Everything seemed to be perfect. The White Fang was stronger than ever, me and my boyfriend were working towards a better future and the world would change for the better. 'What could possibly go wrong?' I said when no one was around. It turns out, a lot. A lot could go wrong. And it did. Three months into the relationship, we started getting into arguments. I had noticed that more and more humans had been dying on missions that Adam had led, and that some of these humans weren't even supremacists, racists or people trying to stop us. Some of them were just innocent humans caught in the crossfire.

Adam and Blake walked into the Forever Fall compound, with the catgirl's arms crossed and angrily moving away from Adam.

He looked at his girlfriend, concerned. "Blake?"

She clinched her fists. "This is all your fault!"

The beast was taken aback. "What?"

"Four innocent humans died, and it's all your fault!"

"It was an accident. I didn't mean for it to happen!" Blake angrily stormed off. "Blake!"

Later that evening, the two stood on the rooftop of the White Fang encampment in the Forever Fall forest. Blake stood there, away from Adam without her mask on.

"Blake, I'm sorry." She could hear his footsteps as he approached her from behind. "I told you it was an accident."

She angrily turned to him. "Was it? This wasn't the first time humans have died on missions you led." Her ears and arms folded. "How many more accidents are there going to be?"

"I don't know. I'm out there fighting for us, and when you fight, people get hurt. What, do you want me to just abandon our cause? Like your parents?" Adam retorted.

Blake's cat ears fell down sadly. "No! I'm not saying that! I... I don't know."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought them up. I just get scared when it feels like you don't believe in me anymore."

Blake put her hand on Adam's shoulder. "I never said that."

Adam smiled. "Thank you, Blake. It's good to know I've still got you..."

As the petals blew in the wind, her cat ears drooped as she turned away from him sadly.

It was the first time the two of us had ever gotten into an argument. Five humans died on our last mission. Only one of which was actually hurting or trying to stop us. The other four were innocent... In retrospect, I feel that I should have reminded him of that. But.. I didn't. I thought it would be the last time. But... it wasn't.

A montage began with them in the streets of a city as a group of human supremacists got away...

"You let them get away!" Adam exclaimed.

"It's not my fault the mission failed! How many times do I have to tell you that?!" Blake asked him in anger.

Before switching to them in the city of Mistral, in the middle of the bridge above a waterfall, their backs to the rail...

"And what am I supposed to do? If I do this, innocent humans, including children and babies, will be hurt! Possibly killed!" Blake responded.

"Just do it!" Adam commanded.

Finally they were shown in Olympia, arguing as an infiltrator was taking down their men. The infiltrator had short orange hair and eyes and had several weapons on her back as she cracked a whip.

Adam looked down below as the infiltrator fought down below. "Oh no... This is bad. Really really bad. We've been found out!"

Blake analyzed her moves and fighting style. "No kidding. She's taking them out like a demon!"

"Don't you know who that is? That's Tangerine Arc, the vigilante! You lead her right to us!"

"I didn't lead her here!"

"But how else could she have found us?"

Said vigilante groaned as several White Fang goons restrained her by grabbing her arms. "Argh! Let go of me, you dastards!"

She kicked the guy in the groin, forcing him to let go of her and she wrestled her other arm free before handing on her hands and kicking away her opponents as she extended her legs outward. Tangerine jumped up and fired arrows at the goons that held her, killing one by sending the arrow straight through his head and another one, killing her by an arrow to the neck.

"She's too strong! We need to flee!" Blake insisted.

"No! We're not running! If necessary, I'll fight her. No human ever escapes my wrath!"

"Adam, please... just listen to me! You may not be able to stop her!" He took his right hand and slapped her across the face. "OW!"

The sound of the impact startled everyone, even Tangerine. The tough tomboy was the quickest the regain focus and she began to beat up and tie up several White Fang members, including a blond-haired lieutenant.

"How... how could you?" Blake held the left side of her face in pain as she angrily looked at him before running out of the warehouse.

"Oh gods... Blake!" She ran away, leaving him in the dust. She overheard his commands to the others as she ran. "Guys, fall out, retreat! I repeat, retreat!"

Most of the White Fang members followed her soon thereafter.

As we got away from the vigilante, I was very angry with him. I gave him a silent treatment for a week. This was when we were six months into our relationship. It's also when he bought me the promise ring and made his vow.

It was a cold and windy day, the city of Mantle was covered in goosebumps. Blake stood on the rooftop on the building in a black pull over jacket with a dark grey paw print, her arms folded and a dissatisfied look on her face. Adam joined her on the rooftop, but she didn't give him a passing glance.

"You ready Blake?" She walked further away from him, not saying anything. Her visible cat ears dropped in sorrow and anger. "Look, I know you're angry, and you have every right to be angry with me, but I didn't mean to hurt you..." She still gave him the silent treatment even if her expression shifted to a neutral tone. He sighed. "I love you, Blake. I'm really sorry." She looked at him with a mixture of sadness and curiosity as he got out a black box. "I got you something." He opened the box, showing the ring to her. She looked at it in awe. "It's a promise ring. It's a commitment to our relationship, and how much you mean to me."

She blinked in awe. "It's beautiful."

"Can you forgive me?"

For a moment, she was silent. Then she smiled and nodded. "Yes. That was a week ago. And this is now."

He slid the ring onto her left ring finger and held her hand before turning to look into her eyes. "You mean everything to me Blake." He gently embraced her. "If something happened to you or I lost you... I'd... I'd probably lose my mind."

She threw his arms around him. She believed him. She trusted him. The catgirl looked down below, seeing Jacques Schnee, the Schnee Dust Company board members and a huge shipment of dust arrive at the scene via a bullhead. The businessmen walked out of the plane and into her line of sight. "It looks like they're here."

"Well, then. Let's move."

As Adam got out his weapon, Blake got out her weapon and mask. She looked at it for a brief moment before putting it on. After doing this, she got out Gambol Shroud, looked at her partner in crime, nodded in unison with him and dropped down into the fray.

I had been foolish enough to believe his lie. I should have left then and there. But I didn't realize it. Because it would be the moments after this that everything really went wrong. Have you ever looked at someone and thought, "They are the personification of this word." The word I used to describe Adam has changed over time. At first I thought Adam was "justice", then I thought he was "passion". But over time, I realized I was wrong. When I left him, I thought he was "lost." He wasn't any of those things. While he was, and still is lost, I now realize that the most accurate word to describe him was "spite".

I still questioned his beliefs and practices. It wasn't until slightly over a year dating Adam, and my encounter with SDC fighters in Kuchinashi that I realized what I tried so hard to deny; that the White Fang aren't necessarily good guys.

Blake looked at her opponent- a teenage boy with black hair and blue eyes- as she leapt overhead and prepared to strike them with her katana, only for him to dodge and fire short energy beams at her with the gun. In midair, she deflected the shots away with her sword her and created a shadow of herself with her semblance. He ran forward and struck it down with his dagger. She dodged back and created another shadow that took a hit.

"Do you really think you're on the side of good?" The teenage boy asked her. The beauty kicked him down and took his gun. "Do you really think the White Fang is a force of good?"

Blake fired at him with his own gun. "What are you talking about?"

The boy evaded her gunfire.

Upon realizing she ran out of ammo, she held out her sword to him, nearly piercing his neck. But he smirked and remained unfazed by her attempt to murder him. "Don't you realize what you're doing is only causing more harm? To both humans and faunus?"

Blake stood there, frozen in fear, contemplating his words. She dropped her sword as the boy turned away to fight her commrades.

"Blake?!" Adam called out in fear.

The sounds of gunfire brought me back to reality. Everything I thought I knew suddenly seemed wrong.

Blake grabbed her sword and made more shadows of herself, which were destroyed as quickly as they were created.

As Adam called out my name, I ran away from him. After running away, I hid myself in a nearby alleyway and found a woman who had been beaten and bruised. She looked like she was in her twenties with long dark brown hair and eyes, olive skin, and red glasses that were broken. She had been beaten and bruised. Likely was slapped a lot.

Blake dropped it and asked the woman, "Are you alright?"

"No... I'm not."

The catgirl looked at her with Grimm curiosity. "What happened?"

"I... I was hurt. I was nearly raped by someone I loved. Or used to love."

Her mouth was wide open in response to her statement. "Oh my gosh... That's... that's horrible."

"I thought I could trust him." She sobbed. "I have to get away from here." She wiped away her tears. "Perhaps I'll head to Argus. And I saw the way he yelled at you. You should get away from your abuser too." She turned her head back the other way. "I can't stay here. I must go."

"Well, good luck to you."

"And you as well."

She left without another word. She wasn't going to take being hurt and abused. It was then that I decided I had to get away from Adam. But how?

The beauty quickly made her way to the nearest arts and crafts store. Much to her relief, the store was deserted when she walked in. She saw the store clerk was asleep, which would make her plan even easier. Unfortunately by the time she was there, she realized she was broke and that the store only accepted cash, which she had none, so she had to steal the black ribbon to make her bow. She took a spool of black ribbon from the wall, went to the bathroom, checked all the stalls to be sure they were empty. Using the blade of Gambol Shroud, she cut off a portion of the ribbon and used it to hide her cat ears, tying it up into a little bow. She breathed to herself.

'It'll be okay. Hopefully they won't notice. Maybe I should put the ribbon back? Or should I just leave it here?"

Eventually, she decided to leave the ribbon there. Hopefully no one would notice or question how it was there. With how she clutched the spool of ribbon, the security camera wouldn't be able to catch it, no one would know what she held in her arms and/or be smart enough to put two and two together.

Sometime afterward, she was back at the White Fang encampment. Adam came up to her. "Blake! There you are! What happened?!"

"I lost my mask and was forced to retreat to avoid a fight. I got myself a bow to hide my cat ears so that they wouldn't recognize me."

"Clever move. Unfortunately, we ran out of masks. I'll get a new one for you soon enough, but with that bow, I don't think anyone will be the wiser."

Blake smiled. "Precisely my way of thinking."

His scroll vibrated and he got it out, revealing a message from Sienna Khan. "Looks like we got a new mission from High Leader Khan. A train has just took off from Atlas with a huge shipment of dust. Dust they gathered by exploiting us faunus. They think that we can be used like slaves. And what other way to show them otherwise than by taking what they've worked so hard to achieve?"

"I wholeheartedly agree."

"I'm glad you see the same."

Adam kissed her fiercely, but Blake did not return it with the same intensity her partner had.

The thrill and desire of kissing him, or even being with him, had vanished. But I couldn't just run. Not without a real plan. Thanks to our bullhead, we made it to Vale in less than two days. As the bullhead traveled from Mistral to Vale, I formulated a plan to leave Adam and the White Fang behind.

As the next few days passed, I got together my supplies; 10,000 Lien stolen from the White Fang put into a separate account, 150 Lien, a debit card tied an account a few hundred Lien meant for emergencies, nine books, clothes and care products, tools, a canteen of fresh drinking water, and enough MREs to last a month. As I went to get my water canteen refilled, I overheard bits and pieces of a conversation between Adam and someone else. The voice sounded feminine, but I couldn't hear the entire discussion.

Blake stepped up behind Adam with her hand on her side. "What was that about?"

"Nothing." He answered and began to walk away. "We need to finish preparing. The train will be here at dawn."

Blake followed her mentor and after helping him with the last preparations, the two stood outside his tent. Adam turned to face his beauty. "Well it looks like we got a big day ahead of us."

Blake looked at her beast. "I almost can't believe that Sienna assigned us to do this..."

'And what good luck for me.' is what I thought to myself.

"We can't let her down, can we?"

"No, we can't."

She kissed him one last time. The warmth and desire was there, but it soon vanished, replaced by feelings of guilt. By this time tomorrow, she would be gone. She hated him, even if he didn't know it. But she knew that Adam that she knew and loved was gone, and she would be as well.

"Goodnight Adam. Love you."

He gently petted her. "Goodnight, Kitten."

"Sleep well, Bull."

After sharing what would be her last kiss with Adam, Blake was back in her own tent. Her backpack packed up and easily shrinkable. After pressing a button on the side, it collapsed, and she put it away for easy storage. She laid on her back, staring at the ceiling of her tent for a while before falling asleep.

I thought to myself that night, 'I can't do this anymore. Adam wants to see humanity crumble, and I can't and won't let that happen. Adam, your plans will never truly succeed. Your hopes have become my burden. I will find my own liberation.'

[cue RWBY Music-From Shadows]

The next day, Blake sat down on a rock, watching red leaves floating down in the Forever Fall Forest. Adam came up to her. "Blake, it's time."

She slowly turned toward him. "Okay."

It was time. Time for the last mission, time for the betrayal.

A train rushed through the forest as the two slid down the hill and onto the top of the train. Upon boarding it, they entered a car full of AK-130 Androids.

Adam stood close to Blake. "Looks like we're gonna be doing this the hard way."

Without warning, the Androids activated and circled the duo. The catgirl rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic."

One of the android activated the guns on its arms. "Intruder, identify yourself." the robot commanded.

Adam responded by cutting the Android in two and he and Blake proceeded to completely annihilate the Androids in the car. Eventually, they burst out of the freight car onto a flatcar and encountered a horde of Androids running towards them.

"Let's do this." Adam said. After decimating the horde, the two entered a second freight car. Adam opened a box and examined its contents. "Perfect. Move up to the next car." He closed the trunk. "I'll set the charges."

Concerned, Blake asked, "What about the crew members?"

"What about them?"

Adam turned his head around and saw a Spider Droid climbing down from the ceiling of the car. As he moved to fight it, Blake anxiously said to her partner, "Adam." The beauty and the beast attempted to fight the android, but it didn't go well. Adam grabbed Blake before she was crushed by the droid's legs. "We need to get out of here."

Eventually the fight moves out of the car onto another flatcar. "Buy me some time!" he ordered.

"Are you sure?" Blake asked.

"Do it!" he commanded. Blake distracted the droid as Adam readied his next attack. She jumped back to Adam some time later as the droid fired a powerful beam. "Move!"

Luckily, he caught the beam with Wilt. As his body glowed with aura around him, the droid jumped towards him. Adam slashed out with his sword, disintegrating the droid and even affecting the trees in the Red Forest causing their leaves to fly into the air. As Adam walked back towards Blake, he found her on a separate train car standing near the connector between the cars.

'It's time to end this...'

Adam reached out to Blake, about to say something, but whatever he was going to say, he never got the chance. She ended it all with one word. "Goodbye."

The beauty cut the beam with her weapon and the two train cars were separated. As Adam's car slowed down, Blake moved back.

As Adam faded from my view, I turned away and looked back no further.

The beauty went inside the train car, took off the ring and put it in the black box, which she put into her left pocket. "Goodbye Adam. My love..."

With that, she pulled the brake on the train to slow it down and then jumped off the train, leaping through the Forever Fall forest.

And with that, I left my past behind without a second glance, not even realizing how it would all come back to me.

The view returned to Blake in the present, still sitting in her white sheet dress, her feet dangling over the edge and Sun across from her. The wind blew around Blake, letting her hair sway in the wind as she looked at the promise ring Adam had given her.

"And that's the end of the story." she said. "A modern fairytale. No happy ending. No optimistic vision. Only a world of shattered dreams and broken promises."

A moment of silence passed before Sun asked, "Blake... Can I ask you something?"

She turned towards Sun, still sitting down with her knees to her chest. "Of course. What is it?"

"Do you still love him?"

"No, but... I do still miss the person he used to be. My ally, my teacher, and my best friend. Don't get me wrong, I love you Sun, and I am thankful that you're here alongside me now that my teammates are gone, but... sometimes... I really miss the old days." She looked at the night sky above her and the village down below her. "When it was me and him against the world."

"So... if Adam broke your heart... why do you still have the ring?"

She looked at the promise ring she wore. "It serves as a reminder of what once was. The promise ring was meant to be a symbol of love and commitment, a promise that he loved me and that he would never hurt me again. Now it serves as a reminder of his broken promise." She got out the black box and put it beside her. "I hoped that one day, possibly after graduating Beacon Academy, that I would find him again, speak to him, try to talk some sense into him, help him realize where he went wrong and perhaps even repair the friendship we once had. At the same time, deep down... in the back of my mind... I had always feared that monster would come back... that my past would catch up to me." The nightmare of the Fall of Beacon came over her in a silent black and white version- Adam's return, their fight, Yang's disarmament, and her running away with a crippled Yang in her arms. "And my worst nightmare had come true."

The vision ended as quickly as it began. Sun looked at her, both angry and puzzled at the same time. "So you not only have to face your ex, you have to face someone who was once your best friend?"

Blake slid the ring of her finger and put it back in the box before stowing it away with everything else. "Pretty much."

"That's messed up!"

"Yes, it is, but what choice do I have? Adam is beyond saving at this point. He hurt Yang and caused the Fall of Beacon. And it seems that he won't stop there. If we don't stop him, who knows what will happen?" Sun didn't answer, ruefully looking at his beloved. She sighed. "I suppose I better get out of this sheet dress." She stood up. "Could you close your eyes once again?" He obliged with her order, closing his eyes and covering them with his hand. Blake took the sheet off herself and got into her normal outfit. "You may open your eyes now."

Sun opened his eyes. As he looked her, he saw the moonlight reflect on her white bow, making it seem brighter. "Blake..." He came up to her. "I swear, once we find Adam, I'm going to make him pay."

"Pay for what? He never did anything to you."

He gently took her hand in his. "For breaking your heart. No girl like you deserves to get your heart broken."

"How can you say that after I broke your heart by running away? I'm a heartbreaker. I broke three hearts- yours, Adam's and... my own."

"Your own? But how... is that possible?"

"Sun..." The catgirl hesitated. "I was in love with you when I left you on the rooftops." Sun looked surprised upon hearing this as Blake continued, "When we first met, I will admit that it took me a while to warm up to you, but once I did, I felt really close to you. At the Beacon Dance, I felt that I was beginning to like you, but I was in denial. Eventually, by the time your doubles round match started, I knew I was in love with you. After you and Neptune crushed your opponents, when me and my friends came to congratulate you, I wanted to tell you how I felt. I came close to confessing, but I chickened out. And that wasn't the only time..."

"It wasn't?"

"No. I came close to confessing three times; after your doubles round match, when you found me before Yang and Mercury's match, and on the rooftops before I left. I was a coward, and I warned myself not to fall in love again, lest I risk my heart being broken again..." Her voice began to break and she tried to repress a sob. "Yet, it seems, that no matter what I do..."

"Your heart ends up broken?"

"Yeah..." Blake sadly turned away, tears falling down her face.

"I know this might sound like Adam has already said to you, but I will never hurt you. Emotionally or physically. And if that ever does happen, tell me and I will fix it! The last thing I want is for you to be hurt."

"You're one to talk." Blake said, sobbing in between her sentences. "If anything, I've hurt you. I turned you down on the rooftop, I tricked you into believing the real me was there while I ran away, I've slapped you three times, I accused you of stalking me and I let myself be blinded by rage to fight Corvina when I should have been doing more to help you fight against her sailors. How are you not mad at me? How can you forgive me?!"

Sun was taken aback for a moment, but he looked at her with sad sincerity and wiped away her tears. "Because Blake, I care about you. I want you to be safe. Also, all those slaps and everything, that was before you boldly kissed me and admitted how you felt." He tenderly stroked her head. "I know that the Fall of Beacon was devastating for you as it was for all of us. I thought I was being selfless by going after you, although perhaps I was both selfish and selfless simultaneously. Although you were more focused upon the captain, we both survived, thanks to Xanthe. We all make mistakes. Our first night aboard Corvina's ship, you told me that you felt bad about hurting me and apologized for what happened, which tells me that you've learned from your mistakes. And believed I learned something as well."

She gave him a grin. "And what would that be?"

"Well for one thing, never try to chase after a passenger boat with an oar and a raft." Blake laughed. "That's how Corvina found me in the first place."

"Is that so?"

"It is. It was both fortunate and unfortunate at the same time."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "How is it fortunate that she found you?"

"If she had never found me, I would have been stranded at sea for who knows how long. Or worse, I would have been devoured by aquatic wildlife, my raft could have sunk and I failed to get to shore, died from starvation... I could have easily died out there. While it was unfortunate that she tried to kill me, it is ultimately fortunate because I got another chance to find you and aid you." He gently put his hands on her shoulders. "You gave me a chance, so I will give you one in return."

The two leaned in and their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss. Sun gently put his arms around her as Blake clasped her hands around his waist. The beauty smiled at her new boyfriend. "Thanks Sun."

"You're welcome." He took her hand. "I promise that one day, we will find him and put an end to his evil plans. Whatever the hell they are." He yawned and took his hand back. "Unfortunately, it is not that night. It's getting late."

"What time is it anyway?"

A clocktower in the distance was heard, giving her the answer.

"Happy New Year, ma cherie amour."

Sun softly kissed her, which was returned by Blake gently cupping her hands around his face. After the kiss was broken, she smiled at him. "Happy New Year, Sun."

As the clock chime faded, the scene shifted to Blake and Sun unfurling their sleeping bags and leaning their heads against the pillows. While Sun fell asleep quickly, Blake was left wake awake with her thoughts.

Maybe I should have told my team where I was going. I never even sent my parents a message telling them that I survived the Fall of Beacon. I do hope they're okay...

Meanwhile, in Menagerie, Kali sat down on a sofa at wooden table as she looked over a letter she held in her hands. Ghira paced about his study at a moderately fast pace, his arms behind his back as he went from the door to the wall.

"Ghira, you've been pacing for the last half hour. Don't you think it's time to call it a night?"

He sighed deeply. "Kali, you should know that I'm not just pacing out of worry. I'm trying to make myself feel tired so that I can actually fall asleep for once." He stopped pacing and walked towards her. "Do you know how many nights I've lied in bed, awake, worried to near death that something happened to our dear daughter?"

"Ghira..." She put the letter on the table, stood up and put her hand on her husband's shoulder. "I know you're scared about Blake's safety and well being. I am too, but worrying too much isn't going to change the situation at hand. Who knows? Maybe she'll come back home."

The Chieftain sighed even deeper. "I would like to believe that, but it's been slightly over three months. If she was going to come back, she would have done so by now. If only there was some kind of sign... that she's alright. Even if I never get to see her again, I just want to know if she's alive and well."

"Wherever she is, I just hope that she's alright."

"As do I."

Unbeknownst to them, a dark humanoid shape with a white Grimm mask and black, spotty skin was seen hanging from a tree with her arm in the dark of night. Her ponytail, which was curled up at the end, was blown around in the wind. The spy smirked to herself before jumping away.