"I must say, High Leader, I am greatly disappointed in your actions here today." The head council member said with a bow of the head in the direction of Velvet, Adam, and High Leader Khan. He wore a white robe that was fringed with red along the hood. His eyes caught Velvet off-guard the moment that he flashed them in their direction upon their entrance into the ornate hall. They were olive green, with the pupils mere slits, much like the cat's that she had seen in Valkryite.
He was surrounded by eight other council members, four on each side of him. Their own robes were the total opposite of the Brother in the center, red robes with a white fringe on the hood. All of them had a long, oak V-shaped table that separated themselves from the rest of the room. Their hands were uniformly crossed over each other on the edge of the section of the table in front of them, warily eyeing the trio as they walked in from the shadows of their hoods.
At each ends of the table stood a large, sleeveless guard with a long spear primed to strike. They bore the masks of the White Fang, the only difference from theirs and Adam's being only the fact that they totally covered their faces, and that said masks had a grey tint about them. Upon the party's arrival, that placed themselves in defensive positions, presumably ready to die for their leaders. This only elicited a laugh from High Leader Khan, and she waved her hands up in the air as welcome. The one on the right cocked her head, causing her purple ponytail to bob off to the side. It struck Velvet that she was investigating this new arrival, gauging what may happen. Khan noticed as well, and offered but a subtle nod in the direction of the guard. She nodded as well, and moved to a less awkward position.
"What part of my actions are you referring to, Brother Olivander?" High Leader Khan asked with a defiant tone in her voice. She smirked in the direction of her Council, which, judging from the tensing of Brother Olivander's palm over his closed fist on the table, made him extremely nervous. Velvet could sense the tension in the air, but said nothing. Rather, she let her eyes wander over the extremely ornate hall in which they had found themselves, taking in the illustrious design and architecture.
The floor was black marble with white engravings of a pair of Ursa being overpowered by a single warrior bearing a mask that matched theirs. It paralleled the statue that had a place in the town square of Valkryite, making Velvet uneasy. Behind the Council members rested a series of portraits that featured past High Leaders of the White Fang. Velvet couldn't help but notice their expressions as she ran her eyes across the paintings. All of them had solemn expressions, with their hands crossed over their laps, garbed in conservative robes. High Leader Khan was the exception, with her flashy outfit and smile of superiority, as if she truly believed that all of the previous leaders were merely placeholders for her.
"I am referring to the fact that you almost instantly brought this strange girl into our camps without any precautions whatsoever. How are we to whether or not she is a spy or not? Do you seriously expect us to merely let her in, just because you say so? We have to make sure of our own safety on the home-front before fortifying our own numbers. For all we know, she is indeed a spy from the Kingdoms and you have damned us all by letting her in. These are the actions that I am speaking of, High Leader. This is why we have a High Council in order, High Leader Khan. We must ensure that we all are acting efficiently for the betterment of the White Fang. If we go off and act only how we ourselves see fit, then the entire system falls to pieces. As saddened as I am to say this, we must not let this girl be the one to destroy our systems. Order is the key to any group's survival, along with cooperation. This organization in particular requires it more than any other. I need to make sure that you are totally prepared to cooperate with us, High Leader. A good way to start is by showing the slightest bit of complacency and removing her from our camp."
High Leader Khan lifted her head back and cackled in a manner that made the Councilmembers go rigid. "Complacency? You speak of unity, yet you tell me that I must be put on a leash that you put around my throat. You speak of trust, yet you undermine my own judgement." High Leader Khan turned to Adam, and smiled. "Oh, Brother Adam. Where before have we seen such hypocrisy? My mind seems to fail me."
Adam snarled, and looked at Brother Olivander with a rage that Velvet had not made a habit of seeing. "From the humans. These so-called Brothers and Sisters are attempting to undermine your authority. It seems as if they seek to take your power from your hands and replace it with themselves."
"I can't help but agree with you, Brother Adam. Now, perhaps you can refresh my memory. What is the word for such an action again?" She asked in a facetious tone, the smirk failing to leave her face.
"The word that you're looking for is 'treason', High Leader."
Once again, High Leader Khan cackled. She wiped a tear of amusement from her eye with the flick of her finger.
"Hmm. Treason. Quite the serious offense, Brother Olivander. What do you and the others have to say in light of such accusations?"
All of the High Council members stood up out of their seats in outrage and began to shout. They pointed accusing fingers at Velvet, Khan and Adam. Velvet looked warily at the other two, who looked oddly confident for the grim predicament that they had helped create. It was then that she realized the events were intentional, calculated. What the endgame was, she had yet to find out.
Brother Olivander calmed his colleagues down, giving them calming words to assuage the rage that had filled them all. After several seconds like this, the last of them took their place in their seats and begrudgingly looked over to the aggressors before them. As soon as they did, Olivander did the same with a dark gaze. "You ask what we have to say in the light of such allegations. You accuse us all of high treason, when all we want is mere cooperation, a unity between two groups working toward the same goal. I speak for all of us when I say that we are not going to lay down and let you demonize us. As sad as I am to say it, High Leader, but we find these talks of yours...highly unsettling. Until further notice, I'm afraid that we must invest all power in the High Council until we are certain of your place within the White Fang. By no means is this political sabotage. You've brought this on yourself."
To Velvet's surprise, the smile on Khan and Adam's face did not waver. Rather, they seemed to get bigger.
"Do you know what the first game was that I learned after my parents were killed? Did I ever tell you that story?"
"Stop stalling, High Leader. Guards, apprehend them." Brother Olivander waved his hand and pointed at the trio in front of them. Only one of them moved. The second guard, the one that had a ponytail in tow, stayed put, attracting the attention of the Council members next to her.
High Leader Khan refused to stop speaking, despite the advancing guard. "It was chess. Do you know the most important part to winning a game of chess?" Without a warning, she sped towards the guard, drawing the same dagger that she had sliced Velvet's palm with earlier. With the same speed and precision as before, High Leader Khan ran the length of the blade across an exposed section of the guard's throat. The entire action was complete so fast that Velvet was sure she was the only one who could see it.
"The most important lesson is to always stay two steps ahead. Sister Bernadette is well-aware of that." As soon as she said this, the ponytailed guard stepped away from the Council, to their shock, and took her place next to High Leader Khan. Their attention on this was short lived, however, as they fully registered the other guard who was dying before them.
All that anyone else could have seen was the guard desperately clutching his neck, trying to stop the blood that was profusely flowing from his neck. He dropped to his knees in a matter of seconds, tilting his head upwards to High Leader Khan. She leaned down to the guard, and whispered.
"The lines were drawn, and you had your choice. You picked your allegiance, and now you're paying the price for it."
High Leader Khan stood herself back up and planted a firm foot in the chest of the guard, furiously kicking him down onto the ground. He remained still, his hand falling from his throat and falling into the pool of blood that had already begun to pool under his head and the area surrounding.
The Council members gasped in shock, some lifting their hands to cover their mouths.
"Khan! That poor boy had nothing to do with this! He did not deserve to die!" Brother Olivander exclaimed, gesturing to the dead body in front of him. High Leader Khan pointed the bloody knife towards the High Council.
"This is what complacency gets you! This is what happens when you lay down and become docile in the face of adversity! This is what happens when you allow yourself to be pushed around, like the humans did with us for so long! You imply me to be treasonous? No. The real treason is you corrupting this poor boy with your twisted thoughts, with your complicated way of function, with your thirst to be in control, to feel included. You are the real monsters here, not me. You are the ones not fit to be in such a position of power…not I. Because of this, I will give you the same verdict that you tried to impress upon poor Velvet here. I want you to leave. This is the only time that I will ask."
Brother Olivander scoffed and looked from member to member of the High Council.
"You don't seriously expect us to simply step down and allow someone as tyrannical as yourself to take over? It would be the equivalent as handing an insane man a loaded weapon. Oh, no. I'm sorry. This is the exact same thing. So, no. We will not step down."
High Leader Khan looked down, then replaced her gaze on the people in front of her.
"I know that you wouldn't. From the moment that I began this, I knew that you would die before you would retract the democratic portion of our governing. Despite this, I knew that it would eat at me if I didn't first give you the option."
Fully aware of his situation, Brother Olivander did the unthinkable: he smiled. He bowed to High Leader Khan, then looked once more to his colleagues to ensure they were all aware where it was that fate was intending them to go. They all nodded and offered each other a serene smile before they each pulled black sabers from underneath their table. All of them calmly walked out from behind their table and stood in a line before the trio that was threatening to overthrow them.
"I trust you know that there is only one way that it can end?" Olivander calmly asked of Khan.
Khan nodded. "Of course I do. May the gods grant you all safe passage."
"I will tell you four the same. May they forgive your transgressions against them and us."
For a brief moment, the world around them grew deadly silent. It was as if the world of Remnant had stopped to let them settle their dispute. Not even the birds outside made any noises, or the groups that had previously been busy at work outside. A sound of the air being cut drew Velvet's attention towards High Leader Khan. She had bared her fangs and drew the claws that Velvet had previously not known about. Adam slowly drew his own saber, a red contrast to the ones that each of the High Council bore. Velvet, effectively terrified of the carnage that threatened to rock the hall around them, refused to draw any weapons.
"Velvet." High Leader Khan called out just above a whisper.
"Yes, High Leader?" Velvet replied, feeling awkward as the words left her lips. She did not see this woman as anything more than just that, and did not feel comfortable with referring to her as anything more.
"If you survive this, I am going to consider this your first real test as a member of the White Fang. Should anyone attack you, I do not expect anything less than their total extermination. If someone decides to pick a fight, you will dish back whatever they throw twice as hard. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes. I will do your bidding." Velvet was lying through her teeth, but she refrained from letting High Leader Khan know that.
One of the Council members stepped forward and raised her blade toward Khan. "Enough talk, traitor. We end this here and now." Khan laughed and threw a clawed hand into the abdomen of the council member. She let out a loud groan and grimaced as she looked down at the bloody spot that began to fill her midsection.
"Oh, Sister Indigo. You didn't think that I would go that easily, did you?" High Leader Khan stroked Sister Indigo's cheek as the blood began to stream from the corner of her mouth. To her surprise, however, Sister Indigo let out a small chuckle.
"Oh, Sienna," She replied in a mocking tone, sneering in the face of her assassin. "How could you possibly be so naïve to think that I was? I'm not you. I may be a bitch, but I'm not a little pussy." Sister Indigo wiggled her dog ears through her hood and bared her own fangs in spite of High Leader Khan's. It took Velvet a moment to register the double entendre, but she couldn't help but chuckle under her breath. Sister Indigo snapped at High Leader Khan's throat, forcing Khan to remove her hand from the gut of Indigo and jump backwards. Indigo took this opportunity to wildly swing at Khan, letting the sword fly from her hand and advance towards Khan. With an open palm, High Leader Khan slapped it away, sending it into the chest of Sister Bernadette. She clutched at her breastplate, trying in vain to remove the sword from her body. Failing, she fell to the floor with a loud thud, dead. Enraged, Khan rushed her eight adversaries, clutching nearby Sister Indigo to the point of making her bleed, and thrust her at the other seven. Three of the Council members were knocked down to the ground by their comrade, losing their swords in the process.
Brother Olivander commanded his faction to charge at the three who stood before them. Velvet felt a shock of anxiety as the five remaining Council members did as they were commanded and charged Velvet, Adam, and High Leader Khan. They cried out in fury that echoed throughout the wide hall. Velvet felt her ears perk in anxiety and her neck hair stand on end.
Khan was targeted by Brother Olivander and the nearest Council member to him, keeping her from attacking herself with their accurate strikes against her. She was only able to deflect the attacks with her dagger and a second short sword that she drew from a hidden sheath strapped over her back.
She glanced over to Velvet briefly before she was forced to return her attention to the task at hand. Adam was busy as well, his adversaries and himself performing the same tactics on each other, leading to a stalemate between the two groups. Velvet had little time to worry about that, however.
"Die, you damned blood-traitor!" The one Council member bellowed as he swung towards Velvet. She was only able to protect herself at the last minute by raising an armored gauntlet towards the blade, sending sparks between them. Velvet did not fight back, unaware of how she would be able to combat a trained murderer. Until she could figure it out, Velvet resorted to dodging the Councilman's attacks by diving out of the way. This only worked for so long, however.
"Sister Velvet, why do you hold back against such a deadly foe? Remember what I told you. Remember what you promised me." High Leader Khan said breathlessly as she struggled to fight back against her old comrades.
Velvet sighed and knew that, were she to survive this encounter, High Leader Khan would certainly kill her herself should she fail to eliminate the threat to her life. There was only one option other than death, and Velvet knew it. That was when she went on the offensive.
She waited until the Councilman attempted to strike once more, then she activated her Aura. With this, Velvet tightly gripped the blade of her sword and threw it away clear across the room. A look of shock filled his eyes for only a moment before he regained his composure. "Very well, little girl. I do not need a blade to dispatch you." He threw a punch at Velvet and connected with her jawline. Velvet fell to the floor, yet quickly regained her footing. She summoned a Hard-Light copy of a Warhammer, and wasted no time in throwing the full brunt of the head into the chest of the Councilman, sending him flying into the air across the hall. This attracted the attention of everyone else in the room, including the three that had regained their senses and lifted the body of dead Sister Indigo off of them.
Contrary to what she wanted however, this attracted their attention, and Velvet was offered three new opponents. The three of them charged at Velvet, in the same fashion as their comrades did before. Desperate, Velvet drew Icarina's bow and arrow. She launched a barrage of explosive arrows at the three, hoping to impede on their advance. Her gamble paid off, the arrows creating a large explosion that effectively eliminated any threat. Velvet couldn't help but notice that none of them moved when the cleared smoke made them evident. While this concerned Velvet, the call of her host brought her attention elsewhere.
"Velvet! Your abilities would be much appreciated over here!" High Leader Khan beckoned.
Velvet nodded and ran over to Adam's and High Leader Khan's positions. She performed the same action that she did before, giving the two enough time to move away from the large, deafening explosions that filled the hall. The High Council members flew through the air, their bodies twisting at unnatural angles as they hit the walls, the window panes, and other assorted areas of the hall. It was her intent to not seriously harm any of them, as she always tried to do, yet Velvet couldn't shake the feeling that she had failed to do so.
She covered her eyes as the flash filled the room, only removing her hand when the ringing stopped in her ears. Bodies were strewn all across the floor, in all types of angles. Some of them were stained with blood, like the body of Brother Olivander. His white cloak was stained with blood in various areas of his body, and Velvet knew not whether it was her doing. Of the others, she watched intensely for any signs of life from any of them. After a small passage of time, she caught sight of Adam walking through the bodies, watching for the same thing that she was. Every so often, he would find someone breathing, and waste no time in snuffing it out. Velvet covered her mouth in terror.
Just as she was about to cry out in objection, Velvet felt a firm hand on her shoulder. She looked to see High Leader Khan standing at her side, gazing at the same gruesome scene with a solemn expression. She said nothing in regards to Adam's ruthless and undignified execution of any survivors. Rather, she stayed silent for several minutes, following Adam's trail of destruction.
"I know what you are thinking, but this is a necessary sacrifice, Sister Velvet. You must realize that these people had to die for the greater good of the White Fang. We could not have moved on, should they have had their way." High Leader Khan.
Velvet sniffled, scrunching her nose to fight the tears back into their ducts.
"I—I understand. I agree with you. A…necessary sacrifice for the betterment of the group." Velvet lied. It made her physically sick to have to agree, let alone repeat the words of the insane High Leader.
"I'm glad to hear that, Sister Velvet. In time, you will come to agree with our ideals and work to actively make them a reality. What happened here today made me even surer that you are, with training and time, more than capable of doing just that. You performed exceptionally well under such stress today, and did not hesitate to protect your fellow Faunus when they were under duress. I turn, I hope you see just how much of a sacrifice that Brother Adam and myself made for you today. We put so much trust in you that we were able to abdicate the ties that we had with the people you see before you and defend your place within the White Fang. I pray that you realize how much this means, and how connected we are from this point on. This is where the bonds of loyalty are forged, Sister Velvet, and they are already showing to be very strong indeed."
Velvet didn't listen much to what Khan had to say. She didn't feel like what she did should be praised. She had killed people who, granted, had wanted to kill her, had no reason to die. She felt like she was the pawn in a dramatic shift in power, and this made her feel dirty. Deep down, Velvet knew that there was nothing that High Leader Khan valued her for other than her raw power, her convenient appearance into the White Fang's camps, and the potential she had to become one of her little cronies, as Adam appeared to be. It made her nauseous to think of how she had been used in this manner, and pushed it to the back of her mind.
Adam heard all of this, and paused his slow execution of the High Council to scowl at High Leader Khan and Velvet. "I wouldn't put so much faith in this girl, High Leader. When I found her, she looked as if she was actively trying to end her life. As for the events that transpired here today, I saw no form of loyalty. All that I saw was the desperate actions of a stupid girl interested only in keeping herself alive while holding on to her childish ideals. You may speak for yourself, High Leader, but I do not feel that she is worthy of our trust. Not yet."
High Leader Khan pinched the bridge of her nose and looked to the ground. "If I wanted your opinion, Brother Adam, I would ask for it. I trust Sister Velvet, and that is the only opinion that matters for the time being. Should you have some form of dissent with that, I suggest that you keep it to yourself. I have no time in meddling with your selfish thoughts. We have much bigger issues to deal with, like keeping the peace in this period of transition for the White Fang. The change from democracy to a single-woman autocracy will surely make great waves in the communities throughout the four Kingdoms, but we will silence the naysayers and ensure that this moves as smoothly as our last transition went."
All that Adam could muster for a reply was "Yes, High Leader." before he went back to impaling the laying High Council, with more of a sadistic fervor than before. When he was finished, he joined Velvet and High Leader Khan at their side.
"What do we do now, High Leader? As you said, the people will surely want a response as to what happened with the High Council's…removal from power. What shall we tell them?"
High Leader Khan removed her hand from Velvet's shoulder, walking slowly towards the opposite side of the room. She snapped her fingers and slowly spun on her heels with a grin on her face.
"We tell them the truth. We will tell the people that we came to the High Council with a new approach to how the organization could be run, along with a new recruit that we hoped would have their blessing. They reacted in an unfavorable manner, to our surprise, and attempted to have us killed. Unfortunately, in the battle that ensued, they were all killed, instead. We will tell them, that, in light of such tragic events, I will take it upon myself to lead this group until new members can be found for a new High Council."
"But there won't be a new High Council, will there?" Adam said with a smirk. It was then that Velvet's worst fears were realized, and that she was but a pawn to push them towards their own goal of a schism in the White Fang.
"Of course not. Brother Olivander, bless his soul, was a blinded man. He lived life with blinders on, never willing to see the new or take fresh ideas on things. You saw that personally, Sister Velvet. She was so distrustful that he was perfectly fine with throwing a perfectly good recruit like you out into the dangerous outside world, all over a little paranoia." High Leader Khan paused a second, then continued. "I must admit, however, that he was right about one little detail about myself. I hate sharing things, and if I am put in a position of power, that fact comes out even more. Such a lucky thing that I was born an only child." She said with a grin and a reflective look at a pool of blood she was standing in. "Progress waits for no one, and only the ones with the courage and the will to change the world around them survive when it comes through."
Velvet nodded and agreed with the words that came from High Leader Khan's mouth. As much as she hated to admit it, Khan was right. Her philosophy was a violent parallel to that of her own, and that scared her. The notion that she could have anything in common with such a violent tyrant frightened her. It would later make her wonder what it said about her direction in life, and whether or not she was on a course for the same destructive path that Khan had found herself on. She didn't care to think about that any more than she had to, and did her damnedest not to, as was the case with many things that secretly scarred the fabric of her mind.
"When do you feel would be the best time to carry out this phase of the plan? No doubt that the Brothers and Sisters around have heard the commotion and will soon converge to investigate what has happened." Brother Adam asked. High Leader Khan placed her hands on Adam's shoulders and looked into the visor of his mask, where his eyes were concealed.
"As they always say, Brother Adam, there is no time like the present. We will meet whoever is likely eavesdropping outside the doors and we will ask them to gather all of the Brothers and Sisters around for a meeting. We will tell them what has been discussed exactly according to plan, and we will answer any questions that they have. Afterwards, we will tell them to spread the news to other camps. Before the sun has set, the entirety of the White Fang will be made aware of the changes that have made their way into our world. All according to plan." High Leader Khan stroked Adam's cheek with her fingertips and moved towards the large doors to the hall. Velvet could hear people shuffling away from the doors, anticipating that High Leader Khan would open them in a wide and furious manner.
This was exactly what she did, putting her hands on her hips to meet the gazes of several masked members waiting at the edge of the steps of the High Council's chambers. Upon seeing her, they immediately bowed to one knee and looked to the ground.
"Greetings, my fellow Brothers and Sisters! I trust you are here to investigate what in the name of the gods' has happened! I will be happy to answer whatever questions that you may have…once you gather the rest of the camp to meet for a meeting here. Only then will I feel comfortable with explaining the tragic events that have happened behind these doors today." She rapped on the nearest door for punctuation. "Do I make myself clear?" She said, her voice taking on a more stern tone.
The members rose from their knees and slammed a fist against the area of flesh and armor that covered their hearts. They stood erect for a moment. "Yes, High Leader!" They shouted in unison before walking off to different places in the camp. Once they had effectively dispersed, Velvet watched closely as High Leader Khan casually strolled back to Adam and Velvet, who were left to wait for her to attend to the members outside. Out of fear, Velvet had elected the strategy of not looking at Adam unless she were forced to do so. The man aggravated her and made her fearful for her life whenever he was more than several meters away, and she hated him for that.
"What do we do now, High Leader?" Adam asked as soon as High Leader Khan was close enough for him to use a relatively quiet tone of voice.
"What did I—? Oh, never mind. I suppose now is not the time to be scolding you for such a small rule. It's understandable. Just don't make a habit of it. To answer your question, Brother Adam, we will do what have been doing ever since we have become acquainted and since I have come into power. We'll wait. These people will not question us. The ones that do will be taken care of. All we need do is tell them what they need to hear and reap the rewards of our righteous efforts. All we need do…is show a little patience for our comrades. That…and perhaps arranging the bodies of our fallen comrades in a more dignified manner. Sister Velvet, help Brother Adam see to this task."
With a grimace and a small groan, she joined the side of Adam as the two took to lifting up each body by the ends. No dialogue was shared between the two of them, a silent dance of the dead between the three. She would lift whenever she caught sight of Adam raising his own arms and heard him grunting. This was performed eight separate times, each time was more strenuous than the last. As before, she refrained from looking at Adam out of fear that she would cross him. He didn't say one word, only speaking in body language, which was vague in itself. She did not mind this, considering that it limited her need to interact with him.
After what seemed like hours, the task was complete. There was no interaction between the two, only their brisk walk back to where High Leader Khan was. She looked out onto the setting sun as it dipped under the sea of trees, the cool orange light basking the entire landscape in its essence. In that moment, Velvet saw behind the gruff exterior of the woman that she dubbed to be criminally insane.
She saw in her eyes a life of hardship, one of running, loss, and pain. It was as if that small slice of peace, of calm, was the first that had found since she was a little girl. Velvet felt sympathetic to her, feeling that Khan's own hardships in life were abysmal compared to what Velvet had endured in her small, quiet village. Despite the gap between the two of them, and the difference in the end result that the world had made out of them, Velvet couldn't help but feel a sense of kinship to the woman that the world had branded a terrorist. For the first time in their brief relationship, Velvet uncovered one small detail that almost everyone else on Remnant would have missed. They didn't see what Velvet saw.
They didn't see that High Leader Khan was a woman, morphed into what she was by the very world that sought to fight her and her radical ideals. Velvet didn't totally understand, but she felt that she would come to in time. Then, however, such an understanding was delayed by the convergence of the anticipated group grew in front of the High Council's chambers. Like clockwork, Velvet watched in awe as these people bowed to one knee and lowered their heads in the presence of High Leader Khan.
"Rise, my Brothers and Sisters. Today, I have tragic news to discuss, as I'm sure that you've heard. Today, a new approach to how the White Fang should be led was introduced to the High Council. Along with this, Brother Adam and I tried to gain their blessing in regards to the indoctrination of a new recruit: Sister Velvet Scarlatina. However, the High Council would not hear it. As sad as I am to say it, it was discovered that they were in fact planning to undermine my authority, assassinate me, and take the place as the sole entity of leading the White Fang. As much as it further saddens my heart to say it, they used our innocent meeting as a cover to put their treasonous scheme into motion. A battle ensued, and all of the High Council died for their wicked actions, along with a member of the Honor Guard, Brother Rosendo. He did not have to die, but his corrupted beliefs hastened his demise. Sister Bernadette, however, chose to give her dying breath to ensuring that the leadership of the White Fang would not fall into the hands of the misguided High Council. For this, her memory shall be honored with the following decision…for the time being, I am placing a furlough on the existence of a High Council."
The group began to create a clamor as the members of the mob took to speaking to each other in regards to what High Leader Khan had just said. She took on an expression of annoyance and shouted for the group to silence themselves. They immediately complied, and waited for High Leader Khan to continue. Looking satisfied that she had quelled the crowd single-handedly, Velvet was herself curious to see what she planned to say next.
"As I said, for the time being, I will undertake the responsibility of leading the White Fang alone. This will be the norm until I can find trustworthy Faunus capable of leading by my side and doing what needs to be done for us all. With that being said, I ask that you spread the word throughout the different factions in the four Kingdoms. Tell them that the traitorous High Council is dead, and that High Leader Khan has taken the necessary measures of what needs to be done so that the Group can continue as usual. I also ask you, my Brothers and Sisters, to remember the members of the High Council not how they died, but how they lived before they allowed their lives and hearts to become blackened with greed. That will be all. Once again, I am sorry to be the harbinger of such bad news, especially to the families of the deceased." The group began to disperse when High Leader Khan walked back into the temple and closed the doors, sealing Velvet, Adam, and herself inside.
"Brother Adam." She called out, her voice echoing through the deathly silent hall.
"Yes, High Leader?" Was Adam's reply.
She turned away from us, leaning all of her weight upon the doors. She sprawled her arms across the length of the door, putting each of her hands in the center of the carved, oak doors.
"It is not going to be safe for me for the time being while here in Vale. The tensions are high, and I feel that there may be someone who wants to seek revenge for what has happened to the High Council. I must retreat home, to Mistral. There is business to be done there, and this gives this the perfect opportunity for me to complete said business. That being said, I feel that the one who would be most suited to lead in my place here at the Vale faction would be you, Brother Adam."
"I am honored, High Leader." was Adam's short, stern reply. Velvet was unsettled by how emotionless his face was in light of such 'honorable' news.
"And so you should be," High Leader Khan continued. "You have shown to be an invaluable asset to the White Fang, reliable when you're needed most, and amicable to your fellow Brothers. You've earned this place, and I can think of no one else who would perform the duties according to my wishes as you would." She turned on her heels, proceeding to glide towards Adam. She placed her hands firmly on her shoulders, and smile with (Velvet couldn't believe her eyes) no hints of malignance, underhandedness, or slyness. It was one of the most sincere smiles that she had ever seen ("Even up to now. How do you like that?" Velvet observed. Rojo stroked his chin, then looked at Velvet, chuckling. "Huh. The most sincere act of affection you've ever seen…from a deranged terrorist. Go figure.").
"I will do what is necessary, High Leader." Adam said, his expression not changing in the slightest.
"I know that you will. Before I take my leave, I wish to leave one final task with you." High Leader Khan looked to Velvet, spiking her anxiety. This woman had confused her emotions and made her question her own judgment several times previous in the course of a few hours, and Velvet couldn't help but feel that she was about to complicate her life even more so now.
"Of course, High Leader. What is your bidding?"
High Leader Khan paused, spending another small piece of time smiling at Velvet before quenching her subordinate's thirst for direction.
"I want you to personally oversee Sister Velvet's training. I feel that she is just what we need in these trying times of ours. Promise me, Brother Adam. Give her the chance to hone her skills and become one of the greatest warriors the White Fang—or anyone in Remnant—has ever seen. She has the potential, and I want you to help her unlock it."
Finally, Velvet saw a subtle change in Adam's expression. It was one that turned sour, a look of begrudgement. He did it ever so slightly, so that no one who was paying as close attention as Velvet would be able to catch it.
"I will, High Leader."
"Thank you, Brother Adam. I know that I am leaving this faction of the White Fang in capable hands. Take care of yourself, and do your best to do what I've asked."
Hesitation from Adam, followed by another reply that matched the wording, tone and expression of the former.
With that, she stepped out from the hall, likely to gather materials for her journey. Adam joined, and Velvet was left alone with her thoughts. She calmly walked over to the nearest wall, leaned against it, and slowly let herself slide down the length of the bloodstained wood. She placed her hands in her head, and screamed so loud that for a time, her own cries were the only thing that filled her ears.
She felt the now-familiar feeling of salty tears clinging to her skin as they fell onto her dirty pants. She didn't remember a previous time in her life that she had felt so much sorrow, regret and pure pain in her entire life. She hadn't even felt like this following the death of her father. She attributed this to being around Coco to take her mind off of the agony of a dead parent, as Velvet did in turn for her. Coco is not here this time, she thought to herself before allowing her mind to turn to the carnage that she had been a direct cause of.
So many died, so many betrayed…all so I could live another day. Would these people have still been alive had I not come? Would they all have been able to peacefully disassemble, had I not been here today? Is it possible that Khan would have given them an actual choice? Or would the outcome have been the same? Was I a tool of Khan's? Or was I a tool of Fate?
"Tell me, Velvet. Are you worth all of this bloodshed?" She asked herself, wiping tears from underneath her eyes. It was an answer that she would ask herself throughout her entire time within the throes of the White Fang.