"So what exact kind of oppression is forced upon the faunus?" Richard said while strolling with the young lady in the hallways.

"Well, there's the SDC's supposed use of faunus labor in slavery-like conditions and many people are afraid or distrustful of Faunus."

"Hmmm. That doesn't exactly sound like oppression. It sounds more like general distrust and racism rather than just pure oppression. Your name, by the way?"

"Blake. Well the SDC has been known to use ruthless business practices, and rumors say that they enslave their faunus workers to mine more and more dust in worse and worse conditions using contracts. And even then, the other kingdoms gave the faunus menagerie after the great war, which is a tiny island containing only one even smaller habitable area. The rest is just desert."

"Have you gathered this evidence or are you just repeating someone else's words?"

"W-what? What makes you think that? Are you against Faunus rights?"

Richard stayed silent for a moment, staring into Blake's eyes with intensity. "No. I'm not. I'm just asking if you've done the proper research and countless hours of testimonies, case files, hundreds and hundreds of pages worth of interviews, and digging for clues. It's important work that people need to put more time into before trying to convince people that something is very much wrong. Such things are very important. You need to have a strong foundation of evidence to properly build upon your claims. To effectively create change without resorting to excessive violence, you have to have evidence."

Blake was currently still astounded at his answer, before realizing she had her mouth open and quickly replied: "I, um, see. So you want evidence of these crimes. I have to agree with you, but I'd like to ask another question. How much do you know about the White Fang?"

Richard put his hand to his chin, stroking the beard that was forming from a lack of shaving. "I'm guessing they were a Faunus rights group that has gone astray from their mission since they tried to kill me earlier today."

"Th-they tried to kill you today?! What did you do?"

"I'm not sure. I honestly don't mind activist groups, many of them have a decent mission, but it's when they grow impatient with the slow yet impactful grind of peaceful methods, becoming more and more violent," He pointed a finger at Blake. "That's when I start to step in."

"That's exactly what has happened. I uh, have some friends who were tricked into joining the white fang after it became a terrorist organization."

Richard looked at the bow on top of her head, his right eye focusing on the grey cloth. He switched the vision to thermal, and he noticed that the bow had a decent heat signature. So, I have to guess she's grown disillusioned with the White Fang, and defected. I can at least use her to learn more about some of the terrorist leaders.

"Why are you looking at my bow? Is there a bug on it or something?"

"Why do you hide your ears under that piece of cloth?"

Blake's eyes went wide, and her hand rocketed to her weapon. But before she could pull out Gambol Shroud, the man's mechanical limb had already grabbed her arm.

"Let go!"

Richard looked at her, contemplating how he should handle this. "Before you try to kill me, I just want to talk about why you defected. I am still on your side and am willing to keep your secret between us."

Blake seemed to calm down a bit. "Why should I even trust you. You're going to turn me in for being a terrorist, aren't you?"

"What? Why would I do that? You already defected, and you've clearly become disillusioned with the White Fang's methods, so why would I turn in someone who has the chance to make up for their mistakes, and wants to make things right?"

Blake couldn't believe what Richard was saying. She'd never really had a person, much less a human, be this clear-cut and honest when they learned who she was before. But he couldn't be lying, or else he wouldn't have let me even live this long. Alright, I'll have to trust him for now. "Fine then. I'll trust you. But this stays between us, got it?"

Richard made a warm smile. "That's fine, as long as you create a decent case, I'm always willing to help."

Ozpin was currently still wrapping his head around the whole ordeal, trying to understand what exactly brought them here, and whether or not they had sent him what he needed to take down the queen. But that thought was interrupted by the ding of the elevator, and the entrance of the man himself.

Richard walked out of the elevator, and sat himself down in front of Ozpin's desk, leaning back and waiting for the negotiations to start.

Ozpin took out a remote and turned on a screen, revealing multiple individuals, all of them a different kind of shadow that Richard had seen too often.

"So, you are the supposed Lord Inquisitor Richard, I presume?"

Richard wasn't sure what to make of the silhouettes, but he is the current representative of the Imperium, so being truthful was the only option. "Yes, I am."

Another shadow spoke. "We are the council of Vale, of course, we're not sure whether you are a hostile force or not, so we have chosen to remain… anonymous. Ozpin has told us about you, and we have come to a decision."

Richard did not like where this was going. "And that is?"

"Vale has decided to allow the Imperium to have a single representative be allowed to interact with the people of Remnant, but only that individual, the rest of your forces will be considered hostile if they do not announce any future actions or decisions to the rest of Remnant."

Richard ground his teeth, clearly not taking the news well. Shit, if things are going to go in this direction, then maybe the violent option is still going to be viable.

Ozpin looked at Richard with an unreadable stare. He's angry at the news. Predictable. I've been watching him all this time and he doesn't even know it. But he's probably the best piece I have to fight Salem. For now, I have to watch him and make sure he doesn't go against me.

But Richard did know. He made sure that the tech-priests had quote, "included themselves" into Beacon's surveillance system. Richard wasn't stupid, he knew people like Ozpin. They sought to control everything like it was a game of chess. But life is never like that, something the Inquisitor knew well. The key to success is to adapt, to survive everything thrown at you, protect your own, and never end struggling against the tides of darkness. You must accept the chaos of life to truly fight against it. She taught him that. No matter how much her betrayal and twisted love pained him, she was right about that. Sure, that made him a Radical, but that never mattered from the beginning. I need to find an opening, a chance to prove the Imperium's worth to these people. Ozpin is hiding something, and I need to find out what. But first comes dealing with this, Richard thought to himself.

"Fine. I am already the Imperium's representative, and so, I will take the position you have given me. What we plan to do is to secure the area around us, and to possibly help reduce the Grimm problem you seem to have."

The shadows were unresponsive for a moment. Then the rightmost one spoke in a garbled voice: "Of course, but only the villages closest to you. We would also like for you to join a Beacon academy classroom to familiarise yourself with our customs and residents. Do you have a subject in mind?

Ozpin could barely keep himself from objecting to this decision, but he knew that the council had more political authority than he did, and there wasn't anything he could do. As long as he doesn't pick anything concerning possibly recruiting or brainwashing her, things will be fine. I can't let him have his way with Ruby. She's the key to ending this game once and for all, and I won't have anyone stand in my way until I can guide remnant to a better future.

Richard smiled. He already knew which team to pick. "I'll take a class on Xenos and imperial customs, as I see that they have the potential to do some great things later in their careers, and all the knowledge of imperial structure as well as the enemies they can face will help.."

Ozpin couldn't hold his tongue anymore, his anger boiling over and spilling out: "You can't just let him choose any subject he wants! Nor can you let him run around gathering so much information on our nation without restrictions! Don't you see the danger in this?!"

Richard started chuckling, clearly savoring his advantage over Ozpin. But the shadows responded, wiping away the Lord Inquisitor's smile and replacing it with a frown of concentration: "If that is your choice then you will be assigned to a classroom, you will of course bunk with the teachers, although some arrangements will be made to provide privacy. And Ozpin, you realise the council gave you the position of Beacon's headmaster, and we can take it away just as easily.

Ozpin was seething, very noticeably too, and Richard could tell. There was no way the 'Headmaster' wasn't hiding something, clearly it had to do with the students of Beacon, but Richard couldn't be sure which ones. Whatever Ozpin's plan was, Richard was definitely disrupting it.

"If that's all, then I'll be taking my leave. I need to gather my gear, my texts and many things from my library. As well as all the other necessary supplies."

The shadow who spoke just a few seconds ago replied with a visible nod, and the screens shut to black. Ozpin looked at Richard with an intense yet calm glare, somehow having regained his composure. "I will provide the medical aid and the classroom, but I will be watching you, Lord Inquisitor." He said that last phrase with particular venom, clearly still not over the drama.

"Really? Well that solves a few problems. I'll be seeing you later then, Ozzy." Richard walked out with a smirk, putting his hands into his pockets and entering the elevator, an antagonising smile on his face as the doors closed in front of him.

Everything is going Just. As. Planned.

Author's note:

Hey! Glad to see you're still reading this. I hope you like my amatuer writing, though I have been learning a few things. Don't feel intimidated by sending me a review, as I quite like reading your opinions! I don't really have a set time for the next chapter, so you'll have to bear possibly waiting for a while, as I really like writing when the author juices are flowing.

Just so you know, I will be doing my favourite ship, white rose, but I don't mind other people's preferences (other than rosegarden, as I still really see Oscar as a child, and it makes me a bit uncomfortable to see the boy paired with Ruby, who in my mind is much older than him.) I do have some other romances planned, so don't worry!

Due to some enlightening reviews, I have changed Richard's role to a teacher. It's better this way, and I feel stupid to put him with team rwby so early.

Thanks,

Lord Inquisitor Richard.