AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth

One hour.

"You do realise that everyone on Menagerie is going to know, right?"

"So? Hardly a secret; loads know. They just don't see the point of mentioning it as it falls under the wonderful categories of 'who cares?' and 'none of my business'."

"Still…"

Weiss entered. "Are you ready for this?"

"Yes."

"Definitely. Beats my chores for the weekend."

Blake smiled. "What have they got you doing now?"

"They've decided they want a treehouse and I'm to build it on my own."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "It would take you two hours at most."

"…About that, yeah. This is a far better way to spend my time."

"Barbarian."

"And tomorrow was a shopping trip. Ruby's outgrown a lot of her favourite outfits and Yang's dragging us all along citing a…wardrobe malevolence."

Weiss frowned. "Don't you mean 'wardrobe malfunction'?"

"Only Emerald's blew up and most of her clothes weren't in it at the time. No need for me to get dragged along."

Blake eyed her wardrobe. All of a sudden, it felt very fragile.

Shaking her head, Blake left the room, heading to the balcony. The other three were still bickering, paying no mind as the time quickly counted time.

Weiss was holding Myrtenaster very tightly. Melody was tense, shifting from foot to foot. Mercury left the room.

Dad and Mum were in the living room, talking about whether they wanted to downsize in the next few years.

In other words, they were ready and were now trying to stay calm as they waited for an attack on the house.

"Blake?"

Blake glanced around to find Weiss had followed her.

"Conquering Remnant?"

She let out a long breath. "Yeah. Sounds good."

They wouldn't be anywhere near finished but it was something to keep her mind off things. It might even get her in a good state of mind.

But there was a problem. "Where's Mercury gone?"

"Said he wanted to do a final recon and not to wait for him. You know what he's like."

Blake knelt down at Atlas' position. "None of you should be here."

Weiss shuffled the cards. "I think we should all be here, not just us three. At least this is making a statement rather than overconfidence or suicidal independence."

Blake gave her her best death glare.

Weiss ignored it. "I'm not going to be the one to tell Jaune about this." She rolled the dice. "Nine."

Blake rolled a twelve.

Melody rolled. "Four."

Blake's turn first.

Mercury had seen moving shadows out the window. A quick blink confirmed it as the chameleon girl he met last time. He headed outside for a quick recon, but also to see if she would land close enough to talk to.

She had helped a little before; she might again.

He had barely taken four steps out of the house when someone else caught his attention.

Okay. A young kid trembling in the bushes. What to do, what to do…

There was no sign of the chameleon girl and the boy was hidden from actual view. Most people couldn't see through solid objects.

This meant the boy was most likely not part of a trap.

But what possible reason could he have for being out here? Something wasn't right here.

He is also quite bright in aura vision.

Mercury casually walked up to the bush. "Found you Akorn." The boy jumped about a foot. If Mercury doubted he was afraid of something, that look of terror on his face squashed them. "If you're playing hide and seek, go find a better spot. Preferably away from here." He was never going to hear the end of it if this kid got hurt while he was nearby.

"I-I…"

Best to check this now. "Do your parents or brother know where you are?"

"I…"

Mercury tilted his head, keeping his face passive. This wasn't an 'I'm out after curfew' trouble. This was 'someone's going to get hurt' trouble.

"Kid, Blake's house is probably full for the night but if you've got nowhere else to go, she'll help out."

Something really wasn't right here.

The kid had been jumpy when Mercury had first met him before the barbecue. Qrow didn't seem to think it was them that caused that. Akorn had gotten along well with Weiss and she was his brother's friend, so it probably wasn't her either.

But Mercury didn't think this kid was hanging around outside Blake's house on a planned assassination night by coincidence.

"She can't, she…" Akorn's eyes were darting everywhere.

Mercury heard someone land on the dirt behind him. He didn't visibly react. He shifted his weight so he would be able to respond the millisecond something happened, but kept his focus on Akorn.

Whether he was a trap or just an opportunity, he was the best thing to react to.

Akorn looked behind him.

He took a deep breath.

"Blake, she…She's in trouble. I-I need to warn her but I can't. I…"

Mercury listened. He knew more. "Don't supposed you could tell me what the trouble is?"

"I can't; I promised."

"I wasn't talking to you." Mercury turned around. Empty space save for the moon produced shadow. "I was asking you."

There was a second's hesitation.

Then the girl coloured back into normality. "It's not his fault. They threatened his parents." She glanced at Akorn. "Get inside Akorn. They'll protect you. I'll tell them my truth."

Mercury considered, but decided not to stop the boy.

Akorn couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Mercury waited until he heard Blake's front door and Ghira accept him in. From his angle, he wouldn't see the two.

"You've covered for him before."

"They weren't happy he went to the barbecue. He was supposed to be an outside spy. He wasn't supposed to be inside." She sighed. "He never wanted this."

How Akorn got caught up in all this wasn't Mercury's problem and he was too short on time to ask out of curiosity. Talking with the chameleon though was worth the time. "Why are you here?"

"I was going to ask you the same. But you already know what's happening tonight."

Mercury displayed a toothy smile. "I know what they're going to try tonight. I'm looking forward to it." It would be nice to see Blake in her element.

He was also curious as to how the Menagerie public would take it.

The girl hesitated.

"They've moved it up an hour."

She vanished. She ran east.

Interesting. That gives me about fifteen minutes.

Mercury had come out to do recon. No doubt the girl was originally part of the plan and might still participate, but she was taking a risk. For now, he would play along and keep her cover. He would stay out for another ten minutes before heading back inside.

That way, Akorn had to be invited inside because Blake's friend had seen him.

It did seem off that their lookouts were a confused kid and an even more confused teen-ish age girl (chameleon notwithstanding).

But a quick glance around showed nobody. A casual walk showed no one either.

Okay maybe they were that idiotic.

Five minutes to go before the revised timeline.

Mercury returned to the house.

Their game was interrupted by a call from the living room.

Blake immediately ran to investigate.

Melody and Weiss exchanged a look before grabbing their weapons and following. Melody snagged Blake's on her way out.

Whatever Melody was expecting, it wasn't a scared little boy.

He was on the couch. None of them could get a word in. "I'm sorry I couldn't…They're coming and they're coming now. I-"

Melody sat next to him. "Easy now. Take a deep breath." She waited until he had. "And another." He did. "Now. What do you need to get off your chest?"

He took another deep breath.

Melody gently rubbed his back.

Blake sat next to him. "Akorn. It's okay."

"It's not. I'm sorry Blake. I'm really sorry. But I couldn't…They're coming here Blake. They'll be here soon. Really soon. I'm sorry but they know where my parents live and they haven't had time to move here-"

"It's okay Akorn."

"I'm sorry."

This was wrong.

A child shouldn't be in this mess.

They couldn't let him be here when the attack happened.

"Akorn, is there somewhere you can go tonight?" Melody asked. "It's not safe for you here."

Akorn shook his head. "If they find out…My parents…They'll know."

Melody caught Blake's eye.

If Akorn left and they knew he had warned them…

What were they supposed to do?

Mum looked at Blake. "Do you have Dale's number? He should know."

Blake nodded. "I'll make the call."

Akorn's head shot up. "But-"

"Tonight is the best time," Weiss told him gently. "They won't be watching him because they will be busy with us."

"I know a few people that can help," Dad added. He stood up and put his hand on Blake's shoulder as they left the room.

Melody stayed with Akorn.

Weiss took the now empty seat next to Akorn while Mum went into the kitchen, possibly to get him a hot drink.

Now she got a proper look at him, he wasn't as young as Melody thought. He was probably closer to twelve or thirteen than the eight she initially believed him.

Honestly, she didn't see that that made any difference.

He shouldn't be here.

Dale had known something was off with his parents and even more with his brother. He just hadn't known what.

But all of them would be okay.

There was the sound of the front door closing and a click signalling a lock.

Blake took a deep breath.

She was worried about this fight, but that wasn't her main fear.

Her main fear was what was going to happen after.

Mercury entered the kitchen. He tossed Gambol Shroud to her and gestured to the living room. "Has he got to the timetable moved up part yet?"

"Yes," Blake replied. She checked her weapon to be sure.

"We didn't plan for a kid and he's definitely not a fighter. Push comes to shove, who knows what he'll do."

Blake glared at him. "We protect him." She looked past him. Akorn was oblivious to everything around him.

Mercury raised an eyebrow. "Every room of this house has a wall to the outside. There isn't really a safe room."

"He'll stay in the living room," Dad replied. "There's enough furniture in there to use as obstacles. He won't fight."

The doorbell went.

Blake blinked.

So did her father.

"I wasn't expecting that," Blake admitted.

Mercury headed back into the living room. Blake and Dad followed him. Melody gently guided Akorn to the other side of the room, near the bookcase. He was now against a wall not connected to the outside and out of immediate sight of the front door.

Akorn was shaking, but still mostly unresponsive.

Are those…tears?

"Akorn." Melody patted his shoulder. "It'll be okay. You'll see."

Mercury suddenly grabbed Weiss by the arm and dragged her across the room.

The window she had just been standing near exploded.

Blake jumped.

Dad moved.

He passed her before grabbing the now unconscious Faunus on the floor and putting him in the corner; out of immediate danger.

Blake was now very suspicious of how much Mercury had been holding back in Combat Class. He had put Polar down in seconds, before her dad could even get there and she knew Polar had his aura unlocked. She had seen it shatter.

Polar…

"He's a distraction," Blake remembered. Polar always attacked the area the bulk of the strike team would not target. "Stay here. Melody, cover the window." There shouldn't be anyone else coming in that way (or at least not many) but Melody's main weapon was large and long range. She was getting there in hand to hand, but she was nowhere near hers or even Weiss' league.

More importantly, she would struggle to fight these people who had far more experience than her.

Weiss had the advantage of a more versatile weapon and Semblance.

Dad and Mum gave Mercury an odd look before having a conversation with a glance.

"Fan out a little," Dad ordered. "There's the kitchen and a bedroom."

Mercury closed his eyes. Oddly, he turned his head as if he were looking around. "The whole house is surrounded. Most are about twenty feet away save for the ones hanging around Conquering Remnant."

Blake wasn't going to ask right now.

They had been playing Conquering Remnant in her bedroom. That was their likely target.

The sharp sound of shattering glass behind the door confirmed it.

Melody gently but firmly guided Akorn further away. She then stayed, guarding him. Weiss chose to stand a little to the side, but mostly straight in front of the door. She would be the first person they saw. Mercury maneuvered against the wall next to the door; out of their sight line when they crashed in. Eyes still closed, he held up his palm, all fingers splayed.

Five people.

Blake stood tall next to Weiss.

There was a tense wait.

Melody grabbed someone from just underneath the window pane and threw them into the room. She then pulled a pair of handcuffs from her nearby bag and chained them to the radiator.

Blake didn't know them and she didn't question where Melody got handcuffs from.

"You'll regret this," he growled.

Melody glared at him. "I don't think so."

Mercury shifted his weight slightly.

Two seconds later, the door slammed open. Five entered and immediately scattered around the living room.

The last one through didn't get far; Mercury caught him. His aura shattered practically instantly and was knocked out seconds later. The others didn't notice.

A woman went straight for their prisoner and Melody. Dad intercepted her and Melody, in a show of practiced precision, carefully used the whips of Hydra to wrap around her. This did put Melody out of the fight but that was fine.

The other three had circled around; two right and one left.

Weiss froze the ground and the two that headed right by the ankles. They weren't going anywhere soon.

Mum caught the one heading left and held him in place. Mercury swiftly smacked him in the back of the head, somehow shattering his aura and knocking him out at the same time.

The two caught in ice looked around the room.

They dropped their weapons.

"No more," Mercury noted. He seemed a little confused.

The fight was over in less than five minutes.

Blake gazed around the room.

Polar.

She didn't recognise the others. With the exception of the cat Faunus Melody had dragged in that had been under the window pane, the would-be assassins were in their late twenties at the eldest. One, which didn't appear to have any visible traits at all, looked almost younger than Blake. He wasn't far off Akorn's age.

Blake turned to Mercury. "Any sign of the twins?"

Mercury shook his head. "There's no one. Just them. I was expecting more."

Honestly, so was Blake.

Melody sighed. "I was honestly hoping they would be older."

The youngest one sneered and opened his mouth.

Mercury nodded at the boy. "I thought I knew you. You were in the escape rooms three months ago. You and your friends got the highest score for the heist game."

"Really?" Melody asked. "That was the hardest one."

"You didn't get out until ten minutes after." He smiled at her. "To be fair, most don't get out of that one on time. Some don't get out at all."

The boy growled. "Most of the old farts are cowards."

Dad gave him a firm look. "Or maybe they have a better idea of what they want."

"I know damn well what I want."

"I see." Dad turned to Mercury. "I assume that you don't work for bigots?"

Mercury scoffed. "Nope. Both Faunus and human. Honestly can't say which treated me better. They were both very good." He frowned. "I'm genuinely confused here. Why would you think that assassinating the Belladonnas of all people in Menagerie of all places would help the Faunus? It seems…counter-productive to me."

There was a silence.

"Seriously?" Melody asked incredulously. "I thought the White Fang were supposed to be freedom fighters, not a cult. They didn't even need to give you a reason?"

Akorn looked at Melody. He didn't say anything.

"What freedom fighter assassinate the people they are supposedly representing?" Mercury replied. "In the sanctuary of all places."

Blake glanced at her father. He was looking around too.

Something was very wrong here.

"Mercury." Blake stared at the boy. He was very stubborn. She caught Mercury turn his attention to her. "What is going on outside?"

Melody frowned at her, but she said nothing.

"Nothing nearby…The twins are about 70 yards out actually but…I can't tell what they're doing. There's a third person with them. About four feet tall. I'm not sure if he's a kid or just smaller than common."

Weiss stared at the young boy, her eyes narrowing a little. "What have you got there?"

"Nothing."

That was the tone Blake used when she didn't want people to know what she had been reading.

But there was something more there.

Almost…

Sing song like.

He was smiling a little.

Mercury opened his eyes. He looked over the boy's head at Blake. He mouthed a word.

'Gunpowder'.

'Aura', Blake mouthed at Melody. She had touched him; she must know.

Melody shook her head.

He…

Fury.

Pity.

One was much stronger than the other.

"Do you think that's going to help?" Blake asked quietly.

The boy ignored her.

"Let's say it works. Let's say we all die." Mum and Dad turned to her. Their expressions were unreadable. "Let's say you live. What then?"

"I'm willing to do whatever is necessary."

"What is necessary?"

Her friends were watching her.

The other White Fang members were watching her.

Mercury spoke. "If it's worth your life and ours, it's worth saying. What is it you actually want Tigger?"

Blake blinked.

Tigger.

Actual name Tiger but-

He flinched and growled. "Do not call me that."

But his friends call him Tigger because he was such a softy.

"Yet you don't have the courage to say it."

"Fine. Humans in their rightful place."

"And then what?"

Eyes went back to Blake.

She wasn't gentle yet.

"We enslave the humans. We have peace and security. We die happily of old age. Leaving our children to fight the war when humans decide to put Faunus in their place. Repeat continuously. Forever."

Weiss dropped her blade.

The ice holding the two melted.

They didn't immediately attack; they thought it was a trap.

Mercury unclipped his weapon. It fell to the ground.

The two Faunus separated, dashing around the coffee table.

The side wall exploded.

The fight itself inside the house had been quiet. An internal affair.

Bombs are often used in terrorist attacks or guerrilla warfare.

They are designed to draw attention.

Menagerie was not big.

The people came.

Blake coughed.

She had been lucky. The force of the explosion had thrown her against the far wall with wood smacking into her, but at all the wrong angles to do her serious harm. She also had all her aura to take the blows, though she had none now.

Polar had not been so lucky. He had a stake near his heart. But his chest was still moving so it must have missed.

Mum and Dad were fine. They had no aura and there was a deep cut on Dad's face but they were okay.

In fact, thanks to Weiss now having her weapon, most were fine. There was a sheet of ice and earth between them and the remains of the wall. Holes had been punctured through them but the projects had lost much of their speed. She must have grabbed the rapier when she threw herself to the ground.

The only other one hurt was Mercury, who had a piece of wood jarred in his shoulder. With an annoyed eye-roll, he yanked the piece out and casually tossed it aside. His aura hadn't shattered, so he hadn't been hit hard enough to cause too much damage.

He had moved to protect Tiger.

Tiger hadn't moved.

His gunpowder was also scattered on the floor near him.

"This proves nothing," Tiger stated to Mercury.

"No," Mercury agreed. "But I think it's way past time you grew up and started living in reality. Remnant's reality and your reality. Not Adam's delusion. It'll get everyone killed."

It wasn't really Tiger's fault. Everyone knew that.

"We are," another snarled. He was only okay due to Weiss and Melody taking the brunt of what materials had managed to get through. "It's you who are delusional."

Mum stepped up. "I believe it is time for you all to leave. You have trespassed long enough and you should see to a doctor."

For a moment, no one moved.

Then Akorn stood up. He walked over to Tiger. He tugged at the vines, which Melody responded to by retracting them. Tiger stood up and instantly shoved him.

"Traitor."

Akorn flinched.

Then he took a deep breath.

"We both are."

Tiger looked like he wanted to hit him.

After a moment, he turned and waltzed out of the now open wall.

The others followed silently.

Including Akorn.

Melody went straight to Polar, who had been left behind.

Mercury waited until they were out of sight. "Do you think it's a good idea to let them go?" He too walked over to Polar and had a look for himself.

"Is he going to be okay?" Melody was pale, but her muscles tensed and focused.

"Give me a minute to look."

"To your question: no. But…not all ideas that saved people were good ideas."

Mercury scoffed.

"I have to say that that..." Melody gestured to the ice wall, earth wall and icy wall. "That was a brilliant idea."

"Thank you," Weiss tried to smile. "I still need practice, it seems."

Blake decided not to mention exactly the place where the wall had failed and needed a body to stop its movement. A glance at Mercury showed there were no hard feelings for that decision.

"Don't suppose I should call you the next time a building's coming down, Diana?" Mercury asked idly.

"My rates are far more than you can afford."

"What, no discount?"

"You don't get as much as the others because I cannot be convinced you were not partially involved. Only Athena and Artemis receive less."

Mercury thought it over, then apparently decided Weiss was right enough that it wasn't worth arguing about. He placed a hand next to the stake in Polar and pulled his weapon into his hand. "Keep the pressure up. I'm going to remove it before it moves and then cauterize it."

"Shouldn't we wait for a doctor?" Blake asked. "I'm not okay with this."

"One wrong move and this will move the few millimeters into his heart. It needs to come out at the same angle it went in; best to do it now in case he wakes up before the doctor gets here."

Weiss created more ice. This time, she focused on Polar's shoulders and waist, keeping him from accidentally moving. "Be quick. He might get too cold."

The stake slid out. It was bloody but had few uneven edges.

Mercury threw it to Blake. "Check that."

Blake looked at it. "What do you mean?"

Dad took it from her. He very carefully ran his finger down it. "Very unlikely to be splinters. He's very lucky."

There was a slight sizzle. There was a strong searing smell.

Mercury sheathed his weapon. "All I can do. He needs a doctor."

"Yeah."

Blake's eyes caught flashlights outside.

Her parents saw it too.

Melody stood up. She folded her fingers into Blake's. "Are you ready?"

"…Yes."

Mum stayed with Polar. Dad came with them.

The assassination attempt was always going to be the easy bit.

Akorn was in the crowd waiting outside. The crowd that contained most of Menagerie's population with the doctors and medics at the front and had been approaching the house.

"We're all physically fine," Blake said tiredly. "But someone in there took a stake near his heart. We removed it and cauterized the wound." Dr Shadde nodded. He ran past her and into the house with another man. "He got caught in the explosion his own people caused."

"Blake-"

Blake didn't know who said it. It didn't matter. There was that tone she hated; the 'I knew this would happen' tone.

"Don't." She waved at her friends. "Except for Weiss, what are my friends? Faunus or human?"

…

No words.

Plenty of looks: confusion, anger, worry…

But no words.

"If that is too difficult, then I will give you a hint. One is a Faunus and one is a human. Which is which and why."

Most were trying.

But no one made a sound.

"Gael?"

Gael jumped at being addressed. Her eyes didn't match Blake's. Not after the way she had been glaring at Weiss.

"Heather?"

Heather met her gaze. She shrugged carelessly. She didn't know and she honestly didn't care.

Finally, Blake's eyes turned to her final target. "Jasper."

Jasper tilted his head. He didn't feel pressured. "I know. But only because of what my sister told me. What you told her. On my own…I think I would have got it wrong."

"And why is that?"

"Because I met him at the barbecue and wanted to dislike him." He addressed Mercury himself then. "You can be a jerk."

Mercury shrugged. "I know. But I have also have standards."

"I learned that. And…thanks."

He nodded in response.

Blake did not comment. Whatever it was, it was their business.

"If we let it, that is our future. To hide or mutilate ourselves for fairness. This injustice is what the White Fang once fought." Blake turned her head slightly. She gestured to her damaged home. Polar. "This is what they fight for now."

"You brought the Schnee here," Gael snarled.

Weiss met her gaze. "I won't deny it and I'm not proud of it. I did believe that all Faunus were scum only a few years ago."

There were angry growls.

Blake forced herself to keep still.

"I believed all Faunus were like the White Fang; violent sociopaths. Then I met Velvet. Agua. Fyrn. Dale. The other Faunus I know at Beacon that don't want to be identified as such yet." She smiled slightly. Her eyes settled on Akorn for moment before moving again. "I didn't even know Blake was a Faunus until the Vytal Festival. Mercury I only found out about tonight. The interesting thing is that they had different reasons: Blake wanted to hide in the shadows and just live at that point while Mercury didn't think it important enough to bring up and with him you would never notice unless someone brought it up." She half-glared at him then. "It wasn't even that you were hiding it; you just don't care."

He grinned at her. "Hey, I like being a Faunus. There's great perks over being completely human."

Something occurred to Weiss then. "Night vision. You cheated."

"Hardly. I had a tactical advantage and I exploited it. After your long list of rules of what we weren't allowed to do, I'm surprised that wasn't on there."

The mob were cautiously returning to a crowd.

But there were those that weren't interested in anything but blaming Weiss for the first violence in Menagerie for so many years.

Blake cleared her throat. "Mercury completed the advance course at Beacon and passed Mane Graduation. He is a qualified Huntsman and so has access to evidence that is not so simple or honestly moral to get hold of. Who wants to hear it?"

There was a brief quiet.

Jasper, one of the few that wasn't antagonistic at all, asked the question. "Hear what?"

"The real reason why my home was attacked."

"Lies!"

It was a hiss, but it was a popular one.

Mercury raised his scroll. "I've got a recording. The voices are very clear and there is no room for mistake. If you think I've doctored it, I'll point out that I know three of you at least are good with programmes and will hand it over for you to check."

Melody glanced at him with a very small shake of the head. He stopped his words there.

The 'unless you want to tag it on yourselves so you can continue to live in your perfect isolated bubble' were not to be said. It was wrong.

That was magicals. Not Faunus.

Blake knew that.

Magicals lived in isolation, away from muggles. It is very easy to look down and resent something that you don't interact with.

The Faunus came here after the 'gift' to get away from the war and racism, but they never forgot it. It festered instead and humans weren't people anymore to some.

There was a longer quiet.

"No one." Blake stated. She couldn't even say she was that surprised. "No one wants the evidence when it is offered and yet switches to mob mentality with nothing."

'Nothing' wasn't quite accurate, especially with what Weiss just said.

Few of her audience seem to have realised that, fortunately. Those that had were the younger ones who knew Weiss and Blake as people, not faceless names.

"It is hardly nothing."

Blake tensed. But she stood tall and waited as Ilia appeared. From completely invisible to natural colour. She was standing only a few feet away.

"I saw what I saw. Weiss Schnee deliberately dropped her weapon. When all of you were safe, she dropped her weapon. When you spoke of endless war between Faunus and humans, she was the first to drop her weapon. Weiss Schnee was the one who saved you all from the explosion, including those who intended to kill her."

Blake quietly let out a long breath.

Ilia continued, emotion creeping in. This was confusion. "I saw the broadcast when Weiss Schnee celebrated your victory at the Vytal Festival."

Akorn smiled a little.

Ilia glanced at Mercury. The tone was sympathy and gratitude. "I pointed your friend in the direction of that evidence; I know what is on that scroll. I can verify it. Weiss Schnee had nothing to do with this attempted assassination."

Blake swallowed.

The people were uncertain; didn't know what to think.

Her gaze continued to move. She hesitated on Melody. Uncertainty. "I have honestly never met you."

Melody smiled. "I'm Melody. A pleasure to meet you."

"Ilia and likewise." Satisfaction. She also hesitated at Dad before giving him a respectful nod, which he returned. Ilia looked back at Blake with approval. "You chose most of your friends well Blake."

"I trust them to have my back any day."

"As these ones proved tonight." A moment. Finally, Ilia turned to the crowd. "Dale walked into a bookshop last week. He was given the same customer service as the human that was in the store with him and the human that came in after."

Blake could see where Ilia was going with this.

"So what?" Zee asked, genuinely confused.

"Equality." Blake affirmed. "Have we lost sight so much that we don't recognise what we were fighting for?"

There was no easy answer to racism.

Many of the people in Menagerie weren't involved with the fighting. They chose isolation.

But Tiger lived in Mengarie his whole life until a few weeks ago. Same with Coral. The youngest members were being recruited from here and they couldn't really go to their parents to talk about it because their parents didn't want to talk about it.

Blake didn't want to stir up an army. She knew she hadn't done that tonight.

She could only hope that she had at least opened up more understanding for those that were trapped. Like Akorn, Coral, Jasper and so many others.

Ilia was smiling.

At the very least, Blake was sure she hadn't lost Ilia.