Brief Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. As I've mentioned several times, uni classes are no joke. But the other reason it took me so long is because I've kinda lost my passion for writing RWBY stories at this moment. The end of volume 8 really got to me and it soured my desire for writing. I won't say what happened for those of you who want to remain spoiler free, just know I can't even look at a certain character anymore without crying. So I decided to dive into some other fandoms as a tiny break. Which reminds me, I have a new My Hero Academia one shot in my book Distant Shore for those of you who want to give it a read.

Anyway this will be the last chapter for a while that takes place in the present timeline. Next chapter we start what I like to call "flashback city." Enjoy! And as always, let me know if you have any questions or suggestions about the story.

Adam's POV

"Now where am I?" I asked as I took in my new surroundings.

This certainly wasn't somewhere I'd been before. This place was some kind of barren wasteland with a rocky terrain that was dotted with purple crystals that I found myself having to constantly climb over or around as I walked. The ground was also pockmarked with strange pools that were filled with a thick, dark, tar like substance.

Suddenly the puddle in front of me began bubbling and I watched in horror as a beowolf reached out from the ooze and clambered onto the rocky ground. It shook out what remained of the slime in its fur before it lumbered away.

Ok, I had somehow ended up in some kind of Grimm nursery. I wasn't sure how or why but at least I had some semblance of where I was.

Another puddle began churning to my left and I instinctively reached for Wilt only to remember that I had lost it in the river. The ground began cracking as the Grimm began forcing its way out. A skeletal hand shot out of the slime but it didn't look like any kind of Grimm appendage that I'd ever seen. It was more humanoid.

The creature surfaced and I was shocked to see that it looked like me, well me if I was a Grimm. Its skin was a disgusting amalgamation of Grimm and normal flesh. Its chest was flayed open on both sides exposing its ribs.

Grimm-Adam locked its one blood red and one blue eye onto me as it lumbered forward. It let out a ghostly moan through its detached jaw.

I stumbled backwards as Grimm-Adam stretched out one of its bony arms and clasped its hand around my throat.

As I began to suffocate the surrounding area shattered around me and my eyes shot open. That's when I realized I wasn't in a Grimm wasteland being choked by a monster. I was laying on a couch in a living room and there was a blanket around my throat.

I pulled the blanket off and looked down at myself, noticing immediately that my wounds from my fight against Blake and Yang had been bandaged and my broken arm was secured against my chest. Well ok, I noticed that and the fact that I was currently laying on this couch wearing nothing but my red boxer shorts. However, after all the craziness I'd just experienced in my dreams I didn't even try and question what happened.

I then heard a creaking sound off to my right and turned to see a door opening in the nearby hallway. A woman, about my age maybe a little younger, stepped out of the room and into the hall. She was wearing orange and white plaid pajama bottoms and a navy blue shirt. Her black hair hung loosely around her shoulders and I couldn't help but notice several strands of  hair and her bangs were dyed a turquoise color.

"Glad to see you're awake," she said, yawning sleepily.

"Who are you?! Where am I?!" I snapped.

The woman, however, didn't seem fazed by my outburst, "I'm Aviva and this is my house. I brought you here to patch you up. You're welcome."

I sneered a little at her, "I didn't ask for your help huma-"

But Aviva cut me off with a snap of her tail, a tail that I hadn't noticed until now. It looked like a monkey's tail. Black just like her hair with a turquoise dyed tip.

"You don't get to intimidate me Adam Taurus," she said my name as if it was poison in her mouth, "I brought you here to help you. And trust me you won't get far right now with those injuries if you try and attack me or run. I'm going to decide what to do with you in the morning. For now I'm going to bed."

With that she turned on her heel and walked back in her room before closing the door.

I stared, flabbergasted, as the door was basically shut in my face. I used to be able to intimidate tons of people with my voice alone. Why was this suddenly different?

I thought back to what my mother had told me, how I wasn't really the faunus savior I thought I was. Then I thought about Grimm me. Was that really what I had become? A mindless creature set on nothing but death and destruction?

I leaned back on the couch again and thought. Without the White Fang, without Blake, I wasn't sure who I was anymore. Was this what my mother meant? My second chance at life. It was meant for me to find out who I really was.