On the topic of Original Characters:
While RWBY has a lot of characters to choose from, most of them are not in a position that could be of use to this story, so I am inevitably going to have to resort to Original Characters in some places. Don't worry, none of them will be central characters in the story, and none of them are going to be wholly original anyway. I plan on taking inspiration from a variety of fandoms to create the characters I need to use in this story. One such example is presented in this chapter, bonus points to whoever can point out which character and which fandom I chose to pilfer from in this chapter.
Valean Countryside, several hours after the Train Massacre
"-train carrying passengers and valuable dust cargo came under terrorist attack! These terrorists, whose profiles match the descriptions of the now disgraced Faunus Supremacist group the White Fang, opened fire on the civilians and inflicted still undisclosed amounts of casualties before escaping with the dust shipment. The Grimm have swarmed the area and the Council has seen fit to suspend all railway traffic in and out of the City while they discuss how to respond to these developments. Neither the Schnee Dust Company nor the Atlasian Embassy have offered statement to the allegations of the security robots opening fire on th-"
The television terminal was turned off with a hiss, and the dark room fell silent as the two figures inside turned to look at the one responsible.
One would have to be bling to miss the obvious tension radiating off of the Woman in Red, her amber eyes burning with anger and hate as she strangled the smoking remote control in her hand. Her subordinates watched her with wary eyes, fearful that she would turn their anger on them and yet... Less terrified than they would have been if it was yesterday.
The grey one's loyalty was never in question, as he had none to speak of. Recruiting someone on the verge of death with no other option than to walk back into a burning house would've always led to finicky loyalties, but as long as she kept him in line with displays of power and the rewards of success, he would continue to follow her lead like he was her most man. Yet those two things were in a symbiotic relationship, one of them without the other would only inspire resentment and personal ambition respectively... She could already see the calculative gaze of a career assassin in his eyes as he looked at her.
The green one was a different story altogether; her loyalty mostly stemming from greed and awe. She would be content to sit under her shadow like the rat she was, as long as she made herself useful with her powers and the Red Woman kept her safe, fed and watered. Failure on her part could mean death or worse though, and she would try to run no matter how futile it was if she were in actual danger. There was no danger of it currently, though she would be a fool to not notice the anxiousness in her eyes.
The Red Woman sneered, and they quickly busied themselves with other things.
What a mess...
Years of preparation thrown down the drain in a single event. There had been a thousand contingencies for every possible variable, yet she couldn't have accounted for a single action. A single, colossally stupid and irrational action that had caused a chain of events resulting in the unraveling of all of her plans before they could even be put into motion.
She had known the Maiden as a wide-eyed dreamer, who had chafed against the restrictions Ozpin had placed on her and had escaped his oversight. She'd also proven how much she needed that oversight by traversing the Frontier with displays of her power so reckless one might have thought she wanted to be found. The Red Woman had barely been on her trail for a month before she finally caught up to her, so close to Ozpin's domain that it was certain she would be forcibly brought back into the fold if she hadn't acted swiftly.
She had ruled direct assault as a suicide then, not knowing that the Maiden was as competent as she was subtle. Instead setting up an ambush on a deserted road after spreading rumors about people in need that the Maiden would chase without questioning. Yet the Fall Maiden had not fallen into it, instead doubling back, to help those in need no doubt, in a display of power so blatant that she'd felt it from miles away, she would've been afraid of being discovered, had she not known that the notion was impossible.
When it became clear that the ambush had failed, she'd seen no other choice but to chase after the spooked Maiden, only to bet met with the sight of Ozpin's very capable right hand man, being aided by Beacon's own Deputy Headmistress as they loaded their unconscious prisoner onto a Bullhead in full view of the village. Even without the witnesses, taking on Qrow would be hard, doing it with Goodwitch there would be an exercise in futility. She remembered the rush of blazing anger she'd felt then, it was almost enough for her to throw caution to the wind had she not have more control over herself.
Ozpin's reclaiming of the Maiden had raised several problems, the main one being that it made the recruitment of the White Fang impossible. Even if she were to best Adam Taurus in single combat, the fool would be likely to fight to the death, which would mean she would've had to contend with a camp full of fanatical terrorists that didn't have anyone with a good head on their shoulders to lead them. Even if they did the smart thing and surrendered to her instead of following their leaders example, which seemed likely given the stunt they'd just pulled.
Slaughtering a train full of people...
No, the White Fang was a lost cause.
Something like this would invite a brutal response, doubly so when the inevitable reveal of the death toll happened. They would be hunted down to a man and even the most hardened of criminal elements would refuse to work with them due to their newly attained infamy, for fear of attracting the same attention. This meant that she had a huge deficit in manpower.
This meant she couldn't create the panic needed to swarm Beacon with Grimm. Increased security would also make infiltrating the CCT impossible, not that she would even attempt it with Ozpin now reclaiming the Maiden. Mere criminals like Roman Torchwick would be neither competent enough or willing to stage an attack of that magnitude by themselves. She didn't even want to think about the possibility of hijacking the Atlasian Robots when she wasn't certain how she was going to get them to attend the Vytal Festival in the first place
She was at an impasse.
Cinder Fall gritted her teeth and lowered her head in shame.
She had no other choice.
Her Queen needed to know...
She ignored the growing feeling fear and despair as she sent the message.
I need assistance.
Vale, the Residential District. The morning after the Train Massacre
Adam had finally managed to sleep, although he wouldn't exactly call it restful with the vivid nightmare that was yesterday still haunting him, furthermore; it was rather short lived, seeing as his eyes shot open not a few hours later to find Blake standing over him and doing her best to to reenact one of the more... questionable scenes in her books. She'd bound him up in ropes in a practice that would be rather detrimental to his health if her brandishing Gambol Shroud was anything to go by.
He would have gladly resigned himself to that fate, although he wouldn't have much luck as the world had gotten quite good at not having anything go Adam's way for once and punished him with an angry Blake hissing at him at him about a train full of murdered people, demanding answers. Yes, the world found more and more creative ways to punish Adam Taurus for his not so past crimes.
His surprise must have been visible, for he quickly had a newspaper shoved onto it.
'TRAIN MASSACRE' it read in big, bold and accusing letters.
'Death toll exceeds thousands' it continued.
"Banesaw..." Damn his compromised judgement, he should've known a hasty plan like that would lead to something like this. Banesaw had been pushing for more aggressive actions for months, and had likely taken a very detrimental kind of initiative and changed the plan in a manner that suited his talents. "This isn't something I'd order Blake, you know that." He said, finally tearing his eye off of the page and looking at her.
Her eyes just narrowed, the newspaper was discarded and replaced with her weapon. "Do I?"
Right… He'd forgotten the lunatic he'd turned into, he thought with a barely hidden wince. "My orders were to decouple the train, deal with any resistance and take the dust." The explosive charges weren't even brought up, their numbers would have been enough of a deterrent that they wouldn't need such a distraction to escape, it came with the added benefit of not upsetting Blake. "Exactly like we would have done."
That just seemed to anger her however, "Then maybe we should have gone," She hissed, "I mean it wasn't like anything was stopping us from just leaving!" Nothing was stopping you from leaving, he was going to say.
He didn't.
"And what kind of message would that send Blake? We would just be deserters while Banesaw would still be in charge," He said as he inclined his head toward the newspaper, "I assure you, he would've done worse had the Red Woman got to him."
"How do you know?!" She demanded, "What did she even want from you?"
Everything. "She wanted the White Fang." She wanted disposable manpower, easily acquired through the sheer number of disgruntled faunus populating Vale. "She offered us Vale and Beacon as a price, a testament to our might, toppling the protectors of Humanity…" That was a lie, she had offered him nothing but death, and upheld her end of the bargain.
Blake stiffened as the implications of that hit her. "But… that's-" She stopped and took a deep breath, finally lowering her weapon. "Why did you say no?"
He rolled his eye, "Get my men killed on the words of a human?"
She stared at him with a flat look, "You said you didn't care about them."
"Did you?" He asked.
That caught her off guard, "Uh... Yes?" She looked uncertain.
"You used to." He said, inclining his head to the newspaper again and sighed as her expression darkened with fury. "I used to," Well... He thought he had, the ease in which he'd cast it all aside spoke otherwise, though he didn't feel any guilt over doing it, not when he had a good reason for doing so, "That changed when caring for them came with a cost I wasn't willing to pay."
Blake was smart, she knew what cost he meant, even if the look in her eyes meant that she wasn't exactly willing or even remotely prepared to hear his reasoning,(Understandable, this must have been a rather overwhelming development, especially after yesterday) so she brought them back on topic, "What makes you think Ro-" A pause, "Banesaw, won't join her now?"
"Even if she wants them after that?" He asked, raising a brow when she nodded and gestured for him to continue. "I told him what I told you, that I would be joining them after I dealt with her when -not if- she came back." He shrugged again, "For all his faults, you can't deny that Banesaw is loyal. He won't join her if he thinks she killed me, even if it gets him killed."
"But... He'll keep doing this."
He nodded.
"It cannot continue Adam," She said, voice filled with resolve. "It will just make everything worse than it already is."
"It won't." He reassured her, elaborating when she shot him a questioning look, "There is a reason we stuck to raiding Dust Shipments and small time rallies Blake," They would take the dust they needed, send the rest to Menagerie to help supply the main bulk of the White Fang. The rallies were to build their numbers to an established quota, all done under Sienna Khan's orders. "Something like this..." He shook his head. "It isn't something Vale can brush under the rug, they'll come down on them hard."
He could see the realization dawning in her eyes. "What do we do?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?!"
"Nothing." He confirmed, "We can't do anything about this, you attending Beacon as a Belladonna is enough as it is." He had a feeling that her family name was going to come up a lot in the coming days. Ghira was the founder of the White Fang, Chieftain of Menagerie after he was made to give up the position of leader. He would be forced to denounce the White Fang if he didn't want the Kingdoms to assume he was building another Faunus Rights Revolution. Sienna and the rest would likely be exiled from the island, and recruitment would hit an all time low with the loss of support from Menagerie, that would make them desperate enough to attempt something reckless.
Blake should have been aware of that, but as smart as she was, no one could accuse Blake Belladonna of having enough common sense to use that intellect in a productive manner, "We could stop him ourselves, you know where he is."
He did, but they couldn't exactly stay under the radar if they did that. "Vigilante Justice? There are laws against that, and you're the last person to go breaking them." They'd gone to painstaking lengths to keep Blake's name clean, no doubt helped by her protective parents. But that wasn't enough to hold up under scrutiny and would harm her fathers standing if it was brought to daylight. He knew those resourceful enough probably knew about her anyway, maneuvering around them would be hard enough without adding that to the list.
But as always, there was something.
"I'm harboring a known terrorist." Blake deadpanned, which made him pause.
Ah, that...
His fledgling plans hadn't even survived a few hours, but he wasn't bothered by it since it was likely that these new developments made most of the Red Woman's plans obsolete. Which might mean either her taking a new approach, or abandoning her cause entirely.
He had a feeling it was the former, so he resolved to keep his eye on Beacon just in case.
Either way, he now had some much needed breathing room.
Now he just had to keep Blake's name clear.
He leaned forward, the motion somewhat harder with his hands and feet bound. He read through the newspaper properly this time instead of skimming through the headlines, trying to come up with a plan. The article was written by Lisa Lavender, something he was thankful for as the woman's reputation for brutal honesty and apathy toward the multiple toes she stepped on with it was what got her to where she was in the first place. The fact that the Council wouldn't bother editing her lines to reduce panic when it was already through the roof made it even better.
He was looking for something that may help him.
And he found it almost immediately.
...The people have taken to the streets, and several protests have formed outside of the Atlasian Embassy and the SDC's Vale Branch Office. Demanding justice for the citizens of Vale after the rumors of Atlasian Knights bought by the Schnee Dust Company to provide security for the passengers of the train opening fire on the very people they were supposed to protect during the ongoing carnage of the Train Massacre, as well as the confirmed death toll were both confirmed by Councilman Sirius Crawford. The VPD were forced to intervene before violence could erupt...
Violent protests huh?
Sounded familiar.
"Not if I surrender peacefully."
Blake sputtered for a moment at the unexpected statement, clearly not expecting something like that from him. "Are you insane?" Yes. "You're a terrorist Adam, they don't exactly give them second chances." She hissed.
"I'm only known because the Schnee's and Atlas put a price on my head." He was one of the best stealth operatives the White Fang had for a reason, his name and face was only out there because of a botched rescue mission in Atlas, a mission he had no say in. They had walked straight into an ambush and his escape, as easy it had been, had cost him his anonymity. He'd found himself with a bounty before the day was done.
But that had been the work of the Schnee's, something he could use against them.
He tilted his head so the covered brand beneath the bow would be highlighted, and gestured for Blake to read that part of the article. Her face twisted in disgust as she read the line, but he could see that she was beginning to understand.
Surrendering to Vale as a known terrorist in Atlas would definitely get both Councils involved, and with public opinion taking a dive against both Atlas and the SDC as well as the fallout of the Massacre, Vale would be extremely reluctant to hand him over to be judged by Atlas. Convincing them that he didn't take part in the massacre was something he could manage just by surrendering Wilt and Blush, both very distinctive weapons that left unique marks. Revealing his brand would give him sympathy, while also striking another blow against the Schnee's already precarious position. That he didn't take part in the slaughter and surrender to the authorities despite the cruelty he suffered in the past would only work in his favor.
The thought made him smile.
Blake finally looked up at him, hope and doubt warring in her eyes. "You would do that? Throw away your hate and work with Humans?"
Hate?
He didn't feel hate...
"Do you want me to?"
"Yes."
"There is your answer."
Vale, Council Chambers, Time undisclosed
Politics are... Complicated.
"I would like to learn what possessed Councilman Crawford to go against the wishes of this esteemed Council and reveal confidential information to the press!"
Especially in Vale, where the concept of an elected government ruled by their peers had to be established quickly to provide an example for the other Kingdoms, lest the mistakes of the past be repeated again. Naturally this resulted in a compromise, the noble families were reluctant to give up the privileges of their position and were begrudgingly allowed to have representation if they cooperated with the reforms.
"Justice, Representative! The people have a right to know!"
This trend only continued after the Faunus Rights Revolution, where the outdated Valean Military under the leadership of General Lagune lost the war in such a disastrous fashion that the Council pushed for the dissolution of the Military in its entirety. The security of the Kingdom was entrusted to both the Huntsman and the Atlasians, both were given their own representation in the Council.
"What gave you the right!?" An Elected Representative demanded.
All in all, a total of twenty seats were present, three Councilors and seventeen Representatives. Five seats for the surviving Aristocracy of the old Monarchy, ten seats elected by the citizens of Vale, one seat reserved for Beacon Academy's Headmaster who was appointed by the Council and one one given to the Military Advisor chosen by Atlas to oversee Vale's security. The Councilors were the only one to be granted executive power, with each of them hold a specific office to exercise that authority. The Directors of both Foreign and Domestic Affairs are appointed amongst the Representatives while the Mayor of Vale, the city, is elected by the people.
"You all did!" Answered Councilman Sirius Crawford, the Director of Foreign Affairs. A tall and well dressed man in his forties, with a well trimmed beard and short hair, who looked more like a soldier then a civilian with his stature. "When you chose to elevate me to this position." His tone spoke of resolve, not even considering giving up despite not having any support from his peers.
"Careful whose toes you step on Crawford!" Another Elected Representative, the Hereditary Seats were being unusually quiet. "Your position is precarious enough as it is! We can just as easily de-elevate you if you keep alienating our valuable allies!"
The hall exploded into shouting as soon as the threat finished, all pretense of subtlety and elegance thrown out of the window in this time of crisis. Not even the Hereditary Seats were sitting it out. Some were calling for the removal of the Councilor, a few speaking out in his defense while a few select ones were calling for order. Only three people had kept silent; the obvious one being the aforementioned Councilman who looked to be getting more angrier by the second, the Headmaster of Beacon, who was silently observing it all and finally, the Atlasian Representative, who kept quiet because he was unwilling to attract the ire of the incensed Director of Foreign Affairs more than he already had.
Sirius Crawford...
He had been a controversial figure from the start, Ozpin mused. The forty-three year old man had been a Huntsman before his ambitious nature led him to political career after he had retired from the dangerous profession to be there for his new family. He had served as a Proxy to one of the Hereditary Seats and his exemplary service led to him running for one of the Elected Representative Seats, the first Huntsman to hold position in the Council that wasn't the Headmaster of Beacon. He finally caught Ozpin's eye after he proposed a bill that increased funding for Beacon. His rise to Director of Foreign Affairs would not have been possible had the Headmaster not spoken in his favor and thrown his significant political clout behind him to ensure it came to pass.
While he was a charismatic figure that had no significant problems in gaining the approval of the public, (People loved their heroes after all) his rapid rise to prominence led to a lot of resentment within the Council itself, especially with his fellow Councilors. That power play had cost him a lot of influence, and it was something Ozpin was regretting dearly. His former student had not been the piece he had been hoping for as nearly every move he made was blocked by his two fellows. Ozpin had seen the frustration in his eyes, and had honestly thought he would be resigning soon if this trend continued.
But something had changed...
Something had galvanized him into action.
"Silence!"
Had the roar not silenced them, the dented table with his fist still buried in the crater would have.
"When I became a Huntsman, I swore to protect Vale's citizens until I breathe my last, I did it a second and third time when I was sworn into this Esteemed Council without hesitation. I kept silent as you did nothing but divide and weaken use for years, for fear of making it worse! But this?!" He gestured to the room, eyes filled with contempt boring into every person in the room. "Further division! Threats among each other at a time where unity is paramount?" He spat, "You speak of preserving the status quo while our people cry out for justice, justice you refuse to give them by hiding the truth!" His fist, still buried in the dented metal table, clenched until his knuckles turned white. "And I feel I cannot ignore those calls when my own daughter lies among the dead."
Ah... That could be problematic.
The stunned silence of the room was only broken when the woman sitting next to her angry colleague coughed and gathered all eyes on herself, "We all want justice for this tragedy Sirius, but why would you preach unity while turning our people against Atlas?"
The Councilman just scoffed.
"I swore to protect the people of Vale from anything that might threaten them Councilwoman; whether those threats be from Grimm, terrorists, or Atlas."
He paused, before taking a deep breath and enunciating in a low tone.
"Justice will be done."
Yes.
Very problematic indeed.
Butterflies.
Butterflies everywhere.
Also political mambo-jumbo is hard to write without having a Beta Reader to sift through the boring parts for you. So I apologize if this last bit looks a bit unpolished.
