AN: Hey everybody, wanted to give a heads up that I've decided on the final team member as well as the semblance for Amber. I'm going with the suggestion of 'compound' from Wolveblade. For the final team member I'm going with Melanie Malachite (the one in white who fights with kicks for those who don't remember which Malachite is which) and her semblance is already picked out too.

AN2: Also, I'm going to make Jaune's semblance a little more realistic for its healing. It can still heal but being able to bring Weiss back from the brink of death in seconds on his first try? Near fatal injuries will take more time to heal.

Second Coming of the Reaper

Chapter 5

-Adam-

Gasping for air, Adam shot up, his wounds protesting but not with the screaming fury he expected from the condition he remembered being when he crawled from the river. Blinking spots from his eyes, Adam noted that he was laying on a cot with bandages around his wound which felt at least partially healed. "Hey, you're up." Looking over, Adam saw a blonde man washing his hands at a sink, bloody bandages laying nearby the man. "I'd suggest taking it easy, you were touch and go for awhile there and your wounds haven't fully healed."

"Who are you?" Adam demanded, "Where am I?" he didn't recognize the building they were in nor did he recognize the man with bloody clothes who stood across from him. He didn't show any noticeable Faunus traits, but Adam was more than aware that many were hidden.

"Name's Jaune," the now named blond told him without even batting an eye at Adam's tone, "and you're in a Hunter's Lodge in the Emerald Forest. Now that you're up I'm going to need you to drink this." The man pulled out a bottle of some sort of liquid.

"No." Adam backed away from the vial as best as he could with his back to a wall.

"I'm not going to poison you after I spent all that time healing your ass and ruined my clothes by getting them covered in blood." Jaune deadpanned but, when Adam kept his eyes narrowed in suspicion, sighed and popped open the bottle to drink some. "Better?"

"What is this?" Adam took the bottle warily and sniffed it.

"I call it King's Foil elixir." Jaune explained, "A friend of mine back home, Tony, was a Faunus and kept doing stupid shit and got hurt. He was a hunter training dropout, so he had aura and that made him reckless sometimes. We found an herb that we dubbed the King's Foil which helped a Faunus' Aura replenish. Doesn't do jack for humans sadly but hey, what can you do." Jaune shrugged "My semblance helped stabilize you and I bandages those wounds, but my abilities work best if you already have at least some Aura to work with. I should be able to get you moving again once you drink that."

Adam had been studying Jaune the entire time the blond was talking and couldn't find any sign the man was lying which, when paired with the earlier point of why poison Adam after going through all the trouble of saving him, caused the Bull Faunus to sigh. "Very well." He grumbled before drinking the potion down, grimacing at the taste even as he felt his aura begin to spark and replenish faster.

"Thank you!" Jaune sighed before holding out glowing white hands, ones he now recognized as the sight he had seen when he went under. As the hands came close the glow went from Jaune to Adam himself as he gasped, feeling his returning Aura swell greater than it ever had before. His skin began to itch and tingle as he felt his wounds stitching themselves closed. The entire time, Jaune didn't speak, his eyebrows knit together with intense focus as the man worked on healing him. "There, that should do it." Jaune grunted, rising up and cracking his back, "There are some sweatpants and shirt in that dresser you can wear." Jaune nodded to said container, "I'm going to go let my partner know you're stable."

"Why." Adam only realized he was the one to say that when Jaune turned from the door and raised an eyebrow in question, "I'm a Faunus, why help me?" was the man a Faunus? Did he want something? Or was he one of the rare humans he had found outside Vacuou who didn't care if someone was a Faunus.

"I'm a Huntsman." Jaune told him seriously, the man's every fiber coursing with a determination, a passion that couldn't be faked, "A Huntsman be thou for the People. My duty is to save lives where I can, to only take life in the pursuit to save more lives in the future. I wasn't about to abandon someone I found injured and dying, whether they be Faunus or Human." With that the blond turned and left Adam alone in the Cabin.

-Jaune-

"So, how's sleeping beauty?" Amber asked as Jaune stepped outside, catching the apple she tossed his way.

"Alive and stable." Jaune nodded gratefully as he took a bite of the fruit, "He woke up, so I gave him an elixir to make his Aura start regenerating faster and gave him another healing session with my semblance. He's changing into those sweats we found now."

"He say what put him in that state we found?" Amber frowned as she finished her own apple, tossing the core over her shoulder lazily.

"No but I didn't ask. He seemed surprised enough that we would even help a Faunus, so I didn't want to push things." Jaune shook his head before looking down at his blood caked clothes, "And these are ruined now too, wonderful."

"I know a guy who can get you some new duds." Amber smirked, "Something a little sharper than jeans and a hoodie too."

"Hey now, don't diss the hoodie. It's comfortable." Jaune teased before looking back at the cabin when he heard the door open and saw the bull Faunus stepping outside. "Hey," Jaune nodded to the man, "this is my partner Amber and…I never got your name, did I?" Jaune gave a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

"…Adam." The now named Faunus answered, "Adam Taurus."

"Well it was good to meet you Adam, despite the, um, circumstances." Jaune winced at how that sounded, thankful Adam just gave a short nod. The man's guarded attitude one he recognized from several Faunus he had met who were wary of discrimination.

"We're heading into Vale proper; do you need a lift?" Amber asked, "I need to get Jaune new clothes."

"I…would appreciate a ride." Adam nodded, "I would need to acquire a new weapon in Vale anyway."

"Are you a huntsman?" Amber asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity and Jaune instantly knew she was evaluating Adam as a potential third member for their team.

"I have aura, a semblance, and training." Adam dodged the question and Jaune noted Amber's eyes glow faintly. Before another question could be asked, Jaune heard a lumbering thud on the ground. Spinning, he saw an Ursa major entering the clearing, likely drawn by Adam's initial panic and fear when the man had first woken up. Amber, apparently having already been tapping into the magic of the fall Maiden, whirled as well and held her palm out towards the bear Grimm, fire flowing from her as it incinerated the Ursa with ease.

"You, you're like her." Adam snarled, now on edge.

"What are you talking about?" Amber asked him seriously, her eyes still glowing only now it was more noticeable.

"The cloaked woman." Adam snarled, moving his hand as if to grip a sword at his side, "The one who served 'Salem'. Your power is just like hers!"

"Salem has a Maiden?" Amber paled, "Fuck this is bad. This is very bad!" Amber's gaze hardened, "Adam, I need you to tell me what happened now."

When Adam remained silent and guarded, Jaune stepped forward, "Think Adam. If we worked for the people who put you in this state why would we save your life and then openly show those abilities?" that gave Adam pause as he considered the words.

"Very well. I will tell you." Adam looked ready to bolt at any moment but revealed that he was White Fang from the vale Branch, having just come to the Kingdom. How he was on a mission to rob a Schnee train when his partner abandoned him to die. How a woman named Cinder had tried to hire him to overthrow Vale and it had failed but when he returned the camp a new woman was there with powers just like Ambers. That the woman claimed the powers were a gift from a 'goddess' named Salem. And finally, Adam told about the cell's betrayal and the murder attempt.

"You were White Fang?" Jaune looked surprised, having heard that the Fang would never tolerate having a human around without making their distaste known at least. Granted he took those tales with a grain of salt, but it was still somewhat surprising.

"I fight for my people." Adam gestured to the branded and blinded eyeball with the letters SDC seared permanently into his flesh, "To stop others from suffering as I did."

"And what if I gave you a chance to do that and more?" Amber asked him, "In exchange for me agreeing to go to Beacon, Ozpin agreed to let me pick my team. I could get you enrolled in a Huntsmen Academy. Having a Hunter's License would give you at least some clout and let you start working on change. Plus I can help you with your goals in a new way. Plus, I'm part of a faction trying to stop Salem and her ilk. Work with me and you'll have your chance to deal with that group again."

"You think Beacon would allow a white fang operative into their ranks?" Adam scoffed.

"Ozpin let in that Blake girl you mentioned." Amber shrugged, pulling out her scroll where she had been looking through the first-year applicant files, "And he even knew she was White Fang when she got into Vale on that train and went straight to the Academy. He won't really have any room to protest."

"How do you know you can trust me?" Adam frowned but to Jaune, it seemed Adam wished to agree, even if just for the resources to make change and the change to get revenge on those who had tried to murder him.

"I'm a Maiden, I can actually use my power to sense if you're lying to me." Amber smirked and gestured to the glowing eyes, "I'll even tell you what I know of Salem and the war she's waged against Remnant for centuries. Now come on, you can come with us to where I was going to get Jaune his new clothes. I know a guy, Junior, who runs a club. He has some threads for Jaune and can get you a new sword until you can get one better suited to your preferences."