"Here they come." An excited but hushed snicker whispered from the bushes, a young man peered between the leaves, slicking back his crimson, sweat soaked bangs off his mask. He was flanked on both sides by men in the standard White Fang attire, half a dozen total, with another six across the gorge, lying in wait for the signal to strike.

Between the two units of self proclaimed paramilitary freedom fighters designated terrorists by the humans, a caravan approached, bearing the official seal of the Schnee Dust Company on the side of every armored vehicle. They were minimally guarded, as Adam expected.

The Schnee filth thought they were clever, hiding this shipment so well. I guess after we slaughtered so many of their guards and broke through security on their trains and boats, they must have figured hiding was better than defending. Well, I'll teach them that nothing they do will keep them safe from us!

With every meter their target drew closer, Adam felt his blade getting heavier and his hands getting restless. Pent up energy threatened to overwhelm his patience as his heart pounded with anticipation. The seconds crawled by agonizingly slow, but still, the bloodthirsty predator kept himself under control, the promise of imminent bloodshed being enough to quell him until it began. Almost… almost…

"Now!" With a shout, Adam rushed from the jungle, sliding down the slope of the gorge on foot, ahead of all of his men, not willing to wait another moment to see action.

He gripped his blade and took his slashing stance while all around him his soldiers followed attacking the caravan from both sides! Their teamwork was impeccable under his orders, all but four attacking the caravan from the sides while the remaining soldiers landed up the road as planned.

BOOOM!

The ground shook as explosives blew out a cascade of boulders from the ravine, the landslide perfectly timed to crush the front car that contained the brunt of the security and cutting off their escape. Now, without the lead, the caravan fell into horrified disarray.

The tires were shot out and drivers fled their vehicles, all the while Adam watched with hungry excitement, watching the pathetic humans scampering away in vain. Everything is going according to plan

"Don't let them escape! Take them alive for now, I want to use them to send a message." Despite his moderate disappointment at the fight the humans put up, he was still basking in the glow of victory.

"S-sir I- *cough* something- *cough* is wrong!" One of his soldiers groaned and coughed in a raspy voice, his eyes red and saliva dripping from his mouth while he let the driver run behind him, taking him out with a gun that was hidden under his coat!

"What the hell is happening!?" Rage burned in his voice as he screamed over the clouds of noxious rising smoke, only his potent aura protecting him from its effects. However, even with his acute faunus vision, he couldn't see through the blanket of haze that had isolated him from everything else, his men, the cars, the jungle… everything was gone.

"Damn it! It's a trap! Everyone fall b- Gah!" Before he could finish shouting his command, a powerful impact threw him back, slamming him into the ground!

"Too little, too late, Taurus." A voice dripping with venom hissed from the fog. As Adam staggered to his feet and drew his blade, a glint of steel was all he could see.

"That voice." Reflexively, he raised his blade, catching an otherwise critical strike, sparks flew from the clashing of metal and a familiar, scarred face came into view. "Weiss Schnee…"

A young woman held her face to his, glaring only inches away with bared teeth and righteous fury. Her rapier was grinding against his ninjato with unbelievable force, the force of conviction that called for his blood while all around him he could hear his men fall to the insidious trap.

"You were almost disappointingly easy to trick. Lay down a few breadcrumbs and make you feel like you were clever, that's all it took to bring you here." The heiress' gloating burned him up inside, his anger turned into a rush of strength and with a mighty swing, he threw her back!

"You've been a thorn in my side for years, Schnee. I think it's time to cut you out!" He could feel it, he was outnumbered, the fighting sounds diminished and he was surrounded, he just knew it. His men had lost… And I'm on my own. Still, the only real threat is the Schnee, I kill her and everyone else will be easy.

"Aaaaaah!" With a belligerent battle cry Weiss rushed him and a flurry of slashes was unleashed, each hitting harder and faster than the last. With his sight hindered and his rage overtaking him, he couldn't counter them all, each successive strike widdling away his Aura.

He was losing ground, she was pushing him back and there was little he could do about it. He attacked, slashing in front of him just to land a hit, even while the bombardment continued. He felt the pain and force of her blitz in his blade, all he had to do was channel his Aura, and his Semblance would do the rest.

"Now… die!" Weiss' barrage didn't let up, even for a second, and his aura broke… just as his sword met her flesh.

The exchange lasted only an instant, but the forces transferred were so immense that both combatants were sent flying out of the cloud of smoke! He heard her body land before his back slammed painfully onto the ground, knocking the air out of his lungs and fracturing at least a few ribs judging by the red hot pain and seared his sides.

"He's escaping! Special Lieutenant Schnee is down! Need immediate medical evac!" One man called desperately from the haze.

"Heh-heh… at least this wasn't a total loss…" Gritting his teeth, Adam forced himself to his feet, every breath sending a wave of nauseating pain through his entire body. I- I just have to make it… to the river…

"I won't forget this, humans! I'll be back and I will kill-"

BANG!

Once more, his breath was lost. All he remembered seeing, was an icicle exploding in front of him and then… cold. He staggered forward before he felt his legs give out from underneath him.

Everything went dark. He fell unconscious before he even hit the ground.

Still, outside the darkness, he could hear voices. He couldn't understand them, but as he succumbed to blood loss, a single thought echoed from somewhere deeper than his own consciousness, a hatred that boiled away in his very soul. I don't want to die… not now. The humans… have to… pay.


The whole of reality was void, nothingness. No perception or thought could penetrate nothingness that seemed to stretch on for eternity and at the same time, passed in just a moment. Not even hatred could enter the space of nothing, a reprieve from the perpetual and consuming heat that made his blood seethe. Instead, he was at peace, an absence of everything… he was at peace.

Then, after an eternity had passed, after forever came to an end, something stirred in him. A sound in the void, a gentle and far away whisper that called to him, beckoning him from oblivion.

As he rose from the darkness, he found that the sound that pulled him up was a voice, a silvery and warm humming that sang a beautiful song of love and warmth. Without even meaning to, he began to reach out to the voice, longing to bring it closer.

Soon, the song was followed by other sounds, the sound of gentle breaths, of pages turning, of a fan whirring up above. Then, came scent; the scent of a warm home, of spices and flowers, of roses and sugar.

Within moments, pain seeped into his bones and flowed through his blood, though it was only a dull, all encompassing ache. After that, he could feel something soft, underneath him and all around him, blankets draped over his body, bringing his own warmth back to him and keeping him safe from the cold outside the fuzzy cocoon.

Last of all, once all his other senses had returned to him, came his sight. Bleary and unfocused, all he could see was a warm white light. Soon though, his senses became more alert and his vision more acute.

He was in a home, well lit with natural summer light from large windows in the front. There were shelves on the walls packed with books and the entire place was almost pathologically clean with no clutter anywhere. However, as he rolled his head to see more of his environment, he found his arm wrapped haphazardly in bandages, blood staining them from wounds he didn't remember sustaining.

What happened to me after I blacked out? Where am I? Where are my men? All those thoughts hit is hazy mind at once, but before he could think any further on them, the sound of a page in a book turning stole his attention.

"Are you awake? I was so worried!" A sweet voice made as heavy as lead with concern and compassion spoke up.

"Who are you? Where-" He couldn't even bring himself to finish that thought as his head fell weakly to his other side, bringing into view the source of the voice.

It was a young woman, human, with black hair tinged crimson at their tips. She wore a short red and black dress, but it was her eyes that were most striking. It wasn't just their color, an unusual stunning silver that shined like mirrors, but that her gaze was off, looking blankly into the distance, not at him or anything else of note that he could see.

"My name is Ruby Rose, you're in my home, I found you washed up on the beach when I went for a walk. Oh, I guess you want to know more generally huh? Heh-heh, well, you're on the island of Patch, off the coast of Vale. You're lucky I found you when I did, I um… I tried my best to give some first aid, I think I managed to stop most of the bleeding but the ambulance should be here soon so-"

"Call it off!" He barked, causing the small woman to visibly flinch at his sudden tonal shift.

"B-but, you're hurt and you need help." Her voice shook as she carefully placed her dot filled book on the table next to her.

"Not from you, filthy human!" Bearing his teeth, he prepared his mind for the pain as he began to force himself up, pretty sure he heard his ribs making a sound like snapping a branch as he did so. Okay, kill this girl, take her Scroll, call back to the White Fang and arrange the nearest chapter to pick me up and arrange treatment. The-

"Stop!" A heartbreaking and desperate cry stopped him mid movement as Ruby jumped to her feet, her hand reaching out, patting up his arm until her hand found his shoulder and her other hand moved to his back. "You need to rest, you're hurt!"

"Get off me! L-let me go!" As he struggled to get himself up against his captor's gasp, he found himself in the humiliating position of being overpowered by a weak human girl.

"I can hear it in your voice, you're in pain! You have to stop please!" With one final push powered from Ruby, Adam's body gave out and he fell back down painfully to he soft bed underneath him.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to hurt you! I just- I was just trying to help, you smelled really heavily of blood when I brought you in and your breathing didn't sound normal. I can't let you go when you're like this you could die!" The strange and extremely irritating human was begging, her big silver eyes glistened like pools of liquid metal as she pleaded for him to stay.

With one more meek attempt to free himself, he knew he didn't have the strength to fight his way, or even argue as the enticing tug of sleep beckoned him back. I'd never admit it, but I don't even think I could kill her in the state I'm in. If they bring me to a hospital, the authorities will have me in cuffs within the hour. Maybe it would be smart just to play along until I can get to her Scroll and call for help.

"Fine… I'll stay, but call off that ambulance. I refuse to go to a hospital." Those last words left his lips with a deadly warning growl, his only recourse in lieu of violence.

"But, I can't take care of you here, I don't know how." She frowned, easing up on his shoulders until her weight left his body and she returned to her chair by his bedside.

"I've done field medicine before, I can show you how." Adam sighed, trying his hardest to do something he's never done before; negotiate with a human.

"Um… I suppose I can try my best, but are you sure? I really think you need a hospital." Not even for a moment did her compassionate demeanor change.

"I'm sure, now do we have a deal or not?" His very limited patience was growing thin already.

"I…" She paused, her gaze still fixed on nothing in particular while she mulled over her options before a heavy sigh left her lips. "Fine, it's a deal, but you have to take it easy and if you get worse, I'm taking you to the hospital regardless."

"Fine. Now, leave me be and let me rest." He all but snarled at her as his body weakly relaxed and his eyelids grew heavy.

"Wait! I um, I just have one question." Suddenly, she sounded almost sheepish.

"What is it?" He resigned to her will, having no energy to argue.

"Well, you called me human, does that mean you're a faunus? N-not that there's anything wrong with that! Plenty of my customers are faunus too!" Now Ruby was practically tripping over her own words.

"What are you talking about? Can't you see my horns?!" Now he was getting angry… What kind of game is she playing?

"Oh, um… actually, I can't." Ruby giggled, leaning forward towards him with a subtle smile. "Well, it's because I'm blind."