The Burning Rose

by King of the unknowns

In an alternate universe, Summer lives and finds Cinder in Atlas. She decided to bring her back to Patch. Due to her traumatic past, Cinder is hesitant to trust the family, but after a close brush with death, she opens up to them and is eventually adopted by the loving family. After a few years of training, she heads off to Beacon to train to become a huntress!

70. Silver and gold

I'm am dead.

No seriously, I am dead. Like done, finished, faneto, over. And these stories are to blame.

Like seriously, between this chapter and next chapter, I've had to write 41000 words and if you add the 10000 a piece from two other chapters from a different story, that's over 61000 words! Which might not seem bad to you, but for context this chapter alone took me 5 hours to edit.

Hahahahahaha! Well if you wanted to know the origin of my super villain arc, there you go. Hope you enjoy. Want my advice, if you ever take up writing, don't be a maniac like me and feel like you have to paint every little thing in vast detail. Like seriously, learn that early! It will save you so much headache!

Unfortunately it's to late for me as my teacher when I was about ten would always force me to spell everything out or dock points from my papers. Her excuse was something along the lines of, "well, it's doesn't say that this is that person so how can you expect me to know?" And the one time I said that if you read the context within the rest of the paragraphs she automatically failed me and made me write an essay on the importance of explaining context. Yeah, America! Knocking it out of the park with your education system!

Okay, thanks for sitting through my Ted talk. Here's the next chapter of the Burning Rose. Enjoy.

---

A furious scream broke through the normally morning air of the town of BlacjJack as the people met in the town square, all of them looking to the magistrate (Lazlow.) and his four armed deputies.

"This is an outrage!" One of the gathered men shouted. "You have to do something! They killed an innocent boy over some petty disagreement! This cannot go unpunished!"

"I agree!" Shouted a woman, brandishing a pitchfork as she yelled her opinion to the town leadership. "I came here to get away from the culture that allowed those animals to rape and beat us! Now they've brought their savagery here! They can't be allowed to just get away with this!"

Her cry was met with a volley of agreements and even some clapping, emboldening many more to shout similar opinions and racial slurs, fanning the flames of hate as the mob became more and more out of control, the magistrate forced to bang the handle of his revolver onto the a table numerous times to get his people to quiet down.

"Listen!" He bellowed, raising his voice to ensure he could be heard. "I understand your frustration, but what you ask cannot be done by me! There are half a dozen trained huntsmen as well as several armed goons! Even if we all went after them, we'd be wiped out in a heartbeat! Left with no hope of survival or escape! Remember, the Faunus aren't the only monsters who call this content home."

His words sent an angry murmur through the crowd, fury rising as, while they hated to admit it, the magistrate was right. They all knew the power huntsmen and huntresses had at their fingertips. A full on fight against an untrained group of cattlemen would result in a one sided slaughter. And not the one they wanted to see.

Seeing them listening to his words, Lazlow pressed on, grabbing a piece of paper from his belt and holding it up high for all to see.

"I know this isn't how it should go, but there's injustice in this world, and we must bear it!" He called out, his loud voice easily carrying over the soft whispering. "We can't go after the murder of our dearly beloved Harper, but we can still strive for justice! What I have here is a written request to the counsel of Vale to arrest the ones responsible for this heinous act and-!"

Immediately, the magistrate was silenced by a barrage of loud booing. Several people even made rude hand gestures to show this discontent over his solution, many shouting over the others to make their opinions heard!

"Oh come on! We know those kingdom folk are too weak and limp dicked to actually take action!"

"The Faunus get preferential treatment in every kingdom! At best this murder will get a slap on the wrist!"

"The Faunus rape our sisters and wives! They kidnap our children and steal our jobs! All while the counselors are perfectly happy to sit on their asses and do nothing! Why would they care about one of us getting murdered out here?!"

As the crowd grew more and more agitated, more and more of them joined in the chorus, voicing their anger towards the Faunus and those who supported them, forcing Lazlow to bang his gun against the table once again.

"Quiet!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs, barely able to be heard over the roar from the mob. "Be quiet! I understand you're all upset, but you need to get it together! Keep this up and we're going to have Grimm swarming the town by sundown! Remember, we need to be alive in order for justice to be-!"

"Humph. You people really are shallow."

Immediately the mod fell silent, their collective rage temporarily turning to the quiet yet all encompassing voice at the back of the crowd.

There, standing at the edge of town square, was a young woman, a katana-like blade hanging from her waist, the only real intimidating thing about her as she had soft dark purple eyes and long brown hair.

She wore a simple, loss-fitting skirt and a plain looking brown tank top, one that was clearly designed for casual wear, but left her muscular arms free. A shah hung around her waist embroidered with a symbol of a sword crossing over the moon, a symbol that while seemed familiar to some in the crowd, none could really place where they had seen it.

Finally, a stylish hat sat atop her head, a large, bow Pom Pom hat, covering the top of her head in a simple yet effective manner while giving her a kinda young, almost cute appearance.

But the sour expression on her face removed any hope of giving the favor of any simps in the audience. Her deep frown matched with her narrowed eyes as she calmly walked into their mass, a path clearing for her as she walked through their ranks.

"You people are pathetic. You claim to want to be free of persecution, yet fail completely to comprehend the word. The Faunus, the Atlesians, by giving them both the same rights you so redly enjoy doesn't take away yours. It's not like their a physical object that only one party can hold onto. Their laws that simply apply allow businesses and individuals to not discriminate against what one cannot control. That is something that shouldn't affect your daily life in the slightest." As she spoke, the glare of the crowd forced in on her, the hatred and anger palpable as many began reaching for hidden weapons, slowly filling the crowd with several guns and knives.

But this didn't seem to brother the woman at all, her calmly, even steps not slowing in the slightest, letting her reached the table in the middle where the magistrate sat, completely ignoring him and his armed deputies as she turned to address the crowd, her eyes narrowed as she spoke out loud, ensuring they could all hear her.

"You claim you just want to live in peace, but that couldn't be further from the truth! You want a second class citizenship because it makes you, the literal bottom feeders of society, feel good about yourself! That at least despite your factual zero contribution to society, there's still someone you can step on, someone you can look down on! You people are no different than the White Fang! People who just want someone else to step on! Worthless animals like yourselves have no future in this world! You have all refused to move forward, and as such, you have been left behind! Those who do not change and evolve with the world cannot-. No, should not be allowed to continue to exist! And now, this worthless town shall be wiped from the map once and for all! And good riddance too."

Her threat was met with the sound of clicking as several gun hammers pulled back and she was immediately met with several dozen barrels leveled at her, as well as several knives, pitchforks, and other makeshift weapons. All brandished by the angry crowd who were quickly becoming a mob.

"Now, now missy. You shouldn't be getting too hasty." Lazlow drawled, approaching her from behind hands in his pockets. "I'm guessing you're drunk because nobody is stupid enough to pull a stunt like this. So, seeing as you're too hammered to do basic reasoning, how about I spell it out for you. Nice and simple like so you can understand, miss…uh?"

At his words, the woman shifted her narrowed eyes toward him in a bored fashion, no sign of emotion on her stoic face. "Alice." She replied in an equally uninterested manner. "Alice Matilda. Scout master of the high counsel and left hand of his royal highness. Though, if those words are too big for you, you can simply think of me as the captain of the royal guard of the Eternal Dynasty."

Scoffing at the words, Lazlow shook his head mockingly as he slowly lowered his head.

"Those are some fancy titles, Ms. Matilda." The magistrate said. "However I still believe you should sit down before you get hurt. After all, you are in a town that has survived years without having a local huntsman for years. And even after the kingdom abandoned us, we have survived by our shared strength and determination, filling the role-."

Suddenly the man broke off, his eyes going wide as he slowly looked back up at the young woman, mouth hanging open as he instinctively took a step back, his entire body shaking as all the air was sucked from his lungs.

"W-w-wait. What d-do you just s-say?" He stammered, his face going pale as he stared up at Alice, his own hand moving to rest on the revolver on his hip. "W-who did y-you just say you work for? Surely you didn't-?"

"Yes, I did." Alice replied calmly as the air immediately shifted to one of fear instead of anger, many in the crowd taking a step back, shaking as they stared at her. "I am a huntress of the Eternal Dynasty. Those who seek to save Atlas by placing its rightful king on the throne. An organization that really doesn't like having to draw the attention of the authorities. Something you lot have made impossible by your stunt by publicizing the fact the White Fang passed through here."

Turning to face Lazlow, Alice took a step forward, hand moving to her blade, resting on the hilt as she advanced.

"Because of the scene you caused, everyone now knows the route those annoying little ants are taking. Making it much harder for my mission to be completed." She snarled as the magistrate immediately began retreating, his men moving in front of the woman in an attempt to block her path, successfully stopping her.

Though only for a second as before they could even attempt to fire their weapons, with a single swing of her blade, the woman took off all four of their heads, her sword moving so fast it was back in its scabbard before the first drops of blood sprayed from their necks.

Time seem to slow as the crowd watched in horror as the bodies of the four man stumbled forward, their last movements as their nerve fired uselessly before they collapsed, blood pouring out of the neck and onto the ground surrounding Alice, their guns going not even going off as the women timed her attack perfectly to ensure even their corpses couldn't fight back, their heads hitting the ground and rolling towards the crowd, one of them bumping into a man's foot, eyes blinking as it stared up at him, the light fading from its eyes a good two seconds after.

Then the scream ripped through the air, breaking the crowd out of the collective daze, causing them to Immediately spring into action, many opening fire on the woman from behind, many more turning and fleeing, rushing to either their homes to barricade themselves in or heading for the town border, preferring to take their chances in the wilds than against the terrorists huntress.

However, no matter what each person did, it was utterly futile.

Spinning on her heels, Alice swung her blade, catching the bullets on the blunt side of her sword and sending them right back into the crowd, mowing down several gunmen and causing the rest to panic, firing at will at the huntresses in a terrified attempt to stop her.

However, with another swing of her sword, she sent the hail of bullets away, knocking them into the those who ran towards the edge of town, catching them in the back and causing them to fall to the ground, screaming in pain as Alice drew her scabbard, turning it into its rifle form and opening fire against those who ran for their homes, effortlessly cutting them down as well.

"You people have made my job very difficult." Alice snarled angrily. "All that time I spent tracking them, stealing from them, even vandalizing their trucks to slow them down, you just had to go and alert the entire kingdom where they were with those stupid videos you posted to try and garner sympathy from the mindless masses! Now, you've called the entire organization down to deal with what I could have handled by myself! As punishment for this transgression, you will all die!"

With another flick of her sword, she cut down another group of fleeing individuals, their warm bodies not even hitting the floor before she turned, dodging around to men who rushed her with pitchforks, dodging their attack before quickly slashing their arms off, causing them to stumble back screaming, an action she cut short by taking one's head off and using the other as a human shield, blocking another barrage of bullets.

Finally deciding to go on the offensive, Alice calmly pointed her scabbard out from behind the man, opening fire on the men without losing her cover. Each bullet landing with incredible precision, blasting hole after hole into their heads and dropping them as effortlessly as swatting flies, not wasting a single movement as she cut them down in droves.

As this happened, the magistrate, seeing his opportunity, quickly raised his gun to shoot the huntress in the back, hopefully staggering her to allow his other men to land their shots.

But before he could take his shot, the girl lashed out with her blade, effortlessly taking off both his hands without even looking at him!

"Aaahhhh!" Lazlow cried as he fell back, blood spurting out of his stubs, his weapon landing uselessly next to him as he rolled around on the ground, crying in pain drawing the attention of the crowd.

And that was the last mistake they made.

Acting instantly, Alice throw the lifeless human shield to the ground as she shot forward, moving with such tremendous speed she ground she kicked off causing the ground to crack, sending rocks and dust into the air, quickly drawing the attention of the mob back to their opponent, only by now, she had skidded to a halt right in front of someone at the head of the mob, her head bowed as she slid her sword back into her scabbard, a click ringing out as the guard touched the metal covering.

Then the man before split open, having been cut in two from the forehead down, leaving him cleanly split right down the middle. The blow so fast, he had died before even realizing his life had ended! The last remnants of a strangled scream bubbling out of his throat before the two halves hit the ground, the woman's face stained red as she looked up toward the remaining people.

And the next second, another volley of screams ripped through the morning air. Only this time, it was accompanied by a red mist overtaking the sleepy town as blood began to rain from the sky. Curiously of the young assassin as she effortlessly turned the cattle town into a graveyard.

---

Cinder stifled a yawn as she sat in the truck as it drove passed the massive theater at the heart of modern city of Airmist, a railroad city that connected the main kingdom to the marshlands where the SCD had set up shop and Narnu, the port city that had served as the main headquarters for all invasions into Atlas.

Apparently, all soldiers had to come back through this town had caused quite a bun back in the day, turning it into a bit of a metropolis as it had needed not only housing for the soldiers as they can back home, but also the families of the soldiers as they waited for them to return. Something many had done, uprooting their lives just for a chance to hear more news from the front line sooner, something the dark haired girl couldn't help but feel was stupid.

All though, this was a sentiment that wasn't shared by most as the theater, having been founded as a way for the soldiers returning home to relax and enjoy themselves after getting off the front lines and being safer as they were no longer on the coast that acted as the border between Vale and Atlas. A way to decompress and feel safe as they returned to being normal civilians again after the horrors of war. Something the rest of the town quickly joined in on, turning the whole city into a hybrid city, half dedicated to the military and tourist attractions, something that had been built into its architecture and helped it survive after the war ended. Now serving as both a monument and a popular holiday destination, drawing in hundreds of guests every year! (Yes. All This info came from Amber. And no, Cinder hadn't asked for it.)

Now, Cinder herself wasn't a huge fan of the rich, (for obvious reasons) but as she and her team were driven through the modern city, she had to admit, she did find it somewhat interesting just taking in the sights as it was very different to anything she had experienced.

It didn't have several tall apartments or crowded living space like Mantle, nor did it have the unnecessary decor and extravagance of Atlas, the apartments were more like Vale, large enough to be livable, but still compact enough that they could fit the people who lived here without overextending and making everything feel to cramped.

However, unlike the main kingdom, this city was a tourist attraction, and as such had plenty of goody neon signs and flashing lights to try and attract customers to shops that, despite displaying the name, were somewhat vague on exactly what kind of services they offered.

"Wow. I never knew it was possible to create a settlement like this so far away from the main kingdom." Eric said, looking out the window, letting out a whistle as he read some of the signs in the early morning light. "How'd they even set something like this up? This place doesn't exactly have a large military presence like Narnu. How'd they manage to draw in tourists when it's so dangerous to leave the main kingdom?"

Turning to look at her teammate, it didn't surprise Cinder in the slightest when it was her partner who chimed up almost immediately.

"It is, but this place is kinda special." Amber explained as she leaned forward in her seat. "See, after the war, a lot of people who had stayed here found they enjoyed it more than the main kingdom. So, when they returned home, they chose to stay here instead of returning to Vale, and because so many of them had military experience, they were able to set up an effective perimeter in the form of the large outer wall you saw on the way in. Which is maned twenty-four seven to keep the Grimm at bay. And not long after that, the SDC went international, shipping to all different kingdoms allowing the military here to arm themselves with dust rounds and other huntsmen style weapons, ensuring they could survive without the need to constantly hire huntsmen. And since their main supplier headquarters is set up in the marshlands only a few days away, they used their influence to help fund the city, keeping it open as a way to cheaply ship dust to the main kingdom while the executives used it as a way to relax and unwind during their off days. Some employees even live here and commute to work, staying there for two weeks before coming back here to rest for one."

Perking up slightly at this, Cinder turned her attention to her partner, raising an eyebrow at her statement.

"Don't the SDC have personal housing courtors in the marshlands?" She asked. "Why drive and run the risk of death by Grimm every few weeks when you can just live at your workplace? Doesn't that make more sense than having a three/four day drive to and from your place of employment?"

At this, a sad smile crossed Amber's face, the girl shooting a quick glance at the four and final member of their team sitting in the seat next to them, quickly reading his mood before continuing, her voice slow and measured, choosing her words carefully before she spoke them.

"Unfortunately, the SDC isn't that…generous when it comes to making accommodations." She explained simply. "See, only employees are allowed to stay there, so if they have families, then they are expected to separate if they want work in the company. And while I understand not wanting to have children around a mine or highly volatile dust, that's the only…official reported issue."

Eyebrow twitching in response, Cinder felt her hands tighten into fists, the girl immediately knowing where this was going.

"The living conditions are horrible, aren't they."

It wasn't a question, Cinder, having grown up in that kind of environment already knew what cheap labor was subjected too. It didn't take her much energy to picture some kind of fenced off area with a bunch of dry cabins inside, the workers needing someone from upper management to even get in or out, someone who undoubtedly got paid several times what they made just to push some papers. Something always grinds her gears.

However, when the answer she got was a dry huff from her redheaded teammate, she shifted her attention appropriately, trying to read his scowl in the reflection of the window he was staring out.

"You don't know the half of it." He grunted, his chin resting in his palm. "There are reports of countless abuses inside the housing complex. And I'm not just talking about the normal insults and bullying. Think the kind of inappropriate behavior that it seems every politician gets in trouble for only being done everyday and that should give you the basic idea of what living there is like. Unfortunately, it's either that or a few days commute to work on Grimm infested roads, something that, unlike the rich executives who hire huntsmen to protect them, is practically a death sentence unless you happen to know exactly what you're doing. Something that, conveniently enough, most minimum wage Faunus don't really have time to look into."

As he spoke, the rest of his comrades noticed a dark look creep into his eyes, one that they were getting more and more used to seeing during the course of the mission. One that, unfortunately, none of them still had a good answer for, making them unintentionally end up normally ignoring it.

Frowning at this, Cinder turned away, looking out the window, her own eyes narrowing as she tried to take her mind off the Faunus by thinking back to her own time during camp the past few nights.

Ever since Adam outburst at Blackjack, Cinder had been doing some of her own research, looking into the treatment of the Faunus throughout history, and what role they actually played in many historical events.

Now, she wasn't Amber, but she had found a fair bit of disturbing information that left a bad taste in her mouth. One part her feeling somewhat bad for the Faunus, another, more potent part, being how similar her treat was to theirs.

Now, don't get her wrong. She knew there was a big difference from being a slave by circumstance and being a slave because you had ears poking out of your head. But the treatment she had read about sounded uncomfortably familiar to the dark haired girl.

However, with that being said. While she had made a promise to herself to not deliberately push Adam's buttons on the topic anymore, a part of her still didn't really understand what-.

"Oh! We're almost there!"

Amber's voice cut into Cinder thoughts, making her jolt back to reality and lock over at her partner who was excitedly looking out the window.

"Look. We're coming up to the former military base now turned into a historic hotel. The place we're staying at for the next couple days!"

Turning to look at what had gotten her partner all excited, Cinder mouth fell open, making her almost bite her tongue as the truck jolted as it hit a bridge, bouncing roughly as they entered into a new part of the city, this one noticeable difference from the rest.

Unlike the other parts, this area more resembled Atlas military district, with several tanks placed around where the paladins should be and Vale flags waving in the wind. A cut down air strip was noticeable in the distance and as well as some spots where soldiers would normally be doing push-ups on a grassy zone as a drill Sargent stood over them.

"This place used to be where they housed the soldiers when they came back from the war. Eventually, they started putting up housing for their families, then amusement for them, and so on. Eventually, they-."

"Yeah, a bunch of history happened here. Jerez we get it. You don't need to tell us again." Cinder cut in, playfully rolling her eyes. "The barracks got turned into a hotel which guests can stay at and get a tour and that's the place we'll be staying. Kinda ironic that we're guarding a peace activist while staying at an old military base."

Chuckling at this, Amber looked back to her partner, a smug smile on her face. "Actually, that's the whole point." She said in a know it all kinda tone, something she knew the dark haired girl hated. "See, while we may not like it, war and other atrocities happens. And we do ourselves a huge disservice by pretending they didn't. As such, while once a staging ground for soldiers being shipped off to the front line, it's now a way of remembrance of the brave men and women who lost their lives in battle. Sacrificing so much to ensure freedom from the tyranny of the Atlesian monarchy. You can't deny that a setting like this is just right for this kind of event."

Rolling her eyes at her partner's cheesiness, Cinder leaned back in her seat as she felt the truck's beginning to slow, their destination finally at hand.

"Yeah, fitting despite technically the main goal is a little further down the road." She said, prompting the dark skinned girl to playfully stick her tongue out at her before responding.

"Well, seeing as we won't be staying at a military base in Narnu, I suggest we simply enjoy the irony of staying at one here in Airmist. After all, I guarantee you we won't be staying at another four star hotel anytime soon. And with peace being so important now more than ever, I don't think I need to remind you that the uncertainty of the future treaty with Atlas is on everyone's minds."

Cinder snorted quietly at this, rolling her as she turned away. "Yeah, tell that to the villages that didn't get overrun during the Great War." She muttered under her breath, softly enough only her team could hear. With the leader shooting her a look.

"Cinder." Amber warned quietly, making the girl throw her hands up and shrug nonchalantly, her face one of cold indifference.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Keep it to myself." She said dismissively. "Don't worry, I'll keep my trap shut. I may not entirely agree with that sentiment, but I'm getting to stay in a four star hotel for free, so I'm not going to complain. Besides, this is the only place on the entire trip that has decent CCT signal. And with each of us getting our own computer per room, I intend to make the most of it."

Beside her, Adam let out a snort, shooting her a sideways look, a mocking smile plastered onto his face as he looked down at his smaller companion.

"Oh? Well don't take too long." He said pointedly. "Remember, we're still on mission and need to keep our wits about us. On top of that, we're also meeting with the local government to discuss the speech and where we can hold it. Something we're going to need to know to effectively protect our client."

Rolling her eyes at the Faunus, Cinder opened her mouth to shoot back a retort, only to shut it again when she got a sharp look from Amber, making her fall into a begrudging silence as she turned away.

"Whatever." She grunted, forcefully accepting defeat. Allowing her partner to pick up preventing Adam from pushing the subject.

"How come the city's government is coming to greet us? Seems quite the welcome for a public speaker." The dark skinned girl asked, cocking her head to the side. "I know Mr. Naabhi is a big deal in the Faunus community, but with everything going on, I don't really think a politician of such a large city would be interested."

"He says it's because he wants to aid our cause." Adam replied immediately, his voice laced with hope and excitement. "See, the White Fang doesn't allow humans to join or use your survives. And while the latter is mostly just a way to show humanity how we feel, the other part is that to get our support is to join a partner program. One that is honestly pretty generous."

"A partner program?" Amber asked, her voice betraying hints of her uncertainty. "I thought the whole point of the White Fang was to strengthen relations between humans and Faunus. Doing things like denying entry to certain people or offering those who want to help in a roundabout way is counterproductive. Wouldn't it be easier to work with humans to achieve a common goal."

If Adam noticed the concern in his team captain's voice, he didn't respond to it, simply continuing on in that same excited tone.

"Maybe, but that's kinda missing the point." The redhead replied, turning to face the dark skinned girl. "See, we want equality, but that can only come if we achieve it by ourselves. If we allow humans to hand it down, like they're some kind of god, there'll also be an argument made that they could take it away, like it's their right to decide how people get treated. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all Faunus are good and all humans are bad, but whenever there is some kind of mass attack made by Faunus, White Fang or otherwise, have you noticed how it's handled compared to that of humans?"

Looking up, Cinder found herself becoming slightly interested in what her teammate had to say. Something that seemed to be shared by Eric as he too turned from the window to pay more attention to the conversation in the vehicle.

"See, every time there's…let's just say riot, whenever it's Faunus, the headlines is always like to point out that it's Faunus who are committing the riot, using phrases like, 'dangerous ideology tears Faunus apart.' Or, 'with Faunus rights the way they are, is it safe to let our children out at night.' They act like we all know each other, like the actions of one is a reflection of the whole species. Meanwhile, let's see what happens when humans commit the same crimes."

Reaching into his pocket, Adam pulled out his Scroll and flipped over the screen, coming to a stop on one before turning it, showing the rest of his team. Displaying the newest news from Vale.

"A class of college students arrested for adopting the radical ideology of the Enlightened Seraphim's. Allegedly responsible for hanging four bodies from the Labyrinth Bank on Main Street." Says XYZ news.

"Couple perform double homicide against local store owner for hiring an Atlesian refugee over locals. Now awaiting trial without bond. What has this world come too?" An article by Vixen news reported displaying a picture of two forty something year olds, both humans.

"How the gang war in Vale has radicalized these mothers to demand that any children born to parents from outside be banned from going to the local playground. Now hold mass protests just outside the local school grounds and are refusing to leave until they can be assured their children are safe." Chimed in the ever unhelpful Buzzmail news, display the picture of some blond Karen beside the image of the protests, which had a noticeable lack of Faunus involvement.

"Yeah, that's why we work alone." Adam, having made his point, lowered the Scroll and slipped it back into his pocket. "If we worked with humans, it would look like we're begging for something that we want. That's not it. We're demanding what we're owed, what we've been denied by humans for hundreds of years. As such, following the Great War's end, it was decided unanimously that we'd only allow Faunus to join the White Fang. To ensure the world saw us not as some lesser beings clinging to the legs of our betters for the same rights, but as equal people who wanted what was due. Something that, despite how many people say their sick of hearing about, has yet to actually be done."

As his speech came to a stop, an uncomfortable silence filled the car, the three humans of the group unsure of what exactly to say. Especially their leader.

Now, a student of history she might be, the exact details of the Faunus rights were not her specialty. Sure, she knew more than the average Joe, but to say she was knowledgeable enough to put any value into an agreement when she herself hadn't noticed those kinds of details would be a fat lie.

Yes she knew throughout history, the Faunus were enslaved by humanity, but to the exact extent, she had no idea. She was well aware that history was written by the victors, and that a lot of things had been white washed from the text books. And while it could be argued that these articles Adam had shown weren't exclusively about humans, she wasn't so naive as to use that as an excuse and say that racism wasn't alive and well today.

She understood that it wasn't fair that a single bad apple would infect the whole for only certain people, and she more than understood that minority's faced predigest that majority's didn't, be that from race or other social issues, and that to Adam, someone who live in unfairness from a very early part of his life, one could hardly blame him for being bitter.

However, try as she might, she still couldn't understand the logic of banning humans from the White Fang.

Yes, she saw Adam point. That to see Faunus being led by a human would give the wrong impression, but allowing humans to opt into a partnership program felt more like shoving them aside rather than working with them, which was what the organization was all about. After all, she knew that any human who was serious about their cause would understand why, even if they were more qualified, a Faunus needed to lead.

"Hey, heads up."

Snapping out of her thoughts, Amber looked up to Fox, their driver, as she called their attention from the back.

"Look alive people, we've got a welcoming party. And it looks pretty serious." Turning their attention to where she was looking, team AACE saw that they had reached the base/hotel and were pulling up to a procession of police and huntsmen, all standing around either side of the entrance like it was a red carpet, saluting them as they pulled up to the building.

"What the-?" Cinder began, only to be cut off as the radio in the front of the truck blared to life, a voice broadcasting across the main huntsmen frequency that all White Fang equipment was automatically turned to.

"Attention White Fang." A loud, commanding voice said. "This is Captain Luke of Airmist guard. I welcome you to our great city and while I'm sure you'd like to rest after your long journey, I'm afraid there's been a change in plans."

Biting back a groan, Amber felt her stress and anxiety bubble right back up from the pit of her stomach, her internal dread rearing it ugly had as she prayed to the Brothers and even the great Weaver (or whatever she was called.) for this to NOT be what she was thinking it was.

Unfortunately, they must have put her on hold as the next second, the captain spoke the words she had so desperately not wanted to hear.

"Myself as well as the mayor await you in the sweet behind the gardens. We request you come straight there. We have much to discuss about the speech you're going to give."

Great. Politics. The very thing she had left Vale to avoid.

---

A little while later.

The computer screen booted up, displaying Cinder own face as she sat in her and Amber's room, the sound of ringing coming through the speakers as she waited for the person on the other end to pick up, the girl impatiently tapping her fingers on the desk as she stared at her own reflection.

Normally, doing something like this in the middle of a mission would be frowned upon to say the least, but she had actually been temporarily pulled from her duties as apparently the mayor hadn't wanted to be in the same room as some many huntsmen under the White Fang's payroll. And as such, she and Eric had been dismissed, leaving just Sienna, Ghira, Amber and Adam had been chosen to stay and hear the conversation, leaving the rest of them to do what they want

"Come on, hurry up." She murmured to herself, eyes fixed on the screen. "I know you are a useless piece of junk router, but so help me, if you crap out now, you are so dead when I get back."

Her threat, while nothing new, seemed to work. As the next second, the screen flashed and Cinder vanished, replaced with the kind beaming, and glowing silver eye of her mothers on the other end of the monitor.

"Cinder! I'm glad to see you made it to Airmist safely. Tell me, how are you enjoying your first time out in No Man's Land? It must be exciting for you to get to see so many new places." She asked, smiling kindly on the other side of the monitor. "You know, when I told Ruby and Yang that you'd be working with the White Fang, they both got so excited, they spent the next few minutes running around the house before piling on me and asking about a hundred questions so fast, I swear they don't take a breath for at least five minutes!"

Laughing at her sister:' antics, Cinder leaned back in her seat, a happy, kind smile gracing her lips. One she rarely put on outside in her close inner relationships.

"Yeah, that sounds like them alright. So excitable over mundane things." She joked before. "Honestly, this mission feels like one big waste of time. It's boring, uncomfortable, irritating, and…" trailing off slightly, Cinder turned her gaze downward, face slightly falling to a more somber expression as she began thinking about her next words carefully.

Noticing this, Summer raised an eyebrow at her daughter, gaze becoming more gentle and caring as she leaned closer to the monitor.

"Cinder? Is everything okay?"

Letting out a heavy sigh. Said girl lifted her head, looking awkwardly just past Summer's ear, unable to make proper eye contact.

"It's just…This mission feels so pointless." She confessed. "Fang's off guarding a supply ship heading to Vacuo, that Mistral bitch is acting as undercover escorts to try and root out the Seraphim agitators, civil unrest is at an all time high in the kingdom, and I'm out here in the middle of nowhere guarding some public speakers who ironically enough speaks the least out of everyone involved. It just feels…"

"Trivial in comparison." Summer finished, nodding understandingly to her daughter. "Yeah, I get what you mean. Currently, Vale has become the number one in hate based crimes against minorities, over taking even Atlas. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's going to change anything in the near future."

Cinder nodded quietly. She knew how dangerous the streets had become. Now, it wasn't uncommon to stumble across someone getting ganged up on and beaten up in every other alley, resulting in a constant state of fear that everyone could feel in the air. Something that drew the Grimm in droves and forced the military and huntsmen to work overtime to repel them. And of course the remnants of the Seraphim putting all the blame on the Atlesian refugees by jumping through more logic holes than a slice of swiss cheese.

Sighing irritably, Cinder rubbed the bridge of her nose as she recalled her time trying to help suppress rioters and violent protests. "Seriously, why are people so fucking stupid? How the hell can they justify turning the entire city into a jungle? Yes. Atlas overstepped and is refusing to take responsibility, but that's just the normal political BS. No need to go full psycho and endanger everyone. I mean, even if they were in the right, all these brain dead idiots are drawing Grimm closer and closer to the kingdom with their blood lust and sheer idiocy. Can't they see that? What a bunch of retards."

Frowning slightly at her daughter's harsh words, Summer leaned back in her seat, glancing over at the door to the room before turning her attention back to the screen.

"Actually, I don't think the issue is about their intellect."

Her words drew the dark haired girl's head up, fixing her mouth with a wide eyed stare, opening her mouth to protest the supposed over zeal nature of her mother and her insistence on seeing the good in people.

But said woman cut in before she could get a single word out.

"Not naming any names or anything, but some of the people I've spoken to think something else is up." The older woman said quickly, her eyes narrowing as she leaned toward the screen, lowering her voice so only her eldest daughter could hear.

"See, some old war tacticians have been studying the past few months' events and they have told me something seems suspicious. And when you stop and look at all the clues, it starts to get harder and harder to refute." She explained. "First, the Seraphim are forced into the open by repeated attacks on their strongholds and safe houses, then they throw together a very loud and public last ditch attack to try and push back, and once that fails and their leaders are arrested, suddenly they lose ten of their top members on top of the men the lost during their big scheme before suffering their greatest loser ever, followed immediately by the death of both Adelaide and Howard, the only two capable of pulling the, together causing a huge rift to split them apart, all in the course of a few months. Doesn't that seem a little too convenient to be random chance?"

Raising her eyebrow at her mother's words, Cinder found herself dumbstruck as when it was all laid out to her, it did seem a little too convenient to be pure chance. After all, what were the odds of the Seraphim being hit so hard repeatedly in rapid succession? If someone was pulling the strings behind it all, that would explain why not only they had been so thoroughly forced out into the open, but also why even when they had refused to back down when they got extremely close to being exposed. They were backed into a corner and the only way out was through.

But if that was the case…

"Who's the one pulling the strings? I mean, Howard was really smart, able to make us look like fools for over half the damn mission. Who could be smart enough to outmaneuver him? And why would they want to?"

At her daughter's Question, Summer's face faltered slightly. She knew someone who could and had been running circles around Howard for as long as he'd been alive. A very powerful individual who had been alive for centuries and had recently started to poke her head out again. Someone who would stop at nothing to see humanity in ruins and the world destroyed. And while she had no physical proof to back up her theory, the tactic of dividing people was her favorite trick to see the end of everything.

However she could hardly tell Cinder that.

"Who knows." Summer replied. "There are a multitude of reasons that jump to my mind. Maybe a competitor found out his secret and wanted to expose him. Or maybe someone wanted revenge against the Seraphim and chose to bring it all crashing down. Who can say, but one thing I know is that right now, you're traveling the rest of the kingdom, helping to promote peace, it's probably the best thing you could be doing."

Cinder fought the urge to roll her eyes at her mother's cheesy reply, doing her best not to show the light happy feeling she got from the praise. Opening her mouth, she prepared a snarky comeback only to be interrupted by a blurry red…thing shooting in from the other room, crashing with a loud thud into the closest before bouncing right back, coming to a stop right in front of the monitor.

"Cinder! I didn't know you'd be calling!" Ruby cried happily. Her smile radiating happy energy as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, a red cape draped over her shoulders as she dusted herself off. "Hey! Guess what?! Mom's been training me with my semblance and she says it's just like her's! Isn't that cool!?"

"Huh, looks pretty different to me. Yours seems to be more in line with Yang's, a physical enhancement style semblance while mom's is technically a sensory type. That's a big difference if you ask me. Though it's still impressive you managed to gain control of that kind of speed that quickly. Looks like we found your hidden talent after all these years." Smiling at the hyper young girl, Cinder and Summer both nonverbally chose to table their more serious discussion for a later date. Instead focusing all their attention to the little girl bouncing up and down in excitement.

"I know right!? It's so cool!" She cried happily. "But according to mom, my semblance isn't like Yang's but something else, something new! She seems to think I can…break myself apart and move really really fast!"

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, the older rose looked to the mother of the family of clarification. With said woman smiling as she explained what had happened.

"Long story short, when Ruby ran through my semblance with her's, I noticed parts of her body mass was missing. After we made sure she was okay, we did a few more tests and found that, and while it's not a hundred percent confirmed, she seems to lose some of her mass when using it."

Raising her eyebrow at this, Cinder turned her attention back towards Ruby. Semblances that alternated the user's body weren't uncommon, but the ability to actually lose or transform parts to a degree that even a sensory type couldn't notice was another story. Not to mention extremely dangerous if used recklessly or incorrectly.

Ruby however, didn't seem bothered by this fact. Quite the contrary actually as she was bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Amazing, isn't it?!" She exclaimed happily. "I can do all sorts of stuff I never dreamed of! And while I can only maintain it for a few seconds, I've already gotten really good with it! Here, watch this!"

Wrapping herself in the little cape she had dawned, she ignored her mother's warning, (which only got as far as the "don't!".) then activated her semblance, transforming into a blur of red petals that ran a circle around the older Rose before launching up, shooting off screen at blinding speeds.

And a good way into the ceiling going by the loud crash that followed, and the falling debris that rained down of Summer who looked up, a half amused, half frustrated smile on her face as she stood up from her chair, quickly walking a few feet away, letting her catch Ruby as she fell from the attic, her red aura flickering as Cinder noticed some insolation on her head.

"See! I'm amazing!" Ruby cheered, her no doubt bruised head not bringing down her mood at all. "I can't wait to go to Beacon! I bet I'll even beat Cinder's record during my graduation exam!"

Chuckling, Cinder leaned back in her seat, fixing Ruby with her old, "I'm better than you expression," (or that's what Eric called it.) she had from her time before Music Fest and tuned her voice to one filled with arrogance.

"Well, hold up there one second." She said with joking irritation. "I don't recall giving you my permission to go and break my record a few years after I set it. Just because I was the same age as you when I awoke my semblance doesn't mean you're going to just be as great as me! You're gonna need to work hard and train even harder. If you manage that, I might consider you a worthy rival to my rise as the greatest huntress in Remnant!"

Grinning at the challenge, Ruby responded by throwing her arms up and giving her sister the best impression of flexing, ( Ruby's arms were comparable to sticks.) she could.

"Yes ma'am!" She cried excitedly. "I'm going to be the best hero ever! Just you wait, one day gonna be the silver child of Patch!"

"Silver child of Patch?" Cinder asked, raising an eyebrow at her smallest sister, one part confused, one concerned. "What are you talking about?" Surely Summer hadn't revealed the secret behind what had happened with the Werewolf all those years ago.

The dark haired girl quickly got her answer however as her mother smiled pleasantly at her. "Oh, just a little thing I've been talking about with her." She explained as she set Ruby back onto her own feet. "Back when Atlas was a monarchy, children of royal families were given names after rare or precious gems or stones. The White Princess of Atlas for example was named the Amethyst child of Geldhart because of her incredible talent and abilities that rival and even out classed some of their best fighters in the same way that the stone, while being more common than some others, still sold for comparable prices. You know, because money was so important to the kingdom's culture."

Snorting in response, Cinder playfully rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well. That hasn't changed much." She snarled back, earning her a stern look from her mother as she continued, ignoring the jab at the kingdom.

"Anyway, the titles of gold, silver, and bronze were titles held exclusively by the royal family. And as such, it was given to their offspring based on their order of accession. So the first prince would be known as the golden prince, the second would be known as the silver, and all others would be bronze. And while I don't really approve of the idea of ranking your own children, I did take some liberties with their culture as a way to…"

Trailing off here, Summer smiled down at Ruby, her soft eyes filling with emotion at the little girl as she bounced up and down in place, her big goofy grin never once leaving her face.

And as she watched this heartwarming scene, Cinder felt her own face soften, an understanding, yet still sad smile spreading across her face.

"Ruby, a rare and beautiful gem found in Atlas. One that is often associated with heat, spring, and new life. Hehe. I couldn't think of a better name myself." She said, drawing her mother's gaze. A look of surprise on her face at the level of tact her eldest child was showing. Though not an unwelcome shock.

"I…see what you were going for. It was…I understand why you chose that name." Cinder said with an incredibly uncharacteristic softness in her voice. "I don't know how much my words mean, but I think that if she…if they could see all the good you're doing in the world in part because of their memory, they would approve. After all, while they might be gone, you saved me when you didn't have to, helped Ruby grow into this adorable ball of energy, took care of Yang even though she's not your blood. You've done so much good for each of us, I think that you should be proud that you were able to take such a…horrible experience and turn it into something positive. Most people, myself included, wouldn't have that kind of strength."

As she came to a stop, Cinder watched Summer's face slowly change to one of a heartfelt smile, not brimming with joy or laughter like her normal one or Ruby's, nor one wrapped in radiance like Amber's. No, it was one simply appreciating having someone to be with and not judge her one way, or the other. One who simply accepted her feelings and respected them. One that the old Cinder would have never been able to understand.

"Thank you." Summer said softly, smiling at her daughter. "You know, I'm not ever sure if I'm ever going to feel like I've made up for…doing that. But believing their souls are at least able to live on through my actions, that means a lot to me."

Reaching up, Summer wiped a tear from her eye, her smile still holding on her face, though less open as before. The fact she was talking with Ruby about this meant she had been slowly opening up about that day, but while that hopefully meant she was healing, it had also reopened some old wounds that clearly stung her quite a bit. She had started the road to recovery, but she still needed time.

And that was exactly what Cinder intended to give her, choosing not to say anything, simply sitting there letting her mother recompose herself, letting the tension of the serious conversation start to dissipate.

And as luck would have it, they didn't have to wait to long for that.

Looking between her mother and elder sister, Little Ruby puffed up her cheeks in a pout as she quickly put together she was the only one who didn't know what they were talking about.

"Hey! No fair! I want to know what the big secret is! Tell me!" She whined, immediately making the older two laugh, their faces relaxing as they turned their attention to the small ten year old.

"Oh Ruby. I'll tell you when you're older." Summer said with a smile. "For now, why don't you hear about the world outside the safety of our city's walls. I'm sure Cinder would be happy to answer any and all of your questions."

"Don't speak for me!" Cinder jokingly snapped, her tone carrying no real bite as she made exaggerated movements with the rest of her body to come off as pompous as she could. "Ugg! Fine. I'll answer Ruby's questions. Just make them quick, Amber and Adam are going to need me to switch out for them shortly. My time is a precious commodity these days."

Laughing at the display, the family eased into an easy conversation where they stayed until Cinder had to go relieve Eric from guard duty.

---

In the gardens.

Amber stood stoically to one side of a table, arms folded behind her back as she watched Sienna and Ghira sit down on either side of Mr. Naabhi, the turtle Faunus looking calmly at the group sitting across from him.

There sat a pale, somewhat skinny man in a fancy suit. On his right sat captain Luke. Kitted out in full plate armor with blonde hair and a large face, he gave off a more relaxed demeanor compared to the others, with his hands resting behind his head as he leaned back, propped up by his boots that had wings coming out the sides and several long, sharp needles in pouches on his legs. No doubt some kind of weapon or device to enhance his semblance.

As for the rest of the room, well, it housed several local huntsmen from around town, each one armed just like her, most likely here to ensure the mayor's protection.

But a quick glance to her side made her definitely feel a bit more on edge as she spotted Adam's tense expression, his eyes narrowed as he glared at the politician behind his mask, hand twitching towards his sword. Clearly he didn't like that there were ten huntsmen to their four, something the girl could understand as she too didn't feel great about not having the rest of her team with her.

"Thank you for inviting me here, Mayor Minrow." Mr. Naabhi began, his voice deep and calming. "I hope it hasn't been too much trouble. With all the chaos going on in Vale, I feared I might have to skip the city for the safety of its denizens. Or at least for the wellness of their local law enforcement."

At this, the mayor, Minrow, threw his head back, laughing jovially. To jovially.

"Nonsense! A man of your standing needn't worry about such trifling matters. After all, many here want to hear you speak! Providing you the protection and location is my honor. I've even picked out the perfect location for you, one that is easy to get to but even easier to protect."

Placing his Scroll on the table, he tapped a few buttons and caused a large image to be shown up, displaying a large building that looked like it was surrounded by apartments.

"Behold! I present to you, the heart of Airmist! It's oriental Theater! Large space, open grounds, only two streets in, it's the perfect place to speak without worrying about interruptions!"

Leaning in, Sienna and Ghira took in what they could make out of the surroundings area, the former of which bringing up a weak point Amber herself had spotted.

"There's a lot of buildings around. Good spot for a sniper nest." She said, tapping the Scroll, shrinking the image to display the rest of the area, showing three apartments across the street and what looked like two story restaurants on either side.

"It'll be hard to cover both the building and maintain enough manpower for crowd control. Not to mention if anyone parks vehicles in front of either street, it'll bottleneck us with a single exit. Hardly ideal." Ghira grunted in agreement, indicating that the theater sat in a single, narrow street, tapping his fingers on the screen indicating the problem. "On top of that, if there's a riot, we won't be able to stop people from getting hurt in this tight space. Better not to risk it and find somewhere more open. I'm thinking a park or something."

"Aww, clever. But such trivial things like that not worthy of such concern." Minrow cut in, tapping his Scroll again, making several dots appear around it in the exact same spot the two Faunus had expressed concern over. "I've had captain Luke run over the details, patching up any weaknesses and he's found ways to cover them. In fact, he's the one who suggested this spot because of its enclosed nature."

Leaning in, it was now Luke's turn to speak, pointing to each dot as he explained his reasoning.

"The buildings do pose a problem, yes, but the only way to get in is in the front of the buildings. Meaning anyone posted here, in the theater would have a vantage point and see anyone going in. What's more, these aren't residential. So we can force the businesses to close early when you want to speak, letting you sweep them for any snipers before the event starts. From there, it's just a matter of keeping everyone outside, something that is infinitely easier in a tight, enclosure space like this street."

Next, Luke moved his hand over to the dots on the far ends of the street, tapping them vigorously.

"I chose this spot explicitly because you can so easily block the street off. We can use local police to create a road block, stop anyone from driving through the event, as well as give us the ability to monitor everyone who comes and goes, checking them for weapons and ensuring nobody can sneak in. After all, how can you hope to get in with only two entrances?"

Reaching up, Sienna began stroking her chin, going over what the man said. His words had a fair amount of merit, anything short of a large, organized mob surrounding the block would pose a serious threat, and even then, with all the huntsmen they had, beating back a bunch of angry mob of civilians easi-.

"No, absolutely not."

Looking up, the woman found herself struggling to roll her eyes as she saw it was (of course.) Ghira who had spoken up, pointing to the either side of the street as he vented his problem.

"If a mod were to show up, there would be no way to suppress them without resorting to violence. The White Fang is not a organization that will use force and intimidation to-."

Suddenly, the man broke off, looking to Mr. Naabhi with a surprise look on his face as the man raised his hand, silencing the White Fang leader as he was joined in the staring by Adam, Sienna and Amber.

"As flattered as I am by the show of devotion, I believe such faith is misplaced." He said calmly. "I am but a single individual, a lone soul, no more valuable than any other. There are others who can speak my message, can push for equality. So I say if this is the best way to get as many people listening to my words, it's well worth the risk."

At his words, the four people on his side of the table mouths collectively fell open, all of them staring at him in disbelief. His life was equal to some random hobo on the street? That felt preposterous! And yes, they were aware of how horrible that sounded but when you get the point, he was a famous and influential speaker, someone who spent his whole life trying to make peace between humans and Faunus, and making both listen. For him to view his life as so little was shocking to the two teens gathered at the meeting.

Eyes going wide, Amber found herself somewhat taken aback. She had kind of expected him to be…she doesn't know, less humble. Sure, she had done a fair amount of reading on the man before the left Beacon, but that was only the publicity story. There was very little information about his personal life other than the fact he lived very humbly. And even that could easily be fabricated simply by listing your address in a low tax area while living in a high one.

To find out he not only was as humble as people said, but also practiced what he preached was a pleasant surprise. One Amber really appreciated.

Though that option didn't seem to be shared with the others.

"Mr. Naabhi, with all due respect, I must ask you to reconsider." Ghira said, stepping over to the older man. "I'm not saying anyone's life is lesser than another's, but you are an inspiration to all Faunus kind! Many of the young look to you for guidance and inspiration. If anything were to happen to you-."

"And look at what I've accomplished." The man cut in, giving the cat Faunus the side eye. "In all my years, what have I managed to achieve? Companies still abuse our kind, people still assault our kind, we still live in poverty with lower income than our counterparts. Words are just words, and at the end of the day, they can be ignored, suppressed, and silenced. Remember, it is action that is the catalyst of change, and those youths who look up to me, I suspect they've already done more for the Faunus in their short lives than I have in my long, wasted one."

As he spoke, his eyes quickly flicked over to where Adam stood, his gaze lingering for only a second before returning to Ghira, a strong confidence burning within them.

"We the Faunus stand on the precipice of change. We can no longer call ourselves one people. Our numbers have grown, our culture evolved. Now, each Faunus must choose from themselves what they will become and how they will shape the future of not just themselves, but also all those who share their heritage. For until the day we are truly seen as equals, we shall always be bound together. And may that be for the better or worse, we will have to wait and see."

Left speechless, Ghira could say nothing as Naabhi turned back to Minrow.

"Mr Minrow, we our happy to take you up on your offer." He said, bowing slightly. "I am confident that we shall gather many who share a dream of peace and prosperity for all. I only wish I could thank you for the kind deed you have done for us."

No sooner than the words left Naabhi's mouth, a smile spread across the mayor's face. The man calmly reached over the table and picked up his Scroll.

"Well, if you insist. There is one, tiny little thing you could do if you're interested."

Perking up immediately at his tone, Amber felt herself tense up, hand flicking towards her staff as she prickled at the danger she could sense. Something was shared by all on that side of the table, the girl not even needing her semblance to know Adam too had moved his hand towards his sword.

Despite the sudden hostility, Minrow pies it no mind, instead tapping on his Scroll a few times before setting it down on the table, looking up at Mr. Naabhi as he continued.

"See, there's this little bug that's been bothering me for a while now and I was hoping to get it quashed, so to speak." He said in a far to innocent tone. "See, with elections coming up and the fate of Almist on the line, I hope you can find it in your heart to…send a little bit of good will my way. Nothing major, just a quickly little endorsement at the end, you know, to give me a shot in the arm that would put my mind at ease."

Stiffening at this request, Amber felt the urge to throw up make its way into her stomach, squeezing her gut as she bit back a groan. Of course he had an angle to this, she should have seen that coming. This was election year meaning every politician from here to Vale was busy buying as much ad time as humanly possible. Even going so far as to file major lawsuits against news outlets or journalists who spoke out against them and their more shady policies.

The lone exception to this was Professor Ozpin and that was because nobody could really dig up any dirt on him.

Turning her attention back to the situation at hand, Amber saw Mr. Naabhi's face twitch slightly, though his friendly demeanor didn't waver for an instant.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Minrow. But that's not really an option." He said calmly. "While it's impossible to keep politics out of my speeches, I do not endorse or denounce candidates in any way shape or form. Please understand that this is about people, not trying to punch an agenda."

"Oh yes, I understand perfectly." Minrow replied in a tone that very clearly indicated he didn't. "But you see, I've recently made some…let's say public mistakes that have left a sour taste in the mouths of some of my supporters. I was just hoping to have that cleared out so the election can carry on without any bias. I've always treated the Faunus fairly and was hoping that my fair employment policies would get me at least a min-."

"Absolutely not." Naabhi cut in, his voice respectful but firm. "I understand your position and I wish you the best of luck in your reelection, however I will not be a part of it. Please understand that politics is a complicated and dangerous game, one I want as little part as possible. I will not endorse a candidate for political office as a way to try and buy a bigger audience. Doing so would go against everything I've ever stood for."

Seeing this was a lost cause, Minrow let out a small sigh, leaning back in his seat. "Very well, if you won't put in a good word for me, that's fine. I guess I'll just have to run the old fashion way and try to keep someone less…open minded off my seat. Just remember, if I lose to some guy who supports the SDC ideology, you had a chance to prevent it."

"I'll keep that in mind." Naabhi replied, parrying the verbal knife the man had thrown, calmly rising to his feet. "Now, if that is all, I'll be taking my leave. I still have to finalize my speech and practice it before I go live. Would you be so kind as to point me in-."

"Yes, yes." Minrow said dismissively, waving his hand to one of his guards, indicating him to lead the Faunus to his room which he did, the others following closely behind.

That was until the mayor called out to them.

"A moment of your time, Mr. Belladonna. I'd like to go over security for the event if that's okay with you."

Turning to look back at the man, Ghira hesitated for a second, then nodded at Sienna and Amber to go on with Naabhi before he and Adam turned back, letting the others disappear back into the building.

"I appreciate the offer of help, but the White Fang has more than enough manpower to cover the event." The Faunus said. "All I ask is that we be given the authority to arrest anyone deemed as a threat. And have huntsmen on standby if anything really bad happens. Aside from that, we are more than capable of handling-."

"Yes, yes. I understand all that." Minrow interrupted, rolling his eyes impatiently. "I know all that. Captain Luke will be personally overseeing your frequency. Everything will be taken care of. But that's not why I wanted to talk to you about."

Eyes narrowing at this, Adam and Ghira exchanged a look, the former scowling as he turned back to look at the mayor, hands tightening into fists. He had a good idea what the man wanted, and it frustrated him to no end.

"If Mr. Naabhi won't endorse me, that's fine. I'll respect his decision." Minrow said almost to carelessly. "He's not a political beast, and I can't blame him for that. However, there is a way for us to both get what we want without compromising his morals. After all, you White Fang fellows are about as political as people get."

Straightening up at this, Ghira had to struggle to keep his face calm as he looked down at the man, his eyebrow twitching with irritation at the guy who couldn't take the hint.

"Unfortunately, I do not think that will happen." The cat Faunus replied, his voice strained in the effort of keeping it calm. "I won't go behind the back nor betray the trust of Mr. Naabhi. He is an inspiration to our kind. To deal under the table to corrupt his message would be a betrayal of that inspiration. I won't-"

"You like the sound of ten thousand lien?" Minrow cut in, a gleam igniting in his eyes. "I know you guys have been in desperate need of funding ever since Howard shipping went under. You tell everybody that the White Fang and their consorts all agree that I'm the best man for the job and I'll pay you ten thousand lien for the advertisement."

Immediately Adam felt his blood boiling, his mouth splitting into a snarl as he fought to control his anger. How dare this man treat them like some for hire organization! The money Howard donated was a charity event, not an exchange of business! To just blatantly offer the money as if it was worth more than the trust between Naabhi and the White Fang was insulting to say the least!

Apparently, Ghira felt the same way as he too stiffened at the offer, a low growl escaping his throat for a second before he forced it back in, voice returning to a somewhat strained tone.

"I already told you, I will not sell out Mr. Naabhi." He said as firmly as he could while still being respectful. "I won't lie and say that the loss of our biggest donors hurt, but I'd rather have no money than dirty money. And nothing makes money dirty than throwing away the trust of an old ally who has never asked for anything for all-."

"My dear sir! You insult me!" Minrow cried, rising to his feet, voice filled with mock hurt. "You think me some common thug? How could you?! Why, it was Airmist under me who was the first city to accept the Faunus Equality Act back when it was first passed. Now, all Faunus receive the same pay as their human counterparts. I'm a friend of the Faunus, not an enemy. I would never ask you to betray the trust of such an iconic symbol like Naabhi. I'm offering you a partnership with my city."

Walking across the table, Minrow met Ghira with a big grin, eyes alight as he continued speaking.

"I'm not asking you to deal under the table. Quite the opposite. His speech will be his alone, that won't change. I'm just asking you to say that the White Fang and their association endorsed me for the upcoming election. Making a little white lie where it can be…misconstrued as Naabhi supports me. An honest mistake anyone could make. With no ill intents at all. And by doing this, by agreeing to this one, simple act, you'd be investing into a wonderful opportunity for you and the Faunus."

Coming to a stop a foot away, the mayor reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, unraveling it to reveal a poster sporting the mayor himself. Hands folded in a smart looking position and a fancy, expensive suit as he looked up at the audience, a winning smile plastered onto his face that the flesh and blood human mirrored, the words on the bottom explaining everything.

Minrow here for you! Vote for the Vale counsel today and make your dreams come true!

"See, if I win this election, next one I intend to run for the kingdom's main consul seat, putting me on the same level as headmaster Ozpin! Which of course means, I can do more for you Faunus! Just think, with an ally like me on the consul, I can pass laws that put the Faunus on the same level as humans! Allowing them to do things like shop where they want, work wherever they want…and whatever else your kind does. I honestly don't know, but with me at the helm, I'm sure I'd be able to get them equal rights as everyone else in the kingdom in no time! Why, only a fool would turn down such a generous investment like this! One thing I'm sure you're not, Mr. Belladonna."

Hands tightening into fists, Adam felt himself start to shake with uncontrollable rage. His vision flashed red as he fixed the man with a death glare, every inch of himself itching to draw his sword and cut this arrogant creature down for his blatant rebuttal of everything Faunus should be!

Blinded by anger, Adam didn't even realize he had taken a step forward until he saw the other huntsmen tense up, their hands quickly moving to their weapons. With the lone exception of captain Luke who remained sitting in a nonchalant way.

Despite the rising tension, Minrow carried on, not seeming to notice the hostility forming from his words.

"I think we'd make an excellent team, Mr. Belladonna. With your White Fang and my intelligent leadership, we'd be able to win the election every year, slowly moving those who don't want to give your kind their rights out and moving in those who do, like me! With such a magnanimous partnership, the stars the limit! We can build an empire to rival the greats, give companies opportunities they could only dream of before! Together, we can create bring Vale to an economic boon that rivals if not surpasses Atlas! Can you imagine the amount of good we could do with your influence and me at the helm? Together we could-!"

At this point, Adam reached his limit. Unable to tolerate this egotistical man any longer, his body moved of its own accord, lunging forward, drawing his sword, his mad fury turning him blind to everything else. His own mind erased as ran towards the man, lost in his unquenchable rage, filling him up, driving out any thoughts save one.

This felt good.

To be free of the oppressive restrictions this society had placed on him, to rid himself of the constant frustrating demands of humans to shut up and be quiet, it was liberating! Was this the freedom humans enjoyed? To be judge, jury, and executioner over anyone's life? If so, no wonder they fought so hard to hold onto it. This felt good, this felt right, it felt…

"Natural!"

Thunk!

It happened in an instant, so fast, Adam didn't even have time to react. Suddenly, several long needles were impaling his body, stuck in his skin somehow bypassing his aura, leaving his eyes wide and mouth open, a look of pure shock on his face as he fell to the ground, his body completely numb for some reason, yet muscles still completely rigid.

"Adam!" Ghira cried, rushing to the redhead's side, kneeling next to him checking for damage as the other huntsmen drew their weapons, leveling them at the Faunus pair.

That was, right up until a voice made them stop in their tracks.

"Enough!" Captain Luke bellowed, waving his hand broadly as Minrow scrambled back, hand pressed to his heart, eyes wide with fear as his most senior huntsman rose and made his way over to the pair.

Whatever had happened, it had happened so fast, even Ghira hadn't noticed Adam aggressive movements before he had hit the ground, something that while humiliating, acted as a saving grace as the Faunus furiously rounded on the huntsman, eyes narrowed and mouth tight.

"What is the meaning of this?!" He demanded, gesturing towards Adam. "You have better have a good reason for attacking this boy! Because I have half a mind to charge you with assault! This was completely-!"

"Relax. No need to get your pants in a twist." Luke said calmly, walking over to the pair. "I'm sorry, I overreacted. I thought I sensed an abundance of malice coming from this boy, I acted on instinct. My mistake."

Raising his hand over the petrified Faunus, Luke opened his palm and immediately the needles vanished from Adam's body, reappearing nearly between each of the man's fingers, letting the redhead raise with the aid of his guardian, his movements slow as his body was still unnaturally tense as his aura healed his wound, indicating that somehow, he had been injured without his cloak breaking.

"Pretty cold, huh?" Luke asked smugly, sheathing his needles into specially made pouches on his legs. "My semblance is instant teleportation. Meaning I can transport small items to any place I can see instantly, bypassing any barrier like aura by making them appear right where I want. In your case, I stuck several pressure points to render you immobile, but in a real fight…"

He stopped there, letting his words sink in as Ghira pulled Adam to his feet, steadying the young man as he stared in disbelief at Captain Luke. He knew there were plenty of powerful semblances out there, but even so, he had always counted himself as being among them.

But now? After facing off with the likes of Igor, of Luke, and of that weird girl he had met in the forest, he was quickly being forced to reconsider that position. Between the ability to bypass aura to whatever displacement power she had used to Igor's aura pollution, Adam was starting to feel hopelessly out class by all these unique abilities.

Frustration growing inside, Adam nearly missed the next words spoken, only tapping in as he heard the captain tone shifting, becoming one of ending a conversation.

"Well, I think negotiations have officially wrapped up. No sense trying to be civil with tempers running high. How about we break and try again tomorrow." Clapping his hands, he signaled to the other huntsmen who stepped forward, gesturing to Minrow who, despite clearly being annoyed by the failed conversation, walked out with his escorts close behind, leaving Ghira Adam and Luke with one other huntsman in the room.

"Tom, won't you show Mr. Taurus to the infirmary? Get his injuries looked at. I don't think it's anything too serious but better safe than sorry. Just make sure you bill it to my insurance. No need to charge the young man for my overreaction. After all, that's not a conversation I'd like to have as I escort Mr. Belladonna to his room."

Nodding at his instructions, the huntsman led the begrudging Adam out, heading back to threat of the hotel leaving Ghira behind with Luke, the two watching them go until they were out of eyesight, before the Faunus turned angrily towards the human.

"I don't know what you think you're playing at, but if you think I'm just going to let this slide, you're dead-."

"Ghira, you'd better keep an eye on that boy."

Breaking off at the sudden and rude interruption as the man's tone shifted to a deadly serious one, said Faunus blinked once in confusion, then again this one in irritation.

"Are you threatening him?" He asked darkly. "I know Adam can have his rough spots but what you did was uncalled for. He's a very promising and talented young man with a bright future ahead of him. I will not tolerate-."

"Just now, when I attacked him, I sensed pure, uncontained bloodlust. The kind of which I've only felt from two other people." Luke said, fixing the older man with a cold stare. "The first was a Vacuan tribe leader when I killed his son, the second was from a madman I met during the war named Igor Crawler, a member of the Starless Platoon and former serial killer who got an erratic high off watching his victims suffer. That boy is only the third person I've felt that kind of intensity from."

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Luke pushed past Ghira and began making his way towards the doors, not looking back at the Faunus as he called out to him over his shoulder. "I don't know what kind of darkness he harbors, but I can tell you right now that if he continues down the path he's currently on, it will consume him. Might want to check in on him a little more often as while I know you're off trying to save the world, try not to forget the little things that make the world worth saving, yeah? After all, what's the point of anything if there's nobody there to inherit it?"

Speechless, Ghira was left standing there staring after the man, mouth hanging open. One thing he didn't expect today was to be told off by a professional huntsman. Least of all one pledged to a man like Minrow.

Now, that didn't mean his words weren't worth considering, and considering that Amber had said something similar not that long ago, it seemed that there definitely was something going on with Adam.

He'd be lying if he said Adam's recent behavior hadn't been troubling. He had noticed an unhealthy obsession with Faunus rights growing as his departure to Beacon drew near. And while that had seemed to be tempered upon his return, it seemed that obsession was once again beginning to tear its ugly head, making him more sporadic than before.

Maybe he should really start looking into that darkness Luke mentioned.

Shrugging his shoulders, the heavy set Faunus let out a sigh as he began making his way back towards the hotel, shoulders slumping as he walked. As much as he wanted to help Adam he knew that would be no easy feat. They were in the middle of a mission and it wasn't like they could get him to a therapist. Like it or not, he'd have to ride this storm out until the end of the mission. And that would be a nerve racking experience.

Taking some deep breaths, Ghira tried to calm himself, saying he'd call Beacon first thing upon reaching somewhere with decent service. He'd recommend Adam start seeking consulting and maybe even report some of his concerns about the boy. He was his legal guardian after all. And while Adam may be eighteen and technically was an adult, he hoped that the school would at least give it some consideration given everything the kid had gone through.

And while he did feel a bit unease about all that, forming a plan did take some of that stress off him. That's right, he just had to get through this mission and they were already at the halfway point. He'd get him the help he needed once he was safely back at Beacon in another week or two. Then, they could begin figuring out what was making Adam behave this way.

Yeah, everything was going to be fine. Anything short of literal terrorist blowing the mission way out of proportion and he'd be back at Beacon in a matter of weeks. No way anything that disproportionate disastrous would-!

---

The door to the church of the Weaver of fate swung shut behind Alice, her entire body soaked in blood that dropped to the ground as she headed back toward town square, each step squishing as she left footprints on the side earth, though she wasn't sure it it came from the blood that had soaked into her shoes or the blood that covered just about every square inch of the town.

Calmly, she pointed her sword up, whipping it through the air in a lightning fast arc, sending the blood that covered it flying off the blade and onto the ground, hitting a flower that had sprouted next to the footpath, knocking it over with the sudden added weight.

What utter fools these people were. Taking refuge in the church thinking she wouldn't kill on their hallowed ground. Surely they couldn't be so delusional that they didn't realize their fake faith meant nothing to her? Nobody could be that stupid.

Still, she had to give credit where it was due, they weren't cowards. Even after receiving a mortal wound, one of the priests had fled to the inner sanctum, desperately trying to hide the valuable tapestries as if she was trying to steal them, even using his last breath to apologize for spilling blood on them. For someone so weak to hold such a strong conviction was surprising. Perhaps there was more to these prophecies than she had first thought. Sure, she knew his majesty liked to ordain his Thorneroom with them, but she had always assumed that was to pay homage to his-.

"Well, someone's been busy after her mission got screwed up."

Immediately Alice spun around, swinging her sword in a crescent arc, aiming to take the head of the person that had just spoken right behind her off. Her swing so fast her blade looked like a single red line that streaked across the sky.

But even that speed wasn't enough, something she found out as her attack was brought to a screeching halt as a hand shot out, catching her by the wrist stopping hold cold in her tracks as she came face to face with a single, familiar, piercing red eye.

"Well, someone's a little jumpy today." A large, muscular woman in her late thirties/ early forty said, her dark skin made light by the pitch black armor that adorned her body, leaning only her head exposed as she grinned at the young girl, enhancing the ugliness of her half mauled face, the skin heavily scarred from the top of her head down to her chin, with the skin torn off and replaced by a tough scar tissue that made it impossible for her not to show both teeth and the empty eye socket that left a haunting hole in her head. "What's the matter? Don't tell me you're little run in with the prodigy of the Faunus got under your skin."

"In your dreams." Alice snarled, her leg lashing out with blinding speed, kicking the woman's armored arm away, making her laugh at the defiant act as the girl stepped back, putting distance between herself and the older woman, letting out a slow snarl. "What are you even doing here, anyway? Thought his majesty said you weren't allowed any important missions. A newbie like you who has yet to prove their loyalty and competence has no place on such an important mission, get lost."

Laughing at the situation, the woman calmly placed a hand on her hip, grinning down at the much shorter girl with an almost careless expression.

"Situations changed. This is an all hands on deck situation now. And he decided my skill would be an asset to the mission." The woman replied, flipping what remained of her dark brown hair out of her face. "Big boss man doesn't think you can handle it. And after that adorable display I don't blame him. Your just so cute when you get aggressive, it's like a little bunny rabbit stomping her feet to try and intimidate a leopard. Adorable, but ultimately pointless."

Grinning as the smaller woman let out a low growl, she showed no concern as the woman pressed her thumb into the guard of her sword, pushing it up and revealing a fragment of the red blade. Opting instead to clean out her ear (or hole as the actual ear was missing.) as she continued in an uncertain tone.

"Actually, all the other division leaders have been summoned for this. Seems the higher ups don't think a little bunny like you has what it takes to handle something this important."

"I don't need any help." Alice murmured darkly, her eyes narrowing. "I'm more than enough to take on a bunch of kids and a worthless Faunus activist group. The only one even worth concern is Sienna, and I'm pretty confident I can take her. So why don't you get lost and let me bring the justice those animals so rightfully deserv-."

"That call is not yours to make."

Immediately both women started as a new voice joined the conversation. Both swirling around to face the newcomer, eyes wide as they stared at them.

"Lord Viceroy!" They both said, addressing the man as he calmly walked towards them, his calm eyes fixed on the two of them as he came to a stop a few feet away.

The man was dressed in an assortment of blacks, reds, and purple. With beautiful silk cloth embroidered with a snowflake crossed over a wolf's head, a symbol that also adorned the back of the rich, black cloak he was wrapped, with furs lining the top and bottom. Both hunted by the mammoths that had recently gone extinct on Solitas, something the man didn't seem to show much care over given the set of tucks that hung by his waist.

He was in his mid to late forties, with blue eyes and long white hair braided down the side before merging into one single braid down his back. He also had a long white beard which was similarly braided. Only this time, with a golden chain wrapped around its length, embroidered with small jewels, all weighing it down, making it stay in place even as he turned his head, looking at both women as he spoke.

"This mission is too important to fail. As such, I made the unanimous call to have all squad leaders and their elite members present. Remember, the White Fang used to be mercenaries in the war, I highly doubt their elite members will have lost their touch." As he spoke, his broad shoulders shifted slightly, hands folding in front of him as his gaze remained fixed on Alice. "We need those chemicals if we lose them or if they're destroyed, then we've lost all hope of retaking Atlas. James will not bow down or be defeated easily. Those are our only hope of taking the kingdom from him cleanly. And with Mistral not being able to ship them out anymore, those are the last we're going to get. So yes, while I have no doubt even someone like you could completely it, I'd rather not run that risk."

Scowling at that comment, Alice spat on the ground between them before glaring back up at the older man, ignoring his narrowed eyes at her lack of respect.

"And if we're all killed trying to get these stupid things?" She asked. "We're taking a big risk by trying something like this. We could lose our strongest members making those chemicals useless. You sure you really want to risk this, Archibald?"

Staring at the girl in silence, the man, Archibald, calmly began walking towards her, coming to a stop only a few inches away. Letting him look down at her from his vastly superior heights.

"You may be a good fighter, but don't act like you're a good strategist or schemer." He murmured, leaning down to breathe his words into her ear. "Remember, no matter how strong you might be, it was I who found and freed you from those treacherous assassins. Without me, you would still be a worthless little slave to the criminal underworld of Mistral. Don't forget that debt you owe or else, you'll find yourself on my bad side."

Glaring at her, Archibald reached down and cupped Alice's chin, squeezing her cheeks making them puff up and giving him the perfect position slid his hand down to her throat.

However, despite the obvious threat, Alice didn't show any signs of fear. In fact, she stood up straighter, returning the glare he was giving her with equal threatening weight.

"I owe you nothing." She hissed. "You know exactly why I chose to work with this organization, and it has nothing to do with you. You are the exact example of a worthless piece of trash who can't move forward. I don't care how many supporters you have, something like you has no right to order me around. Now, take your hand off me. Your rubbing all this blood into my skin."

Archibald said nothing, simply staring at her for a few seconds, a dark glare stuck to his face as he looked down at the much smaller girl, who stared up at him with an equally unflinching gaze.

"Face it, you need me more than I need you." She hissed softly, taking an unafraid step toward him. "You can't do anything to me without risking your plan falling apart. In less of course, you happen to have found someone else with a high mastery of aura and a huntsman slaying semblance. And if you just happen to have that, then we can part ways here and now and I can go back to working with people who aren't total psychos who can't actually perform their complicated plans without the help of those they deem less-."

"Don't play this game with me."

Breaking off at the sharp tone Archibald used, Alice found herself being on the receiving end of a dark look from the older man, his hand tightening on her as his aura flared up, turning the entire area dark as it pulsed with power. As impending as a dam seconds away from bursting, bringing all the water it was holding back down onto the young woman, drowning her with the raw strength alone!

"You need me as much as I need you." He said, looking down at the girl, his aura still bearing down on her, its strength enough to stop the heart of a lesser man. "Without us, you would be hunted to the ends of the world by those who call you sister. And while yes, you are an assistant to our cause, remember that an assistant isn't irreplaceable. So I suggest you reconsider your previous statement. Because such false statements can easily lead to other, harsher consequences."

If Alice was intimidated by Archibald's threat, she didn't show it. Simply moving to rest her hand on her blade before where it can to a stop, resting on the hilt in a silent threat of her own. Her own aura flaring up as well, a pulse of deep blue blade that clashed with the dark red ocean he held, splitting the water in two, splitting a path for her for a second before the water crashed back down, her challenge sent and received, leaving the two in their standoff.

They stared at each other for a few more seconds, Archibald's face remained unreadable. Then, with a single sudden moment, he released Alice's face and spun on his heel, calmly walking back toward the edge of town where they could see an armored car on the approach, rolling to a stop a few feet away.

"Wash up and get changed before you get in." The man grunted, not even looking as he walked around to the back of the car. "Stealth is our utmost concern right now and with you walking around like you just to off the set of a horror movie is going to draw attention. You wouldn't want to let the others down more than you already have, do you?"

Scoffing as she watched the older man enter the vehicle, Alice turned towards one of the houses, ignoring the cackling of the other woman as she headed inside where she made her way to the kitchen, turning on the sink foist and beginning to wash it off.

And after a few minutes, she straightened up, drying her face with a towel before looking up, eyes fixing on her reflection in the window that overlooked the kitchen, her eyes narrowed darkly.

"Guess it's finally time." She murmured softly to herself, eyes burning with fury and anger as she stared at herself in the window. "Now it's my turn to put you in your place, make you suffer for all the pain you people cause in the name of your freedom. A goal you're more than happy to step on others for, you damn hypocrites. Time to pay for your crimes."

Reaching down, she touched the hat she had set on the counter, the only part of her outfit not covered in blood, her fingers gently stroking its well made surface.

"Just wait a little longer." She whispered softly, her tone doing a complete 180 to what it had been less than a minute ago. "I promise I'll make them suffer for what they did to you. I swear it!"

---

Finally! I've been dying to finally get the Eternal Dynasty into the picture and now there finally here! And to anyone who's worried, don't. This isn't just going to be the Seraphim 2.0

Not going to go into details for obvious reasons, but this arc is gonna be have a very different course than Music fest, and I can't wait for you to see it.

Anyway, that's enough out of me. I hope you enjoyed and I hope to see you next time. Bye!