Author's Note:

Summer (the season) is here, and finals are over. So tell me what you thought of this battle here.

Also, I did another one-shot. Its about as happy as most of the others, called "Fading Shadows." Some Weiss and Blake stuff.

Nora's feet pounded beneath her, and her mind readied itself for the fight she was sure she was about to face. Nothing would catch her off-guard. She was sure that Pyrrha was behind her, although she couldn't hear any footsteps. Perhaps her friend was simply letting her scout ahead.

The plume of smoke in the distance grew taller with each passing second, and she became more and more sure that whatever she had felt was indeed a demonic power. She couldn't let something like that stay in the city. Her senses seemed to raise to new heights as she ran, as brighter hues lit up the buildings and strange scents filled the air.

An unpleasant, acrid feeling seemed to be radiating from her goal, not just polluting the air, but the light and the sounds as well. Sickly colors shone off of walls towards her, and harsh sounds of battle rattled her ear drums. She followed both, hoping that she would find their sources before long.

Her hope was answered when she turned a corner, and found nearly a whole city block ablaze. Several charred corpses laid on the sides of the street, a few still smoldering. What grabbed Nora's attention though, was the scene at the middle of the smoky haze. She recognized the strange, unnerving presence of the undead, but there was something else, too. Something she had never seen.

A man, clothed mostly in black, and wearing a white mask that Nora thought looked something like a White Fang mask, was locked in combat with several undead. He had grappled the weapon of one of the lifeless soldiers, who Nora noticed looked a lot like Hunters, and was vying for control of the thing. While it didn't seem that the scythe-wielder's strength was any match for her opponent, the other undead did not simply stand by and watch. An instant before the weapon was torn from the Huntress's hands, a dagger was driven into the man's side, making him let go and shout.

As he shouted, what seemed like a solid wave of fire surrounded him, and expanded out to throw the undead fighter away. The scythe wielder leapt back to escape the effect of the wave, but the buildings were not so lucky. Flames scraped along the sides of the buildings, setting anything that was not yet already on fire ablaze.

Nora let her pace slow to a halt, watching the man as she felt another wave of demonic power. He was the one. He wasn't impacted the same way she had been, obviously, something was very different. It was like the power the man received was from a much larger demon. Her demon, Tiny, had grown feeding off of her energy. She got the feeling that this man was the opposite.

That just meant that she had to kill him fast. She started to run again, setting her sights on the man and gaining an inhuman level of focus. Time seemed to slow, and she became aware of every slight movement that the man made. Even through his clothes, the tensing and relaxing of muscles was clear.

She passed one of the undead Hunters as the wave of flame started to dissipate, and was partially aware that they shouted something after her along the lines of, "Get back!"

That probably wasn't the whole thing, but she didn't care. They were obviously having a hard time of taking him down, so she would help. As she drew closer, her fingers unfurled, fanning out to form a claw-like position. She wasn't sure if that was a good way to charge into battle, but she didn't have Magnhild to assist her. She would have to be her own weapon, unless she could find some random piece of rubble to substitute for her beloved hammer.

The man's eyes flicked to her just a second before she threw her swing, and he snarled like an animal at her. Despite his aggressive behavior, he seemed puzzled. Perhaps the switch from undead opponents to living ones was prominent enough to confuse him.

Whatever the reason, he stopped moving, and Nora's sharp nails raked across his face, taking a fair amount of skin with them. She also felt the hot material of his mask touch her fingers, but her skin resisted burning. It seemed that a layer of extreme heat surrounded him, which would've been a problem for someone else. Nora's body had been made largely immune to heat though, and she smiled, showing off her razor like teeth.

The man's response was nearly instant. He snapped out of whatever hesitation had stopped him before, and like he hadn't even felt her attack, threw an arm in a wide arc to knock her away.

He moved much faster than Nora anticipated, and his fist came within half an inch of her head. Again, she felt heat radiating off of him, but this time she paid it no mind. Her instinct told her to go in for another strike, but the part of her that stayed somewhat reserved told her that with the speed had had already shown, trying her luck wouldn't be a good idea.

Instinct won out, and she arched her back, bringing her lower to the ground and reaching out towards his middle. She saw the pieces of flesh that she had taken from his face, and glanced up briefly to see that the gashes she had caused were already starting to heal over.

Her hand got closer to his middle, and if she landed the hit, she would be able to damage a large set of muscles, making him much easier to fight. Unfortunately she never got the chance, because his knee came forward, and collided with her face with roughly the force of a speeding truck. All of her forward momentum stopped, and she felt her body begin to move in the opposite direction. Pain erupted in the front of her skull, and she felt a few of her features shift very slightly.

Her body skidded across the scorched blacktop, but she didn't stop moving. She threw her legs out, and started to roll. It took some quick thinking, but shew as able to flip back to her feet, and skidded a few more feet before she stopped sliding. Her eyes went from the man to her surroundings. Obviously relying on her natural weapons alone wasn't going to suffice for the battle. A pile of blackened concrete had fallen next to her, and several long lengths of steel rebar were protruding from it, bent in a variety of positions.

She picked one of the straightest lengths she could find, and pulled it out of the pile without hesitation. A few other chunks shifted to the side as she pulled, and when she freed the bar, she found that a piece of concrete roughly the size of her head had come with it. Maybe that would be good, though. The closer to Magnhild the better.

She found that she could handle the weight of the improvised weapon with ease. It wasn't quite weightless, but it was nowhere near as encumbering as it would have been for someone else.

She didn't have time to admire her strength, as her opponent was done waiting. He was charging at her again, fire building up around him like some kind of shell. A loud scream was coming from his throat, and his face was twisted into one of pure rage.

If the strike hit her, she was sure that she would have to be scraped off of the pavement with power tools, and that it was impossible to deflect enough force to make trying to block the attack possible. The only thing that would save her from damage was dodging, and for that, she would have to wait until the last second to make sure he didn't adjust for her movement. If she managed to do it right, it could even open him up for a strike.

His approach was fast though, and she was going to have to be exact. Like a deer in the headlights of a train, she stood, waiting. The man came within arm's reach, and made a grab for Nora's throat. She tried to pull her whole body to the side, bringing the rebar up, but the hand followed her. He was simply too fast.

His gloved fingers closed around her throat, and she felt her feet leave the ground. If she tried to breathe, her chest would find that pulling air in was impossible. She grabbed his wrist with her free hand, keeping a tight grip on the rebar with the other, and tired her best to pry it away, clawing at what she could.

Her nails pushed into muscle, but the man only seemed to smirk. Nora started to get desperate, and lifted the rebar. It was unlikely that she could get a hit off without him defending himself, but she had to try.

A sound like a gunshot came from behind him, and was followed by what sounded like chain unraveling. Nora's gaze went from the face of her attacker to behind him, and she saw what was coming a second before it hit.

The curved scythe blade slammed into the man's back, and just before it stopped moving, Nora saw the sharp edge gleam from the light of the fires behind her. He stumbled forward, and dropped Nora in surprise. It looked like the blade had gone several inches into the man's flesh, but if that had actually done any damage, he didn't show it. He turned to face his new attacker, and Nora took the opportunity to hit, bringing the rebar bludgeon in a circular motion, back, over her head, and then crashing down on his.

The concrete made a dull thud as it made solid contact, and Nora felt the rebar in her hands bend from the force that she put through it. The black and grey rock at the end seemed to falter slightly, cracking slightly and shedding several less attached chips and segments.

This was one attack that her opponent couldn't shrug off. He stumbled forward, and was clearly dazed from the impact. Nora wanted to push the advantage, and to attack again, but the undead fighters moved with a coordination that seemed to suggest it would be better to stay out of their way. It was hard to hold herself back, but managed to resist the urge of her more aggressive side.

The four undead converged on the man, all moving at fast rates so that they would reach him before he recovered. He sensed the danger he was in, but wasn't able to respond quickly enough. By the time he had pulled his head back up and saw his attackers, they were upon him.

Nora struggled to follow what happened next. A dagger was pushed into his stomach, an arrow sprouted from his shoulder, a long blade sliced the tendons on the backs of his legs, and, most devastatingly, the sharp point of the scythe erupted from his back, impaling him completely. His limbs went limp, and the only thing keeping him from crumpling was the scythe suspending him.

Vivid memories of Jaune's sword sprouting from her own chest returned to her mind, and she flinched, remembering the feeling. Cold metal, intrusive and sharp. It was easy to dismiss sympathy for the man though. He had tried hard to hurt her, so he deserved it right back. He wasn't dead, she could tell that much. There was still a strong demonic presence emitting from him.

His apparent blackout didn't last long, as soon he was pushing against the scythe weakly, trying to free himself. The arrow in his shoulder looked like it was preventing movement in the arm it was closest to, and his legs dangled uselessly below him, unable to move. The only function that he seemed to retain was speech, which was reduced to a low gurgle from the blood that welled in his lungs.

"Let me go. I'll destroy you all."

The undead woman with the scythe examined the man closer for a second, then turned to one of the others nearby. "He's already healing, look." She indicated the area, then looked around. "How many civilians were we able to pull?"

The Hunter was quick to respond, saying, "We got most of them out before things got too bad. The fire could easily spread, though. It'd be wise to…" his voice trailed off as several Bullheads soared above them and people started to spew water from hoses positioned in the open hull.

The woman smiled and said, "I guess they were already standing by. Let's hope they have something for this." She gave the scythe a shake, making the man stuck on it grit his teeth and moan. The Hunter nodded, and started to shuffle away. The woman then turned to look at Nora, and she was surprised by how familiar the woman looked. There was something about her face that distracted Nora. Her skin color, hair, clothes, even scythe.

Instead of waiting for Nora to say something, she smiled and said "Hello! You look pretty tired. You did a good job out there, though. Are you a Huntress?"

Nora would've like to say yes, but she wasn't sure anymore. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders and gave an indecisive, "Maybe? It's complicated. I want to be, that's for-"

A voice from the way Nora had come cried out, and she turned to find Pyrrha rounding the corner, breathing heavily, her face red. "Nora! You can't just run off like that! What…" Her eyes drifted over the scene in front of her, and she stopped, shocked.

Nora gave her friend a gleeful wave, and said, "Look, we got him! I told you there was a demon!" She indicated the incapacitated man with a vague motion, and Pyrrha continued to approach. Nora could still see her gaze roaming around, examining the damage to the buildings. She also found the corpses on the ground, and paled when she looked back to Nora.

Her approach stopped, and she looked like she had been completely floored. Her eyes kept moving over the things in front of her in a way that made Nora start to worry. She started to sprint towards her friend, and as she got closer, Pyrrha's eyes went back to her. "Nora, did you do this? Please don't tell me…"

Nora tilted her head to the side, puzzled, and said, "No, he did." She pointed back at the man. "That's the guy with the demon. I knew there was one, and I found him. I don't know who he is really, he had a weird looking mask, but I helped take him down!"

"Adam Taurus." The woman who held the man on her scythe started to walk towards them, water starting to cascade down from the Bullheads around her, dousing the fires. "He used to be a leader of the White Fang, before all of this started. Apparently he broke out of prison to go on this little spree. It's a good thing we were able to catch up with him when I did." She stopped a few feet away, smiled, and held put a hand to Pyrrha. "Hello. You're a friend of hers, right?" She nodded her head in the direction of Nora, then said, "She was excellent in the fight. I didn't think someone would be able to move that fast. You're a Huntress, aren't you?"

Pyrrha looked at her, somewhat shocked. This woman was talking to her so nonchalantly, offering a handshake with one hand, and holding a semiconscious fugitive with the other. She didn't know what to do, so she put her hand out and shook. "Well, yes, I'm going to Beacon. One of my teammates got injured recently, so me and the others were at the hospital when the sirens started to go off. Nora said that she could feel a demon in the city, and I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical. I'm sorry, but who are you?"

She smiled again, and said, "My name is Summer. It's a pleasure to meet you, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha took her hand, and was briefly surprised by how cold it was. She remembered the other people who's skin had been that cold, and in combination with the other people who seemed to be working with her, lingering around, she determined that the woman must've been undead. It was disconcerting to realize, but she tried to keep from letting it show.

Before anyone could say anything else, Adam started to move again. His fists were clenching, and his head rolled from side to side. He looked like he was emitting a soundless scream, the fire in his chest not letting him stay still.

His jaw worked, and he started to mutter in the same gurgling voice he'd used before. Pyrrha was only able to catch a few words of his murmuring, but they made a shiver run up her spine. "…not going back…"

She started to lean closer, but before anything else became audible, Nora stepped forward and placed a hand between her and the man, suddenly a deathly serious look on her face. "Get away from him."

Both Pyrrha and Summer raised their eyebrows, and looked at Nora, puzzled. Nora seemed to grow more upset though, even starting to push Pyrrha away. Pyrrha tried to ask what was going on, saying, "Wait, what? What's going on? Is he still dangerous?"

Nora gave her one mighty shove that sent her to the ground, and said, "Please, trust me, go away."

Pyrrha didn't wasn't to, but a sense of heat was starting to build up around Adam, and something definitely felt off. She figured that it was probably wise to listen to her friend, and started to move away. Adam's voice started to grow in volume, but it lost all wording, turning into merely increasingly loud gurgles. Summer started to hold the scythe away from her, and Nora turned to her, saying, "Get rid of him! Throw him away!"

A harsh glow started to come from Adam's insides, as though he had been filled with a new kind of energy. That seemed to be enough to convince Summer, who raised her scythe and pressed a small button on its handle. The blade that Adam was stuck on exploded off, chain following it as it bore Adam down the street. When it hit the ground again, she gave the handle a heavy pull. The blade was yanked from Adam's chest, and even from the distance they were at they could still hear his scream.

Nora tugged on the hood Summer wore, and said, "You need to get away too. I don't know what he's doing, but it's bad."

Summer looked between the two, then nodded. She was probably right anyways. If she was the same Nora that Summer had been told about, than she was also the one who had escaped from demonic possession. That would explain her physical traits, as well as her seemingly intense ability to sense demonic power.

Summer followed as she was led away, letting Nora decide what distance was probably safe. As she walked, she looked back over her shoulder to find that Adam was throwing off much more light now, enough to make seeing him difficult.

Then the scream reached a crescendo, and a powerful blast knocked Summer off her feet. Her face met the road, and she gave a small thanks for her inability to feel pain. Her ears were full first of the air rushing past her, then of the sounds of buildings crumbling. She pushed herself back up off the ground with her arms, and looked behind her again.

Red energy hung in the air, making strange patterns that wafted lazily around. It looked like it was residual from whatever had just happened, but she didn't waste time puzzling over it. Instead, she got back to her feet, and pulled her scythe with her. If this demon wanted to go another round, she would just have to oblige. Obviously there was no other way to settle the conflict.

The Bullheads that had been hovering above, dousing the flames that threatened to spread to the rest of the city, sputtered and fell as their engines incapable of keeping them aloft anymore. They plummeted back towards the fire they had controlled, sending up great plumes of ash and dust as they impacted.

Almost in the center of this, Adam was back on his feet, a brand new snarl on his face as he walked towards Summer. At first she had to blink, making sure that her eyes were not playing tricks on her, but she was able to confirm that he was, indeed, on fire. Flame didn't just cover his body, but was left in the places his feet touched the ground as well, drawing bubbling tar from the surface of the blacktop.

Behind her, she heard Nora get back to her feet as well, and give off a kind of growl that might be expected of a defensive beast, not a young girl. Further back than that, she heard Pyrrha's armor scrape across the ground slightly as she stood. She would want to help, no doubt, but Adam had already proved far too dangerous for children.

"Get out of here!" She barked over her shoulder. "We can handle this, just go!"

She didn't know how true that was. Without aid directly from Naze, this was going to be exceedingly difficult, and perhaps even impossible. But she had to try. She reached out with her mind, getting the positions of her allies. All had been thrown into the rubble by the blast Adam had conjured, but most had been able to escape major damage. The man who had been torn in two had already been forced to retreat, so he was out of the picture. She tried to formulate some find of plan she could use, but nothing came. She was out of ideas.

Her first order was for those trapped beneath the rubble to un-trap themselves as fast as possible. Then, although there was nearly no chance she would be able to best him, she started to step forwards. Maybe she only had to buy time. Maybe someone else had an Ace up their sleeve.

Adam let out a snort as the woman stepped forward again. She was persistent, but she was also hopeless. She was dead, too, he had determined through the fight. Hate started to leak from his mouth, though he was barely conscious of it. "Dirty, stinking, rotten, weak little human! Do you think cheating death makes me afraid?"

Her eyes narrowed, and she continued to approach him. "Do you think empty bravado frightens me? If you wish to scare the dead, you'll have to try harder than that!"

The fire around him intensified, proportional to his rage. How dare she talk back to him like that? He was clearly superior. She could not so much as hold a candle to his might, yet she insulted him.

His walk turned into a charge in the blink of an eye, and hellfire spiraled around him, his master's fury joining with his own. Together, they would annihilate the girl, and do what had to be done. Perhaps Blake had been wrong, and humans needed to be first to go. If they were as much trouble as this one was being, he would change his mind.

He was in front of her in a second, and a strike wasn't far behind. He lashed his arm out towards her, a hit that would splatter her across the rubble if it connected. Unfortunately, she jumped back, evading at the last second. The flame that crackled around him didn't grant her a free pass, though. It jumped off from his body, and lapped at the edges of her robes, incinerating them entirely. He knew that they would take care of her feeble flesh just as easily,

He didn't let her have any rest, throwing another vicious swing at her head. She moved faster than anyone Adam had seen before, but that wasn't going to save her skin. He was going to flay her, and see if she really couldn't feel pain. If she couldn't, he would cast her aside like the used up trash she was. That's all a dead human was anyways.

She dodged this strike as well, dodging under the swing far enough that she wasn't touched by the fire. He brought his arm down in hopes of catching her, but again she simply moved out of the way.

Adam roared, overcome with rage. Even in this state, though, he was not reduced to a stupid beast. At least, not completely. The disturbance of several chunks of concrete attracted his attention, and he glanced to the side to assess how much of a threat it was.

Another Hunter, also undead, had stood, and had a bow in their hands, string drawn, arrow notched. Adam glared for a moment, then started to turn his attention back to his current foe. Someone at such a distance didn't pose any threat, especially someone as pathetic as that.

The bow string gave a thump as it snapped back into position, throwing the arrow through the air. As it flew, the dust-laced tip ignited into brilliant color, the explosive tip primed and ready. Adam didn't flinch as the projectile approached, and a small smile came across as it closed the final stretch of distance. A few feet from his face, the projectile twisted and cracked, collapsing as its body was reduced to nothing but ash.

The black soot remains pelted harmlessly against his chest, and he turned back to Summer. If it was some kind of ambush she had planned, it wouldn't work.

Summer's eyes were wide in surprise, but she didn't look like she was beat. Before he could make to hit her again, she dashed away, taking to the nearby ruins that had recently been a residential building. Adam was only a step behind her the whole way, he wasn't about to allow his prey to escape him.

Concrete was crushed under his heel as he stormed after her, everything near him catching fire in seconds. Summer scrambled away from him, but he was gaining ground. The jagged shards of concrete slowed her progress through the rubble significantly, but she still struggled on. If she couldn't beat him, she wouldn't have a body to come back to when everything was said and done.

Several more arrows, or rather, remains of arrows pelted against his back, but he paid them no mind. Summer was the first to deserve his ire, and she would feel it, whether she was dead or not.

As she neared the top of the pile, she looked back over her shoulder again. At first she thought she imagined it, but the image endured as she stared. Ruby, along with her friends, had come. Why were they here? She had told them to get back inside, and stay there.

She couldn't keep herself from reacting. "Ruby! Yang! Get out of here!"

Adam noted the desperation in her voice, and knew that he was about to gain an upper hand on his opponent. What he found when he looked, though, was something far, far worse.

His shout was far louder than anything he had said so far, it would have likely caused windows to shatter, if there were any close by that hadn't already.

"Schnee!"

Weiss froze, a stab of terror piercing her heart. What did that person, if it could still be called that, want with her? It all clicked at once, making horrible sense. The mask they wore wasn't just random, they were a real White Fang member.

Her blood turned to ice as they started to charge at her, and her body refused to move. The man running towards her was little more than a glowing streak. She tried to move, but found that her body had stopped responding entirely. All she could do was to gawk.

Yang gave her a strong shove, snapping her out of the daze she was in. Yang shouted, "Go!"

She did. She started to run as fast as she could, and didn't look back. She knew better than to look back. That would slow her down, and she couldn't afford that. She turned the corner they had come around, and came back into the rest of the city. She hoped that no one would be hurt by her running, but there was nothing that she could do about that now. The best thing that she could do was run as fast as she could, so that the man wouldn't have the opportunity to hurt anyone.

She heard footsteps start to grow closer behind her, and hurriedly turned down an alleyway, hoping that would divert her, or at least give her a few more seconds of running before she had her insides made into her outsides, and her bones made into another mask.

Those thoughts alone were enough to make her feet pump a little faster, and she put a new wind into her sprint. She made a nimble leap over a scattered array of trash bins, and heard them be knocked over almost immediately after.

Another ear-splitting cry of, "Schnee!" almost made her stop running, but she resisted the urge to stop, feeling a burn on her back. "You and you kin have done more damage to us than anyone ever has! I'll wear your skin, you little bitch!"

Glyphs appeared on the ground in front of her, and made her run faster than ever before. Unfortunately, she was running out of alleyway to run through, and didn't quite want her skin to be taken. She needed it. And she especially didn't want someone him to wear it. Not that anyone wearing it would be alright, of course.

She hoped that what she was about to do would work, praying to any being that might make it so, and placed more glyphs on the wall. Maybe she didn't need to be as fast as Ruby for something like that to work.

She reached the end of the line, and put a foot on the wall, unsure of how to angle herself. Luckily, it didn't matter too much, as the spinning rune seemed to pull her down onto the wall, anchoring her. They flung her forward, which was now up, and it was all that she could do to keep her feet under her. She reached the top of the wall before her brain had time to adjust to the shift in what was up and what was down, and she fell rather unceremoniously onto her front.

Her brain was frantic enough that it was able to resist getting dazed, and immediately started to get up. If she didn't, a horrible fate awaited her. She scrambled back to her feet, and started to run again. Then she was forced to stop. She had run out of roof, and the drop was about five stories long. She hesitated on the edge, then heard a heavy crash behind her. She turned, just in time to receive a foot to the belly.

Her vision blurred, and she felt wind blowing through her hair. It also became much harder to breathe, though she wasn't sure why. Everything felt fuzzy, and she thought she felt something starting to leak out of her mouth.

When Weiss hit the ground, her teammates could tell that she was probably out cold. Her body bounced slightly when it hit the concrete. On the upside, though, it seemed that she hadn't been hit long enough to burn her. At least, not in any way that they could see. All three started to run towards their friend, readying their weapons. They had tried to keep up with the chase, but it had all gone too fast. It was lucky that Weiss had fallen where they could see her at all.

They could see Adam, standing on the edge of the roof that he had just kicked Weiss off of, a grimace of hatred on his face as he looked down at her. They ran as fast as they could, Ruby dashing forward with her Semblance, and came to a stop in front of Weiss, just as Adam leapt from his position. She held Crescent Rose up as Adam pulled a fist back, neither opponent intending to sway their course.

Unfortunately for Ruby, Adam was the mightier fighter, and Ruby didn't stand the whisper of a chance. She was swept aside as it she was nothing, a single kick sending her spinning through the air. She hit the ground again flat, skidded for a while, and then lay still.

Yang felt fury like she never had before. This man had hurt her friend, and now her very sister. He was going to pay. Dearly.

She kicked off the ground and placed her metal fist square on the side of Adam's face, but was surprised when this had little to no effect. Adam barely reacted, but threw an arm out to the side, not even looking at her. It collided with her chest, and sent her flying even further than Ruby. There was no way that she would be able to stop him now.

Blake was the only one who could hope to save Weiss now. She hoped that Adam would stop when he saw her, like he did before. Maybe her presence would be able to calm him down, and she could explain that Weiss was her friend, and not like the other Schnees. She had empathized with the faunus, and didn't think of them in the same way that her father did.

Adam raised his hands above his head, balling them into fists, readying himself to bring them down on Weiss's head. A blow like that would kill her easily, especially if it was Adam striking the blow.

She didn't draw Gambol Shroud as she got closer. Unlike the others, she knew that a weapon would do no good. She would have to rely on Adam to stop, she just had to make it clear he needed to.

Her voice rang out, different tone seeming to slice through Adam's yell in a strange way. She couldn't tell if he heard her or not, but she shouted all the same, "Adam, wait! Don't-"

She placed herself between Weiss and Adam, putting her hands up defensibly, just as his hands started to come down. The angry snarl on Adam's face wavered briefly, and Blake thought for a moment that her plan had worked, before…

Crack.

The sound that Blake's body made as it folded under his fists was loud, and she immediately slumped to the ground, her consciousness gone.

Adam watched her fall, dumbstruck for a moment. That was Blake. His friend, the one he loved, the one that he had promised he would never hurt. She meant more to him than anything else, and he had just felt her bones snap and break under his arms.

He looked down at his hands, struggling to keep his thoughts ordered. Why had he done that? There was time to stop, more than enough to get her out of the way before continuing. Why had he not done that?

And perhaps, more importantly, why had she placed herself in danger at all for the filthy spawn of the Schnee house? It wasn't possible that she didn't know who this girl was, they were both extremely familiar with all the relatives of the family.

He should not have done that. He should have stopped. But he hadn't. His anger had blinded him, and he had not even tried to brush it aside. His anger started to grow, but not at anything that he could fight. His anger grew at himself. He should have stopped, but he didn't. Now Blake was possibly dead, and he was the only one to blame.

He felt the asphalt hit his knees, and was vaguely aware of the tears that started to fill his eyes, but his hands went to his ears when he heard the voice of his master again, shouting loud enough to distract him from every other thought. "Are you becoming soft already? Cowardly? Should I have picked another to carry my power? Perhaps I will! If you do not get back to killing, I'll destroy you!"

Adam didn't want to kill anymore, but the rage boiling inside him said otherwise. Blake obviously didn't want him doing either. At least, not in the city. He recalled what she had said about others, people possessed by demons in Menagerie. The whole city had fallen, and the continent was following closely behind. That was something it was easy to get angry about. Maybe that would be best. It would be the best way to respect Blake, at least.

He wanted to check if she was still alive, but he knew better than to reach out towards her. It didn't look like she had been burned by his flame, but he wasn't going to chance it. Instead, he pushed himself back to his feet and looked around. The girl, Ruby, was starting to stir, and the undead Yang was starting to get close again. It was clear she intended to protect her friends, but he didn't intend to harm them anymore. Blake wouldn't have liked that.

He shook his head, trying to clear it, and looked for the Hunters. They were standing nearby, Summer approaching with an angry expression. He had hurt her child too. She was a human, yes, but there were bigger problems. Faunus were being made into slaves for Cinder, and he wouldn't allow that. Anything else was secondary now, all he wanted was to make those demons pay.

He eyed the south, the direction that Menagerie was from Vale. He would swim across the ocean if he had to, as long as he got to kill some demons. They deserved that much, and he would happy to give it to them. They couldn't simply make nearly the whole faunus race subservient and expect to go consequence-free.

The blonde haired undead drew within striking distance again, but Adam jerked to the side, so that her fist only struck air. He wanted to say something, to apologize for what had happened, but he couldn't. Instead, he started to sprint in the opposite direction, to the south. He didn't know if he was going to find some other kind of transport or simply run the whole way, but he didn't care too much. Voices called out from behind him, demanding his return, but he paid them no heed.

Yang watched as the man fled, shouting obscenities as he went. She wanted to give chase, but the wellbeing of her friends took precedence over her want to beat Adam to a bloody pulp. She had seen Ruby climbing to her feet, so she wasn't too worried about her sister. Blake was still lying on the ground, and Weiss hadn't moved yet. It was them that concerned her most.

She and her mother reached her two downed friends at about the same time, and they immediately set about checking them. Weiss seemed to be having trouble breathing, taking in air lightly and quickly, and Yang thought she could feel an odd bend in her spine, but she didn't want to think too hard about what that could mean. Weiss was alive, and didn't seem to be getting any worse though, and that was what counted.

Her mother was examining Blake, and given the expression on her face, she wasn't looking too good. Yang was hesitant to ask what was wrong, but she did so anyways. "Mom, how's she looking?"

Summer continued to examine Blake for a few more seconds before shaking her head and looking up. "She needs help. Badly. We should get her somewhere as soon as possible. What about Weiss?"

Yang nodded. "About the same. She's breathing strangely, and I think something's wrong with her back. We should really get her somewhere better."

Summer nodded, and carefully took Blake into her arms. Yang could see the odd way that Blake bent in her arms, and suddenly had the terrible thought that her mother might be downplaying the damage her friend had taken. Was she going to be alright? Her eyes were half shut, and she didn't look like she was going to be conscious any time soon.

Ruby was slowly limping her way over to them, a concerned look on her face. "Hey, how are they? Do they need help?"

Yang cupped a hand over her mouth and shouted, "Yeah! We're going to get them to the hospital. Sorry, but there's no time! Pyrrha or Nora can help you get back, we've got to go!"

Ruby sounded somewhat dejected, but responded with a sure voice. "Alright, I'll just wait here then. Be quick!"

Yang managed an awkward wave as she picked Weiss off the ground, then turned to her mother again. She looked hesitant about leaving Ruby, but Yang had the feeling that no worry was necessary. If Adam was going to hurt anyone else, he wouldn't have run off. He wasn't coming back. Not after breaking Blake like he did. Her thoughts about the man were bitter, but at least he was going to be useful. She wanted to stay mad, and she could easily for what he had done, and she would never forgive him, but letting him go was the best thing that she could do. Not only her herself or for her team, but for the whole world as well. She just hoped that Blake's faith he wasn't totally forgone. He was running out of Vale, and her intuition told her he wouldn't come back.

"Come on, he's not going to come back. We need to hurry."

Her mother nodded, and both set off again in the direction of the hospital.