This really is a Friday upload story, even if recent chapters say otherwise. Was mostly done on Thursday, but then things got ridiculously busy for the end of my big test event, so I didn't get to finish until this morning. Finally home from the trip and looking forward to some time off. The event went okay with some pretty major issues exposed (which is the whole point of my job). Now begins the mad dash to get everything formally documented and presented. Have to crank out a full report the week I get back, but I've got my junior engineers working on some of it while I'm gone to buy me some time. Good experience for them and less headache for me. A win-win. Also looks good on them right before performance reviews (sent glowing recommendations to my boss for both of them). Top that off with one of the big names at the test site sending out an email praising our team for pulling an unexpected all-nighter to fix the system near the end (stayed until 2am refusing to give up until the system started working, then back early the next morning to continue testing), and I think we've got a strong case to argue for raises this year. Yay, money!
With how draining the trip has been, I'm actually gonna take this week off writing as well as next week when I'll officially be on vacation. Also a good pausing point after this chapter anyway to let me review the coming plot points and prepare. That means the next chapter won't be until 11 April. Also, for anyone interested in the Twitch streaming side of things, on 19 April, I'll be having a special stream to reveal a huge update to my channel with plenty of random ridiculousness along the way. Would love to see some of you all there if you can make it. I'll also post an update here on the following chapter of what happened, as it may have some bearing on my writing later on.
"C'mon. Just do it. I'm giving you permission." Blake stood before him, holding his hands in front of her face as she continued to insist.
"No."
"Please?" She'd been pestering him all day with no end in sight.
"I don't want to." Especially not with everyone watching.
"I promise it'll be okay. It's not like it'd be my first time or anything."
Adam's eyes widened. "What? Who?"
"Plenty of people," Blake shrugged. "Bane. Yuma. Kaito. Trifa and Ilia even took turns this morning."
"It's actually kind of fun," Ilia offered, shrinking back when Adam shot her a glare. Of course she'd be into it. Ilia pretty much agreed to anything Blake suggested. Talk about a total doormat.
"See? It's fine." Blake pulled his hands closer before adding with a smirk, "Just try not to enjoy it too much."
Adam gulped as Blake leaned forward a little more, closing her eyes in anticipation. His hands trembled for a moment as he considered following through, but he just couldn't bring himself to go all the way like this. He'd never hear the end of it from the others. Sure, they'd be a Kingdom away soon, but that wouldn't stop all the jokes when he got back.
"I can't."
"Told you he wouldn't do it," Marcus said, accepting a handful of lien from a very disappointed Azure. Adam tried to ignore the others paying off similar bets. They might not have much time left in Reyno, but he'd make sure they paid for their treachery.
As disappointed as the losers felt, none of them seemed as upset as Blake at his denial, even as she tried to keep him from lowering his hands. "Don't pay any attention to them." Easier said than done. "Trust me. I'll be fine."
The soft approach wasn't working. Adam yanked his hands free, pulling the gun barrel from Blake's forehead in the process. "I'm not going to shoot you."
"I can make a clone in time," Blake tried, reaching for his hand again. Adam pulled it and the gun beyond her reach. "Kaito said I need more practice."
"Practice doesn't mean risking blowing your brains out." And with how recently she'd unlocked her Semblance, she really ought to be starting a little smaller.
"Kaito lets me," she whined. "He trusts me."
Ouch. He knew she was just saying that to get under his skin, but that didn't stop it from working. "I do trust you, Blake. I just don't want you getting hurt." Why couldn't she understand that? Training was all well and good, but there was such a thing as going too far.
"You'd never hurt me, Adam."
If her earlier words had cut him down, her unwavering confidence certainly built him back up and then some. She was right, of course, which made her request for him to shoot her in the head rather ridiculous. The emotional rollercoaster left his stomach rolling, but if she hoped the turmoil might sway his mind, she had another thing coming. "I know Semblance training can be exciting, but you need to learn control. Dodging a bullet sounds impressive, but that doesn't mean much if you burn more aura avoiding one than you'd lose getting hit."
"Since when did you become so wise?" Kaito questioned, having been content to watch him suffer rather than interrupt Blake's demands.
"I had a good teacher." It never hurt to score a few points with someone like Kaito.
Except that it seemed to lose points with Blake. "You're taking his side?"
"I am taking the side of reason," Kaito answered. "If that just so happens to align me with Adam rather than you, then that is your problem." After all this time, it felt good to see someone else endure Kaito's dry wit. "You're focusing too much on simply sacrificing your clones rather than learning to control them better. Your Semblance has far greater use than target practice."
"Thank you."
"But she will never learn by us coddling her." Kaito turned on Adam in a flash, betraying both sides at once. "As I recall, we spent much of your training using you as a target. I don't recall Blake complaining of the dangers then."
Mainly because Blake was the one doing most of the shooting. Still, Kaito had a point. He'd always been fine taking risks with himself, but the moment he sensed even a chance of danger for Blake, he swooped in and tried to fix everything. How could she learn if he never let her push herself?
Kaito's point could shove it. "I just don't think shooting her is the best way for her to train."
"It's not like there's any real danger," Blake reasoned, eager to reclaim the momentum. "I still have my aura. Even if I mess up, I can just tank the hit."
"Which means you're not truly learning." Kaito switched sides so fast it made Adam's head spin. "You're still putting far too much aura in each clone. You'll burn yourself out too fast at this rate. Stop focusing so much on speed. Using a Semblance is not enough. You must learn to master it."
"That's what I'm doing."
"Aura drills." Blake moaned at the order. "I want to see you cut the aura loss in half before dinner. Understood?"
"Half?" Blake looked defeated before the battle even began. "But that's impossible!"
"Those who enter a battle expecting to lose often live up to their expectations." Oh no. Kaito had gone into fortune cookie mode. There'd be no arguing with him now.
Naturally, Blake chose a different target to vent her frustration. Adam just wished it wasn't him for once. "What about him? How come he doesn't have to run these stupid drills?"
"Because he spent more time listening than complaining." He had her there. Blake stormed off to prepare for her next round of training, setting up her aura monitor for Kaito.
"Nice work," Adam complimented the older man.
"She's stubborn. Headstrong. A real pain in my side somedays." Kaito chuckled as he added, "No wonder you two get along so well."
"Hey! I'm not that bad."
"Oh no? I seem to recall a certain pupil of mine always arguing about being held back." Okay, maybe he'd been a little pushy back then. "You were always trying to do too much. I still remember having to get Bane to carry you back to the room after you passed out training late at night."
What was wrong with a little dedication? "That was one time."
"Four." Really? He didn't remember it being that bad. "Once you leave, it'll be up to you to continue her training. Don't let her down."
"I won't," Adam promised.
Kaito nodded, content that he would take his duties seriously. "She has a long way to go still, but she's not afraid of a little hard work. Keep her safe, but don't be afraid to let her take risks. We grow by pushing our boundaries, not living in fear of them."
"I'll do my best." Adam might not have as much experience as Kaito, but he'd been training Blake and the rest of Alpha Squad for a while now. He'd have to make sure Blake kept up the pace after their move.
Kaito made his way over to where Blake was preparing, leaving Adam to watch from a distance. Aura drills were always frustrating to him. Kaito would make him charge up his Semblance, then unleash an attack, all while keeping a close eye on Adam's aura readings. Semblances ran on aura, so using one would always eat a little bit. Different Semblances used different amounts, the more powerful ones often coming at a higher price than something more passive. If he wasn't careful, he could carve pretty sizable chunks out of his own reserve with a single attack. Sure, anyone on the receiving end wouldn't feel so great, but he needed to be more than a glass cannon if he wanted to survive.
From what Adam had seen so far, Blake's clones didn't eat up too much aura, but they also wouldn't knock out an opponent in a single hit. In fact, they couldn't even take more than a single hit themselves. An amazing distraction, but little more. That being said, a distraction in combat could be the difference between life and death, especially against someone like him. For all his power, Adam's Semblance relied on massive, charged hits. Sure, he could tear through aura and steel like they were hardly there, but it would mean nothing if it missed. Blake's Semblance was almost the perfect counter to his own, baiting him into wasting energy and aura on attacks that would hit a false target. Raw power struggled against misdirection and deceit. For every one of his attacks, she could create multiple clones to wear him down and make him second guess every strike until he defeated himself.
They said opposites attracted, but he doubted they'd meant it for Semblances. He thrived on direct combat, taking hits to deliver his own in return, while Blake's Semblance focused on avoiding the hit altogether. But if she faltered even once, he'd overpower her in an instant. Brawn versus brain. Strength versus subterfuge. Instinct versus intellect. He was the yin to her yang, the two of them each holding the trump card to each other's ability.
Luckily, the two of them were on the same side. Instead of being locked in a constant struggle, they could complement one another. Adam was especially skilled at beating his head against a problem until it fell before him, but not every situation could be solved by brute strength alone. Then again, all the flashy moves in the world meant little without the power to back it up. Blake might not be able to match him in destructiveness, but she was no slouch on the battlefield. With her Semblance and his training, she could be a truly devastating force. She already had a solid combat foundation to plug the biggest vulnerabilities of her newfound power.
Perhaps he needed to focus more on his own weaknesses moving forward. It wouldn't do to let her catch up anytime soon.
"You need a life jacket?"
"Huh?" Adam jumped a little at Sienna's words. Not for the first time, he envied those with faunus ears rather than his useless horns. Super hearing would certainly save him a lot of surprises.
And ruin Sienna's fun. "A life jacket," she repeated, not that it did any good. "For all those deep thoughts you were in."
Har har. "A shame you missed your true calling of being a stand-up comedian."
"Funny. I don't think anyone's ever called me a stand-up person before." Of all the things he'd miss when he shipped out of Reyno, Sienna's attempts at humor wouldn't be among them. Sienna nodded to where Blake was busy training. "How's she doing?"
Judging by the look on Kaito's face, not great. He walked over to a motionless Blake and pushed her over, the clone vanishing into nothingness as it hit the ground. From here, he couldn't hear what Kaito said, but he had a sneaking suspicion Blake hadn't hit the target yet. "She's getting there," he said, optimistically. "She's pretty much got the cloning thing down."
"Already?" She'd gotten the hang of the basics pretty fast. Annoyingly fast, in fact. Maybe it was a little childish, but he'd kind of hoped she'd struggle for a bit and need his help. Watching how fast she progressed made his own training seem slow in comparison. "Blake never was one to take her time."
"What do you mean?"
"She's always been in a hurry," Sienna said, shaking her head with a slight smile. "Ever since I've known her, she's always been in a rush. When her parents led protests, she had to be up in the very front, shouting louder than anyone else. She had to be the fastest in every race. The best in every class. As soon as she was old enough to start training, she was always the first to volunteer, even if she had no idea what she was volunteering for."
"Sounds like she hasn't changed much."
"If anything, she's gotten worse," Sienna lamented. "She had to be at the top of her class in every subject. First in line for food. If someone ate a lot, she had to eat more, just to prove she could, even if it made her sick. Everything was a competition, and Blake had to win them all."
"You certainly know a lot about her childhood." Something he knew precious little of. Sure, he knew the important bits - the important bits to her, that was. She didn't really talk much about her childhood. She'd probably flip if she heard Sienna talking about her like this.
Good thing she wasn't here to stop it. "Well, a good teacher gets to know her students, especially the ones that stand out."
"You were a schoolteacher?" He just couldn't picture it. Then again, he hadn't exactly spent a lot of time in school. His only teachers were Father Bernard and…her. Best not to think about Alyssa's teaching methods, especially the ones outside the classroom.
Sienna found his disbelief amusing. "I wasn't always a revolutionary leader. Believe it or not, I had a life before the White Fang."
"Yeah, but…" How did he put it? "It's just…I didn't think you were that old." Not his most eloquent words.
Sienna only laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment." How, he couldn't say, but if it saved him from a woman's wrath, then he'd take it. "Places like Menagerie don't exactly require a teaching degree. I didn't really know what I wanted to be, so when Kali asked if I would help at the school, I just sort of went with it."
"Blake's mom asked you to teach?"
"She used to help run the school," Sienna said, adding to Adam's shock. "Mostly administrative stuff, but she'd do art classes when she had time."
That made sense, though it was hard to imagine a bunch of White Fang tykes doing finger-paints. "What did she have them do, make protest signs?"
"Sometimes." No way. Sienna must've sensed his disbelief. "What? Where did you think all those signs and banners came from?" He'd never really given it much thought. "Anyways, that was a long time ago. My point is, Blake isn't the type to sit around and wait for life to happen. She's always running, even if I doubt she knows where she's going half the time."
"You can say that again." Even now, she was loudly arguing with Kaito about something. Probably upset that she wasn't progressing fast enough, even if her speed far outpaced what anyone would've expected. "Apparently she's been having people shoot at her while she makes clones to take the bullet for her. Something about wanting to practice high pressure situations." Or whatever excuse she would use to justify being a living target.
"She certainly is a handful," Sienna agreed. By the sounds of it, she always had been. "You sure you're ready to handle her on your own? I could always have her stay here and keep training with Kaito."
"Blake would never accept that." Kaito was a great teacher, but Blake's heart was set on the frontlines. There was also another matter of the heart luring her along, but he didn't really want to discuss that with Sienna.
"It wouldn't have to be permanent. Just a few months of focused training here. That would give you time to establish things in Vale before she came." In other words, he'd be able to focus on the mission without having to balance her training and their relationship at the same time. Sienna made it sound like a favor to him, even if her reasons were probably a bit more geared toward her benefit. The worst part was, it sounded like a good plan.
Not that Blake would ever go for it. "Good luck convincing her."
"I could make it an order." Sienna was still their boss. "I can even say you argued against it. I'll be the bad guy this time around." Talk about generous. Adam would be in hot water if Blake knew he was even entertaining the idea, but Sienna was saying she'd take the fall and spare him the backlash entirely.
"You can try, but I think you're forgetting what happened the last time someone tried to send me away without her."
Sienna's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Good point." Blake had run away from home, stowing away on his ship just to follow him to Anima. Did Sienna really think she wouldn't do it again to follow him to Vale? Heck, he was tempted to tell her she wasn't coming, just to see how she snuck along and let her feel she'd outwitted him. "Very well. We'll keep her on the team."
Adam sensed an opportunity he couldn't afford to miss. "If you're looking to keep someone back, why not Donavan?"
"Donavan is to take over operations in Vale." In other words, no. "Is there a problem with him?"
Absolutely. The problem was that Adam hated him. Of course, he couldn't just come out and say that. "I don't think he's ready."
"Which is why you are training him." That only made his problem worse, especially when Sienna started connecting the dots. "You are training him, aren't you?"
"In a manner of speaking…"
Sienna didn't look amused. "Adam, I entrusted his training to you for a reason."
"I'm training him," Adam assured her, even if he hated every second around the unbearable man. Speaking of which, Adam could see the man coming as if on cue. "In fact, here he comes now."
Donavan stumbled slightly as he tried to jog, even if his pace barely constituted a walk. Adam could probably crawl faster than that. The fifty pound backpack he carried probably didn't help matters. Sweat soaked his uniform as Donavan huffed and struggled onward, eventually reaching the two of them before doubling over and gasping for air. Painfully, he pushed himself into a standing position, managing a clumsy salute as he panted, "Fifty laps, just like you ordered." Already? Adam had kind of hoped that would take longer. Running was a good way to keep Donavan out of his hair for a bit, but it looked like the plan had started to backfire. He was still getting used to using his newly unlocked aura, but between that and all the extra cardio, he seemed to be handling Adam's workouts a lot better. "What next?"
Good thing he had lackeys to pass the job off to. He'd be losing that privilege soon, but for now, he'd take advantage of the easy out. "Demolitions training." The color drained from Donavan's face as Adam called for his specialists. "Azul! Azure! On me."
"Yeah, boss?"
"Go show Donavan how to make a bomb," Adam ordered, enjoying the way their eyes lit up. "Outside of base, this time," he added. "We don't need a repeat of last time." They'd rebuilt that section of the wall, but you could still see the crater they'd left behind if you looked close enough. Sienna coughed meaningfully, reminding him of the last bit he needed to specify. "Oh, and try not to get your student caught in the blast, either."
"It was only one time," Azure complained.
"Yeah, but there were three of them," Azul reminded him as the twins hooked arms with Donavan and practically dragged him away.
The last thing he heard from them was Azure pointing out, "Yeah, but this one's got aura, so he'll be fine."
"Is he going to be okay with them?" Sienna questioned.
"He'll be fine." Physically. Mentally, maybe not. They'd never blown anyone up. They just liked to joke about it with newbies to scare them a bit.
"While I appreciate all the training you're putting him through, may I remind you that he'll be stationed inside the city of Vale?" Her point? "Explosives aren't exactly a high priority right now."
"Sure it is," Adam reasoned, fishing for an excuse in the brief moment his words bought him. "Vale may be peaceful now, but it might not always be that way. Besides, nothing opens locked doors quite like controlled explosives." Controlled being the optimal word. Then again, knocking out an entire wall did technically include the door, or so the twins kept telling him. "It's important for him to learn, and no one knows explosives like the twins." Hence sending Donavan to learn from them and definitely not in the hopes that they'd remove his problem permanently.
Sienna raised a single eyebrow. "And all the running? Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't sprinting through the city draw attention to him? Most people just walk." Or ride public transit. Some drove, but with how localized everything in Vale was, most people didn't bother outside of the freeways to get between the different districts.
"Cardio is important." Not as important as keeping Donavan away from him and too tired to say or do anything to annoy Adam. Despite that, Adam actually was training him properly for his new role. "We had Combat training in the mornings and we're going over organizational structures tonight. I've got Yuma working with him tomorrow on recruitment methods."
"Not Trifa?" Both of them had sort of led the charge in Nonemu, but Adam refused to put Trifa through that kind of pain. Or to put himself through the pain of her seeking revenge afterward.
"I felt Yuma would be a better match," Adam answered instead, trying to be political in his approach.
Sienna saw right through the attempt. "Still having issues with females, is he?"
"He's gotten better." More like he'd finally recovered from Azul beating him to a pulp after he got a little too handsy during training. Grappling practice quickly turned into aura exhaustion, or at least that's what Azul called it after they scraped Donavan off the ground. Come to think of it, maybe sending Donavan off alone with Azul and her brother wasn't his best idea.
"I'll have a talk with him," Sienna promised, more for Donavan's survival than a kindness to Adam. Making an unwanted pass at Azul was bad enough, but it could've been much worse. He dreaded to imagine what Bane would do if Donavan tried anything with Ilia. Or worse, what he would do if Donavan so much as looked at Blake the wrong way.
"Thank you." He'd rather not have to explain to Sienna in a month why her newest branch leader had gone missing suddenly. At least dealing with Donavan would be a temporary problem. Once he was ready, Adam could send him into Vale and be done with him. As tempting as it was to send him early, Adam wouldn't risk their operations just to ditch an annoyance.
Sensing an end to their conversation, Sienna navigated them into less certain waters. "Are you ready?"
"For the trip to Vale?" Not really. Leaving Reyno and most of his friends behind? Ditching the measly amount of comfort for camping in tents in an unknown land? Heading away from the fight to a relatively peaceful Kingdom that had yet to make any real moves against them? All things he detested, and yet, he knew complaining wouldn't help. "As ready as I'll ever be."
Sienna was no fool. She knew this wasn't exactly at the top of his wish list. "It's only temporary," she assured him, though it did little to ease him. Temporary sounded okay, except she still couldn't give him an actual timeline. A few months? Years? How long did she intend to keep him away? "If it helps, I'm working on putting together a mission for you."
Now she had his attention. "What kind of mission?"
"The kind that takes place in Atlas." So the best kind. "It's still a work in progress, but it's the type of mission that might take all of Alpha Squad to pull off."
"I'm in."
Sienna laughed. "I haven't even told you what it is yet." Like that mattered. If it got him his team back, even if just for a couple days, he'd take it. "It's still early, but if we can figure out a way to pull it off, it'll certainly capture Atlas' attention. Not to mention the SDC's."
The only thing better than hitting Atlas was going after the Schnees. Sienna certainly knew how to incentivize him. "I can handle it."
"I'm sure you can," she agreed, showing it wasn't her faith in his performance that was in question. "It's more a specific issue we're trying to work around. I'll let you know when we solve it."
Not even a hint at what it might be. How cruel. He knew pushing wouldn't help. If Sienna wanted to let him know, she'd have already said something. If he couldn't pry that secret from her, then maybe he'd try a different one. "You mentioned special training for Ilia." And Blake, before he'd stolen her away for himself. Sienna nodded. "What exactly do you have her working on?"
"Nothing for you to concern yourself with." Now he was even more concerned. "Ilia shows great potential. She could be a valuable asset for the White Fang, especially given her natural ability." Her chameleon skin, she meant. She could be a great spy…or an assassin. "I want her to develop that ability more. Move beyond just a single color to something more effective."
Now that he thought of it, he'd only ever seen her use a single color at a time. That worked great in darkness, but most of the time, blending in would take more than a single shade. The problem was, who could teach her? Reptilian faunus were rare, for whatever reason, so finding another chameleon faunus would be tricky. There might be some other options, of course. He'd heard of certain fish that could do something similar. Or maybe an octopus. He'd never met an octopus faunus before, but that didn't mean they didn't exist, even if the image it conjured had him shuddering. He had an uneasy feeling he knew what kind of "work" they'd be used for. Maybe they should check the brothels of Mistral for one. The more seedy ones. Lil' Miss might be able to point them in the right direction, even if he hated the idea of working with her again.
Speaking of Lil' Miss, didn't she have someone who could-
"You can't be serious." Adam groaned, finally connecting the dots. She'd offered to train both Blake and Ilia back when they'd last spoken. Adam had turned her down immediately, but that didn't mean she wasn't still offering. "You can't trust a human." Especially not that one.
"Who said anything about humans?" Sienna was playing coy, and he knew it. He couldn't say for certain that she planned to take Lil' Miss up on her offer, he also couldn't rule it out. Which meant Blake would also be part of the deal. Suddenly, he felt even better about demanding Blake come to Vale with him. He didn't want that grotesque woman anywhere near his Blake. "Don't worry, Adam. I know better than to put my trust in those that do not deserve it." Sienna turned and sauntered away before he could argue further, but not before adding, "Pray you never lose that status."
It wasn't like her to send such veiled threats. Things really were changing, weren't they? He couldn't say he liked all the changes, either. Scattering Alpha Squad to the wind. Sienna possibly working with humans. Putting up with some of Sienna's lackeys. At least he still had Blake. As long as he kept her close, he'd be okay.
/- - - - - - - - - -/
It was almost poetic that he left Reyno the same way he'd departed Menagerie so long ago. Forced out of his home by another, tasked with starting anew in another Kingdom. Flying to the campsite in Forever Fall would've been faster, but starting a brand new base in the middle of nowhere was no small task. Transporting everything they needed by boat would be easier, if a little more costly in time. It would also draw less attention than an airship in an area where the Grimm still held sway. The edges of the forest weren't too bad, but they planned to set up deeper in the autumnal foliage, away from the watchful eyes of Vale and their allies.
Adam stood at the railing, watching the small gathering that had come to see him off. His friends waved to him from shore, cheering him on in bittersweet support. Yuma soared above, watching over them for the start of their voyage, but more so he could say he was the last one to see them off. He knew the others would give Yuma crap for that, mainly because the bat faunus would almost certainly rub it in their faces for days to come. As the farewell committee grew smaller and smaller in the distance, Adam gripped the metal railing tighter, matching the clenching of his chest as they disappeared into nothingness.
Blake slid up beside him, leaning against his side, as his arm instinctively pulled her closer. Once more, the only thing he had left of home was Blake. He hadn't recognized last time just how much she meant to him. Now, he couldn't imagine facing the unknown without her by his side. Bane lurked somewhere behind them, an ever present rock against the storms to come. Elsewhere, the rest of the crew - his subordinates and the new core of operations in and around Vale - milled about and settled in for the long journey ahead. On the horizon, Adam could see dark clouds gathering, but they were still a fair ways off. For now, their vessel rolled gently against the waves, unbothered by what might come their way as they forged a path into the unknown.
None of that mattered. Adam knew the road would be treacherous, but as long as he had Blake with him, he knew he could conquer any obstacle.
That bit at the start definitely couldn't be misconstrued as something else. Blake's intentions were definitely clear as day and 100% above board. Nothing questionable going on there.
Thus ends the Reyno arc as we sail towards Vale. Technically the last arc before we hit canon events, but that's still a year off (story time, not real time...hopefully). Still plenty of things to come before we reach the Black trailer, including some things shown in the Adam character short (as in, pretty much everything in that short). Meanwhile, things are changing all around Adam. At least he still has Blake with him. Can't imagine how he'd do without her love and support. Adam definitely hasn't become extremely codependent and would go off the deep end if he lost the one good thing he has going for him.
Next chapter (11 April): Adam settles in Forever Fall.