Quick Note: The events at the end of this chapter were directly inspired by the song "This Is Me" from the soundtrack for The Greatest Showman. As in, I literally rewrote the ending after hearing the song – once you get there, you'll see why.
And if you don't cry before this is over, then you have no soul.
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Belladonna was feeling particularly proud of herself today.
And she had good reason – thanks to her efforts, the leader of the White Fang was safely imprisoned. The only downside was that she didn't have a chance to equip the woman with one of her Calmers. Now that would have been funny. Instead the woman was simply bound with quite a lot of chains, including a solid mask around her mouth – they didn't want to take the chance that she could actually spit poison. Snakes were unpredictable, after all.
Cinder Fall was slated for a public execution in about a week. Oh what a show that would be. Maybe she'd even let Snowball watch… if she was a good kitty.
Heh. Maybe that would finally break that stubborn faunus' spirit.
In any case, it was another fine day. Bright sunshine, lovely cool air, and adoring plebeians all around to shower her with rightly-deserved praise. A fine day, indeed.
"Hey Blake, how's that headache?" one younger Huntsman asked in passing. She had never seen him before, so she simply ignored his attempt at being overly friendly. She had better things to do.
The CCT Tower at Beacon was probably one of the most important buildings in the entire kingdom. Within these walls lay the technology to communicate with all three of the other towers around the world, a feat unmatched by any other on this planet. Her own kingdom, Atlas, lay hundreds of miles to the north – it would take the postman quite a while to deliver a letter there. Hence the need for the CCT Tower.
Belladonna also kept a private server on the network, and was quite proud of it. Literally no one else could access it, as it was triple-locked and secured against every type of hacker imaginable. Only Belladonna's own retinal pattern could unlock it, and no one else had access to that.
Good thing, too – Belladonna kept things on that server that were better left hidden. Personal notes, a weekly diary, and quite a few legal documents that could do serious damage if they ever saw the light of day.
"Miss Belladonna, good day to you. Did you forget something in the tower?" asked a teacher as she passed, still heading for the large building. Belladonna simply gave the teacher an annoyed look, then kept walking. Forget something? If she did, then it was a week ago. No matter.
Upon ascending the steps and entering through the sliding double doors, Belladonna was enraptured once again by the look and feel of Atlesian technology. Inside the tower was practically like coming home.
"Ah, Miss Belladonna… welcome back. Are you feeling better?" asked the main technician at the front desk, a girl who often greeted the Huntress on her weekly excursions into the tower.
"I'm feeling just fine, thank you," the brunette replied absently. "I need to access my personal terminal."
"Again? No problem. Glad your head's feeling better," the girl replied with a smile.
"…" Belladonna stared in a mix of annoyance and confusion at the strange peasant, then made her way to the elevator.
Up until this point she'd ignored the comments, but now… she was growing suspicious. Why did everyone act like they'd just seen her less than an hour ago? And with a headache, no less? Nonsense… she'd never had a headache in her life. They were just going mad.
The terminal room was half-full of other Huntsman and various teachers going about their usual, peasanty business. A few normal civilians were also there, but the place was never full. Belladonna easily made her way to her private terminal, a system set back in a corner to keep the contents of the screen safely away from the security cameras. Never know who might take a peek.
Approaching the spot, Belladonna had her first moment of panic – the chair had not been pushed in. She always pushed the chair in when she left, and the workers here knew better than to mess with it.
The panic died quickly, however, as she decided it was simply a careless janitor. Or something equally innocent.
Still, something was off…
Acting on a hunch, Belladonna quickly logged into her server and checked the activity log… then clearly felt her heart leap out of her throat.
Last access time was… two hours ago?!
She hadn't been back here since last week.
…This was not good.
Leaving her server, Belladonna quickly accessed the building's security cameras from right where she sat – possible thanks to a special password she knew that gave her access to quite a bit more than a normal Huntress was normally allowed. Another benefit of being rich.
Her shock quickly escalated as she watched footage of… herself walking into the CCT Tower. Two hours ago.
But… two hours ago, Belladonna was in the city. How the hell…?
The woman on the cameras looked exactly like her, almost to the point where the brunette wondered if she hadn't sleepwalked her way in. A few times the look-alike seemed to be rubbing her head, but otherwise she acted like Belladonna herself did. She wondered if she might be going mad.
From the main camera in the terminal room, Belladonna watched as her look-alike pulled out a completely different scroll (this one a dark purple color) and plugged it into the system. She was clearly doing something, but it was impossible to tell what from this angle.
Pausing the footage, Belladonna rushed back to her server and checked the activity log again – and nearly passed out.
Two hours ago, her entire server had been copied to an external storage device.
Holy. Fuck.
'Bad' did not begin to describe this situation.
In a fit of brilliance, Belladonna returned to the security camera footage. If she could follow the imposter out of the building through the cameras, maybe she could track them down and stop any attempt at blackmailing her before it could even start. It would have to be just her, though – involving any other Huntsman could result in too many questions about what they were actually hunting.
But she didn't even get that far. Right after downloading everything, the imposter wrote something down on a piece of paper right there at the terminal, then appeared to attach it to the bottom of the chair.
The imposter then turned… and looked directly at the security camera. Directly at Belladonna herself, through the screen. And she grinned.
Her eyes were exactly the same.
Without even thinking, Belladonna reached down and found the paper still attached to the bottom of her chair. The note contained two things – an address to a warehouse in the city, and… a roughly scribbled version of the White Fang symbol.
Challenge accepted, Miss Imposter. Whoever you are, you will greatly regret messing with the daughter of the Belladonna family.
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Chapter 33:
Hope (finale)
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Blake rubbed her ears again, hoping the next part of the plan wouldn't take too much longer. Keeping them pinned down under her hair like this really hurt.
But the effect was perfect. No one could tell the difference.
She stood in the warehouse indicated by the address, waiting and watching. The earpiece was silent, but she knew that Penny was keeping a lookout – as soon as she knew Belladonna was coming, the robot-in-hiding would give her a warning (Blake smiled as she remembered how hard the girl pleaded for her to keep that particular detail a secret).
Blake adjusted Gambol Shroud on her back for the 15th time, then rubbed her sore faunus ears again. It had taken a bit of work to get her looking just like Belladonna, but once they were done even Ozpin couldn't tell the difference. The clothes they nabbed fit perfectly, and after pinning Blake's cat ears down (as Belladonna did not wear Blake's standard ribbon) the job was done.
Still, things were not going at all like Blake originally planned… this was much better.
(Four hours earlier) _/_/_/
…
After a bit of touch-and-go with the other human Huntsman, Blake soon located 'her' dorm room. The plan was quite simple at this point – cause mischief and get Belladonna in trouble. That was all she had, really.
Once she got there, Blake discovered just how handy her new scroll actually was – Carmine had included a small program to hack into electronic locks of any strength. Blake got in with no trouble. She also made a mental note to ask Carmine why the hell she included a program like that in the first place.
But then the plan changed.
Blake was none too pleased to find a ragged and badly emaciated faunus girl huddled in the corner of the room, naked and shivering with a collar around her neck. She didn't recognize the girl at first, but slowly put the pieces together… since she looked almost exactly like Sapphire Schnee, but with Weiss' white hair and ice-blue eyes. And snowy white cat ears. She also looked fit to kill anyone who got too close.
Finally remembering the name of Weiss' older sister, Blake carefully said, "…Winter?" It was getting easier to remember the whole human-faunus-switch thing with this world.
Winter the faunus jerked at being called her real name, but didn't let her guard down for a second.
Blake took a careful, quiet step closer and undid one of her ear clips, letting a single black cat ear pop back up. Winter reacted like she'd just had a gun pointed at her face, darting backwards with a look of panic.
"It's okay, it's okay… I'm not… Belladonna. I'm more like her twin, but not evil," Blake tried lamely. "I'm not going to hurt you."
In a bizarre moment, Winter crawled closer with a look of confused wonder. She didn't even try to stand up straight but walked on all fours. She slowly reached forward with one hand, then paused and gave Blake a questioning look.
"Be gentle," the brunette said.
The silver collar around Winter's neck flashed with a blue light. Winter flinched, then gently reached up and touched Blake's cat ear. That seemed to do the trick as the woman's distrust fully evaporated. The ragged woman now looked at Blake with an expression of pleading, pointing at her collar and almost crying. She still didn't speak, though.
Without a second thought, Blake reached out and undid the clasp. She started to pull the wretched thing away, but Winter stopped her hands before they got too far.
"Wait," she said with a rough voice, unused to speaking, "I'm safer staying here. If they find me outside, they'll kill me. But I need to speak to you, and I can't with that damned thing on me…"
For the next ten minutes, Winter Schnee the faunus updated Blake on the evils of her human double. She also mentioned overhearing Belladonna speaking of a 'private server' in the CCT that she was quite proud of. Apparently it held a lot of secret things that could be used against her – Belladonna was prone to bragging about herself, but never imagined 'Snowball' could give her away.
Blake left the room after re-securing Winter's Calmer… but with a solemn promise that the woman would soon be free of her bondage. Truly free.
Mischief was no longer enough. Blake now had the means and the motive to bring Belladonna's world crashing down around her.
It was time to end this.
…
_/_/_/
Blake's semblance was perfect for jumping between different areas of the Beacon campus unseen, mainly to keep anyone from tracking her movements with security cameras. As such, she made it back to the others in the basement with no incident. A quick meeting with Ozpin and the other refugee faunus was enough to confirm the plan – obtain Belladonna's secrets, then get her out of Beacon for a short time. Everyone else would do the rest.
It was still a dangerous plan, not the least because Belladonna was a bit of a monster. Rosey was completely against the idea of letting Blake face her alone.
_/_/_/
"I d-d-don't wanna lose any m-m-ore f-family," she had whined back then. Blake almost broke right at that moment, but after putting up with her own Ruby's variant of the puppy-dog eyes, Blake was a bit more prepared.
"It needs to be done, Rosey, and you know I'm the only one who can do it. Danger is part of the job."
"B-B-B-But… if you d-d-die, then I'll b-be all alone again…" the girl cried, tears flowing freely down her face and hands locked around Blake's sleeves.
"Hey Rosey," she said gently, waiting until Rosey's attention was fully on the taller faunus. "Back home we have a saying. It's almost like a little proverb, first said by a very wise man many years ago. Nowadays it's almost like a tiny prayer. It's usually said by the families of Huntsman and Huntresses before they go out on a mission."
"And… wh-wh-what's that…?" the girl sniffed. The other faunus in the room were also listening attentively.
Blake smiled, then looked Rosey right in the eyes and said, "Three little words: Keep moving forward. No matter how hard life gets, no matter how much it hurts, that's all you can do… just keep moving forward. If I don't come back, then that's what you have to do… keep moving forward."
_/_/_/
"That goes for me, too," Blake mumbled into the empty warehouse. Her earpiece buzzed briefly, almost echoing in the silence. It was time.
She adjusted her top slightly, a nicely-tailored shirt that resembled Blake's standard black and white outfit, but with longer sleeves and far nicer detailing and fabric. It also had a rich feeling, like it was made simply to make everyone else feel meager by looking at it. Blake hated it. She also hated the fact that she had to pin her cat ears down beneath her hair to keep the profile the same – her constant rubbing had caused people to think she had a headache.
Truth be told, Blake was more than ready for an event like this. Her years with the White Fang had prepared her for more than just hit-and-run tactics and general anarchy – Adam had personally instilled within her a hatred for racist bigots. Real pissants like Belladonna.
Thinking back, that hatred was never present around Weiss Schnee even when they first met. She still knew who Weiss was, but there was just …no hatred. Could it be she sensed the goodness in Weiss right away? Could it be she instinctively knew that the girl was merely… misguided?
"Well, well, well… I assume that if I check my wardrobe tonight, I will likely find one of my outfits missing?"
Her own voice cut through thoughts of the past as Blake beheld herself approaching. Visually, anyway. The smug attitude dripping from that face was far and away completely different from her own.
Blake simply met her eyes, but said nothing. Let her think she's looking at some kind of mirror image.
"I must say," the girl mused as she slowly walked around Blake, eyes sweeping over every inch of the faunus and causing a wave of nausea, "…it was hard to tell from the video, but you do look just like me. Marvelous. How much did the plastic surgery cost you, peasant? And how did you hack my security? I would pay good money to have such talent on my side, you know…"
Blake had to fight back the urge to gag. This girl was acting almost exactly like she had imagined Weiss would act before they actually met. Disgusting.
"Nothing to say for yourself? That's okay… you probably sound horrible. Copying my majestic voice would be beyond the skill of any surgeon…"
"Don't be too sure," Blake finally said, causing the human double to smile broadly.
"Oh ho! She speaks! And you truly do sound just like me! Fantastic… simply fantastic…" Belladonna came closer, almost within arms reach. She kept circling, but Blake got the distinct impression that the girl was ready to reach out and touch the miracle copy of herself. "If you return what you have stolen, perhaps I will hire you to be my body double. Then I can be in two places at once. Glorious…"
Blake waited, willing to let her human duplicate talk herself to death if need be. Her patience hit the limit when Belladonna came even closer… and brushed a hand over Blake's ass. The girl's other hand crept into her pocket, reaching for something hidden.
"Mmm… and I've always fantasized about… fucking myself… … …" She licked her lips as she said, "Would you like a taste right now, cutie?"
Wow… racist, demented, elitist, money-loving, and now a pervert Narcissist? What's next, cannibalism? For the love of the gods, this woman was lost. Blake actually felt a touch of pity creeping into her hatred for this person.
"Somehow… I doubt you'll feel that way much longer…" Blake mused as she reached up to her hair. She thanked the gods that she could finally be free of these damned clips as she carefully pulled them out.
The moment Blake's ears were free, Belladonna dropped the item from her other hand as her face morphed from confusion to pure, indignant rage in the blink of an eye. She also wiped her hand on her pant leg, as though getting rid of dirt.
"FAUNUS! BEAST! HOW DARE YOU MOCK MY BEAUTIFUL FACE WITH THOSE ABOMINABLE EARS!"
Belladonna drew her own Gambol Shroud in a heartbeat, swinging wildly. Blake countered effortlessly, knowing how to keep a rage-blinded warrior at bay.
Neither brunette noticed the clacking sound as the Calmer Belladonna had brought with her dropped to the floor, forgotten. Blake would never know how close she came to being enslaved by her evil double.
The next hour passed by in just a few minutes, the two brunettes lost in the frenzy of battle. After her blind rage wore off, Belladonna fought at nearly the same level as Blake herself. The two of them were toe-to-toe at several points in the fight.
"I'll kill you, faunus filth!" Belladonna growled and spit more than once through the fight. Somehow it seemed as though she forgot all about the stolen files.
Blake never replied, but only grinned to taunt her enemy.
If Belladonna had properly finished her Huntress training, then she might have held the advantage. Her semblance was similar to Blake's, but her shadow clones could keep moving for about a second before fading. This difference could have given her the win… but it wasn't enough.
Blake held three distinct advantages in this fight: first, she had more fighting experience than Belladonna, giving her a much larger pool of Aura to draw from and letting her last longer. Second, that experience was different than what a mere student at a Huntsman Academy would possess, even at higher levels – Belladonna simply wasn't trained to handle what Blake dished out.
Third, Belladonna was fighting a faunus – and she never truly took the faunus seriously. In a word, she underestimated what Blake could do. Badly.
An hour was all it took for the human to fall to her knees in exhaustion. A careful eye would have noticed that she did not have a scratch on her – a few bruises, but no cuts. Her fancy clothes were undamaged.
But she had lost.
Evidently this was enough to jar Belladonna's memory. "Give… me… those files… before I… get angry…" she growled around her gasps for air.
Blake, merely breathing a bit harder than normal, smiled innocently and said, "…What files?"
"Don't you fucking play with me, beast!" the human snarled as she fired a shot from her weapon, which was easily deflected by the faunus' sword.
"If you mean my scroll, then you're out of luck," Blake said, still grinning evilly. "I don't have it."
Belladonna's look of stunned confusion was priceless.
"I sent all the files to the police… before you ever got here."
The human gave a very …animalistic scream of rage as she charged forward, weapon be damned, holding her hands out like she was aiming for Blake's neck. The faunus easily sidestepped and landed a karate chop to the girl's neck, knocking her to the floor.
Sheathing her weapon on her back, Blake looked down at the fallen huntress and muttered, "…Always fantasized? You need help, girl…" then walked out.
The keystone had been removed. It was now just a matter of time before the kingdom falls to ruin…
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"…"
"Your face is plastered on every news channel in Vale."
"…I know…"
"Everything you've done, and everything you've ever planned, is all out there for the world to see."
"… …I know…"
"Your little 'Calmer' project has been cancelled and all materials related to it have been seized. Even the faunus you've taken prisoner have been released due to …complications."
"… … …I know, dammit…"
"Luckily for me, none of the legal documents you possessed had my name on them. I kept those in my office. As far as the public is concerned, your only ties with me are professional."
"How lucky for you."
"But even if they doubt the validity of most of the information, it's enough evidence for them to investigate every single aspect of your life. The truth is out there, Miss Belladonna. I think we can both agree that your reputation is permanently ruined."
"…Stupid… faunus… look-alike…"
"As much as I trust and respect you, Blake… that story is a bit hard to swallow. You claim that the faunus produced a perfect copy of you and sent her out to screw up your life? Motives aside, they don't have the manpower or the resources to launch that kind of a strategy. We both know that."
"…"
"Your father contacted me, as well. Once he was informed of your 'secrets,' we had a little …discussion."
"That doesn't sound good."
"He decided to publicly declare you as an exile from the Belladonna family. No inheritance, no regular allowance, no power. I had no choice but to support his decision, as I'm sure you know."
"You… you… you… you…"
"I'm sorry, Bel… but you brought this on yourself. Even as headmaster of Beacon, there's only so much I can do. At least I can fight to keep you enrolled as a student, but that's about it. Anything else will make it look like I'm condoning your actions."
"…"
"But don't think I'm going to sit back and simply let you fall."
"…Professor?"
"As you know, in one month there will be a summit of every world leader in Vale's downtown district. The biggest peace talks since the end of the Great War. The entire world will be watching. As headmaster of Beacon, I can turn a lot heads however I want."
"…"
"All I have to do is convince the world that the faunus are a threat… or that they are threatened themselves, depending on the overall mood of the summit. I shall offer a plan to relocate each and every faunus in the world to the desert of Vacuo, since Menagerie is far too small. Keep all the faunus in, and keep the humans out."
"And how is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"…? No, not really…"
"Because if they're all in one location… and that location happens to disappear…"
"…!"
"Now you're getting it."
"But …how can you make an entire location disappear? Wouldn't that take more dust than both Atlas and Vale combined can produce?"
"I'll worry about that. You just get some rest. And don't go into the city for a time. In fact, don't leave the campus at all. If you do, I can't offer you sanctuary any more. And the public won't be too happy to see the one who lied to them…"
"I get it, damn. I'll hit the gym to work out some stress first. Oh, and Professor Taurus?"
"Hmm?"
"Thanks… for sticking with me."
"Get some rest, Bel. Our fight against the faunus filth is not over yet."
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That evening saw Belladonna return to her room in a seething rage. The faunus had ruined everything. Everything. There was literally nothing left to shit on.
Among the numerous documents hidden on her private server was her personal observations on the functions of the Calmers – the true function. Pages and pages of observations that perfectly corresponded with each other, nullifying any argument that it was made up or in error.
That document, all by itself, was enough to kill the Calmer Project. Especially when it counteracted nearly everything she had declared about it in public.
They worked on anybody, faunus or human. There was no cancellation code. She didn't have any clue how they fully worked, nevermind designing them herself. And there were lasting effects if you gave the right commands, orders that could linger if worded right.
In short, they were far too dangerous for public use.
Still chewing on her defeat by her faunus look-alike, Belladonna entered her room to find a mess – apparently the police had been through it, looking for more evidence. She moaned as she beheld her very expensive imported bed, sadly flipped on it's side and bulging in the middle. Yeah, it was ruined.
As the door silently clicked shut behind her, something Headmaster Taurus said came back to her mind: All materials relating to it have been seized.
And they were in here. With Snowball.
Oh, no…
As soon as Belladonna turned around to see who shut the door, she regretted it. Something heavy slammed into her jaw, breaking it and sending her to the floor with a dull cry of pain. She moaned loudly, but this time from sheer agony. She tasted her own blood for the first time in her life. Disgusting.
Snowball stood over her, holding a wide candlestick imported from the far east of Mistral. It now dripped with blood from Belladonna's broken mouth.
"That was for my sister, you slime…!" she snarled.
Unable to cry for help, Belladonna's amber eyes grew wide with pure terror as the faunus woman took hold of the weapon with both hands. Her face twisted with rage as she lifted the candlestick over her head.
"But this… … … is for me…!"
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The victory against the evil Belladonna was short-lived.
Even getting Cinder back didn't help, as martial law was suddenly declared all over the kingdom. Faunus of every age, gender and type were gathered into an entire district of the city of Vale and imprisoned there. Within a week the place was packed to the brim. It was large enough to hold everyone, but just barely – the area was surrounded by high walls of canvas and wood spikes, metal sheets, and even a few stone walls, whatever they could gather in short notice. The only way in or out of the encampment was one massive rusty gate kept locked with a thick chain. One single padlock was all that stood between the faunus and the rest of the world.
But Blake and Ozpin had vanished.
Their last orders for Rosey and the other faunus were to quietly go along with the relocation, not standing out in any way. Cops and Huntsman were on the lookout for any lingering trace of the White Fang, so they had to blend in. The two of them left with promises of their eventual return.
That was three weeks ago. Still nothing.
Rosey the faunus sat in the corner of a quiet little shack, her eyes empty of life. She saw without seeing, listened without hearing. Dead to the world around her.
"She… who aims w-with her hand…" she barely whispered.
All around her sat hand-made gifts and cards of well-wishing. She was something of a local celebrity among the faunus of the city due to her involvement with the White Fang, as well as her very sympathetic story. She didn't care about any of it.
"…Has forgotten… the face…"
She'd left her books on Patch, along with nearly every other item she once held any sort of claim over. Her entire life was now located in a tiny room in the back corner of a concentration camp filled with faunus. She had nothing else.
Blake had left her. Sis was gone.
"…Of… her… m-m-mother…"
_/_/_/
…
Eventually, Blake reached up and undid her bow, exposing her Faunus ears. "Hey," she said, "I know what it's like."
"N-no you d-don't!" she spat, not looking up, "Y-you're the w-worst one *hic!* of them all!"
Blake continued, "I'm a Faunus, just like you."
The girl obviously didn't believe her, because she lunged for her weapon, screaming wordlessly. Yang was having none of this and tackled the Faunus version of her sister before she could reach it, struggling to keep her held in check with how much and how furiously she fought back.
"Calm down already, will ya?" the blond strained, the Faunus Ruby wriggling violently, "Geez, you're worse than Ruby when we try to get her to eat vegetables!"
"Not my fault they're so gross-" she tried to protest as Weiss laid a hand on her shoulder, slowly shaking her head.
"Not the time," she said.
Ruby nodded, the message clear, and turned her attention back to the struggle.
"Yang," Blake said, "can you hold on to her for a minute?"
"Yeah! …Why?"
"Good. Let one of her arms go."
Yang raised an eyebrow but complied with the odd-sounding request, trusting her partner. As soon as the Faunus Ruby had an arm free she lashed out at her captor.
"Whatever you have planned, make it quick!" She grunted as the Faunus got in a lucky shot on her face, "This isn't as fun as it looks!"
Blake nodded and tried to grab hold of the girl's arm, succeeding after a couple failed attempts. Once the arm was in her grasp, she quickly positioned the girl's hand over her cat ears.
The reaction was immediate; the instant her hand touched, the Faunus Ruby stopped thrashing and stared at Blake, rubbing her ears experimentally. Then she tugged on them, causing Blake to wince briefly.
"See? It's just like I said; I'm a Faunus." She nodded to Yang, who let the girl go. "No one's going to hurt you."
"You… you're r-really a Faunus?" the girl asked, astonished.
"Yes, I am." Blake drew the girl into a hug, petting her on the head.
…
_/_/_/
The tears began to flow, slowly at first but soon they were a river. Rosey's shirt was starting to get wet. Her throat was beginning to clench.
And the memories continued to play out in her mind.
_/_/_/
…
The two girls looked up and saw Rosey shuffling in front of the bed, nervously wringing her hands; RJ was busy loading up a new game.
"H-h-here's your S-scroll back," she said, handing the device to Blake, "Th-thanks for l-letting me use it…"
"Not a problem." Blake accepted the device back. She noticed that the younger Faunus looked slightly apprehensive. "Did you not like that game?" she asked.
"N-no!" she exclaimed, "I-it was OK, but, u-um… c-can I ask you a question?" When Blake nodded, she asked "C-can I st-stay here? L-like, w-with you?"
Blake blinked at that.
"I suppose I don't have a problem with that," she said, setting her book down beside her, "If you don't mind me asking, what made you decide that?"
"Didn't you say something about your Blake being 'the worst of them all'?" Weiss added.
Rosey nodded meekly, "Y-yeah, b-but y-you're nothing l-like her; you're k-kind, and good, a-and friendly, and s-safe, and-" She stopped abruptly, her cheeks suddenly resembling her namesake. "I-it's just… nobody's t-treated me like that s-since… my m-mom…"
"Oh…," Blake realized, "…is that so…?"
…
_/_/_/
The tears continued, now punctuated by gasping sobs. Rosey knew which memory was coming next and she wanted to scream. To do anything she could do to stop it… but it came anyway.
_/_/_/
…
Then Blake felt Rosey tug on her shirt again.
"Yes, sweety?"
"…if I-I have to go b-back… th-then I will." The young Faunus fidgeted uncomfortably. "I don't w-want to, b-but it can't be h-helped, I guess…"
"Rosey…"
She hugged Blake around her middle, "I-it's OK Blake, I c-can do that thing S-Sister said."
Blake hugged her back.
"Um, Friend Blake?" Penny spoke up, "I don't mean to intrude, but the energy has begun to steadily increase; I am not sure what will happen if this continues uninterrupted."
Blake looked up at the spell gone awry and saw that in the middle, albeit fairly small, there was a shimmering mirage distortion right in the spot where the Dust crystal had been. She could also see Ruby's cape and Weiss' sidetail flutter ever so slightly in an unseen breeze as the two watched silently.
Then she let out the longest, heaviest sigh she'd done in her entire life, nodding.
Rosey nodded once back and broke off her hug, going over to Ruby and repeating the gesture. "It was nice t-to meet you," she said, "You're r-really lucky here."
"I guess so," Ruby hugged back, "I hope you can make a difference in you own world."
"Mhmm!" She then moved on to Weiss, "It was n-nice meeting you too; d-don't worry, you'll get b-better at that Remnant game someday, you'll s-see!"
Weiss resisted the urge to blurt out 'Why is everyone better at that game than me?!' and simply reciprocated the hug. "You just worry about yourself," she said, "don't let anyone look down on you for who you are."
Rosey nodded and moved on to Penny. "S-sorry we didn't spend a l-lot of time together…"
"Do not worry about it," Penny assured her, "just meeting you at all was sen-sational!"
By the time Rosey got to Yang the breeze had picked up enough that it was noticeable in Penny's hair bobs and Yang's scarf. "If m-my sister were here, she'd probably b-be as cool as y-you are."
"From what you've said about her, it sounds like she was already pretty cool." She patted the young Faunus on the back, "Don't be afraid to kick a few heads in to achieve your goals, OK?"
"I-I'll try!" Rosey promised.
"Awesome!" Yang flashed her a thumbs up.
Finally Rosey was standing in front of Blake again.
"Th-thank you for being s-so n-nice to me," she said, "you… y-you've been a g-good mom."
Blake hugged Rosey back tightly. "Thank you…," was all she was able to manage with her emotions and her instincts tugging her one way or another all at once.
Now the wind was strong enough that Yang had to hold her hair back to keep it out of her face.
"Not to play the bad guy here, but Rosey needs to go now!" suggested Weiss; she and Ruby were now struggling to hold their combat skirts down.
"I really don't wanna get blown away!" Ruby wailed, also struggling with her cape and hood as well.
With a visibly gargantuan effort Blake detached herself from Rosey and stood back as the young girl headed towards the circle. She passed through the invisible barrier effortlessly, almost immediately dissolving like the others had, feet first.
"…oh, B-Blake! There's s-something I want to t-tell you!"
All composure instantly evaporated when Blake heard those words. She sprinted over to the barrier, getting as close as she dared without eliciting a shock.
"I-it's something I never got t-to say before," she continued, walking up to the barrier and placing her hand on the inside. She looked straight at Blake, happy tears spilling from her eyes as she said, without stuttering, "…goodbye, Mom. I love you."
…
_/_/_/
Rosey lay on the dirty floor of her hut, curled up and wailing into her ragged cloak that was now soaked with her tears. She didn't dare look up again – she didn't want to see this wretched, painful world anymore. This world had taken her family away from her time and time again. She had nothing left but pain. Sorrow. Loneliness.
Blake's face remained firmly in her mind as Rosey drifted to sleep, unable to bear the waking world any longer.
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… … …
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Some time later, the Global Peace Summit began. Every world leader did, indeed, show up in Vale's greater downtown area. The entire district was cordoned off and barricaded for the event. News choppers and vans circled the area like hungry Nevermores, eager for a quick peck at something juicy.
Every town, village, city and district the world over that had access to the CCT was watching the event on TV. Live. Every eye and ear was on Vale.
Even the faunus were watching, mainly because they knew for a fact that this meeting would decide their fate. It was common knowledge that the 'faunus crisis' was the major topic of the summit, and once everyone came to an agreement, that was it. The fate of the faunus would be sealed.
Vale's faunus camp was not very active. The prisoners were either laying around lamenting their dire situation or gathered in the one large building in the area to watch the one tiny-ass TV they were allowed. Cinder had been allowed to join her kind after being released, and the snake woman was right at the front of the crowd to watch.
That being said, no one was seriously keeping watch in the camp. So anyone with good sneaking skills could just… pop right in.
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… … … … …
Something jerked Rosey awake. She stretched, still on the dusty floor, and gave a squeaky yawn. Ignoring her still-damp cloak, she stood to her feet and gazed around the room again… and a new package caught her eye. A box wrapped in brown paper.
Mainly due to the cute kitty drawn on the wrapping. In black marker. Blake…?
Ripping it open, Rosey quickly found herself looking at a brand new strawberry red cloak. She pulled it out, marveling at the look and feel of new. Why, compared to what she was used to, this was practically a luxury item. She clutched it close to her face and sniffed, taking in the smell of clean for the first time in ages.
But then her eye caught something at the bottom of the box. An old-looking weapon, mostly red with a few gunmetal parts and black to highlight the pattern. Well-worn because it was made with junk that she and Uncle Qrow had gathered from various junkyards around Menagerie while she lived with him there. Still sitting in it's holster, just the way she left it.
Crescent Rose. Her old partner.
_/_/_/
…
"Wow, kiddo…" Uncle Qrow whistled as he gave the weapon a once-over. "What'd you do, hit it with a Dust bomb?"
"Is s-something wrong with it?"
In response, Qrow pointed at several locations all over the weapon; the barrel, stock, loading chamber, even the worn-out blade now showed numerous cracks all over it. Crescent Rose already looked worn out before her journey, but now it looked like a wreck.
"You said this thing made the trip back before you did, right? I think that's the problem… it wasn't built to handle that kind of stress." The older man had a somber look to him as he folded the weapon up into it's more portable form. "I would give it one more good shot… then it's toast."
"C-c-can't you f-fix it Uncle Qrow?" Rosey was worried now, as this was one of the only things she had left of her old life. And memories of her time with Mom were ingrained into it.
"It would take the luck of the gods to find parts for it, or about as much money as it would take to just buy a new one. Sorry kiddo… there's nothing I can do."
…
_/_/_/
The frame still displayed the cracks from that day, so long ago. The chamber held one round, an armor-piercing type. High-impact. She'd put it in there when she stored the weapon in a locker on Patch, in case of emergencies.
Picking up the weapon from the box, Rosey blinked as she found yet another item sitting underneath it – a small piece of paper with three words written on it:
Keep moving forward.
"…"
Something happened to Rosey in that moment. Something she could not explain. Something she was powerless to stop.
Before she even knew what she was doing, Rosey quickly put her new cloak over her shoulders and pinned it in place. Without thinking, she buckled the holster of Crescent Rose to her waist, just as she did before. The cloak hid the weapon from plain sight. She then flipped the hood over her head, hiding her floppy dog ears from onlookers.
Finally she forced herself to stop, since she was getting scared. Her body wasn't listening to her. Looking around the room again, Rosey tried to think of what was happening – she vaguely recalled something about a meeting – but then…
Then her eyes found something new; light, shining through the cracks of the walls, glowing from the spots in the ceiling, radiating all around her like a cloud of glory. Light, glorious light! It was beautiful. It was radiant. Like nothing she had ever seen before.
And she saw her family; Summer Rose, Uncle Qrow, Taiyang, and Yang. She knew they were watching over her, smiling.
She saw her friends; Weiss, team RWBY from the other world, Cress, RJ, Rubin, Crimson, Sister and Ruvys. They were watching, too.
And she saw her Mom; Blake. She could feel how proud she was. The emotion radiated off of her like the heat of a furnace on a cold winter's night.
And Rosey shed one last tear, this one of pure happiness. Then the tears stopped.
Ruby Rose, a young faunus orphan, closed her eyes… then sat back as she watched her body move on it's own.
Her hand gripped the door handle, opened it, and left her past behind. Left the pain behind. Left the loneliness, the heartache, and sorrow.
It was time to move forward.
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… … … … …
The most sensitive of the faunus felt the stirring first, followed shortly after by everyone else. They felt it like a cat feels a disturbance in the wind, like a dog hears frequencies too high for humans to register. None of them knew what it was, yet all felt the pulling.
A girl in a red cloak and hood walked by outside. Everybody followed close behind her. Each step the girl took gathered another faunus, two more, five. Halfway through the camp she had almost two-thirds of the faunus in the city at her heels.
At last she came to the gate. With one motion, the girl drew a weapon from her back, unfolded it with a rusty clunk, aimed and fired in less time than it took to draw two breaths. Onlookers jumped as the gun blew apart in her hands, but kept walking. A sense of wonder was shared by all as not one of the pieces hit anyone, not event the girl holding it.
And the shot was no less impressive – from almost a hundred yards away, she hit the padlock dead center.
The guards also felt a stirring, but of a different kind. This one made them run away in fear. No one was present at the gate to stop the wave of faunus prisoners as they easily toppled the rusted metal and walked on, heedless of anyone or anything around them. They followed the girl in red.
Those who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the girl's face would attest to seeing the fire of the gods in her eyes. Her expression was a look of purest determination – this was a girl on a mission, and gods help anyone who stood in her way.
Most startling of all, however, was the fact that this mob was not the least bit unruly – no one broke off to start riots or loot stores or cause destruction of any kind, even at the back of the mammoth crowd. They all followed as though caught in a spell.
The wave of faunus made it's way down the wide avenue unchallenged. Most knew not where they were going… but Rosey knew. There was only one place she could go right now.
Forward.
…
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… … … … …
Headmaster Taurus was ready. Not only did he have his speech prepared to incite the leaders of the world to unite in a common cause, but he also was ready to use Belladonna's attacker as an example. He was ready to make that girl a martyr. If she didn't like it, tough.
Most of the pleasantries were already over, and now the man was next up. As the headmaster of Beacon for the last five years, Taurus was well-versed in the politics of the world. He could barter with the best of them. Hell, he actually managed to get Headmaster Khan drunk at a party once, and that was no mean feat.
The speaker introduced him and, giving his cue cards a once-over, Taurus stood to a rousing applause. They loved him. The same people that had once been ready to crucify the racist Belladonna were now singing his praises.
Ironic, really. If they knew how much he hated the faunus, they would probably run scared.
It was Taurus who supported Belladonna's efforts to get the Calmers spread across the world, and it was he who gave every ounce of backup he could anytime she needed it. They were partners with a common goal – wiping out the animals that infest this planet once and for all.
And now, with the world watching, he would convince them to separate the faunus from the humans and 'live without coexisting.' And they would eat it up.
Taurus opened his mouth, looked out into the audience… and his jaw dropped.
The faunus had arrived.
All of them.
They walked right into the meeting area like they fucking owned the place, ignoring every single guard and barricade that was designed to stop them. Taurus felt his butt clench as he waited for the inevitable fighting – there was no way this many faunus could simply walk into a crowd of humans and not fight. There was also no way humans would allow it. How many would die before the day was out? There was no way…
And yet… it was happening. Right in front of him.
There must have been hundreds of faunus. Thousands. More than he'd ever seen in one place before. And all of them were just standing there, staring at him with eyes of accusation. Almost like they knew what he was up to. The humans of the summit were panicky at first, but once they realized the invaders meant no harm they calmed down. Somewhat. He could also hear the various reporters and newspeople all around him barking into their microphones and headsets. What did the people of the world think of this mess?
As he reached for the microphone on the podium in front of him, hoping to take the lead and restore order, a small hand grabbed it first from out of nowhere. Connected to that hand was a small girl in a red hood and cloak.
"Excuse me," she whispered, "I need to use this."
Against his better judgement, Taurus stepped aside and let her speak. Something about her was familiar, but he didn't know what. Her hood was too deep to allow a clear view of her face.
She took the mic off the podium and walked around, facing the gathered crowd of humans and faunus, as well as cameras that were sending her image all over the world.
And then she spoke:
"My name is Ruby Rose… and I have something to say.
"I understand why most of you are here. You're scared, hurting, afraid of what the future will bring. You fear an entire group of people based on the actions of a misguided few. I know how you feel.
"My father was killed… by people who simply wanted his stuff, and saw no issue with taking his life to get it.
"My mother and my sister were killed… over a triviality. No one tried to stop it. No one helped.
"My best friend was captured and killed… merely to set an example.
"My uncle was murdered… trying to find books so I could learn to read.
"I have lost my entire family to monsters, to those misguided few who make life in this world a living hell. I understand your fear and your pain. I won't tell you how to do your job… all I have to say… is this:"
There was not a blessed sound in the entire city. Everyone was holding dead still as Ruby Rose lowered the mic and used her free hand to pull her hood back from her head – so the muttering and gasping that came from the reveal of her faunus ears was quite clear.
Looking everyone square in the face, she said three words that changed everything.
"…I forgive you."
You could have heard a pin drop as Ruby Rose replaced the mic, then put her hood back on and walked down the steps of the stage… and out of the public eye forever.
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"What made you give her weapon back?"
"I… I dunno. Something about it just felt right."
"And she just passed out like that? Right after such a rousing speech?"
"Rosey… you did good, kid."
"Everything will change now. Rosey told me once, after coming home from her adventure, that she wanted to use what she'd learned to change the world. It seems she finally did that.
"We should probably take her back…"
"Blake, wait… I think you should take her with you, actually."
"Ozpin, I don't think that's a good idea…"
"Letting her stay would be far worse. Think about it – she just gave a speech that the entire world saw. Like it or not, she is now a world-wide celebrity."
"…Oof."
"I would not wish such a life on my worst enemy. And I know she means a lot to you, and you to her. Please, Blake… she needs this."
"… … …We were reading some books together…"
"I've already taken the liberty of picking them up. Here."
*sigh* "Always prepared, aren't you?"
"You might be surprised."
"I doubt that. Well, if you insist then there's no point in hanging around here any longer. Ozpin, take care of yourself. And Cinder, too… I know she needs some company."
"Oobleck will see to that."
"Is that why you went looking for him?"
"No need to put it so bluntly…"
"Okay, so… mmm… hey, could you… I need a hand with my scroll… carrying Rosey and holding the scroll at the same time is harder than it looks."
"Of course. Take care of her, my friend."
"I will. Oh, and Oz?"
"Yes?"
"…What kind of a faunus are you, anyway?"
"… … …"
"Oh. Well… that fits."
"Fare you well, Blake Belladonna."
\_/
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… … … … …
The world was changed that day.
The subject of the talks was immediately changed – no longer what should 'be done' with the faunus, now they wanted real peace talks. Something about those words, I forgive you, reverberated in the hearts and minds of everyone who heard them. Everyone.
If a little faunus girl could suffer so much and still find it in her heart to forgive those who wronged her, then why can't we?
Adam Taurus, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, stepped down suddenly one month after the summit. He claimed failing health as his reason.
In his absence, the school voted to bring in a new headmaster. In an effort to reflect the changing times and culture, they elected the first ever faunus headmaster: Ozpin.
Other changes came just as rapidly and just as suddenly. Stores and shops that previously did no business with faunus suddenly threw their doors open and welcomed them in. Schools and restaurants that used to kick them out now invited them. The world's attitude seemed to change over night. It was nothing short of miraculous.
The faunus were affected as well. After all, Ruby Rose could forgive the humans… so why not everyone else? Faunus all around the world who were once dedicated haters of humanity now found a new tolerance and compassion. It was beyond anyone's ability to understand.
One year after the summit, the world was completely different. So completely, in fact, that Headmaster Ozpin barely recognized it from his office window. The morning sun brought with it the hope of a new day. He stretched, letting his bird wings finally stretch free after keeping them tucked under his coat for so long. They ached for a good flight.
Still, he was thankful he had sent Rosey away with Blake that day. His predictions were right – the world practically deified the poor thing. Statues in her honor were quickly erected in every major city, each with her famous quote chiseled into the base: I forgive you.
And the world, in turn, remembered how to forgive others. Hmm… maybe they were right to consider her some kind of prophet?
"Headmaster?" a careful voice asked from the office doors. "Your new student is here…" His new secretary had doe ears on her head, but Glynda Goodwitch also had a fire in her eyes. If he worked at it, Ozpin was confident he could turn her into a powerful ally.
"Send him in," Ozpin replied, taking his seat and waiting.
The young man who entered looked around in awe, a look still common to faunus unused to life in the big city. His eyes swept all around, glittering beneath his mop of dark brown hair with small dog ears at the top, like a rottweiler. He would be the first ever faunus admitted as a student at a Huntsman Academy.
The color of his eyes, however, was the first thing Ozpin noticed.
"You…" he said carefully, "…have silver eyes."
…
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… … … … …
What About Roman and Neo…?
…
For the first time since starting this nonsense trip, the criminal duo were finally willing to sit still for quite a long time.
And for good reason; there was quite a show going on in the room next to them.
They had appeared several hours ago back in Beacon… again… but this time they appeared to be in an unused rec room of some kind. It was empty and the door was locked, so Roman was reasonably sure they would remain undiscovered.
But then they heard That Damned Kid and her friends playing in the next room over… and good gods was it funny to listen to.
Suddenly one of the boys began yelling loud enough to cancel out the meager soundproofing they had put up a while ago. Roman and Neo both heard the words clear as day.
"PREPARE TO WITNESS THE SWOOPING TECHNIQUE THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE ARC LINE FOR GENERATIONS."
Oh gods… they'd been hearing stuff like that all night. Roman was ready to pee his pants from holding his laughter in so hard. Neo was rolling across the floor next to him, breathless.
"PREPARE TO WITNESS THE AGRICULTURE TECHNIQUE THE HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE ARC LINE FOR GENERATIONS."
This was getting to be too much… but they stayed anyway. This was fucking gold.
They would remain in that room, laughing their asses off, until the room next door eventually quieted down. And before they finally left, Roman made a mental note to find that damned card game when they finally got home – it sounded like an awesome way to die.
Because Cinder would totally kill him for having it.
…Or she would love it.
Not sure which would be worse.
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Author's Note: *takes a bow* Thank you, thank you…
Okay, I have to say that this was a fun chapter. Fun for me, anyway. Lots of love to The Layman for letting me use Rosey here – and if you guys don't know, the story I pulled her from is called Distorted Mirror Images. Search it, read it, love it. :3
Next time… we get to find out just who Primrose is supposed to be. Later!
(Credits: Cards Against Remnant written by RexHeller)
=^w^=
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On a serious note, my marriage is now pretty much over. If any of you out there are the praying type, please pray for me. I don't know what I'm going to do with myself (but don't worry, I'm not suicidal… yet…).