Another week, another abrupt change in schedule. The event I was supposed to go do back in April now starts the second week of July. Then, two weeks later, I got straight to a ship for a little over a week. Then back to the first place for two weeks. Then maybe the ship again for another two. Truly this schedule is dizzying. Should still have chapters when I'm on land, but probably nothing on 27 July (unless things change again). Stay tuned!

Adam should've known better.

"The village of Tsuin reports that wanted terrorist Adam Taurus of the White Fang recently attacked their town, stealing valuable supplies and holding them hostage for several days. During that time, his forces appear to have delivered the stolen goods to a neighboring faunus village known as Furawa. Residents there surrendered the stolen goods without a fight, and while no arrests have been made as of this report, many are calling for a crackdown on White Fang sympathizers in the outskirts."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Adam's bottle missed the screen, splashing the dark liquor against his wall instead as the news report shifted to a local from Tsuin - the same one that had led the failed blockade against them.

"We've tried to live in peace with Furawa. Even helped them get started a few years back. And this is how they repay us? They even received funding from the HOME Act. Is this what our tax dollars are going toward? Helping terrorists?"

"The HOME Act - or the Helping Outskirt Management and Establishment Act - was passed over a decade ago to provide lien and basic commodities to new settlements throughout Anima. In response to revelations that Furawa received multiple payments on top of local support, the Council has announced an audit of the program, vowing to tighten restrictions and reduce potential waste. Details of their new restrictions have not been released, but an anonymous source with access to the Council has told us that the new wording will require full reimbursement from any settlement that aids or otherwise associates with the White Fang or other terrorist groups."

In other words, they'd be checking every faunus village for even the slightest hint of the White Fang. They'd probably demand public denunciations of the White Fang to avoid punishment. Even receiving supplies from them would force the village to repay any aid received, not to mention the White Fang goods being seized. No small village could afford to lose all that in one go and still survive the year. They'd either disband or fall.

Talk about screwed up. He could already see the implications of what was undoubtedly already decided and just waiting for some fancily worded draft to put it into law. Every faunus village would be watched like a hawk for even the tiniest hint of White Fang influence. Even if they could somehow get supplies through, the local authorities would just steal it and drive the residents into bankruptcy. Worse, all the nearest humans had to do was claim they'd been stolen from, and suddenly the White Fang supplies would be heading for some human village instead. It even incentivized the locals to watch for and confront the White Fang. After all, if they could report it early, then they'd have first dibs at claiming the goods afterwards.

Meanwhile, what would the displaced residents of Furawa and other settlements do? With no home left and everyone around seeing them as White Fang sympathizers, they couldn't really hope for a normal life, could they? Ideally, they'd realize how stacked the deck was against them and join the White Fang, but Mistral had to know that and would be tracking them. That really only left one option.

He could already imagine all the praise the SDC would receive for helping those poor, misguided faunus by offering them homes and jobs at one of their mining camps. Fresh slaves to fuel the humans' economy. They'd probably even get tax credits for stepping in, essentially paying them to do the dirty work of rounding up any faunus who dared dream of freedom. Meanwhile, the local human settlements would keep pushing faunus out, forcing more and more settlements to pop up, only to be shut down by Mistral's newest anti-faunus legislation. In the end, no faunus village would risk even accepting supplies from the White Fang, let alone working with them.

Feeding the SDC while cutting off the White Fang's primary support base? They couldn't have planned it better if they tried.

"In a show of support, General Ironwood of Atlas has sent a team of Specialists to Argus to assist in training of new anti-terrorist agents, though both Atlas and Mistral have specified that no Atlas personnel will be participating in operations within Anima." A small mercy, but it looked like the rift between the two Kingdoms was already beginning to heal. How long would it be before Atlas started providing more weapons and resources? Then maybe the Mistral teams could benefit from some extra manpower, under Mistralian leadership, of course. Give it a few years, and Atlas might even set up another Euryale, but this time with Mistral's support.

Atlas Invasion 2.0.

Worst of all, there was nothing he could do about it. Act out, and Atlas would just use it as proof that Mistral needed their help. Innocent faunus would get caught in the crossfire. If they did nothing, then everything would just go back to the status quo. The SDC would continue expanding while Atlas and Mistral would claim their methods were working and push harder. Once again, innocent faunus would get caught in the crossfire. Even just focusing on peaceful missions didn't seem to help. Besides, they'd tried that under Ghira's rule. Humanity had zero interest in changing, no matter what they tried.

And why not? Humans had established themselves as the dominant species. Why risk that just to help out a few faunus? They clung to their ways with an iron grip, lashing out at anything that threatened their little utopia. He'd seen it time and time again. Maybe there were humans out there willing to do the right thing, but they weren't doing enough. Miners still suffered and died. Families were still driven from their homes. Children were still left to suffer alone. And anyone who dared to even point out those injustices was thrown to the Beowolves. All so those in power could keep it and pass the torch of oppression on to the next generation.

No. It had to end. They had to keep fighting, even if it seemed hopeless. Maybe someday humanity and faunuskind would finally live in peace, but sometimes peace could only be obtained through war. Humans and faunus were the same deep down, even if they looked different on the outside. As Soji used to quote, "If you prick us, do we not bleed?"

Maybe humanity needed to bleed some more to see the obvious.

But first, they needed to remind the world just how evil humans could be. Humanity had blinders on when it came to the SDC, so that wasn't enough. Corporate corruption had long ago become old news, and when the target was the company keeping the lights on for the entire world? People would bend over backwards to avoid looking at the SDC's atrocities. They needed something a little harder to ignore. Harder to excuse.

Atlas had provided that before. The SDC might get away with some bad PR, but Atlas was meant to be the pinnacle of humanity's greatness. Such lofty ideals that had raised them far above the horrors of this world. Such greatness that the city itself - the city of dreams - lifted toward the heavens, detached from the darkness of reality and beyond the reach of even the Grimm. A place of fairy tales, where even the robotic guards hearkened back to the knights of old.

Until Euryale. Adam had found a chink in their armor, carving it open to reveal the filth hidden behind that shining metal. Atlas was no ideal civilization. They were power hungry warmongers driven by greed and lust like everyone else. The White Fang gave Remnant a glimpse at the truth, and for one small moment, humanity had recoiled at the sight. Atlas was driven from Anima's shores and forced back to the frozen wasteland where they belonged.

It only lasted a little while, but for that short stretch, they'd tarnished the gleam of humanity. For that brief moment, the world had seen Atlas the way faunus saw them every day. Not some incorruptible dream of perfection, but the result of absolute power and control. An entire society built on greed and oppression that existed only as long as they had others to stand upon.

And then, the veil had fallen back into place, as if the breeze of truth had never rippled across its thick sheet in the first place. Humanity went back to their black and white view of the White Fang and their enemies. Humanity good. White Fang bad. They wallowed in their ignorance, content to let others suffer as long as it never affected them personally.

Humans are scum. Said the scumiest of them all. Alyssa was no human. She was a demon in woman's clothes. Aw, don't be like that. Besides, I wasn't always wearing clothes, if you recall. Oh, he recalled. He also recalled all the vile, horrible things he'd endured at her hands. Compared to her, Atlas and the SDC were almost bearable.

Are you forgetting who branded your face? Not in the slightest. The SDC may have burned their name on his face, but she'd burned his soul. And yet, neither of us could keep you in the end. I've always liked a rebel, but I think you took that one a little far. More like he hadn't taken it far enough. Or soon enough. He'd let her control him for so long, and then when he'd finally broken free, it was only a matter of time until someone else tried to control his life. Once again, he'd fought back, but only after he'd lost too much. That seemed to be a recurring theme in his life.

He was a failure.

Nila. Colton. Duncan. Monti. Jakob. So many taken from him. So many he couldn't save. So many failures. Face it, Adam. No matter how hard you try, you always let those closest to you down. It's just a matter of time until someone else gets hurt because you were too slow. He wouldn't let that happen. Not again. Who do you think it'll be this time? Bane? Ilia? Personally, my money's on Blake.

Adam was on his feet before he knew it. No! He wouldn't fail again. No one would get hurt because of him. He'd saved Bane from Orostachys. He'd rescued Ilia from Atlas. Half of the White Fang owed him their lives in one way or another. No matter what Alyssa or anyone else said, he'd done a lot of good for the faunus, and he'd keep fighting for them until the day he died. He'd put a stop to those that wished harm on his kind. He'd expose the evils of humanity. He'd expose the ugly truths they tried to ignore until they recognized who the real monsters were.

And he knew just where to start.

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

Putting in a call to Sienna was easy enough. It might take her a bit to answer, but she always had someone monitoring the communication equipment with orders to fetch her if Adam or someone else from one of the outposts reached out. Adam rarely did so without a very good reason, so she knew an unplanned request would demand urgency.

Not that it was hard to call. All he had to do was head across camp to the comms room and ask the techs there to patch him through. Like headquarters, Reyno always had someone ready to connect him. Getting through to Sienna would only take a few minutes most days, and half of that was just walking over from his room.

And yet, Blake still found him in that brief interlude.

"Did you see the news?"

"Yes." He didn't really have time for her rehashing the whole thing. He had a mission to plan.

"I can't believe they'd do something like that!" Where had she been…oh, he didn't know, her entire life? There was no low their enemies wouldn't stoop to. "Those supplies weren't from Tsuin. They were ours."

"And now they're theirs," Adam summarized.

"It's not fair."

"Life's not fair." She should've known that by now. If life was fair, they wouldn't be here. Blake would be living as an island princess. Ilia would still be attending some ritzy school in Atlas. He'd still have a family. Heck, he might've even pursued being a Huntsman. He'd be well on his way, leader of a team at Haven where his biggest concerns would be studying for exams and asking his crush out on a date. "Get used to it."

Blake cut in front of him, halting his march to the comms room. "I don't want to get used to it. I shouldn't have to."

Really? How idealistic could she get. "And Furawa shouldn't be in trouble for asking for help. Yet here we are. All we can do is keep moving." Like how he wanted to keep moving forward…toward the comms room.

Blake's eyes widened as he pushed by. She rushed to catch up, nearly jogging alongside at his quick pace. "You're planning something, aren't you?" He didn't bother answering that one. "You are! What is it? A mission?" No, a bake sale. They'd make cookies and use the funds to buy a billboard. Of course a mission! "I want in."

"You don't even know what it is."

"I don't care. Whatever it is, I want in on it." How he wished he had some terrible mission to make her eat those words. Sadly, making her the Permanent Latrine Orderly wouldn't count as a mission.

She'd been demanding before, but this felt like a new level. "Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why? Why do you want to come?" Boredom? Vengeance? To blow off steam? Blake clearly hadn't thought it through yet, scrambling for words but coming up empty. Adam turned and left her behind. "That's what I thought." He needed people focused on this one. More than that, he needed to be focused, and Blake had a way of getting in his head. "You're sitting this one out."

"It was my mission!"

Adam hesitated, his next step slowing at the crack in her voice.

Blake rubbed her arm, looking away as she spoke. "It was my mission. I wanted to help those people, but I just made everything worse. It's all my fault."

Looked like his call would have to wait. "It's not your fault, Blake."

"It is! I'm the one who told him we were going to Furawa. I'm the one who promised Linnae everything would be okay. But it wasn't! I lied to them. Now Furawa's in trouble and it's all my fault." Blake sniffed as she wiped her nose. "I made everything worse."

Adam came closer, stopping just out of reach. He thought about kneeling down, but that felt like something you'd do with a child. Despite her age, Blake was no child. She'd seen too much of the world to be treated like one. "Hey, none of that now." There was only room for one self-loather in camp, and he had dibs. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why did everything go wrong?" Blake finally met his eyes, though it hurt to see the pain etched across her face. "It was my mission. I was in charge. That means I'm responsible for whatever happens." He knew better than to point out she was only half in charge. No reason for Ilia to share half the blame when neither of them deserved any of it. "I couldn't even handle a simple supply mission."

"You did fine."

"No I didn't." She didn't even give him a chance. "I folded at the first sign of trouble. You had to step in before we even reached Furawa." True, but only because of that idiot. "I'm a failure."

He'd heard those words before. Spoken them to himself a thousand times. Blake was more like him than either of them seemed to realize. She cared too much, shouldering more than her fair share of blame when things went wrong, only to avoid the praise when things went right. She wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than perfection.

"You're not." The words came easily, almost without thought. "You're not a failure, Blake." Far from it. Here she was, having left her home to help lead the fight for their freedom. She'd given up everything to help faunus who might never even know who she was or what she'd sacrificed. Fourteen years old, and she'd already done more than most could hope to do in an entire lifetime.

At least he got recognition for all he'd done. His name was known in every Kingdom. There were celebrities whose faces were less recognizable. There were few people in Remnant more well known than Adam Taurus.

Blake Belladonna, though? No one knew her. They might know her name, but that was her parents' doing, not hers. No history book would ever mention her name. She'd forever be hidden in his shadow, even though she'd been with the White Fang longer than he had.

Blake had given up her entire future for the faunus. She could've lived in peace on Menagerie, lounging around her mansion as part of one of, if not the richest faunus families in the world. Blake could've become a great artist. Or maybe a famous author. With her skills, she could've even gone on to become a Huntress, though she'd probably need to change her last name. And yet, she'd chosen to give that all up for something bigger than herself. Meanwhile, he'd sacrificed nothing to get here, having lost everything before every setting foot on Menagerie.

After all that, all it took was a single struggle to break her confidence. Not even a failure. Just the cruelty of humans turning her victory into a defeat. It made him sick.

She needed encouragement. No, she needed progress. Like him, some cheerful words and empty promises wouldn't do much for her. Sitting in Reyno with the bitter taste of defeat would break her down in time. She needed a reminder that their struggle wasn't in vain. That they could make a real difference in the world, even if only for a few faunus.

She needed to join his mission.

Adam grit his teeth, trying to find a better solution but coming up empty. He knew what was best for her, but feared what it might mean. What she might see. He knew he couldn't do this one alone - well, he could, but it probably wouldn't go as well. He needed a show of force, even if he dreaded having anyone witness what he fully expected to encounter. He'd hoped to leave Alpha Squad out of it entirely, or just bring Bane along, knowing he could rely on his longtime friend to not think less of him. The rest could just be some trusted nobodies, there to back him up at the start but kept away for the final bit. Letting anyone else get a glimpse of the true Adam was a risk he didn't want to take.

And yet, someone had to come. Someone would see. Someone would learn far more about him than he ever wanted them to. Other than Bane, he couldn't think of anyone he trusted more to not turn away at the sight. Someone who wouldn't abandon him if they knew the truth. Blake knew him better than anyone on Remnant, but she didn't know everything. Would she still follow him if she did? If she really knew Adam Taurus, she might just turn tail and run. The risk was just too high.

Yet the risk of crushing her spirit was worse.

"Come on," Adam said, already resuming his walk to the comms room. His stomach clenched, even if he knew this was the right choice. Why couldn't the right choice ever be the easy one? Then again, if doing the right thing was always the easy option, the world probably wouldn't be so screwed up.

Blake followed without a word, sensing the mood. Rusty wasn't manning the comms room, but the girl there still got the device up and running in a flash. When Sienna finally connected, she seemed surprised to hear from him. "Adam, is something wrong?"

Yes, but not at Reyno. "No. I just wanted to follow up on yesterday's report."

"I take it you've seen the news, then?"

"I have. Blake's here, too." She'd stayed quiet, shrinking a little at Sienna's words. Hopefully the sudden mention of her presence would clue Sienna in on the situation.

It worked. "Ah, Blake. Adam spoke highly of your performance at Furawa. You do the White Fang and the faunus proud."

"Th-thank you, ma'am." Ma'am? So formal. Hey, wait a second. How come she never called him sir? "But Furawa-"

"Will be taken care of, rest assured." That was news to Adam, though he shouldn't have been so surprised. Sienna always seemed to have a plan, and she'd seen the same reports he'd seen. No doubt, she and the Albains had already been discussing what to do next.

Not that either of them could blame Blake for doubting. "It will?"

"We're already arranging for additional supplies to be sent to Furawa," Sienna assured her.

So Furawa would still be taken care of? Good. "But won't they just steal the new supplies, too?" And probably investigate anyone delivering them. The White Fang had a good number of shell companies they could pass supplies through, but they really didn't need Mistral looking into them further. He was all for helping Furawa, but not at the risk of their larger operations.

"Not unless they want to risk an international incident." Sienna almost sounded like she hoped they would. "It'll take time, but we're sending it through a Valean relief organization. International aid, paid for by faunus donations abroad." In other words, through one of their fronts under the guise of charitable donations. Mistral would object, but seizing goods from a Valean charity would be front page news across Remnant, especially after their incidents with Atlas. Mistral would probably know where it really came from, but with no way to prove it, they couldn't lift a finger.

This had Corsac and Fennec written all over it. Annoying as they were, the pair were as sharp as they came.

Blake's shoulders relaxed at the news. "Thank you, Sienna."

"The White Fang will always do what we can for those in need." Especially if it meant thumbing their nose at humans in the process. "But I doubt you were calling just to ask about our next step."

Sienna knew him all too well. "I wasn't." Though he appreciated the update. "I have a favor to ask. A mission. One that's personal to me."

Even if Blake's faunus ears hadn't perked up at his words, he knew he had her attention now. Sienna's too, it seemed, though not without some hesitation. "Now may not be a good time. Like it or not, our support took a hit with Furawa. This investigation has a lot of our supporters on edge."

"Which is why it's the perfect time to act," Adam interjected. "If we do nothing, all the focus will be on Furawa and these new restrictions. They'll try and convince everyone that working with the White Fang is dangerous." Which was true, but only because the humans made it that way. "We need to give them something else to focus on."

"Like what? Anything we do right now will simply be used as a reminder of how horrible we are." Which would only justify their new restrictions. Reasonable precautions in the face of unreasonable adversaries, they'd claim.

"Then we need to show them something worse."

"Like the SDC?" Blake theorized.

Sienna cut down that idea before Adam could. "People already know the SDC. Even if they won't admit it, they can't just ignore everything that happens." The unfair wages. The cave-ins. Things that could be excused by themselves but painted a dark picture when grouped together. "And money talks. We could show them a video of Jacques Schnee tossing a faunus child off the floating city and they'd find a way to ignore it." True. The SDC already had a horrible reputation, so going after that would be pointless.

"Then we show them something worse."

"Worse than killing faunus?"

Adam couldn't believe he was about to say this. "Worse than the SDC."

Adam might as well have told them he had proof of something more destructive than the Grimm. The SDC certainly weren't saints. Adam's face bore the evidence of that. Even if Jacques Schnee wasn't directly responsible for all the horrors of his company, he still bore the blame for the atrocities he allowed to continue. Orostachys had been an absolute hellhole, but it wasn't an isolated case. Every camp they'd attacked had their own horror stories. Countless faunus had died either through the carelessness or planning of the SDC's operators. The snow white of their company and the Schnee family did little to hide the blood they'd spilled.

But the SDC's crimes were far from the worst in the world. Sure, they had quantity, but there were fates worse than death. Breaking the body was easy. It took a real monster to break a soul. If the quantity of evil didn't affect people, then maybe they should focus on quality.

"What did you have in mind?" The question hung over him, but there was no turning back now.

With a deep breath, Adam laid out his plan. "There's an orphanage in Anima. A big one. Mostly humans, but they usually have a few faunus children."

Sienna had to know which one he was talking about. Blake, too. They'd seen the reports on his life. He'd told them bits and pieces afterwards, so they both knew all about…her. Won't even say my name? I thought we were closer than that.

"The matron hates faunus, but her daughter's the real problem. She likes to…take advantage of them." In the worst way possible. "All the children work, but the faunus kids never get anything from it." At least, he assumed not. Madam de Thom had seized all of his money. Nila hadn't survived long enough to claim hers. Erik…he had no idea what happened to Erik, but he had to assume it wasn't a happy ending. Depends on what kind you mean. Adam shuddered at the thought of what his friend must've endured after he left.

He should've gone back. He should've done something. The caravan had passed by Katai plenty of times, but he'd never once asked Jean to check in on Nila and Erik. He'd been too scared. Looking back, he couldn't help but wonder if he could've made a difference. Maybe saved up his lien and convinced Jean or Soji to adopt them. Bring them along or find a new home for them in another town with a loving family. Instead, he'd left them in her clutches, too much a coward to stand up for the people he'd once called friends.

Don't worry. I took good care of them. Such good care that Nila apparently hung herself. Erik had probably become her new plaything, forced to endure what he'd fled. Who knew what they'd gone through after he escaped. Oh, I think you know. Poor little Erik didn't even try to fight back. Not as experienced as you, but he was a quick learner.

No. She wasn't really here, so none of that was real.

But we both know it's likely. What, you think I gave up after you? Sat around pining for my favorite faunus? Hate to break it to ya, but I moved on. Don't worry, though. I made sure Erik had some fun along the way. Even let him fool around with Nila from time to time. At least, until she decided not to hang around anymore.

Adam tensed, only to freeze as a smaller hand rested gently on his wrist. Blake watched him with worry in her eyes, but the contact helped ground him once more so he could push on past the cackling voice in his head.

"I want to take a squad to Katai, rescue the faunus in the orphanage, and get them to Menagerie." He'd make the offer to any faunus adults living in the area, too. Part of him hoped he could find Erik and give him a better life. A more selfish part of him hoped he didn't. Even after all these years, he didn't think he could face his old friend.

"And what of this woman?" Alyssa. What would he do with her? Killing her was the obvious answer. She couldn't hurt anyone if she was dead. Unfortunately, doing that would just have everyone focusing on the murder rather than all the evil she'd done. They'd be back to square one.

If he really wanted to make her suffer, then he'd need to do things a little differently. "We'll have her arrested."

"Arrested?" Was it just him, or did Sienna laugh at his suggestion? "You want us to work with the authorities? I don't know if you've noticed, Adam, but they aren't exactly our biggest fans."

"The sheriff there's a good man." One of the few. "He stood up for me. Saved me from Kesseki." Which would've been a death sentence at his age. Had he known he'd been freeing the boy who'd become the most feared terrorist in the world, would the old sheriff had still helped him? It was weird to think how that one decision by a good man had changed the course of history. "He's no friend of those people. I think he'd help us."

"And if not?"

If not? If the sheriff refused, would Adam really be okay letting Alyssa go? They couldn't exactly take her with them. Aside from wanting her nowhere near him in the first place, it would still detract from their purpose of exposing the mistreatment of the children. Still, with that vile woman helpless in front of him, could he really resist getting revenge for everything she'd done to him?

"We'll let her go." He'd have to, no matter how much it hurt. Her death, as satisfying as it might be, wouldn't serve their bigger purpose - to help faunus across Remnant.

He'd have to put his trust in two things he'd never found particularly trustworthy - a human and the justice system. Even if the charges didn't stick, exposing the truth was worth it. She might walk free in the end, but settlements in the outskirts sometimes took the law into their own hands. At the very least, no one would trust her around children ever again. They might even put someone new in charge of the orphanage, just to make sure the de Thoms could never hurt another child ever again.

It wouldn't be the victory he deserved, but he'd settle for anything.

Sienna thought it over for a minute. Adam could hear muffled conversation. The Albains must've joined in. Or maybe they were listening all along and just kept quiet. Eventually, he heard Sienna uncover the mic again to deliver her answer.

"Give us a few days to arrange transport. Some of our usual routes are being watched." Fair enough. He didn't exactly want anyone discovering them before they reached Katai. Thankfully, it wasn't exactly a busy area, so there should be less eyes that far out. "And I want Bane and Cerco to accompany you. I'll speak with them separately about my expectations."

In other words, she wanted them there to keep an eye on Adam, just to be safe.

"I'm bringing Blake as well," Adam advised.

"And Ilia?"

"No." Another orphanage of horrors would only stir up memories for her. He'd rather not put her through something like that. "Just Blake."

"Very well. In that case, I'd like to speak to Blake alone, if you don't mind." And even if he did.

"Understood."

"I'll contact you once we have a plan," Sienna continued. "Until then, ensure your team continues training. There are dark days ahead, and we must be prepared to meet them."

Adam excused himself, leaving a somewhat nervous Blake behind. While he could admit to being curious what Sienna would instruct her, it didn't really matter. Not even Blake would be able to stop him if he decided to disobey orders. At best, she could slow him down. Their best bet would be talking him down, but he wouldn't let it get to that point.

Storm clouds gathered in the distance as the wind began to pick up. A few people in the training fields scurried inside, eager to avoid the coming rain while the guards on the walls resigned themselves to a very uncomfortable shift. Leaves danced across the open ground, cartwheeling past him. The air felt heavy ahead of the looming storm. Adam ignored it all, mind fixed in another direction.

Katai. It felt like a lifetime had passed since he'd escaped that town. The orphanage had scarred him far worse than the SDC ever could, yet here he was, rushing back to the place where his childhood had been stolen from him. He'd faced Grimm. Robots. Soldiers. Even a Specialist.

But he'd never faced a monster as vile as what lurked in that accursed place.

The rain hit Reyno like a wall, drenching him in an instant. Lightning split the sky like a jagged scar. Thunder cracked overhead, causing one of the guards to jump. Through it all, Adam stood, unable to hear any of it over the taunting voice in his head.

I'll be waiting.

She's ba-ack!

Easily the worst character I've ever written and one I would love nothing more than to kill off, we couldn't just leave Alyssa de Thom as some disembodied voice haunting Adam from time to time. Obviously he needs to face his demon, even if he hasn't actually seen her in 85 chapters (at least, not the real her). Plus, even if Erik would've aged out by now, there's bound to be other faunus children from time to time. Adam may have failed his friends, but he won't fail again the next generation. Hopefully.

And of course a simple resupply mission with minimal complications had to have something go wrong afterwards. It was originally meant to be a filler mission to prepare for Katai, but I rather enjoyed the idea of a media spin and some underhanded moves to steal everything afterward. Never expect your enemies to fight fair.

Meanwhile, Blake has a bit of a crisis, but Adam's there to encourage her. Then she steps in when he's in panic mode. Ah, young love. Okay, young crush and oblivious idiot. It's gotta be something in the air of Remnant. Makes all men blind to the feelings of their female friends. Jaune and Pyrrha. Ren and Nora. Taiyang and Summer. Pretty sad when the only guy who seems to properly spot a girl's interest is Neptune with Weiss. Sun doesn't count, since he was oblivious to her disinterest at first and ended up being the one giving chase.

Next chapter: Adam prepares to face his past.