Posting a little early today as the developers for the system I'm in charge of testing are coming in to help troubleshoot in-person today and I'll be wrapped up for who knows how long.
Naming chapters is the hardest part of writing some weeks. I mean, I could just leave the default name of Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc., but it's a fun little challenge that I started back in In RWBY's Shadow and that really shined in Beacons of Love. Still, getting to sneak in little references, like last week's title for one of my favorite childhood movies. I'd still happily sit down and watch those two mice take on the Outback. Resisted the urge to have a character named Joanna just so I could have someone yell out the name like in the film.
Also, saw the announcement trailer for the new season of Futurama, one of my favorite shows. Cautiously optimistic, given they brought nearly all the big names back. Made sure to sneak in a quick reference this chapter to celebrate.
Was looking over viewer numbers recently and I'm still shocked by the growing reception for this story. An M-rated longfic focused on one of the most hated characters in the fandom? Figured everyone would've done a hard "nope" and ignored it. Then again, I said the same about my OC-centric story set in canon V1-3 with minimal changes and that had people clamoring for a sequel, so what do I know?
Adam wouldn't call himself paranoid. Paranoia meant being irrationally afraid of something, like thinking the Grimm were a secret government program designed to limit population growth while making the populace more dependent on the elites for protection. Or that aura was actually the result of a performance-enhancing drug supplied to Huntsmen to make an army of brainwashed super soldiers as a sort of failsafe in case anyone ever tried to overthrow the government.
Come to think of it, most paranoid delusions seemed to revolve around the government. Weird.
Every time Adam jogged ahead to the end of their mine shaft to check for explosives hidden above the supports, he reminded himself again that he wasn't paranoid. Which is exactly what a paranoid person would say. The irony there wasn't lost on him.
But Adam wasn't paranoid. Sure, he hadn't found a single sign of another plot against him and his crew in the months since the cave-in, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be one. He'd been cautious, always watching for the next attempt by Orostachys, but none had come…yet. He doubted they'd try another cave-in, and not just because they'd already tried that one. Conveniently, right after the mine explosion, they'd been put back on the dust, following the vein they should've been on from the start. The risk of detonating a rich vein like that would be too much for removing a few troublesome workers.
Not that Adam had been much trouble lately. How could he? Not that he'd given up, but he just didn't have time to cause problems right now. He had to watch out for his crew all day long in case they tried again. Plus, his crew needed him now more than ever. Seb still hadn't spoken since the incident. He went through the motions of work, but he'd all but checked out mentally. Sully watched over him for the most part, practically forcing food on him at every meal. Kieran's smile hadn't made a showing since losing his brother, not to mention how he would cry out randomly in the night from time to time.
And then there was Maurice.
"I can walk on my own," Maurice complained, tearing his arm away from Bane. "You don't have to coddle me."
They kind of did. He'd been given time to heal in the clinic, but not enough. Adam had visited every day after a reminder from Jakob of how expensive providing full-time care to a non-worker could be. A shallow grave would be much cheaper. He'd asked for updates every time he visited, making it clear he was keeping an eye on the doctor lest some mysterious infection or something popped up and suddenly removed the burden of caring for the older worker.
Nothing happened. Maurice slowly got better and had been released to return to work. If they were back in Mistral, Maurice probably would've gone through physical therapy and regular check-ups for his leg. At least a cast and strict orders to rest and recover for a while. Instead, he hobbled around the camp with a cane Adam had made for him. Letting someone like that work in a mine sounded insane, but sanity wasn't a consideration in a place like Orostachys. If he could stand, he could work. Heck, Maurice could've lost his legs and they would've told him to crawl his way to the mine.
Not that they hadn't offered to let him go. The offer came pretty early on and sounded too good to be true, which it probably was. Adam had begged Maurice to stay, knowing how fatal the retirement package might be. Maurice hadn't even considered it. He'd spent his whole life in the mines, and he wasn't about to throw in the towel now because of a few bumps and bruises. He'd been a royal pain during his recovery. Getting back to work had hardly improved his mood.
"I'm not dead yet." Adam rolled his eyes as Maurice continued to complain. He'd been like that ever since being released, arguing with anyone who dared commit the unpardonable sin of trying to help their injured friend.
"They're just trying to help," Adam reminded him for the thousandth time.
"Well I don't need their help." As always, arguing with Maurice wasn't worth the effort. He'd been stubborn before, but his injury had only made it worse. Maybe they were babying him a bit, but the guy could barely walk and had to sit down to catch his breath all the time. Could he really fault them for being worried?
Maurice pushed past Adam and waited impatiently for work to start. Rolling his eyes, Adam began chipping away at the dust clinging to the wall of the mine, shifting it back behind him for Maurice to sort through. It was one of the less physically demanding jobs, but it still wore Maurice out pretty fast. Seb silently worked alongside him, helping to take up the slack. It didn't help that they'd still not gotten any replacements for their fallen comrades. The seven of them were expected to do just as much work as they'd done with a ten person crew, meaning they had to push themselves every day to meet the demand.
As much as being short handed sucked, Adam didn't really want new coworkers. It wouldn't feel right. How could anyone replace his friends? Plus, any replacements would mean more workers being shipped to the hellhole known as Orostachys. He wouldn't wish that fate on any faunus. Instead, Adam did everything he could to keep meeting their quota with his reduced team. If they could keep performing, then Ferric would have no need to bring more workers in. Even if he wasn't paying them, those were still more mouths to feed.
So Adam kept pushing. He wore himself out every day, all in an effort to keep what was left of his team together. He stuck to them like glue afterwards, making sure no one could take them away from him. He'd offered to quit the tree-clearing crew, but before he could even ask, Trechend had very smugly informed him he'd been removed for failing to follow orders the day of the cave-in. They'd wanted him in the mine when it went off. After all, he'd been their primary target.
Looking back, he wondered if they would've even bothered with a rescue. When they'd reached the surface, the guards there had looked shocked to see them. No one had been assembling a rescue team. No one seemed in any hurry to help. They probably would've stood around talking about how volatile the mine could still be or making plans for however long they could, all while he and his team were dying in their stone tomb.
Bane told him afterwards that they'd tried to stop him from coming to save them. He probably wouldn't've even been there if Adam hadn't questioned the guards and delayed everyone. Instead, the trucks had to wait for him, meaning he was still nearby when the dead end shaft they were working spontaneously combusted all on its own. Inert rocks were known to do that, after all. It definitely wasn't the result of bombs placed by the guards specifically meant to kill everyone in 3C except Bane. They'd conveniently save their strongest worker while eliminating the biggest thorn in their side in one fell swoop.
Adam kept watching for them to finish the job, but so far nothing had happened. In a way, they'd gotten what they wanted already. Adam wasn't dead, but he was too busy - too exhausted - to cause many problems. They'd effectively broken him, and everyone could tell. Why make him a martyr when he could be an example instead?
The energy in camp from only a few months ago had all but vanished. Most of the workers had rallied around Adam and probably would've stormed the gates at his command. They wanted it. Wanted it bad. They saw Adam as their ticket to freedom - an aura-enhanced warrior who could take on the strongest guards and live to tell about it. In their eyes, he was some sort of liberator sent to Orostachys to lead them all to freedom, but he'd squandered the opportunity and let Ferric and his minions deal the first blow. Instead of a fiery leader ready to take on the world, they now had a cowed, exhausted worker who was too busy licking his wounds to pose a threat. The results had been catastrophic.
"No way, man. I'm not standing up to them."
"And have my team buried in the mine? No thank you."
"Not worth the risk."
The spark of rebellion had been mercilessly buried with a third of Adam's crew. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the cave-in had been a targeted attack. The message of what happened to troublemakers had been received loud and clear. People that had been itching for a fight quickly backed down, leaving Adam with barely anyone to support him. Some might join the fray if he tried anything, but some wouldn't be enough. Open rebellion - something he'd dismissed as crazy when he had his best chance - would require a majority of the workers, not a small handful. Adam hated to admit it, but Orostachys had solved the problem in a single move.
He still had a few backers. Most of 3C - what was left of it - would follow him no matter what happened. Adam worried they'd blame him for what happened, but none of them turned on him. He'd pushed for calm, urging everyone to not act out to avoid reprisal. His peacekeeping had been rewarded with treachery, and everyone but Maurice wanted revenge.
Most of the other crews, though, were too afraid of being the next 3C to fight back. People were selfish at the end of the day. Adam couldn't even blame them. He'd been plotting his escape from Orostachys for quite some time, but his plans only ever involved his crew. No one else mattered. He'd leave them all behind if it meant getting his friends out safely. Could he really fault anyone else for thinking the same way?
Despite that, Marion and his crew were on board. They'd nearly lost one of their own to Orostachys. They'd seen firsthand exactly how far the camp would go to keep them in line. If not for Adam, Axol would've died alone, his life forfeit simply because he chose to live it. No matter what happened, they'd sworn to stand by Adam and repay Axol's debt, even if Adam said they didn't need to. Sprinkle in a few workers here and there that were still willing to fight back, and Adam had less than a fifth of the camp on his side. They wouldn't stand a chance, so they waited. Bided their time. For what, he couldn't say. He only knew he wouldn't waste the next opportunity that came his way.
/- - - - - - - - - -/
Just because Orostachys hadn't tried to finish off 3C yet didn't mean their lives got any easier. Adam found himself too tired half the time to put up with the guards and backed down more and more, but that only emboldened them to come after him. They targeted him for the tiniest transgressions, and with Maurice injured, they made him the new leader of the crew, but not in the way Maurice had been. They made him responsible for everything the crew did and punished him accordingly. Bunkhouse not clean enough? Crew missed their quota? One of them didn't follow instructions from a guard? Any excuse they could come up with to cause trouble for Adam, they took. He rarely visited the hole anymore. They much preferred beatings, especially when others were watching.
Adam bore it all with mounting aggravation. His aura itched to be used, but he stamped down on it, letting them have their fun until he was left bloody and bruised. Fighting back was how they'd gotten into this mess. If they thought him compliant, maybe they'd spare the rest of his friends. If he was their leader, then he needed to look out for them, even if it meant he suffered in their place.
Not that it stopped them going after the others from time to time. Bane rarely had any trouble, but they'd find reasons to punish him, usually with a trip to the hole or some time at the pillory. Jakob continued his regular visits to the hole as well, too proud to fully give up. Adam had asked him to tone it down once, but Jakob refused.
"I can't. Not after what they did to us." Jakob's fire hadn't gone out in the cold, unforgiving mine, though they both knew he held back more now than he used to. "It's not fair for them to take it all out on you."
"Since when has anything at Orostachys been fair?" It felt like a reversal of roles from their talk so long ago, when Jakob had tried to warn him of the cruelty of Orostachys. He'd grossly underestimated just how far the guards would go at the time. He wouldn't be making that mistake ever again. Recalling part of Jakob's fateful words, Adam added, "Leave the spotlight to me."
Jakob smirked at his own words being thrown back at him. "You're so greedy. Fine. I guess I'll let you steal my spot for a while, but don't expect me to suddenly be a model citizen."
"I don't think you'd know how," Adam joked back. It had felt good to laugh. There was so little of it nowadays.
Maurice, on the other hand, continued to be just as stubborn as ever. In his mind, the cave-in had been a terrible accident and nothing more. He refused to believe the guards were involved, no matter how many times Jakob tried to tell him. Adam had given up after only a couple attempts. Instead, he endured Maurice's random attempts to lecture him on behavior, insisting that he lead by example and get everyone to behave from now on. To him, Adam's regular beatings were his own fault for acting out so much, even if he rarely gave them cause to lash out at him.
"The burden of leadership," Maurice claimed. "You're responsible for everyone under you, good or bad."
Adam sighed as he prepared for another pointless conversation. "Funny. I don't remember you ever getting beaten when Jakob and I acted up." Surely he had to see the difference.
He did, but as always, he found a way to rationalize things to his flawed, idealistic view of the world. "I had plenty of meetings about your behavior." As if a telling-off was anywhere near as bad as the abuse Adam suffered through constantly. "But I was never part of the problem."
"Never part of the solution, either," Adam mumbled. Maurice's scowl made it clear he'd caught it. "Look, let's not argue, okay? How's your leg?" The change in subject wasn't just out of annoyance. As much as he and Adam argued and fought lately, Adam still cared about Maurice. To him, Maurice was still the head of 3C, misguided or not. Maurice only argued with him because he worried about Adam, just like Adam fought back because he didn't want Maurice to get hurt. Well, hurt any more.
"A little sore, but I think it's getting better," Maurice said, wincing a little as he massaged his upper leg. "Hate to admit it, but I sorta miss the painkillers."
"Don't. Last thing you need is getting hooked on that crap." He'd seen what that stuff could do to people. How could he not? So many of the homeless in Mistral were addicted to something or another. Some were there because of their addiction. Others formed the habit after losing everything. He'd seen plenty of pill poppers in the dredges of society, many of whom had started out taking them legitimately. Problem was, "as needed" quickly turned to "always needed" as an overreliance on opioids wrecked lives indiscriminately. One day, you'd be taking a prescription painkiller to help you recover. Next thing you know, you were breaking into a pharmacy to get your own refill, raiding a friend's medicine cabinet, or even swiping luggage and purses in the hopes of finding more orange bottles.
"Don't worry. I'm not like that." Adam imagined every addict had said the same thing at some point. Not that there was much chance of Maurice getting addicted in Orostachys. Painkillers cost money, and if there was one thing you could count on in Orostachys, it was them spending as little lien as possible when it came to the workers. So unless Maurice planned to hobble his way over to the clinic and raid their supplies himself, he wouldn't be getting a refill anytime soon. Funnily enough, the camp's refusal to help them actually protected them here.
Despite everything that had happened, life went on as normal most of the time. Monday through Friday found them deep in the mines. They hauled in far more dust for the SDC than their meager salaries reflected, even before Adam remembered that their paychecks were all fake. They endured whatever new hell the guards had in store for them in the evenings, doing their best to relax and unwind before getting what sleep they could and continuing to toil away the next morning, eagerly waiting for the brief freedom of Sunday to recharge for another week.
But before they could enjoy Sunday, they had to make it through another round of Gideon on Saturday.
"Good news, everyone!" Adam somewhat doubted that Gideon's next words would actually be anything good for them. "We had a rockslide after last night's storm near the mine entrance and you're the lucky crew who gets to clear the area."
3C groaned in unison, knowing what sort of back-breaking work awaited them. Adam had a feeling luck had nothing to do with it. Gideon had probably jumped for joy at the news, volunteering them before the final stones fell. He just hoped the rocks were small this time. The last rockslide they had involved quite a few boulders that had to be broken up and carted away first. He got enough of that kind of work during the week.
Gideon ignored their complaints. Actually, he seemed to enjoy it, reveling in their misery. "Grab your equipment and start walking. The sooner you start, the sooner you can get out of my sight."
"You heard him. Get movin'!"
Adam snarled at the shrill, piercing yell of Gideon's favorite lackey. He hadn't bothered to learn the idiot's name. Most of the time, 3C just referred to him as the rat, ratface, or several other names that couldn't be repeated in polite company, not that they had any of that in Orostachys. He seemed to live for Gideon's approval and went out of his way to cause trouble for 3C. None of them took him seriously, but there was little they could do about him with Gideon around. As much as everyone hated Gideon, he had aura and a modicum of training that would make him impossible for an average worker to go up against. On top of that, Gideon was one of the only guards who carried a gun in Faunus Alley. Anyone else wouldn't risk letting workers attack and steal their weapon, but with aura, Gideon had the advantage and could even tank a few shots if someone stole his sidearm. Rifles were reserved for the walls and beyond, so even if someone stole his weapon, they could only get so far before superior firepower could be called up to stop the threat.
Gideon didn't just carry a sidearm - he made sure to show it off as often as possible. He'd been known to walk around with it in hand, even using it to smack workers from time to time as a reminder of how "special" he was among the guards. Adam had felt the bite of its metal against the back of his head a few too many times himself.
The march to the mines was just another part of Gideon's vindictive plan. He could've gotten them a ride on one of the trucks easily enough, but why not make them trudge through the mud both ways and add to their misery? They passed the B crews loading up for the ride to the mines, as it was their week to work on reinforcing the shafts. A few waved in greeting, but the moment anyone from 3C acknowledged them, Gideon was barking orders for them to get moving.
Gideon had undersold their task. A few of the boulders were almost as tall as Adam and would take forever to break down, especially since Gideon had only given them hand tools to work with. They should've been bringing heavy equipment for stuff like this. Instead, they'd be chipping away at these things for hours, only to load it all into wheelbarrows to cart away to a more accessible dumping spot nearby. They'd come by later with a truck to cart it all away. Unlike 3C, they'd have access to all the proper equipment to make their lives easier.
"You two!" Gideon yelled, pointing to Adam and Bane. "Get to work on the big ones. The rest of you, start clearing the rubble." A few of them grumbled responses ranging from acknowledgement to comments on his mother. "Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," they said together with a hint of annoyance. Gideon always demanded they reply like that. He probably thought it made him look like their superior, but demanding respect rarely meant you deserved it.
Their hatred of their taskmaster aside, 3C got to work quickly. They really didn't need Gideon's instructions. Bane and Adam were the logical choices for the tougher work, while the others would mostly be in the way if they all focused on the larger boulders first. Adam stepped up to one of the larger boulders, rolled his shoulders for a moment, then started whittling away at it piece by piece. Bane took one further down and mirrored his efforts, the two of them slowly breaking the monstrous things apart as their repeated, heavy blows bit into the unforgiving stone.
Adam had chosen his spot well, working on the furthest boulder with it sitting between him and most of the others, blocking out his view of Gideon. Unfortunately, his little rat lingered nearby, watching him closely as he worked. Adam wished he'd go back to begging for scraps from his master so Adam could try to forget everything around him. He had a feeling the guard's positioning was on purpose.
Adam held back just a little, making sure Bane outpaced him. Drawing attention to himself would help no one. Eventually, he finished pulverizing his first target and moved on, sweating in the morning sun. Bane had already started tearing into his second and would be nearing the halfway mark soon. Good. Let him take the lead. Besides, they'd just be stuck loading wheelbarrows once they finished. Might as well adjust their pace to match the rest of the crew and save some strength for the end. At least, that was the excuse Adam gave himself for holding back a little more.
Adam did his best to focus on nothing but the task before him, intent on ignoring the existence of Gideon's lackey lurking nearby. They'd be out here a while by the looks of things, but afterwards, they could go grab some lunch and relax for a bit. As rough as today would be, at least they didn't have mine duty until next week. Reinforcing and inspecting every mine shaft took a lot longer than any of the other tasks. Good thing Gideon couldn't volunteer them for that awful job every week.
Maybe he and the rest of the crew could go out for drinks later. Maurice probably wouldn't tag along, but the rest would. They'd regret it in the morning, but that was a problem for future Adam. Tonight, he intended to drink until he couldn't see the camp any longer. Tomorrow, he'd nurse a hangover and go see what movie was playing. Maybe see if he could get a pick-up game going after that. It was always fun to flex a little in-
"Get up, old man!"
Adam froze at the sound of something hitting flesh. His hands tightened on his pickaxe as he forced himself to breath before daring to take a look.
What he saw had his blood boiling.
"Who said you could stop working?" Gideon demanded, standing over a fallen Maurice with his baton in hand.
"I-I'm sorry," Maurice whimpered from the ground, clutching his leg. A few smaller rocks were scattered beside him. "I didn't mean to-"
Gideon kicked his side, striking Maurice's injured hip and drawing a howl of pain from his victim. "No excuses! You're here to work, not to lay down on the job. How stupid are you if you can't carry a few damn rocks twenty feet?" Kieran rushed over to help Maurice up, only for Gideon's baton to knock him aside. "Get back to work!" Kieran scrambled away, knowing better than to incur Gideon's wrath further. "As for you, old man. If you can't work, then maybe-"
"Stop!"
The word echoed all around them, silencing even Maurice's cries of pain as everyone turned to see Adam staring down their abuser. His shoulders rose and fell violently with every breath. The rest of 3C parted, leaving the two to face one another.
Gideon smiled cruelly as he lowered his arm, chambering the strike meant for Maurice. "Taurus. Why am I not surprised?"
"Leave. Him. Alone." Each word dripped with murderous intent as they slipped through gritted teeth.
"Or what?"
"Or I'll make you stop."
Gideon hesitated a moment, unused to actually being challenged, but the shock wore off almost immediately. "Oh yeah? You and what army?" Gideon's eyes scanned the rest of the workers. Each of them flinched and looked away, unwilling to meet the challenge until he reached Bane, who glared back but refused to step forward. "Ha! That's what I thought. Get back to work or I'll put you down myself."
Seven on two wouldn't usually be good odds, but Gideon felt confident as he waited to see what they would do. He had aura, weaponry, and training. Even with their numerical advantage, Maurice was already down, Kieran was nursing his shoulder, and Seb had already gone back to his mindless work. If they all rushed him at once, they might win, but they'd already shown their hand in hesitating, all but cementing Gideon's victory. All he had to do now was deal with his favorite punching bag to remind them all who held all the power here.
"Last chance, Taurus. Get back to work or I'll make you beg for the hole." Adam didn't budge. He couldn't. Not now. Gideon had been counting on his stubbornness. After all, he didn't want submission. He wanted dominance. And that meant he needed to deal with Adam's defiance personally. "Alright. Have it your way."
Adam made to take a step forward, only for his leg to buckle violently. He fell, unprepared for the attack from Gideon's henchman. He fell to one knee, turning to glare at his attacker just in time to catch a foot to the face. He landed with a disgusting squelch, mud smeared across his face. His dropped pickaxe skittered away from a swift kick, robbing him of his only weapon.
"That's right, Taurus. Wallow in the filth where you belong." Adam's fists tightened until his hands ached. "Stay down. If he tries to get up, remind him who's in charge. As for you, Maurice…"
No. Not Maurice. He'd suffered enough. Adam pushed himself up, hands planted in the mud as he tried to come to his friend's aid.
"Stay down!" Adam knew the kick was coming but couldn't stop his hand from slipping in the mud and toppling him once more. "You heard him."
He had, but Adam didn't care. Again he tried to rise, only to be thrown sideways from a kick to his ribs. Gideon tore his focus from Maurice to watch the spectacle. "Next time, use your baton. You could use the practice."
Adam heard the words, but he didn't care. He had to save Maurice, even if that meant letting them beat him until he couldn't move. Jakob's words drifted through his head past the pounding headache from the kick earlier. I want them focused on me. Too focused to worry about someone like Maurice. He'd take the pain and the punishment to spare those he cared about.
Through war, we obtain peace. Adam grunted as the baton struck his back and forced him down. He tried again. Through our sorrow, we bring joy. Another blow toppled him on his side. We lend our strength to those in need, striving for a world in which we will no longer be needed.
Adam laughed. It was a hysterical sound, bubbling past the mud and blood smeared across his mouth that he spat on the ground in front of him. No longer needed? He'd always be needed, wouldn't he? As long as there were people like Gideon in the world, there'd be someone that needed him. Could he really help them all? How could he protect everyone if he couldn't even defend himself?
"You done yet?" Gideon's horrid voice asked. Adam continued to laugh. "Guess he took one too many to the head. Oh well." Adam braced for the next strike that silenced his broken laughter as his face was driven back into the mud. "Got that outta your system? You're garbage. Animals. Freaks that aren't worth the clothes we give you. Accept your place. You're nothing. You'll always be nothing. So stay down, Taurus. Stay down, or get put down. Permanently."
Stay down? Give up? Adam hardly knew the meaning of the words. You've never been one to back down from a fight, have you? Jean was right. He couldn't back down. Not from someone like Gideon. Life had tried to put him down a thousand times, but he'd always responded the same way - with two words he'd heard from a host of different voices all his life.
Adam could hear them even now. Some urged him on. Some mocked him. Others demanded obedience. But each and every one of them had taught him a valuable lesson. Over and over again, they'd drilled one command into his head that had him refusing to give up now.
Get up.
"Stay down," the rat ordered, smacking his hand out from under him.
Get up, Father Bernard instructed, a tired but proud smile on his face.
"Didn't you hear me? Stay down!" Again Adam was driven back down, but he wouldn't stop.
Get up. Shizukana's captain barked, ordering him to his feet.
Another blow. Another fall.
Get up, Mazarin urged, grinning cockily as she challenged him to push harder.
"Stay down!"
Get up. Pika taunting him. Madam de Thom ordering him around. Alyssa's vicious whisper in his ear. Sheriff Taylor. Blaine. Jean. Their voices blended together into a horrid chorus, all of them urging him onward. Urging him not to give up, but to get up.
Adam's arms ached. His back screamed out in agony. His body begged for him to stay down, but the words kept echoing in his head, driving him up to his hands and knees, even if he knew what the response would be.
Get up.
Get up!
GET UP!
Adam caught the baton in his hand, gripping it tight before it could strike him again. He felt his aura flare, singing in excitement as he loosed it once more. His rat faced attacker panicked, staring down into hardened eyes that seemed to glow with hatred. Adam tore his weapon away in that moment and stood, turning his attention to the real threat.
To his target.
Gideon looked remarkably unafraid in the face of such rage. "Still some fight left in you, eh? Good." Gideon nodded to his underling. "He's already injured. Make sure he doesn't get back up."
Adam didn't even bother with the lesser threat. Robbed of his baton and already trembling with fear from just a single glance, Adam doubted he'd amount to much. The guard must've recognized it as well as he stammered, "W-with what?"
Gideon sighed in disappointment. "Your taser, you imbecile. Show him what fifty thousand volts feels like."
Adam snorted, unafraid of some weakling with a short-range weapon. Electricity like that could still be trouble. His aura might halt any physical damage, but the current would still affect his muscles and hurt like heck. Of course, that assumed Adam actually gave him a chance to hit him.
He didn't.
Adam moved too fast for the man to process. As much as he hurt already, the pain became cathartic as he let himself cut loose for what felt like the first time in ages. With a cruel smile, Adam smashed the baton into the side of the man's knee, cutting upward at the last moment with enough force to send his feet airborne. He seemed to hang in the air a second, parallel with the ground until Adam reared back and kicked him in the stomach, launching him into the last remaining boulder. He heard something crack. He hoped it wasn't the boulder.
"A lot of fight, it seems." A smarter man would've recognized the danger he was in, but aura had a nasty habit of making people overconfident. Gideon would soon learn the error of his hubris. "Let's see how you handle this!"
Gideon pulled out his sidearm, intent on bringing Adam down from distance. Adam knew he should close the distance. Jean's lessons slammed into place. Ranged fighters only had the advantage if you gave them room. All you had to do was get close and they'd be helpless. The fight would only last as long as it took you to cover the distance.
Adam ignored the training and stood his ground. He didn't want the fight to end. Not yet. Adam was done cowering before men like Gideon. He needed to learn exactly who he was dealing with. Adam wanted to make him suffer. He wanted Gideon to feel the same fear he inflicted on others. The same hopelessness. He'd repay all the misery the man had inflicted, and only then would he win.
A single shot pierced the silence. Gideon's smile faltered as Adam deflected it with his baton and took a step forward. He waited for the next shot, copying his earlier motion. Deflect. Step. Deflect. Step.
Gideon began to panic and squeezed off a few shots in rapid procession. Adam blocked each of them, even the ones he could've ignored thanks to Gideon's faltering aim. Ever closer he came, even as Gideon fumbled with his gun, releasing the empty magazine as he struggled to load another. Even at closer range, Adam had no issue. He counted each shot, knowing from the first magazine just how many were left until Gideon squeezed the trigger one last time.
Adam didn't bother blocking, letting it ping off his aura instead with a slight wince. The pain only urged him on, filling him with an energy he'd been missing since coming to camp. No, since taking on Geryon. The thrill of the fight coursed through his veins, and he had no intention of letting it go so easily.
"Y-you…you're a monster!"
Adam smiled all the more menacingly. "I am."
Adam surged forward suddenly, delivering a swift kick that sent Gideon tumbling backward several feet. Maurice looked up at him with a mixture of confusion and horror, but Adam didn't hear anything he said. All he heard was the pounding in his head and a voice he couldn't help but agree with.
Make him suffer. Make him bleed. He intended to, but not until Gideon tasted true despair. Adam waited as Gideon stumbled to his feet and tossed his gun away, pulling out his own baton.
They had matching weapons. They both had aura. But the fight was far from fair. Gideon was still learning to fight and had never suffered true loss. Adam, on the other hand, had fought and killed things that Gideon couldn't even fathom. More than that, Adam had experience, especially against human opponents. Jean had been an absolute beast to fight. Compared to him, Gideon would be child's play.
Playtime.
Adam announced his attack with a yell. He could've struck faster with no warning and smacked Gideon's weapon away, but where was the fun in that? Instead, he aimed right for where Gideon was clumsily blocking, driving him back a pace with the force of his swing. Adam struck again and again, making sure he focused on making contact with Gideon's weapon. He didn't want Gideon to fall. He wanted him to give up. He wanted to break him. And for that, he'd take all the time in the world.
Gideon recognized the hopelessness of his faltering defense well before it could break and decided he'd rather go down swinging. That was fine. Adam didn't just block each wild swing. He swung back, batons cracking together as he smacked Gideon's weapon wide and left him exposed. Each time, Adam would deliver a quick, sharp blow to his side or shoulder, but he could've done so much more. Gideon knew it, too. He could tell Adam was holding back, and the thought drained the color from his face as his attacks became more frantic.
They danced like that as Gideon wore himself out. Adam idly wondered if this was what Jean felt like training him. He chuckled at the role reversal. Gideon kept trying, but with each failure, Adam chipped away at his aura just a tiny bit more until he could tell Gideon was running on fumes.
"Time to end this."
Adam ducked a wild swing, then hopped back to avoid the desperate follow-up as Gideon abandoned any semblance of defense in a useless assault. Panting, Gideon glared at him, aura starting to falter at last. They both knew Adam could've ended this at any moment. It was only Adam's cruelty that let him hang on this long.
"I'll kill you!" Gideon screamed, charging forward with his baton held high in a final attack.
As if he could. "Tch." This pathetic scum didn't deserve an answer. Not with words. Adam waited eagerly, intent on knocking the wind out of Gideon and ending this farce. He'd make him beg and plead for forgiveness before this was over. But first, he'd make him fall and tell him to stay down. The poeticness was too perfect to pass up.
Adam felt energy coursing through him as he readied his own attack. Finally, he'd get revenge for everyone. He'd make Gideon suffer for what they'd done. For all the beatings, hurting Maurice, and killing his friends. Monti. Colton. Duncan. Adam would prove their lives meant something, and it all started with making Gideon fall.
Adam stepped into the attack, bringing him inside Gideon's guard long before his baton could come down. He felt his weapon crash into Gideon's side as he let the man's momentum add to the impact. Everything went red in an instant. Aura shattered. Adam felt the brief resistance from the hit before his weapon broke free. He felt the spray of viscera against the side of his face. He-
Wait. What?
Adam stopped, the silence of the mountainside broken by two thuds behind him. He instinctively looked down to his baton to find it drenched with blood. The ground was stained and littered with something unidentifiable.
Until he looked further back.
Adam's wide eyes took in the gruesome scene behind him. Gideon had fallen. Twice, in fact. Adam hadn't broken him. He'd split him. In two. Gideon's blood pooled out from a broken torso, his intestines spilling out where his legs should've been. Adam felt the bile rising in his throat, but even that seemed to freeze as he took in the massacre he'd created. The rest of his crew watched him with terror in their eyes, looking at him like a Grimm made flesh. No one dared speak a word.
No one except the injured man with a radio nearby.
"I repeat, Gideon is down!" Gideon's broken henchman strained to say. His whole body shook as Adam turned to face him. "A-Adam killed him! Send help! P-please! Someone help me!"
The baton slipped from Adam's hand and fell to the ground, splashing at his feet as the sirens of Orostachys sounded his doom.
Death Counter: 8
I've been dying to get to this chapter, as it's the one I planned the entire story around. Whole thing started as a "how did Adam unlock his Semblance" idea and grew to a full backstory. Of course, there will be some pretty bad consequences next chapter. Most of you can probably guess, considering what's missing. Also, I found a song a while back that really helped shape some of this chapter, so feel free to go check out Get Up by All Good Things. Tried to make it obvious along the way, but the phrase "get up" has been used repeatedly throughout the story up to this point, just so I could have that brief scene of everyone saying it in his head. Threw in some other repeats like Jean's aura-unlocking chant as well, which wasn't planned but I really liked.
Adam is a little shocked by what he did, naturally. We'll see his thoughts next week, but he's seen this before to a lesser extent. He'll start piecing things together soon enough, but he'll have bigger things to worry about next chapter. As you can probably guess, the mining camp arc is nearing its end, meaning we've got a big shift coming soon. Looking forward to it, personally, even if the task is a bit daunting. Well, I've come this far. No use backing down now.
Next chapter: Orostachys responds to Adam's rebellion.
Adam is a little shocked by what he did, naturally. We'll see his thoughts next week, but he's seen this before to a lesser extent. Also