Adam Taurus

Adam Taurus was a Faunus terrorist, political activist, and warrior who serve as High Leader of the White Fang. Adam was born in Mantle to a family of political activists who fought for Faunus rights. All of Adam's family eventually died, leaving Adam an orphan. As a youth, Adam was trained by a Huntsman in the art of swordsmanship and Aura control. Adam eventually began working for the Schnee Dust Company as a teenager, however following a dispute he was abducted and branded by agents working for the company. This caused Adam to join the White Fang and began robbing and destroying SDC facilities, however a failed robbery forced him to flee Mantle for Menagerie. Adam gradually became a more important figure in the White Fang serving as a bodyguard of Ghira Belladonna, the High Leader of the White Fang, and began a relationship with Blake Belladonna, Ghira's daughter. After Ghira stepped down as High Leader and left the White Fang, Adam began working as a high level agent and later the leader of the Vale branch of the White Fang. During this period, adam gradually became more and more obsessed with getting revenge on humanity for their mistreatment of the Faunus (though he secretly wanted revenge for the maladities that affected him). Adam also began emotionally abusing Blake in order to keep her by his side, though she eventually abandoned Adam who became obsessed with her as a result. Adam was eventually forced into a partnership with Cinder Fall to help destroy Beacon Academy. This culminated in the Fall of Beacon, where Adam, the White Fang, the Grimm, Cinder's group, and hacked Atlesian Knights all attacked Beacon and destroyed it. In the process, Adam brutalized Blake and maimed her partner Yang Xiao Long. Following this, Adam continued his partnership with Cinder and set his sights on Haven Academy next. Adam also became an associate of the Albain Brothers who began manipulating him to take control of the White Fang away from Sienna Khan so that the White Fang could start a second revolution that would make the Faunus the dominant species on Remnant. This culminated in a coup that made Adam the High Leader of the White Fang. The attack on Haven failed miserably due to the interference of Blake's friends from Beacon, a militia from Menagerie led by the Belladonnas, and the Mistralian police force. Adam was forced to flee the battle, which cause his reputation to plummet and he was forced out of the White Fang. Blaming all of his troubles on Blake and began stalking her with the intention of getting revenge on her. Adam eventually attacked Blake but was overpowered and killed by both her and Yang.

Early Life
Adam Taurus was born in a Faunus ghetto in Mantle to Abraham and Sarah Taurus who were both political activists. Adam also had a twin sister named Eve. When Adam was seven, Abraham was assassinated by men working for the Schnee Dust Company in order to silence him. While the police found no evidence of the SDC being involved, Adam knew that they were responsible. A ten year-old Adam attended a political rally for Faunus Rights with Eve, but the Atlas Military got involved which turned the rally into a riot. Adam and Eve got seperated in the chaos, and Eve was trampled by the crowd. Sarah blamed Adam for Eve's death and in her grief committed suicide in front of him when he was eleven, traumatizing him.

Training
Living as an orphan in Mantle, Adam met a huntsman named Gaston at age twelve. Gaston took pity on Adam and took him on as an apprentice. Gaston unlocked Adam's aura and began training him in swordsmanship and marksmanship. Eventually, Adam became a skilled warrior and was given his own personal weapons Wilt an Blush. Near the end of his training, Adam was attacked by a group of racist huntsmen who broke his arm. Gaston attempted to defend Adam but one of themen snuck behind him and killed him. Adam fled the scene but vowed revenge on the men.

Working for the SDC and Branding
With no means of support, a 15 year-old Adam began working for a job but could only find employment with the SDC. Desperate for money, Adam took the job despite his best instinct telling him not to. Adam began clashing with his employers over the low-wages the Faunus earned and the fact he often helped his fellow workers. One of these disagreements turned violent and Adam got in a fistfight with his supervisor. That night, Adam was abducted by huntsmen working for the SDC who began torturing him. The huntsmen finished by branding Adam's left eye with the SDC logo as a reminder that he was "only an animal" that was only worth the cheap labor he provided. As Adam was fading out of consciousness, he recognized some of the huntsmen as being the ones that attacked him and killed Gaston.

Working for the White Fang
Following his attack, Adam joined the Mantle branch of the White Fang and began helping out with demonstrations, though he always wore a mask in order to hide his identity. Gradually, Adam and other members of the White Fang grew tired of the lack of progress that their methods incurred and so decided to turn to vigilantism, robbery, and property destruction as an alternative way to get what they wanted.

During one such robbery, Adam created a custom Grimm mask which he wore to both hide his identity from the authorities and to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. After Adam started the practice of wearing Grimm Masks, the rest of the Mantle White Fang began donning such masks and it eventually spread to the rest of the White Fang.

Flight from Mantle
During one dust heist, Adam's group was caught by SDC guards and a group of huntsmen. While Adam initially led his group to escape the processing plant they were in, he recognized the huntsmen as the men that killed Gaston and tortured him. Enraged, Adam broke away from his group to enact his revenge. While Adam was initially outclassed and outnumbered by the huntsmen, he unlocked his semblance during the battle which he used to slaughter his enemies. Adam ran from the scene just as the military got involved, and he realized that he could no longer stay in Mantle. Adam then stowed away on a ship bound for Menagerie.

Life in Menagerie & Rising Up the Ranks
Having arrived in Menagerie, Adam rejoined the White Fang and began working as an agent for the organization. One day, an assassin attempted to kill the High Leader of the White Fang, Ghira Belladonna, however Adam thwarted the attempt. As a result, Adam was made Ghira's bodyguard. It was during this time that Adam met Ghira's daughter Blake. Through these interactions, Adam and Blake began dating. Adam also met Ilia Amitola and Sienna Khan and the three bonded over their shared beliefs regarding the efficacy of the White Fang's methods.

During a peace walk in Menagerie, the White Fang's caravan was attacked by human supremacists. Ghira attempted to negotiate with the supremacists, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. As a result, Adam felt there was no choice but to fight back against their attackers, which was supported by Sienna. Adam single handedly drove the supremacists back, although he was forced kill one of them to save Ghira from being killed. Ghira admonished Adam for using more force than was necessary, although Sienna and the other members of the White Fang praised Adam for taking action. This was the start of the turn of the White Fang from a peaceful protest organization to a paramilitary terrorist group.

Soon after this event, Ghira stepped down from his position as High Leader and left the group altogether with his wife Kali. Blake was conflicted on whether to leave with her parents, though Adam manipulated Blake to remain with the White Fang and even convinced her to see her parents as cowards that were unwilling to fight for their beliefs. This caused Blake to have a falling out with her family and see Adam as her only support.

Start of Darkness
Throughout his missions for the White Fang, Adam witnessed more and more cruelty from humans. This further radicalized Adam, who gradually saw humans as being lesser beings who deserved to be culled. This was exacerbated by the praise he got from his peers such as Sienna (who took over as High Leader), Ilia, and the Albain brothers who took Adam under their wing in terms of political matters. Adam then began believing that it was the right and destiny of the Faunus to overthrow humans as the dominant species on Remnant and it would be their turn to enslave humans. Adam's rise through the ranks of the White Fang also brought him more glory and fed into his pride, turning him from a person with selfless ideals with a want to liberate his people to a person who was more concerned with achieving his goals, fulfilling his personal vendettas, and stroking his ego.

Blake began noticing this and began calling Adam out on his shift in behavior, though Adam justified his kills as being in self-defence or accidents. Blake slowly began seeing through Adam's excuses, however he began gaslighting and emotionally abusing her to keep her in line. Adam also began isolating Blake from others in the White Fang to keep her dependent on him.

First Meeting with Cinder Fall
Adam, Blake, and a small group of White Fang grunts were ordered to rob an SDC cargo train that was passing through in Forever Fall. While making preparations to rob the train, Adam's group was unexpectedly greeted by a woman named Cinder Fall and her disciples Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. Cinder had plans for a massive attack on Beacon Academy and Vale that could bring on a war between the kingdoms, something that would further her own plans as well as those of Adam and the White Fang, and as such came to Adam to form an alliance. Adam refused on the grounds that Cinder fought for a human cause that she was unwilling to share, and he was unwilling to sacrifice his men for something like that. While displeased with the turn of events, Cinder accepted and left the White Fang camp. Adam then continued the preparations for the train robbery with Blake.

Train Heist
The following morning, Adam and Blake initiated their plan to rob the train. The pair slid down a cliffside and jumped into the train where they were confronted by Atlesean Knights-130s. The pair dispatched the androids while fighting their way to the cargo hold. While there, Adam began grabbing canisters of dust and began preparing to set charges to destroy the train. Blake confronted Adam about this, out of concern for the crew manning the train, though Adam rebuffs her. Before Blake could protest an experimental "Spider-Droid" attacked the two. The Spider-Droid overpowered Adam and Blake, sending them into another train car. Adam ordered Blake to distract the Spider-Droid while he readied himself to use his semblance. Adam used Wilt to absorb the energy from one of the Spider-Droid's attack and launched a moonslice that destroyed it. While Adam was doing this, Blake snuck onto the next train car. Having finally realized that Adam was no longer the freedom fighter that he once was (or pretended to be), Blake resolved to leave him and the White Fang behind. Blake then detached the train cars leaving Adam behind. Adam could only watch as the train speed away with Blake onboard. Enraged, Adam attempted to chase after but was unable to keep up. Adam then resolved to return to camp before anyone could connect him to the train heist.

On his way back to the camp, Adam was attacked by a large pack of Beowolves and Ursa that sensed his emotional state. Adam used the opportunity to take out his rage on the grimm and went on a rampage killing everything in his path. Adam then collapsed in exhaustion, however he was found by members of the White Fang who heard the destruction he caused an brought back to camp.

Joining Cinder's Plot
After recovering from the incident, Adam made a White Fang member codenamed "Banesaw" his new second in command and began sending out search parties for Blake. After several days of this, Adam gave up hope of finding Blake and ordered Banesaw to cease sending out search parties. Adam then began making preparations to return to the White Fang's main base of operations in Mistral to report to Sienna, however his camp was attacked by Cinder's group. Adam and Banesaw confronted Cinder and her disciples who then presented Adam with briefcases full of dust crystals and lien and made it clear that that his participation in their plans would be non-negotiable. Cinder also displayed her powers of pyrokinesis to further drive the point of wanting his co-operation. Seeing no other option, Adam decided to join forces with Cinder, though he informed her of his duties in Mistral.

SDC Facility Raid and Leadership
Having made it to Mistral, Sienna recruited Adam and Ilia for a mission to raid on an SDC Facility nearby, which Sienna herself would take part in. The group raided the facility and destroyed many Atlesian Knights,before moving forward to wear dust was being processed. Adam engaged a group of human guards, dispatching them with ease and nearly killed one for his own satisfaction but was stopped by Sienna who urged him to press onwards due to time constraints. Adam reluctantly followed through with this order.

Having returned to the White Fang hideout, Sienna officially made Adam the leader of the Vale branch of the White Fang. Sienna also stated that Adam would have a shot of becoming her second-in-command if he continues his service for the organization. Adam then made his leave for Vale.

Plans in Vale
Having returned to Vale, Adam soon made contact with Cinder who revealed her plans to instigate the fall of Beacon. Adam would supply members of the White Fang to criminal Roman Torchwick (another individual who was forced into an alliance with Cinder) in order to rob dust stores and shipments. The collected dust would then be used to instigate an attack on Vale from the subway tunnels leading from Mountain Glenn while the huntsmen were busy helping Beacon students with missions away from the city. This attack would allow hordes of grimm to invade Vale and put the kingdom on high alert and at risk for a larger grimm invasion. Cinder would then manipulate the upcoming Vytal Festival to create more fear and paranoia at which point the grimm would rampage against Vale and the White Fang would drop captured grimm into Beacon Academy. The benefit for Adam would be that the White Fang could take over Vale in the chaos, and he would gather more support from the White Fang. Aam also began making plans to usurp Sienna from her position of High Leader. Adam went through with working with Torchwick, though he was apprehensive as Torchwick was bigoted against the Faunus.

It was during this period that Adam learned that Blake had begun attending Beacon and was a member of Team RWBY, which was causing trouble for Torchwick and his faction of White Fang members. While Adam was considering confronting Blake,he instead resolved to get his revenge on her during the attack on Beacon.

The Breach
Due to the interference of Team RWBY, the Breach was forced to occur earlier and Torchwood was ultimately arrested and put into the custody of Atlas. While the plan did not go exactly as Cinder had planned it, it did succeed in ramping up fear and paranoia and having General James Ironwood put in charge of security during the Vytal Festival, which only seeded more fear due to Ironwood's methods (and played right into the next phase of the plan). Adam was summoned into a meeting with Cinder and her disciples to discuss the next step. While Cinder's disciple Mercury questioned whether the White Fang would stay loyal to the plan, Adam assured them that he intended to stick to the plan and that the White Fang would remain loyal to him.