Chapter 2: The Dark Past Pt. 1

Adam.

Blake honestly didn't know what he once was to her anymore. A friend? Mentor? Partner? She knew that he's always looked at her differently, as the years passed. She never once acknowledged it. As time passed, and the White Fang grew more and more violent, so did Adam's attitude towards her. It was a slow build up, small things that seemed out of character, but the day when she realized what the White Fang had become is when he truly made it known how much he'd changed with them. And how far deep in the darkness she had also been.

Flashback—

Blake had been a high-ranking officer for just about a month. As an officer, she was assigned a certain field she'd have to be overlooking. Adam's was to personally oversee the Schnee dust transactions to intercept them. Blake's was to gather the information to find out where they were, using harsh interrogation techniques. This was the reason she stayed longer that she should have in the WF, even after realizing what horrors they were committing. She was no saint, she fell down the wrong path too. She hurt, killed people without thinking much about it. Blake thought that if she could pull herself out of that soul sucking place, then maybe Adam could too.

She remembered that day crystal clear, the day she snapped out of that dark void that clouded her mind. The cat faunus stopped mid interrogation, the prisoner letting out a breath of relief now that the knife stopped inches from his face. Blake had frozen upon hearing the man's frantic question. Why are you doing this, he had pleaded, soon after confessing that he didn't know about any new scheduled shipments of dust. "What the hell am I doing?" she whispered to herself in horrified realization. That was the day. That was the day she realized what the WF was turning into. What she had turned into.

Adam found out of her refusal to interrogate. He was dismayed at her change of heart and sought her out.

They fought each other out of anger for the first time that day. He threw the first swing. The feline faunus couldn't believe it at first. Just how badly did the WF turn them into? Dread coursed through Blake. What if the WF didn't do this to him, she thought. What if deep down this was the real Adam, but she was just too blind to see it? No, she told herself. I don't believe that, I don't believe that the person who cared for me those years ago, is this stranger standing before me. Something must have happened to him, to both of us. Someone or something made us change. The desperate faunus couldn't accept that the caring red head she once knew was no longer there. So, when he made the first move, she hesitated.

Blake Belladonna lost that fight. But even with her inner turmoil, she didn't go down easy.

Seconds seemed like minutes, and minutes felt like hours. She didn't know how long their fight must have taken, but it felt like eternity. Every shot, every swing hurt her more and more as time passed on. She was fighting the closest thing to her ever since she ran from home, how could it not affect her? This was no training practice, this was a conversation between two friends and their weapons: Gambol Shroud pleading to the other thatthis, whatever they were doing in this organization, is wrong and must be stopped. Wilt and Blush flaring red with anger, this is what we've always wanted, change, and you want to give it up for a human who works for those who look down on us? Whose side are you on?!The red sword seemed to shout, sparks flying as it collided with Blake's katana, both faunus fighting for the upper hand.

Time ticked by, the world around them carrying on with its daily routine. Oblivious to the stench of dread, anger, fear and pain that swirled around the clearing where the duo continued with their opposition. Sound of metal against metal filled the otherwise silent night. When the pair launched their last strongest attack towards each other, both their auras diffused. She didn't pause to strike him down. She knew what he was capable of, she mustn't give him the time to strike first. Her sheath was yards away, knocked from her hands by an earlier attack, Adam's sword lay shy from it, lost in the same scuffle.

Holding her katana in its gun mode she raised it, hoping to only cause a non-life-threatening injury. She knew Adam was a better wielder even with only a sheath, without her cleaver he had the upper hand. So, she opted for keeping distance, but he was always faster with his hands. Hell, he could strike with his weapon and sheath it in just a blink of an eye. As he raised his weapon and aimed, faster than she anticipated, he fired.

Adam might be fast with his hands, but Blake was the fastest with her body. And feet. Her feline heritage acted on instinct, she shuffled her feet, bending her body backwards to try and evade the bullet, she landed from her backwards flip in a crouch stumbling a bit at the sudden burning sensation on her left arm. She dodged the bullet, but just barely. Crimson liquid dripped down from the graze, it wasn't bad, just a surface wound. As she stood up from her position on the ground she felt how the fight has taken its toll on her.

This exchange happened in just seconds, from the moment their auras diffused to Blake straightening up from her crouch. And as she did so, she aimed her gun simultaneously firing soon after and . . . nothing happened. She was out of ammo. Crap, I was careless, I just gave him an opening. She thought regrettably. She was going to lose. Just as Adam raised his sheath once again, he said "I don't understand what's gotten into you, but I have a responsibly to those who refuse to follow orders. Be grateful that I won't report this to Sienna Kahn, you know he despises failure." He was stepping closer as he spoke, diminishing the probability of Blake evading the next shot. Then he stumbled, his fatigue finally breaking through. Blake took the window of opportunity, using Adam's closing distance to her advantage, and stepped forward. She swung her arm to try and knock him out with the butt of her pistol, her aim was off. This battle had taken a stronger toll than what she thought because instead of hitting his temple, her weapon connected to the right side of his jaw. The force knocking off his mask, and jerked his face sideways.

Slowly, Adam turned back to face her, showing his eyes for the first time in years. Before Blake could attempt another hit, she hesitated. At this moment, she had the upper hand, mostly since Adam had returned from a heist mission before looking for her. But, as she stared at those dull red eyes, she didn't see him, she saw the boy that protected her from the abusing officer that pulled at her ears disgusted by them. She saw that boy she trusted with her life. That hesitation caused her defeat. Adam took advantage of her state; he crouched low, and swept Blake's feet from under her. The feline fell hard on her back, getting her breath knocked out of her. Adam turned to face the cat faunus, lowering himself to straddle her. His knees on either side of her hips. Blake struggled against him, bucking her hips in an upward motion and forcefully pushing his shoulders with her hands to try and push him off. The red head grasped her wrists tightly, fumbling to keep them above her head with one hand. She kept trying to knock him off but it was useless, he now had the advantage.

"You brought this on yourself. If you refuse to interrogate him, then you'll have to take his place," he grunted as he struggled to keep Blake in place. He then grabbed her forehead with his free hand and slammed her head toward the ground. The last thing she saw before darkness enveloped her, were those captivating red eyes that once made her feel safe. But now bring her fear.

Hello again! Yes, a chapter so soon? Actually this was already out on Archive of our Own, in passing it onto fanfiction too. I'm still getting used to how this place works so bear with me. If you want to read the next 2 chapters head over to Ao3, also under the same pen name: qtrlbsceci. If you do happen to go there feel free to click on the heart button to give me kudos! And feel free to comment and suggestions, comments, concerns, dreams, or talk about you dog! I have two!

This will be a two parter, next chapter will be part two. And it will be longer! Yayy!