The Burning Rose

Chapter 23: A horrible heist

Eric followed Adam out of the pizza place. The grumpy Faunus was still steaming from his fight with his new teammate. Clearly this wasn't going to just blow over.

"What a pain." Eric thought. He had been stuck with two hot heads with ego the size of the planet and a leader who clearly didn't have control over her team. He had hoped to coast through the year with little drama, then returned home to do some actual work, but it looked like he'd have to step in.

"She was right about one thing, you know. All you think about are Faunus." He called, causing his partner to stop in his tracks.

"What did you say!?" Adam snapped, wheeling around to face Eric, who stopped and raised his hands in surrender.


"It's just my opinion, but she had a point. All you think about are the Faunus." He stated. "After the war, a lot of people got displaced and need help. And I don't mean just soldiers. Hate crimes affect everyone, regardless of if you have a tail or not."

Adam lunged forward, grabbing Eric's collar and trying to shake him, but the young man planted his feet firmly on the ground in a wide stance and grabbed Adam's arm, practically stopping Adam from shaking him..

"Can you hear yourself right now!?" Adam bellowed. "How can anyone deny our suffering! Ever since long before the war, we've suffered! During the war we suffered! And after the war we've suffered! And despite everything, people still refuse to give us rights! Of course we protest and speak up! If we don't, then nothing would change! Cinder said-!"

"She said that there are other problems out there that don't get enough attention, not that yours aren't bad. And it's very difficult for me to hear anything with you trying to choke me out." If Eric hoped his joke would lighten the mood, he was disappointed. But he pushed on regardless.

"Right now there are an abundance of war orphans who have overrun the system, Grimm attacks are becoming more plentiful in settlements outside the main kingdom, famine and disease have washed through the poorest districts of the city, gang violence and criminal activities have skyrocketed in recent years and now terrorist attacks have been reported as close as Mountain Glenn. I'm sorry about the way you've been treated and Faunus deserves equal rights. But right here, right now? With just the snap of someone's fingers? That's a fantasy."


Adam snarled, but couldn't find a counter argument. He let Eric go with a shove before turning and stopping a few feet away.


There he stood in complete silence. His fingers curling into and out of a fist. He bit his lip as unpleasant memories filled his head, but the most painful one was back when he was a fourteen year old kid.

The White Fang had organized a peaceful protest march through Vale. He had been tasked with keeping the younger kids under control. He had been successful right up until the night before the final protest march on the CCT.

Blake had snuck out to get candy for Ilia's birthday. If one of the other kids hadn't seen her go, he never would have known. He still remembers the panic as he ran through the city streets, the fear when he found her surrounded by three grown huntsmen.

Apparently, they had been making fun of a Faunus' waitress, harassing her. When Blake had tried to sneak away, they had caught sight of her and were forcing her to drink some of their Booz. They must have forced some down because when Adam got there, she was puking her guts out as the men bowled with laughter.

Adam had immediately become enraged. Without any thought, he had attacked the huntsmen.

However, he was quickly overpowered and thrown to the ground where they began to beat and stomp on him. He remembered their jeers and taunts. How they called him an animal! A beast! That he wasn't a human and that the White Fang should just stay silent as everyone knew Faunus were lesser beings compared to humans.

But his boiling point came when one of them said that, unlike him, they were dealing with real problems. Not a made up one like the White Fang. At that point something inside him snapped. Gathering strength from who knows where, he had fought them off and even managed to break one's aura before he was taken down.

The enraged huntsmen had tried to cut off his fingers! Only stopped when Sienna had found them and physically restrained them.

Adam still remembers that night vividly. The pain and humiliation was worse than he could remember. And the fury of the fact that humans refused to believe that Faunus didn't have equal rights.

"I'm sick of it." He confessed. "I'm sick of us being called whiners, degenerates and greedy! We just want what we deserve. Is that really so wrong?" Adam tried to keep his voice level, but his breaths were uneven and he could still feel his heart hammering away in his chest. And that ugly feeling in the pit of his stomach had flared up again from just thinking about his new teammate.


"I'm not saying that you don't deserve compensation, but I think you're missing Cinder's point." Eric said evenly. "She's never said it wasn't an issue, just that she was tired of hearing it, among other things." He muttered the last bit before pausing for a second, biting his lip before continuing. "And this is just a guess, but I think she's speaking from experience."

Adam felt himself jolt. He hadn't thought she might have been displaced from the war. She wore nice clothes and had clean hair. All indications that she lived a comfortable life, but maybe that wasn't always the case. After all, her parents could have settled and made a profit after the war ended.

"You haven't seen her fight, but I have." Eric continued. "She moves like a pro. Like she knows exactly what to do in any given situation. That's not something any amount of training can get you. You have to learn to fight like that in the heat of battle. But, I'm sure you already know that. After all, you have the same type of intensity."

Adam didn't respond, staring straight ahead as he let this idea sink in.

If Eric was right, then Cinder probably had gone through quite an ordeal. Most likely her village had been destroyed or something. He knew that the military on both sides had no problem razing villages to deny resources to the other.

But if she had, she should be more empathetic towards others who had nothing as well, right? Surely she could understand how it felt to have everything unjustly taken from you. Was she just selfish? But then why save the Faunus during the exam? Either way, something didn't add up about the girl and Adam didn't like that.

"The White Fang is a notable and important organization. Their work is phenomenal, but that doesn't mean they were not without problems. And if those problems aren't addressed, things might go bad." Adam turned in a bit of surprise. He hadn't been expecting this kind of insight from the laid-back and honestly lazy boy.

"Adam. We both know everyone, regardless of race, deserves equal rights, but the reality of the situation is that things aren't that simple. I-."

Suddenly, Eric was interrupted as Adam's Scroll went off. He quickly pulled it out and his eyes grew large as he read the number.

"Sorry, I've got to take this." He said, turning away as he answered.


"Hey! Yeah, it's me." He said, before pausing for a few seconds. "Yeah, I did. No, that doesn't change anything. Yeah, I've got company right now, but don't worry, I'll see you soon. Yeah, okay. Take care. Bye!"

The Scroll clicked as he hung up, then turned to Eric. "Sorry! Something just came up. Mind if I split? Gotta go send something home real quick." Adam said, eyes closed, rubbing the back of his head. "I'll be back by six, so don't worry too much. Bye!"

He quickly turned and made his way down the street, trying to ignore the feeling of Eric's gaze, burning a hole into the back of his head.

Once he was out of earshot, Eric let out a tired sigh.

"This is going to become a pain, isn't it." He muttered to himself. Slowly he looked up at the sky with a longing look. He had barely been away for a few months yet he was already missing home. He closed his eyes and pictured a face of a girl around his age, dressed in fancy clothes and without a spot of damage or dirt. Long white hair flowed free from her head, each strained smelled strongly of lavender.

He remembered the way her deep blue eyes had widened when he told her he was going to Beacon to become a huntsman. She had begged him not to go, but he had told her that it was what he needed to do.

He remembered the night before his departure. She had snuck into his room and given him a gift for his travels, something to bring him good luck. He slowly ran his hand over his cheek, remembering who soft her gift had been. He wished he could have seen her as he left the hamlet he called home, but she had other responsibilities to attend to. She took her job so dutifully and the night had been the first time she had put her own wants above others.

She was the picture of perfection for him.

"Forgive me, my lady." He murmured, slowly moving his hand away from his cheek. "I don't think I'll be able to uphold my promise to stay out of trouble."

Later that night.

Adam made his way to the warehouses by the docks. The moon was high in the sky as he creeped through the shadows. The lights around warehouse 64 had been turned off, informing him where he needed to go.

He pulled the Grimm mask down over his face and quickly ran from his original hiding place to the darkened warehouse. As he ran, the security cameras fell silent as someone cut their power line.

Upon reaching the warehouse, he was greeted by three familiar faces as the emerged from hiding. All wearing the same style mask.

"About time." The first one said, an ox Faunus in his mid twenties. "Though you might chicken out now that you're a fancy Beacon student. Good to see I was wrong." He grinned and clapped the boy on the back, causing him to rerun the smile.

"Nothing would keep me away from a heist like this." Adam replied, happily punching the man in his chest. "Getting back at our captors is what I live for!"

"Than keep your voice down!" A female fox Faunus whispered angrily. She had a tool kit that she had used to cut the power to the area. The resident electronic expert of his little Mary Men band. "The guards seem more aggressive tonight. Apparently, there was some kind of attack earlier today. Best if we don't linger."

Adam nodded. "Time to get what we deserve." He said before stepping forward and cutting the lock off the door. He pushed it gently, letting the it swing open. Inside were dozens and dozens of raw dust. All crated up and libeled just asking to be stolen.

"Looks like our intel was good." Adam breathed. "Losing this much dust will hurt anyone, even the SDC." He glanced at his third member, a dog Faunus, who was waiting a little ways away. "Good get the truck. Once we sell all this, the White Fang won't have to worry about money for a very long time."


Immediately the dog nodded, then turned and disappeared into the darkness. Meanwhile, Adam led the others inside and together, they began grabbing the crates and moving them towards the exit.

They worked quickly and expertly, making no mistakes. Adam and the ox Faunus did all the heavy lifting while the fox girl kept look-out. They had done this thousands of times, they knew exactly what to do, not even pausing when the truck pulled up next to the warehouse.

After only a few minutes, the small team had cleaned out the warehouse, cramming all they could fit on the truck and dumping the rest into the ocean. They quickly got into the backseats and waited. The second the moon was hidden by a passing cloud, they took off, plowing through the fence as they went.

"Haha! We did it! Suck my hair ass Schnee!" The ox Faunus laughed. Fox, Dog and Adam joined in his excitement. It was their biggest and best heist yet! Not to mention their cleanest. Nobody saw, nobody got hurt, and nobody could pin it on them! It almost felt too easy!

They drove to the old part of town and to an abandoned factory making sure nobody saw them. Dog dove into a hole in the wall to give them privacy and hide the truck. As soon as the truck came to a halt, the other three jumped out and began unloading the dust.

The factory had been their hideout since they started stealing to help keep the White Fang well funded. It used to be an assembly line split into two floors. The bottom where the laborers worked, and an upper walkway leading to the offices. There was even a balcony where the higher ups could look down on their employees. As soon as Adam had seen it, he knew it was the right place. The irony of keeping liquid assets in a place that had used Faunus labor was too good to pass up.

"Can't wait to see tomorrow's headline! SDC loses millions in dust! Jacques throws a temper tantrum on live tv! That'll be a hoot!" Ox said as he began setting the crates in the old storage area while the others took it off the truck and set them in dollies. "Bet his bitch will have a heart attack when she hears! Less money for her!"

"Keep your voice down!" Adam snapped. His voice carried an edge it normally didn't. "I'd like for the headliner Not to include our names! Remember, we're just taking what we deserve and nothing else. This isn't about glory or anything."

Despite his tone, Ox grinned at him in response. A light dancing in his eyes. "Don't worry, Adam! We don't leave any evidence. There's no way they can catch us. And even if they did, they've got nothing! We're in the clear buddy boy! Just relax and enjoy life! With all the money we'll get from selling these bad boys, the White Fang won't have to worry for a long time!"

"Except Ghira doesn't know where we get the money And we can't give too much or else he'll get suspicious. This dust will be sitting here for a while and I'd like to keep it." Adam sighed at Ox. The man could be exhausting at times.

"Right now, we need to be careful. Otherwise they'll get the dust and our asses. And if that happens, jail will be the least of our concerns. Jacques will bring the hammer down on the White Fang and-"

"Good to see you actually understand the consequences of your actions. For a little while there I was thinking you were just an idiot." A new voice chimes in above them.

Immediately all four looked up to see Eric standing on the catwalk in full armor, his massive shield strapped to his back as he looked down on them.

Dog let out a cry of surprise, dropping his crate as Ox and Fox immediately went for their guns.


"Wait! Don't shoot!" Adam yelled, spinning around hands raised. "I know this guy! Let me try to talk to him!" He begged. If a fight broke out here, the authorities would swarm all over the area and they could kiss all their hard work goodbye.

"There's nothing to discuss." Eric said, leaping from the catwalk. Spinning into the air. As he fell, his body began to glow with his green aura. Adam watched it visibly flow into his shield, and right before impact, he slammed his shield onto the ground and it released it in a burst of green light propelling him up and onto his feet with another spin. Adam found himself impressed that Eric could move like that in armor.

Moonlight shone down onto Eric, letting Adam take in the unusual weapon Eric had chosen. The shield was as big as him and about as thick as his arm. It had been adorned with silver on the edges and green on the front which was made up of four separate panels which slanted in the center, making a small point.

The backside had been outfitted with simple gray metal that showed like a mirror, letting the wielder see what was behind them. A ripcord was attached to the firing mechanism in the handle, but unlike said firing mechanism, Eric hadn't used the ripcord during the entrance exam. So Adam had no idea what it did.

"I had half a mind to report you, ya know?" Eric said as he approached the Faunus, sliding his shield onto his back. His hands were curled into fists and his eyes narrowed making it appear that he tower led over Adam despite being the same height.

"What were you thinking? Do you have any idea what would have happened if you got caught? How would the media react to that?" Eric raved, voice shaking with rage. "Just ignoring the jail time and expulsion you'd suffer, you'd destroy the White Fang rep! Leaving hundreds, if not thousands of Faunus without a voice! And right now, that's something they can't afford! What you're doing isn't just wrong, it's stupidity!"

"Wrong!? It's only wrong to the people who abuse and torment us!" Adam fired back. Now his voice was shaking. Did nobody on his team understand how important Faunus rights were?! "We're just taking what we deserve! How is that wrong!? If your people won't give us equally, then we'll just take! That sounds more than fair to me!"

Eric threw his hands up, mouth twisted open as he let out a hollow laugh that threw his head back. "Oh of course! Why didn't I think of that! It's For The Faunus! What a noble cause!" He yelled before turning back, a look of pure frustration on his face.

"This is exactly what Cinder was talking about! You are obsessed! Blind to everything and everyone around because you can't let the past go! I'm sorry you've suffered, but you need to see that there is more going on in the world than just your own suffering!"

Adam clenched his teeth as closed the distance between and grabbed Eric's collar. And much like he had earlier today he gave the knight a shake.

"You just don't get it!" He yelled, no longer caring if someone heard him. "We've been oppressed for years! You don't have a clue what it's like to suffer like that! You just stand there judging us, but you haven't got a clue how hard life is for us! You-!"

"My father was an Atlas knight who chose to fight for Vale! I know full well what it's like to be viewed as less than human!"

Eric's confession stopped Adam in his tracks. He knew Atlesian in Vale were procured no different than the Faunus. He knew that it was near impossible for them to find a good job or not get the short end of the stick every time they made a deal. He knew if there was a public beating that nobody, not even the police, would stop it.

Adam's eyes widened as he thought back to their conversation at the pizza place. How Eric was so open about supporting the Faunus and their cause. Back then, he had thought it was strange that a human would find their cause noble, but now it made sense. He knew what it was like to be oppressed.

"Eric…I…I'm sorry, but surely you understand why I'm doing this. I just want equality for Faunus, that's it. You must understand why we take what we deserve." Adam struggled to find the right words, but failed as he couldn't understand the boy.

He must see this was justice, yet he still was against it. Why? Everyone who had been wronged would want just for those who had gone through the same thing. Why would Eric want them to stop?

Eric looked into Adam's eyes, then his face softened and he let out a sigh.

"I thought that way once." Eric confessed, he gazed somber. "I thought I'd take what my father was owed and give it back to him rightfully. It worked, for a time. But as you might have guessed, everyone runs out of luck eventually. And people are an unpredictable lot." Eric paused for a second before he continued.

"The law was able to pinpoint the crime spree originated from the poor Atlas district where all the refugees were. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe it wasn't. I can't help but feel that there were some bies involved, but that doesn't matter. Eventually they had enough. And with the help of the government and local huntsmen, who had gotten sick of our negativity drawing in Grimm, they made to remove us from the equation." Eric paused once again, studying Adam's face carefully, then turning away with a dismissive wave.

"Judging by your expression, you've already guessed the end of my story, so I'll spare you the tail of my heroic charge to save everyone there which went off with no problems whatsoever." Eric back was still facing Adam, but the young Faunus caught the slight change in his tone.

"So, here's the moral of the story. If you push on something you're not supposed to, then when it pushes back, you will be swept away. Don't make the same mistake, turn around while you have the chance. And remember, your actions will affect more people than you might think."

Adam wanted to tell Eric that he already thought about them. That the only reason they hadn't yet was because they couldn't. That they were too afraid for their families while he had lost his to the SDC.

But as he took in what Eric had said, the face of several of the people who believed in him and trusted him flashed through his mind. Ghira, Sienna, Blake. He remembered how hard it was for them to scrape together enough to pay for his intuition. How much faith they had put in him becoming the first White Fang representative in Beacon. How much they meant to everyone who had seen him off.

If he got caught now, everything they had done would be for not. He would become another tool the humans would use to call the Faunus animals. Another notch on the belt of Anodeser to oppress his people even more.

But what other choice did he have? Continue being a dog on a leash? Be a good pet to the people who wronged him and his people everyday? No! This was only wrong in the eyes of those who called them animals and abused them! This was right! This was justice! Everyone he was doing was for the future of the Faunus! He wasn't wrong! He was a hero! He was-!

"Hey! What's that?" Fox cut in with a loud whisper. Adam looked over his shoulder and saw her point at a red dot on the back of their truck.

Adam quickly made his way to a small hole in the building, peering out into the darkness. At first he couldn't see anything, then he saw something moving in the building across the street. On the main road several black vans were parked blocking the way out.

The next second, he heart stopped as several more dots approached inside the building from every direction. Horror filled his stomach as he realized they were laser sights all aimed at them!

"Look ou-!"

RPGs pelted the warehouse, blowing their truck to smithereens! Smashing through windows and detonating on the wall and floor! The barrels were knocked over, some exploding from the impact!

His three cohorts hit the ground as they were pelted with dust and debris! Moving fast, Adam used his semblance to blast a rocket out of the air, but quickly found himself running out of energy.

Cursing, Adam slammed his blade back into his holster and pressed the bottom to lower the scabbard's outer layer around it. Immediately he felt his blade, Themis, getting pounded with several small pistons, charging his semblance.

But it wasn't fast enough.

A stray rocket came into the building right towards Ox. Adam ran towards him, praying that he could get in range in time.

Suddenly, Eric lunged forward, whipping his shield off his back and slamming it against the rocket, knocking it away.

Immediately, he grabbed Ox and hauled him like a fish (Adam's jaw dropped at Eric's sheer physical strength.) to where Fox and Dog lay. Immediately Adam kept over to them and then both him and Eric began dancing around one another, deflecting the rockets before they could harm the three Faunus.

After several painstaking seconds, which felt more like hours to the two huntsmen in training, the barrage finally stopped and they got a chance to catch their breath.

Somehow, the building hadn't fallen in all the explosions, but it was completely unusable. The dust they had stolen had been destroyed save for the barrel Dog had knocked over earlier. And that was only because they had been fighting over it.

"Attention, thefts!" A gruff voice yelled through a megaphone. "This is huntsman Arthur Jones, along with the entire Vale police department! You are all under arrest! We have you completely surrounded! Come out with your hands in the air, and your lives will be spared!"

Adam swore under his breath. This was bad.

"How did they find us!?" Ox demanded as he looked up. "We covered our tracks and everything!" Beside him, Fox gasped for breath as she struggled to add her commentary.

"More importantly, what the hell is going on!?" She said as she struggled to her feet, pulling her gun as she went. "This isn't a normal police response, no matter how much was stolen. This could have killed us!"

"L-look!" Dog cried still on the ground.

All heads turned to see a small back device that was sticking out of the barrel he had knocked over. A red, blinking light could be seen on the machine and Adam felt his heart drop.

It had been a trap!

Adam took a step back, breathing heavily. This was it. They were surrounded and outnumbered. They had professional huntsmen after them as well. They couldn't fight their way out of this and if they went to jail, it would be a life sentence if they were lucky.

"Adam?" Eric asked, carefully approaching the shaking Faunus. "You okay? If you need to have a crisis, can you wait? We need to go, NOW."

Eric's voice sounded like it was coming from a long tunnel. All around him he felt like the world was shaking. How was this happening?!

"Adam! Snap out of it! You need to lead! We can't get out of this without you!" Adam could barely understand Eric anymore. This wasn't supposed to happen. He had everything under control! There were no mistakes in his plan! He had prepared for everything! There was no way he could have been outsmarted so easily!

This wasn't his fau-!

Bam!

Adam was thrown to the floor from a powerful punch Eric delivered to his face! His aura protected him from damage, but he still felt the sting. Confused, he looked back up to Eric glaring down at him.

"Snap out of it!" He yelled, grabbing his collar and pulling him up. "I don't know what's going through your head, but you need to get it together! You got people here who look to you for leadership! And we need to go! NOW!"

Adam blinked, slowly coming back to reality. Eric was right. He still had to get his people out of here. He could still turn this situation around and come out on top.

"Right, we need to go!" Adam said as he got to his feet. He turned to the other Faunus and gave them a reassuring look. He was still their hero. He could get them out of this. "Don't worry, I've got a plan. Just follow me and we'll all get away safely!"

As Adam explained his idea, completely oblivious to Eric who was standing behind him, a deep frown across his face. Fear of distrust filled him as he watched the Faunus.

The red head was bad news. And Eric hated dealing with people who were bad news.


//////////////////////////////////////////////////////


A couple things I'd like to address before signing out, so here we go.

Firstly, if anyone's wondering, Adam is currently struggling in a state between complete narcissism and the decent person he used to be. While he hasn't killed anyone yet, but he's far from being selfless. Not going to lie, having him struggle through that is making him unbelievable hard to write and I don't think it came across the way I wanted.

But I'll figure that out as I go.

And yes, he's using a custom weapon. Themis works in a two step method. Adam sheath the blade, then a small motor powers pistons to hammer against it, letting him charge his semblance. Which his current complete depended on. Two guesses where I pulled that idea from.
CoughYangcough!

Next, Eric.
During the first draft, he was pretty laid-back during his conversation at the start, but I found that made him feel indifferent to to problem facing the Faunus. So I changed him to sound more serious. So for the time being, just take Adam's word his laid-back and lazy.

As for his backstory, one of the mistakes I made with Amber was not really giving a clear enough reason on why she is the way she is. And while that was deliberate, it did make her come off as a high and might character who sits in an ivory tower and lays judgment on others. Which wasn't the intended portrayal.

As I don't have to many plans for Eric to have a mysterious backstory, I chose to put I most of it out. Hopefully that will give everyone a good idea behind his motivation.