Blake Belladonna was a Faunus. She was the kind of Faunus that fought for the rights of those like her. For Blake, a Faunus wasn't a lesser being, as many humans liked to think. A Faunus was someone with emotions, with the ability to think, to learn, just like a human. Like many of her kind, she was tired to be treated like dirt without reason other than hate or spite, so she joined the White Fang, an organization dedicated to Faunus rights. She took part in every rally, she contributed as much as she could. Everything would be fine, wrongs would be righted and Faunus would finally be accepted.

Yeah right.

It all crumbled once White Fang realized the uselessness of peaceful protests. Only violence could achieve the collective Faunus dream. When it became too much for Blake, she left. She explained that to Sun, another Faunus she met. Unlike her, Sun was never part of the White Fang. He was also willing to hear her side of the story, which surprised Blake. Maybe she was just too pessimistic about him. Moments after she explained everything, Sun, against all reason, decided to help her out.

Why would he do that? Was there a deeper reason, other than "to help" as he claimed? Blake refused to involve others into her problems, especially someone like Sun. Her team already had enough problems just because she was a member. Sun refused to listen, insisting that "one should always involve friends". She wondered how long would it take for him to get hurt or, worse, to hate her like… like Weiss.

"Did I miss anything?"

Sun's question startled her slightly. It was a reminder that she had to focus on the present.

"Not Really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there."

"Cool. I stole you some food."

Blake was a loner. The type of loner that tried to understand how different people behave, how they think, how they feel. What she couldn't understand was Sun's nonchalant behavior regarding the stolen apples. Not only he stole them and bragged about it, he even offered some to her. She had to ask.

"Do you always break the law without a second thought?"

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?"

That stung.

"Okay, too soon."

Their conversation ended when they heard engines of a Bullhead above them. It took a few moments to land, right near a warehouse and some shipping containers from Schnee Dust Company.

"Oh no."

"Is that them?"

"Yes. It's them."

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?"

"No. I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right."

She closed her eyes. It was hard, seeing the White Fang reaching new lows. What hurt her more than White Fang's acceptance of violence as a way to solve their problems was hearing the voice of Roman Torchwick.

"Hey! What's the hold up?!"

Roman's presence set off all of her warning bells. There was no logical explanation for him to be present at a White Fang operation.

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that."

She had to act. Observing quietly was no longer an option, not until she heard answers to her questions. Drawing her weapon, Blake stood up, despite Sun's concerns.

A gunshot.

Another gunshot.

Blake gasped slightly when she heard it. She was no expert on firearms, but she was sure that no gun could be that loud. It reminded her of many situations in her books where the author would describe a shot, sometimes so precisely she could imagine the whole scene. Even the White Fang below was startled by the sudden noise.

More gunshots. One following another. An automatic weapon. The screams of pain were almost choked by the macabre symphony of death. Someone was slaughtering the White Fang!

After she jumped down, Blake hid behind a container and peeked around the corner. There was Roman with few Faunus, shouting orders.

"Go! I wanna know what's this ruckus about!" He yelled while the sound became louder and louder. "Now!"

Catching the perfect opportunity, Blake snuck up on Roman and immediately placed her Gambol Shroud near his throat. With a "nobody move!" she caught the attention of the nearest White Fang members, who pointed their guns at her. Some repeatedly turned their heads as if expecting a Grimm to be behind them. The gunshots stopped and her heart sank. She knew what that meant.

"Finally!" Roman barked. "For a second I thought I would go insane. What do you think, little lady?"

She removed her bow. For some reason, she thought they would hear her out if she revealed her cat ears. Only few relaxed and lowered their guns. Others were scared beyond belief, so they spun around and took aim at nothing.

"Brothers of the White Fang. Why are you aiding this scum?"

"I'm selling lead by the kilos, nowadays!" Few more gunshots. "Don't crowd, there's plenty for everyone!"

"Braylon?!"

The new voice distracted her and Roman knew that. Which was why he pointed the barrel of his cane at her feet and pulled the trigger.

Things were going smoothly, without any big problems. He was forced to take a long walk towards the meeting site, because the driver refused to go too close. This task was even more important than the first. Braylon didn't understand how could a terrorist group be a bigger threat than the Mahibara Clan. Carnel pestered him with his speech about the importance of interrupting whatever the White Fang had in mind. He would dismiss the man if his hand wasn't forced that much.

The rampage took some mental preparations before it started. He had to repeatedly tell himself that they were nothing but terrorists, to prevent any feelings of guilt that might pop up. Not that he had any, not anymore. Still, one shouldn't cure what they are able to prevent.

It became painfully obvious he was dealing with amateurs the moment he snapped the neck of the first White Fang he encountered. These weren't recruits, these were ordinary people LARPing as recruits. They could be that friendly man behind the counter of your favorite shop or the nice neighbor that always treats you with respect. But they were no terrorists. What were they doing in the White Fang? Were they really so dumb to sacrifice their lives for something they would never receive? The voice told him everything about the Faunus' origins and end, in detail, just to make him feel miserable every time he killed one. It was hard being a Faunus indeed, especially when they never thought of themselves as the closest thing to organic robots any civilization could ever hope to create.

Braylon kept going towards the area where the White Fang was supposed to have an important meeting. After he killed the third Faunus on his path, he stumbled upon two Faunus near some containers. Carefully avoiding to hide his presence, Braylon materialized Holo Sabre, jumped down and stabbed one of them, before jumping at the other, aiming at the heart. He heard something drop on his left. It was a third Faunus, a boy with scaly skin, shocked by the tragedy that unfolded before him. He dropped the gun he was holding, spun around and started running, screaming in horror as he did so.

Unforgiven was out of the holster immediately. This was the end of his stealth approach. If he let the Faunus live, he would warn others. Same thing if he fired. Going with the logic that one less Faunus would be less trouble, he shot his target in the back who fell instantly. Braylon sighed as he walked towards the fallen White Fang, now wet with his own blood.

"Hey, what's..."

Another White Fang member walked into his view from behind the nearest container. He received a bullet between his eyes. Soon enough, many would come to his position, now aware that there is an intruder. Holstering Unforgiven, Braylon materialized Ajax's Spear and prepared for the worst. The first group appeared five minutes later. Four terrorists. Each with something resembling an assault rifle. He was faster.

Atlas Corporation proved once again the quality of its weapons. Each bullet fired from the Ajax's Spear pierced through any protection those Faunus had under their clothes. When the bullet dug itself into the body, it would trigger an explosion that would cause even more damage. In many situations, this would result in limbs torn away from the body or destruction of internal organs that was impossible to survive. Now the White Fang experienced it firsthand, through hot lead and the infernal melody of his weapon.

"I'm selling lead by the kilos nowadays!" He shot two of them who tried to run away. "Don't crowd, there's plenty for everyone!"

A loud explosion to the right, behind a pile of containers, caught his attention. More explosions could be heard as he turned around the corner, only to see…

"Roman Torchwick?"

Roman turned around.

"Do I know you?"

"Do you need to?"

"Smart remark, no doubt." He replied. "...Wait a minute… weren't you that kid with the robot?"

The sound of more Bullhead engines in the sky distracted Braylon. Realizing his mistake, he quickly turned his eyes back to Roman, only to see red projectile flying at him.

And he had no Shield.

Out of sheer instinct, Braylon jumped sideways, failing to see someone landing where he stood, swinging with his strange weapon and destroying the projectile. Melee weapons clashed somewhere nearby as he stood up.

"Blake? The fuck is she doing here?!"

The Bullheads above released more White Fang into the fray, some of whom went for a blond monkey Faunus. Everyone else went for Braylon. Every now and then Braylon would glance in the monkey Faunus' way. Rather than killing his enemies, he simply knocked them away or beat them with his giant stick.

What was he supposed to do? Should he follow suit? But he already killed some White Fang terrorists. His pessimistic side told him he wouldn't untangle the proverbial Gordian Knot so easily. His choices were irrelevant. Blake, and possibly others, would find the bodies, put two and two together and find out he was the murderer. As he cut through Faunus with his Holo Sabre, shooting every third with Unforgiven, Braylon thought about a solution.

The Faunus in black and her blond friend were busy with Roman, who proved to be more competent than your average bandit. Though how he used that cane of his was beyond ridiculous to the Vault Hunter. Killing the last terrorist, Braylon decided to help the duo against their common enemy. There was a task to finish, after all. Before he could do anything, however, another voice stopped them all.

And there was Ruby with her scythe.

What. The. Hell.

Braylon started thinking this was a set-up. There was no other way he could describe the situation. How else he could explain the convenient timing? Roman's appearance and everything else?

"Seriously now." Roman complained. "Isn't it past your bedtimes? This is getting tiresome. Ow!"

Braylon's Energy Pistol hit Roman in the shoulder.

"We're gonna have a little talk, bandit. You want the easy way or the hard way?"

He turned around, still holding his shoulder.

"How about the third option?"

Several bullets zipped near Braylon's head, making him jump away and run for the nearest cover. Even more Bullheads showed up, equipped with Gatling-like weapons, spending ammunition without a second thought. Braylon materialized Excalibastard and hit an engine of a Bullhead, making it crash into a warehouse. A green laser cut the remaining vehicles in half, finishing the job. Braylon wondered from where that laser came from, only to see a girl with many swords flying in front of her.

"Now who is that?!" Incidentally, he noticed Roman flying away on the last Bullhead present. He managed to freeze one of the engines before it could escape. With a bit of luck, it would crush somewhere in Vale.

"Braylon!"

Ruby saw the Vault Hunter, clothes stained with blood that wasn't his. Not far away lay the proof of his massacre. It hit her so hard that she became nauseous. And while Blake stared in horror, along with the monkey Faunus, the ginger girl acted like she was clueless.

"Oh no! What happened?" She said.

Despite the arrival of policemen, there was silence between the group of teenagers. This silence spoke more than any conversation. Ruby was on the verge of crying, her new friend called Penny being her consolation. Blake refused to talk, even to the monkey Faunus, whose name is Sun. Braylon sat with them, as they all refused to let him go.

"How could you?" Blake whispered. "How could you do this to them?"

"They were terrorists." He argued.

"They were people with families and lives! Who are you to judge who lives and who dies?!"

By then it became clear to Braylon that Blake had some connections with the White Fang. No matter how much he argued about his being an act of "self-defense", she would refuse to listen to reason. In reality, he could not care less about killing soulless robots.

"Was I supposed to let them kill me?"

"You are a Huntsman! They were normal people!"

"They were terrorists willing to do horrible things without a second thought. What would happen if there were civilians, huh? Face it, Blake. They were dangerous Ferals. Nothing more."

She looked him in the eyes with that icy rage of hers, suddenly stood up and slapped him. "You ignorant bigot! Are you even aware of the atrocity you comitted?! People like you, like Cardin, are the reason why White Fang uses violence!"

Comparing him to Cardin, a bully, was the last straw. A very big mistake. Her friend Sun stopped her before she could continue.

"You know why Humanity hates Faunus, Blake?" Braylon began slowly. "The reason is perfectly logical. Humanity hates Faunus because they are a competitor for the limited resources found on Remnant." So she saw him as a bully? Then he would treat her as such. The anger he felt did not help calming the situation. "Remember what I told you back at Beacon? If Faunus want rights, they have to earn it."

"Why? What we did to you to deserve such treatment?"

"Because you are fucking animals, Belladona!" His voice startled Ruby and few policemen. "You act like an animal, you have traits of an animal and everything about you screams animal! Faunus don't even have souls! They are just a cheap Human knock offs whose entire reason for existing is to screw with Humanity and its progress or some shit like that! You will never achieve equality because you don't deserve it!"

Words hurt far more than weapons. They don't attack the body, but the emotions of an individual. If one knows how to use their words, they can be the worst killers in history. In this situation, Blake was visibly shocked by Braylon and his verbal assault. Her expression turned to anger, with tears brimming in her eyes. Not even Sun was hurt that much as Blake, who turned around and tried to walk away, stopped only by Weiss and Yang who came in their direction. Ruby couldn't believe what she was hearing, expressed on her face. Penny, on the other hand, frowned slightly.

"That wasn't a nice thing to say."

Braylon started thinking she had autism.

Blake and Weiss exchanged many words while Yang tried to find out what was happening with her sister. From what Braylon understood, Weiss and Blake had opposing views on White Fang and Faunus in general. Somehow, Weiss knew Blake was a member of the White Fang and yet she decided she couldn't care less. Then there was some ridiculous encouragement from Weiss to Blake about the need to rely on her team and other sugary stuff. Meanwhile, Yang heard the whole story from both Penny and a very depressed Ruby. Her eyes turned red the moment she understood who was responsible.

"This is marvelous." The voice laughed.

It made Braylon even more angry.

"All of this wasn't supposed to happen. What was Blake and the missing link doing here? Couldn't they pick another time?" He felt hands grabbing him and lifting him up in the air, much to his chagrin. "Oh, it's blondie."

"You monster!" She said through clenched teeth, ignoring Ruby's pleas.

"Not you too..." Braylon rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Was there a point in killing them?"

"What would you do?"

"Knock them out, Braylon! Not killing them like… like..."

"Animals?"

Her grip tightened.

"Man, for being a Huntress, you sure do lack common sense."

"Shut up!"

"...or what?"

"Yang!" She turned her head to Ruby, who shook her head. A hand on her shoulder calmed her anger. "He's not worth it." Blake said.

"Yes, listen to your teammate and let me go, blondie. Before I make you."

She gave him one last glance before dropping him on the ground.

"We should report this to the Headmaster." Weiss said. "He will know what to do."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He interrupted. "Unless you want everyone to know there's an ex-terrorist inside Beacon, studying to be a Huntress. Not just the headmaster. I mean the whole city."

Everyone present was shocked by his threat.

"You wouldn't dare-"

"But I would, Weiss. I'm sure you, as a heiress, know how such an affair can get public attention thanks to journalists. Especially when said ex-terrorist is friends with a Schnee." The look on her face was priceless to Braylon. "If you force my hand, I will do it. So here is my proposal. You keep quiet about this fiasco and I won't cause a chain of events that would end badly for everyone."

"But… why?" Ruby sniffled. Braylon actually felt sorry for her.

"You think I enjoy doing this? I'm not a psychopath that goes around killing people just for fun. What I'm doing here is necessary..."

"Necessary?" Blake mocked. "For what?"

"For the bigger picture. This is not about the White Fang anymore. It goes beyond. Way beyond."

"What are you even talking about?"

"For now I'm an errand boy for someone I can't name. This person has something I need. Something that can decide the future of Remnant."

"You're insane."

"Quite the opposite, Belladonna. I already told you more than I should. No, you can't help. Stay out of this and nobody will be hurt."

"But we could help you..." Ruby protested.

"You don't even know the enemy and you want to help me?" He scoffed. "As I said, stay out of this. Forget this ever happened. For your own good."

Braylon turned around and walked away. Later that day, he would return to Beacon, preparing himself for the next and final task. He knew better than being hopeful, but knowing that he would be a step closer to complete his mission and save Remnant, his new soon-to-be home, gave him a special kind of happiness. A happiness that told him he would finally achieve a peaceful life. That was all he needed; just a peaceful life.

The next day came quicker than he expected. Time flew as he crafted ammunition for his gun at the Forge, waiting impatiently to finish the last task. The gun and Shield upgrade weren't ready yet, meaning he couldn't use them. As soon as the Bullheads were available, Braylon went to the Residential District, following coordinates given by Linguini. He came to a building that looked like it was left to rot, untouched by Human or Faunus for years, like many others in the street.

Reaching the second floor of the building, Braylon realized that there was nobody in there. Nobody alive, that is. In each room, in each hallway, there was one or two, maximum three, corpses. Shot to death. From the body positions, Braylon deduced that the criminals were caught unprepared. Some didn't even have guns.

"Seems like I joined the party a little to late." Braylon placed his hands on the hips. "But who could've done that? I better inform Carnel about this."

The unexpected, obnoxious noise of police sirens made the hairs on Braylon's neck stand straight as his eyes widened in sudden realization. Running to the nearest window, our Vault Hunter could see cars piling in front of the building, as policemen came out with guns in their hands. He wanted to run, to find safety. But if he decided to do so, he would have even bigger problems. Braylon came to the only possible conclusion that his mind could accept. One that turned his blood icy-cold, struck with the desire for revenge as the law enforcers dragged him away. Everything made sense now.

It was a trap.

Everything became clear now. Carnel, with his lieutenants, devised a plan where Braylon would clear Vale of the biggest threats to Sanus Association. They knew he would comply, because they had something he needed. And then, after the work was done, he would be framed with a crime he didn't commit, also known as the third task. No journalists, no scandal, nothing. To put it in Braylon's terms, they had him by the balls.

No! This wouldn't be his end! He refused to rot in jail! He wouldn't be locked in a concrete box while Remnant was slowly torn apart by demons. No, no, no, no! Carnel… that criminal would pay. The entire Sanus Association would pay for what they did to him. He didn't care how much money they had and what, or whom, could they buy with it. Money was no match for a pissed-off Vault Hunter.

Vale's hand of the law was in Linguini's pocket. The policemen were corrupt or clueless as to what was going on. For them, Braylon was nothing but a criminal that needs to go to jail, like all others they apprehended. Words would be wasted on explanations. No, he had to take another approach to the matter. One he would probably regret. One that would send all of Vale into panic mode.

He had to kill his way to Linguini. Starting from the police station.