Winter Schnee was setting up the table waiting for her sister to finish up in the shower. They had no idea of the events that were about to unfold in their quiet little corner of the world. It would be almost thirty minutes before Sun would make the fateful decision to betray Adam, and it would be almost another fifteen before Scarlet and Sage's attacks would fail. Fate was as always a bitch like that.

Winter and Weiss wouldn't be ready for what was about to happen next.

"Hey Weiss, are you almost done in there?" Winter would call out to her sister as she was waiting on her boyfriend to show up with the take out they had ordered.

She was in the mood for Teriyaki, and the restaurant in the next town over made California rolls just the way Weiss liked them. Tukson was partial to their orange chicken or the sweet and sour pork.

"This is nice, just living a quiet life with my sister and boyfriend," Winter thought as she walked into the living room and sat down on the couch to watch some TV. She switched the station to the local news just in time for a segment on the "Psycho stalker" in the area that broke out of prison less than a week ago now and was terrorizing the local town.

"Police still have no leads to the whereabouts of Adam Taurus tonight, it has only been three full days since the brutal murder of Anabelle Taurus that left the small community she called home reeling from her passing," The impassive voice of the newscaster said as Winter passively watched.

"They need to hurry up and catch that bastard, '' Weiss said from the hall wearing little more than a towel as a second towel was wrapped around her hair to dry it off. Winter was not expecting her sister to pop out when she did which caused her to jump in her seat.

"You won't get much of an argument from me, Weiss," Winter said as she coughed lightly in her seat trying to shake off the sudden onset of nerves.

"Hey, are you okay Winter?" Weiss asked as a look of concern crept onto her face.

"Yeah, don't worry about me," Winter said as she reached for the remote to change the channel on the TV.

"The news is getting to you as well huh?" Weiss said.

"Is it that obvious? I mean, your girlfriend is the psychopath's target right?" Winter said.

"Yeah…" Weiss said solemnly.

"I'm going to be worried about you and Blake until they catch him," Winter sighed out as she leaned forward in her seat. "Sorry, but you're my little sister, you know I worry about you all the time, especially because mom can't be bothered to give a crap about you…"

"God, don't remind me of that… I could give less of a crap about mom at this point…" Weiss said as she walked towards her room to get dressed.

Shortly after Winter heard the door to Weiss's door latch shut she heard a knocking on the front door.

"Well he's early," she said as she peeked out of the front window not seeing his Tukson's car.

The person on the other end pounded on the door harder causing winter to jump. When she saw Weiss poke her head out the door and look at Winter. Winter gestured to her to go hide just before the pounding on the door became violent, rattling the door on its hinges.

"Go hide and call the police." Winter loudly whispered as the door began to creak from the force of the blows beating down on it.

"You're going to need me." Weiss mouthed as she ducked down low at the far end of the hall.

"You can't even stan-'' Winter started to say before another hit against the door causing the wood of the door to noticeably splinter from the force. "We don't have time to argue, go hide, close the door and hide."

Weiss started to tear up and choked out a mournful sounding "I… I love you…"

Winter said as another crash against the door said: "I love you too."

Weiss rushed into her room and closed the door and slipped under her bed.

Winters last thought before the door exploded off its hinges was "God I hope she makes it out of this"

Winter watched as a red-headed youth stepped through the broken door with a wide grin on his face "What's a wrong bitch, you didn't hear me knock?"

Winter reached over and grabbed the nearest weapon she could find, a table lamp before she growled: "You weren't welcome here asshole!"

"Now that's just hurtful, say you wouldn't have a younger sister around here would you?" Adam said with a twisted chuckle "I got a bone to pick with her… Like her Tibia… Or her spleen. Wait that's not a bone." Adam continued with a chuckle.

"Fuck you." Winter spat out.

"Well…" Adam reached behind his back and pulled out his long knife with a sadistic giggle "Since your offering."

The pair circled each other "I do hope no one is trying to call the police, they'll just be disappointed, I cut the phone line before I let myself in." Adam said with a smirk.

Winter's eye betrayed her for a moment, flashing wide as Adam laughed and he charged in Swinging his knife at Winter. It was all Winter could do to step back swinging the lamp as she retreated towards her kitchen.

Adam laughed as he swatted the lamp aside and stabbed forward grazing Winter's shoulder. When Winter didn't scream out he scoffed "Oh do cry out, maybe someone will hear you and come running"

Winter gave up on the lamp tossing it at Adam who batted it aside as she made her way into the Kitchen. Winter grabbed one of the dining room chairs and swung it at Adam who simply braced and let it break against him.

"Oh I actually kinda felt, but you're not a fighter, you're not a warrior like I am!" Adam shouted as he continued his unbroken march closing the gap towards Winter. "You are powerless to stop me!"

Winter managed to grab the filthy pot she boiled spaghetti noodles from the night before in and swung it at Adam catching him briefly off guard and knocking his head aside. Adam's response was to laugh as Winter swung and connected several more times against Adam's body with the pot.

Eventually, it stopped being funny and Adam batted the pot out of winter's hand before backhanding her against the wall. The next thing Winter would feel is the bite of the knife as Adam rammed it into her shoulder before he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the counter, knocking the air from her lungs from the brutal force of the blow.

Winter screamed and cried out, she couldn't stop herself from crying out as the pain bled out of her. "Fuck you!"

Adam laughed and leaned in close to her ripping the knife out and pressing a finger into the stab wound. "Don't threaten me with a good time, I might be aiming to take you up on the offer."

Winter felt him press a finger into her shoulder wound causing her to scream out before another sharp pain exploded from her side. Adam snickered and spoke out "That's what I wanted, I wanted to make it hurt, I want you to be afraid, you're going to die here in your kitchen, and then I'm going to tear the house apart to find your sister and do this to her as well."

"Sh-She's... She's not here" Winter cried out as the knife twisted and was torn out of her side and as the burning agony of Adam's thumb being forced into the hole in her shoulder threatened to overwhelm her.

"Well if she's really not here, I'll have to have my fun with you then," Adam said as he leaned in close and pressed against her. "I got plenty of time before I'm going to hit the next house on the block anyways."

Winter started to scream again as Adam began to dig his thumb deeper into her shoulder…


It would almost be a half-hour later before Adam left, and another ten minutes before Weiss was feeling brave enough to come out of her hiding spot… She managed to find a pocket knife Blake left at her house after one of her visits and held it out in front of her as she limped down the hall.

It didn't take long to find her sister…

Winter laid, covered in blood, her clothes torn and… it was clear that Adam was meticulous in torturing her sister to death.

Weiss could still hear the screams in her ears. She had tried to call for help, she tried calling 911. But the goddamn phone lines were out. "Winter… Why… Why didn't you let me fight with you…" Weiss said as she cried out in agony. Looking outside she saw a car pulling up.

"Tukson! Help me!" Weiss cried out as the large sideburned man came stomping in "If you have your cell phone we need to call the police!"

"Oh.. Oh my god what happened here?" Tukson said dumbfounded as he dropped the containers of Chinese food on the ground.

Weiss stomped up and hugged Tukson crying "Just call the fucking police, Blake is going to be next!"

Tukson mechanically pulled his phone out "I got your back okay? I'll take care of you" Tukson repeated like a mantra as he fumbled with his simple cell phone and forcing himself to not look at his now slain girlfriend.

Weiss tried to get it together for long enough to go and get a blanket to cover her sister with.

Afterward, she found a spot to sit down in the living room. On the floor,, as she missed the couch and cried. Her screams would carry into the night…


A few houses down Jaune while Ruby and Blake were watching a movie in her room Jaune had stepped out to respond to a text message from his mother.

In all caps the text read 'HOUSE WAS ATTACKED, ALAN WAS HURT, SISTER AND I FINE, POLICE ON WAY TO YOU, STAY HIDDEN.'

Jaune looked at the text in disbelief as he texted back. 'Is everyone else okay?'

'IT'S BAD, WE KNOW PENNY IS OKAY, YANG AND NEPTUNE ATTACKED AND HURT, JUST STAY HIDDEN' His mother replied back in a text.

Jaune's heart sank and the color fled his face. A thousand thoughts went through his head. He took a deep breath as he heard a loud thud on the outside door.

"He's here…" Jaune thought "God… that means he was at Weiss's house…"

As he stepped into the bedroom he walked up to where Blake and Ruby had stopped the movie they were watching and were singing back and forth to each other about the noise they heard.

Another loud thuds and shouts echoed out throughout the house…

[It's him… isn't it?] Ruby said flinching from the noise and vibrations every time an impact hit against the door.

"We can't fight him… dear god, I've killed you both.." Blake whispered out with a sob.

Jaune's head turned towards the bad leaning in the corner he had been seeing it all day…

[Jaune, no, you can't go out there and fight him!] Ruby signed.

Jaune shook his head as the sound of the blows against the front door was joined by a deranged voice called out for Blake. [We don't have a choice… Look, His goons attacked my family's house…]

Blake sobbed out "Oh god no… please tell me everyone is okay…"

Jaune signed. [Alan was hurt, I got the impression it was bad.] Jaune reached out and grabbed the bad, [I'll make that bastard pay for that, but I need you both to escape while I distract him.]

[What the fuck happened to the cop that was outside?] Ruby signed out.

[Look I don't know Ruby, but I won't let him do what he wants to you both okay?] Jaune signed out as he gritted his teeth.

"We can't run from him…" Blake sobbed out.

[We can try…] Ruby signed to Jaune with one hand as she hugged Blake close to her. [Be careful goddammit… you don't get to die for me.]

[I'll be right behind you.] Jaune signed as he picked up the bat [Get her safe… that's why we came over.]

As the pounding against the door intensified, Jaune walked down the hall gripping the bat tightly in his hand feeling the cool wood of the slugger warm in his hands as his grip tightened around the bat.

Every battle he's ever been in flashed through his mind. Every single thrown punch and fight he's ever been in from his elementary school days to the day he protected Pyrrha for the first time and beyond rushed into his memories. As his hands clenched around the bat, as the pounding on the door eventually gave way to a scream as the sounds of gunshots into the oak that momentarily caused Jaune to flinch.

At that moment the world shrank to the exact dimensions of the Belladonna Living room. Adrenaline began to course in Jaune's veins as Jaune's focus on the moment took center stage.

The universe contained exactly two people in it, and one of them was not leaving this house alive. Jaune slapped the bat in his hand as he stood glaring at the front door to the home. The door weakened from the abuse, started to give way.

Jaune slapped the oak against his palm in time to the sounds of the door being bashed open, each strike weakening the door, until a last fatal impact flung the door open.

Adam Taurus walked in, a long knife, red with blood in his hand as he silently sized up his opponent.

"So… You're going to be the first person here to die huh?" Adam said regarding Jaune.

Jaune Rested the bat on his shoulder for a moment and flicked two fingers at Adam as if to say "Bring it on."

Adam started walking towards Jaune with murder in his eyes…


So this was another one of those "Toe the line chapters" for the sheer senseless brutality of Adam's actions. but here we are, on the cusp of what the last ten nine chapters have built up towards, a final confrontation against Adam Taurus. We now know what Adam will do to both Ruby and Blake if he get's their hands on them, but what is he going to do to Jaune first?

As we know life comes at you fast though and the flow of the story can change dramatically over time, this is one of those times.

I got to be honest, I don't have a lot of comments about the comments this time. Dragonlord, sorry I got real tempting to skip this chapter to get the Belladonna home invasion started this chapter, but I realized the entire end scene wouldn't mesh well at the start of the chapter as I conceived it to be a chapter closing moment. Also yeah to EmperorCookies, I was actually thinking about this scene when I read your comment a couple chapters back with a rather evil grin on my face since I knew this scene was coming up.

In any rate, rest in peace Winter, thank's again for reading, and i'll see you all next time.