XLV - Snag

Back to our regularly scheduled lowercase "mature" rating.

~~~(XLV)~~~

"Breaking news! We're getting reports of an attack on the Minimax Prison! According to surviving guards and left behind prisoners, the raid began roughly around two in the morning. What attacked was a large force of White Fang militants.

All the channels Taiyang switched to were all yelling about the same thing. He'd even gotten a message from the council asking if he could help the guards repel the attack. If Qrow were nearby and available to watch over Yang, then he might have. But somebody had to stay here.

Click

"After talking to the deputy warden, the list of escapees are primarily members of the White Fang who have been arrested both before and after what many are calling the Battle of Beacon. While the list is not yet completed, two of the more notable people missing are White Fang lieutenant Banesaw and Oxon Adhmad. The breaking out of one of the leaders from The Breach and the student huntsmen arrested months ago is telling. Is this a jailbreak for them and other high ranking criminals a bad sign? That is what most theories point to. In response, the council is-."

Click.

He was tired of watching that. Letting out a sigh, he began to get worried about how unsafe the kingdom was becoming lately. Vale was supposed to be safe, Hell, Beacon was supposed to be safe!

He knew he should have never let Ruby attend two years early… But she'd come out fine, thank the brothers for that. But his other daughter… another sigh escaped him as he thought about his little dragon. She was strong, but to lose what she's lost?

Looking out the window he prayed to whoever was out there, that Ruby and her friends were safe. He prayed they would come home alive and while. He prayed for his eldest daughter to get her fire back.

And if the White Fang and the rest of those terrorists came to patch? Well, he'd show them the meaning of fatherly wrath.

~~~(XLV)~~~

Oxon was running through a dark and dense forest, running from the sounds and shapes in the shadows.

Looking around him, he thought he could see faces in the shadows and in the bark. They were people he knew. His friends from Prism cried out from their wooden tombs, branches reaching for him.

Against his will, his arm swung at them, the ax in his hand slicing the thick trunks in one swing. "Wait! No! What am I doing!?" Swing after swing, the trees around him fell down with ghostly shrieks.

Eventually, all that stood around him were splintered trunks and dirt. No vegetation remained of the once thick woods. But he wasn't alone.

Out of the stumps rose forms of people who he'd only recently met. Students, civilians, and White Fang soldiers rose out, pale and white eyed. He saw the majority of team BRNZ, Tukson, Penny, and even Pyrrha.

"Oooxoooooon!" As one, they all turned to face him. He tried swinging his ax at them, to force them back, but it simply passed through. But they could grab him.

"Stop!" The weight of their bodies began to weigh him down as they all grabbed onto him. He tried struggling, but he couldn't get free. As most of his vision was turning black, he saw the face of Brawnz looking down at him. Oxon watched in horror as the dead teen opened his mouth, preparing to speak. But he never did.

Oxon was woken up by the sudden blaring of alarms, he jolted to his feet, hoping to find out the reason. From his small door window, he saw the hallway lights flashing. He was not upset at the awakening, his dreams had been a constant string of nightmares since he's been brought here.

There was a lot of shouting from all over. Shuffling to the bars, he tried to see what was going on. His first thought was Grimm, and if that was the case, then this was probably it for him. Nobody would come to his rescue here.

Sounds of combat began to get louder. Slowly, he listened as the battle came to an end. With a loud click, the magnetic locks that secured his door shut off. Allowing it to creak open slightly. Whatever happened must have shut off the power… or unlocked the cells.

Hesitant and slow, Oxon walked out of the prison cell, the metal creaking loudly. There were a few open cells and prisoners looking around cautiously. Some began to talk to each other, but Oxon didn't care much for them. Eventually, a group of them decided to band together and use this chance for escape. He'd been unsure of his plan, but had been swept up by the mob and pushed down the hallway with them.

They made it through the halls past dead or unconscious guards. The other prisoners picked up the half empty weapons for their own use in case there was still active security. They didn't seem to care what happened, they were getting out. Oxon himself picked up one of the electric stun batons. It wasn't something that would run out of ammo and become useless.

His group of prisoners eventually made contact with the reason for their freedom. Faunus in Grimm masks and weapons stood over the body of the warden. The man had been cruel to Oxon constantly, a few beatings here and there, some days with only a single meal, some days without any, not to mention the psychological pain and sleep deprivation he'd been put through.

Oxon was cognizant enough to know it was bad that he wasn't unhappy to see the man dead. Was that wrong? Out of the two of them, he was the convinced terrorist. But Oxon didn't enjoy making others suffer. Sure he'd bullied Jaune for a few months before they made up. And he may have been a bit of a dick to Flynt. But he didn't torture anyone.

"Freeze, humans!" The human prisoners and masked faunus each raised their weapons at the other group. Oxon awkwardly raised his baton defensively.

"The fuck we will!" Tension was certainly high. Oxon looked between the groups, he would much rather solve whatever issue was present without violence.

"Get down or we put you down!"

Even though he'd rather not come to blows, he'd like to see them try. He might be hungry, tired, and practically unarmed, but he thought he could beat the small squad. The real thing he was wondering about was why they were here.

That question was answered when the three prisoners' heads next to him were suddenly gone. The red slash that caused it was accompanied by a very familiar sack of shit. Adam "Just destroyed a school that combats the fucking Grimm" Taurus strolled into the room as the bodies dropped while the man gave Oxon a look of surprise.

Oxon was also surprised to see the faunus. The last time he'd seen the sect leader, it was in the few hours between Mercury's fight and Pyrrha's. He had been preparing his men in the same warehouse as them after making it to Vale. He'd been hoping to never see him again.

"Adhmad." The bull nodded his head slightly.

"Taurus." Oxon didn't give the same courtesy.

The short "hellos" were strange to him and he kept his weapon up. He'd attacked several White Fang members, and if they made it out safely, then they would have reported on his betrayal. But Adam did not look angry, just… bemused.

"I came to rescue imprisoned men of mine, but to find you, this must be fate. Do you remember the offer I gave you? When we first met?" It took him a bit to think about what he was talking about. But when he finally remembered, he almost dropped the baton in shock.

"You… you want me to join you!?" The horned man was bold, his attack on Beacon was a good example. But this, this was some gods damned audacity. Even the four other faunus were confused by this.

"You've proven yourself as one of the few humans to truly not care whether a man has a tail or not." He brought up a clenched fist and grinned at Oxon. Oxon wasn't a fan. "I know you were unhappy under Cinder, but with you, a human fighting for our cause!? That will quash the rumors of racial supremacy in our organization."

This was bullshit, no racism intended of course. But he'd met more than enough faunus supremacists in the organization. He hadn't spoken enough with the leader in front of him to confirm his own beliefs. But if the men he led were comfortable in their own bigotry, then it was likely he felt the same.

"No offense, but…" Full offense, but he was severely outnumbered and didn't want to anger Adam. "I am not sure that's the path for me. I don't think I'd fit in..."

His smile dimmed and became a slight frown. "That is disappointing, are you sure you won't reconsider?"

"I just want peace, and to kill that bitch Cinder." That monster needed a bullet to the brain.

"I can understand that. If you don't want to join our cause, at least allow me to free you of this place." Oxon flinched at the sudden blade draw, but paused when he noticed the chains keeping his wrists together fall apart.

Was that it? No threats of violence? No shows of force to cow him? Cautiously, he walked towards the masked men. If this was a trick to get him to lower his guard, it was working. Adam seemed different from Cinder in every way, that, or he was a good actor.

Either way, he let the swordsman take the lead, their next target was the other cell block that held a few of the officers. A few from The Breach were locked up there. Oxon felt displeasure at seeing the large lieutenant stroll out of his own cell. The man had been in charge of The Breach along with Roman.

Roman, I heard that the thief died that night as well. The man was a crook and a pain in my side, but did he deserve death? He was like me after all, forced by Cinder to do what he'd done. Oxon thought about how the man had come into his life, Oxon had been picked up for a dust robbery. Then he was brought into the cabal by Torchwick, he still didn't understand why the man did that. Either way, I came out alive, I'll give the ginger a send off later, for all his many faults, he wasn't cruel to me.

Speaking with the Fang soldiers, Oxon's own release was an accidental occurrence when a scuffle in the control room broke out. One of the guards must have been slammed into the release button according to Adam.

"You were incredibly lucky, we never would have known that you were here."

"Well it's about time…" He'd had precious little good luck in the last few years. After the last of the faunus were free, Adam led them out to the waiting transport vehicles. Trucks and bullheads were prepared outside.

Walking out into the open air, he had to shield his eyes from the bright sun. It had been months since he'd felt the warm rays in his skin. The last time he was outside was late November when he was brought here. Now it was late spring, the specific month wasn't known, time had gotten away from him a long time ago.

The fresh green growth and flowers motivated him to try for the once fantastical ideas he'd had while in his cell. He had dreamed about tracking down Mercury, Emerald, and Cinder for most of his time there. He'd find that bitch and make her pay for all she'd done. He didn't know where she would be now that she took what she wanted, but Taurus had worked for her, and maybe he would be willing to tell Oxon.

Cinder… A manic snarl found itself on his face as he imagined her dead.

~~~(XLV)~~~

A few weeks with the white fang was not something Oxon had envisioned a month ago. Hell, it wasn't something he thought was probable when he was under Cinder's thumb. So far, most of Adam's men have been moderately polite. He got strange looks wandering around their camp, but none had said anything to him.

It was early morning and summer was around the corner. He'd been told what date it was once they'd made it clear of any reinforcements from Vale. Again, he'd missed his own birthday and hadn't been able to mourn the anniversary of his home's destruction.

"One day I'll get to celebrate properly on the correct day."

"Human, Leader Adam has requested your presence." Looking up, he saw a blue haired woman with dark veins. It was an odd look, but it must relate to her faunus trait, that or it was an injury or disease. Either way, he wasn't going to stick his foot in his mouth and ask.

"Sure thing." Getting up from his seat at the edge of camp, he followed the girl to the large tent that held the group's leader. He had been repeatedly asked by Adam to think more about joining them in their revolution, and each time, Oxon had politely yet firmly declined. Though there hasn't been any efforts in a while.

After the short walk, the two arrived and the girl gestured for him to enter. Pushing aside the tent flap, he saw Adam staring at a map before noticing him. "Ah, Adhmad, good to see you."

"I was told you wanted to see me?"

"That's correct, there's something I want to discuss with you." The tall redhead moved over to a large crate in the center of the room. "I know you don't want to join us in our revolution. But there is a task I would like to ask of you."

Not exactly something he wanted to hear. Letting out a sigh, he walked over to the man. "Adam, you know what it is I'm after. You've kept me here long enough as it is, but I can't wait much longer."

"To hunt down Cinder and her pets, yes you've told me. And that's what I'm here to offer." Oxon perked up at that. "Admittedly, I don't have her precise location, but I can have informants narrow down her location. But I need something from you in return."

"And that is..?"

"Back in the place I now call home, there are people who need to be informed on a few things. With the loss of the CCT, I can't send a message myself. Therefore I need to send someone reliable enough to get the message there safely."

"And that someone… is me?"

"It is, a human will not be as suspicious as a few faunus. Your presence alone would allow it to get there unmolested." He had a point, but he wasn't enthusiastic about helping the group. "I'll need you to travel to Menagerie."

Menagerie!? Won't I stick out as a human? There's no way they'd believe I'm with you either." Seriously, was there no one to question Adam's ideas? the White Fang attacked Vale and Beacon, him, a human showing up and claiming to work with the man was absurd. He didn't know much about the island, but if him delivering a letter got him the information he needed… "If I do this, will you help me find Cinder?"

Adams' grin widened. "Of course. And as a form of down payment, check the box here."

He did so, flipping up the clasps, he opened the heavy crate's lid. Inside he was surprised to find his old gear. It was all here, his armor, his two revolvers, and Bulls Breath. Taking them out, he saw his armor had been repaired, the signs of his fight with Brawnz had been erased.

But that wasn't the only thing he noticed, attached to the top of the lid was a new weapon. He put down his chest armor and undid the latch holding the hatchet. On inspection, he saw it was an over under shotgun.

"What?"

"One of our allies in the Vale police was able to make these items disappear from evidence lockup before he joined us here. We're done with that kingdom for now, so he was more useful joining us." So they had people in many positions huh… no wonder they were able to evade the authorities so well. "I gave him the general description of your weapons, but it seemed like there was more than one ax/gun. I have no use for such a thing, therefore I thought to offer it to you."

"Well, it's definitely a fine work of craftsmanship." Inspecting the blade and the barrel, he found no rust or faults. Flicking the switch to let it break, he inspected the barrels, it could shoot slugs. Nice. "You're sure I can have this?"

"Think of it as my gratitude, for helping unite the Fang." The red haired man offered his hand to Oxon who took it after a moment of deliberation. He didn't care for their cause, but he would use Taurus if it got him closer to his revenge.

~~~(XLV)~~~

Adam waited until Oxon was out of the tent before summoning the woman outside.

"Yes, sir?" She gave a salute which he acknowledged with a nod. "Was it a success?"

"The human will travel to Menagerie tomorrow morning. There, he will deliver an envelope to the twins with my instructions. Once there, we'll have our scapegoat." His plan was foolproof. For once he had Sienna out of the way, the only obstacles would be the Belladonnas. With all three gone, he would have total control of both the White Fang and the island nation.

"And do you think the rest of them will believe us? I'm not doubting you, Adam, just cautious."

"A human known for his role in the destruction of Beacon? Nobody will bother looking deeper if we say he killed Kali and Ghira." He gave the spider woman a secondary envelope for her own mission. The Albain brothers had given him some good Intel recently. "Make sure he doesn't see Blake when you arrive, he may try and ruin things if they speak."

"Yes, Leader Adam! I'll make sure your will is done." With that the girl left, letting Adam look at the map and documents spread out over the table. He wasn't worried about this course of action, the human was too easy to fool. While there was a miniscule amount of regret, he knew this was the best way for his people to get what they were owed.

"You should have joined me when I gave you the chance, Adhmad."

~~~(XLV)~~~

Back in his own tent, Oxon inspected his latest acquisition. Like most of his gear, there was no mecha-shift available. That suited him just fine, less to maintain and worry about. He wondered just why the faunus gave him this weapon, but he wasn't going to complain.

Its size was decent, the length from barrel to stock was roughly a foot and a half, it wasn't even half the size of Bulls Breath. The ax head wasn't heavy either, only a pound or so. He was easily able to spin it on a finger like one of his revolvers.

Though the new acquisition had him think about how it would work with his fighting style. The only double action firearms were Fratris and Patris. He also needed to figure out how he'd carry the thing. It's relatively light weight would make it not much of a bother in that way. His main concern was he needed somewhere to put it when not in use.

Oxon eyed a few scraps of leather in a corner of his borrowed tent. Well, his ride to the faunus nation might be long… might be good to have something to keep him busy on the bullhead and boat rides.

In the meantime, he pulled out a small knife and began carving the wood of the shotgun ax. This would be a tool for his revenge and atonement. Its form needed to embody such ideals as well.

"I'll do better now, I swear, on my father's grave."

~~~(XLV)~~~

Out of the fire and into the frying pan? Not necessarily good but definitely not as bad as Cinder? Hopefully a human like Ox is eligible for those benefits one reviewer talked about.

Finally we see Oxon finding a purpose on his own. He wants to do this for himself and nobody else. Tracking down Cinder, brave or foolish?