True Colors.

Oscar, who is currently letting Ozpin take over, and Qrow are seen sitting together, discussing everything that's been going on.

Qrow takes a sip from his cup "Things aren't looking good, Oz".

"Ever the optimist" Ozpin said as he sips from his cup "While I would not say our current predicament is... ideal, I think we can both agree that the situation could be much worse. Humanity is a resilient force".

"Oz, pro Huntsmen like that don't just bite it all at once. Salem's powerful. It seems like her reach is growing by the day. What does that say about Humanity?" Qrow asked.

Ozpin closed his eyes for a moment before he spoke "That there are indeed a misguided few who have filled their hearts with malice. It doesn't take a great number of people to cause harm, but I still believe there are far more people in this world willing to prevent it".

As Ozpin is about to take another sip, Ruby and Lucina is heard walking into the room.

"Um, excuse me?" Ruby spoke.

"Ah, Miss Rose, and Miss Lowell, join us. We were just about to gather everyone to discuss our next steps" Ozpin said.

"Oh, uh, great" Ruby said but it was clear she wanted to ask something.

"Something on your mind kiddo?" Qrow asked, noticing his niece's hesitation.

"Uh... uh, it's... if it's okay to ask" Ruby said uncertinly.

Qrow smiled "Of course".

"Well, uh... we've been talking about the Relic at Haven... and the Spring Maiden, but... what about the Fall Maiden?" Ruby asked

"Cinder?" Ozpin asked, causing Lucina to visibly flinch at the mere mention of that monster's name.

"Does that mean... Salem has the Beacon Relic?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin and Qrow share a brief look with each other before Ozpin spoke "Very astute, Miss Rose, I was wondering who would be the first to ask. No, thankfully she does not. It's true that the Relic at Haven is very much at risk, and for now, that should remain our primary focus. Let's just say I made finding the Relic at Beacon a... bit more challenging than at the other schools".

"Oh" Ruby said as she sighs in relief "That's good to hear".

"It is, but let's not forget the challenges that still lie before us" Ozpin said and Ruby nods "Now is there anything else we can help you with?".

"Oh, uh... well, I did have one more question" Ruby said.

"No, my cane is not a Relic" Ozpin answered before Ruby could even ask.

"I have no more questions" Ruby said, earning a giggle from Lucina.

"Yes, while this cane is indeed very precious to me, it is also just that - precious to me. While I admit it still has a few more tricks up its sleeve, I can firmly say that being a Relic isn't one of them. Now why don't you run and get the other students?" Ozpin suggested

Suddenly, Qrow's scroll is heard vibrating. He takes it out from his pocket to see Lionheart was calling. He takes the call "Yeah? ... Okay... yeah, we'll be there".

As he hangs up, Ruby spoke "Who was it?".

Qrow sighs while taking out his flask "It was Leo, says he had a breakthrough with the council. Thinks he might be able to get together a small raiding party for the bandits. He wants us to meet up at the school tomorrow night to walk us through it".

Ruby gasps and smiles "Really? Oh that's great! I'll go get the others".

Ruby runs out of the room while Qrow takes a drink from his flask. But Lucina remained, which Ozpin noticed.

"You've been silent this whole time, Miss Lowell. Is there something you wish to say?" Ozpin asked.

Lucina took a deep breath "Yes... There is a member of Cinder's team... His name is Líf. He seemed to have a very personal grudge against you. Any idea who he is and why he would be so full of hate?".

Ozpin closed his eyes to think for a moment "I didn't have much time to think about it back then... But yes, there is something very familiar about him. If my suspicion is right...".

"What? Who is he?" Lucina asked.

"I think it's better if I tell everyone at once. If he is who I think he is, you all need to know" Ozpin said.

Lucina sighed and began to leave "Alright, I will help Ruby gather everyone".

"Lucina" Ozpin spoke, making Lucina stop "I need you to know... I am very sorry for failing to take the necessary actions to prevent what Cinder did to you... Had I known sooner, I would've stopped it".

"It's... It's ok, Ozpin... If I ever see her again... I will Kill her" Lucina said coldly before walking away.

Ozpin and Qrow shared worried looks. Cinder's actions had effected Lucina more than they realized. They could only hope she wouldn't go down a dark path. Last thing they need is another soul to fall to darkness.


In Menagerie, the assault on the Belladonna Family Home continues. In the darkened tea room, Kali and a guard fire back at unseen assailants. Kali runs out of ammo in her pistol and throws it to the ground in annoyance. She then picks up a tea tray to block another shot. She looks to a wounded female guard leaning against a pillar, who just stares back.

"Do you have a better idea?" Kali asked.

Suddenly, Yuma flies in and knocks down the other guard to the ground. He wraps his hands around the guard's throat to choke him out.

"Quiet now..." He whispers in a sinister tone.

Kali then lifts the tea tray above her head, and does a loud battle cry as she runs toward Yuma.

"Ma'am, no!" The Female guard calls after her.

Yuma lets go of the guard's neck as he looks back in surprise as Kali approaches him, before loud thunk was heard.

On top of the roof, Lyre and Lethe were having a stare down. Neither of them were moving, nor did they say anything for several seconds.

"Why are you here, Lethe? I thought you finally quit the White Fang" Lyre said.

Lethe was silent for a moment before getting in to a fighting stance "I am here for Illia. And you are in my way".

"Illia? She is likely fighting Blake right now. Help me and we can stop her" Lyre offered.

"So you can convince her to agree with your fantasy? You may have been right about the White Fang, but your ideals are still impossible" Lethe said.

"After all this you are still-. Wait did you say I was right?" Lyre asked before she had to block a strike.

Lethe lashes out at Lyre with kicks and claw swipes, which Lyre was able to dodge with some effort. Lyre then tried to mount an offensive, but all her attempts were either blocked or otherwise dodged. Both traded several punches and kicks, but Lyre managed to score the first hit, punching Lethe in the chest and knocking the wind out of her before following it up with kick that sent Lethe flying back. Lethe recovered with a flip and landed on her feet, winded but otherwise okay. She lashed out again, raining down blows onto Lyre, which only stopped when Lyre back-flipped away, kicking Lethe in the chin in the process.

"This is stupid Lethe! We don't have to fight! We're sisters!" Lyre said.

"SHUT UP!" Lethe shouts as she delivered a punch to Lyre's face, knocking her back "It's your and Blake's fault I don't know what to believe anymore! I dedicated my life to the White Fang, and yet here they are, attacking the very heart of our people! All because Blake abandoned Adam!".

"She didn't abandon him! She left because the White Fang were becoming to aggressive, and Adam is the very embodiment of everything wrong with the White Fang!" Lyre argued before blocking another strike.

"And what are your solution!? That we should just roll over and let the humans walk over us!?" Lethe demanded as she threw another punch.

Lyre caught it, twisted Lethe's arm up before kicking her back "Of course not! But going to war is only going to result in pointless death and destruction! It will doom our entire race!".

Smoke rose from inside the house. A fire had broken out, and Lyre gasped, but as she tried to get inside, Lethe tackles her, but Lyre quickly throws her of. Finally having enough of her sister getting in the way, Lyre launched a full offence, throwing punches at her sister. Lethe's guard held up, and she swept Lyre's legs from under her and started throwing punches, one of which landed on Lyre's nose. The onslaught ended when Lyre retaliated with a punch of her own, sending Lethe back. Lyre leaps up rushed at Lethe, who immediately noticed her sister's charge. She threw a counter blow, but was shocked when Lyre easily dodged under it, delivering a blow to her gut. Lyre continued throwing brutal punches and kicks. Lethe dodged the first few, but was unable to dodge a kick to her ribs. Lyre then delivers an uppercut which sent Lethe in to the air, before she landed on her back.

Lyre leaps in to the air, activating her semblance before coming down like a lightning bolt and struck Lethe square in the chest, causing both of them to go through the roof. Inside the house, Blake had Illia pinned, but both where surprised by the sisters crashing through the sealing. Lethe was slammed in to the floor, as Lyre rolls of her.

"Lethe!" Ilia shouts before Corsac is thrown through the wall, dropping his half of Cyclone and Inferno. Ghira jumps into the room as he growls at Corsac.

He then notices his daughter pinning Ilia to the ground "Blake!".

Suddenly, Fennec stabs Ghira in the back, who cries out in pain and slumps toward the ground.

"Dad!" Blake cried out.

With Blake distracted, Ilia gets her off her and kicks her into a nearby chair, knocking Blake out momentarily. Ghira then gets Fennec off his back and tosses him away as Corsac runs to him. Ghira pulls the wand out of his back and clashes fists with Corsac. The two then struggle to push each other as their hands interlock. Ilia just stares in disbelief at what's going on around her, before a voice snaps her out of her trance.

Ilia! What are you doing?! Fight!" Fennec pulls out another wand and charges at Ghira.

The chieftain manages to push off Corsac and dodges Fennec's swipes as he begins to fight both of them at once. Fennec doges a swing then leaps at Ghira as he drives Corsac back, only be caught and tossed onto the floor. As Ghira defends himself Fennec recovers and begins to charge his weapon while the pair continue exchanging blows. Fennec then charges in again, giving a loud battle cry. Ghira notices him and grabs his wrist, pointing his weapon as it fires at Corsac, who gets blown back several feet away and is knocked unconscious.

"BROTHER!" Fennec tries to attack Ghira again, but Sun jumps in and kicks him away. Sun sees Blake struggling to get back up and clenches his fist. He then angrily glares at Ilia who continues to stand watching the fight.

"Go help Blake!" Ghira ordered.

"On it!" Sun pulls out Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang and engages Ilia in combat.

"Leave her alone!" Lethe shouts as she tries to get back up, but Lyre pins her down.

"You've done enough damage!" Lyre said.

He slams the staff down but misses, then jumps back to dodge her sweeping leg. Ilia back-flips away from his next swing and tries to kick him. Sun turns to dodge then splits his weapon, landing a blow on her back. He delivers a flurry of attacks with his shotgun nunchucks that overwhelms Ilia and leaves her open to a kick in the side. Rejoining the split halves to block Lightning Lash, which finishes thawing as they struggle. Ilia smiles before trying to shock him, only for the trigger to jam. Her eyes widen as she tries again while Sun shoves her back. She is then pushed against a pillar by Sun with a jab to the stomach. Before she can move he pins her against it with his weapon. Nearby, Fennec ducks under Ghira's claws then blocks his left arm, only to be punched back through the hole by his other hand. As Ilia struggles to get out of Sun's hold, the pillar she is getting pushed against starts to crack.

"Stop!" Sun and Ilia stop to look at Blake who had tears streaming down her eyes Please...".

Lethe looks at Lyre with teary eyes "Please, Lyre... I just want her... I love her".

Lyre got wide eyes as she let's go of her sister. What was she doing!? She was trying to stop her sister from saving someone she loves...

Ilia manages to push Sun off her and falls to the ground as he hits the pillar. Suddenly the pillar starts to crack even more, Sun moves out of the way quickly as the balcony above Ilia starts to give way. Ilia yelps looking up in terror as the balcony is about to fall on her.

"ILIA!" Lethe screams in terror.

Suddenly, Ghira rushed over and held the broken part of the balcony with his own strength. Ilia stares in awe "Go!".

Ilia quickly gets out of the way as Ghira is forced down on one knee to keep the balcony from falling on him. Sun uses his Semblance to summon two light clones that go and help Ghira lift. Blake grabs her katana and transforms it into kusarigama form. Unbeknownst to them, Fennec gets back up and sees his brother still unconscious. He grabs both of their wands and runs towards Ghira. Blake sees this and quickly tosses her weapon, wrapping it around her father's torso and pulls him out as Fennec lands just below the falling balcony. Fennec is then crushed by the balcony, and the Dust in the wands explode from impact, ensuring the younger Albain's death. Afterwards, Kali enters the room dragging an unconscious Yuma, who has his hands tied behind his back.

"Mom!" Kali drops Yuma as her daughter comes up to hug her. Their embrace is cut short as a voice gets their attention.

"What have you done?" Corsac spoke darkly while standing back up "You ruined everything... EVERYTHIIIIIIING!".

The Belladonnas, Lyre and Sun take defensive stances. Corsac angrily runs forward, but suddenly, Lightning Lash wraps around his body, electrocuting him and knocking him unconscious. With the battle over, Ilia starts to cry and falls to her knees as she breaks down, with the Belladonnas and Sun looking on.

Lethe holds her ribs as she walked up to Ilia before kneeling down next to her "I'm sorry, Ilia... I'm so sorry...".


Outside of the Belladonna's home, a large crowd of Faunus gathers outside, noticing the smoke coming from the building.

A Guard held them back "Back! Everyone, stay back! We've got people inside doing their best".

A man from the crowd points "Look!".

From the smoky doorway, Ghira walks out carrying the motionless bodies of a White Fang soldier and a Menagerie Guard on each of his shoulders. He hands the bodies to two guards as Saber Rodentia arrives.

"Get in there! Search for any stragglers!" He orders as more guards walk out keeping Corsac restrained, followed by Blake, Kali, Sun, Ilia and others "We came as soon as we got the call" He notices Corsac being forced to his knees "And Fennec?".

Ghira sadly shakes his head.

Saber walks over to Corsac "Was it worth it?".

Corsac looks down, defeated. As the commotion continues, Blake shares brief looks with Lyre, Sun and Ilia. Blake takes a deep sigh as she goes down the steps. Ghira notices his daughter walking away.

"Blake!" Before Ghira could go any further, his wife stops him, and both look on.

Blake then stops at one of the steps as she begins to address the crowd "Humans didn't do this. We did this: Faunus. We did this to ourselves. We are just as capable of hate and violence as the humans, but I don't think any of us would jump at the chance to point that out. So why are we letting Adam do it for us?! By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place. And if we're not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. This is the message that Adam Taurus will bring to the world if no one stops him. But we can stop him! You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very complicated problem. And I can't give that to you. I don't know how to make hate go away, I don't. But I know that this kind of violence is not the solution. I understand that to ask you to leave your homes and protect Haven Academy is asking you to put your lives at risk. But that's what's at stake. So I'm going, and I'll stand by myself if I have to".

"I'll stand with you!" Blake turns around with a surprised look on her face as Ilia stands up. Her pained expression then looks down "If... if you'd have me".

"Isn't that the White Fang girl?" A man asked.

"I thought she hated the Belladonnas" A woman remembered.

Despite some of the crowd's murmuring amongst themselves, Blake smiles at her old friend. As Ilia proceeds forward, Saber suddenly stops her "You're not going anywhere!".

"Let her come" Blake said.

Saber looks at her in disbelief "Huh? You're just going to forgive her? After everything she did?!".

"I am" Blake said simply.

Saber looks to Ghira, who nods to let Ilia go. Ilia continues to walk down the steps to stand next to her friend "What does she think she's doing?".

Ghira smiles "She's learned a lesson that evaded me until I was much older: That there is strength in forgiveness".

Blake puts a hand on Ilia's shoulder, sharing a smile together.

"I'll go!" Mata the ram Faunus steps forward and raises his hand, followed by many more.

A Female Aquatic Faunus steps forward "I'll go too!".

As more Faunus start to give Blake their support, Sun walks down the steps to join her and Ilia. The crowd is heard cheering as a majority agree to volunteer. They all smile at the crowd.

Lyre looks at Lethe "And you, sis?".

Lethe was silent for a moment before she sighed "Fine... I'll try it your way".

Lyre smiled before motioning to Ilia "Well, don't you have something to say to her?".

Lethe gulped as she walked up to Ilia who looks at her "Hey... Look I just... I mean I really...".

Lyre rolled her eyes at her sister's struggling. Well, actions speaks louder than words. So she pushed Lethe, making her stumble and... causing her to kiss Ilia. Both pulled back, blushing. Ilia's skin turned bright pink while Lethe turned to Lyre with a red face.

"The hell do you think you're doing!? Idiot!" She shouts while Lyre simply smiles.

"Looks like we've got work to do" Sun said in amusement.

Blake smiled "Thank you".

Meanwhile, from a distance, Sienna and Zelgius had been watching everything.

"Well? What do we do now?" Zelgius asked.

Sienna was silent for a moment "Looks like we're going to Haven...".

The battle that could decide the future of the entire Faunus race was growing near. One way or the other, Adam needs to be stopped.

.

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