It is morning in Menagerie. Blake and Sun are on the steps of the Belladonna Family Home, both of them each holding a Scroll.
"Okay. Are you ready?" Blake asked.
"I beat up on giant monsters and robots more than once, I think I can handle getting a few signatures" Sun said.
Blake gives a small smile at him, before they head out to do their job.
Blake stands on a platform in front of a crowd of Faunus, holding her scroll up in front of her "Your chieftain needs you! Your people need you! Please, join the fight and help us save Haven Academy!".
The Faunus just stare back at Blake. None of them joined her.
Elsewhere, Sun tries to recruit a Faunus with ram horns.
"Are you kidding me? We'd love to have someone with your skills on our side!" Sun said
The Faunus nervously rubs the back of his head, before his mother calls out to him "Mata! Get back inside".
"Mom!" Mata said.
"You're not going anywhere!" The mother said as she dragged her son inside.
Sun sighs in disappointment.
Elsewhere Blake holds out her scroll to two Faunus girls asking them to sign up, but the two leave.
Elsewhere, Sun hangs upside down by his tail from a tree, getting the attention of a couple of Faunus cutting logs and gathering wood. He gestures to his scroll, but the Faunus simply exchange confused looks with each other. Sun sighs until another Faunus tries to cut down the tree that Sun is hanging on.
At the docks, Blake converses with an aquatic Faunus as two more swim up to her. The Faunus Blake is conversing with leaves, and she turns to the two female aquatic Faunus that have just swam up, before they too swim away. Blake, unsatisfied with the lack of progress, walks up to a nearby fruit stand where Sun happens to be present at also. The two of them share disappointed glances.
After that, the two of them are sitting at a nearby table drinking from coconut cups.
Sun slams his cup down "I don't get it! How can they just sit around and do nothing with the White Fang getting ready to attack?!".
"Because not everyone is like us. The Faunus here in Menagerie, the ones that weren't born on the island, moved here because they were tired of fighting, of having to struggle constantly. Menagerie is filled with people that just want to be left alone, and here we are, asking them to put the rest of the world before themselves" Blake said.
"I guess I never really thought about it like that" Sun said, now feeling a little bad about what he said.
"The problem is, whatever happens at Haven is going to affect them whether they like it or not. If Adam gets his way and Haven falls, it's only going to make things worse for the Faunus. Everywhere" Blake said.
"Adam... He's the guy you used to... work with? Like Hector?" Sun asked.
Blake sighs "Yes".
Sun noticed Blake's discomfort "Sorry, forget I brought it up".
"No, it's okay" Blake said, she was silent for a moment before looking up "Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, They are the personification of this word".
Sun rubs his head "Uh..."
"Okay, well, I remember getting to know Ruby and thinking, this girl is the embodiment of purity. After a while, I saw Weiss was defiance. And Yang was strength. Hector was probably determination." Blake said.
Sun smiled "What am I?
Blake smiles back "Jury's still out on that one, but I'm leaning towards earnest".
At this, Sun wraps his tail around his cup and takes a sip from it, before leaning on his hand affectionately.
"Aaand, what about Julius?" he asked.
Blake's expression dropped before Sun said: "Sorry. Too soon?"
Blake was silent for a moment before a sad smile appeared on her face "Julius… he wasn't as easy to figure out as the others. He deeply cared about everyone around him, even people he hardly knew. The way he stood up for them…I would have to say he was the embodiment of selflessness or maybe, in a way, love. Despite his scars and his sometimes overprotectiveness, he made me happier than I thought possible, and I loved him more than I could love anyone else."
There was a moment of silence before Blake decided to get back on topic "At first I thought Adam was justice, then I thought he was passion. But over time, I realized I was wrong. He wasn't any of those things. He was spite. Not hatred, not rage, spite. He won't accept equality, only suffering for what he feels the world did to him, and his way of thinking is dangerously contagious. That's what worries me about Ilia. She's not like Adam, not yet at least, but I don't know how long that will last".
"She was your friend, huh?" Sun asked.
"She was. As was Hector, her twin brother. Their chameleon traits meant they could pass as human. They could've lived a normal life if they wanted, but they didn't. I always admired that. She and Hector lost their family in a mining accident when she was young, then they joined the White Fang. Like me, they were more or less trained on the road alongside other Faunus. They learned to survive, to defend themselves and each other, but as people like Sienna and Adam started to gain a following, they became more dangerous; especially when Hector volunteered for the experiments that made him what he is now. I guess I did too. My parents tried to get me to leave with them, but I refused. I had Adam, Hector, and Ilia, after all" Blake said, a touch of guilt in her tone, "I never realized how hurt Hector was when he left his sister, but now that I think about it more and more, I'm starting to realize more of what he faced."
"You know we're gonna have to face her eventually" Sun said.
Blake closed her eyes "I know".
"So, what are you gonna do?" Sun asked.
"I'm going to try and help her the way you helped me" Blake said, Sun was surprised at her response "You showed me that sometimes you need to be there for a friend even when they don't want you to be. I was drowning in guilt and fear, I tried to push you both away, but none of you gave up on me. I can't give up on Ilia, and neither can Hector. It's about time I saved my friends for once".
Sun gives a determined smile.
…
Back in Mistral, Oscar is in a training room while wielding Ozpin's cane. As he pants from exhaustion, he hears a voice enter the room.
"You're really getting better, huh?" Ruby walks down the stairs into the room "Are you hungry? It's almost dinnertime".
"Uh, yeah. That sounds good. I was about to call it a night anyway" Oscar said.
"So, you've never fought before?" Ruby asked.
"Just the occasional small Grimm. Nothing like this, though" Oscar answered.
"Wow" Ruby giggles "You look like a natural".
"It's strange, I have only had this cane for a few weeks, but... I feel like I've had it for a lifetime. Longer, even" Oscar paused for a moment "I sound like a crazy person".
"I mean, uh, yeah just a little. But at this pace, you'll be combat ready in no time!" Ruby said but suddenly frowns upon mentioning her last phrase. Oscar notices this and tries to ask a question before Ruby interrupts him "Well, see you upstairs".
"How do you handle all of this?" Oscar asked.
Ruby looked at him "What do you mean?".
"I'm... scared" Oscar said as his voice starts to crack "I'm more scared than I've ever been in my life, than I ever thought was possible" He walks over to a weapon rack "I always knew that I wanted to be more than a farmhand, but this?" He places the cane in the rack "Who would ask for this?
He glances down at the floor as a tear drips from his eye. He sniffles before kneeling to the floor to reach his backpack. He grabs the cane off the rack and pulls the lever on the handle to compact it before putting it in his backpack.
Ruby reached for him "We all went to Beacon because we wanted to help people. But, you're right. None of us asked for this either. We just have to press on and-"
"How can you be so confident?! People have tried to kill you! The world's about to go to war all over again! How are you okay with any of this?!" Oscar snapped.
Ruby is taken aback by Oscar's question. She frowns as she says her response "When Beacon fell, I lost two of my friends: Penny Polendina, and Pyrrha Nikos. I didn't know them for very long, but that doesn't change the fact that they were three of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met. But that didn't save them. Pyrrha thought that if there was even the smallest chance of helping someone, then it was a chance worth taking. And because of that, she died fighting a battle she knew she couldn't win. And Penny... was killed... just to make a statement... I also have a brother who was at Beacon, named Julius. However, we haven't heard anything from him ever since Beacon so I don't really know if he's alive or not."
"I'm... sorry" Oscar said.
"I am scared, but not just for me. What happened at Beacon shows that Salem doesn't care if you're standing against her or not. She'll kill anybody, and that scares me most of all. Pyrrha... Penny... Julius... I'd be lying if I said that it didn't hurt, that I didn't think about them every day since I lost them, that I didn't wish I had spent more time with them. If it had been me instead, I know they would have kept fighting too, no matter how dangerous it was. So that's what I choose to do, to keep moving forward" Ruby said as Oscar walks up next to her, and they both share a smile. Ruby wipes tears coming from her eyes with her arm. She then puts a hand on Oscar's shoulder "C'mon, if we don't hurry, Nora's gonna eat everything. It wouldn't be the first time" She begins to leave the room as Oscar lingers for a bit "Hey, Oscar? This isn't gonna be easy, but the fact that you're even trying says a lot about you. You're braver than you think".
Ruby proceeds up the stairs while Oscar watches as Ozpin spoke inside his head "She really is remarkable, isn't she?".
"Yeah. She must've been one of the best Huntresses at Beacon, huh?" Oscar asked
Ozpin chuckles "In some ways, yes. But in many others... no. She has her quirks, her faults, just like everyone else. But she also possesses something unquantifiable: a spark, that can inspire others even in the darkest of times. Her brother had something much similar, but unlike Ruby, he was shrouded in mystery; it was always impossible to discover his true intentions."
"This must be really hard on her too" Oscar said.
"It most assuredly is" Ozpin confirmed.
…
In an ominous looking room, Corsac and Fennec stand in front of a painting.
"Your thoughts?" Fennec asked.
"Are of no significance. If this is how High Leader Taurus wishes to proceed, then we shall make it so" Corsac said.
"Of course, brother. Still..." Fennec said before there was a knock on the door is heard behind them.
"Come in" Corsac said.
Ilia enters the room.
"Sister Ilia, thank you for meeting with us" Fennec said.
Ilia kneels down in front of them "How may I be of assistance?".
"Please, stand" Corsac said and Ilia does as she was told "We have wonderful news".
"What is it?" Ilia asked.
"We finally received a message from the Mistral brotherhood: the operation was a success. Adam Taurus has claimed his place as the High Leader of the White Fang" Fennec said.
"Good. And... Sienna?" Ilia asked.
"Sadly she was expecting it. Apparently, your brother, Hector, beat us to her, and he helped her escape in our attempt to get rid of her. She cannot be allowed to come here and tell our people what happened" Corsac said.
Ilia growled: "Hector…he will pay for interfering."
"Indeed" Fennec said as he and the brothers bows at her.
"Your maturity and understanding in regards to this matter is appreciated, and it is why we've summoned you here this evening" Corsac said.
"The White Fang is experiencing... a transitional period" Fennec continued.
"Growth requires change" Corsac said.
"And change can be painful" Fennec added.
"If it's for the betterment of the Faunus, then... it's a pain we can endure. What's our next mission?" Ilia asked.
"Containment. With the CCT towers still inoperable, we have the luxury of control over the flow of information" Corsac said.
"News of Adam's ascension has yet to reach Menagerie, but when it does, the citizens of Kuo Kuana will undoubtedly react poorly now that the chieftain has spoken out against us" Fennec said.
Ilia sighs again "It's my fault the Belladonnas had any ground to stand on".
"Do not concern yourself with past failures, Ilia. Focus on the future. We have an opportunity for redemption" Corsac said.
"What do you need me to do?" Ilia asked.
"The Belladonnas are the only remaining threat to Adam's assault on Haven Academy" Fennec began.
"And so, they must be silenced..." Corsac finished
Ilia was visibly taken aback "S-silenced?"
"Like Sienna. They stand in the way of true progress for our people" Corsac began.
"We would never put such a burden on you alone, of course. Your brothers and sisters will be at your side, but your relationship with their daughter makes you an intrical part of this operation" Fennec finished.
"Blake?" Ilia asked.
"We know how close you are with young Blake. Rest assured, High Leader Taurus has requested she be taken alive, but we cannot risk having her present to defend her family" Corsac said.
"And, what about Hector?" Ilia asked, clearly nervous.
"Even if the Belladonnas were silenced, we could never continue our work smoothly while Hector is still out there." Corsac replied.
"We know you have a score to settle with him because of when he left" Fennec added, "is this true?"
Ilia grimly nodded.
"We are giving you the chance to settle that very score. Eliminate him."
Ilia thought this over "But, the people of Menagerie-"
"Will come to understand what happens to those who speak out against the White Fang" Corsac said.
"And will be left without a leader until our victory is complete" Fennec finished.
Corsac puts a hand on Ilia's shoulder "A necessary sacrifice, Sister Ilia".
Ilia briefly thinks on this, before she began leaving the room. But Fennec stopped her "Remember, he is your brother, but he is still a threat. Treat him as such."
Ilia simply nodded as she left the room, a determined look on her face
Let me know what you think so far.