G.N. Chapter 50 (Patreon)

Chapter 50 From on High, As Downlow

Quicksilver Bullets rained down around him like lethal hail as he dashed across a stretch of abandoned garden beds. Claws reached out from the withered bramble to snatch at his legs, but he launched himself upward, clearing the grasping limbs entirely.

He landed, crouched low and threw himself toward the building the bullets originated from, his back smacking against the stonework forcefully as he waited.

The hail of fire ceased.

His smile was brief and lasted only for the barest of instants, but Jaune wore it all the same.

It was wiped away as the Beasts that had tried to grapple him rose from the ground, their wiry frames rising from the clouds of smoke with alert eyes. Jaune slammed his Threaded Cane against the ground and snarled beneath his cowl, “Come you filthy curs, see how you fair without your friend above to aide you.”

Whether they understood the taunt or not, the Beasts surged forward, and Jaune greeted them with blade and fury.

His Threaded Cane grabbed the closest, the length of biting blades wrapping about its throat as he tugged it forward and dragged it to his feet. His heel was raised, waiting, and as soon as its head was in range, he stomped down with as much force as he could muster.

The sound of bone yielding beneath his stomp was background noise as Jaune focused his hearing solely on the noises above him.

He would not be caught off guard by the damnable gunner platform again.

He tore his Threaded Cane away, blood following its arc as he whipped it to his side, drawing out its entire length.

He slashed outwards, lashing at flesh and leaving scores so deep that they etched bone as he battled to keep their numbers from growing closer. It worked as they snarled and hissed, blood splattering the stones around them as he plied his Threaded Cane desperately.

But despite his need to keep them from overwhelming him, his efforts were insufficient.

Beasts in a frenzy care little for such minor mutilation.

Two lunged at once, and Jaune was forced to react.

He picked the smaller of the two, knowing that the bigger one could boast poisonous attacks that would foul his blood. He met its charge head-on, and though it wielded a deceptive strength in its wiry frame, Jaune could boast the same.

He went low and ducked under its outstretched arms. His shoulder collided with its gut, and he heaved as his momentum dragged the foe to the ground.

He landed on the beast, the handle of his Threaded Cane jabbed under its chin.

He had the briefest of moments to assess his present situation before Jaune rolled himself and the smaller Beast.

A blink later, bullets tore the ground where he had been asunder.

Jaune, locked in a battle for dominance, continued to roll as he struggled desperately to stay ahead of the stream of bullets that followed him closely. The Beast he dragged along tried to break free of his hold and assault him with claw and fang, but Jaune would not yield. Even as they tumbled down a handful of stairs, the edges of which managed to bite angrily into the space between his vertebrae, Jaune managed to shrug off the ache.

At last, he ran out of room, and in desperation, he hauled the Beast over him as a last-ditch attempt to spare himself the devastating stream of gunfire.

The gunfire did cease… but not before the damage was done.

Several Quicksilver rounds exploded through the small Beast’s body and pierced into Jaune’s obstructed form. He hissed through gritted teeth as he felt them enter his gut, left shoulder and the right of his chest. The Beast faired far worse as the bullets, both the ones that pierced and didn’t, ravaged its body and had it going limp in Jaune’s grasp.

He hurried to toss the body away, his mind racing as he moved, desperate to get clear before the gunner again tried to open fire on him. He scrambled to his feet, his body screaming protests as he moved with the sizzling ammunition ravaging his insides.

Then his leg gave out, and he had just enough time to see the blood streaming from his thigh before it collapsed under his weight.

He landed in a roll and threw himself behind a statue, the continuous stream of gunfire crashing against the stone edifice. He pulled his legs in just as a stray bullet seared across the floor, leaving a gouge of simmering metal in its wake.

He punched Blood Vial into his neck roughly the same time he took his first breath.

His eyes darted back the way he came, seeing savage monsters snapping as they began to rush his location. The surge of Blood in his veins was like a shot of pure energy, as he already knew what needed to be done.

He hauled himself back up on his feet, a dull throb being all that remained of his injuries as he prepared himself for the three monsters rushing his covered position.

The sound of claws on stone made him drop, and a swipe from behind nearly took his hat and head off, courtesy of another Beast attempting to get the drop on him.

Jaune rewarded it by pulling a throwing knife and stabbing up, the thin blade entering above the thing’s protruding thyroid cartilage. The Beast stiffened, and Jaune followed up his stab by jerking down with the throwing blade and bludgeoning the stealthy foe with the hilt of his Cane.

He whirled, switching his grip on the knife to hurl it at the three who had reached the top of the stairs.

It struck true, and one stumbled, tripping down the stairs to crash painfully in a tangle of limbs.

The other two were not so deterred.

Jaune was ready.

He had grown so accustomed to fighting in the tight confines of Yharnam’s passageways that he welcomed the two Beasts with his weapon at the ready.

The larger one swiped, Jaune weaving back, his eyes tracing the path of the claws and catching a glimpse of the same foul substance he had suspected to be there.

The second went low, maw wide, yellowed fangs aiming at the ‘unprotected’ meat of his guts.

Jaune slammed his boot into its shoulder, halting its ill intentions. Meanwhile, his arms came up, both clutching the length of his transformed Threaded Cane.

Jaune entangled the furry arm in the sharpened coils, tugging on his weapon and prying the limb away from the Beast. He tightened the length, and blood sprayed from the monster's bicep, but Jaune could do no more as he was forced to twist into the taller of the Beasts.

Its maw snapped shut next to his ear, but Jaune used its arm to control its body's movements. The smaller two beasts were up, one clawing at him and the other running around the statue to attack from his flank.

Jaune kept the first at bay with the larger cowled Beast, which he kept pinned between its trapped arm and the statue—the other he watched.

He watched, and he waited…

As soon as it launched around the statue, madness in its gaze as it thought to have him trapped, Jaune moved.

He dropped with all his weight, pulling on his Cane, and watched the Beasts fall into his trap.

The largest howled as his Threaded Cane stripped the meat from its arm like a gruesome flaying, leaving whole strips of meat dangling from the now useless limb. Without Jaune to hold it up, the smaller Beast to its rear could force its bigger ally forward.

To top it off, the one who thought to have managed to surprise him from behind instead swiped its claws across the cowled Beast as it fell atop it in turn.

Jaune shifted from hunched to leaping, keeping in mind the cover of the statue as he danced out from beneath the tangle of monsters.

Then he ripped his Threaded Cane back.

Blood and the ruined limb soared past him as he amputated the Beast’s limb.

But Jaune miscalculated.

His arm was no longer in cover.

He didn’t feel the hurt at first, just the sudden jarring impact.

Then he saw what his right hand was missing.

The last spray of bullets had managed to blast off half of his middle and index fingers as well as disarm him.

It wasn’t his first amputation.

But nor was it the kind of pain he could merely endure as it sent a shock up through his arm that had his whole right side clenching.

“Damn!” Jaune groaned, pulling the maimed limb to his chest as he reached for the holster at his back with his left hand.

He had made little use of his Saw Cleaver in his left hand, but now was not the time to lament the realities of his situation. He was in no position to hesitate between the three Beasts and the gunman above.

So, instead, he acted.

He lashed out with a kick to the head of the Beast that had been to the back of the cowled one. Its skull bounced off the statue loudly as it lilted to the side, cupping its face.

He attempted to hack at the bigger Beast, vying to eliminate it as a threat altogether as amputation was not nearly enough to put him at ease, but he was forced to defend instead. The other smaller one crawled out from beneath the shrouded beast and swiped at his ankles.

Jaune caught its swipe and crushed its clawed hand with a stomp, followed by a brutal serrated swipe that annihilated the back of its neck and destroyed its spine.

But it had bought time with its death, and the cowled one took full advantage.

The air was crushed from his lungs as the bleeding cowled beast crashed into his chest and rocked his lungs, sending Jaune sprawling to the floor. It landed atop him, its weight seeming so much more significant as it shoved him down, its monstrous visage revealed in full beneath the cowl as it snarled at him.

Jaune, though winded, was not nearly done.

He clenched his maimed hand and slammed it into the pinning monster's snout, his bloodied fist cracking against its jaw hard enough to stun it.

And it hurt… but it worked.

Jaune pulled a knee up and leveraged the Beast back, just enough so that he had full reign of his left arm and the Saw Cleaver clasped in it.

Jaune swiped out and let the weapon transform. The blade flicked out, rewarding Jaune with the sound of its thick-bladed edge parting through meat.

The last of the smaller Beast’s collapsed to the floor headless.

Jaune, left with only the cowled Beast, brought the transformed weapon down in a chopping motion towards himself, sinking the cleaver side of the weapon into the Beast’s shoulder.

Jaune expected it to let slip some monstrous howl or screech of pain.

Instead, it vomited a stream of foulness across his front, burning Jaune's eyes and churning his insides in pure revulsion.

Jaune powered through it, tugging on his Saw Cleaver as he fired off a headbutt straight into the Beast’s face. He felt its teeth catch the top of his nose but ignored it to feel the cartilage under its flesh twist and crunch.

Then the nausea hit.

‘Poison!’ Jaune thought, panicked by the feeling he now recognised.

He was on a timer now.

He attempted to squirm back, powering through the flashes caused by dragging his amputated finger stumps against the ground.

But the gunman above had other ideas and rained hot metal down, halting his escape entirely.

The cowled Beast was righting itself, but Jaune could see it was weakened. The loss of a limb and the blood loss that followed such an injury left it drained. But weakened wasn’t dead, and as Jaune’s gaze met its own, he realised he was far from a position of power.

Trapped with his legs beneath the heavily injured Beast, a storm of Quicksilver Bullets that would shred him to pieces and poison slowly killing him from within… all seemed hopeless.

It was so tempting…

He could just give in, surrender and die; it would be far from his first death, and it certainly wouldn’t be his last, considering the trend of his evening. He would die, be restored to the lantern, recollect himself, and this time set out all the wiser for it.

It would be so easy…

…

But there was no easy… not really.

He thought it easy to avoid considering why a monster so inhuman would have a uvula…

He thought it easy to put out of his mind the appearance of the roaming mobs that infested Central Yharnam.

He thought it easy to simply put things out of mind…

But it wasn’t.

The Cleric Beast had been his first warning of the foulness of the Church, but he let his ignorance blind him until he could no longer sustain it. He thought the Yharnamites were merely maddened by fear and the plague; when so many Beasts attack him, still adorned in clothes and wielding the weapons of the mob, such excuses lose any credence.

And though he tried, though he did all he could to avoid it… he still killed Gascoigne, he still orphaned a little girl and rather than confront that fact, confront her… he threw himself at the abomination in the Church until he teetered on the edge of insanity.

Even now… rather than backtrack and seek comfort from Gilbert, Eileen, or Iosefka, he fled here, heeding the wisdom of a man he still did not entirely trust, who seemed only to care about his proficiency in the Hunt and nothing more.

He had fled into this burnt-out husk of a valley, infested with monsters and madmen with more bullets than sense… All to avoid telling Gascoigne’s daughter that he killed her father.

Because… it was easy.

The noise that came out of his mouth was a hacking, pained scream that coated the back of his teeth in tainted blood and spoiled breath as he howled his frustrations.

Then his hand filled with a Molotov.

It was hard to grasp with a hand missing two fingers, and throwing it would likely be challenging.

But he wasn’t throwing it.

The flash of light seared his eyes as he slammed the lit incendiary device into the Beast’s head, the sheet draped over its top, igniting as quickly as its fur. The flames coiled around his wounded hand and cooked his flesh just as readily, but the pain felt dull in comparison to his fury.

Perhaps he was growing accustomed to it.

Burning had a way of wiping all other thoughts and concerns from the minds of those enduring it, and Jaune was ready and willing to take full advantage of this fact. Clumsily, he fumbled for the handle of his Saw Cleaver, which was still securely lodged in the back of the horrifically injured Beast.

He grasped it with his good hand, his bad one missing entirely, but that was sufficient.

What came next required no finesse, no dexterous movements, no skill.

He just fell limp… except for his grip, he let his body succumb.

The Beast was jerked forward, distracted by the burning and weakened by the severity of its many injuries, so it couldn’t even fight against the motion.

The Beast was bigger than Jaune. Even perched on his legs, it could easily have mauled his face from its position.

Jaune was counting on it.

When he pulled it down, his face wound up flush against its clavicle; the smell of burning fur and flesh surged into his nostrils, filling him with the urge to throw up as the poison tormented him.

The Beast’s head fell above him.

Out of the cover of the statue and right into the stream of bullets from the gunman above.

Jaune felt the kinetic force of the bullets as they obliterated the Beast’s skull, felt how the vibrations travelled down into the body, felt how it went still.

He heard the gunfire stop.

With waning strength, he pushed the now decapitated corpse off, freeing his nose to breathe in the less pungent air. Never mind, he could still smell smoke, burning flesh, and fur… at least it wasn’t shoved directly in his nose.

He swallowed another gag, the poison further afflicting his insides as he dragged himself away from the edge of his cover.

He might die here to poison, but at least it would not be to the efforts of the gunman above.

It was a small victory, to be sure, but a victory all the same.

Though death by poison, it would seem, was a type of fatality he was quickly growing quite sick of.

He was not going to waste Blood Vials senselessly; he was only starting to gather a decent amount of Blood Echoes. He breathed in, feeling how his lungs were wet and constricting, which made the action more of an effort. He loathed dying once more after deciding not to take the easy way, but there was naught he could do against an affliction that could counter the power of the Blood.

It would not be long now.

Jaune closed his eyes.

Slap… Slap, slap.

Jaune opened his eyes. His vision was blurred, and for a moment, he swore his breath came out from his mouth as pale purple mist but decided that was just his near-death brain.

But despite his darkening vision, he saw the lightly glowing shape that was so familiar.

Anima… and they were not happy.

They slapped his cheek again before their small hands reached his lips and began to pull. It was as if Anima was trying to pry them apart…

She was trying to open his mouth.

Jaune complied, a bit of blood mixed with spit leaving his open orifice, but Anima didn’t care. Instead, they uttered a loud, commanding groan that a second eager one soon echoed as Stitch appeared.

Jaune watched weakly, smiling at his little companions as they seemed to communicate. Strange as they were… Jaune dreaded to think about what he would do without them.

Stitch passed Anima something, and they quickly tossed it into his mouth.

Jaune blinked but didn’t close his mouth… at least he didn’t until Anima shoved his jaw closed.

Anima patted his lips, the other hand poking at his throat as they groaned in a short, crisp manner, “Dooooaaaahhh!”

Anima wanted him to swallow.

‘… May as well…’

Jaune did as directed, and Anima fell silent as he did.

All was still.

Then, a sensation he could only describe as static rushing through his veins overcame him.

Then the nausea was gone, his breaths ceased to be laborious, and his vision cleared.

He was no longer poisoned.

Jaune looked to Anima and Stitch to see between the two of them the small brown pouch filled with white pills he had found when he first began to travel to Old Yharnam.

Stitch was looking up at him with his lipless grin beaming as if he was particularly proud.

Anima also looked very self-satisfied her one good eye staring expectantly.

The pills had been antidotes…

“Oh, son of a BIT-“

YVYVYVYVY

“Yang! Yang!” the short redhead cried out as she darted through the hall, using her small frame to weave around the taller students. She also spared a thought to how she would need to increase her intake of milk, as it simply wasn’t fair that students only a couple of years older than her could be so much taller.

“Ruby?”

“Yang!” Ruby cheered as she dashed over to her sister, crashing into her side excitedly, “Yang, you’ll never believe it.”

“Ruby, my friends were talking,” Yang scolded.

Ruby’s energy took a massive dive as she looked around and noticed that Yang was with a colourful pair of other teenagers, both of whom were looking at her now. Ruby beat down her embarrassment as she slowly slid away from Yang, giving an apologetic smile, “Heh… Sorry, I guess I got a little too excited.”

One of Yang’s friends, a boy with cyan hair, quickly waved off her embarrassment and said, “Ey, don’t fret about it, Ruby; we’ve kind of gotten used to your little surprise attacks; it keeps us on our toes.”

A girl with short brown hair quickly followed suit: "I’ll let it slide if you share what you were so eager to tell your sis here.”

At once, Ruby remembered why she had rushed over in the first place, and all her energy came screaming back. “Right, Yang! You’ll never believe it; I was playing some ‘Hunt – Grimm Encounters’ when all of a sudden, J2, who is pretty good at the game but not as good as me, but that’s not what I want to talk about. Anyway, he suddenly got really antsy and had to go AFK for a minute, but when he came back, he was super scared and almost rambling-“

“Ruby, slow down, please,” Yang requested as she attempted to keep up with her younger sister's rambling.

Ruby paused before apologising, “Sorry… where was I?”

“You were playing a game with your friend-“

“Right, not important; what is important is what he said!” Ruby explained as if she hadn’t lost her pace.

“What did he say?” the cyan-haired guy asked, only half interested.

“There was a Breach,” Ruby answered, eyes wide.

All three older kids changed their attitudes at once, looking down at Ruby with intense interest. “A Breach, are you sure?”

Ruby nodded at the brown-haired girl, “Yeah, but that’s only half of it! Because before he got off to get to the evacuation area, I asked him where he lived.”

“And?” Yang pressed far more interested in what her baby sister had to say.

“He lives in Bastion,” Ruby whispered, looking around excitedly.

All three older students looked at each other as they realised how interesting the information Ruby had shared with them was.

“Bastion, that’s no minor settlement,” the brown-haired girl commented.

“That’s big… you think anyone else is aware yet?” the cyan-haired guy asked, looking a lot more concerned all of a sudden.

Yang quickly threw an arm around Ruby’s shoulders, knowing just how quickly her sister could get carried away or disappear. “Rubes, did you tell anyone else about this?”

“Ruby shook her head. No, all my friends are still in class,” Ruby explained.

“Right… you guys got any friends with family in Bastion?” Yang asked the pair, not taking her arm away from Ruby.

“Shit! Yeah, fuck me, I got to go, guys; talk late,” the brown-haired girl cursed as she took off in a full sprint.

“I don’t have any that I can think of off the top of my head, but… I would feel better if I actually go check…” the cyan-haired boy said. “Thanks for the heads-up, Ruby,” he said with a nod before heading off.

“No worries!” Ruby said with a wave at his retreating frame.

“Well, Rubes, for once, I don’t even think I am allowed to be mad about you chasing off my friends,” Yang joked.

Ruby, though, still cringed at her sister's comment, “Sorry, Yang, I just-“

“Did you not hear me? I’m not angry, Rubes. Honestly, it was kind of cool that I was the first person you wanted to tell such exciting news to.”

“Oh, okay, well, cool… wait. Do you think I should have told a teacher or something?” Ruby asked, looking conflicted.

Yang shrugged, “I mean, I’m pretty sure a Breach in a major city is the kind of news that makes the rounds pretty quickly, but if you want, we can go find Dad or Uncle Qrow-“

“You lookin' for me?”

“Uncle Qrow!” Ruby cheered, sliding out from under Yang’s arm to hug the tired-looking man.

“Actually, yeah, what do you know about a Breach?” Yang asked, crossing her arms and giving her Uncle a measuring look.

“Breach? What Breach? Where?” Qrow asked, suddenly far more alert, looking up from Ruby to his older niece.

“Well, guess that answers that question, huh Ruby,” Yang snorted.

“Yang, seriously, what are you talking about?” Qrow asked, still showing a degree of concern that just looked unusual on the laid-back man’s face.

Ruby was the one to answer, hopping back before excitedly speaking, “There's been a Breach in Bastion, Uncle Qrow; I only just heard about it from a friend online!”

“Wait, really? Well, shit, that’s kind of a big deal,” Qrow mumbled, suddenly regretting not having his flask nearby. He had to become a lot more discreet with his drinking with Tai around as the blond had little issue reprimanding him.

Qrow knew he was just protective of the girls, but the bastard hit way too damn hard.

“So I take it you haven’t heard anything?” Yang continued looking a little bit let down, “Damn, you sure your friend heard right Ruby?”

“Yeah, I even heard the siren through their mic for a bit, I swear,” Ruby stressed.

Qrow only grew wearier. “Well, I mean, if it's true, I am sure we will hear something about it soon enough, either by official channels or it will blow up online; I’d say give it-“

Qrow’s Scroll began to ring, cutting the man off as he quickly pulled the device out and placed it to his ear. Both sisters looked at each other as their Uncle’s demeanour shifted again. The man frowned before answering his phone.

“Qrow here,” he said curtly.

Both girls could make out the mummer of speech, but anything more was impossible to hear as Qrow had the volume on his scroll turned down to a purposefully low volume. As if to prove it was purposeful, he shot both girls a knowing smirk as he continued to listen to the person on the other side of the device speak.

“This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with the Breach in Bastion, would it?” Qrow asked the person on the Scroll, giving Ruby a wink that made her smile brightly.

The person talking to Qrow went silent, but soon the mummers picked up again.

“My information network is simply that good,” Qrow boasted, making Ruby giggle and Yang snort.

There was some more talking before Qrow let out a heavy sigh, “You really aren’t making a compelling argument for why I should go. The last time I ran into them, they weren’t overly pleased by my presence… I think they might have suspected something, or they were feeding off Flamberge’s dislike.”

Ruby and Yang both noted the name, though neither recognised it.

“Nah… I’ll go anyway, but I’m going to have to keep my distance; otherwise, our very own ‘Hell’s Gardener’ is going to pick up on something,” Qrow declared, though he did so in a begrudging manner that made it clear how displeased he was.

Yang frowned at this, wondering what kind of person could earn such a moniker.

“It’ll be an issue to make my way over, what with Old Rust at the helm, but-“

Qrow was cut off by more talking, a single brow rising atop his head.

“Well… that will at least cover me in that regard,” Qrow commented, “I’ll be ready to go; send the Bullhead. I only need to alert Tai, and then I’ll go.”

Qrow hung up, not waiting for a response, as he quickly tucked his Scroll back into his pants pocket before giving both of his nieces his complete attention. “Sorry girls but it seems Ruby’s info was on the money.”

“You’re going?” Ruby said, her voice expressing her conflicted feelings on the matter. On one side, she was in awe that her Uncle was flying out to be a hero and fight back against the Grimm. But on the other hand, she also really enjoyed having her Uncle around, and his advanced teaching had let her shoot forward in leaps and bounds.

“Yeah, but don’t worry kid. You’ll see me again for sure, even if I don’t come back right away,” Qrow comforted his younger niece, giving her a hug.

“You know I’m off to Beacon soon, right?” Yang quipped.

Qrow sighed dramatically, “Urgh, guess I’ll have to make two separate trips from now on, huh… eh, I’ll get around to you, kiddo, promise.”

“Pfft, try not to fly drunk, old man,” Yang quipped, embracing him quickly.

Qrow looked offended, “Drunk never… tipsy, however-“

“Uncle Qrow!” Ruby exclaimed, aghast.

“Joking, joking… sort of.”

“Qrow!”

“Welp, gotta go! Monsters to kill people to save; you two do well in school now; Yang, don’t get arrested, and Ruby, don’t blow anything up!” Qrow called back as he began to retreat before Ruby could take a swipe at him.

“I’ll do my best,” Ruby laughed.

“I make no promises,” Yang declared proudly.

Qrow smiled as he heard their parting words, continuing to sprint towards his and Tai’s office to retrieve his gear.

Qrow’s relationship with the vast majority of his family might be either nonexistent or borderline hostile for the most part…

But damn, he loved his nieces.

YVYVYVYVY

Despite the activity within, Adam couldn’t help but find that the Bastion Headquarters was relatively quiet—at least in comparison to the madness above. Even though nearly everyone present was engaged in some duty or activity, there was a veil of nervous silence over everything.

It was a bubble none wanted to pierce, so Adam listened to the sound of machinery whirring and cargo being loaded with little else to interfere.

He sat away from the many scenes of activity, both those being performed courtesy of his own orders and those being done by Rahja’s command. The central vehicle bay had been cut into sections, including a triage centre that Adam was satisfied to see might be the least busy section of the whole base.

Despite the many setbacks and the Breach, the evening had seen very few of his fellow White Fang injured.

Though… there had been more than a handful of reported deaths, a number were still designated as MIA, and a concerning amount of equipment had been abandoned for the sake of retreat. All in all, it was yet another stack of negatives to pile on the evening's results.

Another stack of negatives that would be thrown in his face when it came time for him to make his reports.

But Adam couldn’t bring himself to care about such things at the moment.

Instead, he let his gaze drift back to the bodies of his Chimera who lost their life in the Studio Building. Though they had been packed into the jet-black forms of body bags, he still could remember with near-perfect clarity what each had looked like.

It was enough to sap the very life from his bones.

Others had offered to stand vigil, to watch over their comrade's bodies… But Adam couldn’t allow it, not while things were still going to hell.

Not while he still felt the need to atone.

He had ordered that all available Chimera should prepare for their immediate departure, and they had all quickly jumped into action. To Gekko, he had ordered he get as much rest as possible, knowing that while he might have put on a tough front, a broken Aura was incredibly draining.

So it was that Adam remained seated next to the dead. He had failed and waited until it was once more time for him to lead his Faunus back into the thick of it. His hand moved to cup his face… he itched to pry his mask off as his scars were irritating him more than usual.

But he wouldn’t.

Not here… not yet.

Adam had been quick to remove his jacket and was left in only his red button-up, which he had swiftly rolled the sleeves on. It had left him feeling a slight chill in the old bunker, but he welcomed the discomfort.

He shouldn’t feel comfortable.

Wilt and Blush rested on his lap, and Adam could not bring himself to set them aside at the moment. He needed his weapons at hand, so he had kept them in his grasp since he had returned, and despite the glances this earned him, he wouldn’t stop.

He let his thoughts drift to how he must appear: dishevelled, dirty, clutching to his weapons, surrounded by filled body bags.

‘Blake would be aghast.’

Adam usually did everything he could to cast away such thoughts, but tonight, they would find themselves at home in his head.

“… Fucking Vale,” Adam cursed quietly enough that none would hear him save the dead.

Things had gone to hell since he arrived, and tonight was no different. Perhaps he had been foolish to proceed with the Schnee hunt despite losing Blake, but he needed a win after the debacle with the train.

That was when things really started to go downhill… the train, Blake, random humans finding their way into his camp, and now tonight.

He should have asked for help…

He would have if it were an option.

‘If it was still the old White-‘

Adam cut that train of thought off. He might not care for the things that were true, but he would not dare lie to himself. If things had been as they had been under Ghira, an attack like this would have never happened in the first place.

…

The train attack would have been different if it happened at all.

Blake would still be here…

But all he had were ifs, buts, and hypotheticals that weren’t worth the energy it took even to consider them.

He couldn’t ask for help, so he didn’t. Had he tried, Sienna’s vultures would have descended on him with such rancour that he might as well have thrown himself on his sword. He would be torn apart, his every failure brought forth, his position challenged, and his achievements forgotten, and then they would have sent someone to take his place.

Someone to keep him leashed.

He would be nothing more than a pet for some goon loyal to whichever power base managed to win Sienna’s favour at the time. Adam hated that, at times, it became all too easy to draw comparisons between the organisation he would give his life for and those ruled by humans, who would see them all brought low.

But that was how things were, and now, when he returned to his own base, he would have to be ready to fight tooth and claw to structure tonight as a win. It would be an uphill battle, but he knew it was coming, and he had already commenced preparations. He had a rough idea of what he would say, but the most crucial part was to call them first.

He would have to prepare his report en route so that he could deliver his own statement as soon as he reached the base. This would be the best chance he had to control the situation and the narrative.

Speed would be his ally.

If he could move fast enough, he might even be able to contact Sienna before whatever spies were around his base managed to report back to their superiors. He might still come out on top if he kept the report strictly to himself and Sienna, or at least as few others as possible.

But such matters would have to wait until he and the rest of his Chimera were free of Bastion.

The sound of footsteps had Adam shifting in his seat and adjusting his posture to be more presentable. It was a good thing that he did as none other than the leader of the Bastion Cell appeared, his eyes quickly locking on Adam’s sitting form.

The man was quick to approach but not in a manner that screamed of urgency; instead, it only hinted at it in such a way that it sounded like the walk of someone with somewhere to be. Adam watched as he walked toward his private corner, his steps almost rapid enough to be considered speed walking but still restrained enough to fall short.

Adam clenched his jaw, already wondering what else the night could possibly see fit to dump in his lap.

“Adam sir… my condolences,” Rajah spoke earnestly, intent shifting as he bowed his head in the presence of the deceased.

“… They died in the pursuit of us achieving our victory; they are each of them heroes to the cause,” Adam intoned.

He meant every word.

“Agreed… I am sorry to disturb your vigil, but I was recently informed of some information I thought you might wish to be party to,” Rajah explained.

Adam nodded, “Go on.”

Rajah looked around, his expression becoming more worried. “I believe, sir, that it would be best for both you and me to seek somewhere more… appropriate for us to discuss this matter.”

Adam didn’t move, “There is ample privacy here; you may speak freely; there is none around to hear us… none that could betray our trust.”

“… If you are sure, sir,” Rajah surrendered.

“I am,” Adam affirmed, unwilling to leave his post.

“… I recently discovered that amongst the operatives that are presently missing is a group that was supposed to be stationed by the docks.”

Adam quirked a single brow, “And? I doubt they are in any danger; that is quite literally on the opposite side of the city from the Breach.”

Rajah didn’t meet Adam’s masked gaze.

“That’s just it; they haven’t reported in, and… they failed to respond to several attempts to contact them beforehand,” Rajah explained, his expression downcast. “I… was concerned, so I sent one of my more capable agents to check on them, which alerted us to their missing presence.”

Adam frowned as he struggled to maintain the illusion of concern. “Why are you telling me this?”

Rajah continued to speak, not meeting Adam’s gaze, “… We managed to locate their trail after the fact, but… that’s where the issue arises, sir.”

“And?”

“… They were at the Atlesian airbase…” Rajah admitted.

At this, Adam cast off all prefaces, frowning at the Cell Leader shifting forward in his seat. “Why would a group you assigned to the docks be at the airbase?”

Rajah looked up, but this was a mistake as it allowed Adam to see the true scope of the Faunus’s worry on this matter. “They are… a group of rather rambunctious young men, and so I thought it best to tuck them out of the way for the evening's mission… with the likes of Simon.”

Adam’s frown became an outright scowl.

“They were the other problem members you talked about?”

“Yes.”

“… So you put them together?” Adam asked, genuinely baffled by such an absolutely horrible decision.

“There… it seemed like the best decision at the time,” Rajah admitted.

“… You’re not just here to tell me about some missing incompetents, are you?”

“… We managed to receive a report from our operatives at the airbase… first one declaring for clarification why another operative would be at their location… then another reporting the presence of the missing group.”

Adam's face paled.

Rajah must have noticed because he hurried to finish, swallowing loudly as he shuffled back half a step. “It seems they managed to coerce another member of our Cell into helping them, and then… they hijacked the Schnee’s private airship.”

Adam was glad he was sitting because his mind was beginning to conjure some ideas that made the concept of standing rather daunting.

“They… They hijacked the airship… that we rigged with enough explosives to practically vaporise the vehicle entirely?” Adam got out despite the overwhelming storm of rage brewing in his chest.

“Yes… sir.”

Adam ripped his mask from his face and rose to his full height, standing above Rajah, his scarred face mere inches from the older Faunus as he brought the entirety of his frustration at the evening's events to bear on the man.

“Are you telling me that members of this brotherhood are responsible for the Breach? That members of this very Cell went against their orders. That they went so far off the reservation that their sheer fucking incompetence led to the creation of a Breach that at this very instant threatens the entirety of this settlement! Is that what you are telling me?”

Rajah had backed up a good three paces, but Adam stayed with him every step of the way.

Rajah could only nod in the face of the enraged bull Faunus, bearing down on him, his weapon in hand and Aura flashing dangerously.

Adam snapped.

“DAMN IT!”

Adam lashed out, his fist soaring past Rajah to impact a freight contained that was thankfully empty as the full force of his blow crumpled it entirely and sent the empty container skidding. There were screams of startlement and panic as several people were forced to move out of the way, but Adam couldn’t bring himself to care.

He only had eyes for Rajah, who provided the straw that broke the camel's back.

Adam was heaving, and there was a thought in his head; the idea was simple.

He could kill him.

The man had shown a complete inability to control those under his command; his lack of control had led to a catastrophe of nearly unprecedented scale. Adam could kill him now, cut this man down, and it would be far from the most challenging thing he would need to explain.

‘But… what would they think?’

Adam pulled his fist back, noting that Rajah remained paralysed even as he slowly straightened his posture.

‘Good,’ Adam thought spitefully.

“… You are going to write a full report this instant listing all their names and providing full descriptions of each.”

“Right away, sir-“

“I’m not finished,” Adam hissed, his scarred face a breath away from Rajah’s as he used every iota of his self-control to keep himself from hitting the man.

Rajah slammed his mouth shut with an audible clack.

“… Once you have delivered this report, you are going to disavow every single individual involved with this utter clusterfuck immediately!” Adam snapped a bit of his rage, managing to slip through in the form of him bellowing. “You will declare them as rouges with absolutely nothing to do with this organisation, and then you will issue a kill-on-sight order,” Adam instructed.

Rajah paled but had the awareness not to speak, unknowingly sparing himself from becoming another outlet for Adam’s fierce anger.

“Finally,” Adam breathed, lowering his voice as much as he could, “You will keep this information as private as you possibly can, for your own sake, if nothing else.”

Rajah looked perturbed, and Adam just shook his head, “After tonight, do you really think we wouldn’t have been suspected of being the ones to cause the Breach? Our actions alone were already going to stir up some trouble… but with the Breach, we would be in for a world of hurt regardless.”

Rajah’s visage paled.

“If it becomes common knowledge that we did cause the Breach… your whole Cell will be hunted down with a degree of fervour normally reserved for our brothers in Atlas,” Adam warned, stepping away from the Cell leader to retrieve his mask.

“But if we disavow them-“

Adam nearly laughed, as he would have were he not so furious, “That will not be nearly enough; the best we can hope for is that our allies and those sympathetic will believe such… those neutral and against will see it as nothing more than a brazen attempt to alleviate blame.”

Adam spun around to look at Rajah with his mask once more in place.

“And they would be right,” Adam continued, “This… this mess is on your hands, and the consequences to follow are going to be devastating… have you ever seen a Pogrom?”

Rajah paled further.

“You will, if this gets out… you will,” Adam spat, “You’ll watch as the tensions rise, as the populace chafes under the hardships to come after tonight, the uptick in homeless, a shortage of resources or gods forbid an outbreak of any kind of sickness… they will look for a scapegoat, a group that’s smaller, weaker, different… something they can beat.”

Adam’s words must have hit home because Rajah looked to be on the verge of being sick, but the man managed to squeeze out some words despite this. “You’ve seen such-“

“All it takes in Atlas… is a storm that lasts a day too long; in Mistral, it could be something as simple as a bad business deal between gangs… Humans are always looking for a reason.” Adam warned, walking past Rajah. “Get me that report, and then I recommend you start preparing; secrets like this never stay buried.”

“I don’t-“

Adam was done listening, though. He was well and truly past the point of reasonability: “Get me that report. I am leaving as soon as I have it in hand.”

Adam paused and turned around, his thumb flicking Wilt out of its sheathe, “And Rajah,” Adam spoke, his voice low, “Don’t keep me waiting.”

His warning delivered, Adam moved to his Chimera, confident that Rajah would prioritise completing the required report. As soon as he reached the circle of armoured vehicles, he was quickly joined by Gekko, who had his mask on and was waiting for him.

“I assume you have a plan for us to evacuate, sir?” Gekko enquired.

Adam just nodded but, instead of responding verbally, turned to the two chimeras who were standing guard. “Retrieve our fallen and ensure they are in a central transport for our evacuation,” Adam ordered.

Both Chimera quickly departed to follow his orders, leaving Adam with Gekko, who gestured for the bulkier Faunus to follow him inside one of the transports for some privacy. As soon as the door was closed, Adam turned to his second and began to speak, “I need you to double-check every single transport; the level of incompetency here goes beyond what even I had thought possible for such a ‘successful’ Cell.”

“Will do, sir; I will have to borrow one of our engineers to do so… is subtlety required?” Gekko enquired.

“We are far past the point for subtlety; I want these vehicles ready to go as soon as the Cell leader delivers the report, and then we are gone,” Adam all but spat, his hands clutching tightly about his weapon.

“Understood; what is the plan, sir?”

“We wait,” Adam uttered, crawling towards the front of the vehicle and grabbing the internal Scroll. The Breach is so big that it will follow basic Incursion patterns. We need only wait for the dip, and that is when we make our escape.”

“What’s our route?” Gekko asked, clearly perturbed.

Adam handed his Second the Scroll and pointed at the bright, blinking red mark that indicated a rough estimation of the Breach's location. “We go out through the hole this Cell was kind enough to make for us,” Adam illustrated.

“I see…” Gekko mumbled, looking at the map. “Will the Grimm really be in small enough quantities for us to break through?”

Adam nodded, “They will, but it will be a matter of timing. In truth, regardless of whether or not I get that report in time, we need to be ready to go as soon as the Grimm population is at its lowest. If we hurry, we can slip through the Breach and be clear of the city before the next pattern occurs.”

“Right, then I better go perform those checks,” Gekko declared, moving towards the rear doors.

“Do so, and also make sure all of ours are ready to depart; we won't have time to delay,” Adam warned, earning Gekko’s attention. “As soon as the Second Wave occurs, we make for the Breach.” Adam declared, his eyes focusing on the Scroll and, more importantly, on the Breach that, for now, would be his escape.

… And later… might become the noose that could doom him ultimately.