The Beast chapter 9:

Rose Square Riot

Blake told Weiss and Ruby the same story she told Yang the night before, if a bit less detailed. How she escaped the orphanage, how Michael found her, how she met Rufus and joined the White Fang and how she eventually wounded up at the home of Lana and Eric where she met Stan and Charlie and last but not least Adam Taurus.

While she described Adam a sense of dread washed over her. Even though they were probably never going to forgive each other for what they did, she still missed him after all this time.

Sounding worried, Ruby asked her: "Blake, are you all right?"

Her words brought the Faunus back to Remnant, she answered hastily: "Yes, yes, I'm fine. I just… started thinking about him. Now, where was I?"

"You were going to tell us what your lessons were about, you know, you said you had to go to school or something!" Ruby said excited, she was very intrigued about Blake's story. If Weiss was interested at all, then she was hiding it very well, she was the ice queen after all.

Yang, who was looking out of the window from her spot on the bed while Blake was retelling her tale, turned around. The Faunus couldn't blame her for not listening attentively, after all she did hear the part she just told the others already on the roof. But now her lilac eyes were shining with interest once more and the blonde was grinning like usual, bringing a small smile on Blake's face, Yang's smiles were very infectious.

"Ah, yes, Adam and I decided to walk together to the headquarters where we supposed to meet the Monday after. The teachers were very nice and we learned the basic stuff, Mathematics, reading, speaking, writing and even a bit of art. Reading was one of my stronger points because I was, and still am, very interested in literature as you can probably guess. We got the regular homework, so I spent most evenings making it and reading if I had the time. Adam always used to have problems with writing and I wasn't very fond of math when I was younger, or still, in face. So we did what any group of kids would do when they are making their work, we helped each other out, he taught me a thing or two about math and I learned him a few tricks to remember the many rules of grammar. At the time we were friends, best friends even. Adam was like the older brother I never had and I guess you could say I was his little sister."

Blake smiled as she was reliving those memories in her head, memories of a better time. But such moments didn't last unfortunately. Blake now had a new family and instead of a brother she got a bunch of sisters, she wasn't complaining in the slightest.

"We lived our lives like any normal family would and that's all I asked for, you could say those were the happiest years in my life, for once not discriminated or penalized for my heritage, but able to have friends that looked after me. Friends that would go through thick and thin for each other, even though my bond with Charlie and Stan wasn't the greatest.

Mmm, I guess this place isn't so different, is it? I've got great friends and teammates and I'm sure most of us are willing to take a bullet to save another, the only difference is that there aren't two adults looking after us." She finished with a smile.

Yang exclaimed: "Ah, Blake, what did we do to deserve your kindness? But you could say that Ozpin and Goodwitch are kinda like our foster-parents?"

Loving the chillness of the atmosphere, instead of the raging fire from before, Blake responded lazily: "I guess you are right, even though we don't see them much, well at least not professor Ozpin. But like I was saying things were absolutely great during those early years.

Once I was around 10 years old, Lana and Eric decided that Adam and I were old enough to participate in one of the protests for equality for Faunus. Honestly, I was scared to go, but Adam encouraged me by saying he would stay as close to me as possible. And so he did, during that protest and the many that followed, bystanders could always see a boy with sharp red hair and horns, and a little girl with a little bow on top of her head standing right next to each other, in the middle of the group protesters. Sure, Lana, Eric and the twins were also keeping an eye on us, but they trusted Adam enough to keep me safe.

We were almost always present and over a course of time it really felt like we were making a difference, making humans more accepting, making this world a place where all forms of life could live together, making it a better place in general. Multiple laws had already been approved and the governments were making larger and larger strides towards equal rights for everyone. Our whole family was proud of our work as it seemed that the protesting was having a big impact. I for one was feeling less and less of afraid of humans, or, for that matter, angry for what they did to me in the past.

I was almost able to overcome the grudges I held against them.

Almost.

Equality was so close, you could almost feel it.

But close just wasn't good enough now, was it?

All happy stories eventually end and this one was no exception. The last chapter was read before any of us were remotely ready for it."

The darkness growing in her voice and the frown forming on her face had Yang, Ruby and even Weiss looking at her worriedly.

"It was the morning of the 14th of January, I was 12 years old."

Upon hearing this, Weiss put her hand in front of her mouth and looked somewhat shocked, the sight gave Blake a weird feeling of satisfaction.

"You seem to know what happened that day, don't you, Weiss?" she asked the heiress coolly, Ruby and Yang looked a bit dumbfounded.

"I-I don't know precisely what happened, but I do know it's the official birth date of the White Fang as we know it today. I can only guess it was because of the Rose Square Riot, although I don't know much about the riot itself, I wasn't there and my father didn't want to talk about it. That day was also the day my uncle Ivan was sent to jail, again, I don't know why."

"How about hearing the story from somewhere who was at the Rose Square Riot?"

"You were at the riot?" she asked unbelieving "What kind of adult would send kids to a riot?"

"Well, you see, it wasn't supposed to be a riot, there hadn't been one for years actually. The Rose Square Riot was planned out to be just another protest like the rest. Adam and I got ready like usual that morning, wearing some warm clothing and sturdy shoes, a protest meant that we were going to be walking outside the whole day and it had been snowing the past couple of weeks.

When Eric, Lana, Charlie, Stan, Adam and myself arrived at the meeting place we saw that there were a lot more Faunus than usual, this particular protest was very important apparently. But that didn't put a damper on our spirits however, we felt more courage than ever. There was a big chance that this was going to be the final straw.

The day past like usual, we were marching slow but resolute and there hadn't really been any problems. But as the bells sounded twelve times and the front of the protest group arrived on Rose Square everything escalated very quickly, or as Yang would put it, shit hit the fan."

Blake was getting tired of the long walk, she was still feeling pretty sore from the jog the day before. Noticing this Adam gave her a quick but encouraging smile as he assured her: "Don't worry Blake, we're almost at the square." The White Fang decided to have a quick break there, before moving on for the second part of the march.

In return Blake gave him a short laugh. "Oh, Adam, you know I would walk till I would fall down from exhaustion if I had to."

"Let's hope you never have to." He muttered, almost completely silent, normal people wouldn't be able to hear it. He probably forgot that Blake was exactly normal, even with her bow on her cat ears picked up almost everything. The girl decided to pretend like she didn't him, for his sake.

Charlie and Stan were walking not too far from their position, Blake could hear Stan say leisurely: "It's pretty calm today, we'll be done before dinner if it goes on like this. I wonder if-"

He was abruptly interrupted by screaming coming from near the front of the group of protesters, at Rose Square.

He sighed. "I jinxed it didn't I?"

Eric moved to the confused crowd to reach us, Lana right behind him, he said: "Stay calm children, whatever is happening up there the guards of the White Fang will handle it. We'll just wait till the commotion is over."

Faunus around them started talking to each other as well, apparently no one knew what was going on. Everybody was waiting till someone of the officials explained the situation. Blake was anxious, this never happened before, you would be a mad man to interrupt the protest at the front, the White Fang had guards stationed there to clear the way for the Faunus.

BANG!

Whatever conversation people were having was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a weapon being fired. The situation escalated quickly, the crowds ran for cover, almost trampling over each other. Guards readied their weapons, you could see sweat drop from their faces out of anticipation. After all, this is what they were trained for.

The sounds of people shouting and running was once again interrupted by heavy machine gunfire, whatever the hell was happening at Rose square wasn't some fight between a drunk street rat and the guards, this was a real firefight.

Eric and Lana grabbed Adam and Blake by the hand to lead them to safety. If Blake wasn't scared before, she definitely was now, even Adam looked uncomfortable and if there was one boy who almost never showed any emotion, it was him.

The cat girl looked back and saw that Charlie and Stan were getting separated from them. Lana shouted anxiously to Eric: "Eric, we have to get them!"

The man answered firmly: "We can't risk Adam's and Blake's life by going back. Lana, they are big boys, they'll be fine!"

Lana still looked a bit unsure, but his words were true, they had to get the younger children to safety and quick!

The firefight still hadn't leaked out to the streets so they were in the clear for now. Something told Blake in the back of her head that that wouldn't stay that way for much longer.

They had to move.

The group ran towards a side ally that would hopefully lead them to quieter and safer streets. Just as we neared the entrance Blake saw Adam tripping over someone's foot and disappearing out of sight as the crowds engulfed him. She shouted: "Adam!" but it was in vain.

Somehow Adam managed to shout back over all the noise: "Go on! I'll take care of myself! Bring Blake to safety!"

Eric was having none of it as he went back for the boy. Lana pulled Blake into the alley, as a few Faunus seemed to have the same idea and even some guards followed them to protect the civilians. The alley was littered with boxes and rusty metal bins, the other side was connected a the big shopping street.

Before they could even think of running towards the other street, the exit was blocked as men with balaclavas walked into the alley.

Blake saw the guards looking very wary while reading their weapons, she couldn't blame them the unknown men made her shiver too as they looked intimidating in their large raincoats.

A beat of silence past.

Silence which broke as soon as the newcomers opened their jackets and revealed bullet proof vests and heavy machine guns.

A guard screamed: "Oh shit!"

DAKAKAKA!

The sounds of machine guns blocked every other noise in the alley as the guards and the masked men opened fire on each other.

A bullet grazed Blake's cheek as Lana grabbed her hand and pulled her towards one of the large bins.

As the older woman hugged the girl tightly, they tried to disappear in the corner between the bin and the old stone wall. Even though it was almost impossible the hear anything over the gunfire, Blake somehow heard Lana shush her softly while she rocked the girl back and forth, covering the cat ears both with her soft arms.

Blake couldn't see anything, the only way to know what was happening were the muffled sounds of the guns being fired, the people screaming and the falling of bodies on the cold, stone floor, she was completely disoriented of her surroundings. The shushing of Lana filled her ears and mind completely, blocking any thoughts.

It felt like they were sitting there for hours, waiting for something they both hoped would never happen. They could only hope that their worst nightmare wasn't going to become their reality.

Their chances were slim.

Very slim.

The shushing stopped abruptly as Lana suddenly shook violently, the motion making Blake jump backwards. She felt something hard hit the back of her head, probably the wall or the metal of the bin.

The last thing she saw before darkness took her were two electric blue eyes, looking at her with tears in her eyes. Blake couldn't quite make out the emotions lingering in them nor did she have time to put too much thought into it before she felt herself falling unconscious.

Blake woke up about an hour later, she didn't want to open her eyes yet. Her body felt sore and painful, it was covered with little bruises and cuts. The bullet that had grazed her cheek made a large cut which stung incredibly. Even though she felt horrible, there was only one single thought running through her mind.

'I'm alive.'

This confused the raven-haired girl, she could have sworn that her end was coming. Somehow fate was feeling generous and delayed hers, but for how long?

She decided to listen to her surroundings, it was eerie quiet. The gunshots and screams seemed to have died out. The only thing she heard was the wind blowing through the alley she assumed she was still in. A faint sound could be heard in the background, like an alarm or a siren.

Her feeling coming back to her, she noticed she was still sitting in the corner on the floor, her legs clenched against her body. What she also noticed, was the object that was weighing down on her, curious about what it was she tried to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy, but with some struggling she finally was able to keep them open.

She almost had a heart attack as she saw two beautiful, electric blue eyes staring at her from a really close distance. When she calmed down she felt intrigued by them, they always did. But looking closer she didn't see the lighting inside the blue globes, they looked empty.

Dead.

'No…'

Blake gasped as she carefully pushed the body of Lana off her and laid her on the ground. As her mind tried to comprehend that the woman which she saw as her mother, wasn't breathing.

'No.'

The Faunus gently opened Lana's jacket and saw that her clothes were soaked in a strange red liquid. Blood.

"No!" Blake wailed as she wrapped her arms around the woman that had taken care of her for five years. The dam broke and tears started to roll down her cheeks as she sobbed uncontrollably. The liquid made her wound sting even more, but she couldn't care less.

It suddenly hit her why she was still alive, Lana threw herself around Blake and acted as a meat shield. She saved her and Blake couldn't even thank her. This made her cry even more. Why would someone want to hurt let alone kill Lana, she was like the friendliest person she knew.

Blake cried till she simply couldn't anymore. She had to move, the danger may be still out there, waiting for her to let her guard down. But before she stood up, she closed Lana's eyes and gave her a final kiss on her forehead before whispering hoarsely: "Goodbye."

Succeeding to stand up after some tries (her legs were still weak from sitting in such a uncomfortable position for so long earlier), she noticed that her clothes were soaked with Lana's blood as well. The metallic stench of the liquid filled her nose, but the blood on her clothes wasn't the only thing that stank.

The ground in the alley was littered with bodies, blood almost flowing in a constant stream, the white snow coloring red. Suddenly feeling nauseous her hands grabbed the stone wall for support, sweat breaking out everywhere on her body, her stomach wrenching. Not able to hold it anymore, she vomited on one of the cleaner spots of the alley.

Feeling her body taking control once again, she was able to walk out of the alley and onto the street they were protesting on an hour ago. The street wasn't in much better condition than the alley she just came from, they were more bodies, cars were burned out, windows were broken. It was a nightmare.

She wished it was just a nightmare, but she wasn't that lucky.

Remembering that Rose Square was located to her right, Blake made her way over to the big, open square.

When she arrived, it looked like the aftermath of a war. Now that she thought about that is almost exactly what happened. Rose Square was the worst of all, there were bodies of innocents everywhere, Faunus and human alike.

'What the fuck happened?! Where was the police? The medics?' she screamed silently in her head. It made no sense, they were so close to having equal rights! What went wrong?

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a figure kneeling down. Deciding to get their attention, she exclaimed: "Hello?!"

The figure stood up and Blake noticed their burning red hair and black coat. "Blake?"

"Adam!" she shouted before running towards him and pulling him into an embrace. She leaned her head against her shoulder before she said softly: "Lana's dead."

His grip tightened a moment, before he whispered in her ear: "Eric and Stan didn't make it as well. I'm sorry."

The raven-haired girl had already cried all her tears, so instead a horrible, hollow feeling filled her. Like something was ripped away from her, which there was.

She was alone again.

For the second time in her life now.

Adam and Blake just stood there in the middle of the red snow, holding onto each other for dear life.

Not far from them, Charlie knelled next to a body, his face filled with tears.

"Dammit, you really did jinx it, Stan."

A/N:

I'll keep this brief.

Thank you so much for 20 followers!

Sorry that I'm one day late and sorry if the content is a bit too dark.

I don't think the content in this chapter is enough to change it to an M-rating, but it will possibly happen in the future anyway.

What happened exactly at Rose Square, who is responsible, what happened to Blake, Adam and Charlie afterwards? How did the White Fang reform? Find out in the next chapter of the Beast!

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DragonSlayer out!