Here we go!

Cover Art: Serox

Chapter 66

Jaune finished explaining with a sigh. "And that's the offer Ozpin and Ironwood have made."

"It isn't much of an offer." Yang said. "Good work, thanks for the help, now go away and never come back."

"Ironwood was right to say we're about done here in Vale. We could stay longer and work to integrate faunus more, but the momentum is already swinging our way. Staying here might see it finished but it'll also mean neglecting the other kingdoms. The faunus there are still suffering."

"Are you sure Vale won't fall back on old habits if you go?" Blake asked.

"I'm not sure of anything."

"We would keep it going." Ruby said. "Just because they leave doesn't mean we're going to forget what happened, right?" She looked to her teammates and received nods from each in turn. "And if things do start falling back, Jaune and Sienna can come to do a rally and set things straight. They just have to come as part of a diplomatic visit and we can arrange those."

That was pretty much it. Jaune didn't think for a moment that the loophole left by Ozpin and Ironwood had gone unnoticed. They knew he'd be abusing it to the best of his ability and that Ruby, when she won her election, would invite him whenever he wanted to be. It was part of the compromise. They accepted he'd be coming back regularly to check up on things and he accepted living outside Vale.

It wasn't a bad deal by any means.

"The problem is Atlas." Weiss said. "They slipped that caveat in there to keep you out of Atlas, and I shouldn't need to tell the White Fang that things are bad for faunus there. You'll also find it much harder to get a diplomatic visit to Atlas approved."

"Atlas protects its interests as ever." Sienna agreed with a pointed hum. "It isn't something we can argue on, however. We need Atlas' support with this deal or they can threaten their alliance with Vale and force them to keep trying to arrest us."

"The SDC will begin phasing out its less favourable employment plans. I've spoken to father and explained that the poor reputation it garners is impacting my ability to get far in politics. I told him that's why I'm supporting you instead of running myself," she told Ruby. "A little white lie but he ate it up and has promised to scale back and offer better wages and medical plans to faunus in the mines."

"That easily?" Sienna had to ask. "We petition, protest and war for years and he gives in because his daughter asks it?"

"Nothing of the sort. Father simply rates having influence in two councils to be worth more than however much lien he saves through unfavourable practices. It's economics. Nothing more." She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry for that. Either way, he's going to expect better trade conditions or lower tariffs in the future but that's neither here nor there. The result should be a push from the top down for better working conditions. I expect that will flow into the city as well since even if Atlas' Council has a guarantee you two won't go there, they've seen how effective your campaign has been here and they'll be concerned of you orchestrating one from a distance."

Money makes the world go round. Jaune would have despaired if it wasn't working in their favour for once. Atlas might not change over the weekend, and it probably wouldn't change how much they wanted it, but it was a start. They could monitor the situation and influence things from a distance.

"That's all well and good." Jaune said. "But you mentioned a special offer from your side if you win the election. All we've talked about so far is what Ozpin and Ironwood have already decided."

"Which is important." Blake said. "Ruby can't afford to step on their toes and make enemies."

Jaune waved a hand. "Granted. What's your offer, then?"

Ruby shared some quick looks with the others before answering him. She adjusted her posture so that she was kneeling with her hands flat on her thighs, somehow looking a little more formal than her previous cross-legged posture.

"We want to introduce a new law into Vale. Anti-discrimination laws."

Jaune whistled. "Really?"

"It won't just be for faunus-"

"Everyone will know that's the main thrust." Sienna warned them.

"That's fine. We're riding a wave of popularity around wanting to make things better with the faunus and the White Fang, so we'll have public support for it. It's going to include things like equal wages, making discrimination in the workplace a civil crime and making it illegal to ban faunus from public establishments without justification."

"That won't stop everyone."

"It'll be a start." Ruby said firmly. "And we'll crack down on people who don't follow it. We can't stop people insulting faunus in the streets or take away their free speech or free will, but we can make it clear that businesses have to follow the law or there'll be consequences."

"We're going to threaten to name and shame as well." Yang said.

"Nothing gets to a company's directors like the threat of public outcry hitting their pockets." Weiss said.

That was pretty much what they'd been doing to the various company's exploiting their workers before. He couldn't argue with the results, and maybe having it run by the local government would be just as impactful. Ozpin and Ironwood wouldn't argue either since it would take more work away from the White Fang and make it clear the new council were proactive and effective. "It sounds great. I'm not sure why this is an offer for us though. Unless you need us to do something in exchange for this law?"

"It's not blackmail…" Ruby said guiltily.

"It's not something bad." Weiss stepped in when her partner obviously felt bad. "Really, we're going to create this law anyway and push it through. What we wanted to say was that since there are a lot of faunus in other kingdoms who have it bad, and we're actively making things here better, we were wondering if you wanted to push displaced or unhappy faunus toward us."

Push them toward Vale? Jaune tried to decipher what they meant and looked to Sienna for help, who shrugged that she didn't know. "I'm not sure what you mean," he told Weiss. "You want us to find new citizens for Vale?"

"It's more a mutual thing. You've probably heard that Vale has a bit of an over-population problem."

He hadn't. Sienna had. "It led to the formation and later fall of Mountain Glenn."

"That's right. Now, Mountain Glenn was said to have fallen because of the Grimm – which is true – but Ozpin and Ironwood have told us in private that it actually fell thanks to treachery from within. Someone was doing research on Grimm and they escaped, destroying the city from within."

"Why would they tell you that?"

"They want us to push to rebuild it." Ruby said. "Ozpin says it's a fully workable idea that only went wrong because of a guy who is long dead, and that if we just keep pretending it doesn't exist then we'll run into another over-population crisis. He hasn't been able to convince the last three mayors to try it."

But Ruby was more easily won over. That sounded harsh even in his head, and maybe it wasn't just that. Ruby was idealistic and brave and ready to take risks that might lose her the job if it meant helping people, whereas the previous mayors had just wanted to hold onto their money and influence as long as possible.

"Vale is going to have a lot of work that needs doing." Ruby said. "A lot of paying work – and a lot of cheap housing and jobs to boot."

"Creating a primarily faunus city ancillary to Vale isn't exactly what we're looking for." Sienna said. "It'll become segregation based on race. The faunus to Mountain Glenna and the good humans to Vale. Give it a few years after you're gone and the taxes will suddenly spike in Mountain Glenn."

"We'll have it put in law that both cities have to share the same laws and taxes."

"Some people will still see it as a place to dump the faunus." Jaune couldn't help but agree with Sienna on that one. "I'm sure they'd love the jobs and housing and the equal laws, and some of them might even like having an all-faunus community. That's not good for either side though."

"We'll find a way to prevent that." Ruby said. He could tell she didn't have one in mind but she looked so earnest and so affronted that he was sure she'd be hyper-focusing on the issue for the rest of the week. "We'll offer money for people who want to move from Vale to Mountain Glenn, we'll re-connect the tunnels so it's more like two districts of one city. I'll move there myself if I have to."

"Even if it's not ideal, it has to be better than what currently exists." Yang said. "I get what you mean about it not being ideal, but what's the alternative? Go to Menagerie? That's the same deal. Stay in bad conditions in Mistral or Vacuo? No better."

"Our idea is to become an example." Blake stepped in. "The plan is that we become such a shining example of how well a city can do when they embrace and work with faunus equally – proving that by revitalising Mountain Glenn – that the other Kingdoms will look at us and think how they could do the same."

"Even if it does end up starting as more faunus than humans, it'll show their worth." Weiss finished.

They'd put thought into this. He could tell that much. Mountain Glenn had risen and fallen long before he was born – his mother had lived there and been a surviving orphan of the disaster, and it was working in Vale after to earn a living where she met his father. He'd heard stories about it, terrible stories, but he'd never heard this version.

"I assume Mountain Glenn will be cleared of Grimm first?"

"Absolutely." Ruby said. "Huntsmen will go in and then students to make sure it's clear. The walls are almost all still in one piece, too. Once it's cleared out, they'll be checked and reinforced and there will always be a huntsman presence there while the rebuilding happens."

There'd almost have to be if they wanted to make it work, and he fully believed they had to. Vale was filling up fast, hence all the homelessness, and the problems that sparked the need for the expansion in the first place were coming back. Housing prices were skyrocketing, jobs were becoming more competitive and the unemployed were all but forced out the city.

"What do you think?" he asked Sienna.

"It's not a perfect solution but it's a workable one. They're right that the faunus being responsible for bringing Mountain Glenn back online would be a huge success story not only for us but for Ruby's new position. It'd go down in history as a joint effort. They'll need labourers but I'm not sure how many faunus will see it as an upgrade."

"Anyone who works on Mountain Glenn will be granted citizenship under our proposals." Weiss said. "They'll also have subsidised rent for the first ten years of their stay as well as fair wages while working on it."

"We can but make the offer." Sienna said. "There may be some who will agree but others will want to see their own homes changed rather than leave in despair to join another Kingdom. We might be able to frame it as an alternative retirement package for our own members for those who don't want to move to Menagerie."

"That's good as well." Ruby said. "We'll accept anyone."

"And that's not the only deal." Weiss added. "This is what we plan to do and what you can do for us, but we mentioned a deal and you haven't heard that yet."

Oh? He'd thought Mountain Glenn was the deal. "We're listening."

"We need materials, workers and goods for the construction and even though Mountain Glenn isn't on the coast, Vale is and the tunnels will be cleared out. We want to offer rights on materials and construction to Menagerie. That includes preferential trade agreements after and even our support on recognising Menagerie as the fifth kingdom."

/-/

Sienna had been silent ever since the proposal, shocked to speechlessness. He'd made their excuses to leave and promised to think hard on the proposals, which he could tell she was. Team RWBY let them go and promised to keep in touch with all the things that were going to happen. They really were good girls and he felt Vale might be in safer hands than anyone realised. Still, all that work and change was going to upset some people. He worried for what might happen if Mountain Glenn didn't work out, or if the public grew impatient with the pace of its rebuilding.

All those things were for the future however, and a future he wouldn't be in Vale to see. The more immediate concern was the offer. "Is it that big a deal?" he asked. "Menagerie becoming a kingdom?"

"It's something we've tried to achieve ever since we were exiled there," she said. "Long before the White Fang grew violent, long before its peaceful formation. From the moment we won the Great War and our prize was a useless island, we faunus have tried to be recognised as a real kingdom." Her face was overtaken by a wan smile. "It has never before been on the cards. Too small, too poorly connected, too distant. The excuses change every year. The short of it, however, is that we've never had anyone willing to vouch for us."

"No one?"

"Atlas knows we will raise diplomatic concerns over the mistreatment of faunus and so has been the most against our formation as a kingdom. They are the powerhouses of Remnant, with the largest military and the SDC holding a monopoly on dust. The pressure they can apply to those who upset them… It's not just threats of violence but even a minor increase in the pricing of dust can cripple a kingdom. Mistral, Vacuo and Vale could never afford to stick their necks out for us if it meant upsetting Atlas. Now…" She laughed. "Those girls. Just when I think I've predicted everything, they throw this out."

"Will Atlas pressure them?"

"No. Not after the agreements we've made and not after the fact they pretty much saved Atlas' reputation. Jacques is less likely to agree to an embargo as well since his daughter is behind this, and the Schnee family is set to ride the benefits. A whole new city to sell to, and one founded through the efforts of his daughter. I dare say he'll bury anyone who tries to cause problems in so many lawsuits they'll never see the outside of a courtroom again." She breathed out suddenly and her voice became hoarse. "It's a possibility now. A real possibility."

"Contingent on us making Mountain Glenn a success."

"Yes. No one can deny us if we help Vale expand their kingdom."

"Is it really that good a thing?" Jaune asked. "They were right to say Menagerie is no more a solution to the inequality than Mountain Glenn will be. How many humans live in Menagerie?"

"You'll be the first."

Yikes. He'd expected her to say a small percentage, maybe less than ten or even five, but to hear there were none? That was ridiculous. How much of that is because the faunus there drive them away? He didn't think they would him, not with Sienna's backing, but it didn't set a good tone for their chances of unifying everyone.

"I'll fully admit Menagerie isn't perfect," she said, "and even that I'm at fault for much of that, but it's all we've had for the longest time and it's a source of pride for us. That same pride is beaten down every time we're told we aren't a real kingdom. Repairing it would win you a lot of support – even from those who might have hated you before or who think we should be violent. They won't be able to argue with you getting Menagerie recognised as the fifth kingdom."

"If we can." Jaune said. It wasn't as simple as she made it sound. "We have to build Mountain Glenn first, then there's the fact their support might not be enough if Mistral, Vacuo and Atlas still say no. I don't doubt Team RWBY will try their hardest but they don't have that much clout."

Not yet anyway. They'd certainly have plenty of international noteworthiness once Mountain Glenn was up and running, but even then, it would have to thrive for a couple of years before everyone accepted it was there to stay. He had a feeling the stauncher faunus against his leadership would be demanding more immediate results.

"I guess we can try," he said. "Both our and their idea. This proposal doesn't really stop us being soft-banished from the kingdom so we're out either way."

"We should leave Ghira here," she said. "He can both lead the White Fang and also coordinate the construction efforts for Menagerie. Having Kali running it on Menagerie's end and him from Vale will streamline the process. He's also much better at the peaceful protest aspect than I."

"Do you think he'll agree?"

"He'll be frustrated he's spending so much time away from his wife but then he hasn't seen his daughter for years. I'll talk to Kali. Whatever disagreements Ghira and I have had, Kali has always been more open to discussion. Things aren't nearly as tense between us. I'll have to offer her some guarantees. I doubt they'll be a problem for you."

"What kind?"

"That she will be safe and protected, that there will be no attempt to usurp Ghira's position in his absence.

Jaune nodded. There were no plans for that, though he could see why the old, violent White Fang might have wanted to have control over the entire island. It was another case of the world refusing to recognise them as a kingdom and so the White Fang would take the matter into their own hands and fight to the death for it.

They really had to put a stop to that.

"I guess Menagerie is our first stop, eh?" Jaune said. "Introduce me to the faunus."

"And fend off the assassination attempts."

"Eh!? You're serious about that?"

"Don't worry. Trifa and Yuma will protect you."

"When they're not arguing…"

"I'll also be there," she said teasingly brushing against his arm. "And rest assured the Albain Brothers are very interested in seeing the long-term good you can do for the cause. They will know of any plans long before they see fruition."

"You are serious…"

"Did you think it would be easy?" Sienna looked at him askance. "You've helped rid one community of its institutionalised racism but you're wrong if you think Vale or Atlas are the worst cases of it in the world. Menagerie is far worse. A little less obvious, a little more justified given our history, but racism all the same. You just don't hear about it because there are no humans there and everyone is happy about the fact."

"Great. And here I thought the faunus would be more open-minded."

"That was beaten out of us years ago. Experience taught us that no matter how much we think ourselves equal, the humans do not. It was never a problem when I led the White Fang and wanted recruits willing to fight the humans." She chuckled ruefully. "Now it's a problem. I guess this is me reaping what I sow."

"I'm the one reaping it."

"Poor baby." Sienna drew him down by his collar and kissed his cheek. It made him feel better despite his best efforts otherwise. "Don't worry. A tiger fights to protect its pack."

"Aren't tigers solitary?"

"Don't ruin this."

"Yes ma'am."

/-/

It turned out that Ghira was not only willing to stay but positively thrilled to. "The rebuilding is my kind of work," he said gruffly. "More so if we can bring the workers into a union. I'll speak for them all and make sure they're not taken advantage of."

Jaune didn't think Ruby and Weiss meant that he should form a faunus worker's union before he left. Oh well, it was their problem now. "Sounds good. Does Menagerie have the workforce to handle this? Do you have the ships to get here?"

"We do. Materials, we might need to buy from Vale and Atlas but that'll be on their budget and it'll only make this more of a cooperative venture. Don't you mind the ships. We're an island nation. We can handle ourselves on the waters just fine. You'll be going back to Menagerie, then?"

"To share the news and also try and fix the White Fang."

Ghira looked him up and down before nodding. "Good. It was Kali that vouched for you. If I'd had my way, I'd have never come out here and given you the time of day. She told me to take a chance, told me to have a little hope. I'm glad I did."

"I'm glad I didn't disappoint you, sir."

"We could have used you in the first White Fang."

"I was a child. And…" Jaune considered his words carefully. "With all due respect, sir, I don't think I'd have made much of a difference. I don't think anyone could have."

Ghira's cheer dimmed. "You think it was all a waste of time?"

"No. I think your approach was necessary. Sadly, I think Sienna's was as well…"

He'd been putting thought into it ever since things started changing for the better – mainly because his own success had come off the back of exposing people, revealing the depravity of the abuse. All good things but, when you looked deeply, all only possible because he had people ready to break the law and commit violence in the name of a good cause.

"I hate to say violence is the answer but I think that people only sided with me so readily because I was trying to bring an end to the White Fang's violence. I was seen as the better version of the White Fang, but if there hadn't been a worse version for people to demonise, then I wouldn't have gained half the following I did. There had to be a threat for them to unify to stop." He looked to Ghira. "Just as there had to be a threat for the faunus to unify over. People just don't band together unless there is some terrible fate to escape."

The giant man let out a heavy and rumbling sigh. "And you believe you only won as you did because of the bloodshed. Because Sienna had made people so tired of the blood that they are finally willing to compromise to stop it."

"It's a horrible thing to say, so I won't say it in public. None of us will. Sienna will publicly accept she was wrong, we'll wear the blame of the White Fang's atrocities, all the while understanding in our hearts that nothing would have changed without them."

"Then was I wrong?" Ghira asked. "To try the peaceful approach?"

"No. Yours was just as needed. It was needed to fail to spark the violence, and it was needed so that people could look at the new, violent White Fang in anger and think fondly of the kind and benevolent group under the leadership of Ghira Belladonna. And now you're back." Jaune said. "Now the faunus we send here will see you and know it's peaceful. The citizens of Vale will watch Sienna and I leave, look nervously to who is to replace us, then bask in relief and happiness as they realise it's Ghira Belladonna – founder of the first and peaceful branch of the White Fang. They'll love you for being better than us."

"It feels so duplicitous. There were times I was angry too. Angry enough to hurt someone."

"And there was times Adam wept and wished for peace. We're all more nuanced than the world will remember us. You'll go down in history as a visionary who lived before his time but stuck to his ideals and saw his dreams fulfilled. Sienna will go down as a monster who escaped justice. I will go down as something in between."

The stories would probably be exaggerated in time. Adam and Sienna would be portrayed horribly and killed off, while he… well, it was hard to say. He might be seen as the one who beat back the terrorists before handing leadership to Ghira, or perhaps something else. Either way, the world would change for the better. They'd force it to.

"Everyone always says you can't or shouldn't change things with violence." Jaune said. "We should talk it out like civilised people, or only barbarians resort to force. The problem is, the rich and the powerful will always have louder voices. You can't talk it out with someone who can bribe journalists to smear you, or who has powerful friends backing them up or who can just have you arrested. I agree that violence should be the last resort, but it is a resort. It has to be otherwise you accept a world that will never change as long as those in power don't want it to."

"You've put thought into this."

"I've had to." Jaune said. "And I still have to. Things in Menagerie need to change."

"Violently?"

"If needs be. There are some still clamouring for war and retribution. They'll either have to change their minds, accept what we're offering or be stopped. I won't have everything we've achieved ruined because one psycho with a hate-boner for humanity sets a bomb in Mountain Glenn's tunnels. Not if it means the city falls again."

Ghira hummed. "The faunus would be blamed. Shoddy construction, shortcuts taken, more proof we should be seen as cheap labour. I'll have to make sure a human doesn't try it to frame us on our end." He sighed and ran a hand through his beard. "Even now, we're surrounded by enemies on all sides. And here I thought the Great War ended decades ago."

Jaune laughed and slapped his arm. "It's a work in progress. Let's end it together, yeah?"

A large hand gripped his. "Let's."

We're approaching the end of the story. I know there's a world in which Jaune and Sienna have a whole arc in Menagerie, then a whole arc in Mistral, then some people rise up against the faunus and even a second Great War occurs. There are a lot of ways a story could be dragged out, but I don't necessarily think one should be dragged out.

Not that I haven't made that mistake myself plenty of times. xD

Next Chapter: 9th August

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