Long chapter incoming!
Nothing ever changed in Orostachys. The faunus worked, ate and slept, repeating the same tasks day in and day out. Slowly but surely, they continued carving their way through the base of the mountain, piercing further and further into the ground as they followed the veins of dust ever deeper. Every day they hauled up more of the precious crystals, sending them off to fuel the rest of the world without so much as a thanks.
Instead, all they got was the constant, crushing pressure of their cruel taskmasters in return. Gideon continued to be a thorn in Adam's side. In return, Adam and Jakob pushed back and became frequent guests of the hole. Jakob more than him, of course. Even if Adam caused just as much trouble sometimes, too many in the camp looked up to Jakob. That made him a convenient target.
"Gotta make an example outta me," Jakob said once after yet another trip to the hole. "They think it keeps everyone in line."
"Does it?"
"For some," Jakob admitted. "Most people will tow the line if they think the cost is too great. But not everyone." Not Jakob. He knew the cost better than anyone, but that never seemed to stop him. "For the rest of us, it just adds fuel to the fire. If they're not careful, they might just burn the whole place down someday."
Jakob talked about that sometimes - the end of Orostachys. Never within earshot of anyone else, of course. The guards would beat him black and blue for even thinking like that. Maurice would hound them relentlessly about causing trouble. But when they were alone, Jakob would dream of escape. Of getting all the workers to rise up and fight back as one, earning their freedom and escaping once and for all.
It was a pipe dream at best, and they both knew it. As dumb as people like Gideon seemed, they knew how to keep balance. They kept order, but for the most part, they never pushed too hard. A beating here. Some time in the hole there. Little things to remind them all who held all the cards, but never enough to make them desperate. They had warm meals, protection, entertainment - all the things they needed in exchange for their labor.
Bread and circuses, Jakob snidely called them. Just enough to keep them sedated so they never noticed what was really going on. Enough time off to let them unwind, but not enough for them to realize they were being used. There was always too much work to waste time on things like that. Why worry about tomorrow when you had so much else to focus on today? And the moment you had time to think, you'd be too desperate for rest to waste your time on anything else. Hard to see the forest when there were so many trees coming at you.
Or trees falling around you. Adam took to his position on the forest crew with vigor, easily proving himself as capable above the ground as below it. The completion of a new set of bunkhouses brought more workers, which meant more mining. The extra shafts needed reinforcement, so the camp needed more wood. It got worse when a massive storm stirred up one night and battered the island. The walls held firm, but the buildings inside proved a little less sturdy. One of the bunkhouses collapsed. The roof of an admin building flew off. The Watering Hole sprung countless leaks. Which meant more work for the camp.
The fishing villages, wherever they were, must've fared worse. At least, that's what the guards said when their crew got called up for a full week, felling trees at an alarming rate. All necessary to help rebuild the surrounding villages and remind their neighbors of the SDC's generosity.
Not that the workers got any thanks. The SDC would probably be singing their own praises for months to come, benefitting from their work without even a shred of work from those up top. Might even earn them some discounts on food for the camp in the long run. A worthwhile investment for the SDC, all at the expense of the workers.
Not that Adam minded too much. A whole week in the forest might as well have been a vacation. He had a feeling he'd miss the fresh air and sunshine when the time came to descend into the mines once more. The storm made their first two days easier, too. Why bother chopping down trees when nature herself had felled more than enough for them. Bane almost looked upset to be shown up by a freakin' hurricane of all things, but the rest of the crew appreciated the assist.
Speaking of the crew, he'd gotten to know a few of them. Inevitable, really, especially with a full week together. Working in silence got boring after a while, and while he already knew Bane, the big guy wasn't exactly the best at conversation, even when he wasn't drowned out by his massive chainsaw. Instead, he spent a lot of time joking and chatting with the two men that usually worked alongside him and Bane.
"Another fun-filled day in the great outdoors," Marion laughed, his voice booming in the brief silence of Bane taking a breather. "Gotta love all the sunshine lately."
"I prefer the shade," Axol said as he sawed his way through a thicker branch desperately clinging to the newly fallen tree before them. "I burn too easily."
"Then you're in the wrong place," Marion said, snapping a few underdeveloped twigs out of his way. "We're in the business of clearing the shade, not making it. You want dark? Go back to the mine."
"You first," Axol shot back.
The two were always like that, but there was never any heat behind their comments. Marion was a talker, even when no when was listening. His brown hair, tied back in a short tail as always, bobbed along as he kept one step ahead of his words. It had taken a while to get used to the boisterous man, not to mention his somewhat terrifying looking eyes. Adam had never seen someone with eyes like Marion's. They were black as night, and not just the pupils. Two black orbs larger than what should've fit his face took in the world around him. Some faunus traits could be a little unsettling like that.
Axol, on the other hand, didn't sport any obvious animal characteristics. He could probably pass for a normal human if he tried. Adam once asked what sort of faunus trait he had, but Axol just laughed and said he hoped to never show it off. Adam had always assumed it had something to do with his skin, given how pale the guy was. How he didn't burn on the walk back to camp every day was a mystery.
Marion must've grown bored of Axol already and turned to his second option. "So Adam, what's new in the world of 3C?"
Adam shrugged before he hacked into a crooked branch. His axe bit deep but didn't quite cut through the thick knot stubbornly clinging to its home. "Why not ask Bane?"
Marion's bark of laughter was lost in the roar of Bane's chainsaw coming to life once more. "As if he would say anything!" Marion had to nearly shout the words to be heard. "3C good. Work hard. Sleep harder." His impression of Bane left much to be desired. A little too caveman and not nearly deep enough.
Adam's second swing broke through easily, severing the last remaining limb from the log and granting them a brief reprieve. "Not much. Got sent to the hole last week."
Neither Marion nor Axol looked surprised. It wasn't his first time, and he doubted it'd be his last. "What'd you do this time?" Axol asked.
"Nothing!" Adam's protest didn't convince them. "Gideon hates me."
Marion laughed as he pointed out, "Gideon hates everyone, but you don't see me spending all my free time in the hole." The tone of the chainsaw nearby changed, heralding the ominous crashing of a tree as it fell through the canopy and slammed into the ground below. Adam used to panic every time he heard it, watching for it to fall the wrong way and crush him, but Bane knew his stuff. It always fell precisely where he wanted. "So tell us what really happened."
"He got mouthy. I got angry."
Axol grinned. "So the usual, then?"
"Pretty much." Gideon always knew how to push his buttons and seemed to take cruel pleasure in getting a rise out of him, then using it as an excuse for punishment. At least he'd skipped the beating for once. "Can't wait to get out of here someday."
His visits to the hole left him with plenty of time to think. To plan. He hadn't figured out a good escape plan yet, but he knew he'd come up with something. And not just for him. For all of 3C. His best bet would be to get them all on the tree clearing crew, but most of them weren't interested. He'd still need to do something about the trackers, too. What was the point in escaping if they'd just be tracked down before they ever reached the coast? Breaking them might work, but it would almost certainly set off an alarm of some sort and he had a feeling they wouldn't give easily. A few accidental blows from his axe every now and then had done nothing. Trying that on his friends would be out of the question, too. One bad swing and he'd take off a limb.
For now, all he could do was wait and watch for his opening. He just hoped they'd be able to seize it when the time came.
The three of them found their next target easily enough and quickly went to work trimming the fallen tree together. Bane had already moved on and Trechend had left only a few minutes ago to check on another crew, leaving the three of them alone with nothing but the sounds of falling trees, distant chainsaws, and their own grunts as they hacked and sawed away all the extra branches.
That, and the sound of Marion talking.
"Speaking of leaving, did Axol tell you the news?"
Adam stood up, stretching his back a little with a sigh. "What news?"
Axol shot a glare at Marion. "I was gonna tell them after work."
Adam's curiosity piqued. "Tell us what?"
"Well, guess the cat's out of the bag now." Axol tossed a broken branch out of his way, a guilty smile blossoming across his face. "I'm leaving. Put in my notice last night."
"Congrats!" Marion cheered, slapping Axol's shoulder in celebration.
Adam's heart sank.
"Got a decent bit of lien saved up. Ferric says he's got an airship coming in two weeks, so I can catch a ride out of here when it leaves." Axol stood a little taller, filled with the hope that had fled from Adam. "A few more weeks, and I'll be sipping mojitos on a beach somewhere and working on my tan."
"More like working on your burn," Marion joked.
Adam found the whole thing far less amusing. "You already did the paperwork?"
"Just last night," Axol confirmed. "Kind of a pain, but I guess that's how it is for those corporate types. Think my hand started to cramp up from all those signatures."
If he already signed, then he had three weeks left. No, Axol said two weeks. Two weeks until Axol was supposed to leave. Two weeks until some sort of accident happened.
Two weeks until Axol died.
"You should stay," Adam tried. Axol wasn't part of 3C, but Adam had gotten to know him pretty well recently. Well enough that he didn't want to see him killed. "We've got a good thing goin' here, right?"
"Stay?" Axol looked confused. To be fair, anyone would be. He chuckled as he said, "Because mines are so much better than beaches. Who needs warm sunshine when you can enjoy the cold, dark stone?"
"And if you need heat, there's always mining accidents," Marion added, barely holding in his laughter. "Who needs the sun when you can get a front row seat to a dust explosion?"
"Why on Remnant would I stay?"
And there was the question. Who in their right mind would choose a labor camp over freedom? No one, that's who. Unless they knew freedom wasn't actually an option. But how could Adam convince him of his impending doom? He'd been promised a ride out of this hellhole with no strings attached. What reason would the SDC have for doing otherwise?
Adam knew the truth, but Axol didn't. So how could he convince him otherwise? How did Jakob get the truth through his thick-
Jakob! Jakob could convince him! He'd have to track him down after work and let him know what was happening. Hopefully, the two of them could convince Axol of the truth, and then…well, something would happen. Maybe Axol could tell them he changed his mind. Or just hold off and let them prove it to him. Then, they could work together on a plan to escape and truly earn their freedom.
"N-nevermind," Adam stuttered, going back to his work with an embarrassed smile. "Just sad to see you go, I guess."
"Your gain is our loss, Axol," Marion proclaimed, slapping his partner on the back. "Gonna be hard to replace you."
"You guys." Axol's blush stood out on his pale skin, almost like a sunburn.
The trio went back to work, but Adam's mind had already fled back to camp. He needed Jakob's help, and he needed it fast. They only had two weeks to save Axol's life. Two weeks to convince him to undo his terrible mistake.
He just hoped they'd get through to him in time.
/- - - - - - - - - -/
Adam pushed himself to the front of the line when they got back to camp, taking off at a sprint the moment they removed his tracking anklet. He had to find Jakob, and he had to find him fast. A man's life was on the line! Two weeks sounded like a lot of time, but it really wasn't, especially since they only had a few chances to talk to Axol along the way. Their best bet would be to convince him quickly so Adam could talk to him during their shifts beyond the walls. After that, they'd only have evenings and Sundays.
The time was ticking, and Adam did all he could to race the clock.
"Jakob! We have to-"
Jakob wasn't in the bunkhouse he'd just burst into. In fact, no one was. It took him a second to realize they'd all be at dinner. Fine. At least he knew where to find Jakob. He tore across the camp, ignoring the laughter of someone he passed joking about how hungry he must be. He had bigger things to worry about than a full stomach.
Adam nearly bowled someone over as he shoved his way into the dining hall. Everyone near the door stopped to see the commotion but quickly went back to eating when they saw it wasn't a guard. His eyes scanned the room until he found a familiar face. Rather, a familiar face found him.
"Adam! Over here!" Jakob called, waving him over from across the crowded room. Adam shouldered his way through, heedless of the snarls and curses of those he plowed through along the way. "Was wondering when you'd get-" Jakob turned to see the crazed look in Adam's eyes. "Adam, what's wrong? Where's Bane?"
Bane? Adam's mind blanked for a second before realizing he hadn't said anything. "Bane's coming," he blurted out before adding, "He's fine. We need to talk."
"What happened?"
"It's A-" Adam suddenly realized they weren't alone. Pretty obvious, given the trail of angry faunus he'd steamrolled only seconds ago. Worse, his entire crew and even a few nearby tables were waiting for his next words. "N-nothing." As if anyone believed that. "We need to talk."
"I'm all ears." So was everyone else, and he couldn't trust those ears. The last thing he needed was someone ratting him out to the guards. He didn't think anyone would, but there was no guarantee. All it took was one person looking to earn a little favor at the cost of someone else.
"Not here," Adam insisted, jerking his head toward the door. "Outside."
"Adam, I'm eating," Jakob said, putting action to word by shoveling in another bite of food. "And you should too. Been a long day for everyone and you need your energy. Besides, whatever it is can wait."
It couldn't. Okay, maybe it could. Axol wasn't going to drop dead between the gate and the dining hall. They had two weeks. A few minutes wouldn't be the end of the world. And if it got them away from all the eavesdroppers, then it'd be worth it.
Adam barely tasted his meal as he practically inhaled it, anxious to get out of the cramped room and tell Jakob what he learned. Maurice watched him with interest, whispering something to Bane when their final crewmate arrived. Bane just shrugged and started eating, which only slightly relaxed their crew boss. He didn't seem bothered enough to intervene, only watching in silence as the two finally finished eating and left.
Despite the obvious urgency, Jakob took his time strolling across the camp toward their usual walking path. Adam resisted the urge to drag Jakob along, but only just. He practically bounced with anxious energy until Jakob finally spoke.
"Nice-"
"Axol's in danger!"
"-weather we're having," Jakob finished despite Adam's sudden interruption. "Hope it doesn't rain tomorrow."
"Axol's in danger," Adam repeated, already breathing heavily. "He turned in his notice yesterday. Two weeks, Jakob. They're gonna kill him in two weeks."
"I know."
Adam screeched to a halt as Jakob nonchalantly carried on like nothing was wrong. "You know?"
Jakob shrugged a single shoulder. "I know. Word gets around, and I'm the first one it gets around to most times."
Jakob did always seem to have an ear to the ground in camp. Considering how much time he spent in the hole, he should've been far more out of the loop. "What are we gonna do?"
"What can we do?" Jakob's words hit Adam like a ton of bricks.
"We can tell him," Adam answered. "We tell him what happens to people who try to leave. Tell him to change his mind - withdraw his paperwork. Then they won't need to kill him. He can stay here."
"And do what?" Jakob asked. "Keep working? Kiss their boots even as they kick our faces in? They kill him now or he works until he dies. Either way, it's the same result. Why not let him have a little hope before the end?"
"Because it's not right!"
"Of course it's not!" Jakob fired back. "Nothing about this place is right. Nothing about this world is right." Adam didn't know what to say, so Jakob pushed on. "Here we are, condemned to a living death, all because we're different from the humans. Because we're better. They're afraid of us, Adam, and they should be. We represent the next step in human evolution, and they're terrified of losing their place on top. We won the war, yet here we are back in chains, all because we let ourselves be put there."
Jakob was in one of his moods again. Every now and then, he lost his cool and yelled about life. To be fair, life hadn't exactly been kind to him - to any of them. Whenever it happened, Adam would do his best to calm Jakob down. "It's okay. We'll escape someday. We just need to wait for our chance."
"Some of us don't have that kind of time." Like Axol. Two weeks from now, he'd already be dead.
Unless they did something.
Jakob's temper burned out like always - the hottest fires often did. "Not much I can do for him. Doubt he'd listen to me anyways. Not with the promise of freedom so close."
"So there's nothing we can do?"
"There's nothing I can do." The way Jakob stressed the word made his meaning obvious.
"Me? What can I do?" He was just a kid. No one listened to him.
"Tell him the truth," Jakob said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Tell him what happens to those who try to leave. That's all you can do."
"But what if he doesn't listen?"
"Then you've done all you can. You can't make anyone believe. They have to do that themselves. All we can do is warn them and hope they'll listen."
It was an oddly defeatist tone for Jakob, but what else could they really do? Adam couldn't withdraw his paperwork for him. Only Axol could, and only if he believed them. Believed him. He had to convince his friend of the danger before it was too late. Otherwise, Axol would become just another unfortunate accident and nothing more.
No. There had to be more. He couldn't just sit by and wait for Axol to die. There had to be hope. Otherwise, what was the point in holding on? Someday it might be him on the chopping block. He had to believe there was more to life than waiting to die. "It's not enough."
"It's not," Jakob agreed, "but it's all we've got. Convince him of the truth or say your goodbyes."
/- - - - - - - -/
Two weeks.
The thought ate at Adam constantly. He had to save Axol - make him see the truth. To what end? Adam shook his head, as much to dispel the last traces of sleep as the voice that taunted him. Jakob's right. All you're doing is delaying the inevitable. Just let him die. Why drag out his suffering?
Because it was the right thing to do.
Is it? If he's gonna die, why not let it happen sooner? Or maybe you want him to suffer first. Work himself to death. Waste away without any hope of escape.
No. There was always hope. There had to be. He'd save Axol and together they'd figure a way out. He couldn't just leave his friend to die. If Axol couldn't escape, then how could he? In a way, Adam was pinning all his hope on keeping Axol alive.
He didn't have any time to waste. They were already on the fourth day of their week-long clearing schedule. After that, they'd be back to regular shifts and Adam wouldn't have many chances to talk to Axol. If he wanted to change anything, it had to be now.
Breakfast flew by in a blur. Adam's mind was already across camp long before his feet carried him there. Tools acquired, along with the horrible tracking anklet, they began the long march into the forest. Adam stuck near Axol, but with so many others nearby - not to mention the trio of guards - Adam had to bite his tongue and wait a little longer.
He didn't have to wait too long. They broke off in their usual groups. There may have been some shuffling in the other crews, but Bane led Adam, Axol, and Marion back to where they left off and soon the roar of chainsaws and crashing of falling trees broke the morning silence.
Geryon lurked nearby for the start of their shift, much to Adam's frustration. He couldn't risk being overheard. They'd still kill Axol, then probably arrange an extra accident for him next. He just had to bide his time until Geryon moved on to guard another group.
"So what's the first thing you're gonna do when you get out?" Marion asked as they got to work.
"I dunno," Axol admitted. "Probably see about getting a ride out of Mistral." A sensible answer. Take care of the needs before the wants.
Marion disagreed. "That's it? C'mon Axol. Live a little! You've gotta celebrate getting outta this dump." Geryon rolled his eyes but didn't bother them. If Sergeant Gideon had been there, Marion probably would've earned himself a beating for talk like that. The guards outside the walls seemed much more relaxed. Either that, or they just didn't care.
"What would you do, then?" Axol demanded.
"Me?" Marion stopped to stroke his chin in thought, hamming things up as usual. "I'd go to the fanciest restaurant I could find and make them serve me their finest steak. Call me sir and everything. Be nice to be treated like a king rather than a slave for once." It sounded nice, but Adam had a feeling the price tag it came with wouldn't be. No reason to blow all your money in one go. "What about you, Adam? First day of freedom and more lien than you knew what to do with. What's first on the agenda?"
As much as he wanted to move on to more important topics - like not getting killed for daring to quit - Adam figured this was as good a way to kill time as any. At least until they had less ears hanging around.
But how would he celebrate freedom from this wretched place? A fancy meal? A trip to the spa? Shopping? A movie? There were so many options, especially in a place like Mistral. He could even go below and acquire…other services. Everything was available in the city for the right price.
Everything but what he really wanted. "I'd get a ride out."
Marion threw up his hands in exasperation. "I'm surrounded by idiots," he complained. "Neither of you know anything about living, do you? Fine. When I get out, I'll celebrate enough for all three of us." A nearby crash summoned them once more. "Bane's on a roll today. Need to tell the big guy to slow down so we can keep up."
As they headed for their next victim, Geryon took a final look around and left. Finally, they were alone. Adam waited a little longer, just to be certain, but the moment he was sure they were in the clear, he went for it.
"Axol, we have to talk."
Axol didn't seem too bothered as he went to work on the downed tree. "Sure. What's up?"
The moment of truth, and Adam had no idea what to say. What would Jakob do? Adam tried to remember back to that night when he'd finally told Adam the horrible truth of Orostachys, but it seemed like so long ago. He'd known so many examples. Examples that Adam hadn't been here for. No one had tried to leave since Adam arrived, meaning he had no concrete evidence.
Which meant he'd have to wing it. "Axol, I…you can't leave."
Axol chuckled as he tugged on a stubborn vine, breaking it free of the tree it had clung to for so long. "I'll miss you too, Adam, but I'm done. There's a big world out there beyond this island, and it's calling my name."
"You'll never make it off the island."
That stopped Axol at last. "Off the…what do you mean?"
"They won't let you leave." Not alive, at least. "No one leaves."
"I fly out in two weeks," Axol said.
"They'll kill you before you can," Adam hurriedly replied. Axol turned to listen, giving Adam the opening he needed. "Anytime someone tries to leave, they have an accident. It'll happen to you, too. They'll find a way to make sure you never get off this island alive, just like everyone else."
"Why would they?"
Adam didn't really have an answer. Because they hated the faunus? Because it was cheaper to never pay them? There were dozens of possible answers. Maybe even more than one were true. It didn't matter. Whatever their reasoning, the end result stayed the same.
"I don't know," Adam admitted. "But it's true. They'll kill you before the airship arrives." A name popped into Adam's head. "Just like they did with Midori."
"Midori?" Axol seemed to recognize the name. "That was an accident. Idiot got wasted and walked right into Grimm territory. Probably never even saw the Grimm coming."
"That's what they want us to think! They killed him. The night before he left, they killed him." And they'd do the same to Axol, or anyone else who tried to leave. "You have to go back and tell them you changed your mind. You have to stay."
"Just because one guy died before he left doesn't mean there's some conspiracy to kill us all," Axol insisted, ignoring Adam's concern. "The airship will be here in less than two weeks, and when it leaves, I'll be on it."
"But Axol-"
"No." Axol cut him off, waving his saw in front of Adam's face. "That's enough. I've worked hard for this, and no one's gonna convince me to give that up. So just drop it."
"But-"
"Drop. It." Axol turned his back on Adam and stormed away, abandoning their half-finished tree to follow after Bane and wait for the next to drop.
He'd failed. Axol hadn't even given him a chance. Now, he'd stubbornly marched away - marched to his death. Less than two weeks until his execution. His accident. And Adam would have to stand by and watch it happen, knowing he'd failed to stop it.
"There's just no convincing some people."
Adam jumped at Marion's voice. He'd completely forgotten about the third person in their group. "You heard?"
"I was only a few feet away." Marion's laugh felt a little muted this time. "Glad to see someone else trying to talk some sense into him."
"You knew?"
"You're not the only one to notice things around here. Though I suspect this is more Jakob's doing than yours." Adam's silence answered for him. "Thought so. I've already tried to convince Axol, but the man refuses to budge."
He had? Then why didn't he help? "But back there…you acted like everything was fine."
"Because I knew it wouldn't work."
"But you could've tried. I thought you were his friend." What kind of friend wouldn't say anything?
"You think I haven't tried? I spent all last night trying to convince him." Marion fought back an angry scowl. "He wouldn't listen. He's so convinced he's right that he'll march to his death without a care in the world. If I could stop him, I would. But I can't, so the least I can do is let him enjoy his last few days."
That almost sounded sweet, but Adam didn't quit so easily. "Just because you've given up doesn't mean I have to."
"Do as you like," Marion said, stepping aside. "Just try not to get him too worked up. If I only had a couple weeks left to live, I'd rather spend them celebrating life with friends than fighting with them."
That was all well and good, but Adam would rather stave off death than accept it. If Marion wanted to throw in the towel, then so be it. Adam left him behind to finish off the last few branches and chased after Axol. All day he tried to convince Axol of his impending doom. All day he warned him of what came next. But Axol just ignored it, either refusing to answer or lashing out when he had enough. Adam would back off a little, but he'd rather Axol be alive to hate him than a dead friend.
He tried to find Axol again after dinner that night, but his crew took him out for drinks at the Watering Hole, making it impossible to talk to him. Adam joined the celebration still, even buying Axol a drink early in the evening. He still had a few chances to convince him later, but maybe Marion had a point. They might as well have some happy moments together in case those were their last. He could go back to saving him tomorrow.
At least that had been the plan. As expected, they'd been called up again for tree clearing after breakfast, but Axol broke off from them at the start. "Where's he going?"
Marion watched him go. "Geryon said they needed extra hands further down. Axol volunteered before anyone else could."
"He asked to be moved? Why?"
"Maybe to escape another full day of lectures?" Adam winced at the blatant reprimand. He'd just been trying to help. Was it wrong to care so much? "Anyways, lets get to work. These trees ain't gonna clear themselves."
"I wish," Adam muttered, hefting his axe to his shoulder.
"Not me. If they did, we'd be stuck in the mines still." Marion had a point there. "With only two of us, it's gonna be a pain to keep up with Bane."
"We could ask him to slow down a little," Adam suggested.
"Good luck. Big guy tears through these things like a tree insulted his momma or something."
"Rocks must've been in on it," Adam added with a laugh. "He's like this in the mine, too. He's an absolute machine."
"Well, I'm glad he's on our side."
They continued chatting throughout the day, doing their best to keep up with the frightening pace Bane always maintained until he finally noticed how far behind they'd gotten. When they moved on to the next tree, they found Bane hacking away at the larger limbs with his chainsaw, pulling double duty with felling and cleaning trees along the way. It slowed them down, but that was expected given they were a man down.
"Haven't seen the guards for a bit," Marion commented as they took a quick water break. Adam had noticed it, too. Dahaki had made an appearance at the start, but they'd been alone for pretty much the whole shift since. They'd swing by again soon with how close they were to lunch, but still, the lack of guard sightings felt unusual. "You think they're slacking off?"
"They'd better not be." As much as Adam liked having them gone and might even be able to use that someday to help him escape, the workers relied on those three to protect them out here. If they slacked off, someone could die. "Do we go look for them?"
"And not get our work done? No thank you."
"Fair enough." Adam felt himself tense a little now that the absence had been pointed out. Not that he worried about it too much. If they were fighting a Grimm or something, he'd hear the gunshots and yelling. The whole crew would be back inside the walls in no time with most of the retreat through open fields watched by the guns of Orostachys. Still, the nagging thought of danger wouldn't go away.
Which was probably why Adam sensed the subtle threat lurking nearby.
"Marion, get to Bane," Adam calmly said as his instincts screamed at him. He scanned the treeline carefully as he spoke, stepping between Marion and where he felt an unnerving presence.
"Huh?" Marion wiped his brow but didn't move. "What's up?"
"Get back," Adam warned again, slowly backtracking from a small hill. Something was moving in their direction. The sounds of movement were coming closer. "We've got company."
"Geryon?"
"Worse." Geryon was big, but this sounded bigger. "Grimm."
"Grimm?!"
Marion's yell seemed to summon the beast, sending the man stumbling backwards and falling on his rear as the creature leapt towards them, red eyes zeroing in on its prey. It went straight for Marion, choosing either the easier target or just honing in on his sudden panic. Marion barely had time to raise his arms in a futile attempt to protect himself.
Adam was faster. His axe wasn't as balanced as his sword, but Adam had gotten used to the feel of wielding the thing against branches. It cut through tree limbs just as well as Grimm. The Beowolf's arm, reared back to deliver the fatal blow to Marion, never completed its swing. Adam's axe bit down hard, severing the limb just below the shoulder. The beast stumbled and missed Marion, suddenly off-balance thanks to the missing appendage as it fell facefirst.
Adam didn't give it time to recover. He hacked at the thing's skull, burying the axehead two, three, four times before the monster let out a strained growl and went limp. Already he could see darkened motes like ash drifting into the wind.
"You…you killed it." Adam ignored the shock in Marion's voice. This wasn't his first Grimm fight. Beowolves weren't too difficult if you were quick. Not as armored as a Boarbatusk. Not as resilient as an Ursa. But there was one big problem with them.
"There'll be more."
"More?" Marion scrambled to his feet, holding his own axe out protectively, even if he didn't expect it to do much against the nightmarish creature Adam had just brought down.
Bane caught the end of the attack, as short as it'd been, and pulled Marion behind him. "We need to go."
Adam nodded, keeping his friends behind him. "Head for the camp. If you see anyone else, tell them to run, but don't stop for anything."
"What about you?" Marion was torn between wanting to help but knowing he wouldn't last in a fight. Not against a Grimm.
"I'll be fine," Adam promised. It'd been a while since he faced a Grimm, but killing the monsters was just like riding a bike. Except if you fell, you got more than a scraped knee. "I'll be right behind y-"
Adam dove to the side, just in time to avoid a pounce from the newest arrival. It whirled on him in an instant, swinging for his head. He caught the blow against his axe, remembering his lessons from Jean as he reinforced the haft with his aura so the blow didn't shatter it like a toothpick. A low swing relieved the thing of a leg. Beowolves were easier to deal with if you could immobilize them. As his latest opponent fell forward, he swung for its chest, burying a sizable amount of steel in the darkened fur and muscle. Before the corpse could even hit the ground, Adam heard the sound of reinforcements arriving.
Not his reinforcements.
"Adam! Look out!"
Crap! He tugged on his axe, but the Beowolf's body kept it pinned. Another had come from their right and ignored him, more interested in the two further back instead of taking advantage of Adam's momentary disarmament. He ditched the weapon and ran to intercept, calling for Marion to toss him his axe as a replacement. Marion panicked and dropped it instead, leaving Adam only one choice.
This was gonna hurt.
Adam's screamed as the Beowolf's paw slammed into his raised forearm. Aura flooded against the blow, saving him from any permanent loss, but it still hurt like heck. Pain rocketed through his arm. He'd be lucky to escape with only a nasty bruise for that one. The Beowolf looked down at him in confusion, but only for a second. Its vicious jaws spread and lunged for his face, promising far more punishment.
The roar of a chainsaw nearly deafened him.
"Rargh!" Bane roared as he charged forward, driving the metal bar straight into the monster's chest. The wickedly spinning chain tore through everything in its path, erupting out the Beowolf's back in a spray of shadowy viscera. Bane pushed harder, toppling the beast backwards as it fell like a tree against the man's might.
Adam shook his sore arm, rubbing the aching area before grunting a quick thanks to Bane. Marion stood there frozen, looking between the two and their fading foes with wide eyes as he stuttered, "H-how did…but y-you…and it…"
"I told you, I'll be fine." Adam jogged forward, rolling the remains of the previous Beowolf over so he could wrench his axe free. He couldn't guarantee there'd be only three, after all. "I've fought them before."
"You've fought Grimm?"
"You have aura," Bane pointed out, much more collected than his not-all-there counterpart. Adam hesitated a moment. "You blocked that strike with your arm."
Dang it. And he'd done so well keeping it hidden. There really wasn't any other way to explain what they'd just seen, though. His arm should've snapped like a twig or been torn off entirely from a blow like that. Instead, he walked away with nothing more than a minor injury. With a deep breath, Adam finally admitted, "I do."
"You're a Huntsman?"
"There's no time for that," Adam insisted. They could talk specifics later. Right now, there were still workers out there in danger, and Adam intended to save them all. "Bane, can you get Marion out of here?"
"You have my word." Bane nodded before ushering Marion away, even if the man kept glancing back at Adam with every step.
Adam didn't know exactly where everyone was, but it didn't take a genius to know that a nearby scream wasn't a good sign. He sprinted toward the sound, only to find he was too late.
Two workers were down, with one of them practically smeared across a log. He vaguely recognized them, grateful neither of them were Axol. Of course, his arrival didn't go unnoticed by the pair of Beowolves standing over their fresh kills.
The first charged forward, cruel claws glinting in the midday sun streaming through the canopy above. Adam ducked beneath, hamstringing the beast with a glancing blow. Anything more might've gotten his axe stuck again - something he couldn't risk at the moment. Not when the second monster wasted no time coming at him.
Two on one wasn't ideal, especially with something that wasn't actually made for fighting. It was too heavy for this kind of work, leaving him little time to capitalize on any openings. Instead, he blocked left and right, giving ground with each blow until he hopped back through a gap between two trees. Both of the Beowolves tried to follow and ended up getting in each other's way instead.
Perfect.
Adam swung around the trunk of one of his barriers, catching his first foe just under the armpit. It howled in displeasure and turned to face him, only to catch a sharpened blade in its face. The axehead sparked against the bone armored face, cracking it just below the eye but not quite finishing the job. The hit to its throat proved far more fatal.
Not content to wait his turn, the second Beowolf flung his partner's dying form to the side to test his luck against Adam. It bit for Adam's throat but only wound up with a mouthful of axe handle instead. Rather than wrestle for control, Adam sidestepped and pulled it down, dragging the Beowolf forward. It fell to all fours, roaring in displeasure, but the momentary opening of its jaws gave Adam just enough time to pull his weapon free, raise it high in the air, and bring it down like a meteor on the Grimm's neck.
"How many of them are there?" Adam asked to the empty space as he kicked the Beowolf's head away. "No time for that now. Gotta check on the others."
Gotta find Axol.
Even if Axol wasn't happy with him, he still wanted his friend to survive. Adam had no idea where to find him, but Axol had headed this direction at the start of the day, so he kept moving forward. He found a trio of workers further on and pointed them back where he'd come from, telling them to make for the camp. Gunshots rang out from somewhere to his left, but he ignored them, trusting the guards were actually doing their job. If Axol was with them, then he'd be safe. If not, then he needed Adam.
Adam stayed near the edge of the treeline, skirting the perimeter where all the workers would've been. Going too far into the forest wouldn't make sense, since the trucks needed to reach the logs afterwards and half the point was to expand the clearing outside Orostachys. He came upon a few more downed trees, but it looked like whoever had been working here had already retreated. Axol might've been among them, but Adam couldn't be sure. He'd never forgive himself if he stopped short and his friend died.
Further and further he pushed. A pair of gunshots told him the danger hadn't passed yet, but also reassured him. As long as the guards were fighting, then the workers had time to escape. It also meant there were still people to rescue, otherwise the guards would've retreated by now. Why risk fighting directly when you could draw the Grimm back to the camp and let the wall's defenses take care of it for you? The only reason to stand and fight would be to cover a retreat.
There! Deeper in the forest, something moved. It was too quiet to be a Grimm. Adam changed course and sprinted through the trees, ignoring the sting of branches that smacked against his face and arms. He broke into the small clearing.
And froze.
"Look who came looking for trouble," Geryon said, wheeling around with his rifle aimed for Adam. "Bad move, kid."
"What are you doing?" Adam demanded, clenching his axe tightly in front of him. "The Grimm are attacking!"
"I know. And now they'll have two more victims." Two? Adam finally noticed the other person in the clearing.
"Axol!"
Axol cowered on the ground, his eyes desperately locked onto Adam. "Adam! Run!"
"Too late for that," Geryon said. "Shame you two wandered off. Couldn't get there in time to save you from the Grimm. What a pity."
So this was their accident? They'd split Axol off from everyone and were just going to execute him in the forest, blaming the whole thing on the Grimm. They didn't even bother waiting two weeks. Did they just seize the opportunity, or had this been the plan all along? Seeing as they'd split Axol off at the start, the whole thing stunk of a conspiracy. But how did they summon Grimm?
He'd have to figure that out later, because right now, he had bigger things to worry about, like the murderous guard aiming a gun at his chest. "Sorry kid. Wrong place at the wrong time."
"Adam!"
Axes were slow, but they had a lot more surface area to work with compared to his thin sword. Jean had only trained him a little on blocking gunfire, but Geryon didn't exactly make it hard. Like any trained fighter, he'd aimed center mass, only for the round to strike Adam's axe as it swerved between him and the bullet.
"Heh. Not bad." Adam saw the slight movement of Geryon's thumb. He heard the ominous click. "But not good enough."
One bullet was easy.
Two, less so.
Fully automatic fire?
Two rounds struck his axe, but the recoil had Geryon's aim fluctuating without warning. Adam charged forward, knowing he had to close the distance, even as he felt the bite of bullets striking aura at close range. He stumbled as one grazed his knee. Turned as another two struck his shoulder. Grunted through the pain of one against his hip. More ricocheted off the axe he held in front of him as a shield.
But he kept coming.
The gunfire broke for a moment as realization dawned on Geryon. He should've gone down by now. Anyone without aura would've been done for, bleeding out from any number of holes, especially from a rifle at close range. The hesitation cost him as Adam abandoned defense entirely, screaming as he leapt the remaining distance.
The world seemed to slow as Adam poured all his anger, all his hate into his attack. He'd heard of seeing red, but never felt it so literally. Only one of them would walk away from this, and Adam refused to be the one to drop. He'd come too far to be a footnote in a Grimm attack. Another suspicious death at Camp Orostachys. He'd been condemned to greatness.
So he condemned Geryon to death.
Adam swung for Geryon's face, aiming to carve the man in half, even if he knew it would take more than one blow to break through aura. Still, he had to hit as hard as he could. Not just for himself. He'd suffered at their hands, but no more than anyone else in camp. This wasn't just for him. This was for everyone.
For Midori, who they'd killed rather than release.
For Axol, who they planned to execute.
For Maurice, who blindly accepted their rule but deserved so much better.
For Jakob and all his punishments for daring to push back.
But most of all, for himself. They saw him as disposable. Expendable. A helpless faunus they could use until they no longer needed, then cast aside like yesterday's garbage. Well he'd had enough. He wouldn't die here. He'd go on to fulfill Jean's words. He'd fight to make his father proud. And he'd show all these idiots just how wrong they were about him.
Adam's axe crashed into Geryon's face in a flash of rage. Adam saw it hit aura. He felt the resistance of the collision for the briefest moment. His stomach burned as the rifle fired one final time.
And then, something snapped.
Is this what death felt like? He hadn't expected it to hurt so much. Not just his stomach from the final blow, but his entire body. Fire burned through him as he stood there staring down into the face of the man who'd killed him, waiting for the darkness to creep in and swallow him whole.
Except it didn't. Silence reigned as Adam wondered what happened. He should be on his way to a better place now, shouldn't he? Or the sweet release of nothingness. Instead, time seemed to stand still.
And then, Geryon fell to the side, Adam's axe buried deep into his skull.
Oops.
Funnily enough, I was planning to hold off on this scene for another couple chapters, but I wanted to have something actually happen for once rather than another slow chapter. Don't get me wrong, those are important, but it's nice to have a little movement too. Thing is, all my actual events for this arc can't happen until this scene plays out, so it got bumped up a little. KNew the chapter would run a little long, but may have gotten a tad carried away. To be fair, this came out right around my average for In RWBY's Shadow. It's just that this story averages much shorter chapters, so this one stands out here.
Adam breaking through aura in a single blow? How could that happen? Obviously we know a lot more than he does, so you can probably guess. He doesn't know yet, though. All he knows is that he delivered a massive blow to his opponent and saved himself. Not that this is magically gonna work out. I mean, he's kind of standing over a dead guard after fighting Grimm and saved someone who was meant to die. I'm sure no one will notice.
Don't worry. That'll all be covered next chapter. There will be fallout from what happened here. But for now, everyone raise your glasses and cheer on our boy's second kill! Also, spellcheck really hates all the character names lately. Chapter is suitably bloodied by all the red underlines.
Next chapter: Panic mode as Adam realizes what he's just done.