Team SHDW traveled through the streets, killing any Grimm that was unfortunate enough to cross their path. But Grimm weren't the only obstacle. Atlesian Knights suddenly turned on them and fired their guns. Honestly, Skyler wasn't surprised. Cinder had a plan, and it was working perfectly. He really didn't like that woman.
They arrived at Beacon just in time to see Velvet... wrecking a couple of Atlesian Paladins. Skyler and Dante grinned, since they already figured that Velvet was a secret weapon. Hazel and Walker, on the other hand, had their jaws dropped.
"Okay..." Hazel said, "I take back everything I said about Velvet being a damsel in distress."
"Ditto," Walker muttered.
However, Velvet was taken down by another Paladin, but then Weiss stepped in. She rushed in between Velvet and the Paladin, a glyph already summoned, closed her eyes, and gritted her teeth. The Paladin's attack was stopped by an arm wielding a sword summoned by the glyph. The arm then proceeded to bisect the entire robot. Weiss fell to one knee in exhaustion.
Hazel then walked over and offered a hand. Though surprising, Weiss took it and was helped up.
"I still don't like you," Hazel said, "But that was cool."
"...Thank you?"
But before they could take another breath, another advanced Paladin rushed in from the corner and began to charge at them.
And Sun spoke what they were all thinking, "You have got to be kidding me!!"
But luck was on their side. As the students stood prepared to fight the Paladin, electricity arced across it and it suddenly powered down, collapsing and sliding to a stop in front of them.
"That went a lot better than I expected," Dante said.
"You said it," Coco replied.
"Skyler!! Weiss!"
Skyler turned just in time to see Yang tackle him in a hug, "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Same," Skyler smiled, before Yang turned to Weiss.
"Have you heard from Ruby?" she asked.
Weiss shook her head and Yang asked another question, "What about Blake?"
"She went after an Alpha..." Weiss pointed in the direction of what was left of the cafeteria, "And some members of the White Fang."
"You look for Ruby," Yang said, "I'll meet up with Blake."
"I'll go with you," Skyler said and Yang nodded, feeling more confident.
And the two took off.
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"And as I set out upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love."
"Blake!!" Yang's voiced cried out.
"Blake, where are you?!" Skyler's yell echoed.
Adam Taurus looked at the two before looking down and seeing Blake's terrified expression, "...Starting with them."
Adam drew his sword and stabbed it into Blake's abdomen near her left hip, causing her to shriek in pain. The cry caught Yang and Skyler's attention.
"Huh?"
Adam stood upright, pulling his sword from Blake's flesh and turned to face the two. Skyler stared at Adam, disbelief in his eyes. Yang had a different reaction.
"Get away from her!!!" Yang yelled, fire bursting around her.
"Yang, wait!!!" Skyler's voice came out more like a squeak than a yell, so naturally, Yang didn't listen.
Yang screamed and leapt right at Adam, who had his sword ready. Adam swiftly drew his sword, swinging it through the air at Yang, as his Semblance activated. As Yang flew through the air, the lower half of her right arm was cut off. Skyler stared in shock and horror, unwanted flashbacks coming into his mind.
Yang's unconscious body fell to the ground. Adam stalked towards the fallen Yang, but Blake quickly jumped in front of her on all fours and glared at him.
Adam shook his head, "Why must you hurt me Blake?"
He swung his sword, but before it could connect, it was blocked by another. Blake, who had shut her eyes, opened them to see Skyler standing in front of her, blocking Adam's attack with his sword.
He swung Adam's sword out of range and kicked the unsuspecting White Fang Leader into the far wall. Without turning around, Skyler spoke.
"Blake," he said quietly, "Take Yang and get out of here."
Blake stared at him, "But Skyler-"
"LEAVE!!!" Skyler snapped, turning to her, his eyes filled with rage.
Blake had never seen Skyler so angry before. Then again, Adam had just cut off Yang's arm. Now a bit scared of Skyler, Blake nodded quickly, grabbed Yang, and ran. Skyler switched his attention back to Adam.
"Hey Adam," he said, "It's been a while."
Adam grinned a bit, "Well well well, look who it is. How are you, old friend?"
"You're no longer my friend."
"And when did that happen?"
"The day you murdered my family!!"
Adam's grin faded, "I'm surprised you still remember that."
Skyler's scowled as the memory flowed through his mind.
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Skyler was in his first year of Signal. Adam was one of his new friends and they seemed to be getting along nicely. However... Skyler's parents weren't exactly thrilled. While they weren't nearly as bad as most people, they still didn't like Faunus.
They had somewhat of a good reason. With the very few White Fang extremists there were at the time, their family had been one target. Therefore, Skyler's family didn't exact trust Faunus. Adam was no exception. Though he came from Menagerie, a relatively peaceful place, Skyler's parents were still skeptical of him.
It was midnight when it happened. Skyler was awoken by a loud explosion and his mother rushed into his room.
"Mom? What's going on?"
"Someone's attacking us!" his mother said, "We need to leave!"
"Who?!"
Before she could answer, there was another explosion and a cry of pain. His mother's eyes widened.
"Richard!!" she yelled, before turning back to Skyler, "Skyler! Run! And whatever you do, don't look back. Find Yang's father and tell him what's going on. You have to hurry!"
"But... Mom..."
"There's no time to argue!" his mother pulled out her weapon, a cross between a pistol and a kitchen knife, "I'll distract them. You run."
Skyler could only nod in agreement. He grabbed his weapon, still a prototype at the time, and slowly followed his mother outside. He saw a huge hole where the front wall of his house used to be and his father lying still on the ground, either unconscious... or worse.
There were also three figures standing behind Skyler's father. His mother raised her pistol, tears glistening on her face.
"Skyler get out of here!!" she yelled but she saw that you could only stare at the figure in the middle, "What are you waiting for?! Run!!"
She fired at the three, but the middle man raised his sword's sheath and blocked the shot. Then at incredible speed, the man ran forward and sliced. Skyler could only stare in horror at what had just happened.
His mother slowly turned his head to him, "I'm sorry..."
And his mother fell to the ground. Skyler felt tears streaming down his face. The figure then turned to him, his red sword still flashing. He began to walk towards Skyler.
"No..." Skyler whispered then screamed, "NO!!! Stop!!"
The figure stopped and smiled, "It's about time I saw you again."
"Adam... Why?! Why would you do this?! I thought you were my friend!!"
"These fools discriminate us!" Adam pointed his sword at Skyler's parents' corpses, "I have made them pay for their sins!"
He sheathed his sword and held out his hand, "You, however... You are different. Join us! The White Fang could use a human ambassador."
Skyler glared at his former friend and tightened his grip on his weapon, "No! They were my family!! I'll never forgive you!!"
Adam sighed, "Suit yourself."
Adam charged, and Skyler pulled the trigger. If Skyler's reflexes had been a little bit slower, Adam might've gotten him. But flames shot out of the gun and Adam jumped back at the last second, narrowly avoiding getting burnt.
Adam sneered, "Fine! Another day..."
And Adam and the two White Fang soldiers retreated. Skyler dropped his weapon and his knees gave out. He dropped to the ground, and began to bawl his eyes out.
The following weeks were tough. Even with Dante, Yang, and Ruby's comfort, it still took Skyler a long time to get over the trauma. He never told anyone who did it. Last he heard, Adam had moved back to Menagerie, and Skyler never saw him again. Until now.
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"You'll pay for what you did that night," Skyler scowled, "And you'll pay for what you did to Yang and Blake!!"
"Please," Adam scoffed, "You can't beat me. You know it. I know it. But by all means... give it your best shot."
And they fought. Sword clashed against sword. Former friend vs. former friend. They seemed evenly matched, but Skyler knew Adam was toying with him. The clashes finally came to an end when Adam kicked him away and slashed.
Pain erupted across Skyler's chest and he fell to the ground, holding back a scream. He looked up to see Adam walking up to him. Adam pointed his sword at Skyler's throat.
"This is the end... old friend."
Adam brought back his sword, ready to stab SHDW's leader in the throat. Skyler closed his eyes, preparing for the end, praying for a miracle.
But the end never came. When Skyler opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that his vision was outlined in the color gray. Time seemed to have literally stopped. Skyler glanced up at Adam, whose sword was still moving, but at a snail's pace. Time had slowed down.
Skyler looked at himself, 'Did... did I do this?'
Skyler was downright confused. Then he realized something. He didn't know what his Semblance was. Was... was this it?
It was. Deep down, Skyler knew it was. He had finally discovered his Semblance. He could slow down time. He managed to get up, his sword gripped tightly as he looked at Adam. This was the perfect opportunity to kill him. But Skyler gasped as the pain on his chest increased. He looked at Adam.
'Another day...'
And Skyler managed to escape from Adam's sight moments before time sped back up.
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Believe me when I say this: I did not want to have the 'dead parent' cliche in this, but they're so easy to write. I see now why so many superheroes have deceased family members. Till next time guys!