Had a weird nightmare last night where the world was being replaced with Lego and I was the only one who noticed. Not living Lego like the movie either, but cold, unfeeling Lego. I was even walking with someone in it and turned to talk to them and their face was the head of a lego figure, their eyes empty and dead.

Surprisingly horrific dream – it was almost like a zombie apocalypse or plague, except it turned people into Lego figures, and trees, houses and landscapes into Lego blocks.

Cover Art: Terakali

Chapter 35

"I thought it would be Yang."

Despite the roar of the crowd, the stamping of feet and the pounding of his own head, Adam heard Pyrrha clearly. They were close enough to speak, two combatants locked in their own little world ignoring the screaming and braying of blood-hungry people all around them.

"Yang is missing." Adam replied, letting his feelings on that seep through. "And Atlas does not feel safe letting me put their sights to search for her."

"Missing? Since when? We could both forfeit."

Tempting, but Adam was sure that would lead to even further problems, not least of all from the audience and Atlas, but potentially also from whomever wanted him and Pyrrha to fight. He was no strange to hostage situations and knew that if someone called your bluff, you had to follow through. If someone had Yang then they might not be happy if he forfeited this match.

"No forfeits. We fight." He swept Wilt up so that the pommel rested against his shoulder, the long, red blade angled horizontally out toward Pyrrha ready for a lunge. "Make it a long one," he whispered. "Theatrical."

Waste time. Give more opportunity for Weiss and Ruby to find Yang and whomever was behind this. Pyrrha understood, eyes narrowing, and gave him a quick nod before readying her sword and shield. The timer projected onto the big screens counted down, Professor Port doing the same over the commentary and the crowd echoing it.

"Three! Two! One!"

The bell rang.

/-/

Ruby had to be physically restrained from speeding off with her Semblance and leaving Weiss and the two soldiers behind. That restraint came in the form of Weiss holding onto her sleeve and keeping her with them.

"I can go ahead!" Ruby complained. "If Yang's in danger-"

"Then she will appreciate all of us arriving to help her." Weiss interrupted. "Whereas you arriving on your own might end up with two people in danger." Under her breath she muttered, "And I swear if she's locked herself in a changing room or come down with a case of stage fright, I'll be having so many words!"

Above them, the crowds suddenly began to roar in approval. It was such a sudden rise in volume that it shook the ceiling above them. It looked like Pyrrha and Adam had begun their match. Whatever the people thought of Adam, there was no denying that a match between him and Pyrrha Nikos would be one people would pay to see. The former leader of a White Fang army against the rising star of Mistral. That was a fight you didn't get to see often. Or so people likely assumed, never realising it was a morning routine for Team RYST.

If someone kept Yang out the fight in order to have Adam and Pyrrha duke it out, then they should be distracted by that right now. That would give them a chance to find Yang, but it wouldn't change the fact they were dancing to someone else's tune.

Who, though? That was the question. The White Fang? They certainly wanted Adam dead, but having him fight here wasn't likely to result in it. There were much too many safety regulations in place to prevent accidents, and the best medical teams were on standby just in case. Perhaps they thought Adam could defeat Pyrrha and wanted the kudos of seeing a White Fang member, even a former one, show off on the public stage.

It could just as easily have been a bookie, however. Adam vs Pyrrha was a big money match, and unscrupulous people had done worse in the past for betting money than this. Horse races were rife with similar corruption. If Yang had been slipped a laxative or something else, she might be trapped in a bathroom unable to respond to her call to the arena.

Somehow, it didn't feel that simple.

"The changing rooms are ahead." Weiss said more for the benefit of the soldiers than Ruby. "Yang would have been in there if anywhere. Have you heard anything from Winter or General Ironwood?"

"No ma'am."

"We'll report once we find your teammate," the other said. "General Ironwood will probably be doing his own investigation already. He'll have started the moment Taurus showed up on the rota."

Ruby took the moment where Weiss was distracted forming a response and used it to slip out her hold. Before she could shout, Ruby was gone, blurring ahead and twisting into the changing rooms in a sharp ninety-degree turn. Weiss hissed and chased after her, drawing Myrtenaster and swearing to beat Ruby black and blue with the flat of it if she ran into an ambush.

"YANG!"

All anger vanished, replaced with fear. Weiss hurled her shoulder into the door and smashed it open, stumbling into the changing rooms with the soldiers on her tail. She took in the scene in an instant: Yang on the floor, Ruby knelt at her side lifting her head up, scratch, burn and gunshot marks on the walls, broken benches and a hissing water valve where a shower pipe had been cut by something sharp. The floor was covered in half an inch of water.

And Yang wasn't moving.

"No…" Weiss whispered.

The largest soldier overtook her and slid down onto his knees, splashing water aside. He took Yang and pressed two fingers into her neck before proclaiming, "She's alive!"

It was something Weiss should have thought to do, and she cursed herself for freezing up at a crucial moment. Splashing through the water herself, she ignored the cold and knelt down above Yang's head, touching her fingers to her mouth and gasping in relief as she felt warm breath on her skin. "Breathing, too. She's unconscious." Bringing her scroll out, she touched it to Yang's skin and hissed. "Low aura. Critically low. She's been attacked."

Congratulations Captain Obvious, she thought, As if that isn't abundantly obvious right now!

Thankfully, no one felt the need to point that out. "Looks like someone fought a war here," the smaller soldier said. He had his scroll out and was recording the battle damage, likely as evidence. "I see more sword damage than anything. If Taurus weren't up above, I'd say he did this." Of course he would, and it would be up to Team RYST to proclaim his innocence as usual. "Does Team RYST have any potential enemies who use swords? Any teams you've upset?"

Team CFVY maybe? It was no secret Velvet and Adam hated one another. Yang and Coco weren't on good terms after their brawl either, but she'd seen them all in the audience, and while they disliked one another, Weiss doubted anyone on that team would resort to underhanded methods like this.

"No," she said. "I think it could be the White Fang. They consider Adam a traitor."

"More than possible. What I don't get is why this one isn't dead." The man's words prompted an angry hiss from Ruby. He raised his hands. "Sorry, I don't mean anything by it, just that someone beat her and knocked her out but then chose not to kill her. Did they want her alive? If so, why leave her here? Did someone come and drive the attacker off? Again, if so, why not stay or report this to someone?"

"We can probably have someone patch into the cameras outside," the other soldier said. "Miss Schnee – Winter Schnee," he amended given her current presence, "-can request to access those after today's fights. If someone did break in to attack your teammate, she'll identify them. In the meantime, we should get this one to the medical tents." He gently nudged Ruby's arms aside. "May I?"

Neither she nor Ruby were big enough to carry Yang on their own, so Ruby quickly scooted out the way and let the larger man slide his hands under Yang's legs and back. He rose with a grunt, gently raising her up out the water. Her golden hair was sodden and dragged down under her. Weiss took the chance to step up, collect it and tuck it into Yang's belt so the man wouldn't trip on it.

"We've found her ma'am." The other soldier was already reporting, and likely to Winter. "Alive but unconscious. Yes, we're sure she was attacked. Signs indicate a running battle between at least her and one other, but potentially a third assailant who may have stepped in to protect her. No sign of either." He paused, nodding. "No harm to any of us, ma'am. We'll be taking the injured student to the medical tents. Yes. Yes, I'll do that, ma'am."

"You're to continue back to the arena," he told them. "Specialist Schnee wants me to remain here and secure the evidence site and to ensure the cameras aren't tampered with."

That was fine with Weiss. With the lone soldier occupied carrying her, Ruby took point ahead and Weiss behind, the two of them holding a defensive formation around the VIP as they'd been taught in Miss Goodwitch's classes. While the people behind this may have already achieved what they wanted in making Adam fight, there was no saying they wouldn't try and score another blow against Team RYST.

We should have been there, Weiss thought angrily. If we'd been here, Yang would have never been attacked like this.

/-/

Cinder Fall raised a curious eyebrow as Neo flopped down in the seat next to hers. The girl had clearly succeeded in her task if Adam was down there fighting Pyrrha, and yet she looked much the worse for wear, clearly exhausted and glancing around anxiously. For a girl who showed so little fear before, it was an interesting sight.

Had the Xiao-Long girl proven that much of a problem? Somehow, Cinder doubted that. The girl was strong, but Neo was on another level. Had there been interference? If Neo weren't mute, she might have asked, but as it was she didn't care so long as Taurus was down there.

"Good work," she said instead. "Is the girl dead?"

Angrily, Neo shook her head.

"No? No matter. Taking her life was unnecessary."

The way Neo scowled and jutted her jaw out suggested that while the murder hadn't been necessary, she would have still enjoyed meting it out. Someone stopped her, Cinder thought. Someone stepped in to save the girl before Neo could execute her, and it has Roman's little pet all flustered.

Adorable.

Down below, Taurus and Nikos danced together beautifully, blades swinging and clashing, bodies bending at graceful angles to avoid swings so violent they would rip off a limb. Every blow that landed was countered – both combatants used to the ebb and flow of battle and both trading viciously. Their auras were draining, already approaching the yellow each, and no one had the upper hand as far as the eye could see. To the audience it must have seemed a brutal and bloody contest between two people who would not give ground.

Cinder knew better. It was a spar. Their moves were a little too telegraphed, a little too perfect. She had referred to it as a dance because that was what it was – two people working together to put on a show.

They're dragging this out on purpose. Hmhmhm. Not the worst decision on their part; it gives his team more time to find their missing member. That would have been more a concern for her if it mattered. It did not. Long and drawn out or swift and brutal, either style fit her objectives. It all works for me in the end. You're not nearly as clever as you seem to think, Adam.

Cinder's thumb slid over her scroll, eyes burning bright with anticipation.

/-/

Adam's attention was divided between his opponent and the stands. That may, and perhaps should, have cost him more than it already had, if it weren't for Pyrrha somewhat blatantly taking it easy on him. He'd left openings she could have used ten times over whenever he looked back to see if Yang had been found, and yet she refused to take them.

"I'm sure Yang is okay," she said when they crossed blades. Pyrrha leaned over him to try and use her weight, but Adam allowed his left knee to buckle and drop, falling down and twisting his sword backward. Pyrrha's lunged over his head, and he drove up with his shoulder to throw her over him. "Okay," she gasped, landing awkwardly. "That's new."

"I won't accept that until I see her in the stands."

Pyrrha accepted that with a quick nod. He appreciated the thought behind the comfort offered, but false comfort was no better than empty falsehoods. As a faunus, he'd received more than his fair share of those.

Pressing the attack, he forced Pyrrha back, swinging and twisting while keeping the blade central to his body. Her shield was a point of contention for him – the perfect defence and a means of keeping Wilt busy while she attacked. Blush came into play then, barking buckshot at close range and forcing her to disengage. Pyrrha did so with a graceful backflip, leaving the crowd in awe.

A show fighter. Most would have called them show-offs, but that was a title reserved for those who did it to boost their own ego. Pyrrha fought as such because her career demanded it. She'd never acted like that in their spars, preferring an economic range of movement, but it appeared that once put before an audience again, she reverted to the champion everyone wanted to see, not the champion she was.

If he weren't worried about Yang, he might have challenged her on that small slip. As it was, he lunged after her, lashing out left, right, left again and pushing her to have her shield everywhere at once. Wilt slid through in a moment of inattention and scored a line across her left shoulder. Almost instantly, her knee wrenched up into his stomach and her elbow into his cheek. Adam staggered back, ducking a sweep by a hair's breadth.

That was what Pyrrha did well. Better than Yang, in fact. Even if you did land a hit, she would react almost instantaneously to make sure she did as well. Not always as good of one, but a trade you had to take. Aura for aura, blood for blood, sweat for sweat. Even when you won, you lost.

Pyrrha readied herself to attack and then froze. Her eyes looked over his head. "Weiss!"

Adam turned with no thought for a sword in the back. He received none. Though the audience might have complained at the sudden pause, he couldn't have cared less for it. There, in the stands beside Winter once more, was Weiss. No Ruby and no Yang, but Weiss was waving her hands at him and trying her best to smile.

There would be no attempts made if Yang were in danger.

"That must mean Yang is safe," Pyrrha said, as relieved as he. "Thank goodness." Her smile turned just a little cocky, or maybe competitive. "What do you say we do this properly? I've been itching for a chance to fight you."

Bolstered by Weiss' appearance, Adam laughed. "Don't you fight me each morning?"

"Those are spars. This is a real dual. I want to know what fighting the real Adam Taurus is like. When he's not holding back or trying to play nice."

Bold claims to make. Not untrue. He hadn't really ever held back against Pyrrha, but he did refrain from more vicious tactics in spars. They weren't needed and it was poor form to try and beat your sparring partner like that. The goal was for both parties to improve, not for one to compete against the other.

"Show me how you really fight," Pyrrha requested. "I want to test myself against that."

"If you're sure?"

Pyrrha smiled. "I've never been surer of anything in my life."

"Ha." Barking out in laughter, Adam sheathed his sword and ducked low, angling his right foot forward and his left back, ready to draw. "I suppose I owe you for dragging this out thus far." His smile flickered. "Let's dance."

Pyrrha lunged.

Wilt sang. The blade swung free of its sheath with incredible speed, sweeping up as a crimson arc and slapping Pyrrha's attack aside. Chambering, he stepped forward with his left and brought it crashing back down. The force would have cut an Ursa in two and Pyrrha made no effort to block it, jumping aside instead. Blood pumping through his veins and the pleasant haze of combat sliding over his vision, Adam surged after her, swinging Wilt back for a powerful slice.

His body locked up.

It happened so fast it jolted him. Adam stumbled, tripped and slammed down onto one knee. Pyrrha hadn't expected it either and was already pedalling back from an attack that would never come. "Adam-?"

"I…" He shook his head. It had felt like every muscle in his body had locked up. "I think I tripped-"

This time he heard it. An angry little beep and a crackle.

"Arghhh!"

Electricity surged out against his neck, running down his spine and body. His legs gave way, back arching and lurching him forward so that he landed on all fours. Wilt clattered from spasming fingers.

"Adam!" Pyrrha cried.

Why? Why now-? Adam's wide, bloodshot eyes shot back to Winter Schnee as a fresh burst of agonising electricity burst out from the collar and into him, tearing a scream from his tortured throat.

/-/

Winter was the first to surge to her feet and grip the railing, eyes bulging as Taurus screamed and convulsed on the arena before tens of thousands of people and hundreds of thousands across the Kingdoms. Blue light crackled visibly out from the metal collar around his neck, burning his skin and arching over a body writhing in agony.

"WINTER!" Weiss shrieked. "Stop it!"

"I'm not the one doing it!" she shouted back. Even so, she dragged out her scroll and checked. No, she hadn't activated it. Desperately, she clicked on the button to cut the flow of electricity. "It's not working! I can't shut it down!"

Her eyes shot up to the main box overlooking the arena. The only one with the authority to activate the collar and supersede her commands was General Ironwood. Was he responsible for this? If so, why? Had he found some crucial evidence against Adam Taurus? Even if he had, was now the time to act? In front of all these people?

"Winter!" Weiss cried, the same agony Taurus was experiencing reflected in her voice. Winter turned, stunned to see tears running down her sister's face. "Help him!" she begged. "Make it stop!"

Never in her life had she felt so helpless. "I… I can't…"

"Then get it off him! Get the collar off!"

"Arghhhhhhh!" Adam continued to scream.

By now the audience were also on their feet, many shouting for it to stop, others booing in general. The specifics were impossible to make out, but everyone was shouting for something. Parents shielded the eyes of their children.

I have to put a stop to this, Winter thought. Without waiting for orders, she vaulted the railing and hit the floor seconds later. Sprinting the distance to the arena under a hail of bottles and cans, she dragged herself onto the arena right as Pyrrha Nikos reached her fallen foe. The girl touched Taurus and recoiled back, shocked along with him and left gasping for air.

"Don't touch him!" Winter shouted. "You'll be shocked. It's enough to kill-"

"No!" Nikos yelled back. "I won't let you!"

The girl locked her hands out before her and toward Adam's neck. Her fingers dug into the air and slowly dragged apart as if she were reaching between elevator doors and working to pry them open. Her aura materialised, a purplish glow that suffused her skin. Even though she was pulling on nothing, her biceps strained, sweat running down her face as she fought against something no one could see.

And then, Nikos' hands wrenched apart with a loud "Rargh!" from the girl.

Metal snapped and pinged left and right away from Taurus, nearly taking Winter's head off. Two halves of the collar clattered down onto the arena, sparking and crackling as dust spilled out. Adam Taurus gasped for air, lurched and then fell.

The sound of his body impacting the arena could be felt through the bones of every soul watching.

/-/

Blake found herself up on her feet shouting out her anger with everyone else in the audience. Her teammates Jaune, Ren and Nora were the same, yelling their disappointment and confusion and overall distaste. That it was for Adam wasn't lost on her, and yet watching him like that brought back memories. Bad ones. Not bad ones of him, but ones of the things they had promised they would fight to stop ever happening to a faunus again.

The stands were little better. Hate Adam or not, to have the fight interrupted by what had to be clear intervention by Atlas was wrong. Cans of soda were being thrown up at the VIP box where everyone knew General Ironwood was, and several soldiers in charge of Amity's security were already drenched. To their credit, they remained in position, firm in the face of public opinion shifting so heavily against them.

And for once, she couldn't blame Adam for that.

"Ah – Ahem." Professor Port coughed into the microphone, but it was clear to her that even he was affected. Audibly bothered. "I have just had word in that Pyrrha Nikos has been declared the victor-" Booing and heckling answered him. Down on the arena, Pyrrha looked furious. "Please remain calm and seated. I am sure there will be a reasonable explanation for this."

Deflection of blame. Not that Blake could fault him. She might not have had the best impression of their talkative teacher, but this clearly wasn't his fault. Gripping the railing, she watched as a medical team rushed out and onto the arena with stretcher, quickly moving up to Adam and lifting him onto it.

What if he was dead? Blake felt so lightheaded that she almost toppled over. Yes, she had left him and wanted him out of her life, but dead? No. Never. They'd been… No matter what they'd been and become, they had once been friends. More than friends. Blake's eyes stung as he was carted away.

"What the hell was that!?" Jaune raged. "In the middle of the fight? It was going so well!"

"I'll break the legs of whoever's responsible!" Nora agreed.

"It had to be Atlas," Ren said, ever the voice of reason. "They're the ones who made a public show of the collar. Not Winter Schnee since she tried to intervene, but someone else."

"Ironwood." Blake spat.

Ren hummed. "Perhaps."

She had no proof, and yet even after leaving the White Fang she hated General James Ironwood. His reputation preceded him, and he'd been their enemy for so long that she wasn't sure she could see him as anything else. By that same virtue, he likely saw them as the same. Adam was his enemy, an enemy he would not cry at the sudden death of.

Blake moved toward the doors only to be caught by Ren's hand. "Where are you going?"

"To see if he's okay."

"Do you really think they'll let you in to see him?"

"Of cour-" Blake cut off suddenly. Why would they? Because she had once been his love? Because she had once been his teammate? Neither of those things were true now and she'd caused him more harm than not. Of course his team wouldn't let her anywhere near him, not if Adam or his girlfriend had warned them who she was. "Y-You're right. I just… wanted to make sure he was alive…"

Ren released her. "I'm sure we all do. This isn't right. No matter who or what he was, he is a Beacon student now, and someone took advantage of the collar Atlas placed on him in an attempted murder." Ren's eyes narrowed as he looked back to the VIP box. "No one can ignore that. Not even those who are against him."

"We will be taking a brief intermission before our following fight." Port continued valiantly. "We ask everyone to remain calm as we seek to shed light on this unfortunate situation."

/-/

"This is a disaster…"

"If the next words out your mouth aren't that it's a disaster because an innocent man is in intensive care, I'll shove Harbinger through your gut." Qrow warned. He had a hand on the weapon just to prove the point.

General Ironwood bristled. "Of course that's what I mean! I'm no monster, Branwen."

"You could fool me sometimes, tin man."

"Enough." Ozpin interrupted them harshly. It was rare to see the headmaster with anything but a calm or placid expression. The cold and indignant fury didn't suit him, but it was there all the same. "We have problems enough without bickering between our ranks. James, I trust you have investigated every person who had access to that collar. Tell me it was not one of yours right now."

"It was not one of ours. Someone forced a connection from outside."

Ozpin stared him down, searching for the truth in those words. He grunted, accepting them with a terse nod of his head. "And have you found the one responsible?"

"Not yet. The code is just that. It's not subtle now that we know to look for it, but we'd have never been able to tell it was there. Brute-force entry. What's more concerning is that they knew about it in the first place."

"The collar goes." Qrow said. "I ain't watching you put another on him."

"Agreed." Ozpin said it without hesitation and while Ironwood did frown, he knew better than to argue now. "I accepted your demands because I had no choice, James, and they've blown up in our faces."

"I couldn't have known our systems would be hacked."

"Do you think the public will accept that? Do you think Mr Taurus or his teammates will accept that?" Ozpin leaned forward. "Do you think the many faunus who saw this will accept it? No. They will believe that Atlas tried to take its vengeance on a faunus who has done his best to reform. They will see you as a vengeful tyrant state willing to publicly make an example of those that cross them."

"You know that isn't the case!" Ironwood said.

"It doesn't matter what I know. It matters what the people will know." Ozpin gripped his mug, stared into the contents and then downed it in one. "Qrow. How is your niece?"

"Awake and furious."

"Does she recall her attacker?"

"Small girl with pink, brown and cream hair. Not exactly subtle. Attacked her coming out the shower and knocked her around. According to Yang, she was good. Better than her. Last thing she remembers is being choked out and the girl drawing a sword out an umbrella to kill her."

Ozpin bristled. "And yet she lives. Do you think?"

"Yeah. Raven." Qrow took a deep breath. He hated his sister for all she'd done, but right now he could damn well kiss her. "I took a look at the changing room. Yang said the girl didn't draw her sword until the end, but there are marks all over the walls. Someone came in. Someone strong enough to send the girl packing, but someone asshole enough to just leave Yang knocked out there. I think we both know who that is."

"An attempt on the lives of not one but two of my students." Ozpin pinched the bridge of his nose. "To make matters worse, it's being blamed on Atlas. I can't help but think that is no accident. The problem is that the list of people who would benefit from such a thing is not inconsiderable. It is not just her forces who would want to see Atlas' name besmirched."

"White Fang are in the area," Qrow pointed out. "And we know they both want Atlas out, and Adam dead. Why not hit two Nevermore with one round?"

"Indeed. Qrow, I want you to watch over Mr Taurus and Team RYST tonight. Apprehend anyone who so much as tries to breathe in their presence. James, you will sort this mess out as best you are able. The people of Vale are not happy with you right now and I cannot say I blame them."

"What of the White Fang?" Ironwood asked. "My forces can search the city for them."

"No!" Ozpin snapped. "You and your forces have done enough. Focus on Amity and make sure that tomorrow's final bout goes well. I, meanwhile, will speak with Miss Nikos."

"About the maiden?"

"About that, but also about how she must put aside her feelings tomorrow when she is faced against one of your students, James. Otherwise, I fear the Invincible Girl may try and find out just how `not-invincible` Miss Polendina is. I needn't tell you that she is similarly displeased at the way things have turned out. Miss Nikos sees her `victory` as a farce, as little more than cheating, and I do believe she was hoping to face Mr Taurus in the finals."

"Penny is no pushover." Ironwood said. "She will give Nikos a run for her money."

"For Miss Polendina's sake, I certainly hope so."

Wait a minute, Blake feeling regret? Blake being angry on Adam's behalf? You know what this means! Knightshade pairing!

Lol. No. Not this time, Coeur.

Next Chapter: 20th July

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur