𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (English)

Chapter 57

The Grimm were attacking a city or town, one without giant walls like Vale, and with a vast stretch of arid scrubland before it. Jaune stood amidst fallen Grimm with Crocea Mors in hand. Not far away, a woman blurred forward, a whip slicing down to nick and cut into a Beowolf, biting into its flesh while the wire wrapped around its leg. Electricity arched down the metal whip to burn it to death.

On his other side, a large and muscular man brought both hands down on the neck of another Beowolf, shattering its spine with incredible force before picking up its body and hurling it at a group of others.

Gunfire from behind them assisted in the effort, cutting through the gaps between them as a militia of sorts aided the huntsmen as best they could.

Except that they were not huntsmen.

Jaune realised it when the woman with the whip turned his way and a bone-white mask with red accents was revealed. White Fang. They all were. White Fang ahead, White Fang around him, and, further back, White Fang poised behind sandbags shooting at the oncoming horde.

"There!" shouted the woman, pointing at Jaune. Or through him. "A pocket has broken through! Stop them!"

"I'm on it!" a man snarled from behind.

A figure blurred backwards in a flash of black and red, chasing after an Ursa rampaging behind them toward the firing line. Screams rose up, matching the man's as he lunged at the Grimm and slashed down its back with a long, red sword. It cut through the Ursa's flesh with ease, forcing it to turn to him, where a second upward slash tore its head from its shoulders.

Not fast enough, though.

"Shit!" Adam cursed, pushing past the decomposing Grimm to check on the terrorist who had taken the brunt of the assault. "No, no, no. Can you hear me?" He knelt. "You're fine. You're going to be fine."

"I... I..." The faunus choked up blood. "I have a wife... a child..."

Adam trembled and clasped the man's hand. "What should I tell them?"

"I... I love..."

A rasp escaped him and he lay still, eyes rolling back as he slumped on the dusty ground. Adam trembled and reached down first to remove the mask, then to slide his hand over the man's face and close his eyes. When he stood, Jaune was there, his sword pointed at Adam's back. The man turned, noticed, and reached for his own weapon.

"What's the meaning of this?" Adam hissed. "We don't have time for your nonsense! Kuo Kuana needs us to..." His mask focused on Jaune fully. Adam's mouth opened in shock, then curled into an annoyed sneer. He sheathed his weapon and looked around. "None of this is real, is it? Just another nightmare."

Jaune kept Crocea Mors on him. "You know, then."

"Cinder warned us, of course, she had to. You may kill me if you wish, there's little I can do to stop you here. Don't bother interrogating me. I'll give nothing up and everyone in my camp is aware of you. If any of us die in our sleep, orders are to abandon the camp and move on."

The White Fang had specific counterplans for him. That ought to have been a compliment, even humbling, but it was instead more than a little worrying. Because if they had plans for how to not be harmed by him, then they almost certainly had considered the benefit to killing him entirely, of assassinating him in the middle of Beacon so he couldn't become a problem.

"You're awfully calm for someone in your position," Jaune said, buying time.

Snorting, Adam reached up and removed his mask, revealing the brutal brand across his left eye. Much of the text was too small, but the "SDC" was more than visible. Jaune didn't believe for a second Weiss knew, or that she'd be anything less than horrified if she did. He doubted even Jacques Schnee knew. This kind of monstrous behaviour wasn't something he'd bother with. He was too important to have a personal hand in abusing faunus, so this was likely some racist monster who'd worked their way up the SDC corporate ladder, and who was using their power to hide such crimes.