A/N: Sometimes, as a writer, your characters do things of their own accord in a sense, and this chapter, Adam did that for me. I struggled with a long time to harmonize what "Adam" wanted to do with how I as the writer wanted the plot to go.

With my schedule changing shortly, my goal is to finish up the final chapters of this volume by the end of May, so look for some more frequent updates before I go on my three-month hiatus again. Hopefully, even with things changing in my personal life I can continue to deliver content you enjoy. As always, thank you so much for your comments and feedback.

Blake had to do something, Yang's emotions were drawing too many grimm to the wrong place and their aura was running low.

A crow flew overhead swooping low enough to be seen before gliding off to the end of the claring. Out of view of the tower's security cameras, he transformed and began taking the grimm himself to give the pair a chance to recover.

Yang bet over, her hands on her knees gasping for air. "How much loger….do we have…to hold them off?" she rasped between labored breaths, her eyes flickering between amethyst and red as her aura had a difficult time maintaining her semblance. Exhaustion set in and she began to feel lightheaded as her vision blurred from loss of energy and non-stop adrenaline. She was not ready at all for Blake to pull her into an embrace.

"Yang, I'm sorry." Blake Squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from flowing. "I'm sorry. I was so selfish and I'm sorry I hurt you. I had to face my parents when I went back to home and I had to face Adam at Haven, but I need to face what I did to you, too. I know it's' going to take time, but I can't live with myself thinking anyone on my own team hates me."

Yang gripped her back. "I don't hate you. I just need time to heal." She sighed. A heartfelt apology was truly all she wanted, for someone to acknowledge and validate that her feelings of abandonment were wrong and she had a right to be happy and to have people she could rely on. As her breathing became normal, her eyes returned to their amethyst color and her locks of hair lost the lapping flames that surrounded them when her semblance was unleased. They were finally on the mend and back to being friends again.

Their moment was cut short wen an unseen force pushed Blake forward, pinning her partner under her as she felt claw sink into the flesh on her back. She screamed in pain as the tears in her white coat became stained with blood.

Unable to move, Yang could only watch as the white ursa sank its teeth into Blake's left leg and flung her away, her body crashing into the supports of the comm tower and her body crumpling to the ground, landing on her side but not moving any afterward. The obstacle out of the way, the ursa could now focus its attention on Yang, who dove out of the way of the creature's sweeping claws. Her instincts kicked in and she rolled back to her feet. She'd been smart enough to conserve the ammunition of her gauntlet in case she an opponent she wanted to keep further than arm's length away. Firing off a few shots to keep her distance, the shells doing little damage to the bony exterior of the ursa, but causing it to shield its eyes. When the creature had recovered, the ursa began to stalk toward her again, only to be thwarted by another round of explosive shells, this time from Qrow.

The creature turned its focus entirely on the newcomer, turning its body and making slow measured steps toward the huntsman who bent his knees and brandished Harbinger. The ursa responded by roaring and rearing down on him with its full weight. He used his blade to block the attack. "Take care of her, I'll take care of the monster," he said quickly, before pulling back and counter attacking.

Yang dashed to Blake's side, horrified with what she found. Blake's unconscious body was bleeding out of the slash marks on her back as well as the teeth marks on her leg. The impact of her body against the side of the tower had knocked her out cold and had broken her leg, as Yang soon realized the white protrusions from her pants were shards of exposed bone. Forcing down her urge to vomit, she began by tearing strips off the huntress' now ruined white coat, using the pieces to clot the bleeding in the gashes. She knew the next step should be to elevate the leg with as little movement as possible. She gingerly rolled her limp body onto her back and began packing snow underneath her leg. She stroked the hair out of Blakes face to make sure she was breathing properly.

"Tower team, the military base is deploying, ground units. You need to get out of there!" Oscar had been silent for the better part of an hour, but was still keeping a close eye on the situation. "They're taking the main road, not the access road, you have…maybe ten minutes tops?"

"We're kinda pinned here," Qrow said between dodging the claws of the ursa and trying to get a good swing in.

"What's going on?"

Yang tapped her earpiece, "Blake's been hurt and I don't know if we can move her. Her leg's broken and there's this…white ursa that won't leave us alone."

"Can you handle it?" Ruby asked.

"I can handle it if I don't have any distractions," Qrow grunted. "It'll probably take more than ten minutes, though."

Ruby's voice came over the communicator next. "I don't know if they're coming for the tower or for Jaune, but you need to stay where you are Oscar until they leave. Ren and Nora, get out of sight and stay out of sight." There was a brief moment of silence before they heard Ruby sigh. "I hate to leave you behind, but we need to disconnect now. We can't have the military link the three at the tower to Oscar or anyone else." Ruby hesitated before pushing the disconnect button. "We'll meet at the rendezvous point like we agreed and see what we can do from there."

"Understood," Ren said into his earpiece before turning it off and pulling it out. He turned to Nora. "We're heading back into town."

Nora lowered her weapon. "Did it work?"

Ren grabbed her hand. "We won't know for probably a couple days, but we have to stick to the plan." He tugged her forward, going back the way they came, desaturating as they walked out of the sight of the cameras and out of the detection of the grimm.

With an enraged roar, the bear-like grimm reared back on its hind legs again, giving the experienced huntsman the opportunity he'd been waiting for. Rushing forward, he thrust his sword upwards into the soft, black underside on display before him. The creature dissipating into tiny black particles that blew away with the wind, leaving no trace that it was ever there aside from two exhausted and one terribly injured huntsman. No other grimm came after it, leaving enough silence for them to hear the ground units of the military approaching.

Blake let out a whimper as she came to, her ears immediately flattening back as her mind tried to register where she was, what was happening and why she was in so much pain all at once.

"Stay still," Yang said, cradling her head, "Your leg is broken, but we're safe for now."

Blake tried to stay calm as nausea and chills washed over her. She was in shock and with her coat ripped to tatters, she began to shiver.

Yang pulled off her aviator jacket and covered her friend with it. "I know you're in pain, but you need to stay awake, ok?"

"Fair warning," Qrow said, returning his sword to his back. We're probably going to be arrested and interrogated and it probably isn't going to be fun. We're going to be on our own before we can get bailed out…if we get bailed out."

"You can still go," Blake coughed. "Qrow can fly away, and you can…take the bike and just get out of here, it's better if only one of gets arrested."

"Yang shook her head. "I'm not leaving. You need help."

"And I'm not about to leave two teenage girls alone in a military prison," Qrow growled.

The sounds of the treaded ground transports grew louder as the crested the hill, revealing two shiny white units that looked like infiltration tanks. They hissed to a stop on the access road directly in front of them and four armed guards got out of each.

"This is Atlesean military property and you are trespassing," the head guard said curtly. "You'll have to come with us for questioning."

Yang and Qrow both raised their hands in surrender, being seized and stripped of their weapons, scrolls, Qrow's flask, and their ID's before being cuffed with their hands in front and being loaded in the back of one of the transports, as Blake was being assessed by the other to determine what to do with her. By this time, she'd already slipped back out of consciousness and slipped into an almost catatonic state: awake, but entirely unaware of her surroundings.

Jaune was already in the back. He raised his cuffs so he could wave at them goofily as they were being loaded up, his demeanor changing as soon as he saw Blake being loaded on in a stretcher. Guilt and horror set in as he saw what kind of condition, she was in. This whole mission was a huge risk, but he was expecting an arrest and a few days in jail as the worst consequence. Her leg was so mangled, she might not be able to walk properly again and she had bled through the bandages on her leg.

He stood and stepped forward to kneel next to her. "I'm so sorry."

"We all knew the risks," Yang said, "but did you at least make contact?"

Jaune nodded. "She said she'd do what she could to help.

There was a collective sigh of relief.

"She didn't say when, but she said she'd come personally," Jaune added. "Meaning we'll probably be under Cordovan's cronies for a few days until she can get clearance and transportation here. We'll have to wait it out."

"Well, here's to a successful mission," Qrow said, pulling out his backup flask and unscrewing the cap with expert dexterity that could only have come from experience of doing so while cuffed. He held the flask to his lips and drank before capping it and returning it to its hiding place. "This is…easily the second worst time I've ever been arrested."

"Same," Yang sighed.

"Same," Blake mumbled incoherently.

True to his word, Adam began pulling his weight on the house chores, sending Weiss to get food and supplies to keep up the appearance that she was doing the whole of the work. He also kept his word when it came to their 'appearances' aspect of how he treated her once they were in the mess hall or the dojo. He snapped his fingers at her, occasionally grabbed her by the hair and spoke harshly to her just to demonstrate to his men that he wasn't actually going soft on the Schnee heiress. Training in the dojo was especially brutal as he stopped holding back inside the ring now, leaving her exhausted and completely drained of her aura by the time they were done. It was hard, at first, for her not to take it personally, but she had to keep her emotions in check and remember he also was in a precarious position and was just doing it for show. Once they were home, behind closed doors, he was gentle with her, open and respectful of her insights. They discussed many topics at length, mostly about the state of the faunus in Atlas and the SDC's policies and how they could be rectified.

He covertly ordered her a pair of proper pajamas to sleep in. Her uniform would have to stay as it was: the backless white dress with the boots just to keep up the façade, but around the house, he let her wear his shirts and on occasion his shorts just to be more comfortable.

He also began removing both masks whenever he was home, finally relaxed enough to allow his branded eye to be seen. Weiss considered it a small victory on her part that she was the person who he felt comfortable enough around to just be himself, but being able to see his eyes at all times was a two-edged sword. Now that she could see his full face, she began to notice the way he looked at her. It wasn't all the time, but it was frequent enough and impossible to not notice. The way his eyes scanned her body whenever she practiced her fencing form in the front room or how his gaze fell on her when he caught a glimpse of her coming out of the bathroom in only a towel. He was hungry for her and it was written all over his face, regardless of how measured his voice always was, though he didn't express it in any other way for another week.

They were in the front room of the house, Adam going over some papers he'd received earlier in the day while he was out while Weiss sat on the couch reading her book, just keeping him company.

The dust he'd requested from Atlas was conveniently 'too risky' to send across the border as the new dust embargo made searches more thorough and penalties steeper. Of course, Artis would ensure his headquarters was dust starved just in case she saw an opportunity to seize the position of high leader from him. He put the stack of papers down and looked over his shoulder.

"You can say, 'no'," he said.

"No to what?"

"Can I put my head in your lap? Just for a little while?"

Weiss put her book down and looked at him a little shocked. "I…yeah." She finally stammered.

He settled down, stretching his body across the length of the couch and resting his head on her lap. "Are you comfortable?" he asked. "Do you need me to move.

"I'm ok," she said, adjusting to his weight.

He closed his eyes and let out a deep exhale. For a moment they just sat quietly. Weiss continued to read her book and casually stroked his hair, running her fingers along his horns and tracing his hairline.

"How long are we going to have to hide like this?" she asked absentmindedly.

"Until Sienna Khan gets a big enough following to overthrow me and barter an alliance with the huntsmen, I suppose," he replied. "She's been gone for what? Six weeks? Two months? She's probably making progress, but it'll still take time."

"What will you do then? When she retakes the throne?"

He shrugged, keeping his eyes closed. "Regardless of how many people side with Sienna, there'll always be a faction of the White Fang that just wants to kill humans and create chaos. My best option would be to take that faction and lead them while covertly doing everything in my power to stay out of Sienna's way. We'll just have to wait and see how everything plays out."

"So…what does that mean for me? I just go home?"

"Sienna will most likely make your return a sign of goodwill toward the huntsmen to prove that I am no longer in power and that she wishes to have an amiable relationship."

"And you're ok with that?"

"You're safe, the faunus have a fighting chance, and I keep the radicals in check…it's the best solution for the largest amount of people."

Weiss put her book down. "It doesn't bother you that we're going to just part ways and probably never reunite?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Why would you think there would be any other outcome that us eventually going separate ways, never to meet again?"

"Because we…we've kissed, we in the throes of foreplay that night when we got back that night from Haven. Your head is literally in my lap. You told me I made you want to change for the better, and I see. I see how you look at me when we're alone…"

He interrupted her by sitting up, running his fingers through his hair, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation topic. "If you must know, yes, I want to have sex with you; and yes, that desire occupies my mind. Often. But I'm in a precarious position with you."

"I don't understand."

"You wouldn't," he sighed. Resigned that he would unlikely get to resume his spot in her lap, he swung his legs around to face her while he spoke. "The fact that I'm a faunus and you're human is enough to give someone like me pause."

"Are you afraid you'll be too rough with me or something?" Weiss raised an eyebrow, crinkling her nose in confusion.

Adam pulled back from her, his frown deepening. "I don't know what they taught you in primary school, but faunus are like humans: sex is an act of intimacy for most, not just a 'primal instinct'. We don't rut indiscriminately like animals."

A wave of guilt washed over her and settled in the pit of her stomach. She was aware that faunus had always been sexualized in some regard: female cat, rabbit and fox faunus were highly desirable in strip clubs and brothels and the smutty, pulp romance novels frequently featured male faunus as soft-hearted, but well-endowed savages who liked intense intercourse, particularly horses, rams…and bulls. It was always something she had assumed to be true.

"Then what does the fact that I'm human have to do with it?"

He replied with a snort of exasperation. She could be wretchedly naïve for as mature as she was.

"Most faunus never have the luxury of having sex for pleasure, especially with humans. It's ingrained in us from a very young age that getting…attached to any human is an incredible risk: one we had to be absolutely certain we are willing to take. That mentality isn't easy to overcome. There's also the issue of not wanting you to feel put upon."

"Put upon?"

He gripped both her hands, just as he had done the evening he'd returned. "You're not obligated to me, Weiss, and I don't want you to feel like you are."

"I don't feel like that. Not at all."

"Because barring our charade, you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"I understand, and I still don't feel put upon. Everything I'm doing is of my own volition. I don't want you to feel like every little thing you do or say is an imposition on me."

"I understand…I'm just..." he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I have my own reservations to work through if you understand. It's not you: you're beautiful and a killer swordsman, and you have a voice like a songbird, and you're so much more than your last name."

Weiss blushed, clearly flustered. "So much for 'neither of us is anything special'."

Adam furrowed his brows. "I never said that."

Weiss laughed. "Oh, yes you did! Right after the fire. When we were in the stream washing off all the ash and flakes of black."

"Well, that was only half true." He stood and offered her hands to help her to her feet. "I think I'm ready to turn in for the night. You?"

She nodded, using his hands to pull herself up. They turned off the various lights and shut down the downstairs before heading upstairs, Adam stopping outside her door to take her hand again.

"I was thinking we could try something different when we spar tomorrow if that's ok with you."

"That is more than ok with me," she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him goodnight. As she nestled down on her cot, she was anticipating their upcoming session. She was looking forward to moving away from the brute force approach and toward something that hopefully would incorporate more of her actual swordsmanship and the use of her semblance that merely dodging blows and timing when to hit back.

Her excitement evaporated as she and the high leader entered the dojo the next morning.

Sitting on one of the benches was the lieutenant from Mountain Glenn. He looked up from cleaning his chainsaw and flashed an arrogant smile at her.

"What is this?" Weiss asked, more from annoyance than fear.

"I said we were going to work on your bloodlust. I decided our lieutenant here would be a perfect candidate to bring that out in you."

"I'm currently two and oh," he smirked, "I doubt round three will be any different."

Weiss smirked. "Yes, congratulations on ambushing an eighteen-year-old girl with no aura that you have ten inches and fifty pounds on. You know what other kind of animals ambush their prey? Bottomfeeders. Is that what kind of faunus you are?"

The lieutenant towered over her with an intimidating snarl. "Adam told me not to go easy on you. Don't give me a reason to break you in half."

Weiss rolled her eyes.

Adam called her name, nodding to the corner of the mat. She approached him as he held the ropes open for her to step through.

"You know why I picked him. This is your opportunity to give him a taste of what he did to you back at Mountain Glenn Think of the things you hate, the people you want to punish, and let it make you angry. Now, use that power to exert that punishment. Don't let the anger drive you, let your skill bring you the result you want."

"I can do it." She said confidently.

"I know you can. But you're going to need these." He opened his palm where three vials of dust were resting: a gravity, a fire, and an ice. Her eyes lit up as she picked the vials up one by one and loaded them into the handle of her rapier.

"Combatants at their corners." Adam called.

Weiss turned to face her opponent. The lieutenant had removed his robe, giving her a chance to spy the SDC brand on his back in the same spot the White Fang brand was on hers. So, he had been a slave as well. No wonder he had a specific rage against the Schnees.

Adam looked between the two of them to ensure both were ready. "Begin."

Just as he had with Bran, the lieutenant charged her right out of the gate. His oversized chain saw roared to life as he swung down, using his brute strength to intimidate her. Weiss bent her knees and let the blade of her weapon absorb the blow as it pushed her back almost to the edge of the padding. Using the tension between their blades to brace himself, he kneed her in the stomach knocking the air out of her.

It was the only good hit he got in the entire match.

Two years ago, she'd been a freshman in a huntsman academy. She'd still been a child, and while the lieutenant hadn't changed much in that time; she had. There was a skill disparity. While the lieutenant had spent his time bludgeoning new recruits, Weiss had been training without dust and with a genuinely superior swordsman. Her reflexes had sharpened to account for his immeasurable speed and her body had been conditioned to take the blows. While Adam had always shown some modicum of restraint with her, the level at which she was require to train was still superior to the lieutenant's.

She used her semblance to summon an armored gigas to block his heavy blows while she flanked him with her sword. His aura was almost impenetrable: perhaps some aspect of his semblance. If she was going to beat him, it couldn't be by any use of strength; she'd have to use his own body weight against him. She kept her distance and let him come at her, getting a feel for his attack pattern and footing. Occasionally, when she was feeling confident, she'd lunge forward with a strike, the thin blade of Myrtenaster whipping in a blur, sometimes being blocked but more often than not, landing a good jab, chipping away at his aura. After a few minutes, Adam called time and let them rest for a moment in their corners.

"You're not letting him get to you. That's good, and you're conserving your stamina much better than he is, but if you want to beat him, you're going to have to be more aggressive."

Weiss squirted water into her mouth from the bottle he handed her. "I'm figuring out my perfect moment to strike. I still have my dust, and I'm hardly sweating. I'll let him get frustrated and let him be his own downfall."

Adam shook his head. "The whole point of this exercise was for you to be the reason for his downfall. After what he's done to you? He left you to bleed out on the floor of the barracks, and you want to just out-maneuver him?"

"No. I want to beat him," Weiss objected, "But I want…"

Adam grabbed her by the jaw and yanked her face to be down even with his. "You have to want him to suffer. To be embarrassed, and to be defeated in a way he can't recover his reputation. Otherwise, it's not a win for the war, it's just a win for a battle. You don't see an opening to snatch victory, you make it. You make him go down." He was so grave, and his look so intense, Weiss was unsure of what to say next. He released her face and called time.

The second round began and it was more back and forth: the opponents keeping their distance trying to look for chinks in the other's strategy.

Weiss was too fast. It was never going to be a question of if she could beat him, but when. She toyed with him a bit, letting him chamber up for a swing before using a glyph to either push his weapon away or help propel her away from his blows. It did give her a small amount of grim satisfaction to see him so frustrated. Maybe Adam was onto something about making other people lose.

Their match didn't go unnoticed. What started as one passerby poking his head in out of interest had evolved into a dozen faunus slipping silently into the room, none daring to speak as they watched. Adam took notice, but elected not to stop them.

Realizing she couldn't keep it up forever, Weiss decided to put her plan into action. She waited until he tried to strike her; she parried it with her sword, and activated the fire dust, the small explosion sending him backward and causing him to fall on one knee. Before he could recover, she rushed forward, striking at his right hand and activating the ice, freezing his hand to his weapon and encasing the chainsaw entirely in a thick layer of ice. Evading a blow from his free arm, she used the last vial of dust to create a gravity glyph at his feet. With his weapon and his body disabled, she held the blade to his throat. He looked her in the eye, ready to take the final blow to his aura without surrender.

"Maybe I don't have enough bloodlust, but that's just now how I'm wired," the huntress said, sheathing her sword. "Besides, I think it will be more embarrassing for him to know that I pitied him enough to hold back rather than go all out."

"That's it?" the lieutenant shouted as she walked away, still stuck in the kneeling position.

"That's all I need." Weiss rounded on him. "I don't need to avenge my ego to feel this victory."

Adam clenched his jaw, clearly disapproving. "Everyone out," he said, displeased almost to the point of pouting. With the glyph dissipated, the lieutenant stood and pried his weapon free of the ice, saying nothing as he retreated into the crowd of his comrades who knew better than to offer any kind of consolation or encouragement.

While she was returning her sword, she expected Adam to either scold her or force her to keep training despite being fatigued, any show of force since she'd had the audacity to defy him in front of his own underlings. To her surprise, however, he left with the rest of the White Fang audience, leaving her to towel off and hydrate in peace. She thought it odd but didn't think anything of it until she returned home to shower to find Adam sitting in the front room waiting for her.

"I honestly thought I trained you better than that," Adam chided.

"I won by skill alone," Weiss objected. "How can you construe this as anything but a victory?"

Adam snorted, sitting back in his chair. "We are talking about stopping the literal end of the world, and you don't have it in you to strip off the aura of one of your worst abusers? How in the hell are you going to take on Salem? Watts? Hazel? Face it, princess, the final battle isn't just going to be huntsmen versus grimm. You have to be willing to hurt others to protect yourself and the people you love."

"I respectfully disagree," Weiss said, quietly, but with all the defiance she could muster. Without another word, she headed upstairs to shower, assuming Adam wouldn't follow to continue the conversation.

By the time she'd showered and gotten dressed Adam was gone out for the day and she was able to work on the house in peace. She hated questioning herself, she hated wondering if he was right about something because if it did, it meant she might not have the strength to make difficult decisions and that the people she loved: Winter, her family, her team would get hurt in the process.

Was she too soft? Or was Adam just too harsh and too damaged to understand that there was a place for restraint or mercy?

Or were they just beyond that with the threat of Salem on the horizon?