"Why would they go after Qrow?" was Ozpin's question next, as Ironwood stroked his beard, having taken time to tell the story, exactly as Taiyang had described it. The details that man remembered. It was probably horrifying to live like that, so perhaps it was a good thing...no, can't think that way, not now.
"Because he let Jaune Arc, he let Null, go after you. The boy was wearing a camera, live streaming the entire affair. Everything he saw was sent to the network, and that included a discussion with Qrow where he simply told him where you were, and let him pass, while even acknowledging his part in all this," he explain, wishing he had some of the reports of the incident saved on his scroll, but the data files were limited in size, and that had been deemed unimportant information.
"After something like that, after admitting he owed Jaune a debt, and informing everyone watching of what had really happened with Team RWBY and Fields, he was wanted for questioning, especially as the civilians were getting antsy. The White Fang was making sure to show it to everyone who would stop for even a minute at that time, to show what monsters we all were...to be fair, they weren't wrong," that admission took more out of him than he'd admit, and James soon found a bottle of his own. Non-alcoholic, but with enough bite to wipe away the sharper pains in his soul.
"I always held that they were terrorists, that they killed for an idealized world, rather than working for it, but in the wake of your death, in the wake of the Beacon attack, where the Kingdoms tried to push them working with Grimm...well, they released everything they had. All the documents from Chivalric Arms raids with Jaune, all the videos of their attacks. They'd been holding back, but they didn't any longer," he smiled at that a bit, remembering the Council trying to clamp down on the net, like that would work. You couldn't kill information, you had to counter it, and those morons only fueled the fire.
"Suddenly, we were the ones experimenting on everyone. Suddenly we were the ones who would do ANYTHING to win, locking people away, kidnapping those with potential. Suddenly a dozen disappeared families were brought to light, and when one of them was found in a raid, well, it started the floodgates in Atlas creeping open," he almost chuckled at that, remembering that Council session, where they'd all but demanded he attack Menagerie, as if that would solve anything...as if that were possible with their newest weapon.
"I should have seen it coming, honestly. Someone was going to assume they could somehow make this right with just a few more deaths. Kill the right Faunus, and all their problems would go away. Schnee certainly seemed to think so, especially when his mines suddenly had no workers, the Faunus literally just walking off the job where they could, doing damage where they could not," that memory stung more, remembering those days watching the mines, the heart of Atlas' strength, burn.
"Menagerie opened its doors to all those who wanted. Those faunus who were fed up with the way the world worked. Those faunus too beaten down to continue where they were. Not everyone went, of course. Some had lives they chose not to abandon, some of them even had families that would not allow for them to leave. But slowly, Menagerie was growing, and there wasn't a damn thing any of the other Kingdoms could do to stop it," the General took another swig of his drink.
"I must admit to some curiosity. Those islands, the archipelago, was picked for Menagerie because it limited their growth…don't deny it, we all know it was true. They were settled there to make it so the faunus could SAY they had a kingdom, but one that would never be the equal of any of the others. How was it they could suddenly handle the influx of new bodies?" asked the boy with the old soul, and the soldier before him seemed about to splash the drink in his face, but then sighed.
"They had a new weapon, one for use against the Grimm. With that in play, they cleared their islands, not just the ones they used, but slowly more and more. A trip around every few days, and no Grimm bigger than a beowulf could haunt those waters, and even they were a rare sight. Didn't take long for the others to realize what was happening, of course. Those in the know…and they were just fool enough to make the wrong move," as the General spoke, he looked towards the door, and then sighed.