My one week writing break turned into two. Had a great time down in Florida, but was just exhausted when we finally got home. Then, got sick right after for a few days, so just decided to throw in the towel for the week, knowing I would struggle to get any writing done. Also had more craziness with work, even while on vacation. Ended up taking my work computer with me and making quite a few phone calls. No rest for the weary.

Work trip's been postponed again until June, which may cause problems with the next big event at work. As the guy who leads testing of the finished system, all the problems from early on wind up on my plate, so we get to juggle unrealistic timelines, pressure from management, and problems outside of our control. Nothing I'm not used to, though. In the end, we'll get things done and come out on the other end completely spent but knowing we delivered as always.

Unrelated to all that, I finally restarted Fallout 4 (the hype finally got me). Doing a playthrough on stream with Dixper and Crowd Control, which lets chat do everything from messing with my controls to spawning enemies without warning. Didn't even make it out of Sanctuary before they dropped two behemoths, an alien, a massive horde of feral ghouls, and even a deathclaw on me. Add to that all my perk points be assigned by a wheel (started with 9 Endurance but almost no Intelligence or Charisma), and the whole thing is a new level of struggle. Fun, though.

Something was wrong.

Adam could feel it the moment Atlas faded from view. At first, he wasn't sure what set him off, but something just felt off. Some niggling tingle in the back of his mind that refused to go away. He'd checked out both sides of the airship, wondering if he'd developed some sort of sixth sense for danger, but the skies were almost empty as they jetted away from the scene of the crime. Just to be safe, he'd popped up to the cockpit to check, but the pilot assured him they were in the clear. Laurence's scrambler seemed to be working, as far as they could tell. To any Atlas radar, they should be showing as a commercial airship heading for Mistral. As long as they stayed close to the regular airways, the automated systems would peg them as friendly. Combined with the likely swarm of crafts making their way to the disaster site, it would take time before they realized the error. By then, the White Fang airship would be well outside their range, dipping low over the ocean and changing course. Once again, the complacency of automation would work in their favor.

Adam relaxed, content that they were in the clear. At least until he went back to the hold and felt the annoying wrongness return. What was it? The engines were running fine, their steady hum easily heard in the silent space. Everyone was accounted for, clustered together in small groups without any signs of injury. No complaints, either. Everything had gone exactly according to plan. They'd be back in Reyno before nightfall, celebrating their victory over Atlas. Once he gave his report to Sienna, he might even join them for a few drinks before turning into bed while they partied through the night. Maybe he'd offer to do some extra work in the morning. Sweep the forest for Grimm or something to make sure the guards had an easy shift after a long night of celebrating. Most of them would be hungover and exhausted in the morning. He couldn't even blame them. Getting a win against Atlas on their own turf was kind of a big deal. Something like that deserved to be celebrated.

Which is what finally clued him in on what was wrong.

This was only their second mission in Atlas, and it had gone a million times better than the refinery incident, yet the ride felt more like a funeral procession than a party. The masks of the soldiers hid most of their faces, but their mouths were visible, showing a mixture of rather grim expressions. A few had ditched their facial coverings, including a few of his squadmates. Shock. Sorrow. One guy looked sick. Not at all the reaction Adam expected.

His squad huddled together in the corner as Nag and Blake spoke in hushed whispers that he couldn't quite make out. The moment he approached, the voices stopped and shoulders tensed.

Well, this was new. "We'll be landing in Reyno in a few hours," Adam reported, talking loud enough to be heard over the engines and then some. Everyone in the cabin listened in. "We have to take the long way to make sure they can't track us. Take tomorrow off to rest and recover."

Nods and strained smiles were the best he got for his trouble. Sensing the futility of trying to cheer them up, Adam retreated back to his corner. The quiet chatter returned in his wake, mostly directed at Ilia, whose unmasked face hadn't even looked up when he spoke. He'd need to talk to them and sort out whatever the problem was, but doing so in the airship would probably be a bad idea. Best to let things settle first and not corner someone where they might feel trapped.

Blake must've sensed him watching and gave him a sympathetic look before whispering something to Ilia. A small grin threatened to break through for a moment, only to quickly die as nothing more than a quirk of the corner of her mouth. Maybe he'd talk to Blake first and see if she could clue him in a bit. Despite her age, she'd become a sort of leader amongst Alpha Squad and his right hand ever since the aura training started. Looked like he'd be adding therapist to her pile of responsibilities. Maybe snitch, too, since he'd be pestering her for some inside info later.

Avoiding people just across the room from you for hours made for an awkward ride back to Reyno. The moment they touched down, Adam had the door open and was already marching off to the communications building, fighting for balance as the engines behind him slowly shut down and whipped the open space into a frenzy of dust and leaves. Walking through that tempest wasn't easy, but it made sure no one followed him as he stumbled away.

Not that anyone rushed to keep up.

What was the big deal? They'd all been on missions with him before. They'd seen what they were up against. Was it because people died? No, that couldn't be it. They'd all been there for Euryale, and none of them had complained about the humans that died in the all their losses, he'd have expected them to jump at the opportunity to get back at Atlas. Most had, when he first announced the plan. So what was eating them?

Sienna proved just as useless when he asked. "Hard to say. Talk to them. You say Ilia seemed the most affected? Start with her." Great, so her great wisdom was to do exactly what Adam already planned to do. Why exactly had he bothered asking again?

"Maybe you should talk to her," Adam tried, hoping to foist the responsibility on someone else. Anyone else. He wasn't exactly the best at dealing with emotions, especially of the teenage girl variety.

"You are her squad leader," Sienna countered, squashing any hope of escape. "That means more than just charging into battle first. They need to be able to trust you with their hearts as well as their lives." Why? Why wasn't it enough for him to keep them safe? All of his scars could've been prevented if someone had been there when he needed them most. Better to prevent the pain than be there to pick up the pieces afterward. "Perhaps you should call Bane back from Nonemu. Ilia always looked up to him."

Now there was an idea. Big and scary looking as he was, Bane could be a real softie, especially around children. He'd been there for her since they'd rescued her from Atlas. He could be there for her now. "I'll see it done." He stood to leave, eager to get things moving. The sooner he got them all out of their funk, the better.

"Oh, and Adam?" Adam paused, glancing back at the display. "Good work today. You've shown the world our strength and resolve. Atlas will have no choice but to focus on their own shores for a change instead of meddling in the affairs of other Kingdoms." Which would give them more breathing room in Anima, just like they'd planned. "You continue to serve the White Fang well."

"Everything I do is for the good of the faunus."

Even if that meant getting his hands dirty.

/- - - - - - - - - -/

Adam kept to himself for the evening, hoping to give everyone a chance to cool off after a long mission. Definitely not just to avoid having to have his talk with Ilia. No. They just…couldn't really relax with their boss around. He was doing them a favor by staying away.

Yeah. That was it.

Morning came without any new ideas on how to fix things, mainly because he still didn't know what needed fixing. Trifa had agreed to send Bane in a couple days, but waiting for him to come sort things out sounded cowardly, no matter which way he sliced it. Adam was many things, but a coward wasn't one of them. At least, that's what he kept telling himself while trying to find a way out of having to talk to a teenage girl.

His hope that everything had sorted itself out died like many of his dreams before it - with the arrival of Blake.

"You done hiding?"

"I wasn't hiding!" Adam protested, drawing several curious glances at his all too loud denial. "I was resting. Believe it or not, even I need to sleep from time to time."

"Uh huh." Blake looked up at the sun already high in the sky. Adam usually woke up before sunrise, so sleeping in this late had her doubting his story. "Ilia's in our classroom, by the way."

On their day off? "Why?"

"Because I told her to wait there." Dang it, Blake! "You can't just avoid her, Adam."

"Avoid her? Who's avoiding her?" Not him. He just happened to be busy somewhere away from the classroom right now. Far away. It might take him a few hours. Maybe all day.

Okay, so maybe he was avoiding her.

"You need to talk to her." Did all women specialize in telling you things you already knew, or just the women he knew?

Fine, he'd talk to her. The classroom would at least afford them some privacy, especially on a day off. At least Blake had been kind enough to think ahead on that. Hopefully she'd prove even more helpful. "Any idea what I'm up against?"

"What?"

"With Ilia. Why's she so upset?"

Was there something on his face? Adam wiped at his cheek, just to be safe, but Blake just kept staring at him with a dumbfounded look. "You had her set off that avalanche."

"So?" Someone had to do it, and Ilia seemed like the perfect fit. "They killed her parents in one of those mines, Blake. I just wanted to give her the chance to stop it from happening to anyone else."

"You are such an idiot." Hey, now that wasn't fair. He wasn't that bad, was he? "You didn't give her a choice. You shoved it in her hand, then left her there wondering what she should do. What if she'd refused? What if she hadn't pressed the button?"

"Then I would've done it."

"And you told her that?"

"Yeah." Blake waited as he thought his answer over. "Maybe? I mean, it was kind of implied."

"Go talk to her." The most dangerous terrorist in the world, being bossed around by a teenage girl. No one in the so-called civilized world would believe it. Even less so that Adam ducked his head in embarrassment, cowed by such a figure.

So that was it? She'd felt pressured? It sounded so childish, but then again, he'd forgotten she was a child. One that had suffered far more than any child should, but a child nonetheless. He'd just assumed she'd be eager to get revenge that he hadn't even stopped to think about it. Just handed her the opportunity and assumed she'd make the same choice he would. With the cameras rolling and the pressure on, she'd still done it, but he'd forced her hand rather than give her the choice.

Funny. When he'd rescued her from that orphanage, he'd told her to make her own choices, only to bring her back to Atlas and choose for her.

He'd screwed up. That much was obvious. Maybe she would've agreed to it regardless, but he'd never even asked. She needed to bury her past, not have someone else do it for her. She'd been the one holding the trigger, but Adam may as well have pushed it for her. How could she ever move on if he never let her do it herself? She couldn't just keep running from her past.

You're one to talk. That was different. He couldn't just even the score with the press of a button. Ilia might be able to, but only if he let her. He couldn't fight all her battles for her. She needed to be the one who chose her path, not him.

"Hey, Blake." There was something he had to know. "If it'd been you, instead of Ilia, would you have done it? If I'd given you the choice, I mean." Like he should've done with Ilia.

Blake considered it for a moment…and then a few moments longer. "I…I don't know. Maybe?" Not exactly the answer he was looking for, but then what was he looking for? "I think so, but it would've been better for you to do it."

From anyone else, Adam would've been annoyed. Disappointed. But for some reason, hearing Blake hesitate felt like a relief. Maybe it was because she still had some of the innocence he'd been denied so long ago. She knew what needed to be done, but that didn't make doing it easy. In order to defeat the evils of humanity, they had to become evil themselves. Taking the high road only led to them getting run over. The faunus had tried playing by the rules, and look where that had gotten them. Nowhere. Their only hope of victory was to fight humanity on equal terms. And for that, they needed a monster.

They needed him.

They didn't need everyone being like him, though. What was the point in fighting for a better tomorrow if there was no one better to enjoy it? He'd get down in the filth of humanity, all so people like Blake could walk on his shoulders and rise above it.

"Thank you, Blake." For being the better person he knew she'd be. For still having a shred of humanity when humanity had abandoned theirs. "I'll go see what I can do about Ilia."

Easier said than done. Even as he made his way to their classroom - more of a conference room, really, but the team always joked about it being like primary school - he had no idea what he'd say. Obviously, he needed to apologize for forcing her into that situation, but knowing an end goal and the actual words to get there were two very different things.

His slow pace didn't help much. Instead of coming up with a plan, he'd just dragged things out by the time he finally reached the door. Peeking inside, he could see news reports playing on the projector screen. Ilia must've connected her scroll while she waited. Alone in the larger room, she watched footage of their attack and the ongoing rescue efforts play out again and again. Even outside the door, he could hear the voices clearly. Commentators bounced between mentions of the White Fang and updates on the recovery mission.

It wasn't going well, by the looks of it. Only two survivors so far, not counting the pair they'd left back on the cliff. At least a dozen confirmed dead with more still being searched for. Rescuers were slowed by a resurgence of Grimm, drawn to the calamity and forcing a temporary halt while reinforcements were brought in. Atlas was in chaos responding to the sudden attack.

And yet, they still found time to peddle their propaganda, emphasizing how the attack would mean lower dust production than expected and higher prices. All the White Fang's fault, of course. No mention on how the prices were already going up despite the expected opening. Easier to blame faunus than acknowledge the greed of the Schnee. Stock prices dropped. Policing of Mantle on the rise. New anti-masking and authorization of force laws. Atlas was doing what Atlas did best - overreact. They'd tighten their grip, uncaring for how they were choking out those unfortunate enough to not live up above. Sienna would almost certainly be contacting Felicia, working out new protocols to avoid Atlas' new policies while also using the oppression to drive more people to the White Fang. Part of him hated knowing that innocent faunus would suffer for what they'd done, but it was all for the greater good. Someday, they'd look back and realize it had all been worth it.

Better to suffer now than for a lifetime.

Ilia jolted as Adam finally opened the door. "Adam!" She fumbled with her scroll, all but throwing it as she tried to stop the broadcast.

"Relax, Ilia." Adam slowly walked over to pick up her scroll and hand it back. The spots on her face began to fade from the bright pink that had overtaken them. "Anything good on?"

Adam's joke fell flat. "Not really." She muted the broadcast. "Did Blake send you?"

His reputation couldn't take many more blows like that. He was the second most powerful member of the White Fang. The leader of their field operations and the most feared man among the Kingdoms. Humans spoke of him in hushed whispers, as if saying his name out loud might summon the dangerous faunus and doom them all.

Bad enough Ilia thought he could be bossed around by Blake so easily, but worse than that, he couldn't outright deny it.

"I was already planning to talk to you." It only eased the burn a little, but he had to try. Now the hard part - actually talking. Maybe if he just started, he'd find the words along the way. "About yesterday…" Ilia stared at the ground as he spoke, offering him no help whatsoever. "I shouldn't have done that to you."

"Huh?"

"I get it," he lied, still as in the dark as ever. "I should've asked if you wanted to. I just assumed you'd want revenge after…after everything you've been through." Because he would. That was the problem, though, wasn't it? He was treating her like a miniature version of himself. "I thought it might help you put the past behind you. You know, make them suffer the way your parents-" A flash of a long lost picture made him rethink his strategy. "The way you suffered. And now you're upset at me for pushing you. And you've got every right to be," he quickly added. "I should've done it myself."

Though it wouldn't look as cool on camera. Even now, they were showing the footage of him standing on the edge of the cliff, glaring at the camera as the charges went off and unleashed the avalanche on the humans below. It was almost like he'd summoned forth nature's fury through sheer willpower, rather than the push of a button. Still, activating the charges himself would've had a similar effect.

"I'll understand if you need some time off." Even if the whole concept of time off both amused and confused him. They weren't some nine to five job where you could just put in a leave request and take a vacation. The White Fang was their life. None of them could go back to society, ditch their mask, and have a few drinks with their competition.

"You're wrong." The words caught him off guard, but he knew better than to interrupt when Ilia finally decided to speak. "I'm not angry at you. If anything, I should thank you."

"You're welcome?" An instinctive answer. Just because they were terrorists didn't mean he couldn't have manners.

Ilia managed a sad smile at his confusion. "How much did Felicia tell you about my parents?"

Not much. "She told me your parents died in a mining accident." At least, that's what the SDC claimed. For all he knew, they'd arranged the accident themselves. After all, her parents were apparently former White Fang. Maybe they'd stirred up some trouble and had to be dealt with. They'd tried to do the same to him in Orostachys, so why not in Atlas?

Ilia nodded. "My parents were amazing. Once I learned to control my power, they managed to enroll me in a school on the Floating City. Me, a little faunus girl from Mantle, going to school in the city of dreams. I still don't know how they arranged it."

Bribes, probably. Any school like that would want to know who the child's parents were, and two faunus couldn't have a human child. They'd be rejected immediately. Then again, a couple of dust miners shouldn't have been able to afford to bribe their child's way into Atlas. He had to wonder if their fellow workers had chipped in. Maybe the White Fang had helped. He could always ask Sienna later, but the how mattered little.

"My parents told me to pretend I was human, but to never forget I wasn't one of them. If anyone found out who I really was, they'd turn on me. So I did what they told me. I played the part." She'd hidden her true self, all to blend in with the humans who hated her. Turned out she'd worn a mask long before coming to the White Fang. "Eventually, I actually started to believe I was one of them. Like I belonged there."

"Like you were human."

"But I wasn't. I never was. The same girls I'd called friends laughed when we heard about the explosion. They laughed as my world shattered. I…I couldn't stand it. And then when they found out I was a faunus…"

Adam knew the rest. He'd read her file. They'd turned on her in an instant, demanding she be thrown out. The teacher called for security. Surrounded and scared, taunted by the people she'd mistakenly placed her trust in, she'd done the only thing she could.

She fought back and been condemned for it.

Because at the end of the day, that was how the world worked. The humans did as they pleased, uncaring for the faunus they shared this world with. They refused to see the faunus as equals, and when one dared to step out of line, the boot of humanity came stomping down to crush their dream.

"My parents tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. I really thought they were my friends - that they actually liked me." But they never truly did. A real friend would've stood by her in her hour of need, not against her. "Smile, Ilia. Just for a while. Pretend you're one of them, but never forget who you really are. I didn't really understand what they meant. Not until it was too late."

Some would've called her parents cowards, making her hide like that, but Adam understood. They loved Ilia and wanted the best for her. Unfortunately, what they wanted was reserved for those born human. They'd probably been overjoyed when they realized Ilia's traits were so hidden. Some faunus were lucky that way, able to pass as human and live their lives as normal people. No one really knew how many faunus were living ordinary lives with humanity none the wiser. There'd been efforts to find them in the past, but proving someone was faunus wasn't easy.

There'd been plenty of studies done on faunus. Some using volunteers. Others were a little more compelled. Darker times, the humans would say, tutting at the horrors of humanity before pretending it didn't really matter. Most faunus were easy to identify from physical traits, but there had to be more. After all, if faunus always gave birth to faunus, then there had to be something genetic to it. Close enough to human to interbreed yet different enough to pass on the heritage. He didn't know all the specifics, but apparently there were some slight variations in their DNA that could tell them apart. Words like chromosomes and molecular thrown about and soaring right over his head. A mutation. At least, that was the nicest way they put it. Whatever the case, there were ways to identify faunus like Ilia, but they'd have to test every single person to find them. Impractical solutions for something that wasn't actually a problem.

"Your parents were smart people," Adam offered, respecting the deceased pair for doing so much for their child's future. They'd sacrificed everything, just to give her a shot at a better life, all but cutting themselves off from her to avoid dragging her down. "They must've really loved you."

"They did." Not a hint of doubt in her voice. Just as Adam knew without question that Father Bernard and Mazarin had loved him, no one could ever deny her parent's love for her. "I never realized just how much until…until they were gone."

Such was the cruelty of life. You never really appreciated what you had until it was taken from you. Her parents really meant a lot to her. "Is that why you're upset?" Ilia's slow nod hurt. He'd hit a much deeper nerve than he'd realized on that cliffside. "Because you think they'd disapprove?"

"No!" No? But they'd taught her to hide and live a better life, not lash out and suffer. They'd given up everything for her future, and he'd pushed her to become a killer instead. "My parents…there was something they told me, back when I first went to Atlas. They said to smile and pretend I was one of them, but they also knew it wouldn't last forever. That someday, people would know the truth. I think they hoped that I'd get to choose to reveal it, rather than having everyone find out."

Instead, their death undid all their work and outed her. A cruel fate for such wonderful people.

"They said there'd come a point where I'd have to make a choice. That I couldn't live a lie forever." She could, but it wouldn't be easy keeping something like that hidden. What if she fell in love with a human? How would he react when their children turned out to be faunus? He was living proof of just how bad that could go. "I remember asking them what I should do. How would I know when that time came?"

"What did they tell you?"

"They said I'd recognize it when the moment came, and that I'd know deep down what to do." A vague answer, especially for a child, but they weren't wrong. She'd be the only one that could make that decision. "And they were right. When you handed me that detonator, all I could hear was their words in my head. That was my moment. The moment where I had to choose, once and for all, who I was going to be."

"And I forced you to choose what I wanted." Crap. She'd been preparing for that moment her entire life, and he'd stolen it from you.

"You didn't force me to do anything." Ilia's eyes hardened, her skin starting to redden as she spoke. "I could've refused. Made someone else do it. But I pressed that button. I caused that avalanche. I buried that mine. And I'd do it again. I wasn't upset because of what happened. I was upset because I realized my parents were right. They'd given everything, knowing their dreams could never really come true. That no matter how hard they tried, the humans would never accept us."

It was a tough lesson, but one he'd learned long ago. Even if some humans accepted them, there were too many who never would. They were condemned to suffer, all for the crime of being different. Whatever empty promises humans might make, nothing ever changed. They fought and won a war for their freedom, yet here they were, fighting for the same rights they'd already been promised but never received. Humanity had proven that they couldn't be trusted.

Ilia's parents understood the truth. They fought with every bit of their strength to give Ilia the future they knew would be denied her. Even knowing how doomed an effort it was, they had to try. Just as Adam fought for a future he doubted he'd live long enough to see. "Your parents sound like amazing people."

"You would've liked them." Undoubtedly. Anyone that committed to helping those in need deserved his respect. "They told me to do whatever it took to get what I deserved. I always thought they meant by hiding who I was, but now I understand. They knew humanity would turn on me someday, and they wanted me to fight for what was owed to me."

Ilia picked up the mask she'd left on the chair beside her, standing as she fixed it to her face with a determined look. Gone was the scared, hurt little girl he'd walked in on. Her rapier flashed free from her hip, the bright glow of lightning dust coursing through the weapon splashing against the bright red of her skin. Her eyes, hidden behind the slits in her mask, stared past the walls of the room and even the walls of Reyno itself, challenging the world to come and face her.

It felt all too familiar to Adam. He could see himself stood against the guards of Orostachys, broken by the loss of his friends and standing over the body of the one who dared to harm what little he had left. They'd pushed him too far, and he'd chosen to finally fight back. Now, it was Ilia's turn.

"The time for smiling is over."

Never thought I'd have an entire chapter focused on Ilia, but here we are. I actually like her character a lot. Despite the limited screentime, we see a pretty detailed character arc and redemption that actually feels earned. Combine that with the Blake short and her song, and she's honestly a fascinating character with some actual nuance tucked in there.

Still remember hearing Smile for the first time. Oddly enough, I found it through BeatSaber when I was looking for new RWBY songs. Great, challenging map, but the song is fantastic. Always love the extra bits of character and lore that are hidden in the music. Tried to capture some of the characterization here.

Ilia's started down Adam's path, while Blake still lingers on the edges. Not going to make her completely detached from everything the White Fang does. More that she's not as quick or eager to embrace the violence, even if she lashed out at her parents for being against it. Meanwhile, there's some hints both here and in some recent chapters at the next big event for this fic, which I've been looking forward to. Need to get a few things in place first, but it'll be another one of the major events I sort of built this story around. Fun times ahead!

Next chapter: More fallout (see, the hype is getting to me) from the Atlas mission.