Equestria’s White Fang

by Garnet Naturea


Chapter 27: Awaken

Penny POV

“Hey Adam. Still sleeping huh?” I muttered, gently brushing some of Adam’s hair aside. It had been a whole month since Adam was put into his coma now, and I admit I was doing a little better. After I went to dinner with Ruby and her team, I decided to try and reintegrate myself. It wasn’t easy. More than once I had to stop myself from wandering off to the hospital to see Adam, but I made sure to keep myself busy and only visit when I had time. I am down to three visits a week.

The doctors had told me earlier that things might be looking up for Adam. A magic scan of his brain waves showed that he was beginning to return to normal, signalling he is going to be waking up soon. Of course he is going to be going through a bit of physical therapy to get back in shape before he would be allowed to go back to fighting again. At least, that’s what the doctors said, but I am not sure he’ll need it.

It was weird, but after I took some time for myself then came back to tell him about it, I noticed he hadn’t actually changed much in terms of his body. He still had his athletic build, and strong arms, the only difference what that his hair grew and it almost looked like his horns had grow as well. It was barely noticeable to most, but it was there.

I had told Twilight and Luna, and they said it was probably his magic and aura that were working together to keep his body from deteriorating. Though they said he’ll probably be as stiff as steel when he wakes up.

I smiled to myself as I took my usual spot near his bed and took out a couple apples before beginning to peel the skin off with one of my swords. I still remember the doctors reactions to seeing me do this, and couldn’t help my laugh to myself a little.

Time passed me by as I ate my food and told Adam about what had been going on. Ruby, Qrow and Ozpin had made some deals with the local blacksmiths and the princesses so now they have rudimentary mechashift weapons under construction for some of the troops in the White Fang.

Blake spent a lot of time either patrolling Ponyville, teaching stealth to the members of the White Fang, helping out with odd jobs and her team, or reading either at Twilight’s or in the castle library. Now I understand when Ruby said that Twilight and Blake were alike yet opposite. Both bookworms became near instant friends, though more than once I had overheard them arguing, mostly about something called ‘ships’, and not the sailing kinds as I learned.

I can tell the feline faunus wanted to do everything in her power to bring her team back to once it was before, but she seems a little much when it comes to helping Yang. Not that I blame her, she must still feel responsible for what happened during the Fall.

Weiss helped with Rarity’s boutique and teaching the princesses and guards the ins and outs of using Dust with their versions of gem dust. While it took a while, Weiss eventually managed to learn and then teach the ponies how to refine and utilize their gems as ammunition like she does for her weapons. She managed to recreate Wind, Fire, Lightning, Water, Earth, Ice, and even create Light/Flash and Darkness/Shade variants of Dust. Though, she still hadn’t managed to recreate Gravity dust, since the only thing that could potentially be used was Moon Stone, which was so rare the only sources were meteors or the moon itself.

Yang had spent a majority of her time at Applejack’s farm, helping out the family with their chores alongside Oscar, mostly just to keep herself busy. Since the ponies aren’t nearly as advanced as Remnant, and I assume Earth, she couldn’t really find much to do aside from working at the farm and playing video games back at the house.

I blushed a little to myself, hoping Adam didn’t mind that I slept in his room while team RWBY was mostly in mine and Ruby’s room.

Aside from that, things haven’t really been all that interesting. The girls were adjusting to this new world, Oscar was learning the ins and outs of being a huntsman. Neo was teaching Ruby her methods of hand-to-hand, sighting that they are close to the same size so Ruby could learn about how to fight from her. Despite how much it annoyed Yang, Ruby picked up her own fighting style very quickly.

Qrow was....being Qrow. There really wasn’t any other way to say it. He just stuck around when he could, helped train some of the new recruits for the Fang, took out Grimm that got to close, and mostly just did his own thing. Though, I had noticed him staring at Ruby with an odd, almost nostalgic expression when no one else was looking. Maybe he is remembering his time as a member of his own team?

I managed to convince Mayor Mare to construct two small houses next to ours for teams RWBY and JNPR respectively, since our place was a little crowded. Ruby’s place was nearly finished construction as they had RWBY helping with its construction, while Pyrrha, Applejack and Pinkie helped in the construction of JNPR’s place. It was slow going since all of us keep coming and going between Canterlot and Ponyville. And aside from a small request from some smaller towns and villages, the Grimm have been next to no problem.

With a sigh I took out my scroll and went through the messages I got recently. Thanks to the girls, in particular Weiss, relatively rudimentary scrolls have begun being made. So far the princesses, captains of the guard and a few other select individuals have access to them, with my friends and I being used as focal points to test the range of the connections. From our tests, we can get messages from the edge of the city, but any farther and it takes forever to go through, or just doesn’t at all.

Though, I have noticed Adam’s scroll has been getting a couple of alerts, but none of us knew his password so we can’t access them. I admit I was extremely curious about what had been going on.

With a sigh as I saw the time, I packed up my things, gave my boyfriend another kiss on the cheek, and made my way out the hospital and back to the castle to start my turn in teaching the troops of the White Fang.

If only I stayed a little longer.....

Adam POV
??? Hours ago/later...

“Blake, its time.”

”Hey, how much for the Wilt and Blush?”

“No. But they’ll listen to me.”

”I am a huntsmen, we are trained specifically to fight the Grimm. And I will not allow these monsters to do as they please.”

“Hello my darling.”

“Well this was nice. We should do it again some time Luna. Just without the injuries.”

”I am going to destroy everything, you love.”

”You have my word.”

“Starting with her.”

“You lose. Now let Ruby go.”

....

.......

“High Leader!”

“Captain!”

”Get away from her!”

“No...please....

“NOOOOOOO!!

Shing

“I-I got my wish.”

“Salutations!”

“Wow. I knew you were great with a violin, but I didn’t know that extended to a guitar as well.”

.....

........

”You two couldn’t hope to defeat me back in Beacon, what made you think you could take me on now? Just because you have some princess working for you?”

“I will protect your friends Ruby, but I need to fight him to do so. And I’ll tell you this. I will not hold back.”

“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, **** *******

“You can’t win ****.”

“Shut up! I don’t care who you think you are, but you will NOT get in the way of my path.”

.....

.......

“I promised you didn’t we? I am going to destroy everything, you love. Starting with her.”

“I....won’t....

”I WONT LET YOU HURT ANYONE ELSE!!”

******

I was....floating? No, falling. I could feel a breeze go by me as I kept my eyes closed, just letting the air pass me by, before I felt my body right itself on its own. Even as I felt my feet touch the ground, I kept my eyes closed. A small sigh escaped me as I opened them, and saw only blackness and a white circle I was standing on.

I...felt like I know this place. I could not put my finger on it, but I know this place somehow. It was almost like I have been here before......but, how? And where?

And....who was I?

Glancing around the platform, I noticed a small section was cracked and broken, before slowly being filled in. I tilted my head in confusion. Why did that happen? I took a step forwards, then looked down as the spot I stepped on turned into white flower petals, spiralling into a small cyclone, before revealing a large glass pane beneath my feet.

It was mostly red and silver. The outsides was ornately made designed, much like his (my?) Grimm mask. It revealed me (him?) near the centre, leaning on the left side of the circle while looking up at the shattered moon, Keyblades in hand. In the circles beneath the moon, it showed the faces of his (my?) family. Natali, Sorano, Alexandria, Edward.

Penny....and....Ruby.

Groaning, I clutched my head and fell to my knees, a headache being accompanied, by a torrent of memories. Images, sounds, smells, feelings, enough for two people being crammed into my skull!

“Stop....please...” I begged no one and nothing, the information making my head feel like an egg in the microwave.

”Adam!”

“Mr.Winger?”

“Hello Adam Taurus.”

”How’s my little bro?”

“High Leader Taurus!”

“Hey big bro.”

“Adam!”

“Adam?”

“STOP!” I cried out, and at once, the torrent stopped, leaving me on the glass pane, in pain and tired.

Adam Taurus.

Adam Winger.

....w-which am I?

I groaned as I slowly got my feet under me, having to readjust myself or fall down again. I had to take a minute to get my breath back, groaning as my head still pounded.

After a while I managed to get myself under control and took another look around the area I was in. A ‘Dive to the Heart’, I remember. It must be from me using my Keyblades. But...now what do I do? I looked around, and when I looked behind me, I saw something.

Behind me, were three mirrors. Each of them were blank, but as I stepped up, three figures became visible in the reflection.

The first one on the right has a young man, with wind blown brown hair and deep hazel eyes. He was looking back at me with a smile. The one on the left, had a scowl on his face, his left eye was scarred closed from an SDC brand, like one they would use on animals, and red and hazel hair and black horns.

The middle one though, caused me to pause. It was...me? He looked like the man in the left mirror, but he lacked that brand on his eye. His eyes were a bright silver, but with slit pupils and what looked like silver fire coming out the sides. He had black and silver marking all over his body, along with two serious scars on his chest. One going across diagonally, and another that looked like a stab wound.

I am not sure how long I was standing there for, just looking at my reflection, when I slowly raised my arm to the mirror, the man in the reflection copying the action. In my peripherals, I could see the man in the right mirror nodding, while the man in the left just quietly scoffed. I barely noted my own arm seemingly being mad of black and white energy, when I placed my hand on the glass surface.

Apparently that was enough as I felt something pulling me, and I almost tripped over my own feet, being sent through the mirror like it was just a pane of water. Once I was through, I felt a shiver run up my spine as I looked to my gloved hands and scarred chest. Turning back, I could see my reflection as I am properly. Regular silver eyes and all.

Before long, the mirror seemed to disintegrate like a Grimm, the white particles circling me and flowing off the platform, before several large ‘window’s’ came up from the abyss. I watched as the window’s circled my platform, each one showing memories that are both mine and his.

Three window’s glowed before lowering to my level, the three of them showing a different event. The first, showed me as Winger, practicing several forms in a dojo along with my friends. The second, showed me as Taurus, showing several White Fang members back in Remnant how to actually throw a punch and not flail about. The last, showed me going through an obstacle course alongside several ponies.

The Student, The Mentor, or The Captain.

It wasn’t really a question on what I pick. Without hesitation, I summoned both my my Keyblades and pointed them towards The Captain. Two beams of light and dark respectively left my blades and disintegrated the window, the other two going back up to join the circling towers.

Three more glowed and made their way down. The first, showed me meditating with several shadow tendrils waving around me. The second, showed me practicing with my sword against Blake in an old warehouse. The last showed me sparring against Ruby and Rainbow in hand-to-hand, dodging around the two before striking them myself.

The Spell Caster, The Blade Master, The Fighter.

After a second, I pointed my dark Keyblade towards The Blade Master, the dark beam hitting it dead centre, before it became engulfed by shadows and turned to dust.

The mirrors suddenly began to spin faster and higher, and before long, they were all gone. I dispelled my Keyblades and looked around again, a small glass staircase catching my attention. It led up, above my platform, where I saw there was some kind of doorway. Without anything better to do, I began to climb the stairs.

‘My heart is whole again. I didn’t even notice it was broken.’

’I carry the strength and sins of two. Two become one in the heart and mind.’

‘I will not follow his path, but I will gladly carry his sins.’

’I have already begun down the path of balance. What’s a small bump in the way?’

I stopped in front of the door, seeing two keyholes on the sides. I re-summoned my Keyblades and pointed them forwards.

‘All is as I allow it. The past has been recorded and the present is set. All that is left is to....’

”Open the door.”

Two beams shot out of my weapons into the keys, and the door slowly opened, and all I saw, was white and black.

******

The first thing I became aware of was the sound of a heart monitor slowly increasing in pace. I quietly groaned to myself, before finally managing to pry my eyes open. Looking straight, I was greeted by a white ceiling. In my peripherals, I could see some green blinds in front of a closed window, the reflection of the sun showing it was late afternoon. I remained laying there for a minute or two, before sighing as I decided I was laying down long enough.

Painfully, I pushed myself up, several of my bones and joints cracking as they finally moved after however long I have been asleep. Once I was actually sitting up, I took a moment to turn my head and arms, pain giving way to relief as the room was filled wit h the sounds of cracking.

I was sore, that was for sure. I wonder, how long have I been under? Glancing around the room showed several ‘Get Well Soon’ cards, likely from the troops in the White Fang. I managed to spot a clock on the far wall, which showed it was 3:30 in the afternoon.

With a small groan, I managed to throw my feet over the edge of the bed, noticing the heart monitor and IV connected to me. Without a second thought, I took the IV out of my arm and healed the insertion point with my aura, before removing the heart monitors connected to my chest, and turning the machine off.

With another groan, I got to my feet, pacing the room for a second before checking the nearby drawers for my clothes. I was lucky since they were really clean. I managed to make my way to the washroom and got changed. It admittedly took longer than I was used to since I was so stiff.

Once I managed to get my shirt and jacket on, I heard a commotion coming from my room. Confused, I exited the bathroom, and all noise seemed to stop as I saw several doctors, nurses and other ponies just staring at me in shock.

“What’s going on?” I questioned, my mind still a little sluggish.

“C-captain Taurus? You’re awake?” One of the doctors said in shock.

“Clearly.” I said, making my way over to the bed. Rubbing my head as I felt a small headache coming on, I turned to the stunned ponies. “How long was I out for anyways?”

“Um, about a month?” One of the nurses said nervously. I looked to her with a blank expression, before shocking them as I chuckled to myself.

“Damn. New record.” I muttered loud enough to be heard. The ponies looked among themselves for a second as they heard me.

“Um, are you ok Captain?” One of the ponies, I noticed a member of the White Fang. “You are taking the fact you have been in a coma for a month extraordinarily well.” I just shrugged to him.

“Isn’t the first time I have been unconscious for an extended period of time. But like I said, this was definitely a new record.” I said, leaning against the headrest of the bed as several of the nurses came over to give me a check up. “One time I was out for nearly two weeks after a failed raid on an SDC mine. Wait....what?” I muttered that last part to myself, rubbing my head as the event played out in my head.

“Um, what? I thought you were from earth sir?”

“I-I am. Sorry. I guess being in a coma makes me have some odd memories that aren’t really mine.” I said to the doctor that said that, who just rose a brow. I shook my head as a couple things popped into my head.

“Well, in any case, now that you are awake, we will be giving you a full check up to see how long your physical rehabilitation will take before you can go back to training the guards and being a huntsman.” The doctor said, before looking me over with a smile. “Though, considering you managed to get dressed with no problem, I don’t think it should be very long.”

I sighed and nodded to him, knowing I wouldn’t be able to talk my way out of that. As they were getting everything ready, I glanced out the window then to my hand.

‘I know I am fine with it, but this is going to take a while to get used to it.’

Later....

I released a small sigh as I looked to the sky. Celestia had just begun setting the sun, and I could sense Luna connecting to the moon behind me to raise it to the sky as they have done countless times before. I took a breath, enjoying the slightly cool air as it flowed through my lungs and body.

I leaned against the railing on the roof, looking over the ponies below me as they all made their ways home for the night. I shook my head and frowned as a couple off thoughts entered them. I knew it would take a while, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

“So, how long are you going to just stand up here?”

I chuckled to myself as I looked over my shoulder to a certain huntsman behind me.

“Not long. I know the girls are going to want to go out for a celebration.” I responded. The drunk just scoffed and took a swig of his flask.

“Maybe. But I can tell it is going to be way awkward, so I am staying out of it.” Qrow said with a grin, before frowning. “So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” All he got was a raised brow. “I heard that you have been shaking your head a lot and frowning more that any of the troops have ever seen you before. Plus, you just have this unsure aura around you now.”

My frown deepened as I turned back to the setting sun, watching as the sky began to change from a blue to yellow and then orange. I looked to the sky straight above me, before sighing loudly.

“I...remember.” I could feel Qrow’s confusion from here, his frown almost audible. I turned to him with a serious frown on my face. “Qrow. I remember everything. All the raids. All the fights. All the humans that hurt my kind.” I took a breath as my anger began to spike, and when I opened them, I could see Qrow’s shock and worry. “I have all of Adam’s memories. All the plans, every member that followed him....all the humans he killed. All the sins he carried.”

“And? Sorry if I seem rude, but that doesn’t seem like much.” He responded, clearly trying to remain unconcerned.

“Maybe not for you, but now, there is no escape from them. Now that Adam is dead and I have his memories...well....those sins don’t just go away.” I said, holding the railings tightly. “I remember all the nightmares. All the moments where he thought, ‘maybe this is it’ or ‘now I can rest’. And that terrifying. But you know the worst part?” I question, not giving him a chance before I answered. “I remember, everything, he has ever felt for Blake.”

That got his attention, if his clenching his flask was any indication. I tried to calm myself as it all went through my mind. All the training sessions. All the conversations between us, them. All the moments...where he wanted her.

His rage at her ‘betrayal’. The satisfaction I got when I stabbed her and cut off Yang’s arm.

I growled to myself, and before I realized it, I had broken the railing I was holding onto with my hands. I could feel Qrow about to grab me, but I growled again, sensing him back off as I tried to get myself under control. The memories, they were becoming harder and harder to tell when it was actually me and not him.

I could sense that Qrow was at a loss at what to do himself. I knew he drank to forget his pain and because of that he sucked at helping others through their own pain. But it seemed he was in luck as we both sensed a familiar soul rapidly approaching. While Qrow smirked and flew away in his bird form, I was frozen in fear.

‘Please not her, not now.’

“Adam?” I tensed as I heard her voice, before taking a breath and turning around.

“Hey Penny.”

There she was, my girlfriend, barely two dozen feet away. She looked to me with widened eyes, which I saw began to tear up as she saw me. I gulped and backed half a step away, before almost falling, before righting myself.

“Adam be careful! You shouldn’t be this close to the edge!” Penny said, pulling me back a couple steps away. I tensed as she grabbed my arm, looking over to the setting sun again. “Adam? Is something wrong?”

Human!

Unhand me!

Their fault!

Kill her!

I clenched my teeth as his voice echoed in my head, forcing Penny’s hands off me and backing away. I could see her eyes widen in fear but I just grabbed my head.

“Damnit shut up shut up shut up.” I muttered to myself. I hit the wall near the doorway hard, the pain in my hand stopping the voice as my aura healed the damage. I tried to catch my breath, ignoring the pain in my hand and chest.

“Adam what is wrong?!” Penny yelled at me, I flinched at her shout, the fear, worry and pain evident in her voice.

“Stay back!” I yelled back, the human stopping as I griped my head. “Please, just stay back.”

“Adam....what’s wrong? This isn’t like you.” She said, her frown audible as I tried to get my head back together. I stayed silent, keeping my eyes off her as I stopped the flow of memories and thoughts that were not mine.

I got so lost in thought, I didn’t sense as Penny came up closer to me, before I felt her hand on my cheek. I immediately tensed as I felt her touch, several dark thoughts plaguing my mind in an instant, but before I could pull away or something, Penny did what he would consider unthinkable. She had a determined glint her eyes, and grabbed my head before pulling me down.

I am pretty sure I blanked out again, and when I came back, all I could feel was Penny’s lips on mine.

My eyes shot open as I realized what was going on, while Penny was just holding me by the cheeks and stopping me from moving. Not that I could. I felt like all my muscles had turned to lead as I just stayed there.

After a second, I could sense Penny getting nervous and scared, and it took a second for me to realize why. Without a second thought, I gently put my hands on her back and pulled her closer. She gasped against my lips, but I didn’t let her talk as I kissed her myself. She reciprocated a second later, wrapping her arms around my neck.

Heh, not how I would think our first proper kiss would go. But I’m not complaining.

I am not sure how long we were like that, just standing there, but eventually we needed air and released each other. The two of us took a minute to get our breath back, before I looked down to her.

“W-where did that come from?” I questioned, not letting her go. Penny at the least managed to look bashful, gods that’s cute, and turned away slightly.

“Well, I have been waiting for you to wake up for a month now. You can’t really blame a girl for wanting to be with her boyfriend after all that.” She responded with a blush, I could feel my own face heat up at that addition and rubbed the back of my head. She suddenly frowned and asked again, “Adam, what’s going on with you?”

I sighed, knowing I couldn’t get past this. “I...have all of Adam Taurus’s memories. All of his nightmares, all of his skills and sins....all of his feelings.” Penny was silent for a bit, laying her head on my chest.

“Blake?”

“Yeah.” I responded, holding her tighter. “It’s....confusing. I can’t tell which memories are mine and which are his sometimes. And....I’m scared.”

“Scared? Adam you’re one of the bravest people I know. How can you be scared of your own memories?”

“Penny...all of his thoughts from before, all of his experiences, all the hatred for humans, all of it is in here.” I tapped my head, trying to back away. “And, I don’t know if I can really be ‘myself’, with all these things in my head.”

Out of everything to happen, I didn’t expect Penny to begin giggling at me. Which only got louder until she was leaning on me to stop herself from falling over. I just stood there awkwardly as she continued to laugh for a full minute before righting herself and wiping her eyes.

“Oh man, that is the greater joke I have ever heard.” She managed to say, which only caused me to frown. She saw this, but still smiled. “Seriously Adam, how is it you can be so smart and yet so dumb at the same time.”

“What.”

“I mean, I thought it was your sister that goes through the identity crisis. Then again, Natali and Sorano are two different people.” She continued with a grin. “I get that you have his memories now, but that doesn’t change the fact of who you are.”

“Really now? Then, who am I Penny? Who, is standing right in front of you, physically stopping himself from lashing out and slicing you to bits?!” I yelled, trying to reign in my anger as the human, Penny, just smiled warmly at me.

“You’re Captain of the White Fang.” That caused a brief pause. “You’re the strongest faunus I have ever met. You are the one who saved Pyrrha from her nightmares not long after we arrived here.” She took a step forwards.

“You are Natali and Alexandria’s little brother. You are Sorano’s elder brother. You’re Edwards nephew and Cameron and Samantha’s son.” She took another step.

“You are the one who protected Ponyville moments after arrival, you are the one who duelled Luna to a draw, you are the one who connected to Screwball almost instantly like you were lost friends.”

She finally stopped right in front of me, and reached up before pulling my head down to touch her forehead to mine.

“You are the one who comforted me when I first arrived, and you’re the one who is making me experience feeling and adventures that I could never have calculated. You gave me powers that Salem herself would be jealous of. You...you’re my boyfriend. My first love. And I am not about to let you stop being so.”

I am not sure how long I just stood there, taking in everything that she said, the sun had nearly vanished from he horizon at this point, but still, I cared not.

All I cared about...was this perfect girl in front of me.

Gently, I wrapped my arms around Penny and pulled her to my chest, laying my head atop hers and allowing myself to take in her scent. I barely noted, then dismissed, the pair of amber eyes leaving the stairwells shadows.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered. “You’re right. I can be pretty smart and idiotic at the same time.”

“Well, you are only a faunus.”

“Just as you are only human.”

I am not sure why, but I knew what she was going to say next, and I agreed wholeheartedly as we spoke as one.

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”