Cooperation

Schnees had a rather… distinctive set of traits, that made it rather easy for them to stand out in the crowd. To that end, Weiss learned long ago that trying to hide her identity was an exercise in futility, and would then just try to embrace it. Of course, at times, the negatives far outweighed the positives, especially when it came to being among Faunus.

Weiss couldn't take five steps without noticing at least four people looking at her in one way or another; most of the looks were angry, and what few that weren't were fearful. Weiss couldn't at all blame them for those kinds of emotions, considering her family's track record. Of course, Darkness knew that didn't mean she liked any of it as she trailed Guy through the streets.

"Stay close," Guy said, looking back at her, "I think that speaks for itself."

"That it does," Weiss said, though wasn't the least bit nervous about her safety; even if you subtracted her magic from the equation, Weiss liked to believe she would certainly be able to take anyone who threatened her. But the last thing Weiss wanted was to hurt a local, if for no other reason that it would certainly not make the standing situation in Atlas any better.

"So, how'd you get into law enforcement?" Weiss asked, in an attempt to take off some personal tension.

"I enrolled in Atlas Academy, graduated, and decided to join the military," Guy answered, "I caught the eye of the Sheriff, and here I am." Weiss was somewhat surprised by how simple that story was; not fleeing any past or great idealism, just a normal guy joining out of a sincere desire to serve? Those seemed rather… rare these days.

"Expecting some extravagant story?" Guy asked, as he looked around, as if searching for something.

"Well, in my days, normal people are kind of rare," Weiss admitted.

"What does that mean?" Guy asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," the girl answered, as she rubbed her stomach slightly.

"Try me?" Guy said, as he turned back to her, folding his arms. Weiss looked him straight in the eye for a moment, before moving past him.

"You wouldn't believe me," she repeated. Guy opened his mouth, but then closed it, sighing.

"Rich girls," he muttered to himself, rubbing the back of his head as he followed Weiss.

(with Blake)

Blake was not entirely pleased with the fact that she was glad to be working with the one Faunus in the group. Perhaps it would've been more suitable if he had gone with Ilia, though on the other hand, he was, as the White Fang would consider him, a traitor. Blake used to deeply resent the idea of Faunus working with humans for anything; it was them betraying their own kind, helping the oppressors achieve their ends. Those were the worse kind of Faunus; Blake wondered what that made her?

"I take it you aren't from Atlas?" Blake blinked at the sound of her companion's voice, as the weasel Faunus looked towards her.

"Excuse me?" the cat asked.

"You're looking around like you want to burn everything down," Bishop said plainly, "Faunus from the other kingdoms always have that expression." Blake wasn't aware she'd been wearing her emotions that openly like that. Maybe she should work on that.

"No," she said slowly, as she looked back up, "Are you from Atlas?"

"Yes, I am actually," Bishop answered, with a confident nod, "Born and grew up right down here, actually."

"Really…," Blake said slowly, her ears twitching slightly.

"Yeah, I was in a bad place before I met the Sheriff," Bishop answered looking around, "I almost joined the White Fang, actually." Blake involuntarily grabbed her brooch at that.

"That's a nice brooch by the way," Bishop said, gesturing, "Where'd you get it?" Blake's grip just tightened, as she narrowed her eyes at Bishop, who just coughed slightly.

"You're a Menagerie girl, aren't you?" he inquired, changing the subject. Blake was tempted to remind him that they were supposed to be doing work out here, but figured that she was probably

"How'd… how'd you guess?" Blake asked.

"Call it a lucky guess. You got a special someone?" Blake blinked at him for that, as the weasel just shrugged slightly.

"Just asking," he said. Blake opened then closed her mouth, before looking down.

"It's… kind of personal," she eventually said. Bishop suddenly got a look in the eye that reminded Blake a lot of those looks Yang would get when she got a new pun in mind. He then opened his mouth, as if about to make a quip, but Blake beat him to the point.

"Whatever you're about to say, just don't," she said, as she walked past him. Bishop looked after him.

"Well," he said, his tail flicking slightly, "I guess I had that coming."

(with Ilia)

Martinus was a nice enough guy, Ilia supposed, at least as humans went. It took a moment for Ilia to realize she was thinking, as she looked up at the young man ahead of her. She clenched her teeth teeth slightly, as she briefly flashed from a light red to a light blue, shaking her head slightly.

"You good?" Martinus asked, looking back at Ilia.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ilia said quickly, as she picked up the pace, "So are we actually doing anything down here?"

"The Sheriff just wants us to keep our on the town," Martinus answered, putting his arms behind his head as he walked down he road, "Most of the time, I just walk around and keep an eye out. Nothing really happens down here."

"Yeah…," Ilia said, "I guess it doesn't."

"So, where you from?" Martinus asked, looking at the chameleon.

"No where really," Ilia said after a moment. Martinus cocked his head at her.

"Everyone's from somewhere. C'mon, you can tell me."

"I'm from nowhere," Ilia repeated, a little more forceful. Martinus looked at her for at time, before he kept walking. The two of them kept walking for a time, before Martinus suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Ilia asked.

"I'll be right back," Martinus said, "Nature calls."

"Too much information," Ilia answered, as she leaned on the wall while the human ran off. Ilia looked around to see they had stopped in some empty lot in the alley, nothing really to see here. Ilia sighed as she turned a light shade of grey.

"Leave it to a human to ditch you like that, huh?" Ilia leapt away from the wall, as she noticed the same cat Faunus she met on the roof literally emerging from the wall.

"It's you," Ilia said, recognizing the face.

"We were never properly introduced," the cat said, as she fully emerged from the wall "My name's Magenta. Magenta Cheshire." Ilia just remained still, glaring at the cat, while keeping her hand on Lightning Lash.

"That's okay," Magenta answered, "I don't really need your name. You're a fellow Faunus, and that's all that really matters to me." Ilia just glared at the woman, not really sure what to say in response to that. She remembered Adam at one point saying something similar actually.

"So, what did the humans do to you?" Magenta said, as she leaned on the wall.

"What… what do you mean?" Ilia asked.

"It's in the nature of their kind to hurt own kind," Magenta said, "Point to me a Faunus who hasn't been hurt in some way by a human, and I'll point you to a Schnee not obsessed with money." Those words rang rather awkward to Ilia, but she didn't say anything.

"Well, it's a long story," she said.

"In that case, how about I just show you what they did to me?" Magenta responded icily. With that, the cat reached up to her mask, and pulled it down, showing the entirety of her face. What she saw sent a chill down Ilia's spine. Going up her cheeks was a Vacuo smile, making it look like she was always grinning.

"Did… did humans do that to you?" Ilia asked slowly.

"Oh no," Magenta answered, "I did this to me. But humans were still responsible."

"What're you getting at?" Ilia said, not sure how what Magneta said made sense.

"Don't let what those pets say," the cat said, as she leaned up from the wall, "Coexistence won't ever happen. Humans will continue to do things like this to us as long as they still exist."

"What are we supposed to do then?" Ilia asked, "Just kill off all the humans?"

"Yes, that is exactly what we are supposed to do." Those words made Ilia's blood run cold, as she instinctively sucked in a breath.

"Humans are the enemy, and they will always be the enemy" Magenta said darkly, as she strolled around the chameleon, taking a lock of her hair as she did, "True cooperation is impossible, it's against the way of things. No world can have two intelligent races; in the end, it'll be either us, or it'll be them." The cat then bent down towards Ilia's ear.

"Trust me, it'll be us," she said, "And all that will remain of humanity, will be bones, and ruins."

"Not all humans, are like that" Ilia said, more to herself than to the cat, "You don't have to do this."

"No, sweetie," Magenta said, as she came forward, and to Ilia's great disturbance, literally walked right through her, as if the cat was made of air, "All humans." Leaving Ilia to mull on those worlds, Magenta skipped away, walking straight through the wall.

(somewhere in Mantle)

Of all the duties Jaune thought he'd be stuck with today, being a crossing guard was not among them. He wasn't sure where Darkness was, but he imagined the god would have many a joking comment to make about it. It wasn't hard work, and he could take some satisfaction in helping these kids along; it made him think about his own soon to be born children. An image of him walking two little ones to school, watching them running up to meet their friends, and picking them up from school; it made him smile.

Unfortunately, said smile attracted some other moms, who were walking their children to the drop off point, as they swooned in the background over the blonde dragon-knight. Fortunately for them, Ruby and Weiss weren't around. While neither girl really struck Jaune as the jealous type, it was better safe than sorry, especially when both of them were dragons half the time.

"Looks like the moms like you." Jaune was attracted by the voice, as he saw a young woman with golden eyes, and blue hair leaning on a lamppost. She had a spear on her back, and a pin Jaune vaguely recognized.

"Yeah," Jaune answered with a slight chuckle, "I guess they do."

"You got a girlfriend?" the girl inquired as she came over to him.

"Uh, yeah," Jaune said, "Why?"

"Well, I'd do your best not to let them find out," the girl said, with a slight smirk, before offering a hand, "The name's May, May Marigold."

"Nice to meet you," Jaune said, shaking it after a moment, "Jaune Arc."

"So, they got you watching the brats?" May said, gesturing to the kids as they made their way down the street.

"Well, I'm just doing my best," Jaune said, glancing after the kids, "They're our future, right?"

"Geez, you're not a dad already are you?" May scoffed, rolling her eyes slightly. Jaune just coughed slightly.

"So, what're you doing here?" Jaune asked, "You're a huntress, right?"

"What tipped you off?" May asked sarcastically, jerking a thumb to the spear on her back.

"Good point," Jaune answered with a slight chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. He then noticed a new group of children gathering on the other side road, as he rose the sign to let the children pass.

"Anyway, I'm here looking for my own boyfriend," she answered, as she looked around, "He's a Hunter himself, though I didn't seem him anywhere."

"What's his name?" Jaune asked. May looked at him for a time, as if considering whether or not to tell Jaune. Eventually, she opened her mouth, before one of the screens suddenly lit up, getting everyone's attention. An image of General Ironwood appeared on the screen, and Jaune couldn't help but notice May glaring at the screen, though he didn't think much of it.

"Greetings, citizens of Mantle," Ironwood said, in a rather subdued tone, "I will get right to the point, because I know your patience with me is rather… degraded." He then took a breath, as he closed his eyes briefly.

"I am here to formerly announce that effective immediately, the embargo will be lifted," he announced. Those words hung heavy over the area, including Mantle. Jaune could start to hear the parents muttering to each other, with even the moms tearing their eyes away from Jaune for the time. Jaune could see May also balking at the news, though he wasn't too surprised to hear, partially from how much he knew Oz was pushing Ironwood to do so.

"In addition," the general continued, "I would also like to officially offer Ms. Robyn Hill my endorsement in the election, and to say that I look forward to working with her to benefit our great state." That did surprise Jaune; he wondered if that was also Oz's advice, or if it was Ironwood's own decision.

"Well, that's a thing now," Jaune said, as he turned to May with a slight chuckle. The blue-haired girl just stared for a while, opening and closing her mouth.

"I've… gotta go," she said, before she hurried off, leaving Jaune alone for a time.

"Well, come on!" Jaune called to the next batch of kids, "School's still on!"

(somewhere else in Mantle)

"It appears we may have… misjudged the situation slightly," Watts said, as he closed the news article on one of the scrolls.

"That's a way of putting it," Crane sneered, "And what's this 'we' you're referring to?" Watts was currently sitting in his latest hideout, with several scrolls on the desk in front of him, three of which were projecting the faces of his colleagues.

"Well, I'd say this may place your previous plan on ice," Tyrian said mockingly, "This election may not be as easy to steal as you thought."

"Oh that was never the issue. The election will be easy to hack into," Watts answered, glaring at the scorpion, but taking a breath and rubbing his chin, "But it may not be enough now."

"Our goal is to sow just enough chaos in Mantle to summon the Grimm," Crane continued, "Those monsters can handle it from there."

"What we need to do is to find a way to put the people back on edge. We just need them to be afraid and hateful, not to have it directed Ironwood specifically."

"Well that shouldn't be hard, remember what our mistress always says," Magenta hissed, "The hearts of men, are easily swayed."

"Too true," Watts said, smirking slightly, "The game hasn't changed, Ironwood has just altered the board slightly. We can alter it back easy enough. To start with…" He paused, as he as he took another Scroll, and displayed an image of Robyn Hill.

"Ms. Hill presents herself as the champion of the people, and the people have truly seized upon that message," he said, "Her sudden removal from the equation could cause some more issues for James."

"Oh, I can do that," Magenta said, raising her hand.

"NO!" Crane suddenly snapped, causing Watts to arch his eyebrow at him, before he took a breath, "Leave Hill to me. I can handle her better than any of you ever could."

"It doesn't matter who does it," Watts said, "Only that it get's done."

"Easy enough," Crane responded.

"Tyrian, you need…"

"I've already gotten started," Tyrian said, grinning cruelly, "It's been a tad too easy, but there's is a novelty in going after people like them."

"Magenta, you know what to do."

"Ooh, this is going to be fun,"Magenta said, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

"Good hunting, you three," the doctor said, "Try to do things conspicuously when you can."

"I make no promises," Crane said, while Tyrian and Magenta just laughed and the connection ended.

"So uncivilized," Watts grunted, as he leaned back, and folded his arms.

(in the shadows)

Also watching the news, but with a more interested expression, was the High Spirit of Order himself. Floating over a small communications tower, Thoth watched the broadcast carefully

"Well," Thoth said cooly, "This makes things a bit more… interesting."

Note: While I know Watts and Tyrian's plan in Vol. 7 played into what I think is the broader theme of RWBY, which is how bad things can get if people lose their faith in each other (and themselves), I always thought their plan to go feed into Ironwood's fears seemed a little… overthought. I mean, if the goal is simply to make people afraid to summon the Grimm, there are probably easier ways to do it, especially in Mantle. So I asked myself, "what if Ironwood got ahead of them, even if unknowingly"? What would their plan be then?

I'm sure you've all been wondering where I've been, but something I need to reiterate is that I'm military, and work takes priority over stuff like this. On top of that, I've been working on an original work of my own for the past few weeks, and that's been holding much of my attention.

I think people can probably guess that a "Vacuo smile" is this world's version of a "Glasgow smile".

Be sure to review. Sidebar: I recently updated chapters 71 and 72; small, but important things. Also, I've been getting commission recently for some of my OCs; you can find them on my DA favorites under commissions, the link to which should be on my profile.

Sidebar, if your a LOTR and/or Fairy Tail fan, check out my newest fanfic.