The three girls all groaned in frustration and mild pain, facing off against one they all have a grudge against. They didn’t even know how it came to this really. They remembered being teleported, something going wrong, and then appearing in some weird tundra with a kingdom unlike any they have seen before surrounded by a bubble.
If only that was their only problem. They were together, but separated from the rest of their friends. And now they had to deal with some spiteful psycho hellbent on torturing Blake. They knew they had to stop him, but he was far stronger than they gave him credit for. He clearly has been training for the past couple years since the fall of beacon, even if his performance at the attack on Haven was less than respectable.
What they didn’t know, was there was another man hiding within the shadow of the building, watching events unfold with a critical eye, just waiting for his moment to intervene, attack, or protect. The hidden man had to stop himself from acting recklessly, else he could put the others in danger. That didn’t stop him from lowly growling as Adam continued to mock and blame Blake for all the things that happened after she left him. The girls remained on all sides, far enough from each other to dodge, yet close enough to help. Eventually though, Weiss had had enough.
“Will you shut up! Blake didn’t do anything to you! All these back things, they’re your own damned fault Taurus!” Weiss screams. In response, Adam just growls, before perking up slightly, the reds of his outfit and hair glowing slightly. He smirks and turns to address Blake.
“You know Blake, I was planning on finishing what I started with your blond friend there, but I just remembered there is someone here I hate almost as much as you.” he says with an evil frown. Before they could really react, Adam unsheathed his sword, sending a moon slice to the former heiress.
Weiss takes a step to dodge, before losing her footing on a destroyed stone. Her eyes widen as she trips, the slash getting closer by the second. There was a sudden flash of red and grey, before the attack lands, kicking up large amounts of dust.
“WEISS!”
The girls look to where their friend was in fear, anger and sadness all at once, turning back to Adam with matching glares. They are about to attack, before noticing Adam hasn’t turned away from where Weiss was. Confused, the girls follow his sight, seeing the dust begin to settle. They perked up when they hear their friend coughing, before freezing in shock an confusion at what they are seeing.
Weiss wasn’t sure what just happened. She felt herself fall to the ground, an embarrassing moment for her, and she expected to feel excruciating pain, but as the seconds ticked by and she felt nothing, she risked to open her eyes. She had to do a double take at what she was seeing though.
What greeted her first was what looked like a white wolf with silver eyes, but as she looked again, she realized it was just an image, that of a wolf’s head looking back with some kind of red eclipse right behind it. She followed the image, seeing it was on the back of a mans jacket, overtop a red t-shirt. He had his hood up, and Weiss could just barely make out a scarf coming out from under his hood.
Then she remembered her hearing, and she could hear what almost sounded like bells or wind chimes. Looking past the man, she realized he had his right arm extended before him, and when she looks, her jaw nearly hit the ground.
The dust cleared, and everyone could see some kind of red and silver shield, made of some kind of plasma, or energy the likes of which they have never seen before. The girls all had to rub their eyes to make sure they were seeing things right. Weiss then noticed the mans hand was glowing the same colour as the shield.
“What the hell?!” Adam yelled in shock and annoyance. In response, the hooded man just huffed and closed his hand, the shield before him swirling before being condensed into a fist sized orb. Adam suddenly had a bad feeling about this. The man cocked his hand back, the orb following like it was in his hand.
“EAT THIS!” he launched the orb forwards, straight to Adam. He somehow knew he couldn’t block it, so he jumped left, the orb barely grazing his coat before going through the building behind him. Then the next. And the next. It went through them all before stopping in the back of the sixth building.
“Holy...” Yang mutters. Blake slowly nods along with her friend, before they shake their heads and turn to run to their friend. They found her just staring up at the man with more than a little shock, though she couldn’t see his face. It was almost like all light from under his hood was being drained by shadow.
”You alright Schnee?” he questions, Weiss slowly nodding, unsure of the mans intentions or alliances. She seemed to get her answer, when he offered her is hand, his stance relaxed, inviting. After a moments hesitation, she reached up, allowing the man to pull her to her feet.
’That idiot’s left himself wide open!’ Adam thinks before rushing forwards, appearing behind the duo in an instant. He thought he had them, but as he was swinging his sword, he noticed the man looking at him out of the corner of his hood. Adam thought he was going to counter attack, but instead his sword went straight through the duo, only for them to disappear like a shadow and reappear right next to Blake.
“What the?” Weiss mutters, looking around to her friends, who are just as confused. It was then she noticed the man was holding her shoulder, before letting go and walking forwards.
“Is it just me, or did he just use your semblance Blake.” Yang questions. Blake goes to answer, but gets interrupted.
”Not quite.” the trio turn to the man as he is staring down Adam. “Blakes Semblance is all her own. What I used was something else entirely. While it is similar, it had little to do with my Semblance. Now then.”
“Hey, am I the only one who thinks he sounds familiar?” Weiss question, her friends shrugging before grabbing the weapons as Adam charges. He doesn’t even make it half the distance before he is blocked by the hooded man. Adam swings his sword, only for his opponent to block it with the bottom of his boot. Adam looks between the his weapon and his opponent in confusion.
”Iron plated grooves. Sorry to tell you this. But your fights with me now!” Adam then receives a hard punch to the gut, sending him stumbling back a few feet.
”Hey Yang! the blond perks up as her name is called. “I hope you don’t mind if I copy you a bit.”
Yang tilts her head in confusion, before they see as a pair of bracelets extend into a pair of familiar gauntlets. Yang looks to hers in comparison, seeing they look almost exactly the same, but the colours are different and the chain of shells are all different coloured as well.
”So, you think you can beat me when those three didn’t even stand a chance? That’s just laughable.”
”No. I don’t Think I can beat you. I NEED to beat you. I have to get rid of the stain you have created on the world. And that starts with your death, Adam Taurus.”
Adam looks to his opponent with intrigue. Whoever he is facing, it was clear they knew quite a bit about him and his exploits. Sheathing his sword, Adam waits, expecting his opponent to come charging in like the blond behind him. He was only half right. His opponent took two steps forwards, before disappearing. Adam looked around in confusion, before his instincts kicked in and he jumped back. A moment later, the spot he was standing was all but blown up.
Looking to the small crater, they could see the man with his fist in the ground. Adam knew what happened. His opponent jumped or something, before letting gravity carry him back down, increasing the velocity of his punch that could have knocked him out.
”Damn. I missed.” the man mutters, standing straight again, before charging. Adam grabs his sword and swings, only for the man to block and redirect the blade with the back of his gauntlet, followed by a punch to the gut again. Adam growls and begins to try and cut his opponent, but every slash was blocked, dodged or redirected. It was almost like he knew what he was going to do before even Adam did.
On one swing, Adam’s blade was caught, before he received a headbutt to the face, causing him to stagger back again. He growls as the man merely retuned to his stance. He then glances over to the girls who have been watching in surprise, and smirks. Adam grabs his sword, and tried to do a repeat of what he did to Weiss.
”Oh crap, no you don’t!” the man suddenly disappears and reappears before the girls. They expect him to push them out of the way or something, but they weren’t expecting him to grab his own sword, and do the EXACT SAME THING as Adam. They watch in shock as the two moonslices strike each other, the resulting blast of wind causing the girls to shield their eyes.
Once the wind was down, they looked to their ‘saviour’ and could swear they heard glass breaking. The hood had fallen down, revealing a head of red and brown hair, two black horns, and a very, very, familiar mask, along with a similarly coloured scarf. There was a stunned silence that followed, everyone, even Adam, at a complete loss for words. Before Blake finally found her voice.
“Adam?”
*****
“Get to the castle! I promise once everything is over you can go back to work, and if you have any complaints, we’ll listen after we make sure that terrorist is in a cell!” Ruby yells out, the workers of one of the warehouses heading to the castle. This was the fifth warehouse they had evacuated, and Ruby was very worried and anxious.
After they had left Adam to take on...well, Adam, they had rushed through warehouse after warehouse, evacuating any ponies they had to so they wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire. At first they we’re taken seriously at all, but that changed when some kind of orb of magic bore through six warehouses, miraculously missing any ponies. Once that happened, they were taken seriously, some managers even staying with them to help evacuate neighbouring warehouses.
Neo rushes over to her new ally, holding out a note for her.
”According to Lock Box there are a couple more warehouses nearby that need to be evacuated. I’ll take the three to the eastern side, you go with Crystal Bit and evacuate the two on the west side.”
Ruby nods, glancing back to the warehouse her team was at after another burst of energy went off. She whines slightly as her worry spikes again, Neo placing a hand on her shoulder. Neo sighs and takes out a small notepad and pen, writing a response.
”As much as I hate to admit it, you’re a good leader Ruby, and I understand you’re worried about your team. But you need to trust Adam. I may not know him very well personally, but I can tell, he’s one of the good ones. Like your friend, Jaune.”
Ruby looks slightly down to the older girl, nodding slightly and take a breath, adjusting her mask. With a small smile, the duo split up, meeting with their respective pony guides and heading to the next warehouses.
‘Adam. Good luck, and please Yang, don’t hurt him too bad.’
*****
The stunned silence at followed Blake’s question was torture for everyone, none of them having any idea on what was going on right now. The man that had been protecting them, looked exactly like the one trying to kill them in the first place. Adam sighs, lowering his scarf.
”You know, I was kinda hoping to keep this a secret a little longer. At least until I could knock this bastard out.” he turns to his stunned counterpart. ”Well, plans never last long against first contact with the enemy.”
“Okay seriously, what the hell is going on here?! Who are you?!” Yang exclaims, her friends and her getting into combat stances. The two Adam’s just continue staring at one another.
”Can’t believe I am saying this, but I am actually with Yang there. Who the hell are you, and why do you look exactly like me?!” Taurus demands.
”Well its because I am you.” was the instant reply, throwing everyone off guard. Winger slowly shakes his head. ”No, that’s not right. I am who you could have, and should have been Adam.”
”That doesn't make any sense!”
”I suppose that doesn’t, but really, who cares. Right now all you need to know it I am the guy who is going to kick your ass.” he glances back to the girls. ”I suggest you three stay back. He’s mine.”
“What, then you’re going to attack us after you beat him?” Blake questions. Winger just sighs, turning to address her.
”I know you think it is total bull crap, but I am on your side Blake. I don’t want to hurt you, I just want to take this guy down, and protect the city.”
Taurus growls as his counterpart talks so calmly to her. To his love. To the one he need to make suffer most. Taurus crouched, hand on his weapons. He was noticed, and then copied by his counterpart, the duo mirror images of each other. The girls just looked back and forth between the two, clearly scared about what is about to happen.
“Um...I think we should listen to him and take cover.” Weiss mutters.
Not a second after she said that, the two Adam’s launched themselves at each other, clashing in a burst of wind. The girls had to stand firm as the wind rushes past them, the two men locked in the exact same position as each other. With a click, both swords were fired, the two of them sent flying into the air.
While Taurus was prepping to catch his sword, he was struck by a roundhouse in the same spot as before, sending him back a few feet and causing his sword to land harmlessly before him, while Winger caught and sheathed his.
”You can’t win Adam.”
”Shut up! I don’t care who you think you are, but you will NOT get in the way of my path.”
Winger just sighs, picks up his opponents sword, and tosses it to him. Taurus caught it, but was confused. Why did his opponent give him back his weapon?
”I told you I am who you should have been Adam, and that means I posses what you should have embodied. Honour, loyalty, respect, justice. But you don’t embody them, you can’t embody them. You won’t accept your own failings, and choose to lash out at any and all who try to help you. You are nothing more than a sociopathic, spiteful dog, who has been let off his leash for far too long. And I am going to put an end to that.”
The original growls as his counterpart berates him, charging almost blindly and being blocked at every strike, slash and shot. Each one was deflected, absorbed or dodged. It was almost as if he could see the attacks before they happened. Taurus chose to test that, continuing to attack in his normal style, seeing how easily he was being blocked, before jumping back and getting into a defensive stance.
Not a second too soon as Winger rushed forwards, going on the assault, using the exact same fighting style, his moves almost mechanical, carbon copies of Taurus own. With a smirk, Taurus sought to capitalize on their same fighting style, waiting a few strikes before seeing an opening. He goes to cut his opponent while he is unsheathing his sword, only for his opponent to punch his sword back into the sheath, throwing him off balance and leaving him open for another roundhouse to the gut, sending him on his back for a second before he rights himself. He growls and glares at his opponent, his counterpart calmly sheathing his sword and staring at him.
“So, any bets on who's winning?” Weiss whispers, the trio staying back in an alleyway and watching the battle.
“I couldn’t tell you Weiss. They seem evenly matched, but the Adam that was protecting us seems better in terms of martial arts that the one that attacked us.” Blake replies, never taking her eyes off the two warriors.
Yang was just silent, watching the fight with a shaking hand, still wrapping her head around what she is seeing. It doesn’t make sense, this shouldn’t be possible. There shouldn’t be two of them.
Taurus growls as his opponent slowly walks around him, his expression hidden behind his mask and scarf. He could tell, he needed to be more aggressive if he wanted to win and move to his actual targets. With a snarl, he rushed forwards, but instead of unsheathing his sword, he pulled back his fist to punch. The attack was caught by his opponent, but Taurus quickly pivoted on his heel, forcing his opponent over his shoulder and onto the ground.
Taurus was barely able to smirk at his copycats pained groan, before a pair of boots found themselves connecting with his lower jaw, sending him staggering as his opponent flipped back onto his feet.
”Not bad, but you’ll have to try harder than that if you wanna hope of beating me. My training was far greater that yours Adam.” Winger smirked at his opponents snarl, cracking his knuckles while adjusting his gauntlets.
’I can’t tell if he is holding back, but so far I have been able to keep him on his toes, but that won’t be enough. I can’t keep using the same style with the odd melee attack. I need to use a different style.’
’This guy is more than a copycat. I can tell he has had different training, and he almost seems like how I use to be when I was younger. Whatever he is, I can’t keep leaving so many openings. I have to end him.’
The duo stood across from each other again, before Winger began to snicker, which turned into a chuckle and then full blown laughter. Taurus and the huntress trio looked to him with confusion, and more than a little apprehension.
”You know Adam, I just realized that we are going to be stuck here if things continue like they have. This entire time, we have been copying one another, using our shared skills and Semblance.” Adam lowered his scarf to show off his wide and menacing grin. They watch in shock as black and green energy suddenly covers his hands. ”Let’s change that shall we?”
Taurus could barely raise his sword in time to block as Winger launched himself at his confused counterpart, his hands covered in the odd energy, and striking Taurus weapon. Taurus growls and pushed back, Winger flipping through the air and stopping in the shadow of a building, his grin never leaving his face.
’W-what is that? That isn’t our Semblance, and I have never seen anything like it.’
Winger chuckles as he walks backwards, confusing his opponent and WBY, before they are shocked as he walks into the buildings shadow, disappearing from view instead of bumping into the building. Taurus looks around frantically as his own voice echos around the area, laughing in a mocking tone he is oh so familiar with. Now he knows how it feels to be on the receiving end of it.
”Hehehe, hows it feel Adam? To feel such confusion? Such fear and anxiety? Remember it, for you have caused so many humans and faunus to feel this. And I will make sure you NEVER forget this feeling.”
Taurus suddenly looks up as he sees a shadow, seeing his counterpart looking down on him from atop the building, before Winger raises his right hand to the sky.
”Know despair. Dark Rondo!”
No one was prepared when dark energy like ghosts began to rise up from the shadows, condensing in Winger’s hand before he thrust his hand forwards, the ghostly beams sending a shiver through all their spines even as Taurus began to dodge and block the attacks.
He was so busy defending himself from the spell, he wasn’t prepared for Winger to suddenly jump down and try to drop kick him, his feet and shins covered by the same green energy. The resulting strike sent Taurus flying into more beams, redirecting him into the side of one of the buildings.
He looked up from his spot on the ground, watching as dark markings began to appear on his counterparts flesh and clothing. He couldn’t help but shiver as he sees that menacing grin, before anger and rage took over for the fear. He forced himself to his feet, the last attack surprising him.
”Well how about that, you’re still standing. Colour me impressed....not.” Winger mocks, a dark aura unlike any the Remnant natives have seen before appearing around him. Taurus ignored his sense of unease and fear, gripping his sword in anger.
With a roar he rushed towards his counterpart, Winger never moving from his spot, even as Taurus swung his sword. The blade went straight through him, but like when they started, Adam disappeared in a swirl of shadow, appearing a few paces away. He smirked as the dark energy condensed in his hands again, extending into a pair of whip-like forms.
”Zero Slash.”
Taurus was forced to defend again as the two whips of energy threatened to sear him, the energy sending a chill up his spine, even as the energy was being absorbed by his Semblance. On one swing, the energy whip wrapped firmly around his sword, Taurus nearly losing his grip on it. He growled and gripped his shotgun, shooting at his opponent, but each shot was blocked with Winger’s free hand.
Suddenly, Taurus couldn’t help but draw parallels to one of his spats with Cinder, the witch blocking his shots just like this. He growled again and let go of his sword, charging at his opponent while shooting, Winger jumping back and blocking the shots. Taurus regained his sword and slashed with his Semblance.
”Guard Shadow!” Winger raised his arms, the shadows around him rising into a dark cocoon and blocking the slash. Taurus was stunned, this being the second time his Semblance was blocked completely. Winger smirked and slammed his hand on the ground. ”Shadow Orochi!”
Taurus spun his sword on instinct, barely blocking the snakes made of shadow from taking a bite out of him. He would never admit it, but he really did not like snakes. He was so distracted by the snakes, he didn’t notice his opponent appearing behind him until he felt a hand on the centre of his back.
”This ones for Sienna.” That was all the warning he got before he felt like he was punched in the back by lightning, the tingling sensation staying with him as he was launched through the air. But Winger wasn’t done.
”This ones for Ilia.” He lost the air in his lungs as a hard kick was driven into his stomach, sending him flying another direction.
”This ones for the humans and Faunus you murdered!” He felt as his shoulder strained to stay in its socket as he was grabbed by the arm and thrown into the air.
”This ones for Weiss and Ruby!” Adam could feel a couple of his teeth cracking despite his aura protecting him as he was stuck hard in the face. He could barely open his eyes while in midair in time to see his copycat, void of his mask, looking to him with anger and disappoint in his silver eyes. He watched as he pulled his arm back, his hand not in a fist, but palm first.
”AND THIS IS FOR BLAKE AND YANG!” Winger struck Taurus in the centre of his chest, his palm staying there for a moment, before he twisted it, and there was a burst of energy. Adam Taurus aura shattered like glass as he was sent flying into then through the wall of one of the warehouses, his blindfold unwrapping and flying another direction. Taurus could barely register what happened, before his eyes rolled up and he passed out from the pain.
Winger stood there for a moment, panting hard, trying to regain his composure. He sighed after a moment, putting his mask back on and wiping the side of his head with his scarf. He couldn’t help but feel a small sense of accomplishment as he saw the aftermath of his attack.
The members of Team RWBY were speechless as they saw all that. They had never in their lives seen attacks like what they just witnessed. But more than that, the words the second Adam announced while he was fighting had struck an odd cord with the three girls. For the Weiss and Ruby? For Blake and Yang? It didn’t make any sense.
They were unsure of what to do, merely staying behind the building and continuing to watch as their ‘saviour’ sat down and took some deep breaths, trying to calm down. Suddenly, Blake’s ears shifted, and she could hear boots running across the ground heading in their direction. Adam noticed as well, shifting from his spot and looking to one of the buildings.
”It’s about time! You missed all the fun!” he called out, the girls looking where his is looking. They blinked as several rose petals and embers began to appear with the wind, before an all too familiar voice rung out.
“Hey give me a break Adam! Do you know how many workers were nearby?” The girls watch in shock as their leader, Ruby Rose, appears on the edge of the buildings roof. She smirked as she saw Adam sitting on the ground. “But from the looks of things, you took care of it without me.”
Adam just rolled his eyes, smiling up to his friend, while the rest of her team were stunned at the casual tone they were taking with each other. Yang and Blake in particular were rapidly looking back and forth between the two.
“Girls, if you keep doing that, you’ll end up snapping your necks!” Ruby calls out, jumping down from her perch on the roof. The rest of her team slowly come out from behind the building. There was a beat, then Ruby was suddenly on the ground.
“RUBY!” Was all she could hear as her teammates tackled her to the ground, causing her to groan and wheeze as all her air was launched out her lungs. She missed as her mask was knocked off her belt.
“Oh my gods Ruby you’re ok! I was so worried!” Yang yelled, hugging her little sister tightly.
“Ack! I-I missed you too Y-Yang. Now p-please, let me breath!” Ruby struggled to say, the blond blinking for a second before releasing her captive. Blake and Weiss giggle at their teammates embarrassment, Yang just struggling to not laugh as well as she helped her sister to her feet.
“Whoa. Hey Ruby? Where’d you get that replica? It looks exactly like your outfit you had back in Beacon. And what’s that symbol on the back of your cape?” Blake question, looking over her leader with a small smile.
“Oh, my friend Rarity made the clothes for me. She is an amazing dressmaker and seamstress, so making this wasn’t a problem for her. As for the symbol...well its kinda hard to explain.” Ruby replies, adjusting her bullet belt. Weiss smiled to her younger leader and took a step forwards, before feeling something bounce off her foot. The ice queen looked down and tilted her head before picking up the object. She froze and looked to Ruby in shock and a little horror.
“R-ruby?” The rest of the team turns to Weiss. “W-why do you have a Grimm mask?”
Ruby’s eyes widen as she looks at her belt, finally noticing her mask in Weiss hand. There was a stunned silence, Ruby unsure what to say. Luckily she didn’t need to.
”Well, it is a necessity for higher ranking members of the White Fang.” the girls turn to Adam as he stretches, a smirk on his face. ”Ain’t that right....Acting Sergeant Rose?”
On reflex Ruby stood at attention and saluted. “Yes sir.” The girls look back and forth between the duo in shock, before Adam burst out laughing.
”OH OH GODS YOUR FACES!!” he cries out, falling on his back and laughing. Ruby blushes sheepishly to her team and takes her mask back, securing it to her belt.
“ADAM! It’s not funny!” Ruby pouts, the Faunus finally getting back to his feet.
”Hehhe, haha hooo boy. Ok, ok I’m good. Ahem, sorry, couldn’t really help myself there.” he chuckles, his warm smile sending an odd feeling down Blake’s back. She couldn’t help but remember when she used to see that smile back on Remnant.
“Umm...could someone fill us in here? I mean, who the heck are you um, Adam?” Weiss question, surprising everyone. Though, they did notice she was holding Myrtenaster cautiously.
”Wow Weiss. Not going to lie, you were one of the last people I would expect to ask that so calmly.” Adam comments, looking to Ruby who shrugs. With a breath, Adam lowers his scarf but keeps his mask on. Blake and Yang couldn’t help but feeling uneasy talking to this man. ”Right then. So, my name is Adam as you might have guessed by now. Obviously I am very different that that bastard in the wall over there.”
Ruby looks to where he is pointing and winces slightly at the damage. “Damn Adam, you weren’t messing around.” Adam just looks to her, and Ruby can tell she was getting a deadpan stare.
“Ya think? No offence sis, but this guy doesn’t mess around.” Yang mutters, never taking her eyes off the man before her. Adam sighs again, rubbing the back of his head. Before he can talk though, they were interrupted by a ringing coming from Adam’s pocket. The faunus quickly dug out his scroll and saw it was from Neo. Confused, he answered it.
”Taurus here.”
“Adam! What the heck were you doing and why are there so many workers here in the castle?!” Adam winces as Shining Armor’s voice could be heard loud and clear for all to hear from his scroll.
”Shining! Stop yelling I can hear you just fine. And about the workers....”
While he was talking on his scroll to Shining Armor, Ruby was suddenly dragged back a few feet by her team and all but pinned in the corner.
“Ok Ruby, spill. What the hell is going on, where are we, and who the hell is that Adam lookalike?” Yang demands, constantly looking over her shoulder to Adam, despite Blake keeping her eyes on him.
“Well for your second question, we’re not in Remnant anymore if that is what you are asking.” Ruby replies, prying her sisters hands of her biceps. Yang didn’t miss how firmer her sisters arms felt. “We’re in another world called Equestria. More specifically we are in a place called the Crystal Empire. Creative, I know.”
“Equestria? Why do I feel like that was a pun?” Yang mutters, much to Weiss annoyance.
“We can worry about potential puns later Yang. Ruby, can you at least answer her third question?” Blake all but begs, watching Adam as he rubs his face in annoyance.
“Well....its kinda hard to explain. That Adam, as you girls have seen, is very different than the one you were just fighting. He’s nice first of all, and he has absolutely no animosity towards humans.” That caught Blake’s attention, making her look to her leader.
“Say what now?”
“Yeah I was just as surprised when I met him. Then again I may be slightly biased considering I have been living with him for the past couple months.” That caused her teammates eyes to widen.
“MONTHS?!” Ruby covers her ears as her team screams that.
”Hey! Everything alright?!” Adam calls out, getting a sheepish thumbs up from Ruby. Adam narrows his eyes, (not that they could tell), then went back to his call.
“What do you mean months?! We were together less than a day ago!” Blake yells.
“Well, it seems like when the teleportation device went haywire it teleported us through dimension, but it ended up teleporting us all here, but at different intervals of time. At least I think that’s how Twilight put it.” Ruby mutters.
“Ok, teleporting through dimensions, I can kinda get, but teleporting us into different points in time? That’s just confusing.” Weiss mutters.
“This coming from the one who can dilate time with her semblance?” Blake replies, Weiss begrudgingly nodding.
“Point taken.”
Yang shakes her head and grabs her arm, trying to stop it from shaking. “It’s bad enough that we had to fight him barely a day after we arrived here, but now there’s two of them?! We are so dead.” Ruby grabs Yangs shaking hand and rubs her shoulder.
“Calm down Yang. Remember what I just said, that Adam on his scroll is a good guy. He’s a friend. He’s been helping not only me, but Oscar, Uncle Qrow, Neo, and the natives from this world to. Please, at least give him a chance.” Ruby pleads, her sister taking a few breaths to help as her hand slowly stops shaking.
“Ok. Ok, ok. I’m...I’m good Ruby.” Yang says quietly, Ruby smiling and rubbing her arm. Yang chuckles slightly. “Since when did you grow into such a great woman?”
“Around the same time you faced the spring maiden.” Ruby replies, before leaning close to her sister ear and whispering. “By the way...I know it wasn’t Vernal.”
Yang freezes up as her sister leans back with a smirk, winking to her sister before looking to Adam as he closes his scroll with a sigh.
”Well looks like Shining is annoyed by what has been going on, but he understands now and is getting a medical team ready for when we arrive just incase.” Adam says, carefully eyeing the new humans as they do the same to him. Ruby just smiles and nods.
“Makes sense. Neo and I didn’t really have time to explain what was going on before I bolted over here.” Ruby mutters.
“Well, I guess we should get going?” Weiss adds lamely.
While the group of five were talking and figuring out what to do, none of them noticed a dark energy seeping into the rubble where Adam is.
*****
Deep with a magical vault, several floors beneath the castle and the crystal heart, a red and black horn was kept in a very powerful magic box. The box was meant to keep in any number of dark magics and keep it in. Unfortunately, there were dark forces the creators of the box never thought of, let alone encountered. And that, would be their undoing in a few moments. For they underestimated the determination of darkness.
Within the dark unicorn horn, there was a semi-dormant entity, a consciousness born of the dark and hatred. It was sealed within the horn of its previous host, the former king of the Crystal Empire, Sombra. Despite its dormant nature, it was always trying to escape, trying to find a way out and find a new host to posses and use.
It was during one of these conscious attempts to escape, that the entity sensed something. Or rather, someone. It could feel him, this being fulled with anger, hatred, spite and a very twisted sense of justice. If it had a body, the entity would be salivating at the sensations.
’Yessss. This feeling. So much negativity. They will make a perfect host for me and my kin.’
The entity knew it had to escape, before its new host was lost to it. With all its remaining might, all its slowly draining magic, it pushed against the barrier of its confinement. And in that moment, it broke through. The ‘hole’ in the barrier was only the size of a pinhead, but it was enough. With more determination than ever considered before, the entity forced its way through the hole on the tip of the horn, appearing as a coal black mass of mist with a single yellow eye with a slit pupil and a near unnoticeable tiny red heart symbol on the back. The mist was only the size of an apple, but it was enough.
It would smile with mad glee if it could, as the small mass of darkness seeped through the minuscule cracks of the room, going through the ground of the empire, bearing the pain of passing through so much positivity in the area, before it could sense it was nearing its quarry.
Before long it arrived where it could sense the negativity, hiding in the shadows as it viewed several creatures, humans, it remembered, before looking to the hole in the wall of the building.
It’s eye narrowed. It found its target.
Adam’s Mind
“Damn it. Damn it. DAMN IT!”
These thoughts were really all that were going through Adam’s mind as he was unconscious, his anger, hatred and frustration the only things breaking through the fog of his mind.
“DAMN IT ALL! I swear when I get up that guy is dead! How dare he lecture me! He clearly doesn’t know what I went through. If he did he would have joined me and killed those bitches!”
He continues to mentally rant to himself in anger, not noticing as his mind becomes darker and darker around him.
”So it’s vengeance against the humans you seek?”
Adam turned in the darkness, looking for the voice.
“Who’s there?!” He yells to the void, turning around almost frantically. As he turned again, he was greeted by an eye floating before his face.
”Perhaps we can help one another then.”
Adam jumped back and reflexively went to grab his sword, before noticing it was missing, along with his shotgun and mask.
“Who the hell are you?” He questions, feeling like he should be freaking out with talking to an eye.
”We are....complicated. We are darkness itself. We could be your ally. Or we could be your demise.”
“That doesn’t explain anything. If your not here to help me out then you can get the hell out.” He snarls, still not sure where ‘here’ is himself.
The entity merely widened its eye, and it would be grinning if it could.
”Perhaps you didn’t hear me about something. I said I could be your ally. I could help you in defeating these women, no, these children, and that stain that dares wear your face.” the darkness around Adam shifted, an odd purple mist wrapping around him like a snake. And yet, he didn’t seem to notice as he looked at the eye over his shoulder.
“And how the hell would you do that?” He questions, unknowingly breathing in the mist.
”We are darkness itself, but from what we saw, that fool has been using a bastardized form of our powers. He fuels his darkness with positivity and hope. But you....you could use true darkness, fuelled by your desires and hatred. You could be and are stronger than them all Adam.” the being continues to whisper sickly sweet promises to the faunus, who was completely unaware of all the mist around him. He turned to the eye and grinned, his left eye snapping open despite his scar.
“I’m listening.” The entity mentally ginned as Adam’s left eye turned a sickly yellow.
*****
“Alright, so you girls have your things?” Ruby questions as her teammates bring out their suitcases they hid in the warehouse alongside Yang’s motorbike, Bumblebee.
“Yeah, and thank gods the teleporter brought my baby with us.” Yang sighs, rubbing her bike. The others roll their eyes at the blonds priorities. Adam just grins as the girls relax a little, before motioning to follow. Almost reluctantly, the other members of team RWBY follow the faunus, but as they were about to leave the area, he stopped.
“Adam? What’s wrong?” Ruby questions, looking to her friend in confusion.
None of the girls were prepared for him to quickly jump off the sides of the buildings they were between and then over them to look at where the other Adam was. All their eyes widened as they now saw all the black mist seeping out of the rubble like a Grimm.
“The hell?” Yang mutters, extending her singular gauntlet while her team grabs their weapons. Adam was just silently standing before them, a frown crossing his face as he stared at the rubble. Before long they hear as the rubble begins to move and eventually, the other Adam digs himself out and stands up.
Despite himself, Adam placed his hand on the left side of his face as he sees the brand mark on his counterparts face. But something was decidedly wrong. The black mist like a Grimm was seeming to emanate from Adam, and they could barely see as some of his visible injuries were rapidly closing up.
”Damnit, guess I wasn’t convincing enough for him to listen and stay down.” Adam mutters, hand on the trigger of his sheath. ”Let’s fix that.”
Adam pulled the trigger and his sword shot out, quickly followed by the faunus himself. He wasn’t really prepared though, for his counterpart to raise his hand and deflect the blade into the air. Not one to get distracted, Adam caught the blade on the way down and swung, planning on putting an end to his counterpart once and for all.
Everyone was shocked though, when Adam grabbed the sword with his bare hand, no aura, and stopped it dead in its tracks.
”W-what?” he then got a good look at his opponents face, and shivered. Adams right eye was a bright, almost neon blue, but his left?
His left eye was a sickly yellow, the pupil was slit like a cats and the sclera was a dark coal black. Not only that, but black veins were visible around his eye, almost like Salem.
Adam was so distracted and stunned by the sudden change, he couldn’t react in time as his opponent suddenly jabbed him in the stomach, followed by a heavy haymaker to the face, sending him flying into a building.
“ADAM!” Ruby yelled in worry, turning her glare to the scarred original. With an angered yell, Ruby shot behind her, flying towards the bastard before her. Adam merely looked to her with a neutral expression and stomped on the ground. Ruby blinked as coal black crystals sprouted from around Adam’s foot, creating a barrier before him. Ruby growled slightly as she landed on the crystals and shot back to her team, the wall shattering like glass as soon as she jumped back.
“What the hell was that?!” Weiss exclaims.
“Magic.” Ruby bluntly replies, shocking her team.
“What? B-but I thought only Ozpin and the maidens had magic?” Blake questions, aiming her gun at the still form of her former ally.
“Yeah well things as different here in Equestria. Seriously, at this point there’s like, two entities in the this world that haven’t used magic. Well, five now.” Ruby mutters, her glare staying on Adam’s form.
The scarred man seemed to ignore the girls, looking at his hands with a neutral expression. At least, that was the case for a minute before he looked up with a bone-chilling grin.
”Remarkable. So much power.” the girls flinch as they hear his voice, or rather voices. It sounded like there was a second person talking at the same time as Adam, its voice was sickly sweet, maniacal. They all take an involuntary step back.
Adam grins and glances around for a moment before rushing forwards almost as fast as Ruby and picks up his sword before heading to the girls.
Yang rushes to meet him halfway, blocking his sword strike with her right arm. Barely. She glares back at the mad smirk Adam has before pushing him off and launching a few shots from her arms, which he seems to block with ease. Adam runs towards her, creating three other afterimages, causing her to flinch.
Seeing their friend in trouble Blake and Weiss rush to her side and stand back to back as Adam and his afterimages circle them.
“Wait for it.” Weiss mutters before stabbing her weapon into the ground, creating a white glyph that launches the trio into the air as Adam and his clones rushed forward to slash, just barely missing the heiress foot.
Ruby sought to take advantage of his miss and launched herself to him from behind to hit his back. She was shocked then, when one of Adam’s afterimages blocked her itself. For a brief moment, Ruby was suspended in the air with the Adam clone blocking her attack, and she got a good look at it.
The entire being was pitch black with wisps of smoke coming off it, the beings mismatched yellow and blue eyes glowing with malice as it blocked her. She looked past it for the briefest moment, and blinked as she saw the rose on the back of Adam’s jacket had changed into an odd heart symbol she had never seen before.
Time seemed to unpause as another clone jumped over the one blocking her and dropkicked the young huntress in the face, sending her flying back a few meters before she righted herself.
“Ruby, are you ok!?” Weiss calls out, rushing to her partners side while Blake and Yang began to fight the shadow images. Ruby rubbed her jaw with a slight wince.
“Yeah, I’m ok. But what was that? Adam’s Semblance is a conduit based energy absorption. Not cloning!” Ruby questions, watching as her sister and teammate seemed to kill one of the clones, only for it to dissolve into black mist and head back to Adam, who inhaled it with a smile. She frowned and headed towards the recovering version with worry.
”Yup, I am definitely feeling that tomorrow.” Adam mutters as he regained his senses from slamming his head against the wall. He heard and smelt Ruby and Weiss before he could see them.
“Adam, somethings happened to the other Adam. He’s gone dark or something!” Ruby states, causing Adam to perk up and shake his head before looking to his evil counterpart. He blinked once. Twice. Then he raised his mask and rubbed his eyes before looking again. Sure enough, Adam was seeing one evil counterpart inhaling black mist from three destroyed shadow clones.
“Ok, I don’t suppose you have any idea what happened to him do you Adam?” Blake questions as she and Yang rush over.
Adam was silent and frowned before his horns lit up with their red and silver aura. The newcomers looked surprised for a moment before turning their attention back to their opponent who just stretched with a grin. Adam gasped and fell back a bit before catching himself.
”Impossible. He’s filled with some much dark magic energy. It should be bursting! He shouldn’t be alive right now!” Winger announces with slight fear, causing the girls to shiver slightly as Taurus chuckles darkly.
”You would be right about that. If we were to simply use darkness, then we would be overpowered and consumed by it. But what do you think happens, when one willingly joins the darkness?” He says with an evil chuckle, grabbing his sword with his right hand, and holding the left out parallel to the ground.
The five warriors ready themselves for his attack, but they weren’t prepared for a pillar of black crystal to suddenly sprout behind them. Adam saw it a split second before the girls and barely managed to push them just out of the way, but the pillar still stuck him like a truck and sent him flying forwards. Right into Adam’s swung sword.
Adam could feel his aura straining to stay together against the double attack, and he managed to keep it, but he did lose his breath as he was sent sprawling to the ground, black spots in his vision.
“ADAM!” He could hear the four voiced yell. But he couldn’t move, tiny black crystals forming around his torso.
’What is this?’ He questions, seeing the four huntresses charge the man before him. ‘Why can’t I move? Why do I feel so....weak?’
He ponded this as he watched Adam meet the girls head-on. He blocked Blake with his sword and speed easily. He dodged and parried Weiss attack like it was nothing. He ducked and rolled away as Ruby swung her weapon. He met Yang’s frontal attacks with his own sword.
The girls were growing frustrated, worried and more than a little scared. What was going on? How is he so much faster and stronger now?
After a few failed strikes, the team regrouped as Adam cracked his neck.
”Our turn.”
With a grin, Adam raised his leg, and slammed it down on the ground hard enough to crack the crystal street. Suddenly black thorn like crystal began to sprout and head to the four girls, who then scattered to avoid the attack.
Ruby used her Semblance to zoom around the area, rose pedals and embers being left in her wake. She frowned as she made several sharp turns in every direction to avoid the seemingly randomly attacking crystals. She got cut on the wrist once as she was bursting upwards, and instantly felt her energy drain.
‘W-what’s happening?’
Weiss used her glyphs to launch herself around the area as well, summoning pillars of ice and bolts of lighting and fire to destroy and block the incoming attacks. During one jump where she landed on the wall of a building for a moment, she winced as she was cut by a small crystal on the ankle. Like her leader, Weiss suddenly felt weaker, her glyph fading for a moment before she launched herself away.
‘What just happened?’
Blake used her swords to slice through the oncoming crystals with some difficulty, while using her natural feline instincts to dodge and jump away. She frowned as she turned her weapon into its smaller form and threw it, hooking onto the roofs of one of the building and swinging away, but not before get a small cut on her left leg. The instant the cut appeared, she felt her knees go weak, not a moment after she jumped and began to swing.
‘Where did my strength go?’
Yang growled as she met the incoming crystals head-on, shattering the attacks with her own blasts while trying not to stay in one place. She moved her head to the side then punched upwards at an oncoming crystal, the thing shattering and sending shards raining down on her. She got cut on her arm and her shoulder, and almost fell to her knee before rolling away from another ‘vine’.
‘What the hell is going on?!’
The four huntresses continued to defend and run, their strength leaving them quickly as they got cut more and more from the dark crystals, before they managed to regroup, their auras running low.
“W-what the hell? Why am I so...tired?” Yang question, trying to regain her breath. Her own Semblance wasn’t even useful since she hadn’t technically taken much damage.
“It’s those crystals. They’re draining our auras or something.” Weiss mutters, trying to stay on her feet with her rapier stabbed into the ground to steady herself. She was slightly behind her friends, and this proved to be her undoing.
”Correct. I guess you’re not just a spoon fed bitch after all.” The four girls were frozen for less than a second, but that was all the opening needed for the dark Adam to slash at the former heiress, Weiss barely turned to blocking with her arms, before being sent into the wall, her aura shattering like glass with a yell of pain.
“NO!” Her team screamed as Weiss fell to the ground, blood slowly seeping from the shallow slashes on her forarms, as well as dark crystals forming on them. Despite herself, Weiss was suddenly hit with a sense of déjà vu from their battle at Haven. Only Jaune wasn’t here this time around. She mentally chuckled as she thought about the white knight of JNPR.
Adam Winger’s eyes widened and time seemed to slow for him as he watched Ruby’s BFF fall to the ground. He mentally screamed at himself, trying to get up from his position on the ground to help, but his body wouldn’t respond, a numb sensation spreading through his body from the crystals on his stomach.
’Get up damnit! They need help! Move, for fucks sake move!’
He couldn’t move at all, not even as he watched Ruby try and slash the dark Adam to pieces, her anger clear for all to see on her face. The same face she had when they met. She was the next to fall as Adam blocked her scythe then summoned a pointed crystal to hit her in the stomach, Ruby’s aura shattering as well as getting lightly stabbed by the black gem, the hooded huntress falling to her knees and clutching her stomach, a small amount of blood slipping through her fingers. Adam could see it clearly through his misted and teary eyes.
’PLEASE! Get up for gods sake! I need to help them!’
He groaned, and tried with all his might to get his knees under him, hearing as Yang and Blake defended themselves as best there could, but Adam knew they were outmatched, both physically and mentally. He had seen Yang’s arm shaking, he knew her PTSD would act up sooner rather than later.
His mask fell off at the same second he heard Yang scream, the blond warrior having a thin black crystal sticking out of her good arm, her aura long since broken, another pointed crystal at her neck keeping her in place as she was scared to move. Blake tried to get to her, only for several black pillars to form a cage around her. The faunus realized too late as the crystals formed a roof, completely trapping her.
“YANG!” Blake grabbed her gun and tried to shoot out the crystal bars, only for them to regenerate from the damage a second after they were shot. She tried ramming and slashing it, even using her Semblance, but nothing worked. She began to get more frantic as Adam walked towards Yang, his sword dragging and sparking against the ground.
“Leave her alone! I swear to god if you hurt her I’ll kill you!” Blake screamed, trying to shoot Adam, but he just blocked until she ran out of ammo. He smirked to Blake as he sheathed his sword.
”I promised you didn’t we? I am going to destroy everything, you love. Starting with her.” Adam states, unsheathing his sword, Yang shaking in fear as Adam walks over to her.
Adam could do nothing but let tears fall from his eyes, watching as the madman walked slowly over to Yang. It hurt. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to protect them. He is a huntsman! He is a fighter! Not some weak little kid.
”You know, you are one heck of a warrior little bro. I couldn’t be more proud.” Adam blinked as Lex’s voice echoed in his mind.
”Dude, That’s awesome! Adam can you teach me and Dusk some of your moves?” Nat’s excited tone sending a surge through him for the briefest of moments. Slowly more voices joined theirs. Pyrrha, Rainbow, Luna, Ruby.
”Thank you Adam. I know this must be awkward, helping a girl that just tried to kill you. And....thanks for letting me know. About Jaune.”
”Listen Adam, I am not sure how if I am allowed to ask this, but....can you teach me to be a huntress?”
”You are quite the helpful man Adam. I don’t know of any other who could help me with my nightmare watch quite like you.”
”Adam, please. Protect them for me.”
Adam grits his teeth and silently gets to his knees, his arms shaking from rage, exhaustion and fear, before another voice breaks through the cloud of his mind. He could see her clearly as the memory played out.
”Here Adam. I thought since we might be going somewhere cold eventually, you could use a scarf. I hope you like it. And....maybe we could go on another date sometime?”
The dark Adam smirked as he raised his blade behind him, and swung, intent and expecting to decapitate the frozen huntress. As the blade neared her neck, and Yang braced herself for death, it stopped with a loud CLANG, as it stuck metal.
Adam and Yang looked to the blade slowly, seeing a familiar form standing between the blade and the huntress, his right gauntlet nearly cut through.
”I....won’t....” Adam raised a brow along with Yang as Winger slowly raised his head, only for their eyes to widen as they see his silver eyes slowly beginning to turn white and glow.
“What the-”
”I WONT LET YOU HURT ANYONE ELSE!!”
His roar caused all present to widen their eyes, before clutching them closed as a bright light rapidly encompassed the area, everyone trying to keep the light out of the eyes. The sound of shattering glass or crystal filled the area alongside a dual-voiced yell of pain.
At the crystal palace, the Crystal Heart began to glow and spin quickly in its spot, the crystal ponies throughout the kingdom having a strong sense of safety washing over them. Penny, Pyrrha, Oscar, Qrow and Neo all looked from their individual locations to the warehouse district, the same sense of determination running through them all.
The members of team RWBY could only shut their eyes, but they all could feel the oddest sensation, one of safety, of protection. The light washed over them like a tsunami and in that instant, they felt better.
Yang felt as the crystal impaling her arm shattered and evaporated, her wounds closing rapidly, and letting her fall to the ground. Blake could feel as the cage she was trapped in was destroyed and reduced to nothing around her, leaving her on her knees with a sense of relief. Weiss sensed as her aura was being returned to her rapidly, again feeling déjà vu to when Jaune finally unlocked his Semblance, her small wounds healing over.
Ruby managed to pry her eyes open despite the glaring light, and gasped slightly as she saw the outline of a familiar form, two new yet familiar objects held in each hand.
Before they knew it, the light died down, and the four girls checked themselves over, seeing all their little wounds had healed and they could sense that their auras had been restored. Not all the way, but by about half. When they looked towards Yang though, they found a new sight.
Adam stood there with a determined yet unfocused glare, and they could all see, he had changed.
The black horns on his head had grown longer, and changed to a dazzling silver, another pair of shorter black horns appearing behind them. He had the dark marking running along his flesh and clothing again, but half of the markings were silver instead of black. But most of all, was his eyes.
His eyes had the black sclera they had seen before along with slit pupils, but they had turned into a blinding white, what looked like silver flames flaring around the edges of his eyes like a mask, and much like one of the maidens, they subtly connected.
While her team was looking at his physical appearance, Ruby was smiling a million watt smile at the two items in Adam’s hands.
Keyblades. Two Keyblades.
In his left hand, held in a reverse grip, the guard was large, and slightly box-like, the half closer to Adam’s body being a dark, yet shiny black, while to other side was a dark, bloody red. The blade itself was a slightly darker red, reaching three feet long or so, the teething fanning out like a bladed wing. Each tooth looked like a cross between a sharpened feather and a large claw. On the end was a chain that ended after a half dozen links with a keychain that was the symbol of what almost looked like a red sideways eye with a couple circles around it and odd wisps flowing from it. 
In his right, the guard was more unique, looking like a bunch of intertwining, silver vines with white thorns. The handle was slightly curved black with red markings going around it. Near the base was a couple of small notches clearly used for catching, and possibly breaking, swords. The blade was about four and a half feet of white and silver with the tip being a red spearhead. It was dual sided with the right and left teeth being red and silver respectively, the teeth themselves almost looking like tiny tower shields. The chain on the end was rather long, having a dozen and a half links and the keychain was that of two white swords behind a round shield with a silver eye with a slit pupil on it.
If it weren’t for the situation at hand, Ruby would be fangirling like crazy about the fact that Adam has multiple keyblades, but that would have to wait. Adam shook his head slightly and just now seemed to notice the two weapons held in his hands.
”Whoa.” Ruby and the others jumped slightly as Adam spoke, his voice now having an odd echo to it.
He tilted his head and looked to the girls around him, before looking down to the sitting form of Yang next to him. With a quick spin, Adam stabbed his larger keyblade into the ground and offered Yang his hand. After a moments hesitation, she grabbed his arm and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.
”You girls ok?” He questions, the huntresses nodding slowly.
“W-what was that just now? That light? It felt so familiar.” Weiss mutters, earning the others attentions. “It was almost like when Ruby-”
”-used the power of her eyes during the attack on Haven.” Adam interrupts, shocking the girls as Weiss nods. Adam just chuckles. ”There’s a reason for that.”
After a second, Blake gasps in realization, earning her friends attention.
“Y-you....you have silver eyes.” That caused Weiss and Yang to snap their attention back to the now nodding faunus. Ruby grins and shrugs as her teammates look to her.
Adam suddenly tenses and grabs his keyblade from the ground, causing the girls to worry. Not a second later, he turned and released some kind of white energy slash, shattering a dark crystal from impaling him.
”HOW?! HOW DO YOU HAVE KEYBLADES?!?” The five of them look to the enraged, and smoking form of Remnant’s Adam, the right side of his face being completely black with cracks on the other side of his face like he was made of glass. His jacket was shredded to pieces and his right hand had sharpened claws of shadow instead of fingers.
Winger was silent as he twirled his new weapons, holding them in front of him, the fire coming from his eyes seeming to increase in intensity, standing before the girls protectively. His glare of defiance and duty, a visible counteraction to his opponents glare of rage and spite.
”Alright then. You ready for the final round monster?” He question with a grin, the light in his eyes glowing brighter than ever before. His opponent sneered at him before giving a mad grin, crouching down on all fours like the monster he was. This was it then.
”Yes. Let’s end this, you beast.”