"You know, I agreed to meet with a group of 10," the woman stated, facing a group of at least 30, "I'm going to make the safe bet that this numerical discrepancy is not due to a lack of White Fang educational systems; instead I'm assuming that you know exactly what I am capable of and, therefore, decided to add some safeguards. Although I am hurt by the fact you seemed to have underestimated me."
She pouted in an over exaggerated expression of hurt before returning to her icy business demeanour.
"Now what did you bring me all the way to this old, abandoned warehouse to say, hmm?"
Weiss Schnee, former heiress, current CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, didn't like to dirty her hands- or her six thousand lien suits- very often. But needs must and this particular cell of the waning White Fang had reached out to her and requested a meeting with her in person to offer "terms of peace" and "begin a diplomatic journey that would join the former enemies together". It was a trap of course, as she had known immediately and had been warned off agreeing by every single person she knew- professionally and personally- as if they thought she got to where she was on her good looks alone. No, she knew it was a trap, but the offer had intrigued her- why her? Why now? The first was obvious, she was the most progressive SDC CEO since… well, it had been founded, although being the least cruel and racist SDC CEO was kind of like beating a child in chess- not very difficult and rather insulting to be actually praised for it. You can't really lose in a competition where the only rule is don't murder Faunus, although, on that line of thought, Blake had been getting on her nerves recently…
Anyway that brought her to the next point, if there ever was a time for the White Fang to seek amnesty it was now, although the timing of this particular request was suspicious- coming right after she had pushed through another equality bill using a combination of her wealth and the considerable sway team RWBY held amongst the population of Remnant. So maybe, she had thought optimistically, that this could actually be a serious large-scale defection from the White Fang. And that what she was interested in. That and finding out whoever was in charge of writing the new White Fang dispatches- propaganda was always better with a bit of flair, which this person had in spades, and the SDC marketing department could always use some fresh talent. Plus "saving" a Faunus from the White Fang was always a great PR move; Blake wouldn't be happy with that phrasing- when was she ever happy- but that's what the PR department was for.
She returned her thoughts to her current situation; roughly thirty grunts were in front of her, all armed with basic assault rifles- SDC branded, she would hazard a guess that they were taken from that shipment lost last month. Leading the grunts were two clearly higher ranking members both wielding custom weapons and wearing more customised masks than their fellow Faunus. There were undoubtedly more grunts surrounding her but from a quick look around- achieved with a nonchalant spin as she pretended to take in the architecture, or lack of it- she couldn't spot them.
"Nice place for a hideout," she started conversationally.
One of the two lieutenants stepped forward with his arms open, which would normally have been a sign of friendliness but in this case he had unsheathed his claws- obviously some sort of cat faunus then- and was smirking as he looked her up and down. He was obviously a melee fighter- he swaggered like Yang, like he could take on anyone in the room and win, and he even seemed to have attached guns to the undersides of his wrists. A grappler most likely, get up close and hold your enemy until you can pump them full of enough bullets to kill them. She would not be letting him get close to her, that's for sure. When he opened his mouth he spoke with a low growl, not unexpected from his build but a surprisingly intimidating choice for a "diplomatic meeting".
"Welcome Miss Schnee, we would like to thank you for acquiescing to our request for a parlay. It is our desire that this day will be the start of a new era on the pages of Remnant's history." Big words, used mostly correctly- Weiss definitely wanted to meet their new speech writer, really, they were leagues above all the previous ones.
"Ending this… feud… will be beneficial to both sides, trust me. The White Fang has fought bravely for what they believe in and now, in my opinion, you have reached your goal- humans and faunus are beginning to live in harmony." No thanks to the White Fang, she thought caustically to herself, if anything they set back the movement considerably in recent years. Her father may not have been quite so vicious had there been no attacks, but then again the original attacks had been justified. She clenched her fists; her father had not been a good man.
"And what would be the benefits for you?" The second lieutenant spoke for the first time, clearly suspicious of Weiss' intentions.
"Well, it would fulfil a promise I made to a dear friend year ago. That and the resources I spend on fighting you would be freed up and I have some big plans to upgrade Schnee Manor. My father was many things but an interior designer he was not." Small snorts of laughter rippled through the crowd, finally some appreciation for her humour- it was wasted on her team.
The man in front did not laugh though he did smirk so Weiss counted it. He was standing a good ten metres from her where he had stopped before her reply; it was an odd distance for someone who relied on melee combat to stay at. If he leapt at her she would have ample time to counter him before he could ever hope to reach her. Warning bells were going off in her head as she raised both her guard and her aura- you didn't spend four years training as a huntress to not be able to analyse suspicious combat situations.
"I am so glad you decided to help us then, I imagine the new wing of your home will not be built on the backs of Faunus slaves like the rest of your manor?" He finished his question with a tilted head. This was his attempt at being antagonistic now, to get under her skin, to get her to reveal some hidden racist thoughts or maybe even lash out. Sadly his efforts would get him nowhere; one did not spend four years living in a dorm room with Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose without learning to have large reserves of patience. Even then she was discounting the frankly incredible amount of times she had bitten her tongue to save herself gasping at the casual racism displayed by some of the former SDC board members. They were former for a reason.
No, Weiss Schnee may have gained her position by the virtue of blood but she held it with diplomacy and- when that failed- ruthless efficiency.
"I can assure you that all faunus working for me are paid the wage they are deserving of, exactly the same as their human co-workers," she shrugged before continuing, "You do know I helped push through the Faunus Equal Pay Act? I should hope so, my PR department was working overtime there." She said it in a light tone, hoping it would be received as a joke but the faunus were not amused this time around.
Perhaps it was a bit callous of her to phrase it that way but she had to admit she had never had the natural way with words that Ruby had gained at some point throughout their time at Beacon. All Weiss' speeches were pre-written and triple checked by three separate departments to assure that she did not offend anyone- be it competitors, other nations, and of course, Faunus. However she truly believed in the causes she stood behind and used a considerable amount of her wealth and status pushing them forward.
Her joke falling flat ratcheted the tension in the warehouse a few notches, with some of the grunts unsubtly adjusting their grips on their weapons and the second lieutenant pulled out her own weapon- some sort of dust pistol with no apparent melee form, as far as she could tell anyway. So sue me, she thought, Ruby's the weapon nut, not me.
Her attention was brought back to the cat faunus- maybe he was a tiger?- as he spun away from her to face his men. Yang would have been pleased to know that the, Wow, rude, thought popped into her head before the more practical, this solidifies the theory that there are others with eyes on me, thought. Maybe not the best tactical reaction but to be fair it was pretty rude.
"Brothers of the White Fang! See how she laughs at us! She does not- she cannot- understand our struggle, what we went through. She thinks that she can make up for the years of anguish caused by her predecessors with the money they gained on the back of faunus labour- no not labour- slavery!" Well, she didn't think that exactly, but what else was she supposed to do with the mountains of blood money in her hands?
There was a worrying amount hungry grins emerging on the faces of the grunts- well, they would have been worrying had she even remotely cared about them- who were now in the process of fully readying their weapons. The second in command spun her dust revolver's cylinder in a, what Weiss assumed was supposed to be, threatening manner- bitch please I am the Weiss Schnee, dust is my thing. She adjusted her jacket casually.
"So I assume this is the part where you attempt to ambush me? I would have honestly been more surprised if you had actually attempted to surrender. No matter," she laid her hand on Myrtenaster, giving them one last chance to change their plan, to throw their weapons down and either run or give up, "I came prepared for either eventuality."
Their leader stepped forward, declining her last offer.
"No one else is to engage until I say so," his grin was positively feral (Wait. Was that racist? She'd have to ask Blake later.) as he coiled to leap forward, "I've always wanted to kill a Schnee."
Weiss rolled her eyes, "Like I've never heard that one before, it gets old fast trust me."
He recoiled slightly, "I would never trust a Schnee!" he roared, "They've taken too much from me- from my brother- you are a blight on this world! A blight that I will cleanse myself!"
With the gauntlet thrown down, Weiss shrugged her half cape over her shoulder and unsheathed Myrtenaster.
"Come cleanse the blight then."
Before anyone could move to attack or defend a loud gunshot rang through the warehouse. Instinctively Weiss ducked and spun around searching for the source of the noise, eventually settling on a smoking barrel at her seven o'clock aimed at… her? She looked down and noted a crumpled bullet lying on the ground at her feet. Absently she noted a slow beeping coming from her scroll. She looked at the gun and back at the bullet before staring at the frozen faunus in confusion.
"Did you just… shoot me?"
"Did you just shoot her?!"
The questions were asked simultaneously by Weiss and the White Fang lieutenant, well Weiss asked, the lieutenant yelled. The faunus was quaking now- scared of either his now apoplectic superior or the Huntress who had not even flinched at the shot. A Huntress who was now stalking angrily towards him- her clicking heels making the only sounds in the now silent warehouse- to grab the weapon from his shaking hands. Weiss turned it over in her hands while muttering to herself.
"Pfft, an SDC light handgun, commonly issued to police patrols in the safest parts of Vale, definitely not going to be penetrating any Hunter's aura, ever," she turned away from the petrified recruit to face the two stunned leaders, "Absolutely fantastic choice for taking me on," she finished with an undignified snort.
"I've been shot by higher calibre bullets by my partner."
As if she had said something highly offensive a scandalised voice broke out of the darkness.
"That was one time Weiss!"
The White Fang panicked at the newcomer's voice and raised their guns to what they thought was the source of the interruption. However, they were too slow as a shower of rose petals rained over them and a red cloaked figure appeared next to Weiss, her weapon slung over one shoulder as she pouted at her partner.
"One time and no one lets me forget it!"
Had the White Fang members been informed earlier that day that they would be witnessing "Actual Youngest Huntress Ever" Ruby Rose grumpily whining at "Actual Richest Person on Remnant" Weiss Schnee- while surrounded at gunpoint by a group of them- they probably would not have believed it. They would definitely not have believed the next two voices to appear.
"I'm pretty sure you've shot her at least three times Ruby," Yang Xiao Long entered the conversation from a walkway with a casual interjection, "Well I've been there for three of them."
Any rebuttals from the grumpy team leader were cut off by their final member joining them by jumping down from the rafters to appear next to Yang.
"So I take it we aren't doing the stealth approach anymore? Or is this the Plan C Yang mentioned? Because I'm not-" Blake's questions were cut off by Yang quickly placing her hand over her partner's mouth.
Gliding over whatever that was, Weiss returned her attention to the biggest group of the now dumbfounded and terrified White Fang grunts. It was not every day that Beacon's finest (and most famous) team descended- quite literally in this case- upon your secret base, giving up any attempt at stealth to have an argument about who shot who. The cat faunus (A lion? Leopard maybe?) recovered first and looked affronted.
"You said you came alone!" Ruby giggled at the outburst while Weiss and Blake sighed. Yang snorted out an "Oh yeah, because Weiss Schnee the business woman never lies. Okay, you're right, you got us. We can't lie. We aren't allowed. It's in the Hunter manual right next to the rule that tells us you can't sleep with your teammates."
Weiss ignored Yang's comments and settled for looking incredulous and gesturing to the White Fang members behind him.
"And you said you'd only bring ten people, that's how these things work! I say I'll come alone, I bring my team. You say you'll bring 10 people you bring 30."
"43 actually," Blake helpfully piped up, "There were ten we took out on the rooftop and upper levels," she looked pleased with herself as she spoke, "I guess you just can't get the right calibre of terrorist lookouts these days…"
That insult shook the other lieutenant out of her shocked stupor, levelling her gun at Blake as she shouted.
"Traitor! How dare you work with a Schnee!"
Insulting one of the team was a surefire way to receive the "extra sore arrest" package, even if you used one of the weakest and most common White Fang insults thrown at the team. Which is why Blake easily rolled her eyes before retorting.
"Wow, super original Squeaks."
Yang and Ruby's eyes went wide in realisation as they looked at the faunus. Ruby nodded.
"Huh, I see it."
"Okay, that's it! White Fang at-"
He was stopped by Weiss raising her hand.
"One last chance- we will not hesitate to take down anyone who resists us but if you lay down your weapons and surrender it is well within my capacity to offer you amnesty on behalf of the Schnee Dust Company. You do not have to stay on this course."
A few looked cowed and a couple even took a few steps backwards to lay down their weapons, maybe four or five- it was hard to tell due to the fact that the leader decided to refuse the offer by launching himself at Weiss.
Who caught him on a glyph as Team RWBY scattered.
"Oh well, your loss," she called, summoning a Beowolf to keep the grappler at bay. Ruby had taken it upon herself to cut a swathe through the grunts, closely followed by a whooping Yang who was dealing concussive to any poor souls who ended up within the range of her gauntlets. Blake was dealing with the mouse faunus, whose weapon did, in fact, have a melee form- a long, thin blade jutting out from the top of the barrel. Oh, soooo original.
Happy that the rest of her team were handling themselves with the remainder of the White Fang she focussed on her foe, pinned down by her Beowolf, whose tail was waggling happily behind it. She did love her Beowolf. Regarding her fallen foe she knelt next to his head.
"You know, when I got the message I genuinely hoped you were being serious. My team did too. It hurts Blake to see you hold out against the changes- faunus are integrating into society better than ever and yet you continued to disrupt the peace, making their lives more difficult every time you did," her voice turned to ice as she lost any semblance of diplomacy, "I would love to kill you, I dearly would. The White Fang have been the cause of so much pain in my life, it would be… cathartic. But, " she took a deep breath while standing back up, "justice must be served, especially when it is justice I fought so hard to give you."
The faunus looked up at her with something akin to relief in his eyes. Relief which was quickly snuffed out as his head snapped back with one kick knocking him out, his aura so low after the fight with the Beowolf.
"However it doesn't mean I can't deliver you a little bruised."
The sounds of fighting had stopped as she looked up from the now unconscious leader to check on her teammates. Blake and Yang stood, surrounded by prone enemies, examining the Dust revolver of the fallen lieutenant. Ruby had her scroll out as she walked over to Weiss.
"Are you wanting to call this one in or should I just do it?" A subtle question, SDC or Huntress business? Weiss was forever grateful that her team leader had taken quickly to the convoluted rules and bureaucracy that came with her position and work she often had to do that wasn't… condoned… by some people.
"I'll do it. I promised amnesty to the ones in the corner, I might as well keep that promise. Plus," she nodded at the man at her feet, "This one is getting taken in for extra questioning. I want to personally oversee it." Her partner nodded and stood over the lieutenant on the ground, examining his claws. She was joined shortly by Blake and Yang, the latter of whom screwed up her face in thought.
"What type of faunus d'you think he is?"
"A puma?"
The black and yellow duo looked at each other then turned to their leader in confusion.
"A puma?" questioned Blake, "Stop making up animals Ruby."
"But… but pumas are real?"
"Nah I think I see it, he's a sasquatch!"
"Yang that's not funny! I know for a fact that pumas are real!"
Weiss was brought back over into the conversation by the argument.
"That's the pick up called for. Stop making fun of your sister Yang," she straightened her jacket up by habit, despite her moving very little throughout the whole fight, and turned with a smirk to Ruby.
"Besides, he's clearly a unicorn."
Blake and Weiss couldn't hold in their giggles while Yang burst into laughter as their leader yelled in frustration and stormed off.
"I hate you guys sometimes! Pumas are real! See if I help you guys with the next Grim attack because I don't believe that Grim exist anymore!"
As Yang bounded off after her angry sister to try and apologise, Weiss turned to Blake.
"Please tell me that you know pumas do exist right?" The cat faunus snorted and nodded her head.
"Of course I do, I just couldn't resist being a dick- sitting up in the rafters is not comfortable and the fight didn't really let off much steam as I'd hoped- then Yang and you jumped on board with it. Sometimes Ruby is just as easy to tease as you. On that note-," Uh oh, "am I really a "Dear friend" to you Weiss?" Her grin was far too wide for Weiss' liking and therefore she made the executive decision to follow after the sisters and leave Blake and her dickish mood behind.
"I'm touched by this new step in our relationship Weiss!"
"I think you've been spending far too much time with Yang."