Snow slowly descended from the sky at the quiet forest below, the harsh wind smacked the trees like a slave master's lash, the shards of ice raising up from the ground only to fall like a rain.
And among the trees there was a lone, tall bull faunus, wearing a long, red jacket with upside down rose with vines and black trousers and a katana in his right hand. He was slowly walking between the trees, his breath leaving his mouth only to dissipate in the winds of winter.
"I am tired of this game, Blake." He said, his voice now devoid of anger. "I'm tired."
He walked forward, now lazily eyeing his surroundings, scar on his eye itching with pain due to the snow and wind, but he didn't care any longer, for now, even pain was unable to fill the hole drilled in his heart and mind.
"Let me END THIS!" In a sudden burst of movement, Wilt slashed sideways, and trees collapsed onto the snow with loud thuds.
He took another breath, the cold air filling his lungs, and with that he resumed his search for Blake.
Traitor…
Friend…
Coward…
Companion…
Grip on his cold hatred tightened just like his hand on Wilt's hilt.
Shadows around him took familiar shapes of those he met in the past, those who betrayed, failed or hurt him, often all three at once. His mother, his father, Camilla, Cinder, Blake…
He swiveled his head to avoid them, to not see their judgmental stares, scornful glares.
"You expect me to say this again?" He snarled as they appeared all around him. "You were all traitors, pathetic cowards who betrayed me at the moment of my triumph."
"I brought the White Fang to greatness, alone! I brought Vale to its knees, nearly did so to Mistral, all my accomplishments undone because of you."
Once again he heard the sound from between the trees, and with a swing he cut of these visions, spun it around to and sheeted his blade, then resumed his walk.
"I won't play to your amusement any longer." Adam declared as he stalked through the woods. "Nothing of that matters anymore."
Then why do you keep fighting?
Just like Taurus expected, Blake's new friend fired at him from the treeline, he dashed to the side, crouch low, then sprung forward, while shotgun blasts exploded all around him.
Yang didn't look bothered by Adam's mad rush at her as she quickly turned back on her feet and started to run through the forest, Adam hot on her heels. He knew that she leads him to a trap, but he didn't care anymore for that.
Just like he thought, ribbon sprung from beneath the snow and struck his abdomen, briefly staggering him, Yang tried to do a dropkick, but he slashed his blade widely, forcing her to fire one of her gauntlets to dodge out of the way.
You know where this leads to.
As Wilt slashed the ribbon in half, he heard gunshots from the shadow, and he deflected the bullets with childish ease, but the blonde brawler swiftly recovered, brought out the shroud covered in the snow and yanked it to Blake as she closed in on Adam.
They engaged in this brief duel, Wilt and Blush clashed with Gambol Shroud, their blows ringing to a tune only Adam could hear. Their moment was interrupted by Blond brawler, who attacked him from behind.
He parried first and second strike, countered, Blake backflipped to avoid neck-cutting slash, Yang swung left right left and kick, but Adam blocked the combo and delivered two quick slashes in kind, pushing her back just in time to reengage Blake.
Even though he was fighting two on one, his skill and fury clearly outmatched both huntresses, taking back the initiative and forcing them into a desperate defense, inflicting some wounds, but also taking some in turn.
It won't matter in the end.
He managed to push them into the open onto a nearby cliffs, the freezing breeze lifting his jacket up as he pursued his foes. He then launched his counterattack, primarily focused on Blake, determined to at least bring the betrayer with him into the abyss.
He struck low and high, from the left and right, blocked Yang gauntlet and then made a thrust directly at Blake's heart, only for Yang to jump in front, blocking the blow with her metal gauntlet, which sent her tumbling on the ground and her prosthetic limb severely damaged.
"Yang!" Blake's voice echoed, so distant yet near while the crow on the branch eyed the fight with interest.
Adam once again struck at Blake, three quick slashes followed by the devastating swing and a series of thrusts, all Blake barely managed to block or dodge, but before he could finish his barrage with a killing blow to cut off her head, he heard a gunshot from behind.
No matter how many times you try, the outcome is still the same.
The large caliber bullet put a clear strain on Taurus's aura as he stumbled due to the impact.
"The red huntress with a scythe. What was her name again?" He thought to himself as Huntress loaded another bullet into the chamber of her weapon.
A giant ethereal blade brought him out of his thoughts, he barely dodged it, during this move he quickly scanned his surroundings. The one attacking him now was a Schnee with the assistance of the armored giant, which swung it's blade once more.
He tried to parry the strike, but sheer force of the impact made his bones shake, but this in fact played to his favor as he felt energy growing within him. He leant backwards, Gigas sword passing mere inches from his face, rushed forward to shorten the distance and make monster's attack far more difficult to perform.
Giant slammed it's leg on the ice with such power that sent Adam flying, but he spun mid-air and managed to block another of the armor's attacks, and that deflection was everything he needed.
With a single moonslice he cut Ethereal being in half from the head to crotch, few trees in the back were cut to splinters too.
He landed on his feet, assumed the combat stance once more and wanted to rush at the exposed enemy, only for his feet to be stuck in the ice, created by the glyph summoned by the Schnee.
"Guys?" Schnee's voice echoed just like Blake did moments before, but Adam did not care.
Why do you keep pushing on?
Taurus shattered the ice binding him and charged, his sword falling down like an executioner's blade, only to be stopped by the Myrtenaster.
He and Schnee engaged in a duel, his bladework finally meeting it's match in a Schnee of all people.
Thrust followed by thrust, slice countered by a parry, evasion leading to counter, a faint transforming into a devastating push, it was almost like a dance of two skilled actors, but the show has to end with a crescendo.
Red on his body glowed with the accumulated force, ready to be unleashed yet again, and he took his chance, forcing Weiss to barely deflect his next strike and open a gap in her defense.
However, a red blur whisked his opponent away and replaced her with a blonde brawler, who took his sword on without even flinching.
Before he could reassert the situation, the blur of red petals took Yang back and from it Blake jumped, slicing his torso, and his cold blood spilled over the snow, his heart no longer beating.
"I'm not running anymore!" Her echoing voice declared, her empty eyes glaring at him. "I am standing in front of you!"
Adam took a swipe at her, but she was swiftly replaced by that accursed blonde again, who took his attack like it was nothing, her hair set ablaze.
"She came back to us, not you!" She roared before she disappeared in the cloud of petals once more.
"We are a family!" Schnee shouted, rapier cutting through his chin, once again blood spilled on the snow. He tried to take a swift slash to at her torso, but once again she was replaced by the blonde brawler.
"It doesn't matter!" He roared, and Yang's face shifted from stone serious to a playful smug.
"What, problem keeping up?" He could feel the mocking voice. Even as an echo, her voice was so annoying.
The cycle repeats again and again…
The cycle repeated few more times, Blake or Schnee attacking him from difficult angles to block or deflect, and when he tried to counter with his sword or swipe his foes from their feet, Yang was there to take his strike on.
As they fought, in the corner of his eyes, behind the red blur circling around him he noticed the being in black.
"What's the problem pretty boy?" Yang mocked him after he tried to strike the Schnee. "Ohhh, just missed her!" She taunted as Blake once again was taken away from danger while Yang tanked the blow. "Feeling the breeze around here?"
His attacks lost coherence as his muscles weakened, his aura flickering as the relentless assault bruised and wounded him further.
Suddenly, his left hand darted to the side and grabbed the Red Huntress as she passed by him, and three other girls tumbled on the snow.
"Ruby!" They shouted as he brought Huntress closer to get a better look at her.
"So that's her name…" He briefly wondered, staring directly into her empty eyes.
"You are right Blake." He said to the three girls standing some distance away from him, panicked written on their faces his blade aiming at Ruby's legs. "No more running."
For a moment he considered to simply cut off the kid's knees, not tossing her into the air like…
You can't change the outcome, no matter what you try.
Adam's wounded eye darted to the side, and the figure in black, now definitely closer than ever before, he could basically feel it's breath on his neck…
Just as he threw Ruby into the air and prepared a moonslice, a path of glyphs appeared, and the time itself seemed to slow, as he was unleashing his semblance.
Blake jumped in front of Ruby and blocked the slice with Gambol, her blade creaking and then shattering into scarps.
Before Adam could turn, Yang swung at his torso, her hair now an inferno and her fist leaving a trail of fire behind, and when the paunch connected, Adam's world burnt.
He didn't even blink once as he flew through the forest like a comet, leaving a trail of yellow and red blood, only to strike the ground like a meteor, creating a carter as he made a landfall.
He felt his strength sapped away, his blood pouring from his mouth, his lungs punctured, but still, he dug his sword deep into the ground and use it to help himself stand up.
Another cough, spit mixing with teeth. Ravens land around the crater and watch curiously.
He heard the footsteps approaching him, and his eyes looked at the four Huntresses standing before him, towered over by the figure in the black robes.
"Just stay down." Said Yang.
Just stay down…
"You wanted this to end Adam. You got what you wanted."
You got what you wanted…
He looked at the figure in black as Schnee approached and started talking her nonsense, like she hoped mere words were going to change what happened.
Rest… He heard in his head as he puked out more of his blood, his face cold and spiteful.
"Fuck you." He tried to lunge forward, only for a loud gunshot to split his torso in two, Wilt stuck deep in the earth while his body collapsed.
He watched the cloudless sky, snow falling on his open chest and eye, and he took a deep breath. "That's it." He briefly thought as ice slowly covered him. "My death at the hands of the one I once held dear."
Rest.
Just like always, life threw him to the ground and kicked him, trying to stop him from getting back up. But it always failed to keep him down, each time he stood up stronger than ever before.
Everything has to end at some point.
With determined glare, he reached with his right for Wilt and grabbed it's hilt, then, with a quick slash, deflected the incoming scythe.
He rolled away and jumped on his feet while the train underneath him hastily strode forth, trying to outrun the pursuing Grimm. He blocked the incoming mace, and tried to counter the Mace-wielding huntsman, but Wilt was stopped in its tracks by Harbringer.
"So you are the one who cut of my niece's arm?" Qrow's question echoed, which made Adam snarl.
"I did, and I will countless times more!" He charged back at the two, steel clashing against steel and titan, two Hunters against Taurus.
Dodge, parry, followed by slash of Wilt, only to be blocked by the Executioner. He tried to make his way through them, his target in sight, but veteran huntsman deflected all strikes, eventually taking control of the fight…
"Don't even think about this!" Adam hissed and pushed with his own flow. Slash and push, parry and strike, strike again, strike in truth being an finta, Qrow soon had to jump away from the fight, giving White Fang leader enough time to again focus on his younger opponent.
Cardin whole this time was looking for a way to strike Adam, but whole this fight Taurus maneuvered in such a way that older hunter was always between him and the youngling, and after briefly removing this obstacle, Taurus lunged forward, but Winchester was prepared.
He took Taurus head on, matching his speed and getting in the flow. Parry and strike, slash at feet, mace nearly slamming at his foe's torso. This time it was Qrow who searched for a way to get into this dance of blades. But it was just a matter of time.
Finally, Qrow found the way in, he seamlessly got into this dance, in such a way, that Cardin didn't even had to change his tempo. But at the same time it was not enough. Adam was a whirlwind of blades, like he had more than one sword. Pressure one opponent while defending form the other, just to switch back and attack the second and defend from the first.
From the bystander point of view, his fighting style seemed surreal, impossible to keep a track off.
No skill can help you break the cycle.
Adam saw an opening, he took risk and picked up the pace, moving faster and faster. He pushed Cardin into desperate defense as Taurus pushed him more and more towards the side of the cart. But at the same time Taurus was making holes in his own defense, holes that would be definitely utilized by veteran hunter, whose blade found it's mark few times.
But he made this attack perfectly, pushing young huntsman in such a way that he was not able to move his hand from between the two colliding carts.
The pained scream erupted in Adam's ears, but he couldn't care less as he now could properly duel the veteran, and in a daring move, using huntsman's mistake, delivered a devastating headbutt.
As Qrow stumbled back in a daze, Taurus briefly noticed Blake in the distance, fighting some shadows, so near yet so far. As Wilt glowed with gathered power, despite his consciousness urging him to aim at Blake, he searched for his true target.
A figure in black standing on the slope, holding something with its three hands.
You will just repeat what happened.
Just as Adam was about to launch a moonslice at it, Qrow tackled him, and the red blur exploded just above the figure, who all this time remained motionless. Then, the avalanche fell on the train while Adam fell down…
And down…
And down
Down…
Until he crashed landed on the snow, Wilt slipping from his hand once again.
Yet, despite the impact, his muscles didn't ache or bones didn't shatter.
Rest.
He clenched his teeth once again and grabbed Wilt's handle.
How many times are you going to repeat it?
He said nothing as he got up, his world now set ablaze as he found himself back in Beacon once more, fighting that pesky Rabbit faunus, her friend bleeding from his stomach.
No matter how many times he saw her, she made him sick.
She jumped around him like before, firing grenades from her weapons which he easily slashed in half. He already tried to kill the incapacitated hunter, but it didn't break the cycle, so this time, he fully focused on killing the traitor, but she avoided his slashes long enough for more hunter to appear, including the hammer wilder from the train.
Was he their friend?
Fighting seven on one is never the easiest thing in the world but Adam knew how to manage all of those huntsmen.
After all, it was not the first time
It's all about the reach, hunter with halberd and great sword were taking most of the space, only sporadically allowing their teammates to jump in and commit few strikes.
Adam deflected strong smash from the hammer in such a way that swordsman had to jump away or his knee would be obliterated by his companion.
He could even use them to fight one another, he had total control over the fight, just few more strikes and the halberdier will lose his hand… wait where is the girl with the minigun?
Before he even could start looking for her he got shot by a barrage of bullets to his back, knocking him on the ground…
And yet, he still raised again
Taurus found hilt of Wilt, and deflected sword of the older Schnee girl, her strike augmented by the power armor almost kicked it out of his hand, but he stood his ground.
He regained his composure and slashed. The girl expected the finta hidden in this strike and parried, her sword found a way to his chest…
"Dammit…" Taurus murmured and collapsed on the ground…
Never broken
Adam quickly drew his blade and slashed in half tree flying in his direction, blond middle aged woman was pointing her wand in his direction, while more and more stones, trees and other debris flew at him, and he managed to jump over or destroy most of them, but one of too many boulders struck his jaw just few meters before he could get to her…
Always fighting
He once again grabbed Wilt and stood up, just in time to fight Blake in the cafeteria, then, like before, with a single swipe he ripped off Blonde huntress arm, her hollow scream echoing in his head, but the strike caused the whole building to collapse on him…
Ever defiant
Adam deflected first and second of Cinder's arrows, but the third one punctured his lung. He looked at her hollow face and that mocking smirk.
"Had enough?" On this words he pulled an arrow out of his wound, and looked at the creature in black robes standing behind her, holding an empty hourglass.
"Not even close." He unleashed the moonslice so powerful that for a moment it felt like reality itself broke like glass, striking past Cinder and right at the towering being.
And it didn't even flinch.
Breathing heavily, his breath like a mist, Adam now stood surrounded by endless dark, behind which he could see reflections from his past circling around him. Only five meters around him dimmed with weak, white light.
And in the darkness black figure stood, so he pointed Wilt at it.
"I fought each and every one of them countless times by now. And I killed them too." He proclaimed, his eye staring at the motionless creature with hatred. "You are the only one left, but I am not sure if you are yet another illusion to toy with me."
"You are wrong, Adam Taurus." Creature spoke. "You fought against me all this time, defied me at every step." Creature left something akin to a friendly chuckle. "I admired it in you to no end. But it's time for you to rest."
"I'm not done!"
"I'm afraid that's not your choice any longer." It looked at an empty hourglass in its boney hand.
"Then what's the purpose of all of this?" He gestured with Wilt at the surrounding mirrors. "You make me repeat these fights over and over again for your own amusement? To torture me for my sins? Make me repent?" Adam pointed his katana once again. "Then know this – I regret none of my actions, and if I could, I would only cut these snakes earlier!"
"Isn't it what you wanted then?" White Fang leader frowned, then growled. "But you are wrong, for I am not your Torturer, Adam Taurus."
"Then what are you, huh? Jailer? Or an Enforcer?"
I am Traveler's one last guide
A Watcher of Knight's one last ride,
A lead in King's one last dance,
Only constant in life's endless performance
And for you, I am your funeral's sole guest."
Adam looked over the Creature with his single eye, his gaze narrowed as his grip on Wilt tightened.
"Know this, I will find a way out, to break this cycle. You won't keep me here forever."
"I am not the one who holds the Key." To prove a point, Creature showed its three hands, now each was empty, closely eyeing Wilt with its empty eyes. "Just a mere witness, who shall wait until you decide you are finally ready to rest." Adam left a mocking laughter.
"You will stay with me for long then."
"Time is something I have in abundance." And with that said, the reality warped and swirled…
…Snow slowly descended from the sky at the quiet forest below, the harsh wind smacked the trees like a slave master's lash, the shards of ice raising up from the ground only to fall like a rain.
And among the trees there was a lone, tall bull faunus…
Authors note:
This chapter was written as a Christmas gift to a friend, and after a month I asked him if I could post it, and he agreed.
So, here it is.
As you could already guess, this one-shot based on Adam Taurus from "Fixing RWBY", a rewrite fanfic made by Celtic Phoenix, as well as a talented group of artists, animators etc. Love it, Criticize it, that series is genuinely impressive.
Have a Nice week everyone!
Dj
