"Is there anything more beautiful than a soul desperately clinging on to life? You get to learn so much about people from observing them in their last moments. It is equal parts disgusting and inspiring." - Adam Taurus
He spat out blood from his mouth, "Because we know each other, Adam. And we need to talk."
Violet couldn't see his full expression, but he was sure Adam would be skeptical.
"Oh, and pray tell, how so? I don't think I've ever so much as seen you in my life. Or perhaps this is some kind of desperate attempt to save your pitiful life," He aimed the tip of his katana at his throat, "Go on, I'm amused."
A heavy silence hung in the air, it was so quiet he could clearly hear his blood dripping onto the floor. He could feel it going down his face, could feel the metallic taste in his mouth, "Perhaps not directly, but we've spoken through an intermediary. A certain Fennec Albain has been feeding you information about the Black Knights, isn't that right?"
"Oh?" Adam was surprised. His grip relaxed a little, "And are you claiming to be part of the Black Knights?"
"Yes. Fennec is currently spending most of his time at the abandoned steel factory in district 13. I would only know that if I was a member."
Violet tried to ignore the gasp at his side, he didn't dare look at her again. Couldn't stand to witness what was sure to be a look of betrayal. As for Adam, he stayed silent, contemplating his next move.
"And what of it?" His grip on the katana tightened. Violet could feel the tip of its blade press into his throat, threatening to spill blood, "That doesn't justify you attacking us. We had an alliance."
"You attacked us first."
A kick to his spine from the Ilia girl, "You abducted one of our scouts!"
"I was with a group of disloyal huntsmen, and I needed to find your exact location somehow."
"Well, you have it now," Adam said, "You and your team has killed over a dozen of my men by now, and I am getting more casualty reports by the minute. So you better have a very good reason for doing this and skipping over my valued subordinate."
By Violet's recollection, they'd killed about twenty or so members total, not to mention putting 8 people under his control to do more damage. It would seem he hasn't been out of it for that long, some 10-20 minutes if he had to guess. He won't have the opportunity to use his semblance on them anytime soon, but perhaps there was a chance the Professor could've called for backup. That meant he'd need to stall for a bit longer though.
The time estimate would also align with how much his aura had recovered and the fact that Adam previously said there was another emergency, likely relating to his thralls. He could exploit that.
"Fennec is working with Sienna," he looked Adam in the eyes, "She wants someone more loyal in charge, and has agreed to instate him if we helped them depose you. In return, we'd get free reign in Vale city."
Adam's confident and perpetually mean expression cracked for but a moment. That confirmed to him at least some of his men have acted, Adam's paranoia must be killing him. "I see… And so, you claim you've come here to warn me, but couldn't arrive without Beacon huntsmen? I recall that you have a working Bullhead at your disposal?"
He had to admit Adam got him there, "That's because I'm not acting on behalf of Zero, as he hasn't made up his mind yet. I am part of a more… radical faction that's working on its own, and we had no other way of reaching you in a reasonable time."
Adam looked at him with a blank expression, before finally bringing his blade down and putting it back into its sheath. Violet let out a sigh of relief as he slumped, and Ilia took out a handkerchief to wipe his bloodied face. He noticed her conflicted look, and he knew the opportunities for making friends were godsends now, "Think nothing of it, I understand your caution," he said.
Adam paced around the room for a minute of so, before growling in frustration, "So what? You'd have me pack my bags to Vale and purge Fennec and countless associates of his, dozens of my men?"
"Whatever you think is necessary. Once he's removed from the picture, Zero's hand will be forced, and the Black Knights will join you with a far greater commitment. Those that argued for betraying you will be discredited and cast out."
"Hmmm… It is a convincing story you weave…" He strutted around the room, before stopping next to Pyrrha, whose eyes were glued to Adam, "Fine. But if these troublesome huntsmen are truly not yours, and you denounce their actions… You wouldn't mind me executing them, would you?" He drew his sword again and placed it just above Pyrrha's neck.
She gasped in fear and Violet forced himself to look at her. She was frozen in terror, looking up at the imposing figure of her executioner while her world was falling apart before her. Violet could sympathize. He was openly discussing things with such outrageous implications, after all. Would she recall how he previously fought against the Fang? Regardless of the whirlwind of emotions in her head, it would all be pointless when she was killed. But Adam seemed to have bought his story, if he told him to not do it he'd suspect him again.
"Well? Which is it, human?" He smiled as his blade inched ever closer to her neck. It made contact, the cold metal touching her skin, making her wince and look at Violet with pleading eyes that hurt him more than any electric shock ever could.
He cursed the world for tempting him like this. He wanted to retreat into the realm of utilitarian calculus, where he would let her die, dupe the Fang, and live to make the world better. But the words simply could not leave his mouth.
An image flashed through his mind, a cozy winter night of him sitting next to Ruby, Summer reading them a story. He couldn't even remember most of it, but he recalled the motif of a hero who was facing a similarly impossible choice. To sacrifice one dear thing in order to save another.
He found it quaint, how the hero of that story decided to ignore it- to fight on despite the rules laid out for him by others. Violet knew life was no fairy tale, but he couldn't imagine going up to Ruby later today and telling her one of her only friends died, and he didn't even try to save her. He'd die before he let that happen!
"Hold off on it. She may be misguided, but she is a promising recruit. We can return to the matter later."
Adam frowned, but his blade stayed put. He suddenly lifted the blade in the air, only to put it back in its sheath, "What a pathetic sentimentality. You call yourself a radical, yet you cling to a weak human like her?" He put his hand on her hair, grabbing it and forcing her to look up at him, "Well, she is cute, so maybe she's not totally useless." A knock on the door interrupted him, and he rushed to open it. Violet could see that the person on the other side was obviously distraught, "Another one. Two dead and one wounded. It is as we feared, a witness says he was acting on her behalf."
Adam looked back at Violet with a frown.
"We've also got eyes on the other huntsmen again, they're near entrance number two. They're reckless, they must be desperate to-" he momentarily paused, "Sir? Are you alright?"
"They must have called Vale by now. We've been discovered, so get ready to enact the train plan. Cinder can get lost, we're either doing it prematurely or we won't get to do it at all," he turned back to them, "Don't kill them yet, Ilia. I'll be back in a minute."
He exited the room and slammed the door behind him. Only when he was gone did he truly notice how much the White Fang girl was relieved by his absence. He did seem like an awful boss to have. People needed to fear their leaders at least a bit, but there was a fine line between that and the impulsive, counterproductive cruelty he displayed.
"So… Ilia was it?"
"You ordered your friend to kill me," she coldly said.
"You know very well I was panicked and confused. You were counting on that to drain my aura."
An awkward silence followed. The girl didn't seem to like them much, but at least she refrained from hurting them again.
"So, you're a Black Knight?" She asked.
"Yeah."
"What's your rank?"
"High enough. I get to sit in meetings with Zero if that's any indication. Why do you ask?"
It was subtle, but he noticed her get just a little excited, "Then tell me, because I heard Adam speak about it. Is it true that a certain Blake Belladonna is with you?"
"Hmm? Sure. You know her?"
"Maybe," she looked at the ceiling, "How is she doing?"
Do they have a history? She doesn't seem to visibly hate her, but he should be careful not to make it sound like she's having the time of her life, "She's reserved, but content enough from what I see."
Ilia continued to somberly stare off into space, "Adam will have her killed. Or worse."
Definitely likes her, "Listen, I won't stop this for her, but if she were to suddenly leave… No one could be blamed for it. I know her number. Put me on the line and I'll tell her."
She was surprised, but she took out her phone and let Violet dictate the digits to her. A few tense moments later, and a response came through.
"Blake," Violet was forceful, "You need to move."
"Vio? Is that you?" she said. It didn't escape him how Ilia lit up at her static-y voice.
"Yes. You need to move. Now. You understand what I mean, right?"
"I- I think I do. Are you alright? You're calling from an unknown number."
He looked over at Ilia's frowning face, "I'll be fine. I don't have the time to speak now, just trust me that this is the best course of action. You'll see."
"Okay. I'll call you soon. Bye."
She hung up, and Ilia was left staring into the phone screen with wistful eyes. Violet was confident enough she understood what he meant by his message, they'd discussed that they may have to make calls while under duress.
So now even if he does die, he'll destroy the Vale Fang from beyond the grave. Would that be enough of a legacy? He wasn't convinced. He tried to turn his mind to more productive things, "Hey, at least I gave you her number."
She smiled a little, "Yeah. And I thank you for that," she paused, "But um, is it true that you're a human? Adam called you one."
"That he did. He should know better than to assume such things of people he's never seen before."
She relaxed a bit at his lie, before pointing at Pyrrha, "Sorry about that. But what of her? I know her identity and she's definitely human." Pyrrha herself remained dead silent, almost catatonic.
"She's my randomly assigned academy partner and is sympathetic to the faunus plight. That's all there is to it."
"Consorting with humans will only bring you betrayal. You ought to know better."
A slam of the door shook all of them as Adam returned, "I've just had two bullheads filled to the brim with huntsmen land outside the entrance. We're setting up a defense in the tunnels, but between the plan and Sienna's coup we need to get a move on."
He looked over at Violet, "And I can't afford to guard the two of you, so-"
"We can help," Violet said.
"As if I'd ever trust you, human," He approached him and pulled on his hair.
"Let us go and I'll call the Knights," he said, "They can help you, they can cause a distraction and divert further reinforcements, which I'm sure are coming."
"Vale has thousands of soldiers, it won't make a difference even if you can somehow convince them. And I think you're overselling yourself, kid."
"I'm offering you unconditional help, what more could you want?"
"Hmmm…" He smiled in a way that made Violet's stomach churn, "I heard your merry band picked up a stray kitten that used to be mine. I want her back. The name 'Blake Belladonna' ring any bells?"
It took a lot from Violet to conceal his disgust. He could definitely see why Blake ditched him, though why she liked him in the first place remained a mystery "You want her? Sure. She's not important enough and Zero is pragmatic, he'll allow it if it advances his objectives. I'll deal with the consequences myself."
"The hell?" Pyrrha shouted, "How can you talk about her like that? This isn't you, Vio-" Ilia kicked her in the stomach to silence her.
"Excuse her behavior," Violet said, "She still has a certain… naivete in her."
Adam sneered, "Then make sure she doesn't speak in my presence again, Ilia. I can't bear her constant sniveling. And as for you, human boy, you better be telling the truth or I'll make sure both you and your pretty friend suffer a gruesome death."
"Hello?"
"Yes, Glaston." Violet said, standing next to Adam, "It's me. I need you to mobilize as many people as you can and head to the western side of the city ASAP."
"What? Why are you calling now? We're still busy at-"
"I DON'T CARE," He shouted to cut him off, "Once you're done, bring everything you can to our staging areas in west Vale. Get ready for action on my orders."
"Are you… Is everything okay?"
Adam put his hand on his scabbard at that, but Violet remained calm, "Yes it is. I don't have time to explain, but I want your guys, as well as Blake's team there. I trust you know where our loyalties lie. And don't believe anything Fennec or others might say. In fact, murk the guy if you get the chance. I'll speak to you later."
Adam cut the call off, leaving the two of them alone in the dim concrete room.
"You happy?"
Adam stayed silent, "You didn't tell him to cause a distraction immediately."
"They still need time to gather and scout for targets. They wouldn't agree to commit random slaughter."
"Bah, It doesn't matter. I expect you to tell them to attack after I deal with the interlopers," he kicked him down to the floor again, "Any more straying from my strict instructions and you won't be leaving this place alive." He said before leaving them alone.
Violet was on the floor, trying to drown out Pyrrha's crying and Ilia's frustrated pacing, He contemplated just how much of a fuckup this day had been. For as much as his strategic abilities were praised, he had made an elementary mistake out of petty pride.
He had all the advantages, a relatively large army, a competent stealth specialist to shadow him, knowledge of the Fang he could have forwarded to the authorities. And yet he chose to neglect them all in favor of a wildly risky plan to obtain the maximum benefit for himself. He wanted to claim credit for destroying a White Fang hideout himself and have his Knights eliminate a widely hated organization in a masterful maneuver. He always took the riskiest option, so he was bound to fail eventually. It wasn't really even a failure of his tactical planning, he just shouldn't have taken up such risky challenges when there were reasonable alternatives.
For his mistake, he was now bloodied and tied-up, listening to a barely coherent Pyrrha having a breakdown.
"How could you? I thought you stood for something, Violet! I thought you were good at heart and kind and- and that you would never work with scum like this… And Blake…" She trailed off again, bursting into tears.
"How can you stand her?" Ilia asked him.
"Pyrrha." No answer, "Pyrrha, listen to me! I already told Blake to leave, you were there. He won't find her."
Ilia looked at him, but he just shrugged, "It was your request, we're both on the hook if he finds out."
Pyrrha was a little more calm, but still mad, "As if it weren't enough that you were in the Black Knights. I may have been willing to accept that. But to hear you so casually working with the scum of the earth? Get lost."
He tried to give her a reassuring look, but he couldn't verbalize anything incriminating in the presence of Ilia, "Pyrrha, I want you to calm down and think where you are. You shouldn't be insulting your captors like that."
"So what, you'll sell out even more people to keep me alive? And I'm supposed to be thankful? So what if you told Blake to leave, you're ordering people to endanger the city and aid the White Fang? If its for me, I don't want it. I'd rather die than sacrifice innocents."
It wasn't strictly true, Blake and Glaston have likely already moved against the White Fang, and they would do everything in their power to avoid senseless violence on innocents. Even if he were to order it, he doubted they'd kill civilians.
Considering the best use of his time, he figured he should focus on figuring out what the Fang's plan was while Pyrrha calmed down and recovered enough aura to stage an escape attempt. Now that he could concentrate and Pyrrha got a little quieter, he could just barely make out the sounds of gunfire from far away. Then all of a sudden, they heard a muted boom reverberate across the room. Adam wasn't lying, whatever they were facing was way more significant than 3 people.
"So, Ilia… What exactly is Adam's plan? We'll be better suited to helping if we're aware of it. He mentioned a train and some woman named Cinder, but that's all I know."
She considered him for a while before sighing, "We've made an alliance with a powerful human, and she's given us several top agents, millions of lien, many tonnes of dust, and intelligence on our enemies in exchange for us following her plan to bring down Vale."
"We've done a good job by hanging out here and drawing Grimm into the underground with us, now we're going to blow up the sealed tunnels and crash a dust loaded train into the Vale tunnel," she said with a proud tone.
Violet didn't know what to think. He forced out an uncomfortable chuckle, but he still couldn't quite process it. He was no stranger to dirty tactics, even having taken advantage of a surge in Grimm activity before. But releasing Grimm on civilians, for no wider goal? They said it was premature, so even if they did have something else planned, it wasn't ready. It wouldn't even serve some greater objective. It's not even a moral issue, really. He wants to liberate Vale, not rule over its ashes.
"I see. And what do you think of it?" he asked.
"It's… Necessary." Ilia's face dropped into a concerned frown.
"It's a painful thing, but it'll likely be contained quickly by the armed forces and there will be minimal loss of civilian life," A lie, they're probably transferring a lot of their best huntsmen to this place, and Atlas military personnel aren't even allowed in the city. It will be a massacre, but she seemed like more of a good-natured person, and this was the better way to convince her.
"I… Yeah, when you put it that way, I guess it makes things easier to do." Another muted boom reached them, and she looked at the door, then back at him.
"I think those are paladin rounds. Ours, but they're in trouble if they need to use them so much."
"I can help you. I know we've gotten off on the wrong foot, but-"
"Adam wouldn't approve. You did far too much damage to us."
"Oh please, his forces were practically halved, and he's facing some of the top huntsmen Vale has to offer. He's being swarmed out there, and I need to give the order for our knights to move out. So bring me to him!"
She sighed, "I can't believe I'm doing this. Come on, get up. Your weapons are in the room nextdoor."
He let himself get dragged to a nearby room, untied, and was handed his scythe back. But the relief at holding it was muted by noticing how much his muscles ached under the stresses of the day. It was going to be a tough one.
"Thank you, Ilia. I know it couldn't have been an easy decision to make."
"Just… hurry up before I change my mind."
They exited into the hallway, and Violet turned to look through the open door where Pyrrha was held.
"We'll need her too."
"Not a chance, she'll betray us."
"It'll be fine, she will follow my orders."
She was giving him the silent treatment. He sighed before approaching Pyrrha and calmly cutting her bindings with the Mordred's blade. Ilia didn't really react. Freeing him cost her a lot, now she's just hoping she wasn't wrong. It's a sunk cost problem. If she attacked him, it would mean a protracted fight she'd have to explain to Adam and-
"Sister Ilia," A White Fang soldier ran toward her. "Thank goodness I found you. Adam has received a call from Vale, the Black Knights have betrayed us! He asks that you execute the-"
Violet charged into the hallway and activated his scythe to strike Ilia from behind, knocking her into a wall. He then descended upon the unprepared messenger, whom he cut down in two swift swings.
As confused as Pyrrha was, she could at least run past them to grab her own weapons from the nearby room. In the meantime, Ilia had gotten up and swung her whip at him. He Just barely dodged her, before swinging back at her.
She, however, dodged with practiced ease before retaliating. He parried her strike with the blade of the Mordred, but the electricity flowed through it, shocking him and almost making him drop it. He wasn't maintaining his aura anymore, but the physical damage was tolerable and the adrenaline was making him push past the pain.
He now knew the better move was to dodge, and while he could do it, the same could be said of Ilia. So they clashed again, Ilia's whip struck, and he moved to the side. Violet's scythe swung, and she jumped away, only to be stabbed by a spear from behind by Pyrrha. Violet rushed in, a powered swing shattering Ilia's aura and knocking her several feet back.
But Ilia was dexterous, and she avoided collapsing to the floor, instead riding the momentum to run away in the opposite direction of the battle raging in the metro. Pyrrha transformed her gun into a rifle form, aimed at the target, and pressed the trigger.
Only to hear a deafening click. Without missing a beat, she transformed it back into javelin form and threw it at her. The weapon managed to hit her in the back of the knee, causing her to fall with a scream. Pyrrha rushed after her, removing Milo from Ilia's thrashing body, tossing her whip away, and kicking her in the head for good measure.
Violet figured he should be happy she's attacking someone without his goading, morbid as the thought was. But the only thing he had in mind was the battle in the distance, "Kill her and hurry up."
"I- she's as good as dead."
"Then finish her."
She looked him straight in the eyes, "Don't ask me to do that again."
He didn't have the time nor the will to give her a verbal lashing. Of course, she was in massive turmoil, simply running off an instinct saying Violet was certainly better than them. He didn't really have the patience for her histrionics right now, he just wished he had someone reliable in battle. Someone like Blake. People were out there dying for them, and his teammates needed to be on top of their game.
"We need to move." He tried to play it matter-of-factly, to pretend this was the appropriate way to behave and that she should push his confession to being part of a terrorist organization away for now.
She looked like she was going to say something, but Violet tried to get her thinking practically, "What's your aura status? How well can you fight?"
"I can barely feel it. 3% at most," she was disassociated, speaking in a monotone voice that eerily reminded him of his semblance slaves, "I trained to primarily fight without my semblance, so I should still be effective. I could use my powers, but it would be very limited."
"I'll keep that in mind."
They made their way towards the sounds of fighting. It wasn't that far away, and Violet figured they were mounting a defense in a choke point of some kind, which explained the lack of guards.
They realized that they were being led towards the Glenn central station as they arrived at what was a truly massive station befitting of a large city. Its expanse was littered with sandbags and other barricades, various supply crates, and makeshift shelters made from salvaged traincars. Many of them were manned by people shooting at an open tunnel at one end of the station. Adam could be seen in the open, giving out orders and encouragement to the troops, while a Paladin did most of the work by firing a shell through the passage every so often.
Speaking of tunnels, there were many tunnels extending in all directions. Though they were sealed, he noticed most of them had a large amount of dust crates placed next to them, with soldiers frantically running wires to and from them. There was also a well-maintained locomotive with a bunch of traincars pointing in the direction of the open tunnel to Vale, if the sign above it was any indication. He saw a couple people boarding it with dust crates in hand.
It wasn't hard to deduce what was happening, especially considering how he was told the plan's objective just moments ago. They were going to blow the whole place up, unleashing the Grimm into the station and using the train to open the entrance to Vale City.
He had to prevent that, but even if he somehow disarmed the explosives, it would be all for naught if the Fang wasn't defeated. Adam mentioned two Bullheads, which meant 40 people max, and that was assuming they've been filled to capacity.
Even when taking account of the people that his team killed, they would be outnumbered slightly, when attacking through such unfavorable terrain and facing a paladin, there was no chance of victory in a timely manner, especially as he very much doubted they were all huntsmen.
The two of them were still unnoticed, owing to the chaos and no one expecting intruders from their flank. So Violet and Pyrrha went to one of the dust stockpiles, where a woman was setting up the detonation fuse. Violet separated the knife end of his scythe and snuck up on her, putting one hand on her mouth, while the other slit her throat. She tried desperately to reach for her rifle, but it was not meant to be, as she collapsed in just a few seconds.
Without reflecting on it, he went ahead and inspected the dust crates, "Wood with metal reinforcement. Standard 40 kilo package. Could you throw one?"
"I think so, but it would be pushing my aura-"
"Good," He started dragging one of the many boxes out of the tunnel.
"What are you intending to do?"
"We're going to throw it at the Paladin, what else? Think you can do it?"
"Maybe, but we won't have anything to ignite it with. My rifle is empty."
"Then pick up that woman's gun. On anyone else's, there's munitions scattered everywhere. This place was meant to arm far more people."
She reluctantly rummaged through the girl's things, taking the gun and an extra magazine from her body by the time Violet finished getting the crate in position.
"They'll be onto us after this for sure. After it, we rush to the train. It'll be both our shelter and our next target."
She returned to him as he lifted the crate and Pyrrha sent a magnetic push in the direction of the Paladin, hitting it the knee, shattering the box and spilling fire dust all over the joint. A moment later, she leveled a shot at the impact spot, causing an explosion and making the Paladin slip and fall onto its side.
It tried to right itself with its hands, but several rockets from the tunnel struck the immobile and distracted machine, triggering an ammunition explosion which disintegrated it in a flash of blinding light.
Wasting no time, they moved in unison towards the train, taking down nearby members too distracted by the explosion. Some regained their senses, but between their swift movement, and the assault from the outside intensifying, they hadn't managed to hit the duo who broke into the very last train car and took up defensive positions.
To say Adam was furious would be the understatement of the century. Not only did he get duped into sparing a human's life, but he immediately suffered a betrayal for it. He cursed himself, for just a moment he allowed himself to believe in mercy and decency, and where did that get him? The world was infested with cowards that preach forgiveness one moment, than show none the next. Everyone has betrayed him. The Black Knights, Sienna, Ghira too… even Blake. He'd show them… He'd show them all. Yes, he would get his just vengeance, he would relish in their screams until they broke, and then all would be right in the world.
But here and now, they were in chaos. A sudden explosion took out the paladin, and he could feel his troops losing their will to fight. The enemy was likely preparing for an all out assault, he would first have to take care of them, and only then focus on his revenge.
Their original plan was still sound, even if there are no additional diversions. A breach would still be the most significant blow to the humans in decades. The handful of agents still defending this place were a small price to pay. He already had his best men board the train and get it running. Looking back at it, he noticed there was some light damage to it, but it has started moving. Perfect.
He took a pistol from a nearby dead body and climbed on a platform in the center of the station, where he had a perfect firing line to all the explosives that were set up. A few of the tunnels didn't have enough of them delivered, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
He slowly turned 360 degrees, shooting at each dust stockpile, triggering seismic tremors and stunning the whole battlefield into shocked silence. It would be less than a minute before Grimm started pouring in, so he took the moment to speak to his soldiers.
"Brothers and sisters, there is no hope for us. We are to fall here. I must ask you all, will you stay here and let yourselves be consumed by the cruel world?" The remaining 15 or 20 men, mostly recruits, looked attentively at their leader. "Or will you rage against it, and fall in glorious battle, your deeds immortalized in legend?"
He drew his blade, and charged into the fray. The less time they had to think on their impending deaths, the better. His soldiers looked on anxiously, but followed him when they saw Grimm coming out of the other tunnels.
Whatever the humans were expecting, Adam was sure an all out counterattack with a horde of Grimm charging behind them was somewhere on the bottom of the list. Their enemies, now that he got a better look at them, were a ragtag combination of huntsmen, Beacon students, army soldiers, and military police.
He didn't count on his handful of grunts to do much, but they were useful distractions that let him cleave through the humans, dispatching one terrified soul after another with ease.
Some of the soldiers finally recognized him as the leader and began shooting at him, their bullets bouncing off his aura, but he was not afraid. He charged them, cutting one, two, three. He acted like he was impervious to bullets, solely focused on aggression and spreading terror.
A senior huntsman tried to interrupt him, hitting him several times with a dual wielding sword combo, but this proved their ultimate mistake, as Adam unleashed his ultimate trick. His semblance had already absorbed so much energy during the day, the time was nigh for him to send it right back in a single strike.
He channeled his semblance into his blade, a single swing unleashing a burst of red energy that effortlessly broke the huntsman's aura and cut him in two along the torso. If they were already intimidated by the horde of Grimm and his onslaught, than taking out such a powerful aura-user in a single blow made them run for their lives.
He pursued them. Embracing his bloodlust, he ran faster than the Grimm, slicing more and more filthy human flesh along the way. But even if he could pick them off in small groups, more reinforcements could be on their way, and much as he didn't act like it, he wasn't invincible.
After spending a long time chasing and fighting both the pursuing Grimm and the pursued humans, Adam found himself alone, covered in blood and Grimm mucus somewhere in the ruins of Mount Glenn. Most of the Grimm hadn't followed them, instead opting to go after the train to Vale. He considered his task done for now, he resolved to gather as many of his people as he could, and have them join him in the countryside. He'd have to talk with Cinder about their next steps, and he was not looking forward to that.
Oh how he hated that woman, and now he had to debase himself in front of her smug face because his plan was derailed. He sent her human agent off in the train, and if she doesn't survive it will make things even worse for him. He hated her for making him hope a human might live. He decided that she would be the target of his vengeance as well, though others would have to come first.
Violet and Pyrrha had just found cover in the train car, and though he didn't expect it to start moving, he was thankful that he wouldn't have to face a Fang assault with minimal aura. By the time he stopped the train, the Fang would likely be defeated and they'd be done here. For now though, his exhaustion was catching up with him.
"I… may have underestimated how much she took out of me," he let himself fall to the ground, breathing heavily.
Pyrrha was on the floor next to him, torn between helping and hurting him. She settled on glaring at him with a pained expression.
"What?" he asked, "You must have figured out I've been lying to them by now, I've got nothing to do with the White Fang."
"Do you?" she stood up, towering over him, "I might be overly trusting, but I'm not stupid. You proved to him that you were part of the Black Knights quite well. Do you deny it?"
"That's the Black Knights, not the White-"
"I've had enough of you dodging questions. Do you deny it?"
"No."
"I see. That Adam guy, he said the Black Knights are allied to the White Fang, is that true?"
"Such relationships are complicated, we've merely had a-"
"So it is true."
He sighed, "Pyrrha-"
"I've heard enough."
"You don't have the full story. The Black Knights had a non-aggression agreement with them, but they've broken it," he sighed, "We were hoping to take out this base in sync with a wider offensive in Vale. That's why they changed their minds and a fight broke out just now."
"Well they had some convenient timing, because I didn't hear it."
"The fact remains that our attack here was timed with a several others in Vale. You will see it when we establish contact there."
"You've lied on almost everything so far. How can you guarantee you won't backstab me after we get out of here?"
"I can't. You'll just have to trust me. I lied thus far because the truth was inconvenient, I wasn't sure if you'd accept it. So I was trying to bring it forward gradually."
She turned away from him, "Sure you were."
"I'm sorry." It was all he could say. He let the words hang in the air for who knew how long. All in all, she could have taken things much worse. All he now needed was for their stories to match up under questioning.
"As far as anyone else is concerned, we broke out with the help of your semblance."
She sharply turned to look at him, "And again, rushing to make sure you never get blamed for anything."
"This is a serious issue. We'll have to give statements after this, and things will get ugly if they don't match up. For you as well. Ozpin knows we were near the Fang shootout that day, and there may be other signs. Your career would be steeped in controversy."
"Are… are you trying to blackmail me?" she gripped her weapon, "You- You think I would just tell on you on everything? How- How low do you think of me, Violet?"
"That not what I meant-"
He was silenced by her javelin, which was pointed squarely at his head. Her hands were shaking.
She stood there for a while, before taking it away and settling on a kick to the stomach, which elicited a pained grunt from Violet.
"I-" Violet tried, "Look, I'm sorry. I'm tired and I can't think straight. I shouldn't have said that…"
"Yes, you ought to learn some tact," she sighed, "Can you stand? We've wasted enough time, we need to go."
Violet tried standing up, with Pyrrha helping him. He eventually found his footing, and he nodded for her to let him go.
"This takes me back," Violet said, "It's just like at initiation. Right, miss Nikos?"
Despite trying to act serious she couldn't suppress a chuckle, "I told you not to call me that. You have a plan?"
They'll both need time to process what happened today- things certainly couldn't go back to what they were. But for now, they had a mission. For a little while longer they could still pretend to be an ordinary pair of huntsmen.
He smiled. It was one of those innocent smiles he would always give when he wanted to appear aloof, but was concealing something devious, "What a ridiculous question. I always have a plan."
AN: Had to split the chapter into two parts, next time we're getting to the climactic conclusion of volume two as well as some important announcements!