A.N: Hi! Here's two things you may want to know about this story before reading it:

1) It skips parts. Mostly action scenes. Trust me, this is for your own good. No one wants to see me writing that stuff.

2) It's an AU that's very similar to the world of the series (Grimm, Dust, Faunus, all that stuff) but many of the characters never went to Beacon. Their background is explored eventually, though not completely (not yet, at least). All characters are 7 years older than in the series, with all that implies (if they went to Beacon, they've already graduated, etc.)

For the first time in a long time, her hands were shaking. She had been standing there for the past ten minutes. She thought about reading the document. Again. Even though she could probably recite the whole damn thing from memory. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. There it was. That thin black line in a field of white, waiting for her signature. This was it. After half a decade, this was finally it. She was going to do it. Weiss Schnee was going to make things right, even if it meant putting her life on the line.

It took less than a second. She had changed the world.

"Huh. You actually went through with it" For an instant, she entertained the idea that the pressure had driven her insane, and that this was a figment of her imagination voicing her own disbelief. Then logic rushed in and she turned around to face the empty room which was dangerously not empty.

There was a second of silence. She had to admit she was impressed. She'd thought she would have had a few days before the first serious assassination attempt. Before her stood a tall black haired faunus woman sporting your standard White Fang grimm mask.

"How did you get in" she asked, hoping to stall long enough for her useless security to be a little less useless.

"Stealthily"

"Funny" The other woman's lips actually moved a little, hinting at a smile before returning to a blank expression.

"So, I gotta ask. What's in it for you?"

"Excuse me?" The woman pointed at the stack of papers on the table.

"You just made a lot of people really happy. And a lot of people really unhappy. Important people. What's in it for you?" She didn't think stalling would be this easy. Then again, the woman probably knew exactly how much time she had before she had to worry about security. With no weapons but her fancy pen, which was most definitely not mightier than a sword, Weiss knew her options were limited. Very limited.

"Faunus are stupid, violent, and uncivilized" she said. The woman seemed to remain calm, but Weiss knew better. It was amusing to see her body language betray her in every possible way. "Or at least that's what I used to think" once again, the woman failed spectacularly in her attempts to show no reaction "see, I met this faunus girl back in college. She was smart. Too smart. Got me thinking, maybe I had picked up some inaccurate information along the way. Maybe not all faunus were stupid. So I did some reading. I worked up the courage to talk to her, first about trivial stuff, but eventually about some of my concerns. We eventually became friends. Best friends even. And you know what I learnt? I had not picked up some inaccurate information. I had been spoon fed loads of bullshit my whole life. It was…enlightening, but also infuriating. So I wondered, what other lies have I been swallowing? And I started looking into my family history from some…unbiased sources. I don't think I need to tell you what I found" The woman shook her head slowly "So I made a decision: I would fix things. Even if it took my whole life, I would make things right. And here we are now, half a decade later. I wouldn't say I've succeeded, but I don't think I'm being too self-indulgent when I say I've accomplished something." There were a few seconds of silence. She looked into the mask and got the feeling that the eyes behind it were inspecting her, trying to figure her out "what do you think?"

"I think it's a nice story. But you haven't exactly been quiet about your opinions" She rolled her eyes, perhaps a little too dramatically judging by the twitch in the other woman's lips.

"That's because there was no way in hell I was going to make it here otherwise. I needed the right people to believe the right things, even if it meant I had to fool everyone else with them" The woman raised an eyebrow

"You really expect me to believe that? That you've been pretending to be a…a racist, ignorant, prissy little bitch just for show? For five whole years?" Two could play the eyebrow game.

"No. I most definitely am a bitch. But I swore to only use my powers for good"

"What about this faunus friend of yours? I don't think I've seen…"

"She's dead" Weiss interrupted, and she instantly knew that for the first time in the whole conversation she'd let her guard down. She had to do something about that. She faked a small smile "five years ago today, actually. I did always have a flair for the dramatic"

They stood like that for a while. After a full minute Weiss knew that there was no use stalling. No one was coming. She was alone.

"So, how does the White Fang feel about all of this?" There it was again. The small change in posture, the slight pause in her breathing. She had hit a nerve. Good. She could use that.

"There are…mixed opinions"

"Oh? I would have thought you would be happy about this"

"Some could say that you are trying to prevent a revolution before it happens. That you are just giving us some extra breadcrumbs and that there will be no real change"

"Some could say that, yes. But are you saying it?" Silence "Because that sounded an awful lot like propaganda to me" For this woman sake, Weiss hoped she didn't play poker. Even with her blank expression, even with her mask concealing her eyes…those cat ears were just too expressive.

"People from both sides will be after you"

"I know"

"If you die now, it won't take long for things to go back to normal."

"I know"

"It won't be like before. They know you won't back down. They'll go straight for the kill"

"I know. I knew it before I signed, I knew it five years ago when all of this started"

"I was sent here to kill you" Weiss rolled her eyes again. No. Really?

"I. Know."

"You'll need to upgrade your security. Here, at your home, everywhere. The systems, but also the personnel…why are you looking at me like that?"

"I was just thinking…you'll look good in a suit."

Blake had to keep herself from laughing when Schnee casually took out her scroll and started making a phone call. It was only after a few seconds that the white haired woman seemed to realize the faunus might have some issue with this. She gave her a nervous look that lasted a second, before returning to her mask of fake arrogance. Blake didn't object to the call: even in the slim chance Schnee tried anything, she was confident she could make it out safely. She hadn't been lying when she said the security needed upgrading.

"Hello? Jaune? It's me. What do you mean who? It's Weiss. Schnee you dunce how many other Weiss do you know? Really? Huh. I've never met…nevermind. Listen. I'm sending someone your way. Yes, now. Take care of her. And give her something for today, it doesn't matter if it isn't perfect" There was a pause. Schnee bit her lip and looked at Blake. For a second Blake thought the woman was about to laugh "No Jaune. I'm ok. Yes I'm sure. I know I always say perfection is essential but I'm in a hurry. Get it done. Bye"

"What…was that?" Schnee gave her a piece of paper she had been writing on while making the call. 'From the desk of Weiss Schnee'. The only thing on it was an address.

"Go. Suit up. Come back here. Through the front door." She stopped to think for a second "What name should I give them?"

"Blake. Belladonna."

"That your real name?"

"It is, actually. You won't find it anywhere though"

"I'll take your word for it. Ok then Miss Belladonna. I have places to be, you know, and in this dangerous times it would be unwise for me to leave without my bodyguard. And a bodyguard needs a suit. Don't make me repeat myself"

"First time?" Blake nodded as she looked at herself in the mirror "I thought so. I can always tell a first timer. You don't need to worry about anything though, it suits you" Blake looked at the blonde man helping her with her new suit. She couldn't tell if the wordplay had been an accident, or if the joke was so internalized after years of repeating it that he didn't even realize he was telling it anymore.

"So…how do I look?" She wasn't sure why she asked, it just seemed like the kind of thing normal people said when trying on clothes. Normal people...she had a job. She had been sent on an assassination mission, and now she had a job. And a suit.

"Well, you can definitely pull suits off. I wish I could wear a suit and look half as good as you do and oh god I said that out loud didn't I? I just meant, well, I make this things for a living but I'm not exactly suit material. Ironic, I know. Something about the posture. Anyway, what I mean is…"

"Thanks"

"Yeah, shutting up now. Anyway, where should I send the rest?"

"The rest?"

"Well yeah, this one's just for today, Weiss said it was an emergency or something. At least I think it was an emergency, I never thought I would hear the words 'it doesn't matter if it's not perfect' come from Weiss Schnee's mouth. I actually asked her if she was speaking in code, you know? Like in the movies when people are being kidnapped or something and say things they'd never say so the other person knows something is wrong. I thought maybe with the big news and everything something had happened to her…what's so funny?"

"Nothing. Sorry."

"Anyway, I know Weiss. She'll want me to get you the whole package. Don't worry, we've done this dance before. Not that she'd ever actually dance with me, mind you. This one time…"

"Jaune"

"Sorry. So…where should I have them delivered?"

"I…huh. I don't know. Can't you just ask We…Miss Schnee?"

"…ok. Not weird. Sure, I can do that. Well, not exactly that, Weiss would kill me if I called her for that, but I can talk to her secretary. Or her secretary's secretary, or something like that"

"Thank you"

Weiss liked being right a little too much. She was well aware of this character flaw of hers. But this time, she felt it was justified. Because Blake Belladonna didn't just look good in a suit. She looked gorgeous. The golden eyes she had been hiding behind that ridiculous mask didn't hurt either.

"Miss Belladona. Finally."

"I know I didn't take long"

"You could have taken longer, I suppose"

"I suggest we leave. Immediately"

"I agree, actually"

"We should take you home, start making plans, make sure the basics are covered before-"

"No"

"Excuse me?"

"I said no. I have one more appointment today. After that, I'm all yours" Well that didn't come out right. "I mean, after that, we'll do what you said. Because I think we should do that too, not because you said it" Nice save, real smooth.

"Fine then. Where to?"

"To see an old friend"

Blake had not expected a cemetery. As they walked through the gravestones, she found herself looking at Schnee's feet. She was wearing high heels. Really high heels. Oh-my-god-how-can-she-even-stand-in-those high heels. Which meant two things. First, she was even shorter than Blake had thought. Second, by the way she walked in those things, the woman had grace to spare.

"Blake"

"Yes?"

"Wait here, ok?"

"Yes miss Schnee" For a second, it looked like she was going to say something else, but she didn't. Instead, she turned around and walked to a nearby gravestone. She placed a soft hand in it and stood there. After some time, she shivered a bit, and Blake's cat ears heard a soft sob followed by an almost inaudible whisper "we did it Velvet"

A.N: I'm not gonna promise this will be a long story, but I'm hoping to get a few chapters out of it. I plan to expand a bit on Velvet's story, and maybe bring in a few other characters. I kinda really really want a dance scene at some point, but I need to get from point A (this) to point B (that) somehow. Expect slow burning monochrome and nothing else, at least for now.