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Blake and Ironwood rounded the tree line back towards where Adam had directed them, and found that the area was slowly filling in with more Faunus than they could have anticipated. They filed in with the crowd as they gathered in towards the stage that had been set up, and tried to stay towards the back but were being nudged by the crowd to move closer. Blake was shocked at the size of the rally considering that she and Yang had dedicated the last few months to eradicating the Fang. It almost seemed off.

"We need to be able to get out to the registration tent." Blake reminded him.

"Don't worry. Once the crowd is too absorbed in Adam's message, we'll make our move." After a few moments things settled down and Adam took the stage. Blake immediately noted his defensive demeanor and Wilt and Blush, his sword and gun-sheath respectively, on his hip.

"Brother and Sisters! Thank you for gathering here tonight on such short notice, but our numbers are the smallest they've been since we became radical and time is of the essence. Tonight, as we leave this rally, we will begin Operation Purity and we will leave all of humanity in the ruins. I know you're all wondering how we're planning on doing so…" Ironwood nudged Blake.

"Quick! To the tent!" They made their way through the mass that was still growing and arrived at the stand a moment later. A man with antlers stood at the table in the canvas' opening and spread the propaganda pamphlets out across the table.

"The two of you interested in joining the Fang? I'll warn you, the insurance isn't that great and the health benefits suck." Blake leaned in over the table so that only the worker could hear her.

"Operation Nightshade." The Faunus gave a slight simper as he nodded. "Belladonna." He moved quickly to the back and returned Blake's weapon to her. "Oh, and Ironwood too." He handed over the revolver and they thanked him, turning back around to face the crowd. Blake froze for a moment as she stood staring at the theater. All of the Faunus were gone.

"Blake, what happened?" asked Ironwood. "We were surrounded by Faunus…" Blake knew before that something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Were you?" came a voice from behind them. Blake and Ironwood turned around to see Emerald and Adam and Blake's breath caught for a brief moment. "I noticed you both back at the tents and had Emerald show you everyone gathering here. By the time I kill you, they'll all be long gone." He turned to Emerald. "Great work. Rejoin Junior. I'll be done here soon." Emerald took off into the woods.

"Adam, what's the meaning of all of this?" She slowly unsheathed her blade and Adam smirked.

"The same as it's always been, my love. The humans have kept us down for far too long and it's time we made them pay."

"They aren't all like that Adam! The White Fang are the reason that the humans are still so afraid of us. Ironwood, Coco, Yang, Ruby, they're all great people!" Adam glowered.

"The blonde lived huh?" Adam's hand moved to Wilt. "This time I'm gonna make sure you can't interfere ever again." The smile returned to his face. "And then I'll kill your love."

Blake prepared for his swift attack and leapt back, leaving behind a decoy and making a wide arc to the right. Ironwood had stepped in front of her decoy and blocked 5 quick swipes with his gun. He switched which hand his gun was in quickly and knocked down Blush from shooting Blake with his mechanical arm. Blake's pistol screamed through the gap between them and she fired a shot, sending the gun back towards her and wrapping the ribbon around Wilt. She pulled Adam away from Ironwood. Adam grabbed her gun and unwound it in one fluid motion, sheathing Wilt. Blake was now moving towards him and he ejected his blade into the air, grabbing it and swinging it down at her. The sword planted in her ice decoy and he blasted it away with Blush, but not before Blake landed a clean hit with her katana and batted him towards Ironwood.

Two shots hit a disoriented Adam, before he sliced through the next few. He sheathed his weapon again.

"You're testing my patience darling." He told her with a glower tugging at his lips.

"We don't have to do this Taurus. If you come with us we'll make sure you get a fair trial." Adam chuckled, gripping his blade tighter.

"You think I'm worried about that? A fair trial by humans!? What a joke, I'd sooner die!" Blake had reached him again and dual wielded her blades. Adam blocked her barrage and slid back as her fire decoy exploded. Adam reached Ironwood with blazing speed and attempted the same attack, knowing his opponents pattern. He stopped his attack short this time and blasted Ironwood's gun out of his hand with Blush.

Another decoy shattered and Joseph let out a groan. His patience was beginning to run thin as Neo continued to lead him on a fruitless chase.
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"Little girl, how long do you plan on keeping this up for? I've got other things that I need to get done before the night's over." Neo leapt onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He reached back but had difficulty grabbing her as she clung tightly to him. "That's fine then, have it your way." He barreled for the tree line and quickly spun his body around, slamming into a larger tree and knocking it over. Neo stood in front of him, staring him down. "You're quick, but I don't think that it'll be enough."

At that moment he was knocked off of his feet as Yang connected with his jaw. She tossed Neo's umbrella to cracked the knuckles on her left hand.

"Are you okay?" She asked Neo. Neo nodded and stepped up so that she was beside her. "Don't touch Neo!" Joseph smiled as he stood back up, rubbing his jaw. He shrugged his shoulders, rotating them in large circles to stretch them.

"Now… It gets interesting." Joseph planted his feet and sprinted for Yang. Yang fired several shots that glanced off without affecting him. Joseph plowed into Yang and dragged her several yards before Neo caught up via teleportation and hooked Yang with the umbrella, pulling her out of the way. Yang took a moment to catch her breath, looking the man over.

"We gotta keep him from building up speed," exclaimed Yang half gasping for air. Neo nodded. She leapt in front of Yang and opened the parasol behind her, twirling it. "You want to try our combo attack?" Yang grinned and planted herself.

Neo leapt into a ball and Yang fired both gauntlets at the parasol as Neo closed it, launching her towards Joseph. Yang ran towards them as Neo reached him and planted her feet into his chest, sending him stumbling back a step or two. She backflipped off towards Yang and landed on Yang's hands who shot her into the air. Yang connected twice on Joseph before Neo came back down, blade extended.

Joseph reached up and grabbed the umbrella, dodging the blade and batting Yang away with Neo. They both rolled away and Yang was first to her feet, firing behind her and using the recoil to reach Joseph faster. The two exchanged glancing blows off of each other, Joseph kept batting her shots away, causing her to fire past him. She connected once with the umbrella still in his hand, knocking it away and causing him to turn and reach up, grabbing a fist full of hair, and throwing her onto the ground.

Neo teleported and caught her weapon in a full on sprint, hooking one of Joseph's horns and trying to pull him off of Yang. He didn't budge and he threw his head back the other way, halting her momentum and tossing her back into a tree. Yang slowly stood up.

"Are you two done playing around?" He asked. She looked up at him, her hair appeared fiery and her eyes red.

"Rah!" Yang shouted as she laid into Joseph. He took three clean hits to the chest before she blasted him back, and he crashed through several trees. "Neo!" Neo quivered slightly as she stood but gave Yang a thumbs up. Yang turned back in time to see Joseph barreling for her. She cocked her fist and fired, meeting his fist. A shockwave blasted everything back around them and Joseph was halted this time. She swung with her free fist and cracked his horn.

"That… Was a mistake." He told her quietly, remaining motionless for a moment. He grabbed both of her gauntlets and kicked her in the chest, pulling them off and sending her through the air. His cloak glowed with purple stripes and he took off faster than ever and slammed into Yang, sending her deep into the woods. Neo teleported but only made it halfway to Yang. She could feel that her aura was running low, she wasn't used to taking this many hits.

"Neo," groaned Yang. Neo ran for her but failed to reach her as Joseph crashed into her and an explosion flung her past Yang. As the red Dust faded into black, Joseph's shawl lit up light blue and he clotheslined Yang as she stood back up, freezing her in mid air.

"Now, I end this!" Finally the cloak lit up brown and covered both of his arms in rock gauntlets. He raised his arm but before he could slam it down into Yang he was knocked back by several shots from the Ember Celica. He turned to find Neo, chest heaving, wearing Yang's weapon. "Listen here little girl… Give up and I won't hurt you! Seems like a fair trade. I know at one point you worked with Roman, and he worked with the Fang. Is this what he would want?

You can't stop us anyways, not completely. As we speak Adam is fighting Tinman and Catgirl and the remaining Fang are escaping through tunnels under this campsite. So stand back." Neo's mind clicked to Yang wrapping an arm around her as she sobbed. She had been abandoned as a child and the Grimm took Roman from her, the only person who ever seemed to care. Yang's mother had left her and when all she had was fighting, Adam had taken her arm. Yang was hot headed, but she leveled with Neo and understood her.

Neo had mustered up some strength but she wouldn't reach him in time running. She planted her feet.

"You're too late anyways." Neo fired towards Joseph and leapt, teleporting in front of her own blast and using the parasol to launch towards Joseph. She kicked his fist away as it came down and did a single backflip, landing on her feet. She fired off several shots at him, keeping him off balance. The ice wore off and Yang fell to the ground. Joseph let out an annoyed groan and batted Yang away, she tumbled into the clearing. "I'm impressed really. So much potential." His tone changed. "All gone to waste."

She used the recoil of the next shot to land a kick on his chest again but he caught her foot and tried to throw her. She was still compact enough from hitting his chest to hook her umbrella on his arm and she teleported them both as far as possible. She bounced away as they appeared in the cave full of running Faunus.

"No!" He yelled as he shoved through them. "Move! Get out of the way!"

"We need to hurry Joseph! Stick to the plan!" One of the Faunus told him. Neo crawled off to the side and hoped to blend in, laying with her back to him and the umbrella wrapped in her arms in front of her. She just needed enough energy to teleport again.

"I said get out of the way!" He batted away several Faunus that cried out in pain and fear.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Asked the one that had confronted him.

"There is a human here, and her friend took something of mine!" He reached up and broke the horn off the rest of the way. He tossed it aside and it landed next to Neo's head. She wanted it, but she didn't dare move.

"Joseph please. We need you. Without Adam we're all scared and not sure what to do." He swept the area again and sighed, nodding and taking off down the cave with the rest of them. Neo grabbed the horn and teleported back to Yang. Neo fell onto her face as she came out on the other side of her teleportation and landed next to Yang.

"Neo, are you okay?" Neo nodded and held the horn out to her, but Yang set it on the ground next to her for a moment. She tore the bottom of Neo's cloak and held it to her nose. "Your nose is bleeding. You shouldn't push yourself so hard." Neo's look was exhausting with a pleading hidden beneath. "Not even for me Neo."

Neo sat up, holding her side and quickly turned to look the direction where a loud rumbling had begun.
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Coco opened the crate that had been buried just a few hours before hand and removed the weapons, delivering them to their respective owners. It hadn't been hidden all that well and could have been discovered easily, but in all of the chaos and being far enough off of the main path, it did the trick.

"That buddy of yours really hooked us up Velvet." Velvet smiled with delight as she threw her camera strap over her shoulder and snapped a few quick photos of each of their weapons. "Dare I say it, but it'd be to our advantage if we split up."

"You can think that," said Sun nervously.

"Or we can all stay together and ambush the hell out of those guys," Neptune added. Coco cocked her hip and peered at them over her sunglasses.

"Really?" she asked. "All I see are a couple of chickens."

"Hey! I'm part monkey, not chicken!" Sun exclaimed resentfully. Velvet giggled.

"That's not what I meant. Alright, come with us then you big wusses." The women led the group towards their destination, Velvet right beside Coco. The guys made small talk in the back.

"Do you really think this will be it Coco? The end of the White Fang? I was never one of them but they've been doing nothing but hurt the Faunus image for years now. After Beacon fell people were terrified of me, just because of my ears. I wasn't a killer like them." Coco threw her arm around Velvet and kissed her on the top of the head. Velvet blushed. She always loved it when she did that.

"I know Honeybun. That's why I'm here. I want you, and Blake, to have normal lives with the people you love, whether those people be part animal or not." Coco's concentration broke when she noticed Sun directly next to her on her right.

"Hey, I hate to ruin a moment, but Neptune was saying that Yang's new arm is Mercury's leg. Is that true?"

"Why would I make that up?" asked Neptune.

"No, I don't think you made it up. I think maybe you just misheard something."

"It's true," Coco replied. Sun stopped in his tracks as Neptune walked past chuckling.

"For real though?!" Sun shouted in disbelief. Coco stopped for a moment and crouched, shushing Sun with a finger to her lips.

"Velv. You hear that?" All of them listened closely for a long moment.

"Mmhmm." Velvet replied to Coco nodding.

"There's no way your hearing…" started Sun.

"Shhh!" Coco held a hand up indicating they stop. "You're right, my hearing isn't that good. My sunglasses have different digital filters installed in them."

"I knew they weren't just for show." Neptune mumbled under his breath. Coco turned to Velvet.

"Do you have Ember Celica loaded up?" she asked. Velvet nodded.

"I took it hours ago, before we started our mission. It should be good for a few good shots."

"One's all we need."

"Guys, I don't see anything," Sun said spinning slowly and squinting, trying to pick up on anything that might look suspicious.

"Just use Via Sun to throw Velvet into the air. Right there." She removed a flashlight from her pocket and shone it on the ground a few feet away.

"You got it Coco." Sun formed his clones and launched Velvet into the air. As she came down, she blasted the ground beneath her on impact and it crumbled away, opening into a cavern. Coco caught Velvet by the hand before she could fall in.

"Got you!"

"Thanks Coco." Velvet climbed back up with Coco's help and they peered inside. It was a large, poorly lit, underground storeroom of sorts, with a Nevermore chained to the walls, barely breathing. "What did they do to it?" They leapt down into the hole and peered around.

"Look at this!" exclaimed Neptune. The Grimm had tubes that ran from various points on its body to vials in a large sorting system. Sun joined Neptune, following the bloodstream while Coco and Velvet walked to the far side of the room. Coco looked through the files and papers that were scattered about on the work table. Velvet helped sift and flinched as she read one in a classified file, dropping its contents everywhere.

"Are you okay Velv?" Coco asked. Velvet nodded and gathered the papers up, handing them to Coco. Coco reviewed them. "The Fang are trying to alter Grimm blood into some sort of performance enhancer. Human trials have all ended in death, but more than seventy percent of Faunus trials were 'successful'. Adam has approved the 'drug' for distribution at the next Fang rally…" Coco's voice tapered off as she realized that the date listed indicated the rally they were at now. "Sun, call Blake and Yang! Tell them that no one can leave that rally!"

"What do we have here Miltia?" asked Melanie as she and her sister entered the room from a door beside the desk.

"It looks like a hipster and her pet bunny Melanie," Miltia replied.

"They weren't invited."

"What do we do with them then?"

"I think we teach them a lesson." Velvet stepped in front of Coco. Coco was shocked for a fleeting moment. Normally Velvet was reserved and calculated her attacks, but ever since they had been placed on Team CFVY, they were always protective of each other.

"I'd like to see you try." Velvet exclaimed. Sun and Neptune came running from the other end of the room, just to be batted in the face with Junior's rocket launcher as he and Emerald entered the room from a side passage.

"Step aside bunny," demanded Miltia.

"We wouldn't want you getting hurt," explained Melanie.

"I'll take you both out!" Velvet yelled at them. They giggled.

"Who does she think she is Miltia? Yang?"

"You've got no weapon bunny. You're screwed." At that moment Neptune swept Junior's feet out from under him with his trident and Sun did likewise with Emerald and his staff. She disappeared and reappeared behind him, running for him. They exchanged a few quick glances as he fired at her with his gun chucks and she directed them next to her. Junior disappeared also and Neptune transformed his trident back into a gun, standing behind Sun. Sun activated his semblance and both of his clones took off towards the new Emerald and Junior.

Meanwhile, Miltia ran for Velvet with her claws extended and Velvet cracked a grin. Moments before she reached her target, the Ember Celica formed on Velvet's arms and she deflected both blows. She took a gut shot and was thrown back to reveal Melanie mid front flip, heel blades at head level. Velvet shot Melanie twice, sending her bounding across the floor and landing at her sister's feet.

"Well?" asked Velvet. "How about it?"

Sun's clones simultaneously slammed into Emerald's new decoys giving Neptune enough time to catch a glimpse of Emerald and blast her into the wall with his gun. She hit the ground hard, revealing Junior. Sun spun his staff over his head before posing and taking off down the hall after a running Junior.

"Miltia, do you still have that gravity Dust Junior gave us?" asked Melanie.

"Of course I do." Miltia replied. The two girls ran in a circle around Velvet and Coco with blinding speed, causing a vortex of sorts. Coco and Velvet's hair whipped around.

"Thinking what I'm thinking?!" shouted Coco over the howling winds.

"CrossHares?" Velvet yelled back with an excitement in her voice.

"Exactly." Coco turned so that both she and Velvet were back to back and Velvet's weapon transformed into Coco's minigun. Coco transformed her purse as well and the two fired as they slowly turned clockwise. "Hell yeah!" The twins tumbled in separate directions and laid motionless on the floor, out of aura. "Neptune! Go get Sun! We gotta blow this joint and help the others stop the Fang!"

"Yes ma'am!" Neptune took off down the hall and Emerald slowly stood, stumbling and firing her guns, but missing horribly.

"You… You won't win." Coco transformed her gun back into a purse a slowly sauntered over to Emerald with Velvet behind her.

"It seems this battle was too much for you." Coco slammed her purse against Emerald's chin, sending her to the floor. Neptune and Sun came back into the room breathless.

"Junior got away!" Sun managed through gasps.

"That's fine…"

"It's not fine! He escaped into a tunnel system full of Faunus running from the area! They knew we were coming this whole time!" Neptune exclaimed as he propped himself against the wall. Velvet's ears flopped and she walked away from Coco.

"Velv?"

"It's probably my fault they knew we were coming. I thought we could trust him…"

"Velvet, you couldn't have known that he was going to double cross us. Now, pick yourself up by your bunny ears and show me what you can do." Velvet looked back at Coco who was smirking and nodded.

"Okay." Coco reached into her jacket and tossed a small disc at each corner of the room.

"Once we get in this passage way, don't stop running. This place is going to go up in flames. Use non-lethal force on these Faunus, some of them just don't know what they've gotten themselves into and if we can, seal off the exit. We need to end this thing tonight!"
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"You see love, the difference between you and I, is that I will always be one step ahead. At least far ahead enough to not let anyone betray me. Eventually they will. Maybe it won't be Yang. But one of them will, and when they do… You'll regret that you didn't heed my warnings." The Faunus that helped them sneak in their weapons fired a laser at Adam who removed his sword and absorbed the energy. A gut wrenching, twisted grin crept onto Adam's face. "Now he dies." Blake threw her gun to Ironwood and he caught it, pulling her towards him in an effort to deflect Moonslice. Adam blasted her back with Blush and removed his blade, taking one swift sweep through Ironwood and bisecting him.

"Ironwood!" yelled Blake. She dropped to her knees. It was happening all over again and somehow she didn't have the power to stop it. The tears began to fill her eyes. Her mind tried to block it all out and she could see Yang standing before her.

Why did you leave Blake? I needed you! I know you're scared and I know it's not easy, but I was scared too! We need to help each other!

Yang…

I don't want your excuses! You know why it pissed me off so much?! Do you know why I'm so angry Blake?! Because everyone that I love leaves!

Love?

I love you Blake… We can do this together. Neither of us needs to be alone anymore. I… I love you.

I love you too Yang. And I'm done running.

"You can stop him Blake," Ironwood called to her as he lay on the ground gasping for air. "You're not the same. You have hope and you have love and that's more than Adam ever had and it scares him. He knows he lost you and he knows he can't fix that failure. You can do…" He was stopped short as Adam ran Wilt through his chest.

"Who you going to believe my love? The General, who wanted to use you and your friends as weapons, or me. I see you for who you really are." Blake slowly stood and silently looked at the ground. "Which one will you choose?" A loud thundering came from nearby and Adam stumbled slightly. He could see the smoke and when he looked back up for Blake she was gone. "Typical."

"I'm done running away." She whispered in his ear. He swung around and sliced into her, his blade planting into her rock clone.

"You'll never be done running Blake. It's who you are. It's even your semblance." She wrapped Gambol Shroud around him and pulled him away from Wilt. As he unraveled he was face to face with her.

"That's where you're wrong." In the blink of an eye Blake created four gravity clones, shadowy looking replicas, and they batted Adam from one clone to the next, ending with the real Blake who knocked him to the ground. "Time to die Adam." She swung her blade down at him as it transformed back but he knocked it to the side, planting it in the ground. He rolled out and ran for Wilt, using three shots from Blush to free his sword.

"I'm impressed but if you don't mind, I have a revolution to lead." Blake transformed her weapon back into a gun and swung it wide in hopes of slicing down a tree along the edge of the woods. Before the gun reached halfway, Neo grabbed on and let the gun carry her. She let go and launched into the woods, only to be launched back out by Yang who caught the gun.

"Hey babe!" Yang called out to Blake. Neo flew through the air towards Adam who sliced at her and shattered her decoy. Her parasol latched Blush and she yanked it away as he spun around. She fired at him with it several times and he sliced through the bullets before reaching her. She blocked several slices with his gun before tossing it aside and teleporting. "You sure you're up for this Neo?" Neo's chest heaved slightly, but she nodded. Yang planted the gun in a tree trunk and nodded at Blake who held the other side. Yang planted her feet on the ribbon being held back by Neo's parasol hook. Neo released as Yang fired behind herself and grabbed the umbrella as she rocketed towards Adam. Blake and Neo rushed in to overwhelm him. Yang arrived and batted his sword to one side with the parasol, and landed two shots in his chest, sending him reeling back. Blake ran past him and used two gravity clones to send him back towards Yang.

He regained his footing and dodged her attack just to be kicked in the face by Neo. He lifted his sword and absorbed several shots from Yang, charging Moonslice quickly without Blush. He brought the sword down, preparing to slice through Yang, when his sword was greeted by Gambol Shroud and Blake's hand. His Moonslice attack had used all of its energy slicing through her blade and she caught the end of Wilt with her bare hand. Blood seeped out and dripped off of her hand and Adam looked back and forth between her and Wilt, slightly shocked and confused. Before he could plan another attack, Yang's fist split the gap between them and broke Wilt in half as Blake let go of the blade. Adam stood stunned.

"I underestimated you." Adam stated in shock. Blake held her sheath blade to his neck.

"Blake…" started Yang. Yang could see all of the aggression and pain that he was the cause of reach a peak in Blake and it only wanted to find freedom from its prison. Right now that freedom looked like killing Adam. "We need to take him into custody."

"Why did you do it?" Blake held back tears.

"My father taught me, that everyone will eventually turn on you. It doesn't matter if it's humans against humans, Faunus against Faunus, the former against the latter… Everyone will betray you at some point and all you can do is strive for the best scenario that will cause you the least pain. I had it. A foolproof plan that could have seen us happy together." He looked past her towards the woods. "And instead I drove you away. I betrayed you. Just like father did to mother and betrayed me." Adam slouched back. "I'm no better than my father."

Neo's scroll started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket, eyebrow raised and answered.

"Is everyone else there?" Asked Coco.

"Where's Ironwood?" asked Yang. Blake's eyes grew wide and she stepped to the side, allowing Yang to see Ironwood's torso. "Oh my-"

"Yang?"

"Coco. Ironwood-" Yang stumbled away from the scroll and fell onto Ironwood's chest. Blake slowly took the scroll from Neo, who walked over to join Yang.

"What is it Coco?" asked Blake.

"The Fang are escaping." Blake sighed. Adam sat there beside her, he seemed dazed.

"We'll have to clean them up later. Do what you can tonight. We have Adam, that should be enough to slow them if not bring them to a complete stop." Blake hung up and walked away from Adam for a moment to join Yang.

"Is this what we're destined for Blake? This isn't how anyone should have to die." Yang looked at Blake, she'd clearly been crying. Blake wrapped her arms around Yang and pulled her in.

"After Ruby and the others finish off Cinder, we won't have to worry about anything like this ever again. We can go back to Beacon and teach like you wanted." Yang chuckled and pushed Blake off of her.

"That was your idea," Yang exclaimed. Blake laughed.

"You liked it though." Yang shrugged and nodded. They both looked at Ironwood and a silence fell over them again. "Once Coco gets back we can figure all this out." Yang nodded and they returned to Adam to keep an eye on him.

Description
Blake and Ironwood rounded the tree line back towards where Adam had directed them, and found that the area was slowly filling in with more Faunus than they could have anticipated. They filed in with the crowd as they gathered in towards the stage that had been set up, and tried to stay towards the back but were being nudged by the crowd to move closer. Blake was shocked at the size of the rally considering that she and Yang had dedicated the last few months to eradicating the Fang. It almost seemed off.

"We need to be able to get out to the registration tent." Blake reminded him.

"Don't worry. Once the crowd is too absorbed in Adam's message, we'll make our move." After a few moments things settled down and Adam took the stage. Blake immediately noted his defensive demeanor and Wilt and Blush, his sword and gun-sheath respectively, on his hip.

"Brother and Sisters! Thank you for gathering here tonight on such short notice, but our numbers are the smallest they've been since we became radical and time is of the essence. Tonight, as we leave this rally, we will begin Operation Purity and we will leave all of humanity in the ruins. I know you're all wondering how we're planning on doing so…" Ironwood nudged Blake.

"Quick! To the tent!" They made their way through the mass that was still growing and arrived at the stand a moment later. A man with antlers stood at the table in the canvas' opening and spread the propaganda pamphlets out across the table.

"The two of you interested in joining the Fang? I'll warn you, the insurance isn't that great and the health benefits suck." Blake leaned in over the table so that only the worker could hear her.

"Operation Nightshade." The Faunus gave a slight simper as he nodded. "Belladonna." He moved quickly to the back and returned Blake's weapon to her. "Oh, and Ironwood too." He handed over the revolver and they thanked him, turning back around to face the crowd. Blake froze for a moment as she stood staring at the theater. All of the Faunus were gone.

"Blake, what happened?" asked Ironwood. "We were surrounded by Faunus…" Blake knew before that something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Were you?" came a voice from behind them. Blake and Ironwood turned around to see Emerald and Adam and Blake's breath caught for a brief moment. "I noticed you both back at the tents and had Emerald show you everyone gathering here. By the time I kill you, they'll all be long gone." He turned to Emerald. "Great work. Rejoin Junior. I'll be done here soon." Emerald took off into the woods.

"Adam, what's the meaning of all of this?" She slowly unsheathed her blade and Adam smirked.

"The same as it's always been, my love. The humans have kept us down for far too long and it's time we made them pay."

"They aren't all like that Adam! The White Fang are the reason that the humans are still so afraid of us. Ironwood, Coco, Yang, Ruby, they're all great people!" Adam glowered.

"The blonde lived huh?" Adam's hand moved to Wilt. "This time I'm gonna make sure you can't interfere ever again." The smile returned to his face. "And then I'll kill your love."

Blake prepared for his swift attack and leapt back, leaving behind a decoy and making a wide arc to the right. Ironwood had stepped in front of her decoy and blocked 5 quick swipes with his gun. He switched which hand his gun was in quickly and knocked down Blush from shooting Blake with his mechanical arm. Blake's pistol screamed through the gap between them and she fired a shot, sending the gun back towards her and wrapping the ribbon around Wilt. She pulled Adam away from Ironwood. Adam grabbed her gun and unwound it in one fluid motion, sheathing Wilt. Blake was now moving towards him and he ejected his blade into the air, grabbing it and swinging it down at her. The sword planted in her ice decoy and he blasted it away with Blush, but not before Blake landed a clean hit with her katana and batted him towards Ironwood.

Two shots hit a disoriented Adam, before he sliced through the next few. He sheathed his weapon again.

"You're testing my patience darling." He told her with a glower tugging at his lips.

"We don't have to do this Taurus. If you come with us we'll make sure you get a fair trial." Adam chuckled, gripping his blade tighter.

"You think I'm worried about that? A fair trial by humans!? What a joke, I'd sooner die!" Blake had reached him again and dual wielded her blades. Adam blocked her barrage and slid back as her fire decoy exploded. Adam reached Ironwood with blazing speed and attempted the same attack, knowing his opponents pattern. He stopped his attack short this time and blasted Ironwood's gun out of his hand with Blush.

Another decoy shattered and Joseph let out a groan. His patience was beginning to run thin as Neo continued to lead him on a fruitless chase.
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"Little girl, how long do you plan on keeping this up for? I've got other things that I need to get done before the night's over." Neo leapt onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He reached back but had difficulty grabbing her as she clung tightly to him. "That's fine then, have it your way." He barreled for the tree line and quickly spun his body around, slamming into a larger tree and knocking it over. Neo stood in front of him, staring him down. "You're quick, but I don't think that it'll be enough."

At that moment he was knocked off of his feet as Yang connected with his jaw. She tossed Neo's umbrella to cracked the knuckles on her left hand.

"Are you okay?" She asked Neo. Neo nodded and stepped up so that she was beside her. "Don't touch Neo!" Joseph smiled as he stood back up, rubbing his jaw. He shrugged his shoulders, rotating them in large circles to stretch them.

"Now… It gets interesting." Joseph planted his feet and sprinted for Yang. Yang fired several shots that glanced off without affecting him. Joseph plowed into Yang and dragged her several yards before Neo caught up via teleportation and hooked Yang with the umbrella, pulling her out of the way. Yang took a moment to catch her breath, looking the man over.

"We gotta keep him from building up speed," exclaimed Yang half gasping for air. Neo nodded. She leapt in front of Yang and opened the parasol behind her, twirling it. "You want to try our combo attack?" Yang grinned and planted herself.

Neo leapt into a ball and Yang fired both gauntlets at the parasol as Neo closed it, launching her towards Joseph. Yang ran towards them as Neo reached him and planted her feet into his chest, sending him stumbling back a step or two. She backflipped off towards Yang and landed on Yang's hands who shot her into the air. Yang connected twice on Joseph before Neo came back down, blade extended.

Joseph reached up and grabbed the umbrella, dodging the blade and batting Yang away with Neo. They both rolled away and Yang was first to her feet, firing behind her and using the recoil to reach Joseph faster. The two exchanged glancing blows off of each other, Joseph kept batting her shots away, causing her to fire past him. She connected once with the umbrella still in his hand, knocking it away and causing him to turn and reach up, grabbing a fist full of hair, and throwing her onto the ground.

Neo teleported and caught her weapon in a full on sprint, hooking one of Joseph's horns and trying to pull him off of Yang. He didn't budge and he threw his head back the other way, halting her momentum and tossing her back into a tree. Yang slowly stood up.

"Are you two done playing around?" He asked. She looked up at him, her hair appeared fiery and her eyes red.

"Rah!" Yang shouted as she laid into Joseph. He took three clean hits to the chest before she blasted him back, and he crashed through several trees. "Neo!" Neo quivered slightly as she stood but gave Yang a thumbs up. Yang turned back in time to see Joseph barreling for her. She cocked her fist and fired, meeting his fist. A shockwave blasted everything back around them and Joseph was halted this time. She swung with her free fist and cracked his horn.

"That… Was a mistake." He told her quietly, remaining motionless for a moment. He grabbed both of her gauntlets and kicked her in the chest, pulling them off and sending her through the air. His cloak glowed with purple stripes and he took off faster than ever and slammed into Yang, sending her deep into the woods. Neo teleported but only made it halfway to Yang. She could feel that her aura was running low, she wasn't used to taking this many hits.

"Neo," groaned Yang. Neo ran for her but failed to reach her as Joseph crashed into her and an explosion flung her past Yang. As the red Dust faded into black, Joseph's shawl lit up light blue and he clotheslined Yang as she stood back up, freezing her in mid air.

"Now, I end this!" Finally the cloak lit up brown and covered both of his arms in rock gauntlets. He raised his arm but before he could slam it down into Yang he was knocked back by several shots from the Ember Celica. He turned to find Neo, chest heaving, wearing Yang's weapon. "Listen here little girl… Give up and I won't hurt you! Seems like a fair trade. I know at one point you worked with Roman, and he worked with the Fang. Is this what he would want?

You can't stop us anyways, not completely. As we speak Adam is fighting Tinman and Catgirl and the remaining Fang are escaping through tunnels under this campsite. So stand back." Neo's mind clicked to Yang wrapping an arm around her as she sobbed. She had been abandoned as a child and the Grimm took Roman from her, the only person who ever seemed to care. Yang's mother had left her and when all she had was fighting, Adam had taken her arm. Yang was hot headed, but she leveled with Neo and understood her.

Neo had mustered up some strength but she wouldn't reach him in time running. She planted her feet.

"You're too late anyways." Neo fired towards Joseph and leapt, teleporting in front of her own blast and using the parasol to launch towards Joseph. She kicked his fist away as it came down and did a single backflip, landing on her feet. She fired off several shots at him, keeping him off balance. The ice wore off and Yang fell to the ground. Joseph let out an annoyed groan and batted Yang away, she tumbled into the clearing. "I'm impressed really. So much potential." His tone changed. "All gone to waste."

She used the recoil of the next shot to land a kick on his chest again but he caught her foot and tried to throw her. She was still compact enough from hitting his chest to hook her umbrella on his arm and she teleported them both as far as possible. She bounced away as they appeared in the cave full of running Faunus.

"No!" He yelled as he shoved through them. "Move! Get out of the way!"

"We need to hurry Joseph! Stick to the plan!" One of the Faunus told him. Neo crawled off to the side and hoped to blend in, laying with her back to him and the umbrella wrapped in her arms in front of her. She just needed enough energy to teleport again.

"I said get out of the way!" He batted away several Faunus that cried out in pain and fear.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Asked the one that had confronted him.

"There is a human here, and her friend took something of mine!" He reached up and broke the horn off the rest of the way. He tossed it aside and it landed next to Neo's head. She wanted it, but she didn't dare move.

"Joseph please. We need you. Without Adam we're all scared and not sure what to do." He swept the area again and sighed, nodding and taking off down the cave with the rest of them. Neo grabbed the horn and teleported back to Yang. Neo fell onto her face as she came out on the other side of her teleportation and landed next to Yang.

"Neo, are you okay?" Neo nodded and held the horn out to her, but Yang set it on the ground next to her for a moment. She tore the bottom of Neo's cloak and held it to her nose. "Your nose is bleeding. You shouldn't push yourself so hard." Neo's look was exhausting with a pleading hidden beneath. "Not even for me Neo."

Neo sat up, holding her side and quickly turned to look the direction where a loud rumbling had begun.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Coco opened the crate that had been buried just a few hours before hand and removed the weapons, delivering them to their respective owners. It hadn't been hidden all that well and could have been discovered easily, but in all of the chaos and being far enough off of the main path, it did the trick.

"That buddy of yours really hooked us up Velvet." Velvet smiled with delight as she threw her camera strap over her shoulder and snapped a few quick photos of each of their weapons. "Dare I say it, but it'd be to our advantage if we split up."

"You can think that," said Sun nervously.

"Or we can all stay together and ambush the hell out of those guys," Neptune added. Coco cocked her hip and peered at them over her sunglasses.

"Really?" she asked. "All I see are a couple of chickens."

"Hey! I'm part monkey, not chicken!" Sun exclaimed resentfully. Velvet giggled.

"That's not what I meant. Alright, come with us then you big wusses." The women led the group towards their destination, Velvet right beside Coco. The guys made small talk in the back.

"Do you really think this will be it Coco? The end of the White Fang? I was never one of them but they've been doing nothing but hurt the Faunus image for years now. After Beacon fell people were terrified of me, just because of my ears. I wasn't a killer like them." Coco threw her arm around Velvet and kissed her on the top of the head. Velvet blushed. She always loved it when she did that.

"I know Honeybun. That's why I'm here. I want you, and Blake, to have normal lives with the people you love, whether those people be part animal or not." Coco's concentration broke when she noticed Sun directly next to her on her right.

"Hey, I hate to ruin a moment, but Neptune was saying that Yang's new arm is Mercury's leg. Is that true?"

"Why would I make that up?" asked Neptune.

"No, I don't think you made it up. I think maybe you just misheard something."

"It's true," Coco replied. Sun stopped in his tracks as Neptune walked past chuckling.

"For real though?!" Sun shouted in disbelief. Coco stopped for a moment and crouched, shushing Sun with a finger to her lips.

"Velv. You hear that?" All of them listened closely for a long moment.

"Mmhmm." Velvet replied to Coco nodding.

"There's no way your hearing…" started Sun.

"Shhh!" Coco held a hand up indicating they stop. "You're right, my hearing isn't that good. My sunglasses have different digital filters installed in them."

"I knew they weren't just for show." Neptune mumbled under his breath. Coco turned to Velvet.

"Do you have Ember Celica loaded up?" she asked. Velvet nodded.

"I took it hours ago, before we started our mission. It should be good for a few good shots."

"One's all we need."

"Guys, I don't see anything," Sun said spinning slowly and squinting, trying to pick up on anything that might look suspicious.

"Just use Via Sun to throw Velvet into the air. Right there." She removed a flashlight from her pocket and shone it on the ground a few feet away.

"You got it Coco." Sun formed his clones and launched Velvet into the air. As she came down, she blasted the ground beneath her on impact and it crumbled away, opening into a cavern. Coco caught Velvet by the hand before she could fall in.

"Got you!"

"Thanks Coco." Velvet climbed back up with Coco's help and they peered inside. It was a large, poorly lit, underground storeroom of sorts, with a Nevermore chained to the walls, barely breathing. "What did they do to it?" They leapt down into the hole and peered around.

"Look at this!" exclaimed Neptune. The Grimm had tubes that ran from various points on its body to vials in a large sorting system. Sun joined Neptune, following the bloodstream while Coco and Velvet walked to the far side of the room. Coco looked through the files and papers that were scattered about on the work table. Velvet helped sift and flinched as she read one in a classified file, dropping its contents everywhere.

"Are you okay Velv?" Coco asked. Velvet nodded and gathered the papers up, handing them to Coco. Coco reviewed them. "The Fang are trying to alter Grimm blood into some sort of performance enhancer. Human trials have all ended in death, but more than seventy percent of Faunus trials were 'successful'. Adam has approved the 'drug' for distribution at the next Fang rally…" Coco's voice tapered off as she realized that the date listed indicated the rally they were at now. "Sun, call Blake and Yang! Tell them that no one can leave that rally!"

"What do we have here Miltia?" asked Melanie as she and her sister entered the room from a door beside the desk.

"It looks like a hipster and her pet bunny Melanie," Miltia replied.

"They weren't invited."

"What do we do with them then?"

"I think we teach them a lesson." Velvet stepped in front of Coco. Coco was shocked for a fleeting moment. Normally Velvet was reserved and calculated her attacks, but ever since they had been placed on Team CFVY, they were always protective of each other.

"I'd like to see you try." Velvet exclaimed. Sun and Neptune came running from the other end of the room, just to be batted in the face with Junior's rocket launcher as he and Emerald entered the room from a side passage.

"Step aside bunny," demanded Miltia.

"We wouldn't want you getting hurt," explained Melanie.

"I'll take you both out!" Velvet yelled at them. They giggled.

"Who does she think she is Miltia? Yang?"

"You've got no weapon bunny. You're screwed." At that moment Neptune swept Junior's feet out from under him with his trident and Sun did likewise with Emerald and his staff. She disappeared and reappeared behind him, running for him. They exchanged a few quick glances as he fired at her with his gun chucks and she directed them next to her. Junior disappeared also and Neptune transformed his trident back into a gun, standing behind Sun. Sun activated his semblance and both of his clones took off towards the new Emerald and Junior.

Meanwhile, Miltia ran for Velvet with her claws extended and Velvet cracked a grin. Moments before she reached her target, the Ember Celica formed on Velvet's arms and she deflected both blows. She took a gut shot and was thrown back to reveal Melanie mid front flip, heel blades at head level. Velvet shot Melanie twice, sending her bounding across the floor and landing at her sister's feet.

"Well?" asked Velvet. "How about it?"

Sun's clones simultaneously slammed into Emerald's new decoys giving Neptune enough time to catch a glimpse of Emerald and blast her into the wall with his gun. She hit the ground hard, revealing Junior. Sun spun his staff over his head before posing and taking off down the hall after a running Junior.

"Miltia, do you still have that gravity Dust Junior gave us?" asked Melanie.

"Of course I do." Miltia replied. The two girls ran in a circle around Velvet and Coco with blinding speed, causing a vortex of sorts. Coco and Velvet's hair whipped around.

"Thinking what I'm thinking?!" shouted Coco over the howling winds.

"CrossHares?" Velvet yelled back with an excitement in her voice.

"Exactly." Coco turned so that both she and Velvet were back to back and Velvet's weapon transformed into Coco's minigun. Coco transformed her purse as well and the two fired as they slowly turned clockwise. "Hell yeah!" The twins tumbled in separate directions and laid motionless on the floor, out of aura. "Neptune! Go get Sun! We gotta blow this joint and help the others stop the Fang!"

"Yes ma'am!" Neptune took off down the hall and Emerald slowly stood, stumbling and firing her guns, but missing horribly.

"You… You won't win." Coco transformed her gun back into a purse a slowly sauntered over to Emerald with Velvet behind her.

"It seems this battle was too much for you." Coco slammed her purse against Emerald's chin, sending her to the floor. Neptune and Sun came back into the room breathless.

"Junior got away!" Sun managed through gasps.

"That's fine…"

"It's not fine! He escaped into a tunnel system full of Faunus running from the area! They knew we were coming this whole time!" Neptune exclaimed as he propped himself against the wall. Velvet's ears flopped and she walked away from Coco.

"Velv?"

"It's probably my fault they knew we were coming. I thought we could trust him…"

"Velvet, you couldn't have known that he was going to double cross us. Now, pick yourself up by your bunny ears and show me what you can do." Velvet looked back at Coco who was smirking and nodded.

"Okay." Coco reached into her jacket and tossed a small disc at each corner of the room.

"Once we get in this passage way, don't stop running. This place is going to go up in flames. Use non-lethal force on these Faunus, some of them just don't know what they've gotten themselves into and if we can, seal off the exit. We need to end this thing tonight!"
__________________________________________________________________________________________

"You see love, the difference between you and I, is that I will always be one step ahead. At least far ahead enough to not let anyone betray me. Eventually they will. Maybe it won't be Yang. But one of them will, and when they do… You'll regret that you didn't heed my warnings." The Faunus that helped them sneak in their weapons fired a laser at Adam who removed his sword and absorbed the energy. A gut wrenching, twisted grin crept onto Adam's face. "Now he dies." Blake threw her gun to Ironwood and he caught it, pulling her towards him in an effort to deflect Moonslice. Adam blasted her back with Blush and removed his blade, taking one swift sweep through Ironwood and bisecting him.

"Ironwood!" yelled Blake. She dropped to her knees. It was happening all over again and somehow she didn't have the power to stop it. The tears began to fill her eyes. Her mind tried to block it all out and she could see Yang standing before her.

Why did you leave Blake? I needed you! I know you're scared and I know it's not easy, but I was scared too! We need to help each other!

Yang…

I don't want your excuses! You know why it pissed me off so much?! Do you know why I'm so angry Blake?! Because everyone that I love leaves!

Love?

I love you Blake… We can do this together. Neither of us needs to be alone anymore. I… I love you.

I love you too Yang. And I'm done running.

"You can stop him Blake," Ironwood called to her as he lay on the ground gasping for air. "You're not the same. You have hope and you have love and that's more than Adam ever had and it scares him. He knows he lost you and he knows he can't fix that failure. You can do…" He was stopped short as Adam ran Wilt through his chest.

"Who you going to believe my love? The General, who wanted to use you and your friends as weapons, or me. I see you for who you really are." Blake slowly stood and silently looked at the ground. "Which one will you choose?" A loud thundering came from nearby and Adam stumbled slightly. He could see the smoke and when he looked back up for Blake she was gone. "Typical."

"I'm done running away." She whispered in his ear. He swung around and sliced into her, his blade planting into her rock clone.

"You'll never be done running Blake. It's who you are. It's even your semblance." She wrapped Gambol Shroud around him and pulled him away from Wilt. As he unraveled he was face to face with her.

"That's where you're wrong." In the blink of an eye Blake created four gravity clones, shadowy looking replicas, and they batted Adam from one clone to the next, ending with the real Blake who knocked him to the ground. "Time to die Adam." She swung her blade down at him as it transformed back but he knocked it to the side, planting it in the ground. He rolled out and ran for Wilt, using three shots from Blush to free his sword.

"I'm impressed but if you don't mind, I have a revolution to lead." Blake transformed her weapon back into a gun and swung it wide in hopes of slicing down a tree along the edge of the woods. Before the gun reached halfway, Neo grabbed on and let the gun carry her. She let go and launched into the woods, only to be launched back out by Yang who caught the gun.

"Hey babe!" Yang called out to Blake. Neo flew through the air towards Adam who sliced at her and shattered her decoy. Her parasol latched Blush and she yanked it away as he spun around. She fired at him with it several times and he sliced through the bullets before reaching her. She blocked several slices with his gun before tossing it aside and teleporting. "You sure you're up for this Neo?" Neo's chest heaved slightly, but she nodded. Yang planted the gun in a tree trunk and nodded at Blake who held the other side. Yang planted her feet on the ribbon being held back by Neo's parasol hook. Neo released as Yang fired behind herself and grabbed the umbrella as she rocketed towards Adam. Blake and Neo rushed in to overwhelm him. Yang arrived and batted his sword to one side with the parasol, and landed two shots in his chest, sending him reeling back. Blake ran past him and used two gravity clones to send him back towards Yang.

He regained his footing and dodged her attack just to be kicked in the face by Neo. He lifted his sword and absorbed several shots from Yang, charging Moonslice quickly without Blush. He brought the sword down, preparing to slice through Yang, when his sword was greeted by Gambol Shroud and Blake's hand. His Moonslice attack had used all of its energy slicing through her blade and she caught the end of Wilt with her bare hand. Blood seeped out and dripped off of her hand and Adam looked back and forth between her and Wilt, slightly shocked and confused. Before he could plan another attack, Yang's fist split the gap between them and broke Wilt in half as Blake let go of the blade. Adam stood stunned.

"I underestimated you." Adam stated in shock. Blake held her sheath blade to his neck.

"Blake…" started Yang. Yang could see all of the aggression and pain that he was the cause of reach a peak in Blake and it only wanted to find freedom from its prison. Right now that freedom looked like killing Adam. "We need to take him into custody."

"Why did you do it?" Blake held back tears.

"My father taught me, that everyone will eventually turn on you. It doesn't matter if it's humans against humans, Faunus against Faunus, the former against the latter… Everyone will betray you at some point and all you can do is strive for the best scenario that will cause you the least pain. I had it. A foolproof plan that could have seen us happy together." He looked past her towards the woods. "And instead I drove you away. I betrayed you. Just like father did to mother and betrayed me." Adam slouched back. "I'm no better than my father."

Neo's scroll started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket, eyebrow raised and answered.

"Is everyone else there?" Asked Coco.

"Where's Ironwood?" asked Yang. Blake's eyes grew wide and she stepped to the side, allowing Yang to see Ironwood's torso. "Oh my-"

"Yang?"

"Coco. Ironwood-" Yang stumbled away from the scroll and fell onto Ironwood's chest. Blake slowly took the scroll from Neo, who walked over to join Yang.

"What is it Coco?" asked Blake.

"The Fang are escaping." Blake sighed. Adam sat there beside her, he seemed dazed.

"We'll have to clean them up later. Do what you can tonight. We have Adam, that should be enough to slow them if not bring them to a complete stop." Blake hung up and walked away from Adam for a moment to join Yang.

"Is this what we're destined for Blake? This isn't how anyone should have to die." Yang looked at Blake, she'd clearly been crying. Blake wrapped her arms around Yang and pulled her in.

"After Ruby and the others finish off Cinder, we won't have to worry about anything like this ever again. We can go back to Beacon and teach like you wanted." Yang chuckled and pushed Blake off of her.

"That was your idea," Yang exclaimed. Blake laughed.

"You liked it though." Yang shrugged and nodded. They both looked at Ironwood and a silence fell over them again. "Once Coco gets back we can figure all this out." Yang nodded and they returned to Adam to keep an eye on him.