"I have an idea actually," Blake watched in silence as Mr. Courrier speaks with her father regarding the Faunus population in Vacuo, while admirable, Blake did not trust Mr. Courrier one bit, he seemed sketchy, shady, "If the main problem regarding Vacuo is the lack of law and order… what if I just form a local government there?"

Blake did a double take at this, so did everyone it seems, "Are you serious?" Her father asked with wide eyes, "That's… bold… to say the least."

"Yeah, no kidding," One of the strangers said, turning their head to Mr. Courrier, "Besides, even if you form a government… there's still bandit tribes and crime everywhere in Vacuo!"

"The Vacuans, they believe in 'Might makes Right'," Mr. Courrier rubbed his chin, "If they follow the strongest person there then…" he shrugged, "I'll just subjugate the bandit tribes and establish myself as a public figure."

"Going against all the bandit tribes in Vacuo? You must be kidding!" Her mother exclaimed, her father nodded, and Ilia… Ilia just watched with a strange expression on her face.

"Hey, you won't know until you've tried am I right?" he chuckled before turning serious, "Outside of Menagerie, Vale's the only other option for Faunus all around Remnant… then poof, the city's been reduced to rubble," Mr. Courrier emphasized with his hands, mimicking an explosion when he said 'poof', "Mistral's a no-go, Atlas and Mantle? Definitely not, and Vacuo might as well not be on the table at all."

"I want to establish a Faunus foothold in Vacuo, so that Faunus all across Remnant can find their way there safely," He leaned back, supporting himself with his arms, "I want to give them options, I don't want them to be just be confined to Menagerie alone. No longer do they have to survive in Vacuo, but they'll thrive as well."

"This… this is ambitious to say the least… impossible too," her father shook his head, "How do you intend to carry out your plan?" he glanced at Mr. Courrier's followers, the two strangers, and Ms. Greenhorn, "Surely you're not suggesting that you're doing this alone?"

"Bingo, you got it!" Mr. Courrier snapped his fingers, "I'm going to ask Sienna Khan to move the White Fang from around Vacuo to the confusingly named capital city of the continent, also called Vacuo for some reason, after that, I'll enact my plan," he grinned, "I'll restore Vacuo to what it once was before the Great War. Make it a veritable paradise, for both the Faunus and the humans."

Both? "You're doing this for the humans too?" Ilia sneered, "W- Why?! After everything they've done to us-" "Ilia!" Blake interrupted her friend's rant.

"Can it, Blake! Don't tell me you're going to help the humans too!" She scowled, glaring at Mr. Courrier, "We- We Faunus have been oppressed for gods knows how long… and you're going to help the humans?! The same people who oppressed our people?!"

"Yep."

"Why you-" "Ilia! Sit down!"

Her father placed a hand on Ilia's shoulder, forcing her back down on her seat, "Courrier's right," Ilia turned her widened eyes towards her father, "Our goal has, and will always be, equality between Faunus and humans," he let go, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he sighed, "The White Fang… they're more preoccupied with making sure the Faunus are on top, instead of the Faunus being the oppressed, they instead become the very same oppressors that they hated."

"But we're right!" Ilia crossed her arms, "Isn't it so bad that we want the humans to get a taste of their own medicine? Of what they did to us?!"

"It's not right!" Her father furrowed his brows, "No one deserves to be oppressed! There's never a good reason to oppress anyone!" he sighed, "If the White Fang succeeds with their goal then it's only a matter of time before Humans make their own version of the White Fang, you didn't fix the underlying issue… you just flipped the hierarchy and hoped that they won't do to us what we did to them."

"True that," Mr. Courrier chuckled, "Imagine a human White Fang though… hehe, 'White Tooth'…"

One of the strangers snorted before getting smacked in the head by the other one, she rubbed her head and stared back at the other stranger indignantly, "Stop doing that!"

"Only when you stop acting like that!" The mint-colour haired stranger whispered back loudly.

"What? Is laughing at Courrier's jokes too far for wittle baby Mint?" the woman cackled as the man's face turned five shades of red.

"Show some respect!" the man hissed, pointing at Mr. Courrier, "He saved our lives! How can you just act so… so casual with him?!"

"At least I'm not some bootlicking stuck-up prick like you!" "Quiet, you two."

The two strangers stiffened upon hearing Mr. Courrier's voice, "Ah… I… But she…! Argh…" the man relented, deflating upon seeing his glare, the woman just laughed, "Shut up…"

"So! Back to my Vacuo plan," Mr. Courrier pulled out a large world map of Remnant and placed it on the table, after one of the strangers moved the plate of snacks over to Blake's table instead that is, "Interesting thing about Vacuo is how close it is to Anima and Mistral, where most of the bandit tribes reside," he pointed at the ocean separating the two continents, "A short boat trip over and they have complete access to Vacuo, and at that point, the shantytowns and makeshift settlements are ripe for the picking."

"I'll just round up all the shantytowns and makeshift villages dotted around Vacuo and push them towards Vacuo city, which also includes Shade Academy," Mr. Courrier pointed at the Academy, tracing a circle around the area, "This is where the fun begins, Shade Academy's the only place that actively enforces law and order for Vacuo. The reason why the previous government failed was because it didn't have the people's backing nor did it have the military might needed to sustain itself."

"Another reason would be how spread out the people is, which the government can't account for since their forces are stretched thin," he grinned, "The formal government created following the war was flawed; it tried to cover a large amount of distance without having the necessary forces to do so."

"How do you plan on moving the people of Vacuo to the capitol city?" Her father rubbed his chin, "They definitely won't like being forced out of their homes, that's for sure… Not to mention the size of the city itself…"

"Simple, we'll entice them with a promise of a better life," Mr. Courrier pointed at Shade Academy, "All we need to do is make Vacuo city into a prosperous paradise basically, then slowly expand outwards, just enough to get the attention of the of the other settlements and villages around Vacuo."

"You want to concentrate the population of Vacuo?" Blake asked, concerned with Mr. Courrier's plan, "Like… remove the nomadic tribe part of the continent and force everyone to live in the city?"

"Yes, but the city will be infinitely better than the tribal life, that's for sure, no Grimm attacks, and no bandit raids either; I'll make it like Vale! With the city being larger, with bigger skylines and a more organized urban planning," Mr. Courrier smiled, "Vacuo is stagnant, stale, completely stuck in the past with no technological advancements or improvements because everyone's so divided. As such, law and order is needed, and that's where I come in…"

"So I'm torn between the New Vacuan Republic and the Brotherhood of Sand for my party…"

"So let me get this straight," Sienna wracked her head around Courrier's plan, "You want the Vacuo cell of the White Fang to be under your control so that you can, and I quote, 'get a kick start on your political career' by influencing the crowd during your first speech?"

"That's the idea, yes," Courrier nodded, "I intend to turn Vacuo into a place like Menagerie for example, where the Faunus can live in peace, not having to worry about the Grimm or the occasional bandit attacks."

"What about the humans then?"

"They can live there to," Sienna clicked her tongue, "Hey, all things considered; this'll do wonders for the White Fang's reputation, it'll also help improve Faunus-Humans relations that's for sure."

Sienna mulled over Courrier's outlandish plan for a moment, "How long will this take?"

"Three weeks."

"That's impossible." Create a functioning government for Vacuo in three weeks? Utterly insane.

Qrow swirled around his drink as he watched the television, Higanbana was a nice enough place, but he missed the atmosphere in Valean bars… He watched as the owner switched through several channels before stopping on the news.

"Breaking news! 'Hero of Vale' John Courrier intends to restore Vacuo's formal government! A point he made as he gives a speech in front of Vacuo's public! Watch now as this is broadcasted live on the Vacuo Broadcasting Company!" Qrow's eyes widened because what the fuck? The footage then cut to Courrier standing atop an array of boxes with a microphone in his hand while a mint-colour haired man carries the speaker on his back. Courrier grinned as he speaks into the microphone.

"Hello everyone!" He waved to the crowd, "I intend to make Vacuo city prosper! Much more than those fools up in Atlas!" Some people cheered at this but the rest stayed cautiously silent, looks like he was using the Vacuan's resentment towards the other kingdoms to his favour, "The last government failed because it failed to do anything of note! I intend to create jobs for all! For both Faunus and humans! I'll turn Vacuo city into the safest place on this continent, hell, on all of Remnant! Free of Grimm and those pesky bandits!"

A person raised their hand, "You! What's your question?"

"Are you from Vacuo?"

"Yes."

"Prove it!"

"How many grains of sand have you eaten in your life?"

"…Alright, fair enough."

Bickering broke out in the crowd as another person raised their hand and yelled out, "How do you know you'll succeed when the previous government failed?!"

"Listen buddy, do you want your family mauled by Grimm or killed by bandits?"

"No…?"

"Well the previous government allowed that to happen because they didn't care about us! The people! I care about all of you and I won't let all of that happen! I'll make Vacuo city safe for everyone who comes here, but most importantly for the people already here!"

"How?"

"We'll make the city better! We'll crack down on crime, establish law and order for Vacuo! For the entire continent! I have the means to turn Vacuo city into a paradise!" He swept his hand out towards the city, "Are you sick of getting mugged out in the street?!" the crowd murmured, with some agreeing, "Are you sick of being attacked by the Grimm?! Of getting your homes raided by those damn bandits in Anima?!" the crowd agreed this time, with more people shouting out their approval, "ARE YOU SICK OF BEING LOOKED DOWN BY EVERY OTHER KINGDOM?!"

The crowd erupted into agreement and cheers, "We'll show the rest of those idiots in the other kingdoms that Vacuo's not a place for them to look down on!"

"All I need is all of you to agree with me! To follow my lead! And I promise to all of you, that I'll turn Vacuo back to what it once was! A paradise! Better than Atlas, Mantle, Vale, and Mistral!" Courrier yelled out towards the crowd, they cheered as he spoke, Qrow furrowed his brows, "We'll make Vacuo city stronger! Larger! More powerful! Enough to contend with Atlas and Vale!"

Qrow watched as the headlines changed into 'John Courrier establishes new political party in Vacuo, Vale Council pressed on the matter'. He grimaced, what the hell was Courrier doing?

"WE'LL PUSH BACK THOSE ATLAS BASTARDS, HERE TO TAKE OUR RESOURCES FROM OUR LAND!" Courrier yelled out before pointing at Shade Academy, "We'll take control of our own lives! Manifest our own destiny! Our own truth! Shade Academy's trying to control all of you! To take the power of our people away from the people to use for themselves!"

The crowd yelled back in agreement, "Shade Academy's Headmaster holds all the power in Vacuo! What's stopping him from pushing all of us out to secure the resources for himself?! He has a private army of Huntsmen after all, and what can WE do about it?! NOTHING! Unless we take action now!"

Qrow watched as a woman drag somebody next to Courrier; they had a silver armband, "Witness!" Courrier pulled out his revolver and pointed it at the person; they tried to scurry away but was held back by the woman, "These people… they intend to restore Vacuo's monarchy! They want to become Vacuo's new ruler! To take all of the people's- our people's power for themselves!"

"Vacuans! Do you wish to be ruled underneath the boot of another tyrant?! TO BE CONTROLLED BY ANOTHER KINGDOM?!"

"NO!"

"We live under no gods, we fight for no master!" Courrier pulled the trigger, executing the man on live television; Qrow watched in horror as the crowd cheered for the person's death, not disgusted like Qrow was when their head exploded into pieces, "We are Vacuans! Proud! We do what's best for us and us alone! We fight for no banner but ourselves! We wave no flag but ours! We follow no rules but Vacuo's!"

"Faunus? Doesn't matter! Humans? Doesn't matter! There's only one race of people that matters in Vacuo and that's us! The Vacuans! We eat the same food! Fight the same fight! Live the same lives! And damn the people who try to take it away from us!"

The headline changed again, 'A New Dawn for Vacuo' it read.

The Courier has successfully weaponized racism.

He's also made an enemy of The Crown, let's hope our boy don't get brainwashed now...

Thanks for reading!