Author's Notes
Another RWBY But Worse to tide us over. With The Empty Seat gone, this will be temporarily filling the gap. That said, I'm going to take a break from posting around the middle of next week, and with Living The Dream so close to ending, I won't be frontloading any of the posting (to avoid ending the fic abruptly). To balance it out, I will post four chapters of The Murderess and Her Brain over the weekend, as well as some RWBY But Worse.
Anyways, this one is actually two separate standalone stories, neither of which were long enough to go solo, so they're joined together (unified by the shared protagonist). Neither is related, and they aren't sequel/prequel or anything.
Happy rats, and don't do crime!
Chapter 5, part 1 – Adam Will Make the Humans Pay
It was the moment his entire life had been building up to. The branch leader of the White Fang was finally poised to strike, and there was no force on Remnant that could stop him.
Adam Taurus was ready.
"Today," he bitterly declared to himself. "Today, I will make the humans pay!"
Three sharp raps came down upon the silver snowflake door knocker. Jacques Schnee, tycoon of the Schnee Dust Company and patriarch of the Schnee Dysfunctional Family, opened it to the sight of an irate bull Faunus with an outstretched hand.
"It's time to pay, Schnee."
"God dammit, not this again," said Jacques, more frustrated at the unannounced visit than he was angry at the Faunus himself.
"C'mon, dude," Adam went on. "You aren't gonna weasel your way out of it this time, or I'll just be back at yer door again tomorrow. I'm going to make you pay – so cough it up."
Reaching into his pocket, Jacques pulled out a small leather wallet and counted out one, two, three hundred lien. Placing the crisp chips in Adam's hand, he snorted angrily.
When the money was in his hand, Adam merely raised an eyebrow and flexed his fingers. Jacques dejectedly sighed and added another hundred to the stack.
"There we go…come to papa," said Adam, greedily snatching the money away before Schnee had a chance to change his mind.
"Now that that's all settled, stay the hell away from me and my house. Oh, and my family too I guess."
Jacques made to close the door, but a foot stuck in before he could slam it all the away. Angrily opening it once more, he waited for the same Faunus who just costed him some fat stacks to explain what the holdup was.
Adam pointed a thumb over his shoulder to a young woman who Jacques hadn't even seen.
"This my girl Ilia."
"Sup?" asked Ilia.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Jacques said. Yanking out his wallet, he threw the entire article into Adam's chest. "Just take the money. I have literally billions more monies at home."
"I thought this was your home," pointed out Ilia.
Jacques slammed the door in the two Faunus' faces.
Chapter 5, part 2 - Sienna Khan and Adam Khan't
"Hazel!"
The doors to the White Fang's throne room opened, in in walked a gigantic human. All eyes fell upon him immediately – those of Adam Taurus, Sienna Khan, and her four guardsmen, whose four Dust-enhanced spears immediately aimed upon him.
"Apologies," grunted Hazel, as though the mere word labored him. "I don't aim to cause any trouble."
"You've…brought a human to this location?" spat Sienna.
"You should hear what he has to say," Adam requested. As he did, however, he angled his body to turn his scabbard and sword away from Sienna and gently rested his right hand upon the hilt. If Sienna chose to see reason, she would survive the day. If she fell victim to the same shortsightedness she accused him of, then Adam would do what was necessary for the White Fang.
Hazel was pleading with Sienna for time to explain his cause as she bandied threats of murder and execution left and right – pathetic. The louder one's bark was, the quieter their bite. Those who used words in place of actions were fools. Adam thought Sienna had learned her lesson from Ghira, but it was evident she was just as much a coward as he had been.
"…do not want to start a war with the humans that we cannot win!"
Adam saw his moment. "That's where you're wrong."
Hazel turned to him, confusion upon the behemoth's face. In their planning, they had decided that Adam would remain silent while Hazel explained Cinder and the others' usefulness.
No one told Adam Taurus to remain silent.
He took a step up the broad stairway that separated them.
"A war with the humans is something we can win, Sienna, if we merely have the courage to see it through."
Another step, closer, then another. Sienna rose from her throne as Adam approached the halfway point between them.
"Not only do we have everything they do, but we have more. With the support of Hazel's forces, we could bring them to their rightful place – beneath us."
Adam now stood on equal footing with Sienna. Her face was a picture of hatred, but she miraculously managed to rein in her temper. "I have had enough of this nonsense. Guards, take him away."
There was no response from the guardsmen.
No should there have been.
Sienna likely figured it out at this point, but Adam decided to drive the point home. "I will admit, Sienna, you were right about my popularity. Most in Vale already see me as High Leader, and many in Mistral feel the same."
The guards came pouring in, from every opening in the room, even those Sienna thought she and she alone knew. Her paranoia proved her undoing, as the secret entrances and exits proved to be little more than routes for Adam's faithful to entrap her.
If looks could kill, Adam would be a corpse. However, looks could not kill, but swords could.
"If you think," Sienna fumed, "that I'm going to stand by and follow as you –"
Quick as lightning, Adam drew Wilt from Blush and thrust it forward. Sienna could do nothing but watch as…
…as Adam's blade clinked against her skin and bounced off.
"W-What?" he cried.
Sienna stared down at the sword, then back at him. "I blocked it."
"But I stabbed you," whined Adam.
"I have aura," explained Sienna.
"O-Oh. Okay."
"And you were clearly about to betray me, given the guards turning on me, so I obvious chose to raise it." Sienna pointed to the guard nearest her. He shrugged and nodded at her assessment.
"Stab her?" Adam asked of said guard.
The Faunus shook his head this time. "Dude, if you forget about aura, you're really not fit to lead the White Fang into battle. Sorry bro."
The others nearby nodded in agreement.
"Take him away," Sienna ordered the guards. "But, like, for real this time."
"Um." Hazel cleared his throat as Adam was dragged off to be executed or something. "Should I stay, or…? Because, uh, my offer to work together is still on the table…a-and I actually do know what aura is."
"Get out," hissed Sienna.
Hazel wisely turned around towards the doors and obeyed.
Author's Notes
Let's be honest: we all fantasize about Adam seizing the means of production and introducing gradual governmental reforms towards socialism. There's no need to hide the way we feel, folks…
Happy rats, and don't do crime!