"Coco, I can't begin to tell you how uncomfortable this is making me," Velvet told her wife over the comms she'd been given as she psyched herself up to enter the warehouse.

"Then just take off the mask. It's kind of gaudy anyway and the ears make it rather obvious that you aren't human," Coco reassured her as she opened the door. This wasn't like the old rallies that she'd heard about. She counted at least three or four snipers at her first sweep of the area, though the middle of the building felt more like Junior's club in its heyday as music drowned out the sounds of any thoughts that Velvet was having. She handed the flyer to one of the bouncers as she stepped all the way in and they closed the door behind her.

"A new recruit?" Crimson asked gravitating to her. She looked her over, happiness and glee filled her eyes as she took Velvet in, a bit confused over who she was. "It's hard to tell with the mask, but I don't feel like I met you this morning."

"I think I might have talked to Ebony instead," Velvet noted. Crimson frowned before laughing.

"That's a shame! She's not here, had a little run-in with a Grimm and it snapped her arm nearly in half!" Crimson cackled. "Pathetic really! Perhaps the Goddess will finally realize that I should have been her apprentice all along!"

"Is Athena here tonight," Velvet asked. Crimson nodded happily.

"Of course! We haven't had a rally like this in ages!" Crimson told her. "It's important that the new members know exactly what we stand for and that their leader is with them all of the way! She'll be making her speech soon, maybe you should stay a while!"

"I think I will, thank you," Velvet informed her as she left. "Coco, this has to be a front for something. This seems wrong. With the exception of the snipers which I'm sure they'll claim are security, nothing seems that extremist here, though it was wise of Neela to tell you to contact Yatsu, they would have destroyed him."

"Just remember the plan and if you can, get the tracker on Athena," Coco reminded her.

"Right," Velvet replied.

Meanwhile, Crimson had returned to Athena who was waiting in a back room.

"What do you plan on telling them?" Crimson asked. "And did Ebony really have a run-in with Xiao Long?" Athena gritted her teeth before standing and balled her fists.

"I told her that we had a plan, that we needed to wait until the perfect moment to strike and Ebony decided to act like another insolent follower of mine as of late!" Athena bellowed. Crimson shrunk away from her, retreating towards the door.

"I was only trying to please you!" Crimson replied sheepishly.

"It pleases me when you do nothing more than following simple instructions!" Athena shouted. "You both already have my favor, why do you two feel the need to outdo each other?!"

"Athena," the boar Faunus said as he swung his head in. "A few more minutes before you're on."

"Yes, thank you," she replied with a smile that disappeared quickly as he left.

"How long do I need to hide for?" Irving asked appearing in the corner where he'd been watching from the entire time.

"You're not allowed to show yourself for the entire night," Athena told him. "The people need to think that we absolutely do not tolerate humans and are willing to do whatever it takes to see that we get the equal rights we deserve. If they see me working with scum such as yourself they'll wonder about the legitimacy of the entire campaign." He laughed irritatedly.

"I have done an awful lot of sitting around and waiting for you," Irving complained. "There are so many faces out there that need fixing! You keep saying that this is Salem's work, but I'm not so sure that I believe you anymore." He moved towards the exit before Mattachanna grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Sit down," Mattachanna instructed him. Irving shrugged her off, smirking as he moved towards her with a knife and grabbed her face.

"This one's close and probably the youngest one here! It wouldn't take me but a half an hour or so. She really doesn't mean that much to you, does she?" He asked before Athena drove him to the wall and kept the tip of her blade pressed against his chest.

"She's the only one around here doing things exactly how I tell her to," Athena replied angrily. "I am not beyond having my girls place you right back into the same cell that they found you, Chameleon, so how about you follow the rules I've laid out for you. You need to do no more or less. The same goes for you Crimson, perhaps if Ebony is still injured by the time we proceed with our plan, Mattachanna will be the one to replace her." Athena released Irving and walked over to the Faunus from Menagerie, pulling her in close to her. "I find this rock on your staff to be quite fascinating."

"It's nothing more than ornamental," Matta told her, handing it to the woman. Athena pointed it at Irving with a smirk, swinging it lightly in hopes that she'd fry him where he stood, but she had no luck. She was disappointed, handing it back to its owner.

"So it would seem," Athena claimed as the door was thrown open again and Irving went invisible.

"They're ready for you!" The boar let her know. She nodded, straightening herself out as Crimson checked her over. Ebony spilled into the room as the man vacated to let Athena out, Crimson covered her mouth and looked away, trying to conceal her satisfaction.

"There's my bastard child," Athena replied disappointed as she headed out for the stage. Ebony seethed as she looked at Crimson, marching over and grabbing her with her right arm, her left in a sling.

"You were going to help me jump Yang, and then you were gone!" Ebony yelled.

"I don't recall this conversation," Crimson replied smugly.

"This was going to save us months of work and you were finally going to get her approval or whatever the hell it is that you're trying to achieve with her," Ebony shouted. "She already sleeps with you, what the hell more can she do that would be better in that messed up bloodthirsty head of yours?!"

"I want to be her protege!" Crimson replied loudly.

"Do you two ever stop fighting?" Sirius asked entering the room. They both glanced at him.

"You're not supposed to be back here," Crimson said as she broke free from Ebony and smiled at him, walking towards him with a seductive sway in her hips. "But I'm glad that you are."

"Aren't you the one that was kicked out of the Fang for giving the police information about Fang activity?" Ebony asked.

"You have me confused for someone else," Sirius said kissing Crimson who giggled and winked at Ebony. Ebony was appalled.

"So then you aren't Fang?" Ebony asked.

"I was," Sirius told her. "But apparently public murder is frowned upon by this group when private murder is just fine."

"It's bad press," Crimson told him.

"Of course," Sirius replied. "I'm here to speak with Athena once she's finished. Mercury wants to make sure that she's going to uphold her end of the deal."

"You thieves are never satisfied with being given an answer one time, are you?" Crimson asked.

"It's in our nature to trust no one," Sirius told her.

"Isn't this a lovely sight!" Athena shouted out as she took the mic and she was greeted with thunderous applause as the entire crowd turned their attention to her. Velvet's ears perked up and she watched the woman, flowing slowly through the crowd to avoid being noticed. "I am Athena Taurus if you weren't already aware, and I'm glad that you've decided to join us on our journey towards equality akin to the rights that the humans hold that we don't. There are just as many Faunus as there are humans, so why don't we have equal representation in the council? This is just one of the many things that they hold over us. None of the sitting headmasters are Faunus and the entire kingdom of Mistral has turned cold towards our kind. We deserve better than this!"

"Yeah!" Cheered the majority of the crowd.

"I am not my brother," Athena said lowering her voice. "We will not resort to violence. We will march on city hall and fill the parks and vacant lots! We will protest peacefully where we will be seen, and we will not stop until they meet our demands with the rights and representation that we deserve! They will give us half of the council, they will use the military to eradicate those that stand against us and kill us in the east!" Another ear-shattering roar of approval swept through the building as Velvet reached the front.

"Coco, I don't think this is going to work, they'll shoot me down before I reach her," Velvet declared clapping and nodding as she glanced around.

"Wait for an opening!" Coco instructed her. Velvet pocketed the tracker and removed her camera, opting to take a picture of Wilt and Blush instead.

"I don't think we'll get another chance!" Velvet replied loudly.

"Tomorrow we'll have a chance to show off our numbers!" Athena continued. "The former Teams RWBY and JNPR are facing off in the Vytal arena in Vale and we have every right to stand outside of that arena and remind them that we can't simply be swept under the rug. I look forward to seeing you all there, and there on out." Athena looked directly at Velvet for a long few seconds before leaving the stage.

"That was underwhelming," Velvet told Coco as she headed for Athena's room but was cut off.

"You lost?" The man asked Velvet.

"I was hoping for an autograph or something of the sort," Velvet replied. "It's understandable if I can't see her."

"She's very busy," he insisted. "Sorry." She laughed and patted the side of his face.

"It's fine, cheers!" She replied leaving. She made her way quickly towards the docks but was cut off halfway through one of the alleys. Sirius groaned as he slouched and lumbered towards her.

"I'm normally a gentleman as of late but it can't be bothered with a White Fang scum like you. You're the reason that I used to have a shitty life. I tried to lead a normal routine, but the humans harassed me constantly because they saw the Fang as the poster child for all Faunus," Sirius exclaimed.

"Were you at the rally?" Velvet questioned.

"Wouldn't be out here if I wasn't," Sirius replied. "Athena noticed you taking pictures. You made her kind of nervous." Velvet laughed reaching her hand out slowly.

"Can't imagine why," Velvet replied as she removed her mask. Sirius frowned and reached for his own bone blade.

"I know you," Sirius said charging in. She swung around using Sun's gun chucks, batting his blows away with the staff before catching a bone chain with the chains of her own weapon. They glanced at each other in a moment of confusion as he leapt back, Velvet swinging around Crescent Rose before firing at him and narrowly missing as he leapt and landed on the side of one of the alley walls, running across it as she continued laying fire.

"I'm guessing yours doesn't have a gun option," she joked as he dove for her with a longsword configuration. She caught it with Yatsu's blade, tossing him back as she opened fire with Coco's gun.

"Doesn't need it!" He told her, swinging two hooks around on a newly formed bone chain and catching Velvet who was dragged for a moment before being planted into a wall. The brick smashed, satisfying Sirius as he slowly made his way towards her, expecting to declare victory and take her back to Athena to deal with her. He didn't have enough time to evade as he came steps away, Velvet's light versions of Ember Celica slammed into his chest and threw him away as she wrapped him in Blake's ribbon for Gambol Shroud as she took off running. He struggled, unable to free himself and frustrated as she finally exited her weapon's range and he stumbled out of the bind.

"That was pathetic," Athena muttered approaching him from the direction of the building.

"You were watching the whole time?" Sirius asked annoyed.

"It looks like Stardust needs all of the help that it can get," Athena stated. "I already told him that as long as he upholds his end of the bargain, I will provide him with his men, he can't really be that dense, can he?"

"He insisted that I come here tonight anyway to be sure, he knows that you aren't the most personable you can be while dealing with humans," Sirius mentioned.

"Should I be?" Athena asked. "Soon, I won't need to worry about them in the slightest. They'll be ants beneath my boots, and they'll realize the mistake that they made."

"What happens when other Faunus stand in your way?" Sirius asked. She shot him a fearsome glare.

"Are you planning on doing so?" Athena questioned.

"I wouldn't dream of it, but what about the Xiao Long girl? It's my understanding that she…" Sirius began but was cut off with a finger to his lips.

"Neela will join me soon enough, she'll have no choice but to," Athena explained. She headed back towards the warehouse and Sirius waited for her to reenter the rally. Sirius shrugged, dragging his sword behind him on the ground. He removed his scroll and dialed Mercury.

"And?" Mercury asked.

"It's all a front to make the humans think they've got more fighters than they actually have," Sirius said. "If they survive through the summer, they'll be easy to pick off."

Neela opened her eyes, stretching gently in the heat of the sun as she looked up through the trees and noted the storm clouds that had loomed above the night before had been swept away before the break of dawn. It was early in the summer, so the rolling waves of warmth that greeted her were to be expected, even if the position of the sun above suggested that she had probably slept in for much longer than she should have. Her arm was still sore from the unexpected run in from the night before that pitted her against two packs of Ursa that she normally would have had no trouble defeating, only she was already asleep by the time that they came across her and she was woken up by being thrown against a tree.

It would be fine, it wasn't broken and right now they had far worse things that they needed to concern themselves with other than Neela's health, though she knew it was more than likely that Athena would ask her about it at the slightest notion of pain. She shrugged it off, she owed to Athena to ignore it and shake off any pain that she was feeling, the White Fang had done everything for Neela and she owed her life to them. She could still recall the night that her parents had died in the attack by the humans and Athena had taken her in out of the kindness of her heart. Athena was her savior and Neela owed everything to her. She picked up her bow and swept the perimeter one last time to detect any potential human movement, but came up empty and decided that is was safe of head back to camp.

Children ran past her laughing and playing as Neela picked up a ball that rolled past her and looked down the way towards the play area. The village had roughly ten children that were between the ages of 8 and 12, the largest boom since Neela's generation, but all of the others that were her age had been killed by Atlas in the attack. She swept up the ball, bouncing it lightly to a small girl that ran to her with a crown of flowers on her head.

"Thank you, sissy!" The girl replied as she happily skipped away with it before being chased down by her friends. Neela beamed at them for a long moment before her thoughts were interrupted by someone just beyond the beginning of the woods.

"These kids just love you, don't they?" Joseph said as he waited for her to join him. She shook her head with a smile on her face, slapping him hard on the back and he cringed as he quickly stepped away from her, seething slightly. "Not so hard, Neela! My body's still sore from yesterday." She gave him a puzzled look and he remembered. "That's right, you weren't around yesterday. More of Athena's insane training regiment. Muscles that I wasn't aware existed hurt on me right now."

"She was worried enough about me to send you out here?" Neela asked as they continued towards the opposite end of the camp. Joseph laughed, genuinely at first before devolving into a sarcastic pity chuckle towards the end.

"I'm not so sure that Athena would worry about you," Joseph told her. "Not because she doesn't care, but she's sure that there's no reason to. You've been on more perilous missions than border patrol."

"I was attacked by some Grimm," Neela mentioned. He looked at her before checking her over, stopping her in her tracks.

"Are you alright?" Joseph inquired. She pushed him away and continued along, rolling her eyes and sighing.

"I'm fine," she exhaled. "I just don't understand why you worry so much about me."

"If you end up injured, it's my neck," Joseph reminded her. "Even if it's unavoidable, or I didn't influence the incident directly. Athena told me to find her the perfect student, and she expects perfection." She smirked. "So if you die, at least shoot me a text first."

"Joseph!" She gasped hitting him in the shoulder. Something cracked in the back of her mind, a campfire and the winter. Her parents? Where was she? It was summer, but she felt a cool, damp, air on her skin. Joseph looked at her with a questioning gaze.

"You coming?" He asked her leading the way. She shook it off, ignoring the strange sensation of being out of place for the moment as she closed the gap between them, stepping into a larger hut and hitting her knees as soon as Athena rounded the corner.

"Athena," Neela greeted her as Joseph knelt and bowed his head as well.

"You may stand," she instructed. Neela found her feet first, bowing in thanks to Athena before the woman rubbed the top of her head and messed up her hair. "There's no need to act formal around me, child. Tell me, how was your patrol yesterday? Hopefully, it didn't prove too tedious for someone of your ability." Neela chuckled.

"It was relaxing to have a day to myself out in the woods learning the new terrain, not to mention the stars will always bring me comfort knowing that my parents are among them. It was rather uneventful, but I managed," Neela explained. "It's a shame that they died in the Atlesian Raid, I would have like to have known them better." Athena smiled wickedly as she glanced out of the window of the hut and motioned for Joseph to leave.

"I'm glad that you mentioned that," Athena told her. Joseph left the two of them in silence and Athena opted to lead Neela out the back door into the woods. "Let me begin by telling you that I can hardly properly express just what you've meant to me and the other Faunus here with us. You've saved countless lives from Grimm, you've kept the humans from finding us on several occasions, you even managed to tame some of that unbridled rage within Crimson."'

"It was nothing," Neela insisted. "I only want to do what's best for us."

"Tonight is your night to shine!" Athena exclaimed excitedly. "We're going to strike the humans where it hurts the worst so that they understand that we are never to be messed with ever again. There's a group of students at Beacon that the teachers and world have been raving about, claiming that they'll be the next line of defense against threats of peace…" Athena looked at Neela, staring into her eyes. "I want the humans to see just how easy it is to destroy these peacekeepers, their beacons of hope as it were. If we snuff out the light there's only room for darkness, and the White Fang will see to it that the proper Faunus are placed in charge of the new Remnant. You will lead by my side, Neela!"

"An honor that will truly be all mine," Neela informed her. In the back of her mind, the vigil before her flickered, she looked down to see that she was lying weak in a pile of snow, blood staining the purity of the scene as a woman kept the building around her from falling.

"Are you ready?" Athena asked breaking Neela's concentration on the illusion. Neela nodded.

"Of course," Neela replied.

That evening she entered the city, the market district bustling as always as she spotted her target, the students purchasing wares from vendors that lined the street as they talked to each other about their day. She perched herself on top of one of the nearby buildings for a long moment as she used her ability to assess the situation, waiting for the right moment to strike. One of them was tall and strong, green-haired, and professional in stature beside one of the girls, lean and covered in tattoos with a well-toned body. The girl with purple hair caught her off guard, she wasn't sure that she'd ever seen anyone more captivating, through she was clearly occupied with her friend who was wearing a hoodie, making it difficult to distinguish any features.

Neela's mind flashed back to another moment, another memory that she wasn't sure where it'd come from. The attractive girl below standing right in front of her, caressing her cheek, touching the braid in her hair. It felt too real and calming. She shook it off, this was no time to freeze, they needed to be taken out and quickly. She fired an arrow that struck the tall one in the back, stopping him for a moment as they all turned to look at him in shock. His body became stone as it exploded, the common among them ran and screamed, looking for whatever cover they could find as Neela leapt down and confronted them.

"The White Fang, huh?" asked the tat'd girl. Neela dodged an attack from the Atlesian, his origin quickly identifiable by his uniform and she backflipped away from several shots from the girl in the tank top. She was thrown back by Eliana…

"Elli?" Neela asked. She cringed, dropping to her knees as the memories flooded her.

"Neela, are you alright?" Eliana asked her. The humans were the enemy… They couldn't be trusted! Neela swung around, coming up empty as she was lifted from the ground and carried out of the building by Blake. She was a child once more, she'd been rescued by… by a Faunus and a human. She didn't want to return to the Fang!

"Where are your parents?" Yang asked as she pushed herself up out of the snow. Neela continued to cry into Blake's chest, unable to hear Yang over her wailing. Blake pulled her in closer and looked at Yang, shaking her head. Blake could tell that this girl was alone. She had been there once before herself. Neela's breathing slowed as she remembered Blake's words. We'll keep you safe.

"Did you find Admon?" Ironwood asked as he approached them quickly and stopped.

"No," Blake told him as she held Neela closer to her, the girl clinging as tightly as she could despite feeling light-headed and the pain setting in after her shock had subsided.

"Who is this?" Ironwood asked.

"Her name is Neela," Blake informed him. "She needs medical attention." Ironwood looked at them before Yang whispered in his ear and he nodded once.

"I see," Ironwood replied removing his scroll. "I'll get someone over here to look at her right away and she can return to Atlas with us for further evaluation."

"No," Yang said sternly. Neela watched her through tear blurred eyes as she felt herself beginning to slip into unconsciousness. "She stays with us until we find her a home." It was the last thing that Neela remembered, and the first of endless kind acts that she'd never forget. Her eyes shot open, finding herself in an abyss that she slowly stood up in and tested the transparent flooring with her feet. There was nothing as far as she could see, only a darkness with a figure that stood at the far end, her red accents and highlights glowing, as well as her blade.

"They'll only hurt you in the end," Athena called out."Rejoin me, it's not too late to fix what you've done, to correct the brainwashing that they must have used to get to you."

"Why do you need me to return so badly?" Neela called out in anger. "Aren't you strong enough to do it on your own?" Athena gritted her teeth, teleporting instantly to Neela and swinging at the girl. She closed her eyes, confused when she didn't feel the blade cut through her and opened them to find Yang and Blake blocking her.

"You're the one that wants to hurt her," Yang replied. "Humans and Faunus can live together."

"Athena's word is absolute!" Crimson yelled from Neela's right, only to be stopped by Titus who appeared out of thin air.

"Yet you follow her blindly," Titus refuted.

"They'll betray you when you least expect it," Ebony shouted throwing her daggers. Ilia caught them as she leapt out of Neela.

"It wasn't because Raven was human, it's because she was a coward," Ilia informed her.

"They're in Menagerie now… they plan on laying waste to the only thing we can claim as our own," Mattachanna told them as she fired her staff. Eliana created a forcefield around the two of them, standing back to back with Neela.

"Athena hasn't given you the whole story," Eliana said.

"Enough," Athena screamed. Everyone but Athena disappeared, leaving the two of them staring each other down as Neela now found her blade in her hand. "If you won't return, you'll die with them."

"No," Neela replied. "I'll die for them. If that's what it takes. You can't control me, Athena. That's why you can't just turn away and let me be. That's why you can't just kill me like you will the rest of them, whether their Faunus or Human. I refuse to fear you any longer." Neela blocked a swipe from Athena and knocked her back, her eyes activating as she sprinted in, dodging to attacks which she saw ahead of time and slicing through Athena, the woman disappearing into smoke.

"They'll betray you," Athena's voice echoed. "All of them…"

Seems like the Fang have a plan to force the council's hand, but will it work? Next week, Chapter 106 - RWBY vs JNPR!

A big thank you to Helihi, Cadhla182, Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.

Until next week, stay classy!