Penny Polendina took a moment to gaze into the sky, she wasn't looking for anything in particular. She just wanted to watch the sunset for a little bit longer and her position on top of a roof was a perfect spot to do so, however, she was there to work not to watch clouds. So she made a note to revisit this spot later when her schedule was free and then turned her attention to the busy market street below her. Right away she began to scan the crowd for any Faunus and she found them she would then run their faces through a database… she hated doing this. She hated doing this despite her internal computer concluding that this was a wise course of action, she didn't understand it herself but there was something deeper inside of her that felt sickened by this, something that she couldn't pinpoint with a system scan. Note to Self: Discuss this with Father and request that he does not speak to Uncle Ironwood about this… Normally she wouldn't dream of trying to keep a secret from Ironwood, she never had a reason to and until now she wouldn't have been able to think of one even if she had tried. He was the first person she had spoken to when she found out that her role in the Rally wasn't just going to be looking out for potential snipers.
"I get this makes you uncomfortable and it might surprise you to find out that I feel the same as plenty of other people. However we need to place our personal feelings to the side in this matter, there is too much at risk here. Sometimes you have to bend the rules for the sake of the people we want to protect and for the greater good as a whole." That was what he had told her and he didn't stop there; He had reminded her of the Raid, all the people who had been hurt, how her friend Jaune had been hurt. That then naturally led to him emphasizing just how many innocent people could be hurt here or worse if they allowed themselves to be caught off guard again. The cherry on top was that they had permission from both the police department and more importantly from Vale's council to do this… as if that was supposed to make her feel better about this.
In an attempt to try and take her mind off of her discomfort she began to keep track of the different kinds of Faunus she spotted, this proved to be a mistake because of two things that she quickly noticed. The first thing was just how few Faunus Atlas had, especially when compared to what she was seeing here, on top of that they were so much more open about their status as a Faunus which led to the second thing; There was a greater variety of Faunus here. Back home the ones she saw the most of were cat and dog Faunus like the academy student Neon Katt and Marrow Amin the Specialist who was quickly rising through the ranks. Occasionally she'd see something more exotic like a rabbit or horse Faunus but they were rare and there were countless others that she only knew existed through textbooks. She had heard that down in Mantel Faunus was more common and that there was a far greater variety but she hadn't been allowed to visit, something about it not being safe for her which was a laughable claim. Penny may have been young but she wasn't that naive, she had seen the smoke rising from the factories that existed only on Mantle. She knew about the outdated heating grid that kept that city habitable while producing steam that would mix with the smoke, she knew why her father had set up a clinic down there…
She wanted to believe that Ironwood and the Vale Council had asked her to do the right thing but she wasn't comfortable with it, how could she ever be comfortable with what was by every definition of the term racial profiling? She wanted to believe that she was doing the right thing or at the very least not think too hard about what she was doing but her own hardware seemed to be actively working against her. It would alert her every time a scan spotted someone that it deemed a potential threat which would have been bearable if it wasn't for how broad a definition it seemed to be using. For example, in this short time, her system had already flagged 12 individuals, ten of them teenagers who were marked as potential threats just for having a misdemeanor on their record, How is that enough to be considered dangerous? Just a few feet away from those youths was an elderly Ram Faunus who likewise was considered a potential threat just because in the past he had taken part in a protest that turned into a riot when the police began to unlawfully disperse the crowd. The man was arrested but I can't find any record of him breaking any laws, was he arrested just for being there? How is that fair? Why is he listed as a threat?
She looked away, the more time she dwelled on this the worse she would feel and she couldn't allow any distractions. So she decided to remind herself why she was here, she wanted to see her friends and it didn't take long to spot a few. Standing together at a stall selling painted handmade pottery was Ren and Nora, they were holding hands to pretend to be a couple on a date and it wasn't just them; Jaune, Pyrrha, Yang, Ruby, Weiss, Coco, Fox, and Yatsushashi were also walking around pretending to be civilians. They weren't going to go inside the Rally unless it was necessary, their job was the same as hers which was to identify any problematic elements ahead of time and intervene if it should come to it. In addition, several other officers were patrolling while disguised as civilians. In addition, there were plenty of uniformed officers standing ready to act, They'll do it. History has shown that these short of situations almost always end in violence… No, I must not think that way.
This was going to be a long stressful night.
Blake took a moment to examine her reflection in a storefront window, the bow that she would use to hide her true nature as a Faunus was gone and replaced by a different disguise.
Her hair had been dyed a dirty blond and set in a messy bun, her face now looked several years older with wrinkles and bags underneath her eyes thanks to some immaculately applied makeup, and her Huntress outfit had been temporarily replaced with an ill-fitting blouse and slacks hiding surveillance equipment. She could not imagine that there was a single person on Remnant that could look at her and not assume that she was anything more than a stressed-out office worker looking to vent out their frustrations somewhere where it wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass.
"I told you Coco was an expert," said Velvet who was disguised in a similar outfit but with black hair and the addition of a pair of thick glasses. "Honestly, she could have been a professional makeup artist if she hadn't chosen to be a Huntress instead."
Blake stared for a few more seconds, she had gone undercover before back when she was a member of the White Fang and it was a job that she genuinely enjoyed. Pretending to be someone else and trying to fool the people around her was just plain fun but the best part was digging around for whatever information she was being sent to find. That part above everything else made her feel like she was making an actual difference in the world, I don't regret it. I will never regret those moments and I won't let whatever it is that Adam is planning to do, taint that. With her resolve firmly in place, she turned to look at Velvet and shifted into character, "So any luck with that creep?"
"Wha- oh!" Velvet quickly caught onto what Blake was doing and changed gears, "No," she sighed and began to rub her forehead. "I just don't know how many ways I can tell the guy I'm not interested before I start to lose it. I swear on the Brothers, that bastard didn't even look at my resume, he took one look at my ears and thought he could -urgh!" She stomped her foot, "I need a new job but leaving now feels like a surrender!"
"Some fights aren't worth it, especially for people like us…," Blake shamefully stared at the ground as she said this.
"You're giving up?"
Blake shrugged, "I've just learned that sometimes you have to grit your teeth and just put up with it no matter how unfair it is." She pointed at her ears, "Even if I tried to file a report, they would just take one look at these things and that would be it. Nothing would change except now I'd never hear the end of it! Just like you."
A third voice suddenly chimed in, "Excuse me, I don't mean to intrude but I have something that you both may be interested in."
Blake and Velvet turned to look at the speaker and found an admittedly pretty woman in a skirt and blouse who seemed to be just a bit older than their actual age, "I couldn't help overhear how you have problems at your workplaces and that you feel helpless to change anything there."
Velvet nodded, "Let's just say that it can be hard being a rabbit Faunus."
"Oh I understand completely just how bad stereotypes can be," the woman then turned around revealing a small pink curly tail coming out of a hole that had been cut into the back of her skirt. Then the woman turned around again to face them while offering a handshake, "My name is Haley and I am a pig Faunus."
Blake was the first to accept the handshake, "Barbara."
"Veronica," Velvet said when it was her turn. "Please don't be offended Haley but I severely doubt that you just wanted to talk and share stories."
Haley reached into her purse and pulled out a folded-up brochure, "Well I was on my way to this and when I overheard you two I thought that you might also be interested," she then unfolded the brochure and showed that it was for the White Fang Rally. "I understand if you don't want to go with me, after all, we've just met and I did intrude on you-!"
Blake interrupted her, "I'll go with you."
Velvet turned to face her friend, "What are you saying Barb? You can't be serious about this!"
Blake snapped back, "Why not!? We already tried everything else and the harassment didn't stop, so why shouldn't I do this? Why shouldn't we try something that might have a chance of changing things if not for us then for someone else in the same shit as us!"
"I-I-I…"
Blake walked over to Haley's side, "If you want to stay and hope that HR has a change of heart then go right ahead but down try and stop me."
Poor Haley hadn't expected to witness much less be the cause of a fallout between friends so for a moment she just stood there not sure what to do except hope that situation would somehow resolve itself. When it became clear that it wasn't going to happen she took a nervous step towards Blake then another one towards the Rally, "Well um, okay…"
"Wait!" Velvet suddenly said before walking up to them with a groan. "I'll go too, but only because I've been hearing some good things about the White Fang lately. But I want you to promise me something, Barbara!"
Blake smiled, "Veronica, I promise you that we'll leave right away if they are up to something illegal."
"Thank you."
Haley then sighed, grateful that the issue had been resolved before leading her new acquaintances to where the brochure said the Rally would be held; She was completely unaware that what she saw was all an act. The entire argument had been prewritten and practiced in preparation for this mission all to help sell the idea that Blake and Velvet were just a pair of tired stressed-out office workers so they could avoid any suspicion. For all they knew, Haley could have been a member of the White Fang merely pretending to be a curious young woman to lure in potential recruits. If that was the case then she might become wary if they acted too eager since anyone with even a modicum of common sense wouldn't be jumping at the opportunity to join what was known as a terrorist organization. And if it turned out that Haely really was everything that she appeared to be, then that was even better as long as nothing went wrong. And if it did, then they would do their part to make sure that she made it out alright.
The directions written on the brochure did not take them directly to the Rally, instead, it led them on a winding detour that would eventually take them to the place. It was designed that way on purpose as a means of precaution, by making the path hard to follow they could hide things such as potential escape routes from others such as the police who now had to stretch themselves to try and cover everything. It also served as a means to weed out anyone who could prove to be unreliable, anyone that lacked the patience or willpower to work through this simple puzzle was not the kind of person you would want by your side during an emergency. They were the kind of people who would abandon the cause at the first sign of trouble, cowards at best and traitors at worst. The White Fang was only interested in people that were willing to undergo at least some level of inconvenience for the sake of others or at least that was how the group used to be…
When they finally arrived at the end of their little journey the trio found themselves standing before a row of warehouses that served as a storage depot for the eastern side of the marketplace. Under normal circumstances, a gathering such as a Rally would never be able to happen here as there would be too many workers and products being moved around to ever allow such a thing. However, for some strange reason, there seemed to be an absence of both workers and products which was a feat that the White Fang was not capable of doing on their own. To use one of the warehouses for anything other than its intended purpose was something beyond all but the richest since it required that the products and laborers be moved elsewhere and that meant tremendous planning and manpower. Not to mention lawyers since the inconvenienced business would file complaints and the legal process took even more time and money. And yet the White Fang had somehow managed to reserve several warehouses all for the sake of a mere Rally… there was only one reasonable explanation and it was that the group had found a friend with really deep pockets and the influence to match.
Who would want to fund the White Fang? Thought Blake to herself as the group walked towards a small but growing crowd gathering in front of one of the warehouses. Sure there are plenty of Faunus and even humans who have the resources and reasons to share but something like this would bankrupt most of them. In her head, she tried to calculate the sheer number of vendors who would have to be compensated due to the delay in receiving their goods thanks to the Rally, but she couldn't. The only person who could work out a figure like that was Penny and right now she had more important things to do than math, But then again something like that could help narrow down who could have bankrolled this. I'll bring it up with her afterward.
"I can see them!" Haley suddenly spoke in a hushed tone while pointing towards the building's entrance. It only took a moment to see what had gotten her attention, standing guard at the door were several men and women dressed in everyday street clothes but on their faces was the distinctive white red marked mask of the White Fang. Both Haley and Velvet paused for a moment unsure what they should do next but Blake walked forward towards the White Fang standing guard and catching their attention.
"Can I help you Ma'am?" asked one of the bigger men.
"Maybe," Blake answered with a small quiver in her voice while folding her arms to give the man the impression that she was putting on a brave face. "My friends and I have been experiencing constant harassment at work, what can the White Fang do for us that HR couldn't?"
The man smiled in a friendly manner that felt shockingly genuine, "It might surprise you to find out that I was in a similar situation not too long ago."
"Really?"
He nodded, "I know I don't look like it but I used to work as an IT specialist for a law firm, ever heard of Cobalt Legal?"
Blake nodded, that was a name she had heard before on the news, "Wasn't that firm shut down because police found proof that they had blackmailed witnesses who would have testified against their clients?"
"The firm was also blackmailing their staff to keep the whole thing secret, in my case they went a little further and had me bug the scrolls of the other employees while threatening to deport my mother. The White Fang helped me and I do not doubt that they can help you and your friends as well. So please, just be a little more patient, we will be letting people in soon."
"Thanks," Blake returned to the others with several questions running through her head with the first being whether or not his story was true. To be specific the part that she was doubting was whether or not the man had been a part of that firm since the news never mentioned anything about the now-former employees but at the same time, it did not reveal how the police got the information. He could be telling the truth, he did seem rather sincere…
"Did you find out anything?" asked Velvet.
Blake pointed at the masked guard she just finished talking to, "He claims to have worked IT for Cobalt Legal."
"I've heard of them, the owner got arrested for blackmail!" Haley exclaimed. She then scratched her chin as though she was trying to recall something, "Actually… that's all I know, news about the incident stopped almost as soon as it began."
"He claims that the White Fang helped him but I don't know if he is telling the truth," said Blake while observing Haley's understandably nervous fidgeting, If she was an agent of the White Fang then she is an incredible actress but she's also wasting time by hanging out with us when she could be scouting recruits… she's a civilian and she's in danger as long as she's with us.
"We've got to get her away from us," Velvet whispered to Blake.
"You figured it out too?" Blake whispered back a little surprised since she hadn't said anything to Velvet, Then again she is both observant and smart so really this shouldn't be a shock.
"While you were talking to the guard I was trying to figure out what her deal was, she told me that she is an accountant for Silver Linings Shipping and there is a real pervert in the company trying to push her into becoming his personal secretary."
"Let me guess, the pervert is the son of some higher-up who knows that she needs this job?"
"You're right on the first one, however, I don't know about her financial situation but I'd say it's a safe assumption… could the White Fang help her?"
Blake paused not because she needed to think about it but rather because the answer was yes, the White Fang could help Haley, and more than that, it stood to gain by helping her. Logistics was a matter that every organization had to deal with and having a shipping company in your pocket made all of that so much easier to handle but that wasn't the best part. The information that could be gained from examining the company's logs had the potential to be more valuable than a small Dust mine especially if they could find proof of illegal activity. Something like that would allow the White Fang to potentially blackmail several companies at once, And Adam won't be using that leverage to make people's lives better.
"They could help her," Blake finally answered. "But Adam wouldn't do it by bringing proof of misdeeds to the authorities, he'd do it by taking control of the company by using the threat of exposure to keep them silent and complacent."
"Your ex sounds like an asshole."
"He's not my-!"
"They're starting to let people in!" Haley suddenly proclaimed with a voice that was both excited and nervous, "S-should we go in? O-or should we wait outside just a bit longer?" She waited for either Blake or Velvet to say something but they didn't, instead, they both began walking toward the entrance without her. "Hey wait! Where are you going! Wait for me!"
Velvet whispered to Blake, "Do you think we can lose her in there?"
"Yeah I do," Blake answered while looking at the waiting crowd that had only grown in size and would only keep on growing until the event had truly begun. "The guards should start handing out masks soon, that will be our chance." Sorry, Haley, you seem like a good person but this is for your own safety.
"Masks?" Velvet asked, looking at the front of the line that was starting to form and she noticed that there were now several sealed boxes by the still closed door, I don't remember seeing those before. The mystery of how the box ended up there was quickly solved as the door opened and several members of the White Fang walked out carrying identical boxes in their hands before setting them down next to ones already there. Once both the line of people and the piles of boxes were big enough, the boxes were opened and masks were pulled out of them and handed to the people in line.
"What's up with this," asked a man who was just ahead of Blake and Velvet when a mask was offered to him.
"It's to protect your identity just in case something happens," the guard replied.
"In case what happens?"
The guard gave the guy a blank look, "You do realize that the White Fang is considered a criminal organization? What do you think might happen?" He watched as the man's face blanched, "You don't have to do this, there are other ways to support your brothers and sisters that don't involve wearing a mask."
The man took the mask and held it up to his eyes quickly taking notice of the flimsy material that it was made of, this mask was designed to be utterly disposable and something about that resonated with him. That bastard is always telling me that he could replace me in a minute even though I'm the one doing most of the work. And yet, he's always riding my ass while ignoring everyone else's bullshit! There were still some reservations in his eyes but they were hardening, "Maybe I can't be a soldier but maybe that doesn't matter…," he put the mask on and was surprised by how comfortable it felt on his face. "I can't make any promises but I'll hear you guys out."
"That's all we ask." The guard then moved on to Blake, Velvet, and Haley and was about to hand them masks but he stopped when saw the glasses, they were too big to hide behind the mask. "Well, we have a couple of ways we could handle this."
Velvet took off the glasses, "It won't be a problem. My boss doesn't like it when I wear these things in his presence so I've learned to do without."
"And let you walk around nearly blind through an unfamiliar and crowded area? No, that is unacceptable!" The Guard then held out his hand, "May I see your glasses for a moment?"
"Sure," Velvet handed him the fake glasses and watched alongside Blake and Haley to see what he would do.
"Hmmm… I think I have just the trick." The Guard then pulled out a larger mask followed by a small knife and started trimming a bit on the edges and making the eyehole wider. When he was done he handed the glasses back to Velvet along with the new mask, "Try wearing this over the glasses."
Velvet did as he suggested and found to her surprise that the mask fitted perfectly over the glasses, "That's incredible, I have a friend who is a skilled seamstress but even she would struggle to make an adjustment like this with only a knife!"
He chuckled, "I'm glad you like it, in the past, I worked with many different costumes and last-minute alterations were my specialty."
"In the past? So you don't do this stuff anymore?" asked Haley who sounded just a little disappointed.
"Yeah," Despite the mask on his face, the weight in his voice made his emotions all too easy to read. "Let's just say that… I found out the hard way that my former boss was a self-righteous hypocrite and they didn't like it when I noticed." He stopped himself and took a deep breath, "I don't know where I would be without the White Fang… If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work." He then put away his knife and walked past them to hand masks to the ones behind them and beyond.
"Oh, I didn't mean to make you remember something painful. Maybe I can find him later and apologize to him." Haley said to herself as the line began to move inside.
Roman sat in front of the dressing room mirror, took off his hat, examined his reflection, and then took out a small comb to make little but important adjustments to his hair. Adjustments that were immediately hidden once he put the hat back on but it didn't matter if the world never got to see it, he knew that his hair was flawless and he was the only person, besides Neo, who mattered. However, he did have to make an effort to look good for his audience so he then took out a brush and used it to apply small amounts of makeup on his face, just enough to hide any blemishes. Afterward, he used a smaller brush to apply a bit of mascara to help draw attention to his eyes and when that was done, he stood up from the chair and searched his clothes for any wrinkles.
It was a lot of work and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that many, especially some of the dimmer members of the White Fang, would not appreciate the result. However, a true gentleman thief knew the power and importance of presentation, And as much as I hate her I have to admit that Cindy knows how to present… though I can't help but feel like she's aping someone else just like how Emerald is aping her. He shook his head and pushed those two women out of his mind, tonight the spotlight was his and he did not need to be thinking of those two bitches.
"Alright Neo, how do I look?"
Neo then emerged out of thin air accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, most people would have assumed that she had teleported inside the dressing room but the truth was far simpler. She had been inside the room the whole time, in fact, she had walked in with Roman but thanks to her semblance no one knew she was even there, except her partner in crime.
"Is there anything off?" Roman asked as Neo walked around him a couple of times to examine his outfit from every angle. He didn't say anything or resist in any way whenever he felt her tugging at his suit to make adjustments, he trusted her completely. Soon enough the tugging stopped and she was standing before him giving him the thumbs up, "Excellent! And is everything else in place?"
Neo pulled out a scroll and went through a checklist that she and Roman had put together. On that list were many items and each and every one of them with but a single exception had a checkmark right next to it. The one lacking a checkmark was called, "Special Guests," and it had a question mark right next to it along with a smiley face that most would dismiss as meaningless scribble. However, to both Roman and Neo that little drawing meant so much more, it was a message which at this moment meant that the "Special Guests," were on their way and were expected to arrive just in time.
"Good! Make sure that they find the freak and be ready to make a break for it."
Neo typed out a question, "And once we get to Mount Glenn?"
"Then we'll find out if we can ditch the bitch, either then or later on." It wasn't a plan, they both knew that but it was all they had to go on at the moment. They could form an actual plan once the night was done and they had an opportunity to make a proper assessment of their situation.
A masked grunt cautiously entered the room, "Sir, you asked me to let you know when we start playing the video."
"Good man, now run along and continue doing… whatever it was that you were doing and I'll make my way to the stage. Wish me luck Neo and stay safe." He watched as she walked out of view before making his way to the awaiting crowd.
The first thing that Blake noticed once she got inside was the stage and the projector screen located right behind it, They're going to show us a film? I guess that makes sense, it is a good way to put a crowd into an ideal state of mind. Looking around she could see some masked members of the White Fang in full uniform walking around but keeping a distance from the people still entering, Probably to make them feel more comfortable.
"Do you see anything that stands out?" asked Velvet.
Before she answered, Blake took another quick look around the room paying close attention to the uniforms, "Everyone here is just a private, none of them are in charge."
"A private? I wasn't aware that this group used military ranks."
A smile formed on Blake's face, "When Sienna took over the first thing she did was rework the organizational structure and she purposely used the same ranks Atlas uses to mock them. For example, the leader of the Vacuo branch is Commodore Lilian Darling and we all saw that video where Adam introduced himself as a Major."
"Must have been a shock seeing your ex like that."
"He is not my ex! Yes, we did date but it wasn't for very long, our relationship was closer to mentor and student."
That was not what Velvet had expected to hear and it brought with it many questions that would have to wait, this was not the time or place, and even worse was how she could see Haley hovering close by. The woman seemed to be distracted but Velvet didn't want to risk this stranger hearing something private, I thought we'd be able to lose her in the rush… oh well, I guess that we'll just have to keep an eye on her.
A man walked on stage with a microphone in his hands, "Thank you all for coming here. We'd like to start this by showing you all a little film that you might recognize. Afterward, we'll have our speaker get up here and get things rolling."
The lights were dimmed as soon as he was done talking and the projector screen lit up a second later with the film starting in the very next second. As it turned out the man was right, it was a film that they all recognized: "Citizens of Vale. My name is Major Adam Taurus and I am the leader of the Vale Branch of the White Fang and now that introductions are out of the way I'll get to the point. The White Fang had nothing to do with the creation or distribution of Rage…"
It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that there wasn't a single person in that crowd who hadn't seen that video at least once, but memory and attention were fickle little things. It wasn't that long ago when that video was the only thing being talked about on the news especially when the council foolishly attempted to censure it which only brought more attention to the film. However people now live in an era of constant information and stimulation thanks to the existence of scrolls and the CCT, what was yesterday's golden idol could easily become tomorrow's trash. The video was no exception, with events like the Raid making the news and the upcoming Vytal Festival, it was only natural that a single video would start to fade from people's minds.
Fortunately for White Fang, it was easy to make people remember.
The people who came to this Rally came for a reason, some were just curious but there could be no doubt that the majority had a grievance. Something so bad that it drove them here despite any doubt in their heads, doubts that were being drowned out by the anger rising in their hearts as they watched Adam make his way through the hospital. For most this anger would not be enough to push them into joining, that was just the reality of Rallies and Recruitment Drives in general, but they would remember this anger and that was oftentimes enough. A small handful would sign-up and many others would go back home as sympathizers who would contribute in small but very real ways.
Then the video reached the final part and images of unconscious Faunus laying on hospital beds appeared on screen, the crowd was spellbound. The remainder of just how badly the kingdom had failed them was a powerful tool for radicalization, soon the video would be over and the speaker would appear and their words would have the potential to push many people into something that they would have never considered just yesterday!
"Do you know who the speaker could be?" Velvet asked as the film came to a close.
Blake shook her head, "No, Adam never did any rallies and wasn't fond of ambassadors."
Velvet could see the silhouette of somebody walking onto the stage but there were too many people standing in her way to try and make out who it was, "Ambassadors?"
"That was a position created by Ghira, the founder of the group, and it's just what it sounds like. Someone to serve as a recognizable and inoffensive face for…," Blake never finished that sentence but it wasn't because anyone forced her to shut up. The real reason why was because a spotlight had turned on and she was now able to see and recognize the man standing on the stage with a microphone in one hand and a cane in the other. And it wasn't just her either, there wasn't a single person in that crowd who knew what to make of that man.
"Yup, this was exactly the kind of reaction that I was expecting," Roman said with a chuckle as he looked into the crowd that was still trying to figure out if this was some kind of joke. "So you all probably have seen my face before but on the off chance that you don't, allow me to introduce myself. I am a thief extraordinaire by the name of Roman Torchwick and I'm here to talk to you all about crime, real crime."
Someone in the crowd then shouted, "Like all that Dust you stole?"
"Exactly! But ask yourself this, who got hurt? I didn't physically hurt anyone and all the stores I robbed are still in business, thanks in part to their insurance and another part thanks to Vale laws that helped keep them afloat until they could recover."
Another person in the crowd shouted, "And what about the SDC? They got to sell their Dust twice thanks to you! My cousin is a cripple thanks to those bastards and you put money in their pocket!"
Roman took a remote out of his pocket and pressed a button causing several newspaper headlines to be projected onto the screen, they were all about the incident at the Docks. "And that my justifiably angry friend is where you are wrong, the SDC lost money thanks to my plan. In their arrogance, those Atlassian scumbags took sole responsibility for delivering that Dust and made a big show of it! Thanks to us they failed in that responsibility and are now contractually obligated to replace the stolen Dust at no additional cost to the buyers nor are they allowed to jack up prices to force the cost onto us! This my friends is what I call an absolute Win!" Some people might have dismissed his claims as mere propaganda and they were both right and wrong, it was propaganda but the fallout was just as he had described. The incident at the Docks was a disaster for the SDC which resulted in a large dent in their profits and a major blow to their reputation as a reliable supplier.
Roman took a moment to bask in the cheer before pressing another button, the headlines vanished and were replaced by photographs of Beacon students including Blake fighting the White Fang. "Now here is something interesting that was not really covered by the news, I wonder why? Why wouldn't people be interested in learning how or a bunch of kids risked their lives to defend one of the most notorious companies in the modern-day?" He chuckled, "Oh who am I kidding? We know why they were there, everyone knows what really goes on in those Academies. Time and time again the very institutions that were created to supposedly help you have instead chosen to shield your oppressors and to punish you whenever you rightfully demand better! Even worse is how they indoctrinate your kids into becoming lapdogs for real monsters while ignoring the settlements!"
The crowd was eating this up and he hadn't even gotten to the best part, with another press of the button a new image appeared on the screen that made Blake gasp; It was a picture of her without her ribbon standing next to Weiss in the aftermath of the fight at the Docks. How!? How did he get that picture!? One of the cops at the scene must have taken it, there is no other way. Suddenly Blake felt a hand giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze, when she looked to see who it was she found Velvet standing close by, and even Haley looking at her with concern. "I'll be fine, I'm just… a bit shaken."
Haley nodded, "I understand why you'd feel that way, I always thought Beacon was one of the good guys."
It would have been easy to defend Beacon without revealing themselves but it would have also been incredibly foolish given where they were. The best-case scenario was that they drew unwanted attention on top of themselves, attention that would linger even if they avoided any other incident. They would just have to hold their tongues and play along for now regardless of how they felt…
Meanwhile Roman smiled as the crowd began to murmur, he couldn't make out what they were saying but he could tell that they were becoming angrier and angrier. Now to push them even further and I have just the thing to do it, with another press of a button the picture vanished and the projector turned off. "The entire history of the Faunus has been a repeating pattern, you get mistreated by humans like me for honestly no good reason, then something violent happens, humans then act surprise and then blame you for acting in self-defense, people get hurt and the humans realize that things are looking bad, then they act like they learned their lesson and promise to do better, you guys give them the benefit of the doubt… and then what happens?"
The projector came back to life and on the screen were black and white photos of the Great War, "Your ancestors bled for the humans and how were they rewarded?" The image changed to pictures of Menagerie from multiple time periods, "You're given an island that no one wants and some humans have the audacity to claim that it is a paradise despite how your capital is worse off than most settlements! You rightfully complain, and then humans try to shut you up by forcing all of you to live on that barren rock! You guys win again! But humans still treat you like garbage and they don't even have the decency to even acknowledge Menagerie as a kingdom, it has no CCT meaning it's isolated from the rest of the world and has no Academy!"
The image changed again, this time showing the White Fang providing humanitarian aid with Ghira leading the way. "They call us terrorists because we resort to violence but then they leave out how they were the ones to push us into violence. They even painted us like villains for daring to defend ourselves!" A montage of news stories detailing attacks on the White Fang by various human supremacist groups while portraying the attackers as heroic and the Faunus as being in the wrong for fighting back. "Now you might be looking at all of this and saying to yourself, But Roman you handsome devil! All these stories are from the distant past, things are different now." He just chuckled and pressed the button and the images changed to a still frame from the video of Adam in the hospital, it was an image focused on the unconscious of Faunus laying in hospital beds, "Remember this? Have you ever wondered what happened to these people whom the White Fang entrusted to our fair and just institutions?"
He pressed the button one last time and images of death certificates filled the screen, "They're dead… well, not all of them but it doesn't change the fact that you have been once again deceived by humans who went out of their way to make sure that this information would never reach your ears. In fact, we would have never found out if it wasn't for the bravery of sympathizers in that hospital leaking us the documents." The crowd was now on the verge of a frenzy, all it would take was a single push delivered with just the right amount of force, and something tragic would be all but guaranteed to happen… and it did.
It started with the sudden shattering of a window as brick was thrown through it and what followed after that was a cry emanating from the crowd. Then from the other side of the window came the sound of multiple people shouting and hollering with laughter almost as if they were responding to the cry, then came a gunshot, someone screamed, all lights turned on, the sound of fighting started to fill the air, and the crowd began to move towards the closed doors of the storehouse while what few grunts remained attempted to restore order. At some point, Velvet thought she saw a young woman suddenly appear out of thin air right next to Roman but she got distracted by the chaos around her. Meanwhile, Blake was doing her best to keep an overwhelmed Haley from falling as the poor woman was being shoved in every direction.
Then they heard it and for a moment, everyone stood still. Then they heard it again, at first it sounded like just another person screaming but, it was too loud to be a person, it was too animalistic, and it sounded too angry, or was it actually joyful? No one could tell for sure and no one was interested in finding out which was the truth, at that moment the only thing on anyone's mind was to get as far away as possible.
Then the screaming began again.
Author's Notes: Looks like we'll need a little bit of extra information to understand what just happened and that's just what I'm going to give you. The next chapter will be focused on the POVs of characters that I wanted to include but couldn't find the room to do so, in addition, it will serve as a means to bring the focus back to Team PRAN. Also changing Adam so that he was Blake's mentor instead of an Ex is an idea that I came up with several months ago and then fell in love with, it's still an abusive relationship but now there is a focus on their beliefs rather than Adam being a creep.
Fun fact, IRL Rabbits stomp their feet when they're mad.