had only been facing Qrow and the fight had been pretty evenly matched. It must have wanted to see how different the others were.

"And now it's your turn." Yang added, stepping forward and slamming her fist into her open hand.

"Yang! Stop!"

Qrow's warning came too late.

By the time those words left his lips, Yang had already darted forward; her hands clenched into two tight fists. She covered the distance between them in seconds and brought a fist up toward the Grimm's skull. As if she had been moving in slow motion, the Grimm raised a clawed hand at the last second and caught her blow in the palm of its hand. Surprise flashed upon her face for an instant before being replaced by agitated resolution shortly thereafter. As the pack leader's other clawed hand rose up, she swung her other fist up at its stomach. Right as her hand made contact, she fired her shotgun gauntlet point blank.

The force alone gave the creature pause as its body lifted up an inch off the ground.

It landed with a dull thud and its expression shifted into annoyance. Yang had caused some damage, as there was a pretty impressive indention under the fur. However, its free hand remained poised to strike, which told her that she was fucked.

"Shit."

"Move!" Weiss yelled, as a black glyph formed between Yang and the Beowolf. Yang found herself flying back and away from the monster. This allowed her to bear witness to Weiss's glyph being shattered by its mighty swing. A single claw scrapped her arm as she soared away and exposed her to the intense burning sensation.

Her teeth ached with how hard she was clenching her jaw to keep from screaming out in pain. Ice crystals formed around the wound, forcing her to brush them off the blacked skin. She had enough sense to keep herself from losing her balance as her feet touched down on solid ground once again. Her Aura taking effort to heal the injury as she grinded to a stop a short ways ahead of the rest of the group.

"What in the hell was that!?"

"It's something unique to it," Qrow warned. "A single scrap with its claws will leave behind ice that burns. We can heal it, but a clean hit may prove deadly."

"So how do we stop it?" Weiss demanded. "Bullets barely hurt it and now getting in close is a danger too."

"You don't." The Grimm answered and leaped forward.

They barely had any warning. Its legs barely bent to indicate its movement. A claw was aimed straight for Yang, who raised up her arms defensively. Sure she knew about its power, but instinct tended to overshadow logic. Luckily, she had experienced teammates. Three white glyphs appeared in a row between her and the Grimm. They didn't cause much damage, but they slowed it down a tad bit as it broke through each one. It gave Yang time to roll to the side as the claws tore through the last glyph and sunk into the ground where she had previously been. Qrow took the opportunity to dart behind the Grimm.

The blade of his sword broke up into multiple segments and curved into the shape of a crescent moon. The handle lengthened and it became a full-fledge scythe in the span of seconds. Arching the blade back, Qrow brought it down with the full force of his Aura empowered body at the Grimm's neck. He felt a great amount of resistance and the ice began to encase his blade, but Qrow did not relent. Putting all his weight into it, he managed to force it down. His efforts proved worthwhile as he finally felt, the resistance give out as the blade sunk deep into the creature's flesh. With one last heave, the roaring Beowolf was silenced as its head was fully separated from its body.

The rest of the Grimm's body collapse as its head rolled away.

"Persistent thing," Qrow panted, leaning on the shaft of his scythe. "I need a drink."

"My arm still hurts," Yang complained, rubbing the sore spot. "It better not leave a mark."

"Don't make it worse," Weiss scolded, hitting her other hand before turning to Qrow. "It is done."

"Still Beowolves in the area," He pointed out. "But they shouldn't be as big of a threat now without this thing." He kicked the side of the corpse. "Luckily, while it witnessed out fighting abilities, it didn't understand teamwork. It left itself open to being flanked, relying on whatever its defensive hide was." He rubbed his wrist as his weapon collapsed back into a sword. "Much more and I might not have been able to cut through."

"Interesting. This is vital information for progress."

The three of them went still when they heard a man speak. The girls didn't recognize the voice, but Qrow did. What made it worse was where the voice came from.

"Did… did that head just talk?" Weiss asked, unsure if she was hallucinating or not.

"No way!" Yang dismissed with a wave of her hand. Qrow, however, walked over to it, sword still drawn.

"…Wellen?"

"Very good," the Beowolf head said in the same male voice. The tone was completely different than the one the Beowolf was using before. "It seems I was right that you would keep standing in my way."

"This can't be real." Weiss muttered.

"Is that thing immortal!?" Yang questioned, cocked her gauntlets.

"Do you understand what you are doing," Qrow demanded. "You are playing with forces you can't understand!"

Saying he was unnerved talking to a severed head was an understatement. However, he kept his voice as calm as he could, even though he raised it a little near the end. Thanks to his conversation with Touma, he learned to expect the unexpected when dealing with this. The talking Grimm reinforced that lesson.

"I understand far more than you do about this world thanks to Salem," Wellen answered. "Do you even know the origin of these creatures?"

"Salem?" Yang whispered to Weiss, who shrugged. She was staring at the head in disgust.

"What are you planning?" Qrow asked, ignoring Wellen's question.

"The same thing I planned back in my world," Wellen answered. "To do that here, I simply need to…" His voice trailed off while the eyes of the head widened in fear. Birds in the distance took off in every direction. "…what the-… fear?"

The head began to dissolve into dust before he could finish his sentence.

"Don't just vanish in the middle of something this important!" Qrow demanded and kicked it the remainder of the head in anger.

"Something's off," Yang said. "The Beowolves in the distance have gone quiet."

Weiss frowned and walked over to the canyon.

"They seem to be gone." She looked around and didn't see any more emerging from the tree lines.

"Something's not right," Qrow muttered, glancing around like Weiss had done. "Let's head back to the town. We need to tell the mayor what's going on."

The two nodded and the three of them took off as fast as they could go. He wasn't the only one who felt something. The girls felt something deep down too. The fear Wellen mentioned using the Beowolf's head was felt by them too. It wasn't much, but it was noticeable. That feeling didn't stop Yang from asking Qrow a question. One he really didn't want to answer.

"Who's this Salem person he mentioned?"


"Where are we going?" Jaune asked, following behind Eliza who was leading the way. They were running down a couple hallways they hadn't been in before.

"Merlot had a couple escape pods on the other end of the compound in case something like this happened," Eliza answered. "Paranoid, remember? That trait of his is going to save our hides." She glanced at Pyrrha. "Keep that data safe. It's all we have left."

"I won't let it out of my sight," Pyrrha replied.

When Roman and the White Fang fled, they forgot to grab Eliza's external hard drive that she had used to download all the information. Their skin was more important than the mission. That gave Pyrrha time to chase after them, grab the information, and meet up with Jaune, who was helping Eliza until she gathered the strength to walk on her own. Upon reaching a door by their guide Eliza, Pyrrha wasted no time in blowing it open with her Semblance.

Subtlety was no longer a requirement.

The room they entered reminded Jaune of one of those Sci-Fi movies. The place where spaceships had emergency escape pods that ejected in case the ship was going down. On one side, three cylindrical metal pods laid on tracks vertically and perpendicular to each other. The wall in front of them had circular metal that looked like it would slide open so the pods could escape. On the far side, behind a row of thick stained glass, several dusty computer monitors were lined up. Eliza rushed over to one, flicked the power switch and waited as the device hummed to life.

"Good, it works." Eliza's grin was a little forced as she began to type frantically on the keyboard. A good few seconds of this and the first pod opened. "Well, two of them work. The third one's broken."

"Only two?" Jaune asked. "But there are three of us."

"You two are comfortable with each other, right?" Eliza would have smirked if the situation wasn't so dire.

"Are…are you sure we can both fit?" Pyrrha asked, her face a vibrant shade of red at the implications. The pods were made for one person. "It looks awfully cramped."

"They will hold two in an emergency," Eliza explained. A light above the first escape pod turned on and the door to the pod popped open.

"How about you two go and I'll take the second pod since I'm the biggest?" Jaune offered. His ears were burning a little in embarrassment. Sure, he and Pyrrha were like family, but forcing her to squeeze into a pod with him felt wrong.

"I appreciate the offer," Eliza replied. "But I need to operate the controls and I doubt you know how to do so. No offense."

"No, none taken, you're right." Jaune nodded and turned to Pyrrha. "Guess I'll get in first?"

Pyrrha nodded and waited for Jaune to slip into the pod and laid down. Pyrrha took a deep breath to calm her nerves before crawling in on top of him; being mindful to not knee him in the stomach or...somewhere else. Once she was inside, she concluded that she had been right about the lack of space. Her body was pretty much flushed with Jaune's. The hard drive firmly clutched under her arm. Her face was an inch from his own and she was worried he would feel the sheer amount of heat coming from it. Her chest was right up against his, but their armor prevented him from really noticing.

"Keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times," Eliza said, standing over them. Her hand was on the door ready to close it. "Also, no inappropriate contact, even if you think you're about to die."

"W-what?!" Jaune spluttered as she laughed, slamming the door on them. Pyrrha simply kept her eyes focused on his neck; unmoving and refusing to look him in the eye. Jaune must have thought she was claustrophobic or something because she felt his hand grab hers. "Don't worry," he muttered. "We will be fine and outside soon enough."

"I know," Pyrrha answered, smiling in the darkness. "Thanks."

The pod shook and they braced themselves as best as they could in the cramped darkness. Suddenly, they blasted forward and a cry of pain escaped Jaune's lips as his head slammed into the back padding. That wasn't what caused him pain. No, it was Pyrrha flying upwards and slamming her head into his chin.

"SORRY!"

Meanwhile, back in the base, Eliza watched their pod blast off and monitored the screen to ensure there weren't any issues. Everything looked fine and she sighed, leaning back in her seat for a moment. She liked to be honest with the kids when she could, but this time she told one major lie. It was about the pods. Yes, the third pod wasn't working and there wasn't much she could do about it. That was true. However, there was a reason she had the two kids go together.

The second pod wasn't working either.

Eliza hoped she might have had a chance to run a systems check to figure out where the mechanical failure was, but to no avail. The issue couldn't be pinpointed and nothing she did was helping. She wasn't a mechanic.

We got the information and the kids can escape, Eliza thought, reaching into her pocket to pull out her wallet. It's the responsibility of adults to help the next generation.

She opened it and glanced at a picture in it.

The picture was of her, a man, and two children.

Sorry, it looks like I won't be coming home.


"Adam…"

That name was the only thing that could escape Blake's lips as her eyes fell upon him. It hindsight, with all the White Fang around, she should have realized meeting him was a possibility. With everything else going on, the thought never crossed her mind. Now she was paying the price. He was standing in front of her, confidence oozing from him. All Blake could do was stare; her body frozen stiff. Next to her, Touma shifted slightly forward. He must have noticed she wasn't moving.

If he only knew how far back their past went.

"Blake…" Adam's voice, losing its rigidness, became filled with fondness. "It's good to see you again."

Blake, in turn, said nothing.

"I know we separated on less than ideal terms, but I know you could never forget about me."

"Who are you?!" Touma demanded, stepping between them. Blake was shaking slightly by this point. Whoever this man was, he was evoking some sort of past trauma. Touma wasn't going to just let him torture her. The guy was also vaguely familiar, but he had a hard time placing where. "Why are you guys attacking this town?!"

"This doesn't concern you, human," Adam hissed. "If you stay silent, I'll let you live for the past services you provided."

That condescending remark was all it took to jog Touma's memory of where he knew this man from.

"You're the White Fang leader back at Mt. Glenn." Stated the boy accusingly, shaking his head to help focus on the task at hand. "Why are you attacking this town? It's mostly Faunus. Isn't the White Fang supposed to protect them?"

"There's a lot more going on than what you understand," Adam told him curtly. "I'm here to bring Blake back to our side." He turned his full attention to Blake. "Don't you think it's time to stop your rebellious phase and come home? I miss you."

"I'm not coming back," Blake replied, her voice weak. Not to be confused for her usual quiet or soft tone she used for snide remarks. Those were the ones Touma was used to hearing when she replied to someone like Yang or Weiss. This was different, as if it was taking everything for Blake to just speak.

Adam began rubbing his head in exasperation.

"Why must you make this so difficult?" He glanced at the others, who were merely watching the exchange. "Half of you go and round up the rest of the populace. The rest of you, back up and give us some privacy. Keep the perimeter up in case the rest of their team returns."

"What if they try to escape?" One of them asked.

"I'll handle it."

The White Fang member saluted and they all quickly followed Adam's orders. One thing the White Fang stressed was discipline. They all needed to know how to follow orders. As their numbers were small compared to the humans, they had to fight smarter. Most of their training involved military style guerrilla warfare tactics. It wasn't like they could stand up to a kingdom's military in a fair fight. Atlas was especially difficult and they relied on a lot of hit and run assaults. It was only once Adam was left alone with Blake and Touma that he continued.

"Blake, I'm trying to be patient." He sighed. "Come back. I'll forgive you for running. You're young, impulsive, and I understand that. You needed some space."

"You don't understand!" Blake snapped, her voice rising as her resolve gradually started to return.

"No I don't!" Adam replied loudly. "You decided to leave out of nowhere! Abandoned your brothers and sisters in the middle of a mission! That would normally warrant death!"

"You aren't the victim here!" Blake retorted, her face a combination of fury and fear. "You want to know the reason I left?! The reason I gave up everything for a chance to start over and do some good?!" She took a deep breath. "It was because of you!"

"All I have done is fight for the future of our people!" Adam thundered. "We all have!" His nose flared as he took a deep breath, obviously struggling to keep his anger in check. "Everything I've done, everything I sacrificed, has been for the future of the Faunus."

"At what cost, Adam?" Blake demanded. "How many innocent people were killed because you decided to change your methods?"

"My methods are working."

The silence lengthened as the two glared at each other. Touma, the sole bystander caught in the middle, wisely remained silent. Those two had history and he didn't know about everything that transpired between them. All he had to go off of was the vague information Blake had given him about her past. The dots were starting to connect; slowly but gradually nonetheless. What Touma had established was that this man, Adam, had to be responsible for Blake leaving the White Fang. At the least, partially responsible as her voice echoed in his mind.

Everything changed. The White Fang started using violent attacks instead of protests. It was working. People started to treat us like equals… but it was out of fear, not respect.

"Yes," Blake admitted. "They produced results. But as I told you before, that route isn't going to last. We will push humans too far and they will strike back. That line may have already been crossed. If we want change… true change… we can't use fear to garner respect. We have to change their hearts and minds."

"We tried it that way," Adam said coldly. "How did that end out? Beatings, ridicule? It didn't work. This way worked. Businesses that refused to serve us now do so. Most humans won't attack Faunus in the street for fear of repercussions. Things are changing for the better."

"They serve us while their hatred simmers," Blake corrected him. "It will boil over at some point. I've been in Beacon long enough. I've seen interactions between humans and Faunus on both ends of the spectrums. Adam, at one point, you believed in a world where we could all leave in peace. What happened?"

"The world showed how unkind if truly is." Adam's hand rose and rubbed part of his mask over one eye. An instantly later, he jerked it away.

"So are you going to resort to the level of people who treat us badly for what we are, not who we are?" Blake continued. "What line has to be crossed before you go too far?"

"I will do whatever it takes to make sure my people have a future." Adam repeated.

"At what cost?"

Blake and Adam jerked slightly when Touma spoke. Both of them were so involved with each other, they had forgotten he was still there.

"This doesn't concern you, human." Adam said simply, his voice calm yet ice cold.

"When you attack innocent people, it does." Touma counted. "That's not even counting trying to kidnap a friend of mine. Again, at what cost? Will you start attacking children if it will give you want you want? Will you destroy shops of people who do treat Faunus equally because it would make others fear you?" He gestured to a village. "Will you attack a peaceful Faunus village to further a goal? Throw it into chaos?"

A vain throbbed in Adam's head at his words.

Touma had struck a nerve.

"Shut up!"

"Stop!" Blake cried, but to no avail.

His blade moved far faster than a normal human's eyes could follow. Blake knew that because she could barely follow the attack. Adam was not a leader of the White Fang for nothing. He was strong. Many Hunters fell to his blade, along with countless soldiers. His Aura had been unlocked from an early age and his Semblance was incredibly powerful. He could slice through Atlas military robots with a single swing. There was no way Touma would be able to avoid it.

Yet somehow he was already moving backwards.

Though he didn't get far.

"Ahh!"

A shallow cut ran along his chest. His t-shirt was cleanly split and a little blood began to trickle out of the wound to stain the remains of his shirt. If he hadn't moved, that cut would have been a little deeper, though still not fatal.

"That was a warning," Adam informed him, now in control of his emotions again.

"Touma," Blake whispered in horror, crouching down next to him. Touma was on one knee, holding his chest. "Please, don't get involved. Adam won't hesitate to kill you if you keep this up. Please."

"It's just a small cut," Touma replied, trying to keep his voice steady to calm her nerves. It hurt like hell, but he had been through a lot worse before.

"This is your last warning," Adam growled. "The next time you interrupt our reunion my blade won't stop short."

"This is what we are talking about!" Blake yelled furiously. "He's a friend of the Faunus, someone who was willing to help our people for nothing in return. You attack him because he doesn't agree with you? The Adam I knew wouldn't have done that."

"I was young and foolish back then," Adam muttered. "You are too. In time, you will realize that way of thinking is nice, but not pragmatic. It doesn't work. How many are you willing to sacrifice for a futile effort?"

"It's not futile!" Blake took a deep breath before continuing. "Please, Adam, stop before this goes too far. Look at what happened at Mt. Glenn. How many innocent people were hurt from the explosion? Kids? People who never hurt a Faunus? Our own kind?"

"Lasting change requires some sacrifices," Adam told her. "We knew this wouldn't be easy. You understood this back then. You took part in protests where rocks were thrown at us. You acted as a scout for supply shipments. You even killed people before." Blake's body stiffened at this. "You aren't clean either Blake." He held out a hand. "I won't judge you, I even forgive you. My love for you hasn't changed. Come back to me, Blake. Like the old days. We can be together and fight for Faunus everywhere. You can even be by my side to prevent me from going too far."

Blake eyed his hand.

All reasoning told Blake not to go with him. Doing so would be her downfall. Everything she worked for up to now would be in vain. Her friends, her dream of being a Huntress, the fight to change the White Fang back to what it once was. Even though Adam told her she could be the voice of reason, there was no reason he would be forced to listen to her. Things would go back where all she could do is watch his decay into madness. Still, the hand in front of her brought back memories to when Adam was kind, thoughtful, and optimistic. Her hand twitched upwards, showing signs of its rise and Adam smiled.

"…Don't."

That single word was followed by a weight on her shoulder. Her head snapped to the side to see Touma with his left hand on her. His strong gaze bored into her fearful one. Slowly, he pushed himself up to his feet and stepped in front of the crouching girl. Adam took a step back, more in surprise than fear, while his expression hardened underneath his mask.

"You really are a fool."

"I've been called that before," Touma confirmed, turning away from Blake to glare at Adam. "Better a fool than someone who abandons his friends."

"Friend?" Adam laughed. "You hardly know her."

"Yeah?" Touma countered. "So what if I only met her recently? Friendship can happen instantly." Blake felt her heart skip a beat.

"I've known her for years. I accept her for good and bad. You only know what she's told you."

"So what?! We all have secrets. It takes time to open up and I'll listen to her if she decides to do so." His hands clenched into fists. "You don't accept her."

"Come again?" Adam's voice dropped and become dangerous.

"You… don't… accept… her," Touma repeated slowly. "You just want her. You want to change her to fit the mold that suits you best. To be a still imagine, a picture of who you want. You don't want the person Blake is; you just want her."

"I have had enough of your crap!" Adam swung his blades and blood gushed from countless slices along his arms, chest, legs, and cheek. None of them were deep. Adam was purposely holding back to try to scare Touma. To make him retreat. To show Blake she can't hide behind anyone else but him.

"Stop it!" Blake cried and pulled out her own sword. She pushed Touma aside and blocked two blows. Metal rang against metal and Adam ceased his assault.

"I see you are willing to raise your blade against me," Adam said softly. "Your time away has corrupted you."

"You're the one who's corrupted," Blake told him, determination resounding her in voice. "I'm going to stop you, for everyone's sake… including yours."

"I'll like to see you try!" He swung a blow horizontal and Blake blocked it using both hands on the hilt of her sword. "Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."

Blake started raining blows down upon him, but he easily deflected or blocked every single one of them. Touma's eyes watched the exchange of blows, ignoring his own wounds. Not that they were extensive, hell he hardly felt them. That was likely due to how fast he was struck. His brain had not fully registered the pain and by the time it caught up, his adrenaline had already blocked it out. This gave him no edge in keeping track of the fight in progress. The blows were too fast for him to make out most of the time. It was usually when the two swords clashed that they were visible or they drew them back in preparation of a big swing.

Instead of focusing on the weapons, he focused on the wielders. Adam was clearly pressing an advantage. Each strike, clash, and parry, was slowly pushing Blake further and further back. This had restricted her movement to being centered around defense. The more he watched her, the more intent his focus on Blake became, the more he came to notice.

Blake wasn't fighting like she usually did.

Her style was more frantic and wild than what he saw back at Beacon. Each attack was usually calculated and she didn't like wasting movements. The way she was fighting now reminded him of how Yang was when she lost control. Fueled by anger. Though, Blake seemed to be fueled by more than just that. There was terror, panic, in her eyes. Emotions were driving her and against an opponent like Adam they were going to be her downfall. Touma frantically thought about what he could do to help. Adam knew about his hand and both of them were physically superior to him in just about every way. He would just be a hindrance to Blake.

As he was trying to come up with a means to help, something else caught his attention.

Adam's blade appeared to be glowing slightly.

The hairs on the back of Touma's neck stood up on end. He had no idea what was about to happen, but he knew it was something. Blake in her frenzy didn't notice and crouched down, preparing to charge at Adam, who had just sheathed his sword.

Touma reacted purely on instinct.

Adam swung his sword in a single swipe and a blade of red energy flew out at Blake. Her eyes grew wide, realizing her mistake too late. She knew what his Semblance was and walked right into it. The cleaving wave of energy was coming at her, though slightly off to the side. Because she started running, her center of gravity was off. Dodging was impossible and the blow was going to connect regardless of what she did. Adam probably measured the output so it would hurt her enough to knock her unconscious but keep her alive.

What she didn't expect was a hand to her side pushing her out of the way.

NO!

Her voice screamed silently as her eyes swiveled toward Touma.

Time moved at a snail's pace in that moment for her. She was falling to the left as the red energy blade flew where she had been only a fraction of a second earlier. The ground was being torn up as the energy cleaved through it like hot butter. Directly in its path was a certain boy's right arm. Touma had jumped to reach her in time and was currently falling through the air, his arm outstretched from when he pushed her. Adam's attack was met with no resistance and sliced right through flesh in a similar manner as the ground it was gliding over.

The ground was dyed in red liquid.

Her nose was now assaulted with a familiar rustic scent.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The voice screeching from her throat didn't sound human.

Touma landed on the ground with a thud and Blake couldn't move in horror. Slowly, he pushed himself partially up with his remaining hand and looked her directly in the eyes. Blood flowed from the stump, coating his already tattered and stained his shirt. His face had grown pale and splotches of blood covered the right side of his face. Yet, despite these things, something in the way Touma looked at her felt...wrong. The pain was there, she could see that even in her current state. However there was something else there as well. Something that did not look like the gaze of a dying human.

It looked...it looked like the gaze of someone who was not done fighting.

He muttered a single word.

"…run."

Adam was the first to notice some of the drops of blood were beginning to move upwards.

Defying gravity.


Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish to ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter. Remember, everything is SilverFang's fault.

DB: It was at that moment, Adam knew, he had fucked up.

SF88: Ooooh, this is gonna be great. Oh, and by the way, fuck you Dark.