Chapter 20: Take the Bull by the Horns
"I've got Red all locked up, have the men finished loading the train?"
Adam turned from his watch spot as he looked at his…partner?
No, that didn't sound right. Partner would imply that they were equal.
"I assume you have also contacted the boy, correct?" Adam asked.
Torchwick nodded yes.
"…I had one of my men call him." Torchwick answered slowly, "Told him to come alone and all that, he should be here by the next day."
"And when I get rid of him, we move on to the next phase of our… 'associates' plan."
"Yup, your only job is to get rid of that monster." Torchwick replied, "Though if you can, is the real question," he muttered.
"What did you say?" Adam asked as he laid a hand on his sword.
"Nothing, nothing!" Torchwick quickly stammered out, "Just talking to myself, I'm going to go see how close we are to finishing."
Adam watched as the rat quickly scampered off from the room.
He did not like that man, he was the epitome of what Adam hated in humans.
Normally he would just cut that annoyance down with Wilt, but that woman apparently needed the thief for her overall plan.
This was a waste of his time, instead of doing something worth his while he had to take care of a pest that the thief was too scared to take care of himself.
"What a coward."
Still, even though Adam didn't know why he himself was needed, the pest was still a pest.
He'd better get ready for him, perhaps he should pay his guest a little visit.
Just as he reached the prison cell, Adam overheard the guards started talking to themselves.
"I heard we are using the girl as bait for the Fanginator."
"Really… Fanginator?" Another guard responded.
"That's a terrible name," The prisoner complained.
"Oh, like you have a better name…and No one asked you, Prisoner!" The first guard replied as he kicked the cell.
"Bane of the White Fang, The Faunus Slayer, The Claw Breaker, The Butcher, heck even the monster works out."
"Ohh, I like The Claw Breaker."
"Whatever man," The first guard dismissed, "And again no one asked for your opinion!"
"Sorry," The red-headed girl responded sarcastically, "…Why guys are so scared of Mori?"
"You are kidding me right?" The first guard replied
"Noope."
"Kid, he's basically destroyed the morale of the Vale sector of the White Fang."
"Yeah, he wrecked over a hundred of our men at the harbor."
"I heard he also destroyed our biggest base in the city."
"Apparently a Faunus killed his family and to this day he seeks to destroy every last one of them."
"I heard his Semblance causes Faunus to tremble in fear of him."
"Man…do you really think he's going to come?"
"Of course he's going to come," The prisoner once again spoke up, "And he's going to kick all of your butts!"
"I highly doubt that" Adam interrupted as he entered the room, "Like the many who have come before him, he too will fall before my blade."
"Yeah right," The girl snarked, "He's going to kick your butt!"
"I'm sure he will," Adam responded back, "AND YOU TWO!" Adam shouted as he then turned to the guards, "DO NOT FRATERNIZE WITH THE PRISONER!"
"YES SIR!"
Adam then left, to go check the progress of the train.
For some reason, that conversation they had irritated him more than usual.
The boy had become a hot topic within not only the White Fang but within in the Faunus community in general.
He was not only a thorn in the side of that Woman but also Adam himself.
His feats had caused the recruitment rate to drastically drop in Vale in fear of coming across him.
Desertion was punishable by death, but any members that had come in contact with him had immediately left.
They were more scared of the boy instead of the Fang.
To Adam that was unacceptable. The Fang needed to be the symbol of fear in Remnant.
That was the only way change ever happened, through fear.
All of this was for Faunus Equality…no it was all so that the Faunus would take their rightful spot on top.
How could that happen if they were all scared of a single child?
He couldn't let a first-year Huntsman-in-training destroy all that he worked up to. How could they get more people to join the cause if they were being laughed at for failing to stop a single child?
Either way, this pest was in the way of his goals and since Torchwick was too much a coward to do it and the woman Cinder was too busy with her own objectives, it was up to Adam to take care of him.
Drawing out his scroll Adam once again took a look at the video of the boy fighting at the docks.
Adam had to admit himself, unlike the girl he had just faced, the boy would be a lot tougher, as unlike her, his fighting style had a lot more power behind it.
He had never encountered a style quite like it before, he would need to be careful.
Still, outside of the unique way he fought, Adam wasn't too concerned about this pest.
His technique wasn't something Adam was too impressed by, it was sloppy and uncoordinated, any fighter worth their salt would be able to read his moves and counter them accordingly.
His men at the docks just weren't up to standard, as they panicked easily and rushed their attacks without worry of a counter.
What made the boy dangerous was not his fighting technique…no it was his physical body.
His destructive power in destroying the Harbor was something that Adam was the real impressive part.
…Was it a semblance? Or was it something else?
Either way, it didn't matter, even though he had a lot of power, it meant nothing to Adam.
Any show of strength was futile against him.
If that boy tried to use that powerful kick against him then Adam would be able to reflect it back with ease.
No, his immense strength would be of no concern to Adam, instead, his speed would be more something to watch out for.
He was able to move quickly between the guards and not let bullets hit him.
But even that was no real concern as while the boy was fast, it wasn't impossible to deal with.
If he was as easy to read as he was during the docks Adam would make quick work of him.
"Sir!" A voice yelled out in the middle of his analysis.
"What!?" Adam angrily replied as he put his scroll away.
"We are under attack right now!" The Fang Guard responded. "It's a Team of Huntsmen!"
"Pull up the screen!" Adam commanded as he looked to see who was attacking the base.
He should have known better that the girl wouldn't be alone, it wouldn't have made sense if she was by herself.
Too bad for them he was here, whoever they were they would be added to the list of those who had fallen to him.
There didn't seem to be that many intruders as it was only a middle-aged man, a blonde-haired girl, a white-haired girl who looked like a Schnee and…Blake.
Adam rubbed his eyes in disbelief, was that really Blake? …It was.
He had been so focused on what to do about that pest that he had forgotten about that traitor.
Adam smiled to himself, he had finally found her, ever since she abandoned him on that train, he had been searching for her, wanting to take her back and repaying her for betraying the Fang…no for betraying him.
What was she doing here? Was she really fighting back the against cause that she fought for, so, so long?
"I believe our prisoner we captured was part of their team!" The Guard stated as he interrupted Adam's thoughts.
"I see," Adam murmured, "Bind the prisoner and get her ready, I believe her use has come a lot sooner than expected."
"Yes sir." The Grunt responded as he left the room.
Adam once again looked at the picture of the Team of Huntresses.
"I see you've returned to me," Adam murmured as his hand touched the face of the picture of the black-haired beauty, "You won't be getting away this time."
"Yang duck!" Blake's voice screamed out as Yang dodged an oncoming blast.
Of course, the White Fang had more of those robots.
Weiss immediately used her semblance to create a wave of ice as they continued to fight their way through the base.
"How many of these animals are there!" The heiress shrieked.
"Hey!" Blake shouted back.
"I mean in terms of them being brutes."
"You still can't say that!"
"Zwei!" Yang shouted to the family pet ignoring the two, "Can you find her?"
"ARF!"
"I can't believe that dolt got captured by the White Fang," Weiss complained as she froze a grunt.
"Hey, at least she found the base!" Yang shouted back as she blasted another one.
"That's no good if she gets captured!"
Yang would normally retort but now was not the time for that.
This last hour had been hectic.
She was on watch when all of a sudden Zwei appeared barking like mad.
When they followed him they ended up finding a huge hole with Crescent Rose nearby.
That's when Yang knew Ruby was in trouble.
That girl would never leave Crescent Rose behind willingly.
When they went to go investigate the hole in the ground who did they end up finding none other than the White Fang themselves.
According to Dr. Oobleck, the Fang had been using the underground portions of the city to hide.
"What do you think they are planning?" Weiss asked as they continued their assault on the base.
"I'm not sure," Blake responded, "I've never seen this much dust before…What do you think Yang?"
It didn't really matter to Yang, whatever plan they were doing they would stop them, all she knew right was that the Fang had captured her sister and she was going to get her back.
Even if she did have to mow through them her.
"Ruby," Yang thought to herself, "Please be safe."
The team continued to make their way through the base blasting Fang members aside.
Their efforts eventually lead them to a large room with a train inside of it. Filled to the brink with White Fang grunts.
"Ladies!" A voice shouted, "Good to see you!"
It was a voice that Yang had become well acquainted with it.
The criminal himself Roman Torchwick. Standing on top of a train cart.
"You!" Weiss spat in disgust.
"Yes, you are very observant, it is me." The villain snarked back.
"What are you up to Torchwick!" Blake yelled, "Why do you need so much dust!"
"Wouldn't you like to find out?" The thief snarked
"What are you doing with all this dust." Weiss demanded, "This is much dust is enough to wage war against a nation."
"Hmm, I wonder what am I doing with all this dust," Torchwick stated with a grin.
Yang looked at the train that the White Fang was using, it was packed to the brim with Dust, but it looked like they were trying to deliver it somewhere, wait…
"Professor Oobleck," Yang asked as she turned towards her teacher, "Do these tunnels lead to Vale?"
"It's Dr. Oobleck," Oobleck barked, "And yes indeed they should, these tunnels were originally constructed to get people to and from Vale rather quickly…wait Miss Xiao-Long you don't mean?" He asked as his voice turned serious.
"I think I know what he plans on doing with this dust," Yang grimly replied.
"What are you guys talking about," Weiss asked confused about what the two were talking about.
"Miss Schnee, there is enough dust on there to blow a rather sizable hole into many things," Dr. Oobleck explained, "And if Miss Xiao-Long's hypothesis is to be believed then the destination of this train is meant to be for Vale."
Weiss's and Blake's face paled as they realized what their Professor was talking about.
"Are you crazy!" Blake asked as she turned toward the criminal himself, "Why would you want to blow a hole straight into Vale!"
"Hmm, I wonder why," Torchwick mockingly replied, "That's for me to know and for you to never find out."
"Too bad we are going to stop you," Yang snarked, "And we aren't going to let that train hit Vale."
"Hmm is it your best interest to stop me though?" Torchwick asked mockingly, "There does seem to be one of you missing, I wonder where's Little Red?" He mockingly asked as he put a finger on his chin.
"What did you do to my sister!" Yang shouted as her eyes turned to red.
"Ohh, whatever could you mean?" Torchwick said in feign surprised, "I don't possibly know where that nosy, brat that caused a ruckus in the base is."
"I swear if you did anything to hurt her I will tear your head off."
"Now is that the way to repay me?" He asked sardonically, "After all, I am the reason she's not 10 feet under right now."
"Wha-what do you mean?" Yang asked in confusion, "What did you do to her?" She then demanded.
"Yang don't let him get to you," Blake said as she put a hand on Yang's shoulder, "He's just trying to get under your skin".
"Yes, Miss Xiao-Long do not let your enemy get in your head." Dr. Oobleck said.
"Ohh, I'm not trying to do anything," Torchwick chipped in, "I'm just telling the truth."
"Where is my sister!" Yang demanded, "Give her back!"
"If you are looking for that little nuisance than look up," A voice suddenly rang out.
A face suddenly appeared on the tv in the room, it was a Bull Faunus with red hair wearing a white mask.
For some reason, the sight of this man seemed to cause Blake to tremble in fear.
"Adam," She cried out, "What are you doing here!"
"Blake," He replied back courteously, "It's good to see you again, especially how well our goodbye went last time."
"Wait Adam," Yang asked in confusion, "Like Adam Taurus?"
Blake nodded in apprehension.
"Wait...is this the terrible ex that you were talking about last night?" Weiss asked as well.
Blake sighed "…Yes."
"Wait you dated Adam Taurus?" Yang asked in bewilderment.
"Wow, Kitty Kat," Torchwick whistled, "You sure know how to pick them."
In the background, Adam seemed to start to get a little angry.
"Why him?" Yang asked ignoring the thief, "Like you are a beautiful girl I'm sure you sure had better options."
"Clearly she doesn't have the best taste in men," Weiss snarked, "When that ruffian Sun isn't the worst choice of romantic partners in life, something went wrong."
"Miss Belladonna, while you are free to choose whoever you like as a romantic partner, may I recommend that you don't choose someone with such an unsavory reputation next time." Dr. Oobleck said putting a hand on the shoulder of Blake as if to comfort her.
"Please…Stop," Blake groaned as she put her face in her hands.
"ENOUGH!" Adam screamed, "DO NOT IGNORE ME!"
Their attention on Blake soon shifted back to the screen.
"What are you doing here Adam?" Blake yelled recovering from her embarrassing incident, "Why are you working with Torchwick?"
"Working with is a bit too strong of a phrase," Torchwick interrupted, "It's more like we have similar goals"
"As the thief said I am doing this for a goal, the one you betrayed," Adam said angrily, "To bring the Faunus to their rightful spot."
"Adam, that's not right!" Blake protested, "The White Fang's violence will only bring more violence, not equality!"
"Who said anything about being equal?"
Blake paled from the man's response.
"Well say what you want," Yang confidently stated, "But we will stop you and that train."
"Oh yes, you may be able to stop the train," Adam replied, "But at what cost?"
"What do you mean?" Yang asked not liking the feeling in her stomach.
"Don't you need to save your teammate?" He asked as he suddenly revealed a tied-up Ruby.
"Ruby!"
"Yang!"
"That is quite a conundrum," Torchwick mocked, "You can save Little Red, or you stop this train, though I should say boarding time is coming up soon, I do look forward to your decision."
Torchwick soon left them to stew in their decision as he went into the train
"What should we do?" Blake shouted.
"Don't worry about me!" Ruby cried, "Go stop the train."
"Enough out of you!" Adam said as he knocked Ruby out,
"Ruby!" Yang screamed as her eyes turned red again.
"I promise you Blake if you don't come to me this will be the last you see of her," Adam said as his attention turned back towards their Cat Faunus.
And with that, the video closed.
"What should we do?" Weiss asked in a panic.
"We can't just let that train hit Vale!" Blake argued.
"We can't leave Ruby to die," Yang argued.
"What if we split up?" Weiss suggested as they were deliberating.
"That may not be a wise idea Miss Schnee," Professor Oobleck commented, "If we split up to fulfill both objectives we won't have the power to fulfill either."
Yang was conflicted, she wanted to save Ruby…but if they let that train hit vale, then her sister would never forgive her.
"I'm going to save Ruby!" Yang said with conviction, "I won't lose my sister."
She'd rather have a Ruby who would never talk to her again over a Ruby who'd she never see again.
"I agree," Weiss said without hesitation "It'd dirty the Schnee name if I let my partner die."
"I will choose to go wherever my students go," Dr. Oobleck said, "What about you Miss Belladonna, what do you choose?"
"Guys, even if we go to Ruby we may not even be able to save her!" Blake protested, "You don't know how strong Adam is!"
"I don't care!" Yang shouted, "I won't lose my sister!"
"…ok," Blake said as she gave up.
The train soon started to leave, Yang could feel a twinge of regret as it began to move, how many lives would she be sacrificing to save her sister.
No, she couldn't think about that now, all that mattered was saving Ruby.
She stared down at the enemy in the room ready to go through them to reach her sister.
She hoped she made the right choice.
"Arf! Arf! Arf!" Zwei suddenly started to bark crazily.
"What's up with Zwei?" Weiss asked as she looked at the dog.
Yang wasn't quite sure what was up with him, he looked…scared?
She had never seen him look that scared before, and Zwei had been through a lot with dad.
All of a sudden Blake fell onto the ground shivering.
"Miss Belladonna are you ok?" Professor Oobleck asked as he went to comfort his student.
"I-I-I don't know." Blake said in a scared voice, "It-it just feels like something big is coming."
Yang started to notice that it wasn't just Blake who seemed scared out of her mind, the remaining White Fang members in the room also seemed to shiver as well.
Yang raised an eyebrow at this…What was going on?
Suddenly Yang could feel it, a feeling of dread, something was approaching…something powerful…something dangerous.
Whatever it was it seemed to now affect Weiss as she suddenly dropped her weapon.
Even Professor Oobleck was getting affected as it seemed like his hand was trembling.
Yang could feel it start to get close as she readied Ember Celica, whatever it was be it Grimm or some other monstrosity if it stood in her way of saving Ruby, she would beat it.
*BOOM! *
A loud explosion soon filled the room as dust filled Yang's sight.
"Yang, Blake Weis, Professor Oobleck?" a familiar voice rang out, "What are you guys doing here?"
"It's Dr. Oobleck!" The teacher yelled out
"Sorry Doctor, force of habit," The figure apologized.
As the dust finally settled Yang was finally able to see she recognized who it was.
"Mori!" She shrieked,
"What are you doing here," Blake asked as she finally recovered.
"I got a call that Ruby was in trouble," he stated, "Came here as quick as possible."
"Did you bring reinforcements?" Weiss asked as she picked up her weapon.
"Reinforcements…what reinforcements?"
"You Buffoon," Weiss angrily responded, "Reinforcements from the Bullhead you took to get here."
"Bullhead," Mori responded confusion, "I didn't take a bullhead to get here."
"Then how'd you get here," Yang asked.
"I ran here as quick as possible."
"You ran?" Blake asked in disbelief.
"I ran." He confirmed
"Mr. Jin," Dr. Oobleck asked as he adjusted his glasses, "You do know the distance between Vale and Mt. Glenn, and what are you saying…correct?"
"Yes, it was very far."
Weiss looked like she wanted to retort but she couldn't get a word out.
"So, what's going on?" Mori asked.
As Professor Oobleck started to explain to Mori the situation, Yang narrowed her eyes at her friend.
He was breathing heavily, as if he just ran a marathon, no way…did her really?
Wait, now that Yang noticed, the oppressive feeling she was feeling earlier was gone.
Yang took a look at Zwei as she realized the dog was backing off…that was strange, normally he'd be barking like mad at Mori.
…Was Mori the source of that fear she was experiencing earlier…no, that couldn't be it…right?
"So, the solution's easy." Mori said as Professor Oobleck finished explaining, "You guys chase after that train I go get Ruby."
"It's not as easy as you are saying," Blake argued, "Adam is really dangerous."
"Not to me."
His response sent chills throughout the room.
No one seemed to want to challenge Mori's assertation.
"You guys go ahead and catch that train," Mori said as he pointed a finger at a lingering vehicle.
Yang could tell that what he was saying was not a suggestion, and right now the atmosphere in the room was one where no one wanted to argue with him.
"Now hold on," A white fang grunt interrupted, "If you think we are going to let you chase after that train you have another thing coming."
Mori was silent as he stared at the room full of enemies.
*boom*
Yang rubbed her eyes unsure what she was seeing, the room full of guards was now filled with bodies lying on the ground in pain.
The only evidence of an attack being performed was Mori lifting his leg like he just finished performing a kick.
"What the hell!" Weiss cried out in fear.
In an instant, Mori whipped out every in the room with no effort whatsoever.
"Go," He said in a firm tone as he lowered his leg.
Blake, Weiss, and Professor Oobleck nodded immediately as they made their way to the vehicle.
Even Zwei seemed to obey Mori's commands without question.
Yang lingered unsure if she should go with him.
"Don't worry Yang, I will save her." He said in a soft tone.
"When you find her…give her this," Yang said as she threw Crescent Rose to Mori."
Mori nodded as he caught, after securing it on his back he began to go deeper into the base.
As she watched him sprint deeper into the base only one thought occupied her mind.
"And I thought I was scary when I was mad."
"What the fuck is this Monster?"
"Someone stop, Him!"
"The FANGINATOR is here!"
"Stop calling him that!"
Ruby was woken immediately by the cries of screaming men.
Looking around she realized she was in the room full of dust where she got captured.
It was filled to the brink with not only men but a couple of paladins as well.
Ruby flinched as a guard was sent flying near her.
Suddenly as if it were by instinct Ruby started to tremble.
Something was approaching, even Adam himself was looking unnerved.
"Hold your positions!" One of the leaders yelled, "When he gets to the end of the tunnel we fill him with dust."
Ruby strained her eyes trying to figure what was coming.
It was a figure in the tunnels, Ruby wasn't quite sure what it was, but the White Fang seemed to be very afraid of it right now.
"Fire!" One of the White Fang commanders shouted as they unleashed their weapons on the figure.
Bullets soon started to fill the tunnel as it was filled with a cloud of dust.
"Did we get him!" A Grunt yelled.
"I'm not sure!" Another one yelled back.
"No…you missed," A familiar voice spoke from the debris.
As if a bolt of lightning struck, a section of the room was blown away in an instant.
"Get the paladins!" One of the White Fang members yelled as they activated the robots to fire at the introducer.
"Take this you monster!" One of the pilots yelled as he fired missiles at the intruders.
In a familiar clean motion, the figure caught the missile and redirected straight back into the paladin.
Another Paladin tried to smash the figure down with its weight but it was no use as the intruder caught the giant metal fist with his hand.
"What the Fuck are you!" The pilot screamed as the intruder destroyed the second paladin with a kick.
…a Kick?
"Mori!" Ruby shouted as she recognized who was fighting
"Ruby!" He shouted back with relief, "What happened!" He shouted back as he dodged an attack from a Fang and struck him in the neck, the back, and the leg.
The grunt collapsed in an instant.
"I got captured!" Ruby shouted back
"I know!" He yelled back in annoyance as he made quick work of another grunt by kneeing him in the face, "That's why I'm here!"
"Do not ignore me!" Adam suddenly yelled next to Ruby, "I am sick of people ignoring me!"
"I'm sorry do I know you?" he asked with a clueless face.
"He's the guy who captured me!" Ruby yelled back.
A suffocating pressure suddenly filled the room as Mori's face turned from relief to cold.
"I see…" he muttered.
His focus now on Adam, the boy started to walk where Ruby and Adam were, ignoring the grunts who he had just been fighting.
"His back is turned get him!" A Fang member yelled as they struck Mori behind his back.
This action was met with a shattering sound…of the guard's weapon.
"Why does Mori dodge," Ruby thought to herself, "Most of those weapons can't hurt him."
"What the fuck are you!" The Fang member said as he looked at his weapon.
The Faunus's question was met with a swift kick to the face.
"Someone stop, him!" One of the guards screamed.
It was no use as Mori slowly made his way to Ruby mowing through guard after guard like they were nothing to him.
"Stop!" Adam commanded, "I will take care of him personally."
Ruby swore she heard this before.
Like Deja vu, a path opened up between the two, as the grunts got out of the way.
Drawing his sword, Adam walked towards Mori ready to fight him.
Finally reaching each other the two stopped and stared at each other.
"I'd like to formally introduce myself to you," Adam started, "My name Is Adam Tau—"
Adam's introduction was interrupted by Mori smashing him in the face with his fist.
"You, dare!" Adam sputtered, "I—oof!"
Adam couldn't get a word in as Mori started to savagely beat him with every single punch, knee strike, elbow strike, and Kick that Ruby had learned from him.
"Should…should we do something?" One of the guards asked nervously.
"…Do you really want to get in the middle of that?" The other guard replied sarcastically.
The room was frozen with fear as Mori continued his savage beating of their leader.
Fist met gut, knee met spleen, foot met head, it'd be easier to count the parts of the body where Mori hadn't struck.
The beating went on for about a minute before Mori finally took a break.
"You," Adam sputtered as Mori "I will make you—oof"
"I really don't care."
The break was over as Adam was once again interrupted by Mori kneeing him in the stomach and part two began.
Once again, fist met gut, knee met spleen, foot met head…like before it would've been easier to count the parts of the body where Mori hadn't struck.
Ruby could only watch in horror at this one-sided beatdown, why didn't he just knock out Adam, he had the strength to do it, he was intentionally holding back to inflict as much pain on the Faunus as possible.
"Hah, hah," Adam heavily breathed as Mori once again stopped.
"Jin Mori Original" The boy calmly stated as he got into his stance.
Ruby could feel the air pressure gather around him as a dragon formed behind him.
"BLUE DRAGONS KICK!"
He then fired off the dragon as Adam desperately tried to block it with his sword.
*Boom*
It was no use as the Man was sent flying through the walls of the cavern.
"EVEN ADAM WAS NO MATCH FOR THE FAUNUS SLAYER"
"FEAR THE FANGINATOR!"
"EVERYMAN FOR HIMSELF!"
"RUN"
The packed room was suddenly empty as the Fang started to run away.
Mori made his way over to Ruby.
"Let her go." He stated when he reached her.
The guards obeyed immediately as if they were commanded by a king.
After they released her they immediately ran out of the room.
Ruby could only stare at her friend in shock.
The warmth he usually had in his eyes was completely gone.
As he reached out to her she backed away quickly flinching from her.
She soon his arms around her.
"You're ok," Mori whispered in her ear, "I am so glad you are ok."
Ruby wasn't quite sure how to feel, on one hand, she was glad that she was rescued by her the other…
She had never seen such a brutal side to her friend before…
It was like watching a demon rampage.
"Let's get back to the others," he said as he let her go and reached his hand out to her.
Ruby nodded.
"I believe you are missing this," Mori stated as he pulled Crescent Rose from behind his body.
"Ohh, Crescent Rose," Ruby cried as she grabbed her weapon, "I've missed you so much." She said as she startled to hug the weapon.
"Make sure not to lose it next time," Mori said in a serious tone.
"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!" A voice yelled out before Ruby could answer.
A loud explosion filled the room.
Red soon filled Ruby's eyes as she felt blood splatter across her.
She soon realized that the blood wasn't hers.
"Mori!" She screamed as she watched her friend slump down a pool of blood forming from where he fell.
How could this happen?
"Hah, that's, hah, what you get."
Ruby turned around to see where the source of the strike came from.
It was a heavily injured Adam with his mask broken off and his clothes completely destroyed.
"How!" Ruby screamed, "How are you still conscious!"
"Hah, That, hah, fool underestimated me," Adam said as he staggered towards them.
Ruby activated Crescent Rose, ready to defend her friend from the Faunus.
"Hah Do hah do you really think you can stop me," Adam said in a labored tone as he brought up his sword.
"It can't hurt to try," Ruby retorted, "I'm up for a round 2."
She needed to get Mori help quickly, his wounds looked really bad.
"How did you hurt Mori?" Ruby asked, she needed to be careful, if Adam was able to harm Mori he must have had a lot of power behind him.
"My hah, semblance," Adam stated as he continued to stagger over, "It allows me to absorb power with my sword and hah and return it with more power."
That was a dangerous semblance, no wonder Adam was able to hurt Mori when conventional ways couldn't.
"So that's why I got hurt," A voice next to Ruby said, "It was my own power."
Ruby looked over in shock as she watched her friend who was supposed to be near death's door get up.
"How!" Adam screamed, "How can you still move!"
"I've taken a lot worse."
"DIE!" Adam screamed as he rushed the two.
Mori sidestepped the rampaging bull, grabbed his horn, and with all his force smashed Adam's face with his knee.
*SNAP*
"AGHH!" Adam shouted in pain, "My Horn! HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO ME!"
"It's just a horn."
"JUST A HORN!" Adam screamed back, "IT'S NOT JUST A HORN!"
"Oops," Mori said as he looked at the black horn with indifference, "Sorry about that."
"MORI JIN!" Adam screamed, "I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!"
His scream was met with a swift kick to the face sending him sprawling to the ground
"Let's see if you can absorb this," Mori calmly replied as he got into position.
In an instant, Mori fired off a Recoilless Kick.
The space between the two bent as Adam tried to block the kick and absorb the blow, but it was no use as Adam's sword shattered and the Bull Faunus was sent flying
"AGGH!" The Bull Faunus screamed as he was sent flying through several walls.
Mori stumbled to his knee, breathing heavily as the sounds of Adam's screams died out.
"Mori!" Ruby asked as she rushed to him, "Are you ok?"
"Hah… I'm …ha fine," He replied with a labored breath.
"We need to get you help!" Ruby said as she looked for bandages to wrap him up.
"Hah, I hah should be hah fine." He responded, "…We need to get back to Vale." He said in a serious voice as he caught his breath.
Ruby could only stare at him as she watched him get up.
"Let's go to the others," he stated, "This cavern won't last long especially with how much fighting has gone on."
He then made his way out of the room.
Ruby nodded as she followed him.
Looking behind she watched the room they were fighting in collapse on itself crushing everything in it.
"Is everything ok?"
Ruby once again flinched from Mori's question.
She couldn't help but jump back in a bit in fear.
"I'm ok…"
"Good, let's get going."
Aggh what was up with her?
She wasn't sure how to feel right now.
She was glad he was ok and was grateful that he saved her but…
That heroic image she usually had of him wasn't appearing.
Instead, it was the visage of something else.
Hey Guys TMT here again, I hope you guys like the chapter, normally I 'd do a section addressing reviews, but this week has been pretty hectic, so I don't have time the to.
