Chapter 11

Next chapter is done! It's a bit shorter than my usual work but I thought it fit better this way. The posting schedule for this will be probably one chapter a week at the earliest, two weeks at the latest. Also, I've started a new story that I'm actually quite excited about! You probably won't see any of it for a little bit yet as I'm going to be juggling this story and the new one. I'll probably end up waiting until I have 2-3 chapters done of the new one before posting it, just so I have some in reserve in case I get slammed by school again. Well that's all I got, so see you then guys. Thank you for all the reviews and favorites. I really appreciate them!

Update (4/6/15): A power outage recently occurred in my town and as a result my computer was fried. Great, right? Well I will still be writing this but it may just take longer to upload them. I'm currently using a friend's computer and they have agreed to let me type and publish chapters from their computer. So the chapters may come later than usual but they will probably come in pairs of 2 or so to make up for lost time. Thanks for understanding.

The airship pilot propped his feet up while he waited for the students to arrive, occasionally glancing at his scroll to check the time; the students were cutting it close. He yawned rather loudly while he started up the bullhead. He took one last glance toward the direction of the compound, preparing to leave without them. He didn't want to abandon them in a place like this, but hey, orders are orders.

He tugged lightly on the controls, slowly bring the airship off the ground.

"Wait!"

Three people came bumbling in to view from the forest, struggling to support the man in the middle of them. The pilot smiled to himself before landing again, opening the access hatch in the back of the ship. The trio clambered inside as quickly as they could, gently lowering the man into a seat. The pilot's eyes widened at how injured he was.

"Damn son," said the pilot. "You look like you got ran over by a Boarbatusk."

Alear smiled weakly at him. "I probably look worse than I feel."

"Well hang tight, we'll be home soon." Alear blacked out after that.

He was awakened by a strong shove. This only proved to aggravate his wounds. He lifted his head up with a groan. "What is it?"

"Oh thank goodness!" exclaimed Lumina. She rapidly embraced him. "You went unconscious and wouldn't wake up. I thought you were going into a coma!"

Alear almost giggled at his mother's concern. "Please, Ashura is going to have to try a lot harder than this if he wants to keep me down." He had removed his shirt and jacket upon arriving at the airship, leaving him topless. His stomach was still bleeding lightly from the wound from Ashura's claw. "How about you, Mom? How are you doing?"

She smiled and placed her hand on top of his. "I'm fine, Pup. Despite the physical abuse, I was taken care of. I was fed and watered to make sure I didn't die on them." Lumina peered out one of the airship's windows. "We're almost to Beacon, and with no time to spare." She gestured to a sleeping Nix curled up on nearby seats. "It looks like you both could use the rest."

"You need some too, Mom. In fact, you can room with us. We have extra beds and you're more than welcome to crash there. I can talk to Ozpin about it when we get there."

Lumina smiled warmly. "Do you remember when you were young, and you would always crawl your way into my bed during the night?"

The wolf Faunus chuckled. "Of course, I also remember you singing to me whenever I had a nightmare." He squeezed her hand. "I'm really glad you're okay." She flicked his nose. "What was that for?"

"I forgot how much of a momma's boy you are," she giggled.

He felt heat rise to his face as he looked away. "Shut up." He wasn't embarrassed at what she said, more so it was because of the fact that she was right. He had always clung to her side as much as possible when he was younger, desperate to capture her attention. But could anyone blame him for becoming dependent on the one parent that cared about him?

Nix grinned slyly as she quietly listened, pretending to sleep. She was definitely going to use this to tease her partner later.

They arrived at Beacon in the early hours of the morning. The sun had yet to rise as the three made their way to their dorm. The two partners each gave Lumina one of their beds for her to sleep on before promptly passing out. Alear decided his desire to sleep was greater than his desire to heal and would wash the blood from his sheets later. Despite being reunited with his mother, he couldn't help but have bad dreams.

Alear, Nix, and Team RWBY had been sent to finally eliminate the White Fang's leader, Adam. The outside guards were easily dispatched and all that was Adam. The bull Faunus stood defiantly with Wilt and Blush in his hand, ready for use. He smirked underneath his Grimm mask and beckoned the students forward, taunting them.

Nix was the first to fall.

The little Illusionist opened the end of Dead Echo, revealing the barrel of a gun, and popped off a few rounds. Adam sliced the bullets out of the air with his katana and dashed forward in a red blur, severing Nix's arm before anyone even knew what happened. In the same instant, he wrapped himself around her and snapped her neck. Her face was frozen in a silent scream as she fell to the ground.

No one moved from the shock of how easily Nix had been killed. Adam took this time to fire his rifle directly into Ruby. Her aura blocked the damaged but not the impact. The red reaper was knocked backwards. Adam rushed forward to deliver the final blow but was pushed back by Weiss summoning a glyph and launching several energy bolts.

Adam drew his sword, only a fraction, out of his sheathe and absorbed the bolts. His body and hair started to glow red as he laughed deeply.

"Be gone," was the last thing they heard. Lightning fast, a red shockwave shot through them. Their vision was entirely filled with nothing but red, slowly fading into darkness as the life was forced out of them.

Alear lay on his stomach scarred and broken, struggling to turn his head to see if his friends were okay. His hopes were dashed as he took in the scene around him. All of his friends, the people who helped him through his past, lay decimated. Their bodies were covered in burns; their faces were covered in shadows. Blood pooled around them like an ocean. The only one still breathing…was Blake. The wolf Faunus struggled to make his way to her, crawling slowly but surely. His body felt like it was made of lead but he endured, pushing himself past his limits in the hope that he could make it to her. Unfortunately, Adam got there first.

Adam grabbed Blake by the throat and raised her high above the ground before peering directly into Alear's eyes. "This is the future that awaits you." He clenched his hand, choking the life out of Blake. "I'll be waiting."

Alear shot up out of bed, sweaty and out of breath. His body was shaking from the fear of the dream becoming reality. What if he couldn't stop Adam? What if all this fighting was meaningless? What if-

His scroll beeped, signify a new message. It was Blake. She had sent him a picture of herself with text underneath saying "Can't wait for our date. Don't keep me waiting." One of her eyes was still shut from just waking up. Her hair was a mess and her bow was lopsided, but none of that mattered to Alear.

He now remembered why he was doing all this. Not for some simple revenge, but to protect the ones he cared about. He raised his hand above his face and slowly clenched it into a tight fist. He would not fail. He would not falter. For the sake of his loved ones, he would win.