Adam Taurus, a Faunus with black bull horns emerging from his red hair, was leaning against a tree in the forest of Forever Fall. His eyes were locked onto the mask he held in his hand, as red leaves fell and swirled around in the air.
What are we doing?
Adam thought, and he hoped it was a rhetorical question; he shouldn't be having doubts after what he's done, after what he's started and caused. He needed to see it through to the end.
Was there no greater disrespect than turning my back and running from a cause my friends have died for, a cause that I've killed for? What kind of person would backstab their fellow White Fang?
A black clothed figure jumped down from a tree above him. "Adam, it's time." Blake Belladonna, a Faunus with black cat ears on top of her black hair, said to her partner in the White Fang. Her cat ears twitched with impatient anticipation.
The twitching ears was an unconscious action of hers that he found cute, or at least he did, but now that they twitched because she couldn't wait to make some humans suffer, he didn't know what he should be feeling.
Adam slowly placed his mask back on his face, it was a bone white with red marks visor that left his mouth exposed. "Let's go."
The duo split into a run, and when they reached a downwards sloping hill, they slid down to the bottom, where a cargo train was rushing by. They both leaped off the hill and landed on top of the train, with loud thuds.
Quicker than the eye can see, Adam sliced a locked hatch open with his weapon, Wilt, It was a sword and only one half of his weapon, the other half was Blush, a gun that sheathed his blade in the barrel.
And both of them jumped inside the now open hatch, where they found the freight car packed full of attack robots, AK-130's to be exact.
"Why can't we ever do things the easy way." Adam complained and got into an offensive stance.
Before all the AK-130's could boot up, Blake had lunged into battle. "Less talking." Blake said as she cut down the enemy numbers by a third.
The hands on remaining AK-130's switched into their gun form. "Identif-" Before the AK-130 could finish its demand, Adam had dashed forward and bisected the machine down the middle.
Blake was a different matter entirely, unlike Adam, who settled his fights with one swing before moving on, she was tearing apart multiple opponents as she dashed around them.
Her weapon was Gambol Shroud, a Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe, it had a cleaver blade, a katana, its hilt was also a pistol, and with the ribbon attached to her weapon she was able to swing and throw it around.
She was also using her Semblance to create clones that dissipated after being hit to distract an opponent before sneaking up behind it and quickly slicing it with her cleaver, then she would deal with the rest just as fast, constantly swinging her ribbon, that had the katana and pistol part of her weapon.
As Adam finished with his side of the freight car, and looked over to Blake, as she finished up.
This isn't how it's supposed to be, Blake. You're the calm one.
When Blake finished her machine massacre, she didn't even glance at Adam as she left the freight car.
Adam followed her out to a flatcar, where he saw her dealing with another group of AK-130's, since the flatcar didn't have walls or a roof, Blake was able to use the ribbon part of her weapon to its full extent.
He didn't say a word as he leapt into battle and helped his partner.
After they finished destroying the horde, they went into a different freight car, inside this car were boxes with a snowflake logo, Blake opened a box and smiled as she saw the Dust packed within.
"Perfect." Blake practically purred out. "Let's hurry and set the charges." She said as she closed the box.
"What about the crew members?" Adam didn't know why he asked, the answer was obvious, they would die, and he didn't care about them. So, why did the idea of Blake killing them churn his stomach?
"Hopefully they'll all burn and die, if not the Grimm will take care of them." Blake answered his spoken question with a smile, but she also answered his unspoken one as well.
Blake, you would never do this. Are you still my Blake, or have I lost you?
"Blake." Adam started, but he didn't know what to say when she turned and stared at him, her ears twitching.
I don't know what I want Blake.
"Let's... Just take the Dust." Adam said the first thing that came to his mind.
"What?" Blake snarled.
"The Dust, let's just take it and leave, we don't have to blow the train up." The words that left Adam's mouth stung his tongue, if it was him blowing up the train, he wouldn't have thought twice about it, but he had to say something right now.
"You're right, we don't have to, but I want to." Blake said sharply.
"Why are you killing these soldiers?" The words stung his tongue once more, Adam didn't have a single care for any of the soldiers, and he could kill them with no remorse.
"Does it matter? We've been killing soldiers on every mission." Blake's ears were still twitching, she couldn't wait to set the charges.
"There's a difference, we've only killed those that got in our way, you're going out of your way to kill these soldiers."
"Then there isn't a difference, every human is in our way, and I'll gladly kill them all the same."
"Why, Blake?" Was the question that left Adam's mouth, the true question he wanted an answer to. "This isn't like you."
"You're right, these actions aren't like me, they're the right ones. My old self was an idiot, and she was just as dumb as her father."
"This is about your dad? Blake, Ghira wouldn't want this."
"Yeah, he wanted to protest peacefully, and now he's dead, and so is the girl he raised."
"Blake you can't say that, don't you remember what he told us? You shouldn't be killing for revenge."
"Revenge? No, I'm not killing to avenge that idiot, it was his death that opened my eyes to who he really was, a coward. A traitor who abandoned the White Fang because he couldn't be bothered to help, he left because he realized his peaceful means were pointless."
"No, Blake." The words sounded hollow as Adam said them, he couldn't argue with Blake, not when she was using his words.
"In fact, I'm glad he died."
Adam couldn't let Blake continue to think this way. "No you aren't, you're sad, angry, and you are lashing out at humans."
Blake took a step closer to Adam. "Shut up! I am glad he's dead, his death, his assassination woke me up from my childish dreams, it freed me from my doubts." Then something shifted in her amber eyes. "And you're one to talk about lashing out, that's your whole damn life."
Adam didn't rise to her words, he wouldn't let her change the topic, no matter how much her words rang true, or how much they stung. "I chose to become who I am, you're just running away."
"Did you?" Blake asked, once again trying to change the topic, this is about her, not Adam. "I remember meeting you when we were kids, I remember seeing your brand and feeling angry, I remember seeing your strength and being in awe of it." Then she smiled like a predator.
"Blake." Adam tried interrupting her, he could tell she was building up to something unpleasant.
"And I remember sneaking over to talk to you in the middle of the night, I remember seeing you toss and turn as if you had a nightmare, I remember you waking up with a pathetic shout of 'No!' And reaching for your eye, I remember sitting in the shadows as you cried yourself to sleep. At the time I thought it was cool how you could put aside your fear to fight, but you can't do that, can you?"
"Stop it, Blake."
"You were always afraid, so you put on a tough face, but then you put on an actual mask, and now you've convinced yourself that the big, strong and fearless bull is the real you."
"Blake, that's not-"
"What? Going to get angry? It is your default emotion."
"Blake, just listen to—" Adam cut himself off as he heard heavy thuds on the roof of the freight car.
Adam and Blake jumped away as a giant Spider-Droid ripped the roof apart. They both left for the last train car, it was a flatcar where they now planned to fight the Droid.
Blake fired a few bullets, when that caused no effect aside from getting its attention, she let loose her ribbon and swung her katana at it, but it couldn't pierce the armor. "Deal with this!" Blake commanded Adam, as the Droid followed them to the car.
Adam rushed forth, using Wilt and part of his Semblance, to block and parry the attacks. After successfully blocking a leg from smashing him, a faintly glowing Adam ducked around the Droid and called upon his Semblance in full.
Adam's Semblance, Moonslice, stored energy in his sword, then he could send it back in an attack, and when he used his Semblance everything that was the color red on him glowed brightly.
So with the partial use of his Semblance, he absorbed some of the kinetic energy from the attacks, and with the full use of it, he put enough in a glowing Wilt to cut clean through the two legs on the right side of the Spider Droid, Adam jumped away as the Droid fell on its side.
The droid aimed its cannons at the glowing Faunus, and after a moment of charging up, it fired a destructive blue beam at him. Adam shielded himself with Wilt and absorbed the energy fired at him. When the beam stopped, he swung his blade towards the fallen machine, and a slash of red energy left his sword.
When Adam stopped glowing and sheathed Wilt in Blush, the head of the Spider Droid fell off the train, soon the body followed.
Adam walked toward the edge of the flatcar and looked out at the red-leaved trees of the forest.
"Took you long enough." Blake said, walking up next to him.
"Blake, I'm sorry for earlier." Adam said, not looking away from the trees. "I don't know what came over me." He sighed and relaxed.
"It's okay."
"I just didn't want to see you turn out like me, since Ghira died I've been thinking over his last words to me."
Blake remained silent.
"And now, seeing what you were doing, made me think about how you felt. It made me wonder if you felt like this when our roles were reversed."
Blake remained silent.
Adam sighed again. "Let's finish up, go ahead and set the charges, I can't stop you, but one day, when you're no longer grieving, I'll be here to help."
It seemed like Blake would remain silent again but then she whispered in a soft tone, one filled with strong emotions, from behind him. "Goodbye."
Before Adam could realize why her voice came from behind him, a katana pierced through his back and exited from his gut, as the Blake next to him fell to shadows.
He turned his head to look at the real Blake, her eyes were sharp, but tear filled, her mouth was set in a huge grin, but she strained to keep it there.
"Goodbye." She whispered softly. "Adam!" She spat out harshly.
As the shock faded, and pain replaced it, Blake kicked Adam off her blade and off the train. He was still mentally capable enough to put up his Aura before he hit the ground. After tumbling around for a few very painful seconds, and losing a lot of his Aura, he came to a stop.
Adam hissed in pain, and cursed himself for not putting Moonslice out when he fell. Regardless, he tried getting up, he could only manage to get to his knees, before curling up on his sword wound, but he didn't stop trying to get up.
He looked over to where the train was speeding away, he could barely see it, even with his Faunus enhanced vision, but he could definitely see a black clothed figure looking back at him, he reached an arm out. "Blake." Escaped his mouth, barely above a whisper.
I'm sorry, Ghira. I've failed Blake. I'm sorry I failed you Blake. I'm sorry, Blake.
Adam's mind was a mess as he stumbled to his feet, constantly applying pressure to his stomach, on the open wound, and he walked. He couldn't cover the wound on his back, so he was still losing blood, but Aura should be enough to hold him over until he found help.
He didn't know how long he walked, he didn't notice when the leaves changed from red to green, he didn't notice a sudden storm take place ahead of him. But he did notice when someone screamed out in pain, and he looked at where the sound had come from.
Two people, a boy and a girl, were holding another girl to her knees, while a final girl was pointing a gloved hand to the other girl's face, and a black web was connecting the glove to the face. Then a burst of wind from the kneeling girl woke Adam up, and he recognized the three attackers, they had approached him and asked for his help.
Well, if nothing else, Blake ha spoken true about him lashing out, he found it to be better than moping around, and with the day he's had, he wanted to lash out.
As the glove and the visible eye of the leader from the three who asked him for help, Cinder, began to glow. So did the color red on Adam, he lunged forward drawing his sword and slashing down on Cinder's arm, below her elbow and near her wrist.
Cinder screamed in pain, before it turned to one of rage. Her two minions jumped away and prepared to fight, leaving the barely conscious girl to fall to the ground.
The severed hand bled but the black web turned to smoke and ashes, and for no apparent reason, it fired a barely perceivable glowing orange ball at him. When the small ball hit him, it bounced off, headed in a direction that didn't make sense for a ricochet. But that didn't matter, all Adam could think about was how Cinder looked like Blake. Black hair, amber eyes and pale skin.
The three attackers paused for a moment when Adam's glow wore off, when his hair, the markings on his broken mask, his left sclera, his brand, his blood-soaked torn clothes, his sword and his leaking blood all stopped glowing. Leaving him looking beaten and broken.
But, they didn't pause out of pity or shock, no, they paused because they recognized him. And that pause likely saved Adam's life.
Right when they started moving towards Adam and the girl they were attacking, a man, wearing a gray shirt, black pants and a red tattered cape, fell from the sky, swinging a big sword at the attackers.
Adam didn't see what happened after that, because his legs gave out, then he coughed up blood and passed out, cursing his body for relaxing just because someone came to help.
"Plans will have to change."
"We're sorry, Mistress."
"Speak for yourself, I did my job, not my fault Taurus was there."
"I'm aware, unfortunately that means the White Fang will be harder to convince, I'll have to ask a colleague for assistance."
"Do you still nee- want us?"
"What can he do?"
"You both have your own place by my side for now, and Tyrian will just be himself, no more questions. We can at least convince a crook to listen to me."
Thanks for reading! I'm always open to feedback, so please leave a review, or reply in my forum, about what you liked or hated about this chapter or the whole story. If anyone wants to be a Beta Reader, then PM me and we'll talk details.
