I really should have anticipated not being able to get this chapter out, but for whatever reason, I thought it would be totally feasible to get this done while scrambling to get all my Christmas preparations done. Not to mention, for the past five days in a row, I've been driving somewhere to see someone. I've been bouncing around my home state like a pinball. It's been a bit of a stressful week, but at least I'll have a couple days all to myself.

As for the last chapter, funny story, my outline specifically says that Pyrrha gets to live. I originally wanted to have some butterfly effect stuff going on where Pyrrha lived because Cardin's shenanigans prevented Ozpin from painting a target on her back, only for her to get taken down by Tyrian. Whoops. In fairness, Pyrrha's pretty OP, and she doesn't exactly have room to grow down the line. On the other hand, her departure, could raise all kinds of nasty emotions in Jaune's heart. Fun stuff, no?

With that done, let's take a look at reviews.

First off, for the whole Tyrian's poison thing, I could offer two different answers. The canonically accurate version says that Qrow only got a light graze, not full-on stabbed with the stinger. Pyrrha got the full dose. The non-canonical me says that I don't approve of Qrow surviving that. Qrow's dying delirium could've made for some absolutely fascinating and heart-rending moments with Ruby, not to mention, it'd make for a gut-punch for when Ruby met up with Yang, and interesting dialogue with Raven. In other words, I think it was a missed opportunity.

And to Dark Drow, the e-soup is appreciated. I guess my immune system decided to patch me up in time for the holidays.

Sorry for the wait, and Merry Christmas!

Chapter Fifty-Six: Battle Royale

"How is everything looking?" Weiss asked into her Scroll.

Ruby answered from the other end. "Everything looks normal. No one has entered or left the hall from what I've seen."

"Keep an eye on the skies," Blake added. "The White Fang might use Bullheads again."

"Will do. Stay on the call, I'll shout if I see something."

Weiss set the Scroll down on the bench, in between her and Blake. They sat in the middle of a large park, facing the west side of the building. From their spot, they kept an eye on two of the building's emergency exits, but so far, neither of them had been used.

"I still think we should be in there," Blake said. "Maybe we can stop it if we're right there."

"I'm sure Cardin would have suggested it if he thought it could work." Weiss thought for a moment and added, "He probably wanted to make sure Cinder wouldn't know we're in the area."

Blake's eyes narrowed, and her ears pressed flat against her head. "I thought you were over him."

"He isn't the person I thought he was," Weiss said icily, with a significant nod at Blake. "Not the first time I've been lied to, and not the first time I've managed to forgive them."

Blake wilted under the insult, but she pressed on. "The difference between him and I is I'm trying to help everyone. He's only interested in helping himself."

"Can we not have this discussion right now? I've had enough of this conversation with Yang all year, and I don't need it from you now."

"But Yang was right! She was right, and you're still refusing to see that!"

"And look where that got her," Weiss snapped. "Just let it go."

Blake opened her mouth to protest further, but her words were snatched up by the sudden roar of Bullhead engines. Three Bullheads hovered over the concert hall, and as they watched, an explosion ripped apart the roof of the domed building. The people in the streets screamed and ran in panic away from the attack. Within seconds, the whole park was deathly quiet, save for the low whine of Bullheads.

"Ruby, take them down!" Weiss shouted.

"There's too many people down below," Ruby shouted back. "I need a clean shot, it'll take a minute."

Blake drew her weapons and ran forward, but Weiss stopped her with a glyph. "Let me go!" Blake shouted. "We have to get in there!"

"We're Ruby's backup. What happens if she needs us and we're stuck in there?"

Ruby's voice came faintly over the Scroll. "I'm taking the shot, watch out!"

A gunshot sounded from behind them. Ruby's bullet slammed into one of the Bullhead's engines. Metal scrap flew into the air, crashing on the pavement below, as the Bullhead spun out of control. The pilot steered the Bullhead away from the building, only to impale the other engine on a light post. The craft tipped up-side-down and fell heavily onto the street, crumpled up like a soda can. Blake could hear the screams of the people trapped inside, the doors jammed by the warped framework, burning alive as the craft's Dust reserves leaked into the passengers' cabin.

"Nice shot Ruby! Can you get the other ones?"

"Team JNPR is down there, I don't want to hit them. Oh God, is Nora doing what I think she's doing?"

A moment later, Pyrrha flew into the air, flying through the hole in the roof. The rest of the team followed. Blake looked away from Jaune's flailing, screaming flight while Weiss had a giggle at her expense.

"I have visual on people leaving through the side doors, do you copy?" Ruby asked. "I'm seeing White Fang."

A small group of White Fang took off at a dead run into the streets. Without warning, Blake ran forward, leaving Weiss far behind before she caught up with an acceleration glyph.

"Where are you going?" Weiss asked. "We have to stick with Ruby!"

"That was Adam!" Blake shouted. "We have to stop him!"

"We have to stick with our team, Blake."

"Then have Ruby come with us. We'll need the support."

She ran off, leaving Weiss looking back and forth between Blake's receding figure and the bench where she had left her Scroll. With a frustrated growl, Weiss ran after Blake, hoping that Ruby had seen what had happened.

Blake and Weiss trailed the masked Faunus through twisting alleys until they came to a closed bookstore. Taurus unlocked the building and looked around before following his men inside.

"What do we do now?" Weiss asked.

"There's a back way in. Hopefully they haven't changed the codes on it."

They clambered up the fire escape and went to a hatch on the roof. Blake pried open a rusted box and punched a code in the keypad inside. The hatch popped open, revealing a vent running underneath the HVAC unit. Cobwebs shrouded the entire passageway.

Weiss recoiled from the sticky mess. "Do we have another way in?"

Blake rolled her eyes and crawled in. Weiss looked nervously down at the opening, which was far cleaner but still had bits of cobweb hanging about. She took a deep breath, shut her eyes and forced herself through the cobwebs.

When she bumped into Blake's feet, she opened her eyes again. Blake was watching something through slits in the vent.

"Blake," Weiss whispered, "What's going–"

"Ssh." Blake waited a while longer, until footsteps from below faded into the distance. Blake crawled forward and signaled for Weiss to do the same. They crawled for another twenty feet until they hit a dead end, but Blake dug her fingernails into the side of the back end and slid it aside. They dropped down into a storage closet, its brooms, mops, and cleaning supplies neatly organized but covered in a thick layer of dust.

Weiss brushed off every cobweb she could find and shuddered when she saw Blake, whose hair and bow was glossy with all the webs clinging to them. "How can you stand that?" Weiss asked.

"It's not like there were any spiders in there," Blake said. "And stay quiet. The room's soundproofed, but they'll hear us once we open the grate."

Blake peeled back a section of the wall and slid aside a metal grate, exposing a hole cut through the wall. Blake and Weiss leaned in close to listen to the White Fang members on the other side.

"Man, I can't believe this thing works! How many do you think it can control at once?"

"My sources tell me it's based on distance," Adam said. "This device can affect any Grimm within a couple hundred feet."

"How long does it last?"

"Until the orders are completed or a new one is given. There was no time limit specified, but there may be one for all we know."

Weiss was about to ask a question, but Blake slapped a hand over her mouth. She pointed at her ears and out into the room. Weiss gulped and nodded.

"There's going to be a huge Grimm coming into the city," Adam said. "We're going to wait until it appears, control it, and use it to send a message. The humans will learn that they can't mess with us, and they'll be forced to recognize Menagerie as its own kingdom. Finally, we will have equality."

Blake slid the insulation back into place. "I don't know what's going on, but whatever they have, they're planning to destroy the city. We can't let him leave."

"Shouldn't we call for backup first?" Weiss asked. "There's only six of them, but Adam's defeated some of Atlas' best Huntsmen before. We're going to need help."

"I know Adam's Semblance. So long as we don't let him block any of our attacks with his sword, we'll be fine. And besides, with Ruby on lookout, if he runs, she can take him out."

Weiss looked away. "I don't know if she's here. You ran off so quickly, I had to leave my Scroll behind."

Blake took her own Scroll out. There was a missed call from Yang, but when she tried to call Ruby, the line immediately went dead. She checked her signal and found nothing.

"Damn, this room must be insulated from the CCT towers as well."

"Then why don't we go back to the roof and try again?" Weiss asked. "Trying to do this ourselves is a really bad idea."

"We don't have time. For all we know, they might be gone before we get back down here. Not to mention, they might hear us going to the roof. We were lucky they didn't hear us coming down, the shafts aren't insulated."

Weiss bit her lip. "Okay, but if it gets too dangerous, we need to escape. I'll keep some Ice Dust ready to make a wall. If I say run, we run. Got it?"

Blake scowled, but she nodded. "Let's go."

"Wait, now?" Before Weiss could protest further, Blake had thrown open the closet door. Cursing under her breath, Weiss drew Myrtenaster and ran after her.

In the main bookstore, dust and grime coated packed bookshelves. Some shelves were knocked over, spilling their contents across the carpet, and others were broken to splinters, pages scattered across the remains like flower petals. Scratches scored one of the walls, and a dark black stain sat in front of the counter.

Six Faunus stood in a circle around that old bloodstain. As Blake sprinted towards them, they turned with surprised expressions. Weiss threw a flash of Fire Dust, blinding the group. Blake swung the blades of Gambol Shroud at Adam's neck, but he brought up his right hand, and the device he held in it, to block the blow. Blake's blades tore the device apart, scattering two cracked halves on the floor.

One of the Faunus recovered quickly and, having heard the device's destruction, looked down in dismay at the pieces. "Guys, she broke the device? What do we do now?" As they bent over, trying to salvage the remains, they looked in puzzlement at the empty halves. "There's nothing inside?"

Another masked Faunus looked down at the pieces and chuckled dryly. "Damn. Looks like we were tricked with a fake. Good thing we found out before we tried out on that giant Grimm, right?"

A third Faunus scratched their head. "That doesn't make sense. Adam used it, and it worked for him. Why would that happen?"

As the White Fang members looked around in confusion, Adam drew his sword Wilt. Weiss and Blake backed away, raising their weapons, and the White Fang snapped to attention, drawing knives and pistols.

With a flick of Wilt, Adam severed the neck of the nearest of his White Fang. His head hit the floor, and his blood enlarged the stain. The other Faunus gaped at Adam and his dripping sword.

"Your sacrifice will not be in vain, brothers," Adam told them as he slew the rest of his allies. "The Huntsmen that killed you all will be brought to justice?"

The last Faunus grunt standing, with bat ears sticking out from behind his mask, backed away with shaking legs, a pair of daggers held protectively in front of him. Adam drew Wilt back for a killing blow, but Blake's sudden bout of gun fire forced him to block with his arms. Flashes of Aura absorbed the bullets.

The bat Faunus looked back and forth between Blake and Adam. With a shaking voice, he asked, "What the hell is happening? Why is he killing us?"

"I don't know," Blake said, "But I'm not letting him get away with it." She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and said, "Get out of here. Try to find somewhere safe."

He gave a longing glance for the door, but he said, "I have to stop Adam. He can't be allowed to get away with this."

"Then be careful and don't let him block with his sword. Let us deal with him and wait for an opening."

The Faunus nodded and went behind one of the bookcases. Blake and Weiss circled around Adam and the pile of corpses at his feet.

"Is this really how far you've fallen, Adam?" Blake asked. "Killing your own people?"

"I do what is necessary, Blake. One of us has to."

"Necessary for what? Why would you kill them?"

Weiss turned one of the broken halves of the device with the point of Myrtenaster. "To cover up the deal he made. The device was a lie, meant to disguise how he's really controlling the Grimm. Do I have that right? Are you a Scarab's puppet now?"

"What's a Scarab?" Adam asked. He shook his head. "No matter. I'll deal with you soon enough, Schnee." He turned his attention back to Blake. "I'm glad we ran into each other. After what you did when you left, the people you saved alerted the authorities, and we were forced to fight our way through Atlas Specialists to get here. Many brothers and sisters died for your cowardice."

"Cowardice?" Blake snapped. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to leave everything I had ever known for the sake of people that hate me? The only thing I was afraid of was the monster you were becoming." She pointed at the bodies. "I was right to go."

"You seem to believe I do this out of some personal desire."

"Of course, just like you tortured and killed the people we captured."

"Tortured for information, and killed to send a message." Adam chuckled dryly and said, "You're weak, just like your father. We would've been ground under the heel of greedy humans years ago if he hadn't been removed from power."

Blake bristled and took a step forward, but Weiss blocked her path with her rapier. "Don't make sudden movements. The fight has already started."

Adam smiled and nodded his head at Weiss. "Blake has a habit of running right into traps. I always had my hands full making sure she didn't run off in the middle of a mission to save some stray Faunus."

Adam was cut off when Weiss flourished her rapier, scattering glyphs around her. Ice Dust wove in the air, forming a circular wall of ice around Adam. Through a hidden crevice, Weiss sent a bolt from Lightning Dust at him, but Adam redirected the shock with his sword, sending the shock into the carpet. Blake planted both blades in the ice and swung herself up over the wall, taking aim at Adam from a vantage position. With his sword planted in the floor, Adam had to take the bullets with his Aura. The bat Faunus used the opportunity to slip in to Adam's rear. Adam lashed out with his scabbard, firing a shotgun shell into the Faunus' knee. Hobbling back, the bat Faunus dropped a knife and took cover behind a bookshelf.

Blake slid down the wall and swung at Adam. She turned her blades aside before they could connect with Adam's. The cord between them looped up, snagging around Adam's head. Blake wrenched both arms back, pulling Adam forward. Weiss lunged while he was off balance, but Adam leapt, flipping forward and tangling Blake's cord. He headbutted Blake, and she dropped her weapons. With a shrug, he untangled himself from Blake's weapons and advanced.

As everyone drew back, the bat Faunus' ears perked up and swiveled around the room. "Guys, I think I just heard someone come in."

Weiss glanced around the store, but the front doors hadn't budged, and she couldn't hear anything in the vents. She looked at Blake, and Blake shrugged back.

"Are you sure?"

The Faunus glanced around, their ears twitching with disquieting precision. "It stopped the moment I mentioned they were there. I'm not sure where they are."

Blake ducked as Adam's sword clove through the ice and nearly sliced through her bow. "We can worry about it later! Right now, we need to deal with Adam."

Ice formed and shattered until the floor was coated in a thin, frosty layer, and the few standing bookshelves had been slashed and smashed into pieces, their books shoved aside to the walls by shuffling feet.

As the fight continued, their ally Faunus kept looking behind them, ears swiveling to catch imperceptible sounds coming from behind them. A loud crunch sounded from behind all of them, a sound that even Weiss could hear. All four of the fighters froze.

The Faunus shouted "Look out!" and threw himself in front of Blake, slashing out with his dagger. The air he swung through shattered, and the falling shards revealed Neo. She lunged with her umbrella, ramming the point under the bat Faunus' ribs. His Aura shattered, and blood spurted around the umbrella. He sank to his knees, clutching at the weapon as Neo yanked it out of him.

Blake backpedaled, horrified by the death before her. Grinning wickedly, Neo lunged at Blake. She lifted her weapons in a clumsy defense, but Adam raced around her, parrying the umbrella out of the way. The backswing nearly took Blake's neck, but Weiss deflected it with her rapier. Weiss and Blake backed off together, while Neo and Adam warily eyed each other from opposite corners of the room.

"Why are you here?" Adam asked Neo. In answer, Neo pointed at Blake and ran a finger along her throat. Adam stiffened, and he growled, "I'll dispose of her myself. She betrayed myself and the White Fang, and it is through me that she will face justice for that."

Neo gave him a middle finger and lunged at Blake, but Adam cut her off. Sword clashed with parasol, and Adam's weapon started to glow dully red as it absorbed the force of Neo's blows.

"This isn't good," Blake whispered to Weiss. "She's letting him charge his Semblance. We have to finish him quickly."

"Wait. We can use this."

Without waiting to explain, Weiss struck at Neo as she blocked Adam's attacks. Neo was forced to leap out of the way, wobbling as a book slid out from under her. Adam raced to take advantage of the opening, but Blake shot at his exposed back, taking more of his Aura as he pressed his attack.

The fight continued another five minutes, with either Blake or Adam coming perilously close to killing Blake only for the other to intervene, while Blake and Weiss played them off each other, exploiting the openings they were forced to leave.

Panting, Adam turned towards Neo as they had yet again broken off combat. He studied the disheveled shop and his three opponents with a scowl. "At this rate, neither of us will get our quarry," he told Neo.

Neo gave him an inquisitive tilt of her head. She propped the parasol on the floor behind her and leaned back on it, almost as though she were sitting in a chair.

"You want to kill Blake yourself." Neo nodded.

"And nothing else will satisfy you." Another nod.

Adam sighed and sheathed his sword. "Very well." Neo grinned and twirled her parasol, but Adam gestured for her to stay back. "But first, I will make Blake pay for her treachery. Since killing her is no longer an option, I suppose it would be fair enough to kill her teammate."

Drawing his sword, Adam advanced on Weiss. The heiress nervously brought up her rapier and looked back and forth between the two assailants.

"Because you left us," Adam told Blake, "Some of our members were captured by Atlas Specialists. A few died fighting them off so the rest of us could escape. I had planned on making you alone atone for that sin, but the Schnee has her own debts to pay."

Weiss took a deep breath and forced herself to stand her ground as he advanced. "I've done nothing to the Faunus," Weiss said. "My father's the one that had started the malicious labor practices that the Faunus endure. I only wish to end them."

"Empty promises do nothing to justify the thousands that have died in your mines. You've lived and dined off the blood of my brothers. Your clothes, your weapons, everything you own is tainted with the blood-soaked money your father made exploiting us. That makes you just as guilty as he is."

Before Weiss could make another retort, Adam lunged at her. They crossed blades for a few frantic seconds before Adam twisted Myrtenaster out of Weiss' hands with a twirl of his sword. Weiss ducked the first strike, but the ice under her feet made her slip. She fell against a battered bookshelf, trapped in a gap of missing books.

Blake screamed and lunged at Adam, but Neo appeared in front of her, keeping her back with her parasol. She looked over her shoulder at Adam, making sure he wouldn't attack her as she kept Blake at bay.

"I've dreamed about this moment for a long time," Adam said, "The day I finally get my revenge on the Schnees."

Weiss gasped for air and tried to push herself up, but the tip of Adam's blade was under her throat. Swallowing, Weiss asked, "Do you really think killing me will make things right? Killing me won't bring those dead Faunus back, it won't fix the labor laws or change anyone's minds."

Adam snorted. "You've lived too easy of a life. You would never understand."

He put both hands on the blade, steadying it for one clean thrust. The front windows shattered, spraying glass across the whole room. Adam whirled, getting his sword up just in time to block a gauntleted fist.

Yang shook bits of glass out of her hair and shot Weiss a grin. "Looks like someone hit the books a bit too hard. We're not even in school."

Weiss chuckled despite herself. "Be careful. They're both dangerous."

She looked around and frowned. "Where's Ruby?"

Weiss bit her lip. "I don't know. We lost contact with her before pursuing Adam. She should still be on sniper duty by the concert hall."

Yang grunted in reply and continued her assault on Adam. As each punch was blocked by a sword, the glow in Adam's sword grew stronger, until it shone like heated metal. As Blake and Neo flipped around each other, illusions shattering and vanishing as they traded blows, she yelled, "He's building energy in his sword. Don't let him use it!"

"Too late." The glow grew blindingly bright, and his sword swung out in a blinding arc. At the same moment, Yang's gauntlets let out a soft pop, and she shot upward.

Adam's slice seemed to cleave the air itself, but Yang was nowhere to be seen. As Adam looked around, Yang fell from the ceiling, pinning both his arms to his side. They grappled for a few moments before Adam smashed her against a wall, breaking her grip.

Yang cocked her gauntlets, ejecting two purple-colored shells. "Cardin wasn't kidding. This Gravity stuff is amazing."

She fired another shot. Adam blocked it with his sword, but a purple glow suffused his weapon. It hit the floor with a solid clunk. Yang propelled herself forward with normal rounds. She connected solid uppercut before Adam could react, and he staggered back.

Yang threw another punch, but her fist crashed through empty air, scattering shards of light. Adam reappeared to Yang's right, hilt pressed against her temple.

"You'll have to do," he said.

A gunshot echoed through the room. Weiss and Blake yelled. Yang staggered sideways, catching herself on the far wall. Blood trickled down the side of her head, staining her long yellow locks. Her eyes grew crimson, but as she stepped forward, her eyes rolled back, and she hit the floor.

Adam bent to retrieve his blade, but he froze as the air shivered. A long red rent clove the space behind him, parting to reveal a crimson and black woman, clad in a mask eerily similar to his own. As she drew her blade, Dust shaped itself inside her scabbard, forming a blade of crystalline fire.

Wilt glowed with the fading embers of Adam's Semblance, and Adam's breath rasped through his mask. He struck the flat of the blade against the floor, storing more power, and unleashed it all at the stranger. The stranger's eyes glowed with an eerie, burning light, and her blade moved with inhuman speed. She deflected the blow with a graceful swipe of her weapon. On the backswing, she buried the blade point-first in Adam's stomach, breaking through the last of his Aura in one blow. The stranger sawed her blade back and forth, drawing a fountain of blood as Adam fell to his knees.

Neo made one last attempt to eviscerate Blake. Blake, distracted by Adam's death, didn't bring her guard up in time, and her Aura broke. She twisted, narrowly avoiding getting skewered by Neo's umbrella and taking a long, messy gash on her stomach. The stranger turned her attention to Neo, but when the stranger swung at her, she fell apart into motes of light. The real Neo had vanished.

Once they were alone, the stranger bent over Yang. She tenderly brushed back her hair and examined the wound. "She will live," the stranger said. "Bandage the wound and get her on a Bullhead out of here." With a slash of her sword, another rent opened, and she stepped into it.

"Wait," Weiss shouted after her. "Who are you?"

The woman looked back, staring at her through the holes in her mask. "Tell her to ask after the Branwen tribe in Mistral. I'll be waiting."

Changelog:

1/7/2020: Added a bit to the Adam/Raven fight, including the use of her Maiden powers and a bit of detail to make Adam's swift defeat more plausible.