The streets of the great city of Vale, and the de facto heart of the land of the same name at night, were practically the same as the cat and bull Faunus remembered. Crowded, dirty and full of discarded newspapers, uneaten food and other types of garbage. People moved about in that dark night in whole groups, not necessarily organized, but it was not difficult to get the impression that an individual was among these great crowds, just like an ant in the middle of a whole anthill. And often brick walls painted in graphite only complemented this quite specific and difficult to forget place. Like smoke from factories, which was easier to see during the day.
Although the memories of this city were undoubtedly pleasant, and Vale itself, despite its ugliness, had something very specific, characteristic and beautiful at the same time, there were other imperfections or shadows hidden under this façade. First of all, it would be quite common corruption among the police, whose poorly paid and very often poorly motivated officers were extremely susceptible to it. Not so much because of the rule of money or getting rich, but rather because of the desire to provide their families with a stable and relatively prosperous life. The police itself, however, is the tip of the iceberg, compared to a rather weak and lazy administration, whose officers effectively inhibited and suppressed the economic miracle that took place after the end of the Great War, and thanks to which Vale could match the potential of Atlas itself.
However, all this did not matter much to the Faunus trio, despite some nostalgic memories of this city. For them, the most important thing was getting to the meeting place that Cinder herself had chosen. In this particular case, it was the Eden club, located very close to the industrial Vale district and belonging to Human, with whom Perun - due to pure pragmatism and lack of better alternatives - established cooperation, which, however, was fruitful for both parties. This man was Hei Xiong, affectionately known as 'Junior' in the criminal underworld. In principle, and despite all the reluctance - to put it mildly, Perun's attitude towards Humans in general - it was pleasant for him to cooperate or talk with Junior. Silent Cat almost liked this man, almost and only his race stood in the way.
"So what's the plan actually?" asked the tiger Faunus, who used to use a chainsaw to fight every day.
"Well, come in, listen to the offer we've been presented with and, of course, if the Vale Division's task is feasible, do it." Perun replied, completely dispassionate and without breaking his stride.
On this occasion, it is worth mentioning that Adam's sidekick - Banesaw - got rid of his mask and uniform for this operation, thus revealing his stern and angular face and golden eyes. As for the bull Faunus, he was still wearing his distinctive outfit, but with the exception of his mask and a patch over his left eye to cover his mark.
The trio slowly approached the club, whose electric advertising installations had become all too visible. On the way, however, they met an inconspicuous fox Faunus with glasses, who was immediately recognized by the trio as Perry. An electronics specialist for the White Fang and one of those who managed to get out of the SDC mine on Solitas in the last few years. He waved at them with a smile, while the responses from the trio of the most senior members of the White Fang in Vale were mixed. Perun and Banesaw raised their right hands with stony and impassive expressions, while Adam smiled and gave a thumbs up before making a farewell salute.
Here, one detail should also be noted, which Perun himself paid special attention to a few days ago. Adam, coped with the breakup with Blake and the breakup of their relationship, surprisingly well. He wasn't angry, he wasn't taking his frustration out on the white-fang brothers, maybe he was a bit more sarcastic and prone to making snide comments, but it definitely could have been worse.
"However, I am a bit confused that we have to meet in the very center of the city, in addition to the capital of the kingdom, where there are dozens of Huntsmen and Huntresses." Banesaw did not refrain from commenting on this subject, with clear and perfectly justified concern, considering the characteristic and quite recognizable features of Adam and Perun. "Then why do it in the middle of a dangerous area?"
"Well, I doubt it was arrogance on her part, or a disproportionately overconfidence." Silent Cat, as always when talking to colleagues, allowed himself to be completely honest and say exactly what he thinks at the moment. "Personally, I would bet on the possibility that she just wants to give someone else the opportunity to join the plan."
"One more side to this plan?" Banesaw asked curiously.
"More like another subcontractor to help implement the plan, or one of its elements." Perun reasoned.
"Exactly." Adam allowed himself to interject. "I have considered these options many times in the course of my duties as leader of the Vale Division, and have come to the same conclusions as you, Perun."
There was quite a bit of time to ponder, considering the three of them had spent the last few weeks coordinating the transfer of resources and brothers from the division to the city. It wasn't particularly hard work, for the White Fang had reliable methods of transfer to each of the four kingdoms. Only minor setbacks, such as an overzealous uniformed officer or some other official to be properly attended to, distracted them from their thoughts.
"You're surprisingly confident, but what's the guarantee that Cinder will act this way and not make some unexpected move?" Another question came from Banesaw.
"That's what I would do, Brother Banesaw." Perun replied shortly, and Adam nodded his head, thus exhausting topics for discussion.
Moments later, and after Perun was recognized by the Eden club's security guards, the trio entered, and their acute senses of hearing very quickly encountered the first inconvenience, which was horrendously loud music. Perhaps for Banesaw and Adam this was not a major problem, but for Perun, with his particularly acute and sensitive hearing thanks to the cat's ears, it was a particularly severe inconvenience. Nevertheless, after putting on earplugs, they could move on, towards the bar counter, where a black-haired man with a beard and an elegant waistcoat was already waiting for them.
"Perun Belladonna." He started briefly, then a smile spread across his face and the two shook hands. "For all your distaste for my species, including me, it's nice to see you back in my club."
"Due to our quite successful business ventures, it's nice to see you too, Junior." Perun calmly broke off physical contact with the club owner and one of the best information brokers in the whole kingdom. "However, I'm afraid this time it won't be a business between you and me, but rather just between me and a certain raven-haired, amber-eyed beauty."
"Yes, I do know who you are talking about." Junior nodded to him. "I have been told you will be coming and I have been asked to direct you and your associates to a specially reserved room for VIPs"
"Excellent, so let's not waste any time." Before Perun and the brothers accompanying him went upstairs, where the said room was located, Silent Cat gave Junior quite a large amount of Liens. "This is a tip for one of your organization's recent services that I haven't had a chance to properly thank you for."
"I appreciate it as always." Junior nodded and took Lien in the blink of an eye, then put it in his jacket pocket. "Have a great night."
"Mutually, Junior." Perun waved goodbye to him, and the Faunus trio went to the aforementioned room, and on the way Silent Cat met the Malachite twins, and they looked away from him with embarrassment and blushing on their cheeks.
Such behavior on their part was related to one rather special incident, when these two, plus Perun and Junior, were drinking strong alcohol together in one of the private chambers to celebrate a successful joint venture. At some point, however, there was a situation in which all four decided that alcohol alone was not enough and began to challenge themselves. During one, Junior was supposed to perform a whole series of acrobatics, but in his condition it ended with a spectacular fall and loss of consciousness on his part. Meanwhile, however, the twins at one point ordered to undress as part of the challenge.
Perun, in general, had no problems with nudity and the natural side - or rather aspect - of every living, organic entity. In this particular case, however, and combined with the alcohol in his veins, it led to a situation where Silent Cat didn't hesitate to start by taking off his top first. However, when the twins were not satisfied and screamed for more, Perun did not hesitate to unzip his fly and then show himself in the state in which he came into this world. Suffice it to say that the Malachite sisters saw an unforgettable sight, or rather a true and wonderful picture of the raw beauty of male nature, which was hard to forget, despite the huge amounts of alcohol they consumed.
Apart from that, the trio made it to the VIP room very quickly, and Perun very quickly sincerely regretted having accepted the job at all. For inside, apart from Cinder herself and her lackeys, the most annoying and infamous thief Vale was waiting for him, together with his longtime accomplice, whose existence, however, was known only to a small group of people in the know, and Perun was one of them.
"Well, well, aren't they a group of cute animals with human features. Although I think I like this energetic and quite pretty cat the most." The redheaded Roman Torchwick addressed the trio with a cocky smile and a cigar in his mouth. "Don't you think, Neo."
The mute illusionist only nodded with a smile, sitting at the same time at the boss's side and enjoying a scoop of ice cream in a cone, the color of which resembled her hair.
Perun - despite his general composure and quite strong character - needed all his mental control in order not to lose his temper. Personally, he met and had the dubious pleasure of working with him, mainly in the field of smuggling or trade in illegal technologies. While the most infamous thief, Vale, liked to insult people left and right, he wasn't racist, much more he was just antagonistic to everyone except Neo, and the Faunus were just another target for his malice.
Though Silent Cat himself managed to remain calm and restrained in the situation, his two companions were unprepared for this and would have almost attacked the two if Perun had not stopped them.
"Roman Torchwick." Cat Faunus said dryly and without emotion. "Isn't he the most infamous thief in the Vale, known more for tons of gel on his nasty hair than his actual skill."
At his words, Mercury and Emerald both started to cackle with laughter, and even Cinder's mouth twitched in slight satisfaction. Adam and Banesaw smiled as well.
Nevertheless, Perun was not satisfied with the current situation, to put it very mildly. Although cooperation with human criminals brought many benefits to White Fang and made it possible to perform many often very risky operations. Nevertheless, it was a constant reminder for Perun that he had to - due to purely pragmatic issues - break his own values, which was - among others - Faunus Sypermation and the pursuit of self-sufficiency of the species.
"Cheeky as always." Roman took a deep drag on his cigar, then continued. "Unlike your comrades, at least you're quite funny, Black Cat. I hope you haven't been summoned to bring us bad luck."
"Roman, there's no need to be so antagonistic towards your co-workers in this joint venture." Cinder chided him lightly. "Now, however, I expect you to sit down and we can get straight to the point."
The Faunus trio took their seats at the glass and round table, but Adam and Banesaw shot dagger glances at Roman and his associate, who in turn sneered back. Overall, the atmosphere could, without much doubt, be classified as dense. Considering the fact that if it weren't for Perun and Cinder's presence, the criminals and White Fang brothers would have been at each other's throats.
Despite everything, Silent Cat couldn't help but wonder for a moment about why Roman would ever team up with Cinder. He collaborated with this criminal many times, but only through common acquaintance with Junior. That said, Silent Cat knew Roman well enough to know that he was nothing less than a professional free spirit who, since he had risen to the top of Vale's criminal underworld, hasn't been working with someone unknown without a very good reason, which could be a recommendation from one of the business partners.
"So..." Perun allowed himself to begin as his amber eyes met Cinder's fireballs. "I suspect you have not summoned us here merely to discuss with the less popular members of the Vale population, if I may use that euphemism."
"Definitely not, Perun." Cinder nodded at him, that annoying yet commanding smile still on her lips. "Although, given your intellect, you undoubtedly already have the answer to the question, I prefer not to leave anything to chance. Simply put, I have called you to hear the first phase of the plan to destroy Vale and the academy."
"But aside from your power, why would we actually seek to destroy the society we are de facto preying on at the moment." Now Perun had no doubts as to how Cinder had won his fragile loyalty. "To me, your plan sounds on paper like a desire to make a big difference in the world, and that's not necessarily good for business, as you probably know."
"Maybe." Cinder grunted, and a moment later a dangerous fire appeared in her right hand. "But that doesn't change the fact that it's the smartest course of action for you right now."
"It looks." Roman sighed in defeat, and there was no indication that he would want to interfere in any way in the near future.
"Great, then let's get down to business." Cinder continued after a brief moment, during which she glanced at everyone around her. "So, we will start the first phase of the plan in a few days, with small and seemingly hasty thefts to small shops. I expect it won't be too much of a problem for you, Roman."
"It won't be, Cinder, as you predict." At that moment, he threw away the almost completely smoked cigar, which fell somewhere behind where he was sitting. "Nevertheless, I'd rather not involve my people in this type of…"
"It shouldn't be too much of a problem, you can always hire one-time labor for a few Liens." The raven-haired femme fatale interrupted him as her gaze turned to Funus over the next few seconds. "In the second phase, when all the necessary forces from the White Fang Vale Division arrive, then we will start raiding much larger facilities, such as SDC warehouses in the city or docks."
"So be it." Perun nodded, then his gaze definitely sharpened. "Nevertheless, I warn you that brothers and sisters sent to these operations will not have the standard uniforms of the organization, and this is not even the slightest question."
Roman snorted at that. "Didn't Silent Cat have a problem with murdering people, but with stealing?"
"Not at all, Torchwick." Perun vehemently denied these half-mocking allegations. "Nevertheless, I have no intention of allowing the White Fang, an organization fighting for the revolution and the rights of my brothers, sisters and for revenge against Atlas, to be equated with criminals, at least in the official layer."
"But you reek of hypocrisy and hypocrisy." At this point, Emerald decided to join in, with Cinder's tacit approval and no doubt intent on a little revenge for the playful demand for her body as payment a few weeks ago. "Me and Roman, unlike you and the whole tusk, at least we're outright thieves and we're not hiding behind a facade of revolution or fighting for an apparent greater good."
If she expected a violent reaction from him, she got none of it. Perun remained calm, because many Humans he met criticized him for alleged hypocrisy and hypocrisy, apparently having no idea about his intentions.
"You're really pathetic, Emerald, if you compare a truly free individual like Roman to a pathetic street rat like you." Silent Cat folded his hands and narrowed his eyes, and the sight of an irritated dark-skinned girl gave him no small satisfaction. "But if you are too stupid to understand it, I want to remind you of Odiessa and all the preparations made by the White Fang for a just revenge on Atlas and his fattened elite. If I were truly as pathetic as you are, I would never make such efforts, but would only distribute the profits of the resources to my direct reports."
"Damn, the kid has a point." Roman chuckled, and his switch of sides was quite unexpected, especially by Emerald herself. "Maybe I'm being mean, but even I can see the amount of work Silent Cat and this Stubborn Bull have put into all this preparation. Compared to them, even I, and especially you, are street rats."
"Enough." Cinder seemed to have had enough of this while Mercury was amused by the whole bickering. "We will follow my plans and that will not change. However, when we gather enough Dust in my estimation, only then can we proceed to the third phase of our plan, which will be the Beacon infiltration. Do you have any questions."
"Just one." To everyone's surprise, Roman was the first, although clearly Perun wanted to do it as well. "What benefit do you get from all the chaos that the fall of Beacon will undoubtedly result in?"
"Exactly my thoughts." Silent Cat decided to join the conversation to increase the pressure a bit and be able to provide a more honest answer.
"It doesn't matter, dear friends." Cinder answered them calmly, after looking everyone straight in the eye. "Right now, all that matters is what you can gain from the chaos that will arise when order in the whole kingdom collapses, both of you will gain the vacuum necessary for the full realization of your desires."
"Yes, what's left of local authorities and Huntsmen will be too focused on cleaning up the mess after such chaos, so I will have the opportunity to grow my business on a scale I could only dream of until now." Roman smiled, and it was clear that he was rather aware of the possibility, and aside from fear, it was his main motivation. However, his words were not limited to this: "Meanwhile, our half-animal friends will get what they have wanted for so many years, build their own state, with laws friendly or even favoring the Faunus."
At first, Adam and Banesaw were furious that the man in the elegant bowler hat had used such an inelegant word. However, their rage quickly turned to barely concealed stress when the same man correctly guessed their motivations. Of the Faunus trio, only Perun remained calm and even smiled a little, especially when he figured out how the most infamous thief in the Vale came into possession of this information.
"Why am I not surprised at all, Roman?" He asked him, then looked at the smiling magician. "Was it so easy to infiltrate the White Fang structures created by me and Adam in Vale that you obtained this information without sweating?"
In response, she began to type very quickly on her scroll and after a while a mechanical voice was heard, which could hardly be classified as human. "To say I did it without sweating would be a lie. Compared to protecting Vale's public buildings, or even some corporations or banks, it took me quite a while and a lot of effort to get to your plans, which I wouldn't call easy. Besides, it was enough for me to take pictures of the area in this Odessa operation of yours to know where you are going."
"I see." Perun leaned back in his seat.
It was all the more comfortable and relaxing to his mind that he was now completely confident in the possibility of carrying out his nation-building plans entirely for Faunus, on the continent of Sanus, where there were still quite rich deposits of Dust that could give his people a bright future.
While his and Adam's bloody quest to build a state, or any state organism on Sanus, might have seemed superfluous and merely an expression of their vanity, pride, and ambition to be achieved no matter what the cost, this would be a wholly untrue conclusion. In fact, this quest was prompted by the fact that Menagerie, while its soil was quite fertile, was nevertheless a very poor place, essentially devoid of any major deposits of Dust to meet the needs of total self-sufficiency.
Meanwhile, Sanus as a continent, especially the southern part, had large and practically untouched deposits of Dust. This was proved by the numerous expeditions of geologists and other specialists that were sent there over the last few years, and based on this, Perun decided to build numerous factories, refineries, mines and shipyards in that area, the ultimate goal of which was clear, and it was conquest. Conquer as much of Sanus as possible. Although the beginnings were not easy and involved fighting many old Grimm Creatures, sometimes in unprecedented numbers, costing many lives. Suffice it to say that monsters like Goliath or even Nuckelave were nothing compared to the horrors White Fang had encountered in the south.
"So be it, you've made it clear to me by now that you know what you're doing, Cinder." With this statement, Perun stood up and his attendants did the same, and soon the trio moved towards the door. "Now we leave you alone, because our presence here is completely unnecessary."
Silent Cat, before he even left, decided to make a small remark and turned to Cinder. "Nevertheless, I advise you to watch out for this complacency and pride. It's easy to choke on your own pride, and I say that from my experience, for our future collaboration."
With these words, the trio left the room and then - after a quick goodbye to Junior - they also left the nightclub. However, as they were leaving, they noticed a rather attractive, blonde Humans with long hair and a rather skimpy outfit heading inside. She and Perun only exchanged fleeting glances before they went their separate ways.
"So." Adam spoke up after about four minutes of walking as they were returning to an abandoned block of flats in the suburbs that had recently been taken over by the White Fang and converted into a base of operations in Vale. "We can consider this meeting quite successful."
"Undoubtedly." Perun answered him, but in this barrel of honey there was quite a large portion of bitterness, which the cat Faunus himself did not fail to mention. "However, I am concerned that our associates know so much about our operations and the preparations we are making for just revenge against Atlas."
"Well, from what you've told me and assured me for months, our preparations for war were to be top secret and a dozen contradictory lies." The red-haired Faunus replied dryly. "Apparently you're not as good at secrecy as you probably thought."
"Apparently and unfortunately for our cause." Perun was not pleased with this remark from him, but his classically stern expression did not change much. "At this stage of advanced preparation and production, we no longer have the ability to transfer our resources elsewhere, and I suspect that even this would be discovered fairly quickly by infiltrators of our business partners."
Adam and Banesaw sighed heavily, and the rest of the drive to the suburbs and their quarters passed rather quickly without any further conversation. So Perun let himself savor the quite satisfying thought that after so many years of planning and preparing for a hard war, they were finally so close to achieving their desired goal. In addition, thanks to support from the least expected side.
Perun thought of it as a pact with the devil, which after the end of the deal would have to be broken as soon as possible. Otherwise, it could lead to a rather dangerous engagement, because of a rather unpredictable potential situational development.
It took the trio about half an hour to reach the once abandoned block of flats, and they were greeted almost immediately by a group of several guards of different sexes who were guarding the yard in case the police, or worse, the Huntsmen, showed up. They welcomed the returning trio, but there was little time for courtesy, so Adam, Banesaw and Perun descended to the basement of the building, where the latter's two other close associates were waiting for them.
"I'm guessing the meeting was a success?" A female of the same age as Perun spoke up, the canine Faunus with brown hair, Hermenegild Lakai, who was largely responsible for creating the current image of Perun.
"Otherwise, our beloved First Secretary would probably have gone straight to his quarters to think about how to deal with it." This time, the broad-shouldered and tall wolf Faunus, with tungsten-colored hair, spoke up.
Lothar Wolfram, another of Perun's most trusted and oldest companions. Attached to his standard fraternity uniform was a long gray coat that reached down to his knees. The image of a tough man was additionally complemented by his sharp facial features. He was also older than cat Faunus by several years.
"You are not mistaken, dear friends." While Perun's words were warm in themselves, his tone, demeanor, and general expression were not at all friendly.
In fact, his typical demeanor was somewhat legendary among the brotherhood, and it gave everyone the impression that Perun was somewhat distant from mundane matters, and as if he was always focused on something greater.
"The main thing we were able to find out was that it wasn't a trap, as you initially and reasonably assumed, Wolfram." The aforementioned wolf Faunus growled slightly annoyed at this fact. "Nevertheless, this woman has revealed some secrets to us regarding her plans and White Fang's role in this endeavor. We will be assisting her and her lackeys in stealing dust from shops throughout the city of Vale."
"She needed us, just to steal in this city?" Lothar asked in surprise, and a moment later Hermenegild spoke as well. "If something like this becomes public, especially in the case of shoplifting that belongs to Faunus, it can only bring us trouble. Not to mention the ease of identifying our…"
"For this reason, those involved in our joint operations with Cinder will be required to ditch their uniforms and wear something that would indicate local gang affiliation." Perun countered their words. "Also, we should avoid any attacks on stores and property in general that belongs to Faunus. I don't think that should be too much of a problem for us."
"It will not." Lothar replied. "In fact, I've already planned something like this, just in case. I have a friend with a clothing store, of course he's a Faunus, not a Human creature. We can buy quite a lot from him, for a relatively small price."
"Let me guess." Hermenegild interjected with a mischievous smile on her lips. "Is he willing to sell it to us because of the small number of Human customers?"
"Unfortunately for him." Lothar seemed a bit annoyed about this, but kept his composure and seriousness. "These carcasses buy primarily from their brothers and sisters, so many Faunus have to sell their products cheaper, but Humans avoid our brothers and sisters' shops anyway. Fucking bastards, we should have slaughtered them all as soon as we had control of this continent. Of course, all in an organized way and within a system, we are not common murderers like Humanity itself."
"No way." Hermenegild disagreed with his opinion, and one of the many debates between the two that had arisen before and because of their inability to agree on what to do with humanity ensued. "We should conquer these savages and repay them with the brutal servitude this plague undoubtedly deserves."
Thus began a short, though somewhat funny for Perun, discussion between the two. Almost always and at every opportunity - even though they worked very well together - Hermenegild and Lothar always argued with each other about what the humans would do if they overran the continent and defeated Vale and Vacuo. Lothar wanted the complete extermination of this species on this continent, and the cost of doing so was of little importance to him. Meanwhile, Hermenegild opposed this idea and was of the opinion that humanity, to atone for centuries of slavery, should be enslaved and work the hardest, in backbreaking, inhumane conditions, if necessary.
Although normally Perun would have let it go on and stopped only when it got too out of hand, this time it had to be different, but it wasn't too unprecedented.
"Silence." He ordered firmly, and they all turned to him again. "While I really appreciate constructive worldview debates as a phenomenon, as it allows us to come to an agreement or exchange views, if only to create something better, we do not have that luxury now and we have to act."
Then, he completely took the lead in the conversation and addressed them in turn with orders, Adam and Banesaw being the first. "You two are one of the most famous White Fang fighters in all of Vale. You will use this reputation to start large-scale recruiting for the brotherhood."
Before anyone could question his judgment or even express doubts, Silent Cat immediately justified his decision. "If my suspicions are correct and I am not making an error of judgment, then the next great war, which I have been planning practically since I turned eighteen, is fast approaching. We will need as many well-trained soldiers and technicians as possible. It is true that I have laid the appropriate foundations for this, but now there must be expansion and development. A particular necessity will be finding and recruiting engineers, specialists who will be necessary to operate increasingly advanced machines."
Adam and the lieutenant exchanged glances, then the latter nodded and the redhead spoke on their collective behalf. "We understand the importance of this task and will do our best to carry out your order."
"Excellent and don't disappoint the White Fang." Perun then turned to Lothar. "Meanwhile, you will oversee our operations in conjunction with Cinder. I want to make sure our brothers and sisters don't get caught up in an unwinnable fight just because of her arrogance or overconfidence, or that of one of her minions."
"It will be done, Perun." Lothar placed a clenched fist over his heart, as if in the manner of ancient knights, then added: "I will not fail in this task, for the sake of our brothers."
Silent Cat even raised his lips a little in reaction to his sincere and decisive declaration, then turned to the female dog Faunus. "And you, Hermenegild, you'll be doing what you're best at, propaganda. Primarily to divert attention and minimize the likelihood that anyone would consider our involvement in this endeavor to be in any way likely. Additionally, this campaign is to help recruit our brothers and sisters into the White Fang."
"I will be as effective as before and even try to make the fruits of my work twice as much as normal!" Hermenegild said, excited by the opportunity and basically eager to get the job done, which could undoubtedly be considered one of her personal quirks.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm for further work, however, if you have any questions or concerns for me, now is the time to express them." He looked at everyone, but only Lothar clearly wanted to talk about something, and there was no doubt that it would be something more personal. "Okay, stay Lothar and let the rest go to their duties as soon as possible. While Cinder has not given an exact timeline for the collapse of the academy or other operations, I prefer to prepare it as soon as possible.
Adam, Banesaw and Hermenegild left the room with the words on their lips: "Yes, brother secretary!" So Perun and Lothar were left alone and could concentrate entirely on themselves.
With all this, it was not difficult to see that although the two were similar in behavior or manners, there were very noticeable differences between them that only a blind man could miss. Lothar was serious all the time, but also tense, as if he was constantly waiting for an attack to come from the least expected direction. Meanwhile, Perun, although also serious, was more calm, relaxed to some extent and even a bit thoughtful, at least for the moment.
"What did you want to ask me, Lothar?" Silent Cat asked, a bit surprised that the filthy Faunus didn't speak right away, and that he didn't start the conversation on his own.
"Why are you going to show humanity undeserved favor and make this scum of slaves?" The tungsten-haired man asked the question after what could best be described as a moment of hesitation. "These creatures should be exterminated so that the next generations of our kind can enjoy prosperity and freedom from these creatures. Humans are not equal to us, not only in purely biological terms and our advantage over them in this respect, but also because of their natural tendency to degenerate or stagnate."
"I understand your arguments perfectly well, and in fact have considered many times the idea of subjecting humanity to annihilation after our victory, whether by physical extermination on an industrial scale and order, or by a mass sterilization campaign and letting them die a natural death ." Perun spoke the truth, because he consulted many times with the brothers and sisters of the White Fang, responsible for logistics and transport. Together, they developed a plan called 'The Final Solution of the Human Question', which assumed the physical extermination of this species, in zones properly prepared for this, and through: firing squads, medical experiments or overwork of prisoners, which was supposed to eventually lead to their death. In fact, Silent Cat and his companions modeled themselves on what humanity has done to their ancestors for centuries and at some points, it has even happened now, at this moment.
Nevertheless, despite the great desire and theoretical ability to do such a thing, there was a pretty good reason why Perun ultimately decided not to implement such a solution and did not even show these documents to Sienna. It was basically a whole series of reasons that Silent Cat allowed himself to mention to Lothar calmly and without unnecessary emotions that could disturb his sober assessment of the situation. "Lothar, I fully understand your desire to exterminate the Human creatures and would sincerely like to do so, but it is simply not possible. Above all,
the resources needed to carry out this type of operation are huge and it would be a huge burden for us. It's just not logistically possible. It's another matter to keep it a secret, for if such a thing, while undoubtedly right, would nevertheless cause opposition among our kind, and additionally unite literally all of humanity against Faunus, which we cannot afford. Shall I talk about it further?"
Lothar snorted contemptuously, and his sharp, tense, nervous expression became pure malicious, dark, almost provocative and defiant. "You don't need to say anything else, because I know perfectly well that, in essence, everything comes down to rational arguments when you forget that these creatures murdered us and profited from our blood, claiming millions of victims. If we allow them to continue to exist, they will inevitably make another attempt to enslave us."
After these words, he looked straight into Perun's eyes, which was basically an element of the confrontation of the two personalities, even if it was not a matter of violence but only influence. "So I'm just begging you, stop taking the half-measures route and just make the right decision early enough! Before the next generations of our species have to face Human creatures again."
"Lothar, I understand your pain, your reasons for proposing this, and I am more than capable of empathizing with you." Silent Cat placed a hand on his shoulder before continuing, calm this time and a bit more neutral in terms of pure expression than ever before. "If we are taking hasty steps now, so early…"
"You know nothing and have been raised all your life in the safety of the Menagerie, when men like me had to toil and sacrifice!" Lothar suddenly exploded, knocked Perun's hand away, and all pretense or mask of apparent calmness, composure, suddenly collapsed and in its place appeared almost the purest imaginable fury. "You've never been hungry and you've never been discriminated against! You never had to as a young man about what the future or even the coming days will bring! How dare you lecture me about rash steps when you didn't lose your whole family, parents and little sisters, slaughtered like cattle by Human creatures on a fucking return from a trip to an equally fucking cinema!"
"Lothar, you forget that I lost my family too." Perun replied calmly, then the power of his gaze and the expression of his eyes was definitely intensified. "They may not have died or been killed like animals, but I have disowned them and now my sister. So I know what loss means and how it feels, even if I haven't seen the corpses of loved ones. But I can safely assume that your loss and mine are not remotely far from each other."
"You know nothing..." Lothar hissed in response, and anger was replaced by pain and sadness in the purest form imaginable. The young adult burst into tears and began to sob. "You didn't literally have to fight for your life after losing loved ones, especially since that loss was more symbolic than physical. You didn't have to yank and bite to get yourself little bits of food or liens of little value."
"You're right, I don't know what it's like to struggle to survive every day, and yes, I grew up in an environment that once gave me the illusion of security." Perun's voice became much firmer and stricter, like a father scolding a cheeky child. "However, I always had a certain element in me that made me be curious about the world and investigate all the details that I could get, read. Even if they were seemingly meager scraps of information, I still craved it with every little bit of my mind and heart. That's why I learned very quickly how dangerous the world is to us, the dominant race, and how much these Human trash are afraid of us. First of all, that we are better than them in almost every way"
Perun took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment, and after opening it was possible to see a few sparks, which showed that he was quite emotionally involved in these matters. "Since I fully grasped the truth of this world, that it is ruled by worthless trash that dares to discriminate and oppress those better than themselves, I have made the decision to continually strive to ensure the Faunus' rightful position as the master race. A race that dominates Remnant in every way, political, military and economic. I've promised myself and my best friend that this dream will become a grind, and frankly, I don't care how many Human creatures I have to kill in the course of this noble process if it means ensuring the well-being of our great race."
Perun saw that tears began to flow from the eyes of the wolf Faunus, and it was clear that these words genuinely touched him. For this reason, he decided to put his arms around him, and Lother reciprocated this show of their friendship. "You have my word that I strive with every fiber of my being for what is best for our race. Nevertheless, I cannot afford to act unreasonably during this. I can only promise you that our race will only get its rightful golden age when humanity is given its rightful place. I will see to it that this happens, just like your revenge on these creatures for the deaths of your loved ones."
Emotions seemed to leave the wolf Faunus, and his muscles loosened up a bit, while any tension present so far began to leave him as well. Meanwhile, from the golden eyes resembling those of a wolf, sincere tears began to flow more and more thickly. "Thank you and I understand your point, I will try to be more patient but it won't be easy. When our revenge on humanity is accomplished, whether it be physical extermination or slavish servitude, I will be unconditionally committed to you and your will will be your command if you only say one word."
"I, in turn, will be grateful for your loyalty to the cause of Faunus and helping me realize this vision in which our race will be given its rightful place for centuries." Perun answered him, effectively and skillfully entangling himself from this embrace. "But I will not, I refuse to accept this oath here, from anyone who wants to be unconditionally loyal to me. I will only accept a blood oath that is as binding on me as it is on you."
Lothar was speechless for a moment, although she had known Perun for many years, he could see that his attitude seemed all too genuine. Up to that point, he had the impression that this cat Faunus was just the opportunistic cynic type who had simply joined and gained power within whatever suited him best. What happened now changed Lothar's view of him completely and left him without the slightest doubt as to the truthfulness of this cunning but devoted Faunus male.
After another and definitely short exchange of words, the wolf Faunus was definitely calmed down, and Perun's smooth and quite silver tongue worked wonders in this case. Lothar went from a state of absolutely genuine rage, once more to calm and composed. Further assurances that his family would be avenged, as well as all the other wrongs inflicted on their race over the years, effectively ended their conversation. So Lothar left the room and went about his assigned duties.
Perun, meanwhile, locked himself in one of the rooms in the basement, which was converted into his personal office, where a metal desk and his personal laptop were spread out, which, however, was quite well secured with a simple, but practically impossible to guess for an ordinary, organic being, password. It was similar with the radio equipment he used for intercontinental communication.
He had been working in the office for about half an hour, reviewing reports and messages sent to him. First of all, it concerned his personal project, the Odessa operation. So far, things were going well, as the factories began to achieve satisfactory production rates that held promise for a future war with Atlas.
Dust mines, among others, thanks to the most modern equipment, which easily surpassed everything that the scant SDC had in stock, primarily in terms of protection and comfort for ordinary miners. All of this yielded quite a bit of high-quality Dust extraction, but it was still far from the current SDC output at Solitas.
The last report of this operation concerned the shipyards where the first ever airships were being built, all designed by Faunus and with no use for their future army. They were both the first great ships and transports that in the near future would give Whitefang incomparably greater mobility than ever before.
However, this was not - as it is not difficult to guess - all the daily work of the feline Faunus, who still had to work on his usual duties as First Secretary. Although it might seem superficially and at first glance that this position is only about filling out and signing papers, you couldn't be more wrong. From the aforementioned tasks, Perun had several assistants who were busy signing less important documents.
As for Silent Cat himself, you could say he was in charge of the favor or disgrace of Sienna herself. It was up to Perun who would be admitted to the High Leader and who would not. He was the one who decided what documents would go to her desk and in front of her, and which would be considered only by him. He managed the lineup of meetings Sienna used to convene every few weeks to discuss progress so far and plan future operations. Add to that his role as the "poster boy" and Death Fang, and you'd feel like his power was greater than Sienna ever was, and only his loyalty kept her as High Leader.
However, before Perun could continue his work, one of the brothers entered his improvised office, looking quite pale and clearly trembling with fear.
"Brother First Secretary, there's a man waiting outside the door who claims to be working with this raven-haired woman who can wield fire." He spoke in a trembling voice, which was all the more surprising since Perun himself had started the conversation until now.
But this was no time to be concerned with trivial matters, at least from the point of view of the situation. "Let him in."
However, this Faunus did not have such an opportunity, because a man larger than the door leading inside, basically pushed his way through and as if ignoring the frightened sentry. He was a stout man with huge muscles, a beard and slicked-back hair, whose gaze seemed impassive and completely unmovable. So it seemed that at least in this last aspect, Perun met a worthy interlocutor and it was best seen when they both looked each other straight in the eye for a moment, which, however, was ended by Silent Cat himself.
"Why do you come here, straight into the lion's mouth, Human." Perun started, then got up from the metal chair he was sitting on, his back ached a bit, then put his hands on the desk and leaned over a bit. "You should know how dangerous it is, even if you work for Cinder and come on her behalf."
"She does not work for this lost and mad child, but for our common mistress, who allowed her to contact you at all and enter into this cooperation, Your Excellency. My name is Hazel Rainart, and I am the humble servant of Salem, the woman Cinder and I swore allegiance to." The man bowed to him with his hand over his heart, but didn't get a chance to say anything else.
"I do not wish for any quasi-royal, noble or similar titles that are merely a sign of the decadence and degeneration that is typical of humanity. I am only Perun Belladonna, possibly Brother Perun or Brother First Secretary. For you, however, it will be First Secretary Belladonna and nothing more than my current position in the White Fang." This time, Perun was genuinely outraged by such a choice of words, but he was far from irritated, so he smoothly got to the main point. "Now that we're done with that, you can tell me the reason why you wanted to know me."
"As you wish, First Secretary Belladonna." The man nodded to him, and in his voice as stern as it was deep, one could hear a note of small, subtle satisfaction at Perun's words. "I come here on behalf of our lady with the intention of finalizing our deal."
Then Perun sat back on the metal chair, then gestured for Funus, still standing in the doorway, to leave them alone, and then pointed to another metal chair in front of the desk. "So keep talking, Rainart."
"As you wish, First Secretary Belladonna." Hazel sat down in the chair, which, however, felt as if it was about to collapse under the pressure of his muscles. "First of all, I come here with the intention of knowing the specific specifications and your technology requests that you would like us to provide."
Only then, the negotiations between the two finally began and lasted for hours, during which Perun presented the details of the technology he had been preparing for years, which he had been striving for for years and did not fail to give the man sketches or conceptual graphics of some machines, armor or weapons. Overall, the negotiations could be considered more than successful.
AN: Well, dear readers, everything indicates that this will be the last chapter of this short, because only a few shots story, which I personally regret, but I have other priorities. First of all, Hated Brother and finishing this project after so many months.
In the next chapter, I will present - to some extent - the fairy-tale inspiration for Perun, which will be consistent with the general inspiration for the antagonists of the world of Remnant. I hope you won't be disappointed.
I also want to mention that in the previous note to you I clearly did not express myself properly and correctly to the extent that would suit me. Perun is more than a symbolic reflection of Adam. He's basically a combination of Winter and Adam in a way that embodies one specific and objectively destructive phenomenon if left unchecked and become an end in itself.
Revenge, it is supposed to symbolize Perun. However, while Adam - from what was shown in the series and suggested - is driven by revenge and pursues it in a primarily emotional way, Perun bases all actions leading to revenge on humanity on logic and rationalism, even if the aspirations may seem extreme. So, in this respect, it is supposed to symbolize revenge, which is above all logical, not impulsive. This is the type of revenge that the wielder can patiently wait and prepare for years, just to avenge wrongs.
It will not be - at least I think - the slightest surprise for you, dear readers, that in fact the presented fugitive, especially the dialogues between Adam and Perun, or Perun and Lothar, are supposed to evoke conflicting emotions in you. On the one hand, there is a natural sympathy for the oppressed and those who crave security for their own kind. On the other hand, the horror of even the only contemplated moves that the presented characters are able to go to. This, to some extent, is my next response to the level of absurdity in contemporary popular culture, according to which the antagonists are almost always depraved, corrupt, and basically do not believe in their slogans or ideas. If that is the case, would people in their history - especially the new one - be able to just go to the bloodiest and brutal extremes on the road to realizing their vision?
In contrast to our current cultural creations, which largely treat viewers or readers as brainless morons, I present characters who take their slogans deadly seriously, even when in fact they are calculating and deceitful or driven by revenge.
Oh, I almost forgot to say that Perun's function and practical duties as First Secretary were directly inspired by Martin Borman's role as Adolf Hitler's secretary. On the other hand, his power in the White Knot was inspired by the power of Reinhard Heydrich in the SS, who until his death was the de facto "head" of this organization, while Himmler was only a face and basically an eccentric figurehead, on whom all responsibility for possible failures would fall.
That's all for this day and I wish you a nice rest of it, and see you in the future, more or less distant.