A/N: So finals week sucks, most of you know that.
So before the chapter, I'm sure you've noticed this is a short chapter, but I had to make the call on whether or not to publish what I have and then push the next chapter out as soon as possible, or work on this chapter and be another week late.
So yeah, shorter chapter seemed to be the best idea.
Also, please forgive me for the ending. You'll understand when your done reading. It's not that bad, I promise.
That's it for pre-chap A/N.
On to the chapter!
I don't own RT or RWBY.
Guilty Rose Chapter 41
Sienna looked out over the faunas and humans, the ones that were allowed to trade in Menagerie, assembled before her. She had honestly put this speech off far too long. She had given a short speech from the Belladonna estate so she could officially denounce the White Fang she thought she was leading.
She took one more glance at her speech notes and then opened her mouth to speak.
"Brothers and sisters..."
She stopped there for a moment.
That was how she always addressed the White Fang members. She couldn't do that here.
She glanced back at her notes to see if she could keep moving. But the longer she looked, the more she realized that her notes were too much like her old speeches.
She looked out over the crowd again, waiting for new words come to her.
"I'm sorry, I need to start again..."
But then she stopped again as those new words did hit her.
"No, I was right. We are all brothers and sisters here."
Several gasps could be heard. It was obvious that the humans and faunus were shocked by that statement.
"I have been fighting so long in the White Fang. So long in fact, that I too was infected by the hatred. The hatred of this world. A hatred that has infected us all."
Sienna's gazed over the crowd again until her eyes landed on Marron. The tiger faunus recalled the story of the quaint little firm, sponsored by a human, and run by a faunus. Both being killed by the same kind of greed and hatred.
"Many of us fought for faunus' rights… we fought so faunus would be respected as equals. But we all had something wrong as we fought. We thought that humans and faunus were separate races that needed to find a way to coexist. And that's wrong because things that are separate cannot be equal."
Sienna took a breath and let her words sink in for a moment.
During that breath, she thought on her years in the White Fang. Everything she had done, everything she had ordered, and everything she had allowed to happen. She had to close her eyes and hold back a few tears.
"It took years for me to learn this lesson… Years that I spent dividing us further. I can never apologize enough for that. But hopefully, today will help me atone for my mistakes."
Sienna took one last shaky breath.
"I stand before you and the world to ask that humans and faunus stand together against the hatred that has run rampant on Remnant. For if we continue to stand divided, we will all fall. If not to the grimm, then to our own hubris and hatred."
There was a stunned silence that fell over the crowd when she finished her last sentence.
"So, Brothers and sisters. Will you stand with me?"
The silence continued until two small voices from the crowd rang out.
"We will stand with you!"
Eyes immediately turned to what should have been a peculiar sight. Two small children, a human boy and a faunus girl, holding hands with their free fists raised to the sky.
Suddenly, what must have been the children's families, raised their fists to the sky.
"We stand with you!"
Soon, others repeated the action, calling out that they would stand together. More and more did this until the entire crowd had their fists raised.
"Brothers and sisters of Remnant, remember this day, for this is the first day that hatred has lost! And that as long as we stand together, it shall never win again!"
….
Adam ground his teeth in frustration.
With Sienna's last speech, she had all but stopped the flow of new members in the White Fang. To make matters worse, governments and law enforcement across Remnant began raiding White Fang hideouts and rally locations with near perfect precision.
Adam knew that both of these things were no coincidences. Sienna, Marron, and Roman must have given out all the information they had on the White Fang. Thus, Adam had sent out a mass order for the entire White Fang to take what they could grab and relocate.
In all honesty, Adam would be breaking something right now, if it wasn't for the fact that he was in a small warehouse full of weapons and explosives. Everything the White Fang had left was now a precious resource.
However, once again, the Atlas Branch was a major source of good news. A few members managed to stumble across top-of-the-line Atlas military tech being transported. They got away with several Paladins, a few dozen AK-200's, and a hundred AK-130's. The report he received was nothing but good luck for the White Fang. Mostly because when he informed Tyrian, the scorpion faunus produce a program that would allow the stolen machines to be repurposed for the White Fang's needs.
A sadistic grin grew on Adam's face. His plan would still come to fruition.
"I will get you for this Sienna. Traitors are always dealt with."
A grunt cleared his throat meekly in order to gain the bull faunus' attention.
"Sir, if we don't leave soon, we won't be able to attend tonight's rally."
Adam spun on the poor sod. He would have relieved the man of his empty head, but he reminded himself that needed every member he still had.
"Fine, let's go then."
….
Kneeling at the edge of the roof, Rose waits for her target to come into sight.
Once again, despite it being a clear night in Vale, Rose saw snow falling and Atlas architecture. Rose blinked, but her vision didn't clear this time. Instead, it became even more vivd.
"Target sight, she's headed your way Rose.'
Suddenly, the air gained a familiar icy bite. Her hands began trembling as they gripped her weapons. She now waited to see the fiery orange hair of the woman she was to kill tonight.
Then a hand grabbed her shoulder and gave her a firm shake, dispelling the vision from the past.
Rose turned her head to meet her mother's silver eyes, which were full of love and concern.
"You spaced out again."
Rose pursed her lips and let her head droop.
"We still have some time before your friend gets here. Do you want to talk about it."
No, Rose didn't want to talk about it for once. She wasn't the Guilty Rose anymore. She just needed to get that through her head.
But all of that made her want to voice her frustration more.
"Yes."
Rose then felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her into her mother's warm embrace.
"It's the same night as always, isn't it?"
Rose numbly nodded her head and snuggled into the older woman, cherishing the extra protection that was offered by her mother's cloak.
"I can't seem to stop seeing it, especially not now. I'm not her anymore, so why can't I stop seeing what she did?"
Rose felt her mother shift and then pull her into a tighter embrace.
"Baby, you can't just ignore the past, or think of it like another person did it. But Ruby, you need to forgive yourself."
Rose flinched at her name, but didn't comment on it, she knew her mother was saying it for a reason.
"How?"
Summer let out a long sigh and nuzzled into her daughter's hair.
"I don't know, sweetie. I wish I could just tell you how, but I can't. What I can do though is love and support you however you need me to."
When Summer finished talking, she pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.
"Now, if you're feeling better, let's keep a lookout for your newest squeeze."
Rose shifted uncomfortably at that.
"She just asked me on a date, I didn't accept."
"You also didn't decline."
Rose pouted up at her mother, who only chuckled in response.
"Calm down, I'm only teasing, besides, there she is."
Summer pointed down at the street where a lone girl was walking. The girl wore a pair of jeans and a hoodie, but her unique shade of hair was a dead give away. Both Roses watched as Ilia entered the warehouse they had watched a several dozen faunus enter beforehand.
"Alright everyone, our target is here. Time to go in."
….
Ilia had a sinking feeling since she woke up this morning. She thought it was about another rant from Adam during the rally, but part of her also thought it was about Rose.
That last ominous message from Rose still had her on edge. Somehow, that small part of Ilia knew that there would be a special appearance from Rose at this rally.
That would be fun.
"The only thing that could possibly be worse was if Blake showed up too."
Ilia blinked at that thought, then looked for something wooden to knock on. Unfortunately, she didn't find anything.
A manic laugh echoed through the warehouse, followed immediately by a deranged voice.
"Brothers and sisters of the Fang!"
Ilia's head shot up to see the last person she wanted to see, Tyrian Callows.
"Oh, fuck."
Tyrian had been introduce as the newest backer for the White Fang several weeks ago. The faunus then immediately went about proving that his crazy went as deep as his pockets. He had literally handed the White Fang a shipping container of Dust before cackling wildly and playing with some raw Dust powder like it was glittering sand. Then he stabbed a grunt that was trying to stop him from igniting the stuff.
That was the second most stressful five minutes Ilia ever had.
Suddenly, Ilia's sinking felling got worse and the part of her that knew Rose was about to show up was screaming at her.
"Please be wrong, please be wrong, please be wrong."
….
Weiss and Cinder stood side by side and wearing dark gray hoodies and jeans that made them look somewhat nondescript. They stood down the street from the warehouse, keeping an eye out while also trying to appear like they were making some kind of illicit deal.
Needless to say, Weiss was wholly against all of it.
However, instead of voicing her complaints, she decided to comment on the sidearms and ammunition Rose had gifted her.
She was currently rolling one of the 'stun rounds' Rose had made between her fingers. They were beyond fascinating in Weiss' unbiased opinion, but that also terrified her.
"I really need a way to make sure the Atlas military and my father takes a close look at Rose."
Cinder quirked an eyebrow at this.
"I thought that was a given, she is still technically a wanted criminal."
Weiss lightly shook her head and clenched her jaw.
"That's not exactly what I meant… I was talking about Rose's mechanical and alchemical genius. Her being a wanted criminal just makes it easier for people to take advantage of her with impunity."
Weiss held up the cartridge in her hand with a glimmer of both awe and terror in her eye.
"Just look at this. She made a Dust round that combines stopping power and electricity to disable even a fully trained huntress. Well, except for Nora, who'd just find it to be a rush. This is not to mention that Rose crafts weapons, as well as fixed and maintains a motorbike. She's accomplished all of this with no formal training or education."
That was when it dawned on Cinder what Weiss was referring to.
"You're right, if the Atlas military found out, they'd do just about anything to put her to work… But what do you mean about your father?"
Weiss took a deep breath, she didn't enjoy talking about her family, sole exceptions being Klein and Winter.
"I'm sure your aware of what my father has been accused of?"
A curt nod from Cinder confirmed that.
"Well, the truth is, that monster has done, does, and will do things much worse. Things that would sentence anyone with the Schnee name to a painful death at the hands of angry mobs. If he knew what Rose could do...well...I'd kill him before he could do anything to her."
Cinder couldn't help but regard the heiress at that. She saw the initial twinge of fear in Weiss when she first mentioned her father, but was in awe of the resolve when she said she'd kill the man.
And in all honesty, she felt the same in regards to Salem. The woman terrified Cinder, but what scared her more was what would happen if Salem ever got her hands on Rose.
"I know what you mean… My 'adoptive mother' is much the same kind of person. Only I know she has a personal grudge against people like Rose. I'd do anything to keep Rose away from her."
Weiss snapped to Cinder. The charcoal haired had never once talked about her 'family' besides her team. Now, she understood though. If Cinder's adoptive mother was anything like Jacques Schnee, then the less said the better.
Weiss couldn't help but feel a spark of empathy and something else, but she couldn't ponder things much further, her radio came alive.
"Alright everyone, our target is here. Time to go in."
Weiss' breath hitched with nerves. Things were about to get crazy.
….
Tyrian did his best to suppress his cackling like his mistress had order. Guiding the White Fang into doing her bidding was far easier than it had been with just Cinder, as they were now to desperate and fanatical to realize they were being played.
Tyrian couldn't help but laugh maniacally, in his head, that none of these idiots ever bothered to question anything. Not when he always had just the thing to solve whatever problem they had.
He actually began to wish this mission would last a bit longer so the look on their faces would be that much. However, his mistress had grown tired of the faunus. She wanted things to be done with so she could move on to other parts of her plan. Namely, the death of sweet little Cider and her plaything.
Tyrian had no doubt he would enjoy carrying those orders out, because he was specifically instructed to take as long as physically possible with both girl.
Tyrian stopped himself from licking his lips. He had to be somewhat professional in front of the morons.
"And so Brothers and sisters, when we strike at the humans, we must tear out their hearts! We must bring Amity Arena crashing to the ground and let the grimm feast on the humans and traitors!"
A roar of approval rang out as Adam announced his plans. Tyrian rolled his eyes discreetly. He freely admitted the plan was inspired, but it was far too roundabout for his tastes.
But it wasn't his job to comment on nor to correct their plans.
Nor was it to mention the two figure about to fire what looked to be arrows at Adam.
This boring night was finally going to have some excitement.
….
Blake stood towards the back of the crowd wearing a mask handed to her at the door. Her part of the plan was simple, make sure nothing happened to Ilia.
First, she had to find her former friend. Hopefully the girl wasn't going to be anywhere near the front.
Blake sifted through the crowd and luckily a minute later found the redhead she was looking for hanging back against a wall.
The feline faunus slowly made her way over. Ilia seemed to focused on something to notice her, but that was honestly to Blake's advantage. Once she crept up to the distracted faunus, Blake gently grabbed her arm.
"Ilia, don't scream, it's me, Blake."
The faunus went beyond stiff.
"Oh Oum, my worst nightmare just came to be, didn't it?."
"What are you talking about?"
Ilia turned to look Blake.
"Rose is here too, isn't she."
Blake slowly nodded, making Ilia sag further.
"I should have looked for a piece of wood harder. Can you call whatever you guys have planned off?"
Two loud cracks answered the question, and both faunus turned to watch Adam fly backwards into the wall behind him.
"Please, for the love of all that is holy, tell me this wasn't the plan."
Then they watched as what appeared to be the cloaked figure of Rose fall from the rafters into the light. She then stood, like an angel of death ready to deliver souls.
A/N: Yay, cliffhanger… please don't hate me.
So like I said earlier, I had to decide whether or not to publish. So yeah, I made the call.
So, as usual, Recap Time!
Sienna's speech. That was an impromptu scene. I wanted to give her some more screen time. But I didn't want it to be more yuri. Sorry guys, I deliver as much yuri as I can, but I do have a plot to stick to. So she got a stirring anti-racism speech. Let me know what you thought about the scene.
Adam reacting to the scene. What, thought he was only capable of blind rage? Shame on you. He's capable of bottling up his blind rage for later use. Also, for everyone who is thinking that the White Fang will just fall apart, or if they do attack Amity Arena that it will just be the end of them, me and Salem can't have that. So even though they'll have more guns than bodies to use them, there will still be enough to be a threat.
Summer and Rose on the rooftop. That was an interesting scene to write. For those that have dealt wit people with PTSD or depression, you know that there is no such thing as 'cured'. There is only 'coping'. So, that's why I had Summer do what she did. She's Supermom, but she's still just human, or faunus in this case. Also, Summer never misses a chance to tease people.
Ilia's scene. that's more fun for me. I wanted to give more insight on how Tyrian's partnership with the White Fang worked. Also to show what Ilia thought of Rose's possible plan. I mean, when when someone says "leave that to me", how often does that put you to ease.
Weiss and Cin talking. Another impromptu scene that I enjoyed writing. I wanted to have a scene with Cinder and Weiss talking with each other just for the sake of talking. I'm ashamed that they haven't had proper interactions that don't directly involve Rose. And for those of you paying attention, yes I am going there. I've told you before that the pairing in this story was Fallen White Petals. I'm sorry it took this long for me to truly start this. Though, before you get too worried about me rushing things. I will treat things with the same care that I have the others. Also this will be a 'soft pairing'. it won't be a major thing in the story, just a background point to add some extra drama.
Tyrian's little bit of introspection. That, once again, was to show how his partnership with the Fang truly works. He's there only because he's been ordered to. Salem wants the Fang to sow chaos like she did in canon. Also, despite how crazy he is, he's also proven to be quite perceptive at times. So, of course he noticed Rose and Summer, doesn't mean he had to do anything about them immediately.
Last scene. Not much to say there, everything was straight forward. The plan kicks off with a nice bit of action and dramatic entrances. Also, sorry again about the cliffhanger.
Well, that's the end of Recap Time.
I'll be getting on the next chapter soon. Hopefully, it won't take long but I can no longer make promises.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
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