Chapter 40: Confused

Adam didn't know what to do. He knew that he had to help Serena; the girl had been completely broken by Spike and the human woman. But he also knew that he couldn't just go and betray Spike, at least not in the obvious way. He owed the buffalo Faunus a lot; it was him who had taken him in, given him a home and trained him to become the best agent of the White Fang. Betraying him should be the last thing on his mind.

Yet, the moment he had seen Serena, the blank look on her face and her beaten up body, he had felt a spark of hate ignite in himself. It had been so great that he had had to use all of his strength to not attack the two responsible the moment he had stepped into Spike's office. The way the man had talked about the girl, that he was going to kill her once she was no longer of use to him, Adam could have sworn he would have ripped off his head. And the woman had just smiled, thinking that he didn't known she was there.

But they weren't the only ones to blame for this. It was him who had decided to tell them about the girl and her power, he had even told them where she lived, though he had hoped he had concealed that fact as good as possible. But the Faunus had figured it out somehow and now she was part of something that had nothing to do with her. If anything, he was to blame for all of it.

Yet he had not seen any sign of hate, not even the smallest sign of disdain in her eyes. No, all she had done was cry into him and hold on to him as if he was the most important person in her life. She had even told him that this was not his fault, and he almost believed her. The kindness and forgiveness that she had, she appeared more and more like a saint, never once hating someone, always being forgiving and kind.

It reminded him of the time he had first woken up after being attacked by Grimm and she had been there. He had attacked her, threatened her life, but she had remained calm and said that he would only hurt himself further if he kept on straining his body. She was overall a very calm person and it seemed to take effect of him. No longer did he feel the deep hate that he used to feel when he was with her and he had actually had fun, a thing long forgotten to him. Somehow, she had managed to soothe his soul and help him overcome all that had happened to him.

But would she really accept him if she knew what he had done, knew of the countless lives that he had taken?

He didn't know.

So, in order to somehow get order back into his emotions and find a solution to his predicament, he left his room in search of the only person he trusted enough to talk with about something like this. Stopping in front of another door that looked exactly the same as his, he knocked and waited. A few seconds later, the metal slid to the side and revealed the face of Raven Brown.

"Adam, what can I do for you?" She seemed surprised to see him there; it was not like him to come and visit her. If anything, he preferred to keep to himself and avoid any kind of interaction with others.

"I need your help."

Those words were enough to make her eyes widen slightly. Bending forward, she looked to both sides, checking if anyone was coming, before ushering him inside and sliding the door closed. Her room was no different from his, only that it held a small sitting area with two armchairs and a lamp. Gesturing towards it, she went ahead and took the seat by the lamp while he took the one that faced the rest of the room.

"What do you need help with?" her voice asked cautiously since this was the first time ever that she had heard him ask for help. Advice okay, but help? Something had to be up.

"You know about the fact that I was gone for about over two weeks, right?" He looked at her and she nodded. Everyone had heard about it, but no one kew where he had been. "Yeah, well, the thing is, when I was on that mission, my team and I got attacked by Grimm and the two who were with me got killed."

Raven wasn't sure where this was going. She knew that the other two, Eric and Steve, had been killed; they'd never gotten back. But what did that have to do with him needing help? Although she was curious, she decided to let him continue. Maybe he would tell her on his own accord.

"I got injured pretty bad and was about to get killed by an Ursa, but someone stopped it. The next thing I know, I'm in some cave and there is that girl. She took care of me, treated my wounds and all. You've heard the rumors about the Grimm Tamer, right?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Well, she is the Grimm Tamer. She taught me some things, I trained her a little and when I had to go back, I left her behind. The problem is, Spike and that human wanted to know where I had been, so I told them about her, though not all. But they somehow figured out where she lived and now she's the one who we are holding prisoner."

So far she had understood everything, but she still didn't get what he was on about. Then it suddenly hit her.

"You want to help her escape."

It wasn't a question but a statement.

She could see his eyes from behind the mask, the red of them glowing fiercely. It was enough to indicate that she was right with her assumption, but it also told her that, should she say anything about it to Spike or someone else, she was dead. She was surprised at the amount of emotion that he displayed suddenly, since he wasn't really the most open person in the world. But he seemed to be serious about this.

"Let me ask you one thing," she continued and he remained silent, waiting for the question. "Do you love her?"

Adam tensed. Love her? He knew that he felt something for the girl, but love…

"No," he replied flatly.

"Alright, let me phrase it another way; do you care about her?"

"Yes." The answer came immediately, no moment of hesitation or anything.

"Would you ever hurt her?"

"Never."

"Then you are most likely in love with her, or at least like her a lot."

Adam scoffed. "That's ridiculous."

"Is it really? The you I know would have killed her the moment you were healed, yet you did not. Then, when you told Desde about her, you tried to leave out as much as possible about her. You come here, seeking help because you feel responsible for her being held captive by us and you want to tell me that you don't even like her?"

"Why should I like or even love a human?! Humans are the root of all the problems that we have, they are the one who shun us and look down on us." Adam's voice had risen and Raven knew that she had hit the right spot, otherwise he wouldn't be reacting like this.

"Then did she shun you? Did she look down on you?" she questioned, voice louder to match his.

Adam stocked. She hadn't. Not once, during all the time that he had been with her did she show any sign of looking down on him like the other humans. No, she had seen him as a human, not a Faunus, but just a human.

His silence was enough to answer Raven's question.

"Adam, I know how loyal you are to Desde and the White Fang, but sometimes, people are more important than them. I know what can happen when you put your mission over the people that you care for," she said, thinking back to her sister Yang whom she had had to leave in order to keep working for the White Fang. She regretted it more than anything. "If you truly love this girl, then fight for her, protect her."

"What if she doesn't love me?" His voice was no longer the flat one that Raven knew. It was filled with insecurity and genuine worry. "What if she doesn't love methe way I love her? What if my feelings are one-sided, if she does not want to be with me? I'm a Faunus and member of the White Fang. I've killed people without a second thought. What if she doesn't want to be with a monster like me?"

"Then let her go. She has to choose you on her own; you can't force her to love you. If she truly loves you, then she will stay. She will accept you for who you are and forgive you for what you've done. If she doesn't, then let her go."

Silence reigned for a few minutes before Adam got up and left without a word. Entering his own room, he sat down on his bed, arms resting on his knees and head hanging low, thinking. Raven was right. Serena had done so much for him, taught him without once thinking that he could use it against her, treated him with such love and care. He couldn't abandon her, he had seen how lonely she was, the pain she herself felt from having lost her family. He was sure that, should he abandon her as well, she would break and no one would be able to mend her. Yes, she was a strong girl, but she was only that; a girl.

He thought back to a conversation that they had once had about the White Fang. She had said that their goal was a righteous one, but not the methods. It dawned on him then that he had killed people without any reason sometimes. She had told him that he would lose himself if he continued going down that road, she was trying to save him.

Now, he had to pay back the favor and do the same for her. Even if it cost him his life, he would protect her no matter what.

A/N: I do not own RWBY or its characters. I do, however, own my OC Serena and any other OCs that appear in this story.

Whew, already the 40th chapter. I can't believe that I actually got this far, and there is more to come.

Anyway, just to explain why I made Raven Yang's sister: I think that she would be too young to be her mother considering that Yang's already 17 and Raven looks no older than 25. So, I just decided to make them sisters, which I think will work as well. And I know that it's been proved that Raven IS her mother, but I'll stick with my version.

Anyway, don't forget to review and tell me what you think. And look forward to the next chapter!