Adam Taurus' mind was blank as he sat upon a fallen tree, staring into the small bonfire before him. The cool night air whistled softly through the branches and leaves of the surrounding forest, and was accompanied by nothing but the noise from the crackling logs. Adam's lip twitched slightly as he lowered his gaze to the grass and leaf litter on the forest floor below, and thought back through the events of the day before. Somehow, everything had gone wrong.
Idly, he began to pop his sword back in and out of the sheath as he felt his blood begin to boil. The familiar scrape and click joined the chorus of the fire while he mulled over his options, until the sudden sound of a snapping twig broke him out of his trance. Adam stopped shifting his blade, and scanned the tree line for intruders.
"…Corsac?" he tried, only to receive no response. Adam stood and gripped the hilt of Wilt tightly as he began to turn, surveying the clearing. Another branch snapped, and Adam whirled to follow the source of the sound. Quite suddenly, leaves began to crunch behind him, and he turned again just in time to throw up Blush and catch the sword of an oncoming attacker.
Adam grit his teeth as Blush sparked against the generic sword in his opponent's hand, and his anger only intensified as he stared into the eye holes of a familiar White Fang mask. More footsteps echoed out around him as two other members of the Fang ran into the clearing, yelling and brandishing weapons.
"There he is!" a man with an automatic rifle yelled. Adam kneed his first opponent in the gut before turning to the new foe and flourishing his blade as bullets began to speed in his direction. With practiced grace, he deflected the stream of lead and executed a running slash across the man's chest, only for him to crumple down onto the forest floor.
The third attacker went for a leaping strike from behind while Adam was occupied, only for his sword to be deflected by Blush as Adam quickly shifted the sheath around to his back. He turned and threw out another slash, which the man blocked sloppily before walking backward to keep his balance.
"You tried to kill us, all for your personal glory!" he accused as he returned to a ready stance. "You'll never live up to Sienna!"
"High Leader Cinnamon will reward us greatly for bringing her your head!" his partner added as he moved to take up arms next to his brother. Yet more noises of running attackers bounced off the trees as Adam snarled and turned to face the two grunts.
"Even she stands against me, now? Then there will be no mercy," he threatened.
The first attacker laughed, and shook his head. "Oh, she has no idea that we're here. This is all on us, Taurus. We stood with you at Haven, and you showed that our lives meant nothing to you. She'll be twice the leader you could ever be!"
The other man charged immediately after his friend's speech ended, and Adam spun Blush upward as the sheath began to shift around into shotgun form. He let out a heavy blast into the attacker's gut that caused him to double over as his aura fizzled out in a teal shimmer. Without hesitation, Adam adjusted his aim for the man's forehead, and pulled the trigger. What was left of the body was blown backward into the fallen tree as his friend let out an anguished cry.
"All who defy my will are no more valuable to me than flecks of dirt," Adam spat as he ran forward. The remaining grunt barely got his sword up in time to parry Adam's assault, and lasted through four swings before clashing blades against his former leader.
"Now!" he yelled. "Just shoot him!"
Adam looked over his shoulder just in time to see the bleeding grunt with the rifle raise his gun once again from his positon on the ground. The man fired a burst of three rounds into Adam's shoulder, and his aura flared to catch them all. Adam returned fire with his shotgun as he held off the other grunt's blade in a deadlock, and the prone gunman perished. Three more members of the Fang emerged from the nearby bushes, screaming obscenities as Adam let out a yell of his own. He pushed against the deadlocked grunt with all of his might and doubled the man over, before sinking the tip of Wilt into his stomach and earning a terrified scream from his victim.
"Come, all of you! To stand against me is to forfeit your right to live in the world that I'll create for the faunus!"
"All you've created is tension and targets on our backs!" one of the attackers countered as he and another grunt opened fire on Adam. Several bullets careened straight into Blush as he held the sheath out in front of himself mid-charge, while others missed entirely. He zig-zagged forward and drew Wilt as the blade began to sizzle, only for one of the men to turn tail and run.
"Hey, wh-" his friend asked as he turned to momentarily follow the other man's movements. In the brief moment that his concentration lapsed, Adam crashed into his stomach and drew several slashes across the man's chest. He finished by drawing the blade across the man's throat and kicking his body to the ground, before he sheathed Wilt and spun to fire off a round at the grunt approaching him from behind.
As the new attacker stumbled, Adam fired his blade from his sheath after the other fleeing faunus and knocked the man to the forest floor as the blade spun up and into the air. Adam raced forward with terrifying speed and grabbed the katana before plunging it into the man's lower back and raking it up his spine. The nameless soldier fell into the dirt with an agonized scream, his body twitching slightly as he hit the ground.
The final grunt behind Adam yelled out in both anger and fear as he raised his rifle and began to wildly unload a barrage of bullets. Adam caught them all with Wilt as he slowly advanced, and then sheathed his sword the moment he heard the gun click as it ran out of ammunition. Time almost seemed to slow as the world drained of all color from the grunt's perspective, and Adam's eye flashed a dangerous crimson.
Suddenly, a piercing noise of scraping metal rang out as Wilt seemed to almost teleport from its sheath into an outstretched slash, and the man could no longer process his opponent or surroundings. All at once, he watched in horror as he felt himself falling from the waist up before catching a brief glimpse of his still-standing waist and legs before his head hit the ground, and everything went dark.
Adam sheathed Wilt with one final click as he worked to calm his breathing. He remained very still as he listened for more noises from the surrounding woods, only to hear the crackling fire and nothing else, once again. Without so much as another thought, Adam stepped over the bleeding, bisected corpse of the man before him, and returned to sit upon the fallen tree.
Adam set his weapon aside to lean against the wood, and pulled his scroll from his torn coat. For a moment, he observed his reflection in the blank screen, and his lips twisted into a snarl. Two teeth were missing after his encounter with Sun, his face was marred with bruises, and a large, red welt had formed across his neck. Adam tapped onto the screen to bring up his contacts, partially to banish the sight, and partially for business. With another tap, he connected a call, and waited for the other party to answer.
"They're still coming."
"I know," Corsac replied over the line. "I encountered another group, as well. We're being hunted by our own subordinates."
"Have you heard from Cinnamon?" Adam asked, fearing the answer.
"No. The last I spoke to her was just before the attack on Haven. Given that I put Ilia out of commission… I don't think she'd be happy to hear from me, anymore."
"She won't answer my calls. I haven't tried since then, but… we may well be on our own," Adam stated as he shook his head. "This group claimed that she has no involvement in any of this, just like the one before it."
"I believe it," Corsac replied. "She doesn't seem the type to turn against the values of the Fang, and you are still its leader."
Adam merely grunted in agreement, though something about the situation didn't sit well with him.
"So, what do you propose we do?" Corsac asked. "I'm headed back your way."
Adam shifted upon the log, and drummed his fingers against the bark. "…I'll get back to you on that. Get back here, for now."
Before Corsac could answer, Adam ended the call. He narrowed his eyes as the device returned to the contact screen, and he let out a massive sigh as he looked at the name just above Corsac's.
"At this rate, what's even the point?" he asked no one in particular. Despite his attitude, he tapped on Cinnamon's portrait, and brought the device to his ear, expecting disappointment.
Shafts of morning sunlight filtered through the window and played across Cinnamon's face as she sat sleeping in a chair at Ilia's bedside. The sudden shift in light caused her to jerk awake, and she instinctively shot up and raised her arms slightly in a defensive stance as she surveyed the room. After finding no threats, she slowly dropped her guard and engaged in a full-body stretch. Cinnamon balanced gracefully on her tiptoes before lowering her heels back to the linoleum floor, and stepping into her sandals as she looked down at Ilia.
"…morning. Still rather sleep beside you than him, even if you're about as interesting to talk to as Blake, right now."
A sudden knock at the door caused her nerves to fray and her shoulders to tense.
"You know it's open! It's a hospital!" she yelled from across the room.
A moment later, the door cracked just enough to allow a familiar face to slip inside. Jaune Arc immediately closed the door behind himself and looked over to Cinnamon with a sheepish grin and slight blush.
"Yeah… sorry. I guess I just thought, maybe I'd be disturbing you?"
Cinnamon folded her arms and fixed him with an annoyed glower. "Maybe. I did just wake up. I'm surprised you're back so early for round two."
Jaune made his way across the room, his torn sneakers squeaking slightly against the tile floor. "It just… kinda bothers me, seeing someone like this, when I know I can do something to help. Especially a friend… or a friend of a friend, I guess. Is she nice, when she's awake?"
Cinnamon couldn't help but snort as she watched him approach. "You think I've got an attitude? Ilia might punch you for looking at her the wrong way, unless you're a close friend."
Jaune sucked in a tense breath, and let it out while shaking his hands out. His breastplate jingled slightly with the motion. "Great. I'm sure I won't somehow piss her off unintentionally, like I did with you. And I'm still doing, apparently. Somehow. Is it a 'me' thing?"
"…do you wear that everywhere?" Cinnamon asked as she raised a brow.
"I… what?" Jaune replied, his confusion clear upon his face.
"Your armor. Or is it just when you're around me?"
"Oh! No, no, I wear it everywhere. A leader can never be too prepared, right? Besides, I've just kinda… gotten used to it, I guess," Jaune explained with an outward hand motion. "You know, it used to be a bit lighter, but then, when Ruby approached me to start journeying with her team on the way to Haven, we w-"
"Stop," Cinnamon commanded as she raised a hand in a dismissive motion. "Just… stop talking. That's how you pissed me off last night."
Jaune blinked, and fought back the urge to continue his story. "Got it. Message received. Anything else I can do to, um… not be the worst part of your day?"
"Sprout a tail, or cat ears," Cinnamon mused as she moved to walk around to the opposite side of Ilia's bed. "You'd look halfway decent with ram horns."
Jaune opened his mouth to say something, before closing it, and opening it again. "I don't really see how that would be helpful, but… okay."
"Okay?" Cinnamon questioned.
"Yeah, sure. I'll figure it out, next time we meet. I can't promise the horns won't be plastic, though," Jaune replied with a grin. Cinnamon merely shook her head and grimaced in disgust.
"Too much heart, and too little sense. That's going to get you killed, someday."
"So I've heard, over and over. Are we ready to do this? Same as yesterday?" Jaune inquired as he took up position next to Ilia's broken arm.
Cinnamon finally uncrossed her arms, and raised a finger. "Actually… give me the details of your semblance, if you would."
Jaune swallowed hard, and met Cinnamon's eyes. "You know, that's going to involve a lot of me talking…"
"Arc," Cinnamon seethed in a dangerous tone.
"Right! Sorry!" Jaune cleared his throat, and braced himself on the rail of Ilia's bed. "Well, I don't fully understand it, yet, but I can amplify the auras of other people. That helps with healing, which is what I'm doing here, but it also means that I can boost someone else's semblance. I tried it out with Ruby in the back yard yesterday afternoon, and we… broke several sections of fence. Qrow wasn't happy. It's his summer home, apparently."
"Never mind that," Cinnamon said as she shook her head. "Boosting a semblance is exactly what I was hoping you'd be capable of. I have an idea."
"Oh no," Jaune replied instinctively.
"…I will skin you."
"Okay, okay! Sorry, it's a reflex when you have Nora on your team!" Jaune explained. "What's your idea?" Jaune paused, and tilted his head slightly. "Actually, what's your semblance?"
"Exactly," Cinnamon replied with a smirk. "Now, you're thinking. My semblance is your semblance… or rather, I can use the semblance of anyone I'm touching. It also works on someone who has been injected by my spines, but doing that to you seems a bit rude, all things considered."
"Extremely rude, yes," Jaune agreed with a nervous laugh.
"…yet still tempting," Cinnamon stated as she narrowed her eyes. "Regardless, I can spend my own aura to trigger that 'borrowed' semblance, and in the process… intensify it, by using mine and the victim's."
Jaune took a moment to process the information. "So… if I can amplify aura, and you can take that amplification and burn us both out to amplify my amplification…"
"…then it would likely result in a feedback loop that amounts to a quick fix for wounds," Cinnamon finished for him.
"That's… that's incredible," Jaune said with a smile. "If it works, I mean. If you're right, and you stick with us, we could be a two-man healing station! Or semblance accelerator! Imagine you, touching me, touching Weiss! We could probably generate some kind of super-glyph! I mean, not me touching Weiss, or you t-"
"No," Cinnamon said immediately. "This is a one-time offer. Once Ilia is healed up and awake, I'm out of here."
"Well that's… unfortunate, but alright," Jaune replied as he rested his hand upon Ilia's broken arm, looking a bit like a kicked puppy. "Are you ready?"
Cinnamon laid her hand atop Jaune's, before placing her other one higher up on Ilia's arm. "Wish I'd eaten something first, but whatever. Start us off."
A swirling sheet of white energy began to coat Jaune's hand, before a similar orange effect sprang to life around Cinnamon's fingers. Suddenly, the two sections of aura began to mix before traveling up Cinnamon's arm and across the back of her shoulders to her other hand. The swirl of white and orange snaked down into Ilia's flesh, and the entire pathway began to softly hum as the pair worked.
"Wow," Jaune commented as his hand trembled slightly. "I can feel… I don't even know how to describe it. It's almost like that woozy feeling, after having your blood drawn."
"That's my gift," Cinnamon said with a nod. "Usually a curse for others. As much as I loathe to admit this to a human, I'll owe you one, once she wakes up."
"Are we all really that bad, in your eyes? I mean, I know that a lot of us are awful, but some of us care. Maybe I haven't exactly been picketing for faunus rights in the streets, but I honestly didn't even notice your spines, at first. I'm also not the most perceptive individual, but the point stands," Jaune said.
"In that case, why don't you go and find me a grimm to make friends with? I'm sure there are a few that wouldn't be interested in eating either of us. It must be worth looking, right?" Cinnamon asked as she took her eyes off of Ilia to look back at Jaune.
"Okay, well that's… I guess a lot of humans do see faunus like that, don't they?" Jaune admitted with a defeated tone.
"Our legacy is being kept in cages. It wasn't that long ago that we w-"
A sharp, desperate inhale broke up the conversation as Ilia's eyes flew open. The sound and sudden movement caused Cinnamon to jerk her hand away and Jaune to squeal in surprise. Suddenly, Ilia began to cough violently as she sat up in bed and tore off her oxygen mask.
"Where… w-where and… how…?" she questioned, her eyes glassy and unfocused as she began to wheeze.
"Easy!" Cinnamon commanded as she gently pushed into the center of Ilia's chest. The girl resisted only for a moment before she looked up at her friend and allowed herself to be guided back to the mattress.
"Cin? And… who are you?" Ilia asked as she looked over at Jaune.
"Jaune Arc. An old friend of Blake and Sun. Well, 'friend' might be pushing it, we're more acquaint-"
"He's an ally who helped with bringing you back to the waking world, and he talks too damned much about nothing," Cinnamon clarified as she took Ilia's good hand. "Glad to see you awake, Amitola."
"How long was I out? And more importantly, where are Blake and Sun?" Ilia replied as she looked around the room, only to be disappointed.
"It's been two days, and I'm not sure, on Blake. Sun apparently stayed here with you and without sleep for entirely too long, and is hopefully now resting elsewhere. I'll let you send him a text once we're sure you're up and functional. Put the oxygen mask back on, and stop pushing yourself," Cinnamon ordered.
Ilia leaned back into her pillow with a sigh, and eyed up Jaune with a curious look.
"Thank you, for whatever part you played in this. I'll find you later, so we can talk," Ilia said before slipping her mask back on.
Jaune waved a hand, and shook his head. "Happy to help. I'll… let you two get back to catching up. Call if you need me," he instructed before heading for the door.
"…maybe I will," Cinnamon commented as she watched him disappear out into the hall. As the door shut, she turned back to Ilia and narrowed her eyes. "Now, let me tell you all about the things that Blake's little friends planned on keeping from us… and what I want you to do about it."
Author's Note:
I think this may be the first chapter not to feature Sun or Blake at all. There certainly won't be many, if any more of them, but it needed to happen to let monkey boy get some rest. If I had to ballpark it, we're probably about 10 chapters out from the end.
Keep in mind, every time I've thrown out a chapter estimate, I've been wildly off. Remember when the goal was 30? Good times.
Next update on Sunday.
-RD