Anything can happen, right? ;)

Chapter 15 – Curiosity Killed the Cat

Blake looked down at the book she was reading and turned the page. It was that old book, one that she had left behind in the old headquarters.

She flipped the page again, only to discover the page that she had always dog-eared…. dog-eared. Frowning, she looked up from the book.

Old, worn wooden bookshelves made out of cheap plywood stared back at her. They were filled with old books that had clearly seen better days.

It was then that Blake knew that she was dreaming. This was the Menagerie library, something that had long burned down to ash.

Occasionally, when she was in Vytal, Blake would have dreams like this. It had been a while…

Blake placed the book back on its shelf and realized that she was at her current age. Now, this was strange.

In those previous dreams, it would be like reliving a memory; she would be much younger, possibly eight. As she looked down, Blake was dressed in her daily clothes.

Then, the door slid open, and footsteps could be heard. Blake peeked out from behind the bookshelves.

A young Adam stood in front of her; his maroon eyes stared up at Blake with curiosity.

"Blake, are you done with your book yet? I want you to read to me." Of course he wouldn't recognize the difference; this was just a dream.

"Sure," Blake reached over and took out a picture book, "Do you want to read this or something else?" Adam glared up at her.

"I'm not a little kid anymore, Blake." He pulled out a book from the shelf – a history book about the Faunus. "Read me this. I want to know about the Faunus War."

Blake made a face.

"You always wanted to know about that before you left, can't we read a nice story?"

"It's the only story where the Faunus win." She sighed but picked up the history book.

"Honestly, Adam, I just don't get you fascination with that war." Blake turned around to find that he had vanished.

Blinking, she craned her head to look for him.

"Adam, spontaneous hide-and-seek is only fun when you're seven!" she called out. However, the room remained still.

Sighing, Blake walked down the rows of shelves, looking for him. The library seemed to go on and on in an endless loop.

"Adam!" she called out, "You win! Come out now!"

"Aww, you give up too easily." Somehow, he had reappeared from behind and flashed her a mischievous smile. "Guess this means a penalty."

Blake made a face as she looked down at him.

"No, Adam. That was unfair." Why was she arguing with a child; it was almost like she was a child herself.

Adam pouted as Blake reached out, took his hand, and began to lead him through the sea of bookcases.

"C'mon, let's get back. I'm sure the other members are looking for you." There was a silence.

"Blake, you know that they're all dead. It's just us now."

Stopping abruptly, she turned her head to find that Adam, along with the library, had vanished. She was back in the barren wasteland filled with scorched earth and ash.

Panic began to rise within her. Not another nightmare again!

Frantically, she looked for a place to hide but heard a feral growl from behind.

To her horror, Blake turned to see a lone figure in the distance. It was pitch black with a Grimm mask that gave off a scarlet glow. A pair of ebony bull horns protruded from its head.

She was rooted to the spot.

The masked figure turned its head towards her and let out a snarl. In the next moment, it rushed at her. She didn't stand a chance. All Blake could see was a bright scarlet enveloping her vision as a howl pierced the air.

Blake's eyes snapped open, only to realize that it was morning. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, bathing her in golden light.

Moreover, she was in an unfamiliar bed. Suddenly, the memories of last night flooded back to her. Blake could feel her ears turn scarlet as she buried her face in a pillow. Did she really have to resort to that tactic?

Groaning, she turned to see that Adam had left the bed a long time ago. His spot was cold.

Squinting against the bright light, she noticed that he had left a slip of paper near the bedside.

"Hong needed the truck for an early shipment. Be back at eight. We're going to start using Dust in practice, so I took Gambol Shroud in to get the proper bullets."

Her amber eyes lit up. This was the perfect opportunity! Finally, she could sneak into that room. Looking around, Blake opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a key. Likely, this was it.

Quickly, Blake returned to her room to change out of her nightclothes and into her usual outfit of a jacket, tank top, and simple jeans.

By habit she looked in Gambol Shroud's place, only to find that it was gone. Then, she remembered the contents of the note.

A creeping sense of suspicion settled over her. Adam wouldn't leave her out here defenseless, would he? Or, he was just too confident about the safety of the cabin from possible Grimm.

Frowning, Blake stared down at the key in her hand. Was this all some kind of baiting trick? She eyed the house suspiciously, half expecting Adam to jump out.

Blake sighed. Maybe she should wait an hour and see if Adam would jump out.

Blake sat at the couch for fifteen minutes, glaring at the front door.

Nothing. Perhaps he really did head out. Blake breathed an irritated sigh; she's wasting time.

She approached the hidden door and inserted the key into the drawer. There was a sound of unlocking and the small table shook. Blake pushed the desk, revealing a sliding door connected to the back.

Inside was a small room lined with dusty file folders with a lone lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Breathing in the dusty air, she stepped into the darkened room. It was barely larger than a coat closet.

Blake looked back and gripped the door handle. She pulled the door closed, enclosing herself into the darkness.

Flicking on the light, she tried to find the right files. The folders were just haphazardly shoved into the shelves, and it would take ages for her find the correct one.

Blake cursed under her breath and started at the top shelf.

After a few shelves in, Blake wished that she had brought a watch with her. There was no window, and she had lost track of time as she flipped through the old, yellowed pages.

At least an hour would have passed, and she was considering stopping to check the time. Adam might come back early.

She decided to look after this file.

As she flipped it open, Blake almost dismissed it due to its yellowed, aged pictures; it was much too old for what she was looking for. But, as her eyes skimmed the words, she paused.

"Scapegoat – Partial Success" a picture of a tough-looking faunus with wolf teeth was attached to the inner cover. The faunus was familiar-looking, and, with a start, Blake realized that he was likely a younger Bane.

Curiosity got the best of her as she began to read the first report.

"Potential subject recruited into White Fang. Awaiting further evaluation by Lycannis. – Pitch" Blake furrowed her eyebrows. She never trusted Pitch, and his involvement usually meant something underhanded.

Blake read on.

"Subject approved; demonstrates the ideal temperament. Already popular with his more violent peers. Still waiting for Lycannis' counter."

Counter? Was Pitch waiting for Lycannis to do something? However, the next line was written in a different handwriting.

"Counter found. -Lycannis"

"Counter has no interest in joining. Looking for other viable options."

"No options available. Subject is getting a bit too popular despite recruit status; will try to cause tension amongst peers."

Something felt wrong to her. Blake always saw the old White Fang leader as a kindly leader, but this information didn't sit right with her. It was beginning to mar her image of him, but she continued to read.

"Tension was successful; subject is now out casted. No other Counter is possible; will try to convince again."

"Convincing tactic failed."

The handwriting switched back to Pitch's.

"New plan implemented. False information planting is successful; informant knowledge successful. Now we wait."

"Job has been assigned. Incentive is risky, but will probably work."

The handwriting switched back to Lycannis'

"Subject is regaining trust of group; demonstrating adequate leadership abilities. Promotion will be soon."

As Blake turned the page, a picture fluttered out. It was a blurry snapshot of a home in the middle of a forest. Behind, she could make out the glass ceiling of a greenhouse. Squinting, her amber eyes could see a blurry figure peeking out from behind the curtains, and an address was written on the back. Unfortunately, the graphite had faded out to the point where the words were illegible. Now that she looked closely, a fragrant scent wafted out from the paper; tea or perfume had been spilled on this.

"Counter has successfully encountered the Incentive. Now we wait."

Oh, the Incentive was a physical object…or a person. Were Lycannis and Pitch playing matchmaker? Blake snorted at the image of them gossiping together like old ladies.

"Encounter results are indeterminable. We still await desirable indicators."

The handwriting switched back to Pitch.

"Should we speed things?"

Back to Lycannis.

"No. Things take time. Focus should resume on subject. Subject is comfortable in squad leader position."

The next few entries detailed a young Bane's raise in popularity, switching back and forth between Pitch and Lycannis' handwriting. Blake already knew the outcome and skipped over those.

By then, she had almost finished the file when the subject changed again.

"Unforeseen results have occurred with the Counter. I await your judgement. – Pitch"

"One year will suffice. Arrangements can be made. Subject's progression can be stalled for a few years. – Lycannis"

Blake made a chilling discovery. An envelope was located inside the file. Blake opened it to reveal a photo – of her parents.

Luna and Shade looked so much younger than what she last remembered them. With a start, she realized that there was a third pair of cat ears sticking out from the left corner. A sentence was written on the back.

"Blake couldn't stay still for the picture. Luna and I are doing well. We're reconsidering your offer, and we'll give you an answer when Blake is a little older. But, for now, I've retired and am looking after my family. Blake's certainly a handful!"

A note was written on the envelope.

"He'll get bored of domestic life. Just give it a year. - Lycannis"

Blake frowned and nearly put away the file. Lycannis' words sounded colder than the person she remembered. Was this why he was so close to her parents? Did he want something from them? Was this all some horrible ploy? Did they know about this plan?

The handwriting then changed to type with different colors. Blake sighed, now she couldn't tell whose writing it was.

Quickly, she skimmed over the observations of the "subject" until the "Counter" popped up again.

"Counters have developed a relationship with others well, we await the operation until the time is right. Further documentation will be held on electronic file for guaranteed secrecy.

That was the final thing left behind in the file, and Blake wanted to scream with frustration. There was nothing left behind for her to use, no access code or password. By now, she would have wasted two hours on nothing but a dead end.

Blake not-so-gently placed the file back to its original place. There had to be more, somewhere! After all, the owners of the file backtracked to write the status.

However, was this file even important? Or was she just lead astray by the mention of her parents?

Sighing, Blake decided to step out of this stuffy room for a minute of fresh air. But, as soon as her fingers touched the door handle, she heard a loud Crash of glass shattering.

Something was in the house…

Gasping quietly, Blake reached over and flicked off the light switch, plunging herself into total darkness.

At an instant, her mind flew to Adam – he had come home early. But, why would there be glass breaking? Did something just fall over?

This time, Blake opened the door a small crack before she heard a voice.

"You sure they're gone? Coulda sworn that there was someone here…"

"Ah, who matters?" another voice said, "The owners are faunus trash anyways. Police won't bother looking for em'." She could hear a door close.

Quickly, she shut it and stood listening carefully.

"Dang…this place is nice. The faunus brats must come from some rich folks."

"Nasty things, taking our employment. I lost a 500 lien deal to some last minute puma bast*rd. I gotta make do with stealing again. Tch, that work's below me. Next faunus garbage I see will wish they were dead."

"Maybe we should leave…I'm sure there's an inn nearby."

"Aw, come off it! Why stay at a shite inn when you can get free lodging?"

"Stealing is different than breaking and entering." The other voice commented. "I feel like somethin's watching us, knows we're not supposed to be here."

"Alright, then. If you're such a prude, go sleep outside. It's been months since I've had a nice bed, and I don' need your whining mucking it up!"

"Did you not see that pack of Beowolves? I'm not going back out! I'm too exhausted to fight them off alone!"

"Here's a good rule of thumb. I don't care and tell your conscience to p*ss off. I'm looking if these stingy faunus left any grub behind."

There was a sigh of exasperation, and the faint drone of the television.

Blake wanted to curse her infernal luck. She was trapped – in a room that she was certainly forbidden from and without a weapon to defend herself. If Adam was paranoid about her running off…well, he might have had a point. But, she wouldn't just take off into the forest!

That asshole just left her unarmed with a house full of bandits. If she made it out of this alive, she'll kill him.

Time seemed to inch by slowly in the dark closet. Adam discovering her was a much better outcome than having to face some thugs alone.

As the hours crawled by, she began to long for fresh air and light. So far, she could only hear the television blaring on in the background as the two intruders walked about.

Sitting alone in the dark space began to bring back memories of that awful day in Menagerie. She frantically pushed it to the back of her mind; she was in danger – there was no time remember those horrible memories.

However, her mind began to run over the contents of the file. Her parents weren't even aware of their role in Lycannis' plot. He was always depicted as a kind, thoughtful leader but was that all a façade? Was "Scapegoat" a power-grab where Bane was the "scapegoat"? Then, why were her parents dragged into this?

Already, she could feel her loyalty and confidence in the old White Fang begin to waiver. With Fiona, she was always confident in her leaders' ability to do the right thing. Blake could completely trust them. But, Fiona didn't know this, did she?

Blake knew that her leaders weren't perfect, but blaming someone for something they didn't do? This wasn't what White Fang was supposed to be like. This felt impossible; Blake wasn't sure who's side she was on. Before, she was so sure of herself, but now…

Both sides seemed equally as awful. One might be violent and threatening, while the other operated in the shadows.

Blake began to count the seconds, trying to get a grasp of time. She couldn't risk taking out another file from the shelf. Blake wasn't sure how good their hearing was and didn't want to find out.

Was Adam late? Or was she just getting impatient?

Twice, she could hear footsteps approach the hidden room, only to pause and turn away.

If Adam had decided to spend the night in town, she hoped that the intruders would leave so she could sneak out before he came back.

The dust was starting to sting her eyes, and she longed to sneeze. Blake wondered why she wasn't panicking about the danger and more concerned for her secrecy. Perhaps she had been numbed to it. If she had Gambol Shroud, she'd take the intruders on herself. At least, she had faith in her fighting capabilities.

"Lousy Faunus…ought to go back to that blasted island where they belong…" she could hear one of the intruders complain, "Schnee Dust better do something about it."

"I heard they passed a few laws," the other one quipped, "Bribed some politicians and such."

"Bah, that's nothing. Lousy rats won't leave unless you set the ship on fire." He chuckled, and her blood ran cold. Would they torch the cabin when they were done?

In the distance, she could hear a faint creaking of the front steps.

Adam was back, and she wasn't sure which person she'd rather face.

The front door squeaked open, and there was a pause.

"Who the hell are you?" Adam asked, still too confused to be angry. "Where's Blake?"

"Your worst nightmare." There was a faint puff of air and a cry of pain. One of them must have tried to attack him.

She could hear a body fall to the grass outside, and the sound of a gunshot. She flinched; did Adam just…

Then, there was a whimpered squeak and the sound of glass shattering. Had the other bandit thrown himself out the kitchen window?

In the darkness, she waited for any kind of indication that her intruders were…alive.

The wood creaked as someone moved across the cabin, opening and shutting doors. He was looking for her.

Any minute now…

Maybe she could sneak out and run into the woods. Adam would have to go out and find her – she'd just tell him that she was hiding from intruders.

However, all of her hopes had dashed when the door was wrenched open. Light streamed through the room as Blake took a step back, debating whether or not hiding was a viable option.

She was done for.

Amber met maroon as they stared at each other.

"I can explain…" Blake began. Fortunately, in an insane stroke of luck, she didn't have to.

Adam took a step forward, but Blake flinched. He took notice of her discomfort and stopped.

"They didn't do anything…?"

"No," she answered quickly, "They didn't even know I was here." At that moment, she realized her slip up and hoped that he didn't catch it.

Adam stood in silence for a minute before stepping forward into the tiny room. Blake moved back until she was pressed against the back wall, but Adam didn't stop until he was barely a centimeter from her.

Her large, golden eyes stared up at him in confusion as his face was set in a stony expression.

Suddenly, his hands slammed into the spaces beside her head, barring her from moving.

Expecting an earful, Blake closed her eyes and waited for the verbal onslaught, only to feel his head and horns press onto her left shoulder.

"Adam?"

"I thought they had killed you," his voice was muffled and hollow, "I would have never forgiven myself."

Blake could feel her heart race as she wrapped her arms around him. Awkwardly, she trailed her fingers down his back in an attempt to calm him.

"Hey, I'm alright, see?"

"I'm exhausted," he muttered, "I didn't get any sleep. For a cat Faunus, you're pretty aggressive when it comes to grabbing onto a heat source."

Face red, Blake was too stunned to speak, partially from relief and partially from a squirming feeling in her chest.

However, Adam began to slide forward, causing Blake's legs to slide against the floor. In the end, Blake was seated on the ground and pinned against the wall. Adam's arms hung loosely around her while his head remained buried in her shoulder.

They remained in this position for a while before Blake's legs began to fall asleep.

"Adam, my legs are starting to cramp," she said, "Can we move to somewhere more comfortable?"

"Can't," his voice sounded tired, "One of the bandits hit me with a dart. Can you pull it out? The sedative's taking over."

Blake tried to see where the dart had lodged itself by shifting her body under his. Sure enough, she noticed a green-colored dart sticking out of his lower back.

"Don't move," she warned, "I'm going to pull it out." Craning her head over his shoulder, Blake reached out and removed the dart.

But, as she moved, Adam's weight was too much for her spine, and she fell backwards with his body on top of her.

"Adam, you're squishing me," she wheezed, "My arms are pinned under you."

"I know," he said uncomfortably, "But I can't feel my limbs."

Blake sighed; she felt like she was going to pass out from how hard her heart was beating. As her hands were pressed against his chest, she could fell his heart race as well.

"Here, let me try something," Blake pushed upwards and managed to flip them over, landing on his chest.

"Are you okay?" she asked, taking note of his pained grunt, "You didn't hit your head too hard?"

"It's fine." Blake stepped over him to grab him under the arms and drag his body across the cabin.

Initially, she was going to put him on the couch, but the fabric reeked of alcohol and cigarettes.

Making a face, she tried the bedroom, only to see that Adam's room was wide open. Great, that asshole slept in there…

Blake eyed her room with reluctance; it'd have to do.

Blake hoisted him onto her bed; her strained muscles screaming in exhaustion. With great effort, Adam moved to sit up against the headboard.

"Here," she flicked on the desk light, "Is there anything left in the truck?"

"Gambol Shroud and a box of bullets," he replied, "Keys are in my pants pocket." Awkwardly, she pulled them out and dashed outside.

Gambol Shroud and the box were sitting in the passengers' seat. However, Blake noticed an orange file on the car floor; was this another file that was supposed to go into that closet?

Blake eyed the house nervously. Adam was incapacitated at the moment; maybe one quick look wouldn't make a difference. She'll give herself two minutes.

She flicked open the file and skimmed its contents.

"Survivor persists; the others have been killed off. Should we finish the job?"

"Survivor knows too much, but has not officially deserted yet. We'll keep the Survivor alive if rejoining White Fang is successful. We will wait and see."

She could feel her blood turn to ice and nearly dropped the file.

Was the "Survivor" her? The cold feeling in the pit of her stomach meant a probable yes. Was that why Adam was so eager to get her to rejoin White Fang? Was he protecting her from premeditated assassination?

Her two minutes were up, and Blake wished she had brought her Scroll along to take pictures.

Quietly, she locked the door and returned to the cabin, ignoring the large pool of blood near the front yard. Placing the box on the counter, Blake took note of Wilt and Blush leaning against the wall and picked it up. Moreover, it appeared that the other bandit had thrown himself out the window; there was an almost human-shaped hole in the glass.

Unlike Gambol Shroud, Adam's weapon felt unusually heavy in her hands, but she carried it to her bedroom and placed it on the table.

Adam was struggling with his jacket. His arms remained limp, and his fingers trembled as they tried to pull the zipper down.

"Here," Blake straddled him, unzipped his jacket, and helped him take it off. "Better?"

"Yeah," he didn't meet her eyes, "Did the intruders steal anything?"

"No, they just made themselves at home. I guess they thought we weren't coming back." Blake move to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, some of the feeling's starting to come back to my arms. We'll postpone returning for another day."

"I see…" They sat in exhausted silence.

"Did you lock the doors?"

"Yeah, don't worry. Did the other guy really throw himself out the window?" Adam snickered.

"He did. I bet this was his first time." Blake smiled.

"Yeah, I glad that they didn't check the rest of the house," she sighed.

"Can you turn off the light?" he asked, "I'm going to sleep early." Blake reached over, flicked off the light, and lay next to him. She lay with her back facing him; and could feel him shift down. On any other day, Blake would feel embarrassed, but she was too tired to care at this point.

There was quiet silence; Blake was about to fall asleep when Adam spoke up.

"Blake, are you still awake?"

"Yeah," she answered, "What's wrong?"

"Have you…decided yet?" There was an uncertain tone in his voice, worried even. Blake was right; the file's subject was likely her.

Despite her misgivings, she couldn't believe her thoughts on this, but the new White Fang wasn't as awful as she told to believe. Still, she didn't believe in their violent methods, but…

Was it any different from the previous White Fang? Bane was set up as a scapegoat, and her parents were unknowingly dragged into something that might have killed them. Lycannis wasn't the leader she thought he was. After all this time, she still didn't know what happened behind the Menagerie attack. She even beginning to doubt that the attack was from one of their opponents.

Why hadn't White Fang tried to publicly avenge the attack?

In the end, she had no idea where her loyalties lay.

Worse, the Faunus were still being persecuted outside the kingdom. Was the Schnee Dust company really passing laws against the Faunus? Blake didn't want to believe it, but there was a possible grain of truth to that rumor. With higher tensions from the Grimm, the humans might eventually turn their back on the Faunus. Would things revert back to before the Faunus revolution?

Was White Fang the only Faunus group that was actually doing something? Surely, if the Faunus disagreed with the rules, then why didn't they try to stop it? Why was White Fang the only group that was making headway?

Blake turned towards him, only to realize that Adam was facing towards her. His eyes studied her face with intensity. The answer was on her lips, but she observed his tense nervousness.

Blake didn't really have a choice, did she?

"Yes…that's my decision… for now." Before she could see his reaction, Blake turned and stared at the door.

There was a long pause.

"Welcome to White Fang…my apprentice."

Woohoo! Finally! Blake has joined the White Fang! A HUGE milestone was covered in this chapter, and I can't wait to write about their missions and Blake's training!

Were you guys expecting an M-scene? Lolololol, writing the closet scene nearly gave your authoress a heart attack! But, I honestly thought putting in burglars would seem logical. They're out in the woods, and apparently bandits are a little more common than I thought.

Honestly, I have so much planned for my favorite couple and can't wait to write about it! We're getting close to the final stretch!

Love,

raining-indigo