Chapter One-Hundred and Thirteen

"What? No!" Blake replied, rearing back at Weiss' accusation. "I'm not part of the White Fang!"

Which, while not true, I thought, would possibly make this salvag-

"Not anymore!"

… Nevermind.

"Wait, what?" Yang questioned, turning to look at her partner.

"Oh, it's much more than that!" Weiss pronounced. "Her parents are the Head of the White Fang! I thought the name was familiar!"

The Faunus winced. "They're not anymore! They quit when the Fang started going too far!"

Yang nodded, backing the girl instantly, "Yeah, Blake and her family quit when they started going too far!"

"They've always gone too far!" the Schnee snapped, visibly pulling herself back. "But, fine, when did you all 'quit'?" she sneered.

"They stepped down three years ago," the catgirl stated.

"Oh! So long after half of the assassination attempts were made on my family!" the white-haired girl snapped.

That got Blake's attention. "What? My parents never tried to have anyone killed!"

"Then I must've just imagined the gunfire, Dust detonations, and exploding shuttles!" Weiss snapped. "But of course you'd lie! None of you animals have any honor!"

"At least I'm not a slaver!" the Faunus shouted back.

"Schnee Dust Corporation abolished the practice after the Great War, and hasn't even used indentured servants in almost a decade you beast!" the Atlesian yelled. "But your kind never care about facts! Just what you can get from others!"

A look of hate flashed across Blake's features, "That's rich, coming from-"

"That's enough," I growled, cutting my teammate off. "Weiss, your sister has clearly decided to share with you certain choice bits of intel, so why don't you come in and lets discuss this without including the rest of the dorm. Also, Ruby, Ren, Nora, you might as well come too. I'd hoped Blake would have come out and told you by now, but it appears that she decided to just… not."

Our resident Dustcaster, however, looked between Pyrrha, Yang, Blake, and I, and whispered, "You knew!?"

"'Bout the Faunus thing, yeah," Yang agreed. "But that shouldn't matter. Not the White Fang stuff though."

Pyrrha spoke up. "I am unsure the depths of Ms. Xiao-Long's knowledge, but Jaune and I were aware of her status as a Faunus quite quickly. It is the way she moved, for me, and I had met her parents previously. They seemed like lovely people, at least in my presence, and they were quite public in their renouncement of their old affiliations."

As Weiss turned to me, I instead called out, "Ruby, Ren, Nora?"

From behind the white-haired girl, the three in question peered around the corner, before moving into the room, pushing their teammate in front of them, and closing the door behind them, a move that the Schnee didn't appreciate, but didn't fight that much.

Sighing, I nodded, "I knew she used to be one of them, and that she quit recently-"

"How, recently?" Weiss demanded. "What, did finally seeing your group get what you always wanted, murdering half of Vale, finally convince you of how incredibly stupid you were!"

"No! I quit before then! Long before then!" the dark-haired girl shouted.

"Well? When!?" her opposite pressed.

"I, uh…" the Faunus hesitated. "March."

Yang winced, "Like, last March, or, like, a week before our first term here at Beacon."

"It was five days, actually," the other girl corrected.

"Five Da-!" Weiss started to shriek.

"I said Enough," I growled, in a way that reverberated throughout the room. "Weiss, control yourself. It's clear that Blake has fucked up. Repeatedly. But you're either a self-possessed Human with emotional control or you're a beast ruled by your emotions. I'd like to believe you're the former, but the way you're assaulting my ears suggests the latter."

I stared at her, and the prideful fury drained out of the girl, who, still pissed, almost whined, "Do you hear what she's saying, Jaune? She was White Fang!"

"Yes. Was," I agreed. "But if we're playing the 'ancestral grievance' game, neither of you have clean hands here, so how 'bout we talk like adults instead of screaming like children." With a look at the Faunus, I added, "And that goes for you too."

Blake looked at me with disbelief, demanding, "How can you take her side! With what she said about you!"

I started to respond, then paused, confused. "I… she didn't say anything about me though?"

"About the Faunus!" she stressed.

"But… I'm not a Faunus," I reminded her. "Pretty explicitly a Dragon." Looking to Pyrrha, I checked, "I have been, right?"

"Quite thoroughly so," the gladiatrix agreed.

With a yowling growl, the catgirl ground out, "This isn't the time for your bullshit, Jaune!"

"Agreed, as it's clearly time for yours," I smiled back, annoyed. "So how 'bout you-"

"Just all wait for a moment, while I go get refreshments," Pyrrha interrupted. "And please, don't start without me!"

And before anyone could say anything else she was up, taking a leaping step that covered the room in an instant, passing into the kitchen, and disappearing.

Which left us all sitting, and standing, in awkward silence, Weiss clearly wishing to press her claim, but her glances towards the side-door showed she was trying to respect Pyrrha's request, while the subject of her ire sat there, sullenly, but the dark-haired girl's reactive nature meant she needed something to sink her claws into, which the white-haired girl wasn't giving her.

A silence that Nora, of course, broke, gasping dramatically. "I just never would have thought our Blakey was a Cat Faunus!"

Ren, standing next to her, blinked. "No one said she's a cat."

Considering that, the orange-haired girl nodded. "Oh, right, of course, Rennie. It's not like she always sits with her legs under her, or takes naps in the sun, or gets distracted by laser pointers, or that time she got her hands stuck in threads, or how she gets really excited whenever they're serving fish at the cafeteria!"

Ruby blinked. "Oh my god, she's a cat."

"Might as well take off the bow," I informed the Faunus, who, hesitating, pulled it off, revealing her pointed pairs of secondary ears, drooping as everyone stared.

"How did I miss that," Weiss muttered, incredulous.

"They look so soft!" Ruby gasped. "Are they?"

Her sister nodded authoritatively, "They are."

"Yang!" Blake chided, embarrassed.

"Well they are!" the blonde smirked, mock-whispering to her sister, "Like velvet!"

Making grabbing motions, the mini-reaper begged, "Can I?"

"No!" offended, the Faunus, replied, looking at the disappointed look on the younger girl's face. "Not now."

Weiss looked at her partner in disgusted confusion, but, before she could say anything else, Pyrrha came back, carrying two sets of drinks, including…

"Woo, shots!" Yang cheered. "Didn't think ya had it in ya, P-money!"

"I just think something to take the edge off would be best," she smiled, handing out the saucers which, custom-molded to fit both drinks, were absolutely a creation of my Home. Smiling, playing the part of the gracious host, everyone accepted their drinks, Pyrra grabbing the shot glass, full of a clear liquid which had a distinctly unpleasant smell, somehow having notes of pineapple, cheese, and gasoline, and announcing "Cheers!" before shooting it back.

"Cheers!" the others copied, Ruby a half-second behind the others, Blake a bit sullenly, and Weiss grudgingly.

And it was… powerful, letting, after a moment, it through my Defenses, trusting my partner, oddly sweet, but it was absolutely grain alcohol.

"Yeah! That's the stuff!" Yang announced, laughing as Blake coughed, the blonde pounding her partner on the back.

Weiss' eyes watered slightly, as she struggled to keep a straight face, gaining a sense of pride as Blake was having trouble, Ren looked at the glass, smiling slightly, Nora was completely unaffected, and Ruby not-so-quietly died.

"People drink this?" the sixteen-year-old demanded. "For fun!? It tastes like burning death!"

Having picked up the second drink, Pyrrha sipped it, "Then perhaps the other is to your liking."

Hesitantly, the other team lead picked up the glass in front of her, containing a deep crimson liquid, and took a cautious drink, before perking up. "Oh, this is much better!"

"Ah, did little sis have her booze cherry popped?" her sister teased. "Don't worry, after the first time, it's a lot better!"

"Yaaaaang!" the smaller girl groaned. "Don't make it weeeeiiird. But if that's alcohol, I'm never drinking again!"

Pyrrha smiled demurely, and, grabbing the second drink, taking a sip myself, I could tell it was some kind of heavily spiced mulled wine. "Ruby, they're both alcohol."

Having chugged a third of her drink, the mini-reaper froze. "… Really?"

"Indeed," the gladiatrix told her. "Baiju, while traditional, is quite strong, but krasomelo is much gentler."

Surprisingly, Ren spoke up, voice soft, and full of nostalgia. "I accidentally drank a cup of it as a child. I thought it was a kind of fruit juice. My mother was so upset with my father for leaving it out."

Nora, suddenly unsure, patted her partner on the back, as, with a small smile, he sipped it.

Clearing her throat, the topic change obvious, Yang called out, "Surprised you could hold your liquor, Ice Princess!"

Sniffing haughtily, wincing, and quickly taking a sip of her own wine, the Dustcaster replied, "As a member of Atlesian Nobility, of course I have developed an understanding of fine spirits."

"Only spirit I felt was the one leaving my body!" her partner snarked.

Continuing, Weiss stated, "Given that my family's business deals with all four nations, of course I would have tried Mistral's specialty. Many times, a negotiation does not start without a taste of it."

"Four nations?" Blake echoed, having found something objectionable. "What, Menagerie doesn't count?"

"Given that your nation refuses to openly trade with Atlas, yes, for my purposes, it does," the heiress shot back. "But then expecting an animal to understand economics is clearly asking too much!"

The Faunus, offended that her insult was answered in kind, snarled, "You-"

"Jeezus Christ, Blake," I growled. "Lay the fuck off."

"But-"

I glared at her, and she, finally, shut up.

Smiling smugly, Weiss started to state, "It's go-

"You too," I interrupted, thankfully the Human leaving it at that. With a sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose, I continued, "So, since that's all the break we're apparently getting, let's get down to this. Weiss' family has, in the past, been attacked by what she believes to be the White Fang-"

"It was the White Fang!" the white-haired girl insisted.

"Yes, that's what I said," I nodded. "And I'm inclined to believe you."

Which is when the Faunus decided to chime in, declaring "It wasn't! That's just more lies!"

Before Weiss could reply, I nodded, "Which is what you clearly believe, but here's the thing, Blake, I don't actually know how the White Fang works. Other than being inherently idiotic."

"What!?" it's ex-member, demanded, offended.

"Blake, we've talked about this already. But, fine, what's the point of the White Fang?"

And I could see the old tapes being loaded, the programming kicking in on the not-so-quite-ex ideologue. "To strike back against our oppressors! To get what we're owed! To get justice!"

On the other side of the room, the heiress sneered, "I'm sorry, I thought you quit!"

"Weiss," I stated calmly. "Let me talk, or I'll gag you."

Now it was the assassin's turn to sneer, "Maybe you should!"

"And I'll do the same damn thing to you too, Blake, unless you let me talk, and stay on fucking topic," I informed her.

For a moment I waited, but they both held their tongues.

"So, as I was saying," I resumed, "I don't know that much about how the White Fang works, and neither, probably, do any of us, other than the fact that they're an internationally known terrorist organization, and-"

"They're freedom fighters!" its ex-member objected.

Staring at the Faunus, I requested, "Pyrrha?"

With a wave of her hand, one of the drawers of her bureau open, and, glowing darkly, a ball gag leapt up, carried by its metal latch, and, smoothly, slammed into the Faunus' mouth, latching shut with a click.

As the girl mutedly yelled, scrabbling at the back, but, having been on the receiving end of my partner's Semblance, it could be quite strong, and, as the Faunus turned, I noticed there was no unlatching lever, which prompted me to ask, "… Pyrrha. Why do you have that?"

"No reason."

"… Uh huh. Anyways, so, Blake? Blake," I called, getting her furious attention. "Other than the fact that they were terrorists, who wore fucking Grimm-style Masks, and they broke things, stole shit, and, at best, beat the shit out of people, if not outright killed them, we don't know about how your old group operates. Your parents were apparently 'in charge', but I have no idea what that means. Nor, I believe, does anyone else, right?" Looking around, no one spoke up. "Thought so. Now, that means you're going to explain to us, when someone says your parents used to be 'in charge', what the fuck that means, while I try and square," I stated, waving towards Weiss, "this circle," I finished, waving towards the Faunus. "Pyrrha?"

Considering the dark-haired girl, who'd stopped trying to remove the gag and was now looking on, unamused, the gladiatrix noted, "We don't have to ungag her, Jaune. We could just give her a scroll to type on."

"Pyrrha."

"Fine," my partner replied, undoing the metal latch on the restraint and pulling it away from the girl, who-

"You gagged me!" the ex-terrorist accused.

I nodded. "I said I would, and I'm a Dragon of my word. Now. Talk."

"After that, why should I tell you anything!?" the girl demanded. "And 'of your word', you said you understood why we did what we did!"

"I also said I didn't agree. And, now that I think about it, You've always gotten out of giving me actionable intel," I replied, a touch coldly. "Now, either that was accidentally, or it was on purpose, but either way it's gonna stop. You're insisting we're wrong about the White Fang? Enlighten us."

"And what if I don't want to!" Blake demanded, puffed up and offended, the ex-terrorist taking the moral high ground.

Honestly, if it wasn't the fact that she thought I was also a Faunus, she probably would've accused me of racism by now. That said, staring at her for a long, long moment, glancing at a suddenly nervous Yang, and a disappointed Pyrrha, I realized the Faunus was more like her partner than I'd thought.

"Then," I stated, with glacial slowness, "as you clearly do not consider me to be your leader, I will go to Oz and request you be moved to a different team. An all-Faunus one, if possible, given your bigotry. Just as, were Weiss to continue having screeched like a banshee about your status, I would've told her that if she really had that much of a problem, she could always transfer to Atlas Academy. So are you going to stop being so fucking catty, Blake, or are you going to prove Weiss accidentally correct: that your emotions control you, and, not because of your race, but because of your own choices, you are, in truth, unto an animal?"

A long, tense silence stretched between us, as I stared into her golden eyes with my own, until she finally looked away.

"Do you have to be such an asshole about it?" she demanded.

"Apparently," I stated flatly. "Now, talk."

Grudgingly, she started to explain how the White Fang worked and it…

Was basic bitch criminal cells.

Not enough decoupling to truly separate them out, but each with enough autonomy that it impeded true organization, allowing 'trusted' members to act with autonomy.

Which of course meant that, with a few questions, and reading between the lines, people instantly set up their own little fiefdoms to run things their way, and then lied to their superiors.

"Wait," I had to ask, "The new leader is Sienna Khan? And she's a Tiger Faunus? What, do you have an Orangutang Faunus named Louie? A Snake Faunus named Kaa? A Bear Faunus named Baloo?"

Blake blinked. "I thought you didn't know about the White Fang."

"I. Was. Joking!" I groaned, getting weird looks from the others. "Blake, remind me to lend you a novel called the Jungle Book."

That got a confused look from the girl. "Sounds racist."

"Is there also a Panther Faunus named Bagheera in the White Fang?" I questioned.

Pyrrha cleared her throat. "Blake's father is a Panther Faunus named Ghira."

"… Bagheera, Dad-Ghira, of course he is," I sighed, this place just… a bit much sometimes. "Right, so, semi-autonomous cells under a district commander which totally isn't just shadow-kingdoms, each with their own sub-commanders. Your parents ducked out when the Fang, as a whole, was getting more indiscriminately violent, even if they weren't explicit about it. So, real question, how long did it take for Khan to take over, and how many people went with your parents and quit the Fang as well?"

"What?" the Faunus replied, unsure. "What do you mean?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. "Blake, your parents leaving wasn't just a 'cool, thanks, bye' thing, it was a strident political statement of lack of faith in the organization. Those kinds of things often, if they don't break them outright when the leader says 'fuck this shit I'm out', usually splinter them really hard. So, how long did it take Khan to take over, and what percentage of people did she lose? Twenty, forty?"

"I, I think maybe one or two?" the catgirl replied confused. "They made it clear they still supported the mission, just not the way the Fang were going about it."

"And Khan?" Pyrrha questioned. "Did she step right in?" At Blake's nod, my partner turned a knowing look my way.

"What?" the Faunus questioned.

"Short answer, that says a lot about the state of the Fang that you clearly didn't realize," I informed her, turning to Weiss. "Now, I know you, and you bring receipts, and sources, so, proof the White Fang did it?"

Unfortunately, this time the eminently academic girl decided to play the emotion card, demanding, hurt, "Jaune, don't you believe me?"

"I do. She doesn't," I replied, jerking a thumb towards Blake. "But given when a White Fang Elite finally went 'Oh, yeah, of course we're killing civilians' she instantly left, this is clearly news to her. So, proof?"

Huffing a bit, Weiss grabbed her scroll, and, a moment later, all of ours beeped with files received, and…

"They, they wouldn't!" Blake objected. "This, this has to-"

"Did this 'Cedric Lupin' get along well with Adam?" I questioned.

"… I, I don't know," she admitted. "My parents and I, we mostly operated out of Mistral. Sometimes Vale. We never went to Atlas." The catgirl winced. "But… Adam did. Repeatedly. But he said…" Falling silent, she seemed to collapse in on herself. "God, I'm such an idiot!"

Yang, hesitantly, put her hand on her partner's shoulder. "What did he say."

"He said he didn't want to kill them. Said it was an accident," Blake stated spitefully. "But the accidents kept happening, and, at the end, it wasn't an accident at all. How many other 'accidents' were there?" she questioned. "And the others, they didn't care, did they?"

Weiss, now the confused one, dumbly asked, "What?"

Ren, taking another sip of his drink, cheeks reddening, noted, "Finding out those you trusted weren't worth it is never easy."

"Yeah," Nora nodded. "Like that group in Posan. Or that group in Hagabana. Or that group in Mianzhao. Or that group-"

"I think she gets it," her partner informed the ginger. Turning to Weiss, he added, "I think Blake really didn't know what happened to you."

"How could she not!?" Weiss demanded, offended.

Taking a sip of my own drink, I pointed out, "The same way that the SDC probably still employs slaves." As the white-haired girl whipped around, I noted, "Oh, they won't call them slaves. They tried for a bit calling them 'indentured servants', but, knowing your father, do you think he actually stopped, or just found something else to call them? 'Prison Labor' is a fun one, especially if one is in contact with a corrupt constabulary, though, tell me, does the SDC run the towns around the Dust mines it services?"

To her credit, the girl could see there was a trap, but she didn't understand it, and instead answered, "Yes, of course. The cost of transporting workers each day would be enormous otherwise."

"And the price of housing, goods, etcetera, it's all a bit higher than it would be back in Mantle, correct?" I continued.

"To reflect the cost of transported goods, yes," the heiress agreed.

"Are you assuming this or do you know this?" I checked, watching her carefully.

Seeing the first pitfall, she tried to sidestep it, "Well, it stands to reason it would."

"No, Weiss, it 'stands to reason' that, with SDC holding a monopoly on necessities, they would charge as much as they could get away with," I disagreed. "Which, considering its purchase their goods or starve, you'll find is quite a lot indeed. But, more importantly, the workers in these Company Towns. Are they paid in Lien, or in SDC Scrip?"

"I… I don't know," the heiress admitted, opening her scroll and furiously typing away at it.

I could see Blake, having recovered slightly, beginning to speak, but a sharp look and an upraised hand cut her off, my mouthing, 'I've got this', leading her to thankfully back off.

Almost a minute later, Weiss noted. "Oh, we use, er, 'Schneebucks', in order to maximize value and, well, skirt tax laws, if we're being frank. Then again, the normal things that taxes are used for, like infrastructure, were also created by us, so it's not as if Atlas itself would be making good on their fiduciary duties using it."

"Alright, so, if everything was working well, fine, but you know a lot more about logistics, market prices, and so on than I do," I told her.

Taking a moment to decide on her response, the girl, with ill-hidden pride, agreed, "Yes, I do, Jaune. Good of you to notice."

"So, for a baseline conversion, look at how much an employee would make in Lien in Mantle, and then apply that to the same position in an SDC mining town," I directed, waiting a moment for her to nod, tapping away at her scroll to do the math. "Now, take something simple, like a loaf of bread, look at its Mantle price, and guesstimate, with travel costs, how much it would cost to sell in the same mining town as before. Do you have a number?"

"About sixty-five Lien," Weiss replied. "Maybe seventy."

"That much for bread?" Yang questioned, disgustedly.

Before the heiress could snap at her, I counted off, "Atlas has always had problems with foodstuffs, it's why they work with Mistral, either the raw grain need to be transported, or finished products do, but either way they need to be transported from the farms or bakeries in Mistral, across the sea to Mantle, and then on a guarded truck and driven for several days on ice that only somewhat resembles roads to its destination, or on a bullhead which, in Dust expenditures, will cost more. It's not great, but it's not terrible."

Turning back to the white-haired girl, I stated, "So, Weiss, let's say that, despite the fact that they're buying it from themselves to sell to themselves they don't do so at cost, because your dad's an asshole like that. Reasonably, that'd be, what, seventy-five Lien? Maybe Eighty?"

"Eighty would be a bit much," she argued.

Knowing where this was going, because, unfortunately or not, groups like the White Fang didn't function as they did without fresh sources of grievance to pull from, I nodded, "Sure, but, using the Lien/Schneebucks conversion we got for worker wages, how much should that be in in Company Script.

"Eight," she stated. "Which seems horribly inefficient, now that I think about it."

"Not if you always round down what you pay, and round up what you demand," I replied. "Then it's not a bug, it's a feature. So, with all of the calculations we've done, for sourcing, transport, and so on, and that's using pre-existing logistical sources, when we both know that, on that scale, half the time it's cheaper to make your own stuff and keep the production in-house, how much are they charging for bread?"

"That's simple," Weiss stated, clicking her scroll, before frowning. "No, that… can't be right."

"More than you thought?" the Faunus girl to my other side questioned, cattily.

"Blake," I growled, shooting her a glare, which caused her to wince.

"… sorry," she muttered, ears drooping.

Pyrrha noted, "When one has suffered a loss, it is natural to wish for a win to 'even' things up. It's a tactic I've used quite a lot. Minor problems make opponents, shall we say, 'sloppy', and foes that would be difficult to defeat start opening themselves up to 'make back' the points lost." Taking a sip of her crimson beverage, the gladiatrix smiled, "Those fighters always ended up defeating themselves."

"Uh, Weiss?" Ruby questioned, looking over her partner's shoulder. "Is that the price of, like, a half-dozen?"

"No, it's… did I… but how could…" the heiress muttered, tapping at her smart device with increasing frustration.

"Weiss? How much is a loaf of bread at an SDC Company town?" I inquired, gently.

Gritting her teeth, the Dustcaster didn't answer, and I was about to ask again when she spat, "Twenty-five Schneebucks!"

"Wait, but that's-" Yang started to state, only for the heiress to cut her off.

"Highway Robbery! I know! But, but maybe it's just foodstuffs?" she proposed, muttering to herself. "Maybe they're using it to offset costs elsewhere? Let's try something else. Mantle rent, accommodations listed, alright, comparable, well, ours would have higher standards, get the requirements, compare them to adjust for the increased quality, so what are those at the… wait, but why is this worse, and the price…"

For several long moments, she fell silent, before looking up to me, gaze sharp. "Explain. You obviously know what's going on, Jaune. Why would anyone ever agree to this!?"

"Well, for one, they don't have access to the internal documentation you do to see the trap from the outside," I stated calmly. "They're told there's a 'good job' they could take, a bit out of the way, to explain why it hasn't already been picked up, and the amount they're quoted for how much they make is likely accurate, from a certain point of view. Once they arrive, however, possibly having spent their savings to get there, they find out that, well, there's a lot that's been left out. For one, they're not paid in Lien, but Company Script, and, not knowing why that's the kind of red flag that should make one immediately leave, they go along with it."

"Then," I stated, all eyes on me, "They find out how expensive everything is, but, don't worry, all the extra money they'll make will be fine, but they have to just sign here to take out a loan to pay for things like housing, tools, safety equipment, all of which wasn't included, and from that point on, they're trapped, in Debt Slavery, where they're perfectly free to leave… once they pay off their debt. Except every step of the way, they're undercut, from the price of goods, of equipment, of housing, of not freezing to death, and then, add in interest rates, especially compound interest that drags them deeper and deeper into the hole, owing more and more for the privilege of being able to work at all. Or, as the song goes, '~You load sixteen tons, and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt. The heavens might call me, but I just can't go, I owe my soul to the Company Store.~'"

"And if they want to escape, to get the money they are owed, well," I smiled sarcastically, "Sure, of course, they'll pay you as they're legally required to do for you… as soon as you pay off your debt. And that's without breaking a single law. But out there, away from the prying eyes of Atlas Law-Enforcement, especially for Mantlesians, well, if anyone tries to buck the system, all sorts of accidents can happen in the mines."

"Hell,' I snorted, "it doesn't need to be that blatant, if you're in the mines while your spouse is at home, without Aura, a three or four on one fight, assuming your spouse is even combat capable, is not a fight they'll win, so you get home, after breaking your back working all day, only to discover your loved ones beaten and battered, what money you've saved up to escape legally now taken, and even if you know who did it, well, Company Security has investigated themselves and found themselves innocent. Now how 'bout you stop making up 'lies', 'fore you or your loved ones have another accident, and those injuries look mighty bad, but don't worry, we can patch you up, for a price. What, you don't have any money, well don't worry, The Company has your back, here, just sign on the dotted line for a simple loan."

I shrugged, "At that point, honestly, Slave Revolts should just be expected, and, with the White Fang around, even if they're completely blameless in why all these Mantlesian Faunus are rioting, well, just put it down and blame it on them anyways. Does that excuse the White Fang attacking innocent civilians? No, of course not. Were Blake's parents going about it the right way? Absolutely. Once you're dealing with a sympathetic populace, and, if Ruby and Yang are any indication, as well as my own family, they were on their way to getting that, that's how you get results using that method."

Sighing, I continued, "But peaceful protest is slow, and appealing to people's better natures isn't satisfying. So the path of bloody violence it is. After all, during the Faunus Revolution, after the Great War, when, despite the efforts of a minority of Valians and Vacuans, no one cared about those 'animals', that was the right thing to do, because you can't appeal to the better nature of people who don't see you as people. But after that, after they already had their own country, shitty as it is? No, the sword should be the last resort, but to those like Adam Taurus, and, I'm sure, Sienna Khan, it's the first and only one."

Waving a hand northward, and not towards Blake, I shook my head, "However, and here's the important thing, the violent psychos in the White Fang know a lot of Faunus wouldn't agree with them, so they keep those kind hearted people, the ones who see Humans as people, just as people like them, in the dark, like Blake was kept in the dark, because when the mask, ironically, slips, and the greater Faunus population sees those psychopaths for the violent tyrannical supremacists they are, those whose eyes have been opened will either turn and fight, or, like Blake did, and like her parents did, run."

"So," I finished. "Was Blake Belladonna White Fang? Yes. Was she victimized by the White Fang, tricked into supporting a cause she never would've if she knew the truth? Also yes. But, just as you, Weiss, are not your father, despite still being in the same 'organization' as him, and should not be judged as if you were him, Blake is not Taurus, or his ilk, and should not be judged as you would rightfully judge them. If she found out the truth, and, like so many others, bent the knee, if she went, 'Well, fine, it's terrible, but it's still for a good cause, so it's justified,' deluding herself, because leaving those she'd called friends behind would be haaard, and she didn't want to bother, I would've kicked her from the team, or killed her myself, but that is not who Blake Belladonna is, and, Weiss Schnee, you would do well to remember that."

Turning to Blake, I opened my mouth, but she interrupted me.

"I know!" she told me, aggravated and bereaved.

"Know what?" I questioned neutrally.

"Know that my life is a lie!" the catgirl hissed.

"Okay, no," I disagreed firmly. "I'm fairly certain that, unless there's something you haven't told me, your parents care about you, which, you know, you should probably call them so they know you're not dead. And, as we just found out, there are people who are absolutely being exploited, though I have a feeling that if I checked out these Mining Towns, while the workers would likely be a majority Faunus, it wouldn't be exclusively them. Someone like Weiss' father, you really think he'd give up on profits just because it hurts lower-class Humans? But, fuck Blake, when you quit the White Fang because they were going to casually murder civilians, when someone tells you the White Fang has tried to murder civilians, perhaps give them the benefit of the doubt?"

Sighing, I told her, "This shit is complicated, and, when any organization hits the triple digits in numbers, unless you're very careful you're going to have bad actors that need to be dealt with, because just because someone's a victim doesn't instantly make them good people. Viewing complicated situations simplistically is just going to leave you open to evil motherfuckers, like Adam Taurus, or Jacques Schnee."

"You think my father is as bad as a White Fang Specialist?" the heiress demanded, latching on to that to be upset about, as her worldview got rocked just as hard as Blake's was.

I tried doing this slowly and subtly, giving each the chance to reach out to the other, but not being on technically the same team seemed to have stymied that, so, fuck it, we'll do it live.

"Oh, no, Jaques is very likely far worse in the raw number of people hurt, if not in raw 'has been party to murders' way," I told her with calm seriousness. "Like, he had every reason to be nice to you, Weiss, to hide his flaws, and be nothing but kind and pleasant to get you to do what he wanted, but from what you said he couldn't manage even that. He just does his evil at a distance, with orders to lackeys, with large-scale projects, and with more like that. The fact that he doesn't swing the blade himself, doesn't pull the trigger, doesn't splatter himself with the blood of his victims, doesn't stop people from starving, from freezing, from being beaten, enslaved, and killed."

"But, again, like Blake, I'm sure there's large numbers of people that work for SDC that, if they heard what was going on, hidden away in the tundra, they'd quit, just like there's likely more that, like her old colleagues, would decide that, if they were to find out the truth, as long as it doesn't hurt them they don't care if it hurts someone else," I told her. "Because, again, the world's complicated, and nuanced, and thus needs to be approached as such."

"So, what you're saying," Yang put forward, with a smirk that made me give her a warning look, but all that did was make her smile wider, "is that they shouldn't view things so Blake and Weiss?"

We all stared at her.

"Did you just…" Weiss questioned, disbelievingly.

"Yaaang," Ruby groaned, "That was terrible."

"What?" the brawler grinned. "I'm right, though, or are ya saying my joke missed the Arc!"

I sighed, as Nora guffawed with laughter, and, while annoyed, both Weiss and Blake couldn't help but smile a little.

"No," I admitted, "and I know you don't like Xiao Long-winded I can be, but, to be clear, Weiss, you get how Blake isn't like the people who've tried to kill you and your family, right? To the point she honestly thought such a thing was unthinkable without proof, and being shown what that proof meant?"

"I… yes," the heiress admitted. "I… heard some things, and came to the wrong conclusions. But you do see, now, Blake, how despicable the White Fang can be!?"

Holding up a finger, before the Faunus could respond, I turned to her. "And, Blake, you get how Weiss isn't one of the people that's been oppressing Faunus, or the poor, and didn't realize it was happening without being directed towards the proof that had been hidden from her, right?"

"She found it just by looking it up!" the catgirl objected.

"And you could've found yours with some acting and some asking around," I rebutted. "If you'd pretended to be on board with the 'Lets kill all the Humans and take their stuff' train, even subtly by going 'Well, acceptable losses,' and 'Can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs', like your old mentor, partner, whatever clearly wanted, he likely would've, relieved, dropped the mask and shown you what he really was much sooner. Hell, it's likely your parents only have an inkling of what the White Fang is really like, but never pursued it, afraid of what they might find. This isn't a Human or Faunus thing, it's a thinking being thing. Fuck, I'm a Dragon, and I'm still probably guilty of it. So, you understand Weiss's position now, right?"

"I do," Blake admitted.

Looking back to Weiss, I didn't have to say anything before she rolled her eyes, and told me, "Yes, I know, what SDC is doing is wrong, but I can't do anything about that right now! But what about her?"

Turning back to the Faunus, I just gave her a significant look and, shoulders dropping, the dark haired agreed, "Yes, what the White Fang is doing is also wrong. I, what we were doing, was it ever right?"

I blinked, "Uh, yes? I said so? Like, five minutes ago? Also, like, a couple weeks ago? Stupid name, yeah, but good starting message." With a shrug, I added, "Though the leadership model means they were corrupted, like, instantly by not gatekeeping out the angry Faunus-Supremacists. Seriously, any organization that says 'We can't turn down anyone', either has to purge their ranks the second they stabilize, which might destroy them, or is perverted and twisted into a mockery of what they claim to be on day one by evil people who will hide behind their leader's good intentions, knowing that, if they were honest about their intentions, the bad actors would rightfully be driven out, and thus they need to gather power and minions to back them, pulling others in deep enough with them that the originally neutral actors will willingly serve ill-ends rather than risk anything for the morality they claim to hold."

Glancing between the two of them. "So, we all cool? Both sides of this the duped pawns of greater evil who've both rejected it as soon as they found out about it, either explicitly, like Blake did, or subconsciously, which is why Weiss is here instead of Atlas Academy?"

"She's still a sheltered, privileged little princess," Blake groused. "But she's not that bad."

"And you're still an illogical asshole," Weiss sniffed. "But you had the good sense to leave the White Fang, so you're not a complete idiot."

"Ohthankgoodness," Ruby sighed, slumping, flopping down on my bed. "That was soo scary!" She paused, sniffed, and turned over. "Hey, wazzis? It smells nice."

"Are, are you drunk?" the heiress demanded of her partner.

"Nah, I'm fiiiine!" the, yes, intoxicated Ruby argued, and, looking over, she'd downed the mulled wine, which had had a bit of a kick to it, not helped by the fact that I'm not sure if she'd be a hundred pounds even if she was soaking wet. Moving to get up, she swayed, started to fall over, exploded to rose petals which reformed, pointing her the other way, as she fell back onto my bed. "Meant to do that!"

"So," I said, turning in my chair to face Weiss, "Other than outing Blake, how'd your talk with Winter go?"

"It, uh," suddenly unsure, the white-haired girl settled on, "went. She'd like for me to focus more on my Semblance."

Thinking about that, I nodded. "Makes sense. You mind me showing a few things, since we both have it now?"

A bit flushed from the drink herself, the heiress slowly agreed, "That would be, I mean, I would be… amenable to such an arrangement. Also, perhaps our mutual developing of the Schnee Semblance could allay some… concerns of hers."

"She absolutely flipped her shit, didn't she?" Yang grinned.

"My sister would not 'flip her shit!'" Weiss argued primly, before slumping. "But she was quite upset, yes."

My partner tapped her lips with a single finger in consideration, the Gladiatrix asking, "Did she, perhaps, find out about our Jaune before her revelation of Ms. Belladonna's old affiliations?"

"Well, yes, she did…" the heiress started to reply, before her eyes went wide. "Winter would not have done such a thing in retaliation, Pyrrha!"

"If you say, you would know her more than I," the redhead agreed mildly, though in a way that showed her doubts. "Hmm, I still have some krasomelo if anyone would like some more."

"Oh, I do!" Ruby called out, not having gotten up. "Wait, is that the one that tastes like death, or the fruity one?"

"They both have elements of fruit," The Mistralian noted, "But I was referring to the red one."

"Oh, then that one!" the girl replied. "But, uh, can you bring it to me? The rooms bein' all wavy and stuff!"

Lifting an eyebrow, I had to ask, "How strong was the mulled wine?"

"Huntsman grade," my partner smiled. "And Ruby, if you want some, you have to come over here and get it."

"… I'm good!" the mini-reaper declared, flopping over again, and taking another sniff. "On this really nice bed!"

Yang gave me an unimpressed look, which, "How is any of this my fault?"

"I'm not sure, but it is," the blonde declared, as Nora took a flying jump, landed in my bed, sniffed it, then popped up and declared, "Renny's is better! Hey, Rennie, what do you think?"

"I'm sure I-umf!" he started to reply only to get pegged in the face with my pillow, toppling over, but, surprisingly, keeping his glass upright as he rolled over, tossing it back at his partner, and asking Pyrrha, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like some more."

"Oh, me too!" Nora cheered.

"I'll not say not to free booze," Yang agreed.

"If everyone else is," Blake agreed.

"It's not terrible," Weiss sniffed.

And, as they looked to me, I sighed. "Sure, what's the harm?"