Summary:
Adam is tasked with unravelling the mystery of the White Fang's unusual string of robberies, his quest sees him travelling down memory lane once more, reliving his life when it was dedicated to vengeance.
Meanwhile, the class is given an assignment on a sensitive manner, and the recently stable relationship of Team SYBR is rocked once more by fundamental differences in their beliefs.
Notes:
I made very few changes to the chapter, so if you read the original, you could get away with skipping this
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
"The Vytal Festival, Remnant's most important celebration of culture," began Professor Oobleck, "Instituted in the aftermath of the Great War, it serves as a reminder as the edicts prescribed in the Vytal Peace Accords the most important being…"
"The founding of the Huntsman Academies to ensure peace," Munachi Anene, the leader of team MOZS, said, taking the Professor's pause as a go-ahead to speak, "The development of the Cross-Continental Transmit System, to ensure communication, the colour naming tradition, to address the restraints put on self-expression preceding The War and the abolition of slavery to ensure the equality of all men and women."
Her last point earned a snort from Ollumi, her teammate and partner, but she pretended not to hear.
"Exactly, Miss Anene," the green-haired Professor praised, "The Vytal Festival serves to not only remember, but celebrate all these things, as they serve as milestones in the civilization of man as a whole."
"Now," Oobleck said while adjusting his glasses, "Who has a poster for the Vytal Festival here with them?"
"Here," a student said as she pulled one from her desk and offered it to the professor.
"Hold on to it," he said, with a halting gesture, "Could you tell me what's wrong with that poster?"
"It reads 'annual' when it's actually a biennial festival?" she asked nervously, her question earning a small roar of laughter from her classmates.
"Yes, but not quite the one I have in mind," he said tetchily, "Anyone else?"
"I know," said Ollumi from his seat next to Munachi, and rose once he got permission from
Oobleck, "The Vytal Festival purports to be a reminder of the edicts after the Great War, including equality and celebration of diversity, its symbol is a combination of the emblems of all the kingdoms… except Menagerie's."
"Despite the fact that humans and Faunus are apparently equal, they aren't represented in Remnant's largest and most important cultural festival."
"Exactly," Professor Oobleck said, "That's exactly the point I was looking for."
"But Professor," Munachi responded, "That's a rather one-sided observation, Faunus have participated freely in the Vytal Festival for decades, not to mention that Menagerie doesn't even have a Huntsman Academy and most importantly, it is basically a terrorist nation."
"You're referring to the popular acceptance of the White Fang all over Menagerie," Professor Oobleck responded.
"Yes," she responded fervently, "Everyday, more and more districts drop Menagerie's flag in favour of the White Fang's. The citizens have accepted a terrorist organisation, the councils would have to be raving mad to represent terrorists in the Vytal Festival."
"Permit me saying," Zakin, the final member of team MOZS, and Shouter's former partner, said in his almost brooding manner, "The progressions you speak of happened only over the past three years."
"The Vytal Festival is a nearly century-old institution; the fact that Menagerie has not been included in it all this time is one that begs many questions. Though to be fair, Menagerie has been rather independent of the influence of the kingdoms since the Faunus Right Revolution, so their lack of involvement could be voluntary."
"This," came Dr. Oobleck's voice, "Is the essence of History; the search for truth. This is precisely why this is going to be your assignment."
"Each team must proffer one representative," he said while pointing to the script that was suddenly written on the board: "The Edicts of the Vytal Peace Accords; Do they Hold up to the Principles they Purport?"
"That person will write an essay as well as present their piece before the class," he continued,
"This assignment is worth 30% of your grade. The representative does not have any obligation to express the views of his or her teammates, it will be their essay, but the entire team's grade will be determined by it. The method by which you choose your representative is up to you."
With those words, the doctor sped out of the class, his departure immediately followed by the closing bell.
"Hey, Adam," Ruby called out to her red-haired class rep as she approached him, "Can I take a rain check on cleaning today?"
"Sure, how come?"
"Weiss has ordered us all to a mandatory shopping session," she said with a small smile.
"You seem to be getting along better," he said as he gathered his books from his desk.
"Yeah, ever since Forever Fall, everyone stopped staring daggers at each other. Whenever I ask Blake what happened, she turns red and changes the subject, Weiss isn't forthcoming either. I guess that's just the power of Burning Blossom."
"It must be," Adam said, "Let me not keep you waiting, enjoy yourself."
"Thanks a bunch," she said as she turned into a red blur.
"That's one issue down," he said under his breath.
He remembered the conversation he had had with Ozpin a week or two earlier.
xXx
"Am I in trouble Principal Ozpin?" Adam asked as he walked into the grey-haired principal's office.
"No need to be so formal, or sarcastic," Ozpin answered, dropping his mug unto the table, "As for whether or not you're in trouble, that remains to be seen."
"Ominous," Adam says jokingly as he takes a seat.
"Are you aware of the chain of robberies that the White Fang has been involved in over the past couple weeks?"
"Of course, news spreads, not to mention that majority of your students are more fit to be gossips than Huntsmen."
"Do you have any idea as to the reason for their change in tactics?"
"They usually avoid sending progress reports when you're a deserter," Adam said, to which the only answer was a glare from Glynda. "Got it, no jokes. I would have to assume that they've moved bases permanently out of Forever Fall, our base of operations while I was in charge, and into Vale, making it impossible to move in and out of the city anytime they wanted."
"But still," the ex-general continued, "Unless recruitment is going a lot better than anticipated, we wouldn't need nearly as much Dust as they've been reported to be stealing."
"Their behaviour is unprecedented," Ozpin said, "Although they're clearly avoiding Faunus-owned shops, the White Fang has always attacked large enterprises and avoided individuals, even during the Massacre."
"Not to mention that the human owners will make it even harder for the Faunus whose shops aren't being hit, even the customers will likely think it as a conspiracy of sorts, the best shot they'll have is to sell it to the humans at much lower prices."
"Very contradictory to your mission to say the least," Ozpin said while steepling his fingers, "The work of a copycat? Someone trying to frame the White Fang, perhaps overly enthusiastic admirers."
"I doubt it," said Adam with a shake of his head, "It's been weeks, any copycats would have been taken down or absorbed depending on the situation. Either way, I'll check it out if you want me to."
"You're willing to do that?"
"Of course," Adam said, "I'm worried about the White Fang, but where I am is where my allegiances are… You seem to be surprised by this."
"That probably stems the fact that I don't understand the sort of man you are," Ozpin said as he leaned in closer to the redhead, "So, what is it that you're here for?"
"I'm here because I believe that this is the best way to help my people. I want the White Fang to be more than some terrorist group."
"I see… it would be helpful if you could get any information regarding the Fang's strange behaviour," Ozpin said, leaning back into his chair with his mug, "I'm assuming that you'd rather be alone for this?"
"You assume correctly," Adam said as he rose, "If I need to contact you urgently?"
"Here," Ozpin said as he passed him a black scroll, "It's part of a disconnected network, so there's no chance of it being hacked. I'm sure you've done recon before, so I won't bother you with anymore instructions."
"Okay then," Adam said, "This'll probably take a few weeks, beyond finding out the reason behind their behaviour, I also want to look into their new chain of command."
"Of course."
xXx
Presently, Adam pulled his personal scroll out of his pocket and initiated a conversation:
Adam: You're busy?
Pyrrha: No, why?
Adam: Need help with something, can you meet me at the Statin Plaza?
Pyrrha: Sure thing.
He ended the conversation and started another one.
Adam: Let's go.
Neo: No way to talk to a lady is it?
Adam: You're many things, Neo.
Neo: -_-
Adam: I'll be at Statin Plaza, bring Emerald with you.
xXx
"What did you want help with?" Pyrrha asked as the group stood outside an ice-cream hut in Statin Plaza, a little way from the docks. "Besides making sure that Neo doesn't assault the vendor, that is," she added on seeing Neo stare intensely at the vendor as he carefully scooped layer upon layer of her order.
"Before that, how's your team? You didn't have a prior arrangement with them?"
"Not really, Nora is hanging out with team CRDL or DLR (Dollar), and Ren is enjoying one of his few free days."
"Part of the leader thing is to spend as much time with them as possible," Adam noted as he got started on his own cone.
"Yeah," she responded, "We all have plans to spend the day with each other tomorrow, we're all from Mistral, so we're going to hit some of the tourist spots later on."
"Okay then," he said, "To answer your question, you know that some Shade Academy students are showing up today, including the very noble Princess Adele, fourth daughter of King Anulavi."
"Yeah?" Pyrrha asked, not understanding where he was going with it.
"I was thinking that sending the Invincible Girl to welcome a princess would be more… appropriate than sending an unnamed class rep."
"I'd prefer if you didn't call me that," she said, trying to keep her smile plastered on.
"Apologies, bad habits, I guess," he said, clearly not bothered, "What's your answer?"
"I would be happy to," she said, as she finally had a go at her ice cream, "What flavour is this? It takes like sugar-flavoured cardboard."
"It's Peter Pumpkin's Unknown Adventure promo, the flavour's a mystery," he said with a small smile, "Careful, if people see a Peter Pumpkin ambassador nearly retching at the taste of one of their products, they might question the brand's quality."
"They probably kept the flavour a secret to avoid prosecution," Pyrrha said even though she still took a bite, "It's somehow even worse than the cereal."
"Why be an ambassador if you don't like their products?"
"Why do you enjoy probing me?" she asked, "I'm not in the mood for another enlightenment on how terrible my character is."
"Anyone would be interested in The In… interesting things?" he said, trying a save after nearly using the forbidden word on Pyrrha.
"Maybe another time," she said as she took another agonising bite from the ice cream.
"Either way," he said, "I'll escort you to the docks and welcome the students with you before I take my leave since I have a rather urgent errand to run."
"Sure. What about those two then?"
"They have plans of their own, we'll leave them to it once we're done here."
xXx
"Just to clear things up," Yang asked as the group made their way to the docks, "You dragged us out on the pretence of shopping just so that we could spend our Saturday with the fishes?"
"I just want us to welcome the students coming in from Vacuo!" the white-haired girl shouted in defence.
"More like spy on them," Blake said with a giggle, her voice not carrying the familiar criticism that it usually did.
The group turned a corner and came face to face with a damaged Dust shop that had been cordoned off for an investigation.
"Robbery," one of the detectives said to his partner, "Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle."
"They left all the money again."
"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?"
"I don't know, an army?"
"You thinking the White Fang?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough."
The short conversation that was overheard by team SYBR set a tense atmosphere that was all too familiar to this group.
"Um… fish am I right?" Ruby asked, trying to break the tension, "What a funny word, fiiiiish, yeah."
xXx
"I'm Pyrrha Nikos and I'll be your guide for today," Pyrrha said as she welcomed the students who had just gotten in, "This is our class rep, Adam, he's indisposed now, so please allow me to show you around Beacon and Vale."
None of the students seemed to have any complaints regarding this, they were actually excited; why have an ordinary class rep to welcome them when the Pyrrha Nikos could do so instead? Their friends would be so jealous.
Adam gave a small nod of thanks as he turned to leave. The fact that he wasn't watching where he was going was probably part of the reason that he ran into someone, was what any bystander would think, the fact that the two people who collided exchanged pieces of paper before righting themselves and apologising to each other would have disproved this observation.
Fortunately for Adam, no one witnessed this discreet exchange.
The paper read: 'VSR-143', Adam simply nodded as he walked into a bookstore that wasn't far from them and walked out once more a few minutes later, or rather, skipped out.
This was strange, the people who had been tailing Adam since he left the school also thought so, but they didn't allow that to stop them from following their charge.
If they had, they may have seen the very Adam Taurus walk out of the door he came out of moments ago and head back to the docks. He walked into one of the boats that the students had filed out from with the excuse that one of his classmates had forgotten something and he was looking for it.
He walked into one of the cabins and was followed in by two men who had apparently been waiting for him in the corridor.
"Adam," the man said, his fedora and trench coat while giving him a sufficiently shady appearance, didn't hide how large a man he was.
"What's going on?" Adam asked, skipping pleasantries, "I hear that the White Fang is nothing short of a band of thugs at the moment?"
"General Banesaw has been doing al-" the other man, who seemed to be more like a boy said loudly, before his sentence was cut off by a glare from the two adults in the room.
Understanding the message, the youth left his two generals alone with a salute.
"You have, have you?" Adam asked amusedly after turning his gaze away from the child.
"The human we're allied with," Banesaw began, "Torchwick, he seems to have taken over the Vale operations. Not surprisingly, your departure and the Belladonna's desertion left them with few experienced soldiers and majority of them are the newly recruited from within Vale; thugs and children. Hardly Faunus that would understand our goal well enough to defend it from the likes of him."
"Still," Adam queried, "There were some of our soldiers, the human shouldn't have been able to seize control of our ranks so easily."
"I instructed them to just go with his plans until I arrived. After all, they threatened us into working for them, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to weed out those that went against them."
"I understand," Adam said, "You're going to take over operations here then?"
"Yes," the seven-footer said with a small nod, "I made ample preparations to ensure that our Vacuo operations won't suffer too much from my absence. Sheena's also coming in from Atlas with an SDC shipment; we're going to take over. So there's no reason to worry about the robberies, they'll end soon."
"You're pretty intimidating now."
"Think so? I've been doing tons of image training."
"Yeah," Adam said, "Especially since you talk so deliberately, almost slowly. Makes every word hit more."
"Thanks," Banesaw said as he scratched the back of his head.
"You're still a total marshmallow though."
"I know," he responded meekly.
Adam had merely been throwing jabs at him, the man that stood before him was much bolder than he had been when they had first met.
xXx
It was back in Campis Inquinavi, two years after Adam had unlocked his Semblance and been given his 'opportunity'.
The Faunus boy was stood taller and firmer, he was almost like a soldier, his grey uniform displaying his rank as a supervisor. He moved quickly through the settlement, it had hardly changed, same buildings, though a few more had been erected to cater for the evergrowing population of the mining colony.
This difference was hardly noticeable though, Adam simply noted that everything was duller, maybe it was the perpetual red hue his eyes, at least the one that wasn't behind his turban mask (think Baki from Naruto), always seemed to be set to, it could also be the apathy that he had been taking to ensure that he didn't fly into a rage.
Most likely though, it was the frustration that came from having been unable to achieve anything in the last two years.
He had been promoted, but that was hardly his goal, every day he made a small step and every day he was reminded just how pointless it all was: from sabotaging equipment, to making sure that some slaves weren't given sufficient apathy, it was all for naught.
The camp was simply too strong, it was a powerful structure, no one man could take it down. But what was the alternative?
If he didn't do all this, his continuous quell of rage would dry up, he couldn't let that happen.
He walked into one of the supervisors' quarters, it was a normal cottage, close to the library, separated from the other quarters; it was Cerise's.
Ever since he had unlocked his Semblance, his value as a slave skyrocketed, his training had become more and more serious, he had even succeeded in taking down a fair number of Grimm, not without support of course.
He made his way towards her study, ready to report that he had returned from his last mission.
"We need to keep something so dangerous in the colony?" asked a man quietly.
"There's a large number of slaves to test it on, so of course we're going to keep it here," a voice that seemed to be Cerise's responded calmly, "You know why it's important that we accept this request."
"The risks though…"
"The results Nikolai, isn't that what's important? The quicker we get over with this, the quicker we can leave all of it behind."
Adam knocked on the door, interrupting the two adults' conversation before being beckoned in.
"Did you bring it?" she asked, waving off the Faunus' greeting.
"Yes ma'am," he said as he pulled out a small Beowulf figurine from the satchel on his shoulder.
"He's just going to throw this away you know," the man who was called Nikolai complained with a small smile.
"I told Nigel to make it out of linder," she said as she pulled the figure from Adam's hand, "It'll glow in the dark, so it'll be difficult to lose."
"Oh yeah," Adam said, "He told me to tell you that he's a blacksmith not a toymaker."
"Really?" she asked as she glanced at Nikolai. "Honey," she said with a fake pout as she grabbed the man, "Your brother's being mean to me."
"You're the one being mean," he whispered exasperatedly, "Giving someone who's as proud of their craft as Nigel menial tasks like toy making."
"You too?" she asked as she ran behind Adam, "Help me out Adam, they're all being so mean."
The redhead silently scanned Nikolai, knowing that he wasn't bothered by any of it, but hoping that he would be.
Ever since that day, when he had taken Adam down with ease, the Faunus boy had always been looking for another avenue to test his mettle against him. This clearly wasn't it though, as Nikolai would never start a fight over something so small.
"Oh, no reaction?" Helena asked towards Adam, "A beautiful woman just thrust herself into your arms. Where's your blush, your ruddiness?"
"Probably waiting for someone who isn't old enough to be his mother," Nikolai whispered under his breath, although it still earned him a glare from his wife.
This was how they got along; two years ago, Adam was a slave, he was nothing, his life, dreams, opinion, voice… none of those things had mattered. But now, he was treated like a younger brother, that was the difference between a slave and a subordinate.
"Thanks, Adam," he said, trying to change the topic, "Could you give it to him? He's been asking about you."
Adam simply nodded as he picked the figurine up and walked out of the study. Upstairs, he knocked on a door and walked in, despite not having been given an answer.
"Oh, you're back," said a black-haired boy about Adam's age who was on his bed with a book before him.
"I am," Adam answered tepidly, "Your parents wanted me to give you this."
"Another one?" he asked, "You'd think that they would have gotten the message after I've 'misplaced' so many of them."
"You would," Adam said tersely as he handed the Beowulf figure to him.
It was traditional in Remnant; the creatures of Grimm fed on negativity, so from a young age, children were taught to be positive and that the Grimm were nothing to beware of. This culture was facilitated by toys of the Grimm, harmless figures that children could hold in their hands and play with.
In this case though, it had the opposite effect as the child was frightened by the figures and 'misplaced' them every time. The average parent would have caught on by now, but not his parents, Cerise would never believe or accept that her son was scared of Grimm toys.
"So," the boy said, "How do we get rid of it this time? The old 'I forgot under the bed'?"
"It's made of linder, so that would be difficult to get away with, just leave it at your window; I'll take care of it."
"Thanks, Adam," he said gratefully.
"Don't mention it," Adam said as he sat next to him, "What are you reading?"
"An erebiology book," he said, "It's really cool, there are tons of unique specimens, most of them can't even be found in Mistral."
"I know I've said it before Ethan," Adam said, "But for someone who's scared of Grimm, you are awfully interested in them."
"Studying Grimm is very important," the boy answered with a pout, "Plus, the illustrations are harmless."
"Whereas the toys are simply waiting till you fall asleep before they attack," the sarcasm in Adam's voice, the closest thing to emotion he had displayed since walking into the house.
"Yes!" he shouted in frustration, "Don't you remember-?"
"When one of them attacked you? Yes, it was one of your dad's pranks and he's the only one who brings it up more than you do."
"How're things with you?" Adam asked, after the silence that was ensued by the boy's lack of a response.
"Mom and dad are more set on leaving than ever," the boy said, melancholically, "They even took on extra responsibilities… we're not going to be here much longer."
Campis Inquinavi served a similar purpose to the Huntsman Academies, it produced a fairly large number of 'talented' slaves and transported them to similar mining colonies.
The goal of every slave and supervisor in the mining colonies was freedom; the kingdoms were man's only safe haven from the creatures of Grimm, and a life there was understandably vied for. However, for many of them, a life there wouldn't be safe or secure.
For many a Faunus, impoverishment, discrimination and several other factors would prevent them from living an ideal life, but after gaining enough contributions for the SDC, they would not only be given ample compensation and sometimes land to inhabit in the kingdoms, but also recommendations and sponsorships that were often restricted faunus if not by any real law, by an unspoken social contract.
This was part of the reason why there were hardly any rebellions among the mining colonies; the benefits of remaining a part of the community were too many. Even those that would never make it to the kingdoms would live comfortable lives, much more comfortable than being a slave or a runaway.
And that was exactly why Adam couldn't wait; he couldn't let Helena leave, not after everything he had done over the past two years, his anger could not go unquenched, he wouldn't let it.
"You're certain?" Adam asked, feigning concern.
"Yeah, mom and dad got a new… dangerous undertaking," he said, "The contributions from that will be enough for us to finally relocate. They're thinking Satin, a little ways east of Argus, a nice town, Remnant's 5th largest library."
"Sounds nice," the vengeful faunus responded, "What's the assignment? Must be something huge if you can get into somewhere as good as Satin."
In the two years since Sheena's departure, he had learned a great deal and had even tutored Ethan once or twice.
"It's something Experimental," Ethan said absentmindedly, "Not sure what exactly, but it's pretty big, a Grimm."
"Really?"
He asked the question genuinely, the interest in his voice encouraging the boy to continue.
"Yeah, mom left the paperwork in her study, I managed to get a look, but she obviously hid anything that would give the specifics away. Sometimes I think that she's just trying to tease me."
"Either way," Adam said, disinterested seeing that he had no real information "We'll talk later, I need to get back to the forge before I get skinned by the old man.
xXx
Back in Beacon, team SYBR had just gotten back from what should have been a pleasant outing but was spoiled by the short dialogue between the detectives and an encounter with a monkey faunus.
"I know that you want to say something, so just come out with it." Blake bit to her team leader after they had stewed in awkwardness for a few minutes.
"Eh?" Weiss responded in surprise, not expecting the cat-girl to snap at her like that, "I-it's nothing important, we can all talk about it later."
"Just come out with it," Blake said, calmer than she was a second ago, "It's already up in the air, so there's no point postponing the discussion."
"I was just thinking about our History assignment," she answered meekly, "I was wondering how we were going to choose our representative and what that person was going to say."
"Why? We haven't chosen yet, so there's no need to discuss it now."
"Actually," Yang cut into her partner's conversation, "That's what she said, you're the one that pressed the issue."
"Exactly," Weiss said, gaining confidence after seeing that Yang was backing her up, "What's your deal? Did I do something wrong?"
"You know well what you did."
"You're mad because I called that boy a degenerate?" Weiss asked, as she had noted Blake's displeasure at the time.
She chose to stop then to avoid an argument, and she could do the same now, she could simply apologise, but why should she apologise? Calling someone who stowed away on a boat a degenerate was hardly a sin. Would Blake be offended if she called a trashcan a trashcan too?
Above all, she was a Schnee, she wouldn't lower her head for anyone especially not some catty teammate who seemed to be looking for a fight.
"I don't see any reason why I have to apologise for that, is it because he's a Faunus?" Weiss asked, her indignation rising with each word, "Why do Faunus criminals get special treatment? The White Fang are called revolutionaries when they're just murderers and thieves and my teammate attacks me because I called a criminal something that aptly describes him."
"You don't know anything," Blake shouted, "The Fang may be misguided, but they're still a force of revolution."
"I don't know anything?" Weiss asked angrily, her palms nearly bleeding as she pressed her fingers into them, "I'm a victim! I know what the White Fang are, they're not revolutionaries, they're not even just criminals, they're monsters."
"You say that because you choose to remain ignorant of the plight of Faunus in Remnant."
"I don't choose to do anything of the sort," Weiss shouted, "The only ignorant ones are the White Fang and their supporters. Why else would they execute SDC board members? Why would they murder them? They were just innocent workers. Not to mention that my father and the SDC have devoted themselves especially to helping Faunus for close to a decade."
"Is that what he told you?"
Blake's question was met with a slap from the smaller girl. Blake was a Faunus with heightened senses and reflexes, and a veteran of a dozen battles, but for some reason, Weiss was still able to land a hit.
"I'll accept anything," Weiss began, "Insults, accusations, slander… but I won't accept my father being called a liar."
"Humans like you," Blake said as she rubbed her cheek, although honestly, the slap was nothing, "Humans like you are the reason the White Fang exists. The idea that someone else believes something different than you, the idea that you may be wrong about anything, it scares you doesn't it? It scares you so much that you forget reason and you lash out."
"Well, I'll tell you something," Blake said as she began undoing her bow, "We're not going to stand down anymore. Whenever you push, we'll push back and we'll push harder!"
The sudden appearance of cat ears on their teammate's head evoked a gasp from the girls of team SYBR.
"Hey, Blake," Yang said as she approached her partner and placed her hand her shoulder. However, the cat-eared girl disappeared; she had used her Semblance, Shadow, and slinked out of the room without her teammates noticing.
"Hey!" Yang shouted as she scanned the room and outside the window futilely for her partner before running out of the room.
"Well?" Ruby queried as she made to follow Yang, "Aren't you coming too?"
"There's no point," Weiss said, although she had been flabbergasted by Blake's revelation, she had composed herself, "You saw how well she scouted in Forever Fall. She's not going to be found if she doesn't want to be."
"Then let's report to a Professor."
"And say what? 'Our friend who's allowed to be off campus on weekends is off campus, she's been gone for half a minute and we haven't tried calling her. Could you take time out of your busy schedule and help us look for her?'"
"What do you suggest then?"
"Nothing, Blake's grown-up, she'll come back when she's ready."
"Not an option," Ruby responded angrily.
"Fine then," Weiss said raising her hands, "Contact Adam and tell him what happened. The two seem to be fairly cordial with each other, so it's not impossible that she'll agree to meet or talk with him."
"Okeydokey, cap," Ruby said as she pulled out her scroll to make the call.
"You ought to get Yang too."
xXx
"Hey old man," Adam said as he walked into the forge.
"Oh," the object of the address said on seeing the twelve-year old, "I thought it was someone important."
"Harsh," Adam responded, "Not as harsh as number 43, though."
"The brat is going throw that one away too?" Adam simply nodded as he took up his post.
"I wonder why you still do it though," Adam mused as he steadily raised the flame with a pair of bellows, "It's demeaning for a smith of your calibre and he's just going to throw them away. Not to mention the fact that you despise your brother."
"Despise is a strong word," the old man responded as he searched for his pipe, "Not nearly strong enough to express how I feel though."
"I know, despisal doesn't even begin to cover your feelings towards traitors of our race," Adam said mockingly.
"Shut up and let me tell the story again."
"Once upon a time, Nikolai and I were slaves in this very colony. But we weren't going to take it; we formed our very own rebellion, we weren't content with that treatment and we wouldn't stand for it."
"We were outmatched and headed for our deaths, but that didn't stop us… until one day, Nikolai went on about having met a human and that he was in love and all that nonsense. His actions led our rebellion being captured and most of us being executed."
"He failed us, he shirked his responsibilities and he gets a family and a happy life. All I get is this darned limp and a little snot that I can rant about my grievances to."
"Love you too," Adam said humorously, "Your 112th recollection of that story doesn't answer why you still help her out."
"Regardless of whether he deserves it, I have my responsibilities as a brother. I won't make trouble for my family especially since it won't achieve anything worthwhile."
"You're really big to accept it like that," Adam said, "But revenge isn't meant to achieve anything... I feel bad for anyone who's looking for some kind of fulfilment from vengeance. I believe that vengeance is a duty like any other, you do it regardless of how it makes you feel."
"Duty to whom?"
The boy simply shrugged as he turned back to his work.
That boy, thought Nigel, He seems okay, but he says some pretty ominous things from time to
time.
He remembered what Adam had said two years ago, about having 'other plans', but he was grateful that it seemed he had just been speaking out of grief and shock since he never spoke about it again.
"I have something for you," the old man said as he pulled a long bundle from a corner in the forge.
"M-master," Adam said after unwrapping it and seeing the blade that lay within, "Isn't this one of the swords that was rejected because it didn't fit the client's needs at all? The 'worthless sword' as he called it?"
"Nerium Thorn isn't worthless."
"You named it?"
"Of course I named it, how could such a master piece go unnamed?" Nigel said vehemently, "You don't understand, it's the perfect weapon; every single part of it is deadly. The blade is thin and light, so perfect for quick thrusts but it's equally capable of cutting, it has a compartment filled with poison that is slowly released unto the blade via these small grooves. In addition, the pistols that serve as the cross-guards are detachable, and one of them is customised for firing smoke bullets, in the hilt, ther-"
"It sounds great," Adam interrupted, "But the main issue remains that it's a sword designed for killing people; smoke rounds and toxins don't work on Grimm, none that I've seen at least, and the only thing we kill here is Grimm. Not mention that someone could accidentally cut themselves and it'd be over for them. Why not just create an ordinary sword?"
"I'm a blacksmith, a true blacksmith," he responded stubbornly, "I'm not going to make ordinary works just because that's what's demanded."
"Fair enough," Adam responded as he picked the blade and sheathed it with a bow.
"You're actually taking it?"
"This piece is truly masterful," Adam said, "Even if I might end up not using it, I'd be too jealous if somebody else got it."
xXx
Adam had a night shift, and he thoroughly patrolled the settlement at least that's what it looked like. In truth, he was looking for an opportunity to slip in through the tunnels that the rebellion had used many years back.
Through extensive searching and a few clues from the old man, he had been able to discover them, though he wasn't the only one, supervisors often used them for 'illicit' purposes, he had walked in on many a couple getting intimate or a group of friends experimenting with some substance or other.
Thankfully, there wasn't anyone in these tunnels tonight, Helena had been specific about avoiding them. Thankfully, he had been doing this for quite a while, so he was prepared for anything.
The SDC was Remnant's largest Dust company. However, it didn't deal in only the production and supply of Dust, another major Division of the company was its military contracts. They were almost always the sole awardees of contracts from the government of Atlas.
This involved a range of experiments, not only using samples of Dust, but people and Grimm as well.
The Grimm were humanity's biggest threat, therefore, most weapons created would be geared towards combating them. Capturing Grimm was a particularly difficult task, experimenting on them was even more difficult, and often futile. Exactly why the field was so lucrative; in a field as important as erobiology (study of the creatures of Grimm; also called Grimm Studies simply), any headway made was not only well-appreciated, but also well-rewarded.
The SDC was amongst the few to make real progress in the field and because of this had a steady stream of income from the kingdoms because of their knowledge in crafting anti-Grimm weaponry and measures.
For example, they had perfected the apathy drug used in the advent of the Great War by Atlas (formerly Mantle,) in their war on self-expression.
It wasn't strange for things from the Experimental Division of the SDC to be sent to mining colonies because it met all the conditions necessary for the experiments to be carried out; isolation from the kingdoms, abundance of both Grimm and people as subjects, and large amounts of Dust.
This instance was strange however, because no staff had been sent along with the subjects and neither had directives been given for how the experiments would proceed.
Cerise had considered this and already sent word to the Experimental Division, it would take a few days for either the staff or the directives to be sent, so all she could do was wait until then.
Meanwhile, Adam was scanning the tunnels that usually held the test subjects, they were almost always held underground.
It wasn't difficult to discover which particular one the subjects were being held in this time, the sound of the creature's breath shook the entire tunnel system; another good reason to not enter them.
How isn't this audible aboveground?
Despite his surprise at the scale of the Grimm, he still advanced through the tunnels.
Before Adam stood a few cells in which the different experiments were held. The scene served to reinforce the belief that man was more evil than any other force.
Even the Grimm, deliverers of darkness, the very definition of monsters stood silent in their cages. None of them reacted to the fact that there was a child in their midst, they had all endured experiments and acts so treacherous that even the soulless Grimm were broken.
This is what man was capable of.
As he walked past, he saw a cage that seemed to be empty, as he inspected it, a pair of eyes appeared suddenly before him, nearly scaring the boy. The eyes weren't that of a man, neither were they that of a Grimm. They glowed a strange shade of green, almost dirty, but rather innocent.
The creature stretched out its hand from within the cell, as though demanding for some fee for getting a glimpse of it. Adam didn't have much of anything, but he pulled out half a bar of chocolate that was in his pocket and handed it over to the creature before backing away, remembering that he had work to do.
Further down the passage, Adam saw a vault, it was reserved for the larger experiments, the ones that wouldn't be held by the cells. He walked towards it and could tell that that was where the breathing originated from.
It was a deep rumbling that made Adam's heart quiver. Still, he walked towards the door, opened the transom window and looked into the vault.
The boy fell down to the floor, shaking and quivering uncontrollably as he instinctively backed away from the vault door, his mouth opened and closed, his brain communicating to him that he ought to be screaming right about now, but he was too shocked stiff to do so.
When he looked in, he had hardly seen anything, its black form was near indistinctive from the darkness it was in, but he had gotten a glimpse of something else.
Its eyes were covered with the haze of sleep, but they still burned malevolently, their terrifying light scaring the young Faunus into a near stroke.
He collapsed onto the floor, taking several minutes to calm himself down.
After he succeeded, he immediately burst into manic laughter, as though exposure to this... thing had infected him with a touch of madness.
This... this is exactly what I need.
xXx
"This is our chance, I'm telling you," Adam said in front of a small group of supervisors, "As long as you can stop apathy from being fed to our brothers for just a few days, we can set all of them free."
It was a rebel gathering; the SDC provided great deals, freedom, resources, the ideal life but what about the lives before that?
Many of their lives had been ruined; they'd watched their parents, siblings, children, friends, all of them get killed in their very presence if they weren't good enough or if they stepped out of line.
Were they supposed to forget all of it? Not all them could, and this seemed to be the only alternative, they swore an oath to put their lives on the line and throw them away if necessary for the cause.
For freedom.
Adam was using this rebellion for his vengeance; they were mostly naïve idealists that wanted freedom for their fellow Faunus.
Adam shared no such beliefs; in his mind, it wasn't a Faunus vs Humans situation, the SDC used Faunus in such a manner because it was low-cost and they could get away with it, if they could use a human workforce in such a way, then they would.
His priorities weren't rebellion or freedom, but they didn't need to know that, they'd all die in the name of their revolution, just as they wanted.
xXx
"Hey Blake," Adam said as he sat down opposite the Menagerie princess in a balcony café as she sipped tea the next afternoon.
"What happened to you?" Blake asked seeing the small cuts and bruises that dotted wherever wasn't covered by his now tattered clothes.
"Work," Adam said as he called for a waitress, "You? You seem… stressed."
"I'm assuming that Ruby already told you what happened."
"Did she?" Adam asked rhetorically, "She was camped outside my dorm room, alongside the rest of them. They're all worried you know."
"I'm sure they are," she said as she absentmindedly stirred the contents of her cup, "You can tell them that I'm okay."
"What happened exactly?" he asked as he called for a waitress, "The Schnee girl?"
"Yes, the Schnee girl," Blake responded angrily, "Along with her snobbishness, her misoneism, and how she manages to carry all of it on such a flat chest."
The last part of the brunette's rant made Adam almost snort out all his hot tea.
"What's your plan?" he asked after he composed himself.
"I… am not sure," Blake said honestly, "I'll be back in time for classes next week, but I'll probably be cooling off for next few days. So don't tell them where I am."
"Okay then, but I'll tell them that they don't have to worry."
"Whatever," she said, as she folded her arms and leaned back into her chair.
"Later then," he said as he stood up and walked away, leaving the bill to her.
"I thought he'd never leave," said a blonde monkey faunus who took Adam's seat a few minutes after the youth had left, "Now where were we?"
"Awkward silence and stern looks?" he asked, "My favourite part."
His name was Sun Wukong, they had first met at the port, for some reason, he hadn't joined the host of students being guided by Pyrrha and instead had come running off a boat and nearly into their group.
Weiss ordered that they give chase, although they ended losing him. Weiss then said some things that ticked Blake off and managed to spoil their entire afternoon.
xXx
"I just met up with Blake," Adam said into his scroll, "She's alright, although she does have some strange company with her."
"What d'you mean?"
"There was a weird open shirted guy watching us while we talked," Adam said, "He sat with her immediately I left, but she was friendly… enough with him, so I figured it was nothing to worry about."
"Was he a monkey faunus?" asked Weiss, cutting in from Ruby's side.
"He was," Adam responded, "Either way, she's okay, can't tell you where she is though. I'm also turning my scroll off, so we won't be able to communicate from now on."
The bull faunus proceeded to do as he said before any more questions could be asked.
"Back to work then," he whispered as he replaced his scroll into his pocket.
He was in the middle of the investigation that Ozpin had tasked him with. At least, that was the official story; in reality, he had gotten a list of White Fang copycats and bases of little consequence and raided them to get 'information'.
They would obviously know nothing, but the powers at be at the Academy would think that he was hard at work.
He had actually turned both his scrolls off completely, but Neo had contacted him using 'other means' and he returned to Beacon and ran into team SYBR.
xXx
"He hung up," said Weiss, apparently peeved.
"At least we know that Blake's okay," Ruby said.
"Seems like she's more than okay."
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Yang, in clear irritation towards her team leader.
"I just mean that doesn't the person Adam described remind you of someone?"
"Yeah," Ruby said, "He sounds like the stowaway than nearly ran into us yesterday."
"Exactly," Weiss said victoriously, "Blake runs away one day, after declaring she wouldn't stand for oppression or whatever social malady she's concocted in her mind and she ends up with the same criminal we ran into yesterday whom she was defending... seems like too much of a coincidence."
"You're implying that that boy is Blake's criminal cohort? Now you're just being ridiculous."
"You have any other explanations for it?"
"Maybe… all Faunus know each other?" Yang said with a slow shrug.
"Wow," Ruby inputted, "And they call you racist. Putting that aside though, we know that Blake is okay, but we still can't stop looking for her."
"I agree," Weiss said.
The sooner we find her, the sooner I can get answers from her.
xXx
The next day, the three girls are scanning the streets for their friend, they were able to enlist Pyrrha, Nora and Ren to join.
Though, it was more that they volunteered to help, Nora even coerced team DLR (Dollar) into joining the search. The girls had started at the border of the InDustrial Area and made their way to the port, while the other two teams searched other districts.
"Blake!" shouted Ruby.
"Blake!" shouted Yang.
"You're not helping, Weiss!" shouted Yang once more.
"No, you're not helping," Weiss retorted, "With Blake's abditive nature, shouting her name isn't going to achieve anything. We actually have to have a plan."
"And what?" asked Yang irritably, "Is a plan just going to appear out of nowhere?"
"No Yang, they usually come from our heads," came the voice of a freckled, redhaired girl who suddenly appeared amid the group.
"Ah, Penny. Where did you come from?"
"Where did you come from?" asked Weiss suspiciously.
"Well, my parents told me that I was made in a lab," the girl said plainly, "…Bazinga, you just fell for one of my Penny Polendina-brand pranks; I don't have parents."
The girl's statements left the rest of the group in shock, unsure of what to say after that.
"Was my joke not funny?" the girl asked after a few moments of silence.
"It's not that, Penny, it's just that… we're looking for our friend, so we're all a bit distracted."
"Are you playing hide and seek? I'm pretty good at that too," Penny said energetically.
"No, she's… missing," Ruby answered reining in her annoyance, "And we're all looking for her."
"Oh, I'll help then."
"Lemme guess," Yang said in annoyance, "You're an expert in that too."
"No," she said as she pulled out a tweed cap from her backpack and placed it on her head, "But my friend Shelly Polendina is. Bazinga! It's actually me; I'm also a master of disguises."
"Of course you are," Yang said, "I propose that we split up. Penny should go with Ruby."
"I disagree," Weiss said.
"How come?" Yang asked, "We didn't do so earlier because we were uneven, but that way we'll cover the most area in the least amount of time."
"Because," she said as she called her two teammates into a huddle away from Penny, "Remember when we were chasing that faunus a few days back?"
"Who stopped us?" she continued seeing the two sisters nod affirmatively, "Penny; I tripped over her and lost sight of him. The next day, Blake's with the same criminal and now, we happen to run into the same person that let him escape while looking for her."
"Are you saying that Blake's part of some sort of criminal ring or something?"
"I'm saying that it's all very fishy and that we should probably not leave your sister with someone we just met and whose behaviours are so very suspicious."
"I get your drift," Yang said after thinking it over for a few seconds, "So we go together then."
"Yeah."
"Hey Penny," Weiss said after they were done, "We're ready to head out now."
"Oh joy. I'll do my best to be helpful."
xXx
At Vale's Lengdeng port, Blake and Sun watched as Faunus dressed in the White Fang's uniform unloaded a large SDC Dust shipment.
"There you have it," the blonde thief said to his partner, "The White Fang are truly behind the thefts."
"Possibly," she responded calmly, "But the Fang has always had impersonators, this could merely be such a case."
"Hey! What's the holdup?" a red-haired wiry man said as he descended from the bullhead that had just arrived, "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous gang of thieves, so why don't you animals pick up the pace?"
"A human?" Sun asked, "Why would the Fang be working for a human?"
"There's only one way to find out," Blake said as she descended quietly and snuck behind the human.
"Nobody move," she shouted, Gambol Shroud at his neck and ready to do damage should the situation call for it.
"Whoa. Take it easy there, little lady," the human said.
"Explain what's going on here!" she said irritably.
"Didn't you get the memo?" came the voice of a lady who sashayed out of one of the crates, "Mr. Roman here, and the White Fang are going in on a joint business venture."
"General Sheena," Blake said in shock, she may have had doubts, but on seeing one of the organisation's highest ranked officers, she was certain; this was truly the White Fang. Using the moment of Blake's shock, Roman fired a shot to the ground, causing the two people to separate.
"Why are you working for him?" Blake asked angrily as she was surrounded by an increasing number of White Fang soldiers.
"That's hardly a traitor's business now is it?" Sheena responded as she drew two sabres from her sides, "Here's one that's more appropriate: 'Will you make it quick general?'"
"Quick with her?" asked Sun as he descended from his own position loudly, "It took me days to get her to talk, so good luck with that."
"Sun Wukong," the general said with a voice that almost betrayed distaste.
"You know me?"
Rather than answer, the general rushed Blake, signalling the soldiers to let them alone and continue their work. At the same time Roman began firing at the monkey faunus although he was able to block the first few shots.
Here goes nothing, Sun thought as he charged at the redhead.
xXx
The two students were on the floor in no time; they were very skilled, but hardly a match for the duo they had just clashed with. Sheena raised a blade in the air, ready to dole out the final blow.
Clang.
Surprise registered on the face of everyone present as her blade clashed with another one. It was a familiar one; Nerium Thorn.
"Two traitors in one day," Sheena said with a laugh, "Sundays are the best don't you think?"
"Adam, what are you doing here?" asked Blake as she got her bearings about her.
"Blowing about three days of hard work," he responded with mild irritation.
The arrival of Adam halted the work of the Fang members, as many of them pulled out their weapons, ready to fight.
"Hey!" called out the voice of a pint-sized Huntress in training, surrounded by her teammates and her new friend, Penny.
"Hey, Red," Roman called out, "Isn't it past your bedtime?"
"Are these people your friends?" Penny asked.
"Certainly not," Yang bit in anger, "But we are going to play with them."
"Oh joy."
"Where did you get those?" Weiss asked, facing General Sheena who had left the fighting to the lower soldiers, "Those are SDC customised made Vienni sabres! They're not yours, someone like you shouldn't have them!"
Tears formed at the heiress' eyes, all but begging to spill over, but she held them back, waiting for her answer.
"Roman dear," Sheena said, ignoring her, "If you would?"
Immediately, the thief threw a small crate of Dust towards the girls and shot at it just before them.
Weiss brought up an earth shield with her MADR, just in time to block it, although it still sent her flying backwards.
Ruby ran back to check on her, while Yang and Penny jumped down into the small army below them and began ploughing through them.
Yang made her way beside Blake and Sun while Penny glided through and somehow made it before the general.
"White Fang General, Designation: Unknown, Codename: Red Rain," Penny began, robotically, "For crimes against the kingdom of Atlas and its people, I hereby place you under arrest."
Sheena drew her blades as the only response and attacked the girl who moved back and skilfully dodged all her attacks.
"If you will not surrender yourself, I will b-" Her sentence was cut off by the general's boot, as she sent the redhead flying into a crate of Dust, creating an explosion.
"An Atlas student?" she asked herself as she turned her back to her downed opponent.
"Eliminate," Penny said, her voice sounding empty through the blaze she was still in.
Suddenly, a bright green beam shot out from the fire and straight for Sheena, enveloping the general.
As the beam dissipated, it revealed a red-haired Faunus standing with his blade before him, and his Aura glowing red before collapsing to the floor. Adam had blocked the hit intended for Sheena, but it seemed to be too much for him.
Suddenly, there was another explosion, and both of them vanished.
"Adam!" shouted Ruby who had maintained the high ground so that she could snipe their enemies properly but descended to check on the Class Rep.
"Fall back!" shouted a White Fang Captain, "The general's okay."
The terrorists listened to the command and made away with as much of the shipment as they could as the students frantically searched for their classmate and Penny.
Notes:
As usual, please comment/review and favourite/follow. Really encourages me.