Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth and Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo. I own nothing of either of them and make no profit from them. I am only playing in the worlds they gave us.
I apologize for this chapter, both for how long it took to get it out and for what's in it.
I actually started working on this the day after I posted the last one but it didn't take long for things to go off the rails for me. The company I work for is the equivalent of a steaming pile of crap and unfortunately they decided to display their ignorance and stupidity at least once every week for several weeks in a row. Being the stressed out, burnout case that I am, their crap made me furious and that would send me off the rails for several days at a time, which meant that my head was not in the place it needed to be to write.
Add in a week in Covid quarantine to make the beginning of this year extra shit-tastic and pour on top of that a mountain of apathy that was brought on by all of the above and you get a three month gap between chapters and me being highly skeptical about the quality of what I finally managed to do.
Hell, it was so bad that I actually forgot what half of the content of this chapter was originally supposed to be. When I started I had a decent idea but by the time I managed to finally get the first scene done, I was drawing a total blank on what I had intended to put between it and the final scene. Whatever I had thought of... it was just gone as if it had never been in my mind to start with.
So, again I apologize and hope that what I managed to finally put together here isn't a total disaster.
A Chance Encounter
Chapter 22
Despite all of the years that had passed since it had been given to him, Qrow could still appreciate the ability to turn into a bird and soar through the sky. Even when flying to or from a mission there was a sense of peace and freedom that he couldn't get anywhere else and it was a very much welcomed respite. There was something about being able to view the world from the sky that gave you a different perspective on things, one that you couldn't get when on the ground. In a way, it was kind of like viewing things in three dimensions rather than in two. It made you realize that the world and what went on within it was much bigger than what you otherwise knew.
And considering that this was Remnant, wasn't that the understatement of all time.
While he wouldn't go so far as to classify the ability as a blessing, he certainly didn't see it as a curse, unlike his sister. Raven acted as if it had been forced upon them but that wasn't even remotely close to the truth. They'd certainly been given the time to think about it before accepting, and just as he had done, she had accepted the power with little hesitation. For something she now claimed to be a curse she certainly made use of it to the fullest and to every advantage she could get out of it. But, that was Raven, hypocritical and contradictory.
To his advantage, he kept the ability secret, but part of him would love to tell his nieces about it just to see their reactions. He was already the 'cool Uncle', but how much cooler would it be if they knew he could turn into a bird and fly. Ruby might just pass out from her excitement.
Speaking of his nieces, the apples certainly hadn't fallen far from the tree had they? Team RWBY had been following in Team STRQ's footsteps, getting involved in a number of incidents that they probably shouldn't have, just like their parents and uncle before them. To make things even more interesting, one team member was a Schnee and the other was the estranged daughter of the Chieftain of Menagerie and founder of the White Fang. He had certainly known who she was as soon as he had heard the name, and he got the gist of her story out of both Ozpin and Ichigo. They just might end up being more notorious than STRQ was and it looked like they had Team JNPR willingly coming along for the ride with them.
As for the task at hand, he was into his second day of looking for the White Fang camp. He was aware of several locations in the Emerald Forest that they had used before and he had begun with the ones that were closest to the city and the easiest to get to in a hurry. A couple of them had shown signs of someone being there recently but they hadn't been there long, maybe only stopping there overnight on their way to a more well hidden and larger site. When the sites had been used originally, they had been well chosen and hard for even an experienced Huntsman like himself to spot. But over the years he had flown enough miles that he had learned how to spot things from the air, able to detect slight differences almost on instinct.
Like all of the flying Grimm he saw perched in trees and he had no doubt that there were many more lurking about on the forest floor.
Taurus must have been seriously pissed off to give up his foothold in the city and flee back into the wilderness. The harassment of his group would have been bad enough but when Yoruichi upped the ante and humiliated him and posted it on the net for the whole world to see, well he supposed it was fortunate that the terrorist leader had fled with his tail between his legs rather than going on a blind rampage in the city. Although, his time in the wilderness waiting for the day to come to launch the attack would give him plenty of time to seethe and build up all of his fury and hatred, waiting for the moment when he could finally unleash it.
Something down to his right caught his attention, something about the foliage down in a gap in the forest cover didn't look just quite right. Swooping down he flew into the gap and soon saw why it didn't look right. A Bullhead was parked there with cut branches arranged over top of it to screen it from aerial view. An inexperienced eye likely wouldn't have picked up the slight difference in the way the foliage looked, but he was anything but inexperienced.
Making his way around through the trees he found three more of the craft hidden and suspected that there had to be more. Making note of the thin trails through the undergrowth and the signs of equipment being dragged along, he came across a couple more of the craft before finding the edge of the camp itself. There were numerous tents scattered around through the forest, not all emulating the colours of the forest but the tree canopy was thick enough that they were unlikely to be spotted from above.
He went into the 'act', going from tree to tree, cawing occasionally and looking over every inch of the camp as if he was looking for scraps to pilfer like a typical crow. It wasn't hard to tell the grizzled vets of the group from the rookies. Besides the cold, steely look in their eyes, there was their level of alertness. They were aware of every noise and movement around them, and judging by the low level of noise they had all been cautioned to be quiet. What was even more obvious were the people who had clearly spent most of their life in the city. Nature wasn't their thing judging by how uncomfortable they looked and they couldn't wait to get out of here.
One such poor sap decided to alleviate his boredom by raising his rifle and firing off a burst in his direction. Either he was a horrible shot or his Semblance kicked in, either way the shots missed by a wide margin. He flapped out of there as fast as he could but he didn't leave. He circled around and found a vantage point that left him far less visible but still left him with a decent view of the camp. Being as on edge as they were, most of the others in the camp had their weapons up looking for trouble.
"What the hell are you doing taking potshots at birds you moron?!" It was the bear Faunus from the video of Adam's humiliation.
"What's the big deal?" the shooter asked, clearly unconcerned. "It's just a dumb freaking bird and we're in the middle of nowhere. We should have stayed in the city, at least there would be something to do while we wait."
"And do you have any idea how far sound carries out here, 'in the middle of nowhere'?" a very angry sounding voice spoke up. The flap on the largest tent was thrown open roughly and Adam Taurus strode out to the middle of the camp where the shooter stood. "We've already had to change locations twice because someone couldn't follow orders. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean that there aren't people out there trying to find us. For our upcoming attack to be successful we must remain undiscovered until the time comes."
"We're in the middle of the Emerald Forest," the shooter protested. "Who's going to find us out here?"
"You're obviously too ignorant to be an asset," Adam growled.
If Qrow had blinked he would have missed it. Adam had drawn his sword and was already returning it to its sheath before the shooter's now severed head toppled off his shoulders and thudded into the ground.
"Leave his body where it is," Adam coldly instructed the bear Faunus. "Let it serve as an example to anyone else who doesn't want to follow orders."
That was enough for Qrow and he winged it out of there. Everything in Taurus's body language screamed that he was over wound and ready to snap. He just hoped the terrorist didn't decide to break camp again until he got the location back to Ozpin.
White Fang Headquarters: Office of High Leader Khan
There came a time when even the most ardent believer in a cause could find themselves doubting themselves and the methods they undertook to achieve their aims. A time where they could find themselves doubting the supremacy of the position they had placed themselves in and the strength of the foundation that supremacy stood upon.
That, in this moment, was Sienna Khan.
There had been no doubts to plague her mind five years ago when she took over the White Fang from Ghira Belladonna. She had been strong in her beliefs, and still was, that Ghira's methods were too slow, gaining too little and not improving the plight of the Faunus quickly enough. They had debated for hours the age old argument of diplomacy versus force, negotiation versus violent resistance. She had respected Ghira greatly and still did to this day. He had taken a horribly difficult task upon his shoulders and worked hard to make the gains that he had been able to achieve and she wouldn't stand for anyone speaking ill of him.
But, for many including herself, as significant as they were, those achievements weren't enough and they had taken too long to happen. What little change was coming, or at least what little had come, came at a snails pace. "You cannot change hundreds of years of behaviour among the humans overnight," Ghira had said. "It would be no different if we were the dominate species. Change takes time, no matter how right that change may be or how badly that it is needed."
She agreed with him one hundred percent, but sitting back and waiting was not an option to her and many others. Bloody the human's noses and show them that the Faunus were no longer willing to cower with their heads down, that they were going to stand up and be noticed, that they were demanding the equal treatment they deserved and were not going to settle for anything less. Refuse service to a Faunus in your place of business, or refuse to hire them, treat them like garbage if you do, and there would be consequences. Broken windows, looting, a fire, maybe a mugging. The worse the transgression, the worse the consequences and there would always be consequences. A message had to be, demanded to be sent.
There were times when even stronger measures were taken and those involved the worst abusers, entities like the Schnee Dust Company. That was closer to open warfare than anything else they were involved in short of their clashes with any number of human supremacy groups. Neither of those two groups would back down and it was nasty, bloody business for all concerned. But, she would not back down from them and would take the fight as far as they were willing to go with it.
She was smart enough to know that even if more violent methods were getting them results and giving them more room and increased access, even if it was by making humans fear them, there were certain things that they could not do. Cross those lines and you pushed that fear to outrage and that outrage would soon swell into a backlash that would undo those uneasy gains they had made through that fear.
Large scale attacks on the population, like the Mountain Glenn attack. Attacks on the Huntsmen academies. While Huntsmen and Huntresses had been a thorn in the White Fang's side from time to time, they were the best line of defence against the Grimm and the world needed as many of them as it could get. Random violent attacks against innocent members of the public. They had enough legitimate hate mongering targets as it was without bringing random and senseless violence to the streets.
She generally left her field commanders alone to do their thing so long as it didn't go over the lines and so long as she was kept informed of what they were doing and the results they were getting. Adam's group always lagged in their reporting and he had always been difficult that way. He didn't seem to care that not keeping her in the loop about what he was doing and what he had done affected the strategies and public relations campaigns of the group. She'd had to resort to other methods to piece together information on what he was doing. Information brokers, Faunus who weren't active members of the White Fang but who were sympathetic to the cause. Even the evening news for crying out loud.
Mountain Glenn was a bit of a wake up call for her and she should have seen that headache coming. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had always known that an incident of that magnitude was inevitable and that Adam would probably be involved in it. For whatever reason though, she had chosen to believe that he wouldn't go to that extreme, that he understood why they couldn't do something like that. She should have know something was up when reports from him were even more scarce than usual. Information had been hard enough to come by that she hadn't even been able to finally confirm for sure that Adam had indeed been working with Roman Torchwick until the man had been arrested during the Mountain Glenn attack.
It seemed that Adam was charting his own course and that made her furious. If he would cross one of those prohibited lines and work behind her back like this, then what else was he doing? What else was he planning? Ever since the attack she had been hearing quiet rumblings within the Fang, members who thought they should be doing more attacks like that and speaking highly of Adam taking the initiative. He had always been a revered figure among the rank and file, especially the more hardcore members, and surely enough she had used that to help recruit more members to the cause over the years.
But it seemed that cracks were starting to grow, familiar cracks, because she had taken a similar path to ousting Ghira. She didn't know if Adam aspired to lead the whole movement or not, but he did advocate for a more violent course of action just as she had herself. If her methods had been a risky balancing act for the organization, then Adam's were downright suicidal. As it was he had already drawn the attention of a third party, vigilantes who weren't afraid to confront and subdue members of the White Fang, but those of the human supremacist groups as well and leave behind messages deriding the hate and violence of both.
She had been kicking herself for her not seeing the possibility of an ideological fracture and had been trying to figure out the best way to deal with it. The attack was going to make keeping to their old methods almost impossible and escalating things further would see them be hunted like they never had been before. They could put up a hard, bloody fight, but in the end they would be wiped out and their people would suffer for it. For the first time she began to have doubts about her ability to continue leading the White Fang. If she openly repudiated Adam then the split that she was sure was there would widen and she would find herself fighting not only against the authorities, but Adam and his supporters as well and the organization and their cause would not survive a civil war.
She thought perhaps that things had turned her way when that video of Adam being slapped around like a training dummy had hit the net. Seeing him handled so effortlessly by someone who was easily half his size had to have a negative effect on those who saw him as the icon of the movement. For some it did, but she had underestimated his most ardent supporters and the more hardcore among them. They were shocked by the way he had been humiliated but in the manner of true believers everywhere, they found a way to excuse and rationalize it. A couple of days later, when Adam issued a call for additional troops through a backdoor communication network that she had no access to or prior knowledge of, they went.
At least half of the people who operated out of the group's headquarters were gone and a number of them had been part of her personal guard which had shocked her to the core. She came to realize that at any time Adam could have had her removed from the seat of power and there was a great likelihood that when he was finished with whatever venture was occupying him at the moment, he may well do just that. Adding to that was not knowing who she could trust now to be on her side of things.
And just to add a little extra spice to the mix was that fact that on the night after Adam's humiliating beat down, she had returned to her private quarters for the evening and found the cartoonish calling card of his tormentors laying on her pillow. The message was clear, they hadn't forgotten about her and they could reach her whenever they chose to. It was not a comforting thought and her lack of sleep that night served as an illustration to that.
So what the hell was she going to do about this? What could she do about it? That was the million Lien question. Violence only begat more violence, it was like uncorking a bottle with a Genie in it. Once it was out, good luck getting it back inside. Was this payback for her taking them down the violent path to start with? She didn't really believe in that kind of thing but there was no denying that her own methods were coming back to haunt her and it had been happening right under her nose and she hadn't seen it.
She leaned back in her chair and massaged her temples, hoping to ease off the impending headache that promised to be a whopper. As much as she was loathe to admit it, Ghira had been right. The violent approach had come back to bite her, but it wasn't the humans who had their teeth sunk into her ass, it was her own people. People who's over zealousness she should have seen for what it was rather than just a passionate fervour for their cause. She had been too caught up in their successes to see it and besides, she was the High Leader, her word was law. She knew where the limits to their violent approach lay, she knew how far they could go without destroying themselves.
Apparently some didn't care and where listening to a different voice now. One that would lead them to ruin.
She needed to know who she could still trust and she needed to know what Adam was up to. If his current plans were going to take him across that line again, she needed to reign him back in because if he did then they were all dead meat.
Evening, Ozpin's Inner World
"You're looking a bit unsettled," Kisuke observed over his cup of tea from his side of the table.
"How can I not?" Ozpin questioned. "Beginning tomorrow the grounds and the arena above us will be filled with people from morning until night and Cinder could make her move at any moment. We may have knowledge of the bulk of her plans, but we cannot say that we know everything or if she has contingencies. She could decide that there have been too many issues arise and scrap her timeline altogether."
"I believe that so long as her cover holds up, so will her patience," Kisuke said. "Even with the General jumping the gun on destroying the CCT virus. Without the ability to manipulate the matches to her favour she will have to take things as they come, but she will still want to stir up as much negative emotions from the audience as she can."
"I would feel a little bit better about things if James hadn't acted as he did," Ozpin admitted. "At times his impulse to take action outweighs necessary caution. If Cinder remains patient as you suggest, then we shall be quite fortunate I believe."
"But that's not the only issue that has you concerned at the moment is it?" the Shinigami soul asked.
"Now that he knows where the White Fang are camped he will no doubt be planning to go after them, despite sounding somewhat undecided about his course of action this afternoon," Ozpin answered. "I'm not sure if he was actually being cautious or just evasive."
"Go with evasive," Kisuke said with certainty. "There's been enough friction that I think he's feeling a little paranoid and like most people he doesn't like being second guessed. He's definitely going after them. He's probably already drawn up the attack plan."
Ozpin sighed. "Well, here's hoping that whatever he does, he prevents Adam Taurus from getting word to Cinder that he's under attack."
"Do you think he would bother?" Kisuke asked. "Given the strained relations that we know of between them I have to wonder if he would."
"I suppose that would depend upon what she promised to get his cooperation and whether or not he has received payment in full for his services," Ozpin mused. "Otherwise he may feel that he owes her nothing, especially after the losses he took from Mountain Glenn, and what he perceives as a lack cooperation on his vigilante problem."
"Whatever it was it must have been significant," Kisuke assumed. "Although I suppose the cost would be nothing to Salem if it meant she could sow chaos and distrust between the kingdoms. Probably a deal too good to be true. I wonder if he ignored his instincts like Roman did? The chance to strike such a huge blow against the humans must have been more than he could pass up."
"She has already lost the ability to turn the Atlas robotic troops against us," Ozpin said. "And if James deals with the White Fang that will definitely cut down the odds against us and cripple at least one of the aims of her plan. However, there will still be a significant number of Grimm to account for and even with only half of a Maiden's power she will still be a major threat."
Kisuke's look became grave. "We both know that even if things turn more to our favour, any attack is still going to be costly."
"I am all too well aware of that," Ozpin said with a weary sigh. "Perhaps if I had not all but given up on being able to stop Salem I may have been able to see this coming. Agents in her service walking into my own school right under my nose... inexcusable."
"Whether it could have been prevented or not is open for debate," Kisuke said evenly. "But there is little value right now in dissecting the past or playing the 'what if?' game. We can only deal in the here and now. She's here, we know what she wants and we've been able to take elements of her plan away from her. Denying her the ability to take over the Atlas robots automatically bolsters our defence. If the impossible somehow happens and Cinder evades Yoruichi and gets into the vault, she won't get past the Kido wards that have been installed there. She will not gain the other half of Amber's power."
"Sadly the other reality of the here and now is that part of our defence will rely upon students who are still learning their trade being confronted by a horde of Grimm," Ozpin stated darkly. "I would spare them that horror and that hardship if I could."
"Unfortunately that's the hand that has been dealt," Kisuke responded. "And I certainly cannot sit in judgment of what others could have or should have done to change the situation." He smirked crookedly. "That would make me a hypocrite. To this day I still regret the position I put Ichigo in and what I forced him to face when I should have found alternatives. Whether they are ready or not this will be the ultimate test for them to gauge if they have what it takes to become what they aspire to be."
Ozpin nodded in grim agreement. "As it has always been, some will stand, some will fall, and some will run. The realization that the fame, the glory, and the accolades that can come with this vocation are not earned without blood, sacrifice, and fear will be too much for some, just as it sometimes is among those who have already earned their licence. But the ones who come through it will be the stronger for it and I can only hope that as many as possible do just that."
"Don't forget we have Ichigo and Yoruichi to take on the biggest threats and Shiro and Tensa will be let loose to do their thing." Kisuke reminded him. "And then there is you, now that you have much of your power back. I'm sure the students will be greatly inspired to see their Headmaster in action."
Ozpin actually found himself chuckling a little. "I only hope that I am not too rusty. It wouldn't do for me to set a poor example."
"Not to mention that Glynda would never let you hear the end of it," Kisuke chided, momentarily hiding behind his fan.
"I think I would rather face the Grimm than her ire," the Headmaster said in equal parts jest and seriousness.
"So when this immediate situation is dealt with, what do you plan on doing about Lionheart?" Kisuke asked.
"That is a question that I am afraid I haven't put enough thought to just yet," he admitted. "Leo has always been a bit skittish, but I never knew him to be anything but committed to this cause. He knows full well what the stakes are."
"Perhaps the weight of that knowledge has worn him down over time," Kisuke suggested. "It does bring the weight of an entire world with it. Not that I have to tell you that."
"Yes," Ozpin acknowledged. "But even if that weight became too much, I never expected that Leo would actually help with such a plan as this. I can only wonder just how long he has been compromised and just how far he has truly fallen."
"Unfortunately one doesn't have to fall very far to cause major problems," Kisuke said. "Again, not that I need to tell you that, and Lionheart isn't the first one to betray you or the cause."
"No, he is not and that does not make that betrayal any less painful," Ozpin admitted. "In light of how hard it has been to get in touch with him for some time now I should have been much more suspicious. The problem now is, what to do with him? The Mistral Council would never agree to dismiss him without good cause and simply making him disappear is not an option I want to even think about."
"It would be useful to know what he's told Salem, or I suppose more accurately which of her agents that's been in contact with him," Kisuke offered. "Maybe you could let Yoruichi and Ichigo have a little talk with him."
"I don't think Leo's heart would hold up to the experience," Ozpin deadpanned. "But you're right, it would be useful to know exactly what he has done and what information he has given. Perhaps we can find a way to reclaim him, though we wouldn't be able to have him act as a double agent so to speak... Leo is a terrible liar and wouldn't be able to fool anyone." He sighed tiredly. "I suppose all that we can do now, on all fronts, is wait and see what happens and react as quickly as we can when something does. Not the ideal situation, but it's what we have."
"It could always be worse, so lets be thankful that we know as much as we do," Kisuke said. "This could still get messy, but if we were blind to this plan altogether it would be a total disaster."
"You're right," Ozpin agreed. "Things had looked impossible for so long that I'm afraid I have become a little too pessimistic at being able to do little more than hold the line and try to delay what seemed to be the inevitable. I have to get used to the idea that there may be hope again to defeat Salem. Thwarting Cinder's plans here will be a major blow."
"Indeed it will," Kisuke agreed. "Now, how about we put all of that aside for a bit and give your mind a break from it. You've been wanting to learn more about my old world of the Soul Society and since I grew up with her, I'm sure I can relate a few embarrassing tales about Yoruichi along the way." He pointed at Ozpin with his fan. "Just don't breathe a word of any of it to her, her revenge can be, and usually is, quite painful."
Late Evening, White Fang Camp
In the dim light of his tent, Adam looked over the map of Vale for what was perhaps the hundredth time, just today. Along with it were maps and diagrams of the Beacon campus and the layout of Amity Arena. He actually didn't need to look at any of it, he had already committed it all to memory along with every location where he wanted his people to land and cause havoc. He wasn't terribly worried about the defences going into the city since the Grimm would provide a perfect screen and distraction for his Bullheads to approach through. The defenders would classify the Grimm horde as a higher priority and act accordingly which should allow him and his people to get in relatively unscathed.
At this point his perusal of the map was more of a wishful act of divination... he badly wanted to know where his tormentors were. They were there, somewhere in that city, laughing at him and revelling in his humiliation, confident in their thoughts that he was not a threat to be taken seriously. Oh how he would prove them wrong when he got his hands on them. He would not be taken by surprise again and when he caught that bitch he would skin her alive. He would make it last as long as he could and be as painful as possible. He knew that she had an accomplice and he had never seen them, but he was sure that if he could get to her he'd find her partner and they would suffer the same fate.
While no one, with the exception of one of his most senior and trusted aides had said anything to him about his humiliation, he had heard the whispered conversations among the rank and file. While it angered him and took everything he had not to lash out at them, he also understood why they had doubts and questions. How could they not? He knew what his status among the members of the White Fang was and that damned video made him look weak. If he jumped all over them for their reaction he would only reinforce their doubts and weaken his position as their leader and he could not afford to lose any more people if he wanted to have a chance of this attack being successful.
So he showed them all the same stern, no nonsense face they were used to, but inside he was seething, a barely restrained cauldron of vengeance seeking hate and vitriol. He would get his pound, or several pounds of flesh in revenge. He wouldn't even have to look for them, he was sure that they would find him once the attack commenced and he was cutting down humans like stalks of wheat during the harvest. But they weren't his only personal issue to be dealt with, there was also poor, misguided, Blake Belladonna. She had been so committed to their cause until the soft heart she inherited from her father got in the way.
Humans were their tormentors and their blood was the currency of repayment for the wrongs they had committed, yet Blake couldn't see that and jumped ship over the potential loss of some meaningless human lives. Why was it so hard for her to understand? She would betray him over that? The person who had taken her under his wing when she left her family, who protected her from the members who refused to trust her and thought she was no better than her father or that she was spying on them on his behalf? The person who trained her and gave her the skills to not only survive but to defeat their hated enemy?
Despite the still lingering sting of her betrayal, he would give her a chance to change her ways and come back to him. She had no choice really. She owed him and he owned her whether she knew it or not. He would forgive her for her naivete if she would come back to his side where she belonged. If she refused however, if she simply would not see reason and the error of her ways, then regrettably he would have to cut her down as well. He would have to make an example out of her just like he would with the ones who had humiliated him.
There was another thorn in his side however, one that he refused to put up with any longer. He had had enough of Cinder Fall and her superior, arrogant attitude. She had paid a great deal of money to get his cooperation and the only thing that had stayed his hand from simply killing her and taking the money she offered was the power she had displayed at the time. It had been enough to give him pause and hear her out, and quite frankly the plans she had proposed was everything he could have dreamed of for striking a crushing blow against the filthy humans.
It seemed however, that her cooperation on the deal was rather one sided. He and his people took on every task they were given, including working with Roman Torchwick who had actually impressed him by being able to come up with a bunch of Atlesian Paladins for them. He had also lost those Paladins and a lot of people in the train tunnel from Mountain Glenn when they were found out and had to launch the attack early. Yet when he asked for her help to track down the vigilantes that were thinning his ranks and potentially putting the rest of the operation in jeopardy due to a lack of manpower, all he got from her were threats and was told that it was his problem.
When he had to flee Vale after the video of his humiliation came out, he was busy trying to find a safe base of operations and trying to recruit more people to join him. All he got from her were increasingly hostile messages demanding updates and reminders of his obligations to her. The last message he sent back before ignoring her attempts entirely was to remind her that he intended to do his part and live up the to their deal and that she would be well advised to do the same.
He was sick of being ordered around, by a human no less, and he was sick of being hunted and humiliated. He was sick of having to hide out in the woods like an animal, changing camps twice because a couple of the idiots he had been forced to accept into his ranks couldn't follow orders and not do things that might draw attention to them. The headless corpse gathering flies in the middle of the camp right now seemed to have finally gotten that message through to those who were slow on the uptake.
From this point forward things were going to happen on his timetable. Cinder would still get her attack on Beacon and the Vytal Festival. No matter what she was hoping to get out of it, for him it was a prime target with a worldwide audience and would get them more publicity for the cause and their demands than he could have ever dreamed of getting otherwise. The humans would learn that the White Fang was no longer content with simply punishing ignorant shop owners or just fighting a piddling skirmish with the SDC. As far as he was concerned no target was off limits and he didn't care what Great Leader Khan had to say about it.
The end result would still come out the same and if Cinder didn't like it, well that was too bad. The White Fang had already more than rendered their service for the money she had paid them. If she wanted to confront him about it, that was fine by him. He didn't care how powerful she thought she was, he'd take her down too and leave her head on a post along side the others he planned on taking.
He called for his second in command, he had new orders to issue.
AN: If you would be so kind, leave me a review and let me know what you think.
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