Please refrain from spoilers in the comments

February 6th, 2000…

In the late evening hours of the end of the school week. The dark tidings of a brutal war were about to begin, Sun Wukong sat alone in his room. He glanced at the time, it was barely seven PM.

He looked down at the revolver in his hands, six bullets, three for Penny and three for her dad.

"What the fuck am I doing, She used to be my best friend…" Sun mused as he looked the revolver over. "But I know Adam will hunt me for the rest of my days if I don't do this."

A crushing weight washed over him as nostalgic memories of better time washed over him, Childhood memories of He and penny playing video games, or exploring the local parks pretending to be on some grand adventure. He remembered the first time they saw a rabbit running around in the underbrush, or how they helped foster a pair of small kittens they had found abandoned.

Fuck, one of those cats was still alive and sleeping in his parent's bedroom, the ungrateful fuzzy shit.

A grim chuckle left out of his mouth as he thought about some of the better days they shared before he put a hand up to his face and sobbed.

Sun was terrified of Adam, he knew this. He knew Adam would kill him and his whole family. Worst of all he knew nothing could stop him, believing that in his heart that no one man could stop Adam.

He wouldn't sleep that night, he thought if he could put Penny down first and maybe, maybe if she didn't feel it…

The idea didn't stop him from spending most of the evening crying his eyes out.


[This is some absolute bullshit!] Jaune signed while looking directly at Blake as he sat on the floor of her bedroom leaning his back against her hand-carved wooden bed frame.

"What's bullshit about it?" Blake asked Jaune trying not to smirk as hard as she could.

[I mean how the fuck am I supposed to be able to maneuver through this complete web of bullshit?] Jaune signed pointing at the screen while Ruby stifled a laugh at Jaune's expense.

"I mean Sonic adventure is one of the easiest games in the franchise Jaune, I don't know how hard it is to hold the stick forward when you go through the obstacles," Blake said as she was also trying to not laugh at Jaune's failed attempt to make headway on Blake's Dreamcast game.

[I'm sorry, I'm supposed to just hold up on the stick, that's it?] Jaune signed with a look of pure frustration on his face as the Dreamcast controller sat in his lap.

[How are you so bad at these games? You seem to do well enough on the games you have at your place.] Ruby signed.

[That's because the games I have at home I've had since I was in elementary school, My mom didn't exactly have money for anything newer than my old NES] Jaune signed.

Jaune handed the controller to Ruby before signing [Alright chuckles, you go ahead and do better than!]

Ruby smirked and took the controller from Jaune as she signed with her free hand [Watch and learn scrub]

Blake leaned back in her seat next to Jaune and smiled, while she wished Weiss was here she was alright with her current company, thoughts of Adam were a million miles away as she watches Jaune simmer in faux anger at Ruby as she predictably dominated the first state of Sonic adventure.

Her father's habit of hand carving furniture really paid off, even leaning against her bed she felt relaxed and comfortable. Ruby and Jaune didn't need to know that the reason the oak of this bed smelled newer than the rest of the furniture is that she and her father chopped up her old bed and mattress and burned them in a bonfire a couple weeks after she had finally came out about what Adam was doing to her.

The fact that a few of those instances happened in her old bed made it impossible for her to get a good night's sleep. Her old bed was yet another way Adam had ruled her life. Blake always had a very strong sense of smell and sleeping in a bed that smelled like her abuser, well she spent more than a few nights sleeping on the floor.

This bed had a faint scent of Lavender shampoo and body wash. Weiss's favorite. If she was going to fall asleep to a smell she couldn't think of a better smell to sleep to.

Blake's attention was snapped back to the moment as Jaune threw up his hands in faux indignation as Ruby had just cleared the stage without taking a single hit. Ruby chuckled a bit louder than she had meant to, her Hearing aids were turned off and sitting on a nearby table. Blake knew that ruby couldn't see it because Jaunes back was towards his Ex, but he did have a faint smirk on his face as well.

Making it a point of not facing Ruby as she said this she said "Hey Jaune, how are you and Penny doing?"

Jaune glanced over his shoulder and left out a quiet chuckle realizing what Blake was doing and hand signed against his chest [I guess we're doing alright.]

"You guess you're doing alright?" Blake asked? Still looking fixed forward at the screen.

Jaune discreetly signed against his chest. [Well I mean, I won't lie and pretend that we don't have the same level of passion that I had with Ruby or even Pyrrha before that. We didn't have some dramatic confession of our feelings or anything like that, we just kinda started dating.]

"Well, not every relationship needs to start off with a big dramatic event." Blake said, "Hell Weiss and I kinda just awkwardly confessed at the wedding."

Jaune stifled a chuckled as he glanced at Ruby who was utterly glued to the game now. Before he signed [I always thought how cute it was when she checked out into a game like that.] before he shook his head slightly and signed [Well, I mean I'm happy with Penny of course. But I have to admit we don't have a whole hell out a lot in common besides both being RPG nerds.]

Blake didn't miss how his eyes lit up a bit when he talked about Ruby before she said: "Well I guess I can see where you're coming from, I mean that's not much of a foundation of a relationship, but then again you had a two-year relationship with a girl that couldn't even sign."

[True, but I'm also in a group of friends that all know at least enough sign language to carry on a conversation with.] Jaune signed [It's kinda difficult to go back to having a relationship via a notepad.]

Blake just nodded her head and said "I guess that's a fair point" Blake smirked, "So be honest, you miss her?"

[Miss who?] Jaune signed out against his chest.

Blake just nodded her head in Ruby's direction.

Jaune signed and thought it out. [Penny was there for me during a rough time. A rough time that was happening because of Ruby, she was the breath of fresh air I needed. I mean I'll be honest here, I guess that cute innocence about her was what I kinda wanted at the time. She was like a lighthouse in the churning oceans of my failing relationship with Ruby.]

Blake nodded and said, "You didn't answer my question though."

Jaune smirked [No, I guess I didn't.]

Blake shrugged and said "Well what's your answer then?" trying to push for an answer.

Blake jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder to see Ruby looking at her signing [Answer to what?]

[I was mulling over what I wanted on our pizza later on] Jaune signed back.

[How is that a debate, just get meat lovers like you always do.] Ruby signed to Jaune

[You know me so well] Jaune signed with a smile.

Blake let out a small chuckle and signed out [Sounds good, I'm not one of those girls that freak out over it just because I watched my mom hand butcher a cow the other day.]

[Your mom is awesome, it's a bummer she's not here.] Ruby signed

[If she was here I wouldn't have to worry about Adam, He would have fled to Mexico or something.] Blake said with a nervous chuckle. [I wish mom and dad were both here.]

Ruby put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. Jaune just smiled and nodded before he signed [I was eyeballing that baseball bat in your closet just in case.]

"Let's hope it doesn't come to it," Blake said feeling only a little reassured.


In another part of Town, Sage Ayana, the tall angry looking dark-skinned member of Adam's pack, was sharpening his store-bought hatchet. He was mentally preparing for the job of murdering the family of Jaune Arc, and presumably Jaune Arc himself and while Sage didn't exactly hold any kind of special grudge against the Kid. He also didn't turn down a job from his leader and long time friend.

Unlike his friend across town, Sage was a true believer in Adam, he was the only person to reach out to him in this godforsaken town even when his parents divorced. It was barely a divorce anyways, dad just went out one day, never came back and mom got the papers mailed to her from someplace in Chicago.

Fuck the old man. He didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Adam was all that mattered. Adam protected him from the bigots and bullies at school. Adam didn't turn his nose up on him as so many others did.

If you were to ask Sage, Sage would say "Yes, I will kill for this man"

Now Sage was preparing to prove just that. Tomorrow Jaune Arc and his Family dies.


Meanwhile, a few houses down the redheaded Scarlet was busy in his family's kitchen deciding on which of his father's knife collection he wanted to use to put down Yang Branwen and her mother. Scarlett once upon a time had a bit of a crush on Yang, he never approached her about it, being too scared to even consider the idea of asking the girl out.

It's not like she would have said yes anyway, the bitch.

"Hey dad, if you were going to murder some blonde slut which of these knives would you use?" Scarlett said out loud looking over at where his dad was sitting.

Scarlet's father didn't have much to say on the account that he was currently slumped over from having his throat cut.

"Fucking useless, Oh well I'll just use this one I guess," Scarlett said as he picked up a hefty looking bowie knife his father took on hunting trips. "I guess this one will do."

As scarlet put tentatively tried hanging it on his belt and putting a coat on over it to see how well he could hide it he chuckled. "Dad I think I'm going to fuck your girlfriend when she gets here, take a page from Adam's book, you cool with that?"

Scarlett's father predictably didn't answer.

"That's cool because you know what? I got tired of you bringing those bimbos you kept meeting from your college classes home, it didn't really do much from my mental state you know?" Scarlett said as he sat down next to his father. "It can drive a man crazy, after all."

Scarlett laughed in his father's face before screaming. "I mean shit, you never shared after all! I thought we were close dad!? But no, I had to settle for pining after that bitch Neptune stole from me! Maybe I'll get lucky and find that bastard at her place so I can kill him as well."

Scarlett panted and seethed for a few moments before he heard a knocking on the front door. "Well, it looks like my company for the evening has arrived," Scarlett said before he stood up and started to walk to the front door. "Good talk dad"

The bodies for his father and the unnamed college freshmen wouldn't be found for a few days...


Winter was stirring the pot of spaghetti sauce she was cooking as Weiss walked leaned on a cane she still sometimes needed when her ankle was bothering her. Their small kitchen in their home had enough room for Weiss to easily maneuver enough around in and was designed to even be able to roll a wheelchair around in more than comfortably.

A perk of her father having paid to have this house built specifically for her and Winter.

Once Weiss managed to finish setting out plates for her and her sister she sat down with a groan in one of the chairs at their kitchen table, the kitchen table set had six chairs but they never needed more than two or three, she didn't even know if all of them had been sat in yet.

"You good over their kiddo?" Winter said to her sister.

"Well besides the walls being a bit thinner than I'd like in this house I think I'm fine," Weiss said with a slight yawn.

Winter blushed before saying "Tukson and I were not any louder than you and Blake get"

Weiss chuckled as she said, "I was kidding but ew."

Winter huffed and said, "Hey the only reason I let you two get away with it under the same roof as me is that I sleep with headphones on and I don't have to worry about my kid sister getting knocked up."

"Oh? And what are you going to do Ms. former eco-terrorist when Mr. former eco-terrorist finally shoots one straight?" Weiss said with a playful smirk.

"Pass you off to the Belladonna's," Winter said as she started to serve Weiss and her Dinner.

"What you're not going to kick me back to the Arc's place?" Weiss said.

Winter chuckled "Well ain't you full of spite tonight?"

"Sorry, I guess I'm just worried about Blake is all," Weiss said as a bit of her smirk faded away.

"Hey try to not worry about it Weiss, the police have an officer in front of her house. I'm sure Adam won't try to even come within a mile of her." Winter said as she set a plate down in front of her sister.

Weiss watched her sister sit down and eat. "Yeah I know, I'm being paranoid, but we know he has friends out there as well and…" Weiss trailed off as she spoke. "Actually no... Never mind I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Yeah, I don't think anything is going to happen," Winter said with a smile.


Meanwhile standing at the end of the driveway staring through the open front windows a lone figure stared at the two sisters eating.

"Enjoy that meal, it's going to be the last you'll ever have." Adam Taurus said with a chuckle.

Adam looked down the road to where the Belladonna house sat. "Then it's a hop skip and a jump to Blakes to finish her off." Adam mused before he chuckled hard enough to put a hand on his gut before he said to himself "Oh in more than one way." Before he slipped into a half-crazed giggle.

"After all, Time is on my side," Adam said to himself. Before suppressing a laugh that would no doubt give him away.

Adam spent the next few moments watching the sisters chat with each other as the fantasy of their deaths played in his mind. Dark thoughts and even darker intents flirted with his mind before after a few silent moments he turned and started walking down the road into the night whistling "Time Is On My Side" by the Rolling Stones.


Shits kicking off with the next chapter, I have to admit this chapter required me to really push my brain to some dark places so I can get into the right mindset to write what was going to be easily the darkest chapter of the story to date from a narrative setup point of view. Scarlet, Sun, and Sage are all such minor characters that I wanted to make sure all of them got a bit of time in their heads so we all cold under what was making them tick before I unleash them on the unsuspecting core cast of the story.

Honestly this only had the one comment from Dragonlord Syed, but I saw alot of people decided to follow so I'll just say hey everyone and call this a chapter.