"We all stood united in purpose, and yet there was an air of anxiety. It felt like we were tearing down an ancient wall without knowing what awaited on the other side." - Blake Belladonna
In the morning, he boarded the first airship to Beacon and hurried to the Grimm studies class. He was glad for the respite of the boring lecture, though he became quite nervous when it was interrupted by Ozpin walking in. He gave a short speech on how vigilantism was unacceptable in Beacon, how they had a duty to humanity to fight Grimm, and how they weren't yet qualified to cast judgment on others.
He was bored to tears of the Headmaster's drivel. After he was done, Ozpin looked over every student, one by one. Violet's heart skipped a beat as the headmaster's gaze went over him, and he thought that his eyes may have stayed on him for just a bit longer than they did on the others. He soon left the room and let Professor Port proceed as usual.
Yang and Ruby didn't speak much with him at first, though by midday they decided that what he and Blake did was understandable. He imagined their reactions were mostly due to shock at the brutality of the fighting. And they accepted that the two of them didn't have much of a choice in battling them, even though that last part was a little exaggerated, so to say.
Their attitudes became more lighthearted as Yang apparently told the rest of her team yesterday that Violet was fancying Blake. As much as he preferred this to the previous situation, he was still not amused.
"Don't be an idiot, there is nothing between me and Blake." Violet was beyond irritated at Yang's nagging and he wanted to get away from their dorms at the first opportunity.
"I saw how you were staring at her. And you even took her away to talk in private." She was delighting in her teasing.
"I- I was just trying to de-escalate the argument." He said.
"Yeah, that's what he did." Blake backed him up, though she did find the intervention very strange.
"Whatever you say, loverboy." Yang chuckled at his embarrassed expression.
Weiss was also amused, "A date-battle… How romantic. To be perfectly honest, I didn't think you had it in you."
"That's not it at all..." Blake tried.
"It's true though, we never saw him as much as glance at a girl before," Ruby said.
"Will you stop it? Gossip all you want, just leave your sick fantasies out of my earshot." Violet stormed out of the room.
He found himself a spot on one of the rooftops with a view of Vale, where he could relax in solitude. He found himself frequenting such places more and more now. Despite yesterday's events, he was glad he got some proper combat experience against other people. It wasn't the first time he killed someone, but it was the first time he couldn't rely on his semblance. He sat down and gazed at the cityscape below him. He could feel his eyelids growing heavier and sleep threatened to overtake him. He hadn't slept in a such a long time, so he let it happen.
He dreamt of home. Of a winter day outside their cottage in Patch. He was sparring with Ruby in the snow. They usually took turns practicing with her scythe, or they borrowed Qrow's weapon when he was around. This time was unique because she made him his very own scythe model, and they were testing it out. Tai still didn't allow her to put fire dust into the weapon though, but they contended themselves with what they had.
Back then, his age difference was enough to compensate for a lot of Ruby's skill, so the fight was even. They were still amateurish enough that they couldn't pierce each other's aura easily, though that didn't stop him from slipping and managing to cut himself on the Mordred's blade.
He wasn't badly hurt, it was only a minor cut that would heal in a few moments. Nevertheless, Ruby still dropped down next to him with tears in her eyes. She was distraught, but he would reassure her that he was fine. His mouth opened to speak but no words would come out. As if broken from a daze, he realized he could hear a distant chanting.
A great crowd chanting… words he could not understand. Were they chanting for him? No, it couldn't be. Who was he for his name to be chanted? Then what? He looked down at himself to see his body no longer bearing a minor cut, but rather being drenched in red. Was he dying? Impossible. He had so much more he wanted to do. What did he want? He wanted to be remembered, to matter, to change the world. Yes, he wanted to destroy the world, and to remake it anew.
He was jolted from his dream by a somewhat concerned Blake. "Hey, you alright? You looked pretty disturbed."
He gasped in surprise, "For how long have you been watching me, Blake?" Violet said.
"You're not supposed to be sleeping here."
"Nothing would have happened to me. I'm busy, can't you see?"
"Yeah, right. I just wanted to ask, because nobody was really in their right mind yesterday. Are you serious about what you said? About continuing to fight?"
"Who do you take me for?" He laughed a little at her question.
Blake, on the other hand, was very serious, "What you were saying back then was very vague. What exactly do you mean to do?"
"Blake." He stood up and pointed to the city below them, "When you walk through the streets of Vale, what do you see?"
Blake wasn't sure what he was getting at. "I've only been here for a few months, but… It looks like an ordinary city. Just like any other."
"Come on, Blake. You're better than that." He turned to face her, "Where's your rebel spirit? Say the things you truly mean to say. I have no use for passive onlookers."
Blake was taken aback at his abrasive words. Still, she spoke with conviction, and for a moment he could see her old self from the Fang, "It's a facade. The city looks like a prosperous and functional society on the surface, but peek under it and you will see a very different world."
"Yes. It is a rotten place. A short stroll from the inner city will find you among scenes of unimaginable filth and desperation. Even here, a peek through the windows of opulent skyscrapers and into the conference rooms of governments and megacorps would shock anyone. An hour in a dust mine would change your whole perspective on life. Isn't that why you fought?"
He could tell she was getting emotional just below the surface, "Yes. I saw the world for what it was. We tried to change it from the inside, but... But we failed, and we resorted to even worse barbarism instead."
"But, you still believe the world is unjust."
"But I'm not White Fang anymore. I came here to leave all that behind. To become a huntress and do some good for a change."
"But don't you see? You're doing the same thing that failed the last time. Huntsmen are the best that this world has, the only ones with the spirit to change the world. That is why they can unlock their semblances. But they are never allowed to remake their world, only to guard it from outside collapse."
"And you… you mean to do what? What can you do?"
"It's not about what I can do. It's about what I will do. What I must do."
"Cut the poetry and state things plainly, Violet!"
"Very well. I mean to assemble an army." He approached her so they were uncomfortably close, "An army that shall wrest power from the Atlesian puppetmasters and that shall remake Vale, nay, the entire world along my vision. A just, gentle world. The sort of world that people like Ruby can live in. Where their innocence will not suffer like it did yesterday."
"I thought she was supposed to be the idealistic fairy tale nut. Besides, weren't you the one that traumatized Ruby yesterday?"
"Don't be difficult. She would have to face the cruelty of the world one day. That's why I became a huntsman. To protect her as much as I could."
"But how do you mean to start with any of that? It's not that simple. You'd need motivated people and massive amounts of money. Not to mention plenty of restricted supplies. Have you really thought all of that through?"
He chuckled, "Again, you seem to underestimate me. Is it my age?" Blake looked away. "But yes, I already have all of those things in place. All that's left is to assemble them."
Blake smiled, "Alright, I suppose. Will you show me?"
"In a few days when I have things ready. Wait until then."
"Of course. Oh, and one more thing. Again I have to ask, are you involving the rest of my team?"
"No. I decided to do this precisely so my sisters wouldn't have to fight. As for the Schnee, I doubt she's too eager to become a rebel against her home. Did you have someone else in mind?"
"No, not really. It's just… It'll be difficult to stay discreet if I need to go on secret missions without them all the time."
He thought on it for a while, his face switching from irritation to satisfaction, "What are you talking about, Blake? We're not plotting a revolt, we're just… going on dates."
"What?"
"Come on, let's tell them the good news. It'll be the perfect cover story," he already started walking back to team RWBY's room.
"Wait, no!" Blake stopped him, "I mean… There's nothing between us, right?"
Violet was confused, "I never said anything that would suggest that, have I? I understand if you're uncomfortable, we could find some other way."
"No. It's fine. I don't care too much about it. Just wanted to make sure."
"Cheer up. I can't wait to see their faces."
She walked back into the dorm room with him. There, a mischievous Yang awaited them, "So, you managed to get your not-boyfriend to come back from his new brooding spot? He doesn't do that even for Ruby."
"Yang," Blake said, "Don't you know it's rude to play matchmaker?"
"I do. I just don't care. You two are still acting way too close for comfort."
Blake flashed her a sadistic smile, "You know what? Fine, we are dating. Is there a problem with that?"
Despite her previous teasing, Yang was shocked, "You're serious? I mean…" She looked over at Violet, who was grinning at her. She was at a loss for words, "Blake, isn't he a little young for you?"
"Is that the best you've got?" Violet said, "All this time you've been enthusiastically talking about how we're secretly smooching, but now you don't want it?" He never saw Yang so embarrassed, he could scarcely believe she was even capable of such an emotion.
"My sister warned me about this." Weiss said, "Put a bunch of hormonal teens together and they'll start kissing almost immediately. Don't worry Yang, they'll probably break up in a month."
"You have a sister? You never told me." Ruby said.
Yang went up to Blake, and grabbed her by the collar, "Don't you dare break my little Violet's heart, you hear me?"
"Y-yes." she was starting to think this may have been a mistake.
"And you too, Violet. You're not off the hook for this either. Dating my partner, you'll pay for that."
Violet laughed, "Oh my, did I steal her from you?"
"Wait a second," Ruby said, 'You're not supposed to be dating someone from another team. I read about this in 'Huntsman leadership for dummies.'"
"That can't be a real book," Weiss said.
"I know what we can do." Ruby said, "We can invite the rest of Vio's team here. That way it'll be like we're one whole team."
"I suppose we're already pretty close." Violet said, "You've also been hogging Pyrrha for ages regarding sparring. So I think we're even on that front."
Three days later, Blake received a call from Violet telling her to meet him at a place just outside Vale City. He was short on the details, but Blake had a feeling it was for the best. People could be listening in on their calls.
It was a weekend day, so she excused herself from the rest of her team and went to the city. After a few hours of navigating to the address, perhaps better described as confused wandering, she found herself at the far outskirts of Vale- at the entrance of a rusted warehouse. There was nobody around for over a mile. She opened the door and walked into the dim room.
The lights turned on suddenly, and she saw a group of a dozen young people assembled in front of a Bullhead. They all wore black uniforms with tinted visors obscuring their faces, and about half were visibly faunus. There were also countless scattered boxes of dust and firearms.
On a catwalk above stood Violet, wearing an ornate purple costume with gold accents. "Welcome, Blake."
Blake was amazed. How has Violet really amassed so much already? And that aircraft, was it the one from last week? How did he even get ahold of that? "Wow. You really are the real deal."
"Of course I am. After all, I am the man that shall crush the might of Atlas. And these men before me… Are the Black Knights." He was almost a different man now, with an authoritative voice and theatrical mannerisms.
"Black Knights? Is that what you're calling it? Sounds… almost aristocratic."
"It's romantic. The image of knights for justice, fighting in the shadows for those in need. I'd like you to meet my lieutenants, Azul and Glaston."
Two men walked up to her. Azul was a very young blue-haired boy, while Glaston was a wolf faunus in his 20s with a gruff look to him. She shook their hands before speaking, "Violet, for what purpose have you brought us all here?"
"With our current numbers, we can't do anything serious." Violet said, "We need recruits. We need fame. What we need… is a grand debut."
"And how will you do that?"
"Tomorrow the Vale chief of police, Arthur Watts, will hold a rally addressing the death of a certain Roman Torchwick. Supposedly a reputable businessman and philanthropist, in truth Roman led the Vale criminal underground in addition to being an Atlesian collaborator. We will expose him publicly, and strike the first blow against the Vale security forces in a grand and explosive display."
"You really think that will be sufficient?"
"I have obtained undeniable evidence of his corrupt connections and I plan to release it to the internet. And I shall reveal myself to the public in dramatic fashion, assassinating the chief and his guard as my first act. Such a blow to their authority hasn't been seen in a very long time."
"I see. But won't your reveal cause trouble for you as well?"
"Oh, but I won't reveal my identity, of course not." He smiled and put on a great purple mask. In truth, it was more of a helmet obscuring his entire face. His look complete, he was like a fashionable anti-hero from one of Blake's books.