"What beautiful carnage. Wherever he treads, havoc seems to follow. I like him." - Salem, after being briefed on Zero

"Status report, B-1."

"Target has appeared at the podium, conditions nominal." Blake was speaking next to him, "Team Blue is in position, team Green is vacating the sewers. The police suspect nothing. Escape route 1 has only a single vehicle blocking it."

"What are their numbers?"

"About 50 Vale police and another 50 Atlas military police. They've formed a circle around the target. We're located inside the perimeter, just to his right. Civilian spectators are at a safe distance."

They brought MPs too? "I see. We wait until the moment is right, we have time. Get ready to route the speakers to me when I give the signal."

"Understood. The speakers are mounted on this vehicle so I can manually override them."

The police van they were hiding in didn't have adequate sound isolation, so when the police chief spoke, the deafening sound made Violet cringe. The only thing worse than that was his prideful Atlesian accent.

"People of Vale, this tragedy has been a long time coming. For many years I have tried to knock sense into the ungrateful and radical masses. For many years, honorable men such as Roman Torchwick have fought against the criminals that seek to destroy humanity. That seek not merely the destruction of Vale and Atlas, but also of all civilization. His tragic end marks not just the beginning of a war against the rebel scourge, but the beginning of a total war!"

Suddenly, a pyrotechnic fire occurred at the top of one of the police vans. A wall of flame appeared beyond which none could see, lasting only a few seconds.

As the smoke cleared, a new figure appeared on top of the vehicle. A masked man in a dramatic purple and gold costume. It spoke in a metallic voice, "You are right, Chief Watts. This is only the beginning of a war. Of my war."

"What madness is this?" the chief shouted, "Who the hell are you?"

"Who am I? I am… Zero! The man that shall restore freedom and dignity to the people of Vale. The man that shall free it from the shackles of Atlas. Starting with the death of Roman Torchwick, traitor to his nation and criminal."

The soldiers previously facing outward were now aiming their guns directly at him. They were confused, unsure of whether they should shoot to kill.

"I will not entertain a madman's ravings, you're not doing anything. You're surrounded and will die right here and now. I will avenge Roman's death myself!" The man pulled out his gun and aimed it at Zero.

"Avenge Roman? But you already know that Torchwick was in reality the leader of Vale's mafia, don't you? As we speak, the evidence of his wrongdoings is being spread online for all to see. And I will now avenge the countless men that you have failed in protecting, former chief Watts."

Zero snapped his fingers, and the ground beneath the police chief's podium exploded, a devastating burst of dust energy annihilating Arthur and all those near him. Similar explosions occurred at several points along the police perimeter, killing many and confusing the others.

Soon the explosions were joined by the sounds of machine gun fire coming from several skyscrapers, cutting the police down at a terrifying rate. Zero retreated into the police van. "Full speed ahead, B-1."

The vehicle sped through the ceremony grounds, taking only small-arms fire. He made sure their bombs didn't destroy the road they meant to escape through. Luckily, the crowd scattered itself as soon as the first explosion happened, so he didn't get slowed down by them.

Two minutes after the explosion, they already stopped taking fire. Violet was ecstatic. He removed his mask and laughed, "I wish you could have seen the face on that guy. It was glorious."

Blake was less than amused, "You didn't mention our name. The Black Knights were your idea, remember?"

"I didn't have time, he already gave the command to shoot. It just means we'll need another great showing." he smiled at her, "They'll certainly be enraptured by my appearance alone, no harm feeding them a story piecemeal."

"I see… So what happens now?"

"They'll feel pressured into retaliating. With little time and disrupted leadership, I imagine they'll wreak even more havoc than me. Not only will they alienate the people, but I'll have another chance to humiliate them."

"Havoc? So who will suffer their wrath?"

Violet sighed, "They'll go after who they usually do. Poor people and faunus. I suspect they'll try to clear out one of the ghettos out there of whatever imaginary resistance they convince people is present. That's just how they work."

"Is that so?" Blake's eyes narrowed, "So you knew they would retaliate against innocents, yet you provoked them anyway?"

"They're oppressing them every day, Blake. The people can either die slowly in silence, or they can fight and potentially win. They need an immediate threat to rise against, and I shall provide them the means to confront it."

"You're a callous man, Violet."

"I'm effective."

"I know. I've been here before, trust me. It's just, if you're being like this already… How will you fare after years of conflict? How do you know you won't resort to the methods of the White Fang?"

"Because I've thought things through. The Black Knights are explicitly for both humans and faunus. No change in leadership could ever undo that central tenet."

"I suppose. We've arrived, get ready."

Violet put his mask back on, while Blake did the same with a tinted visor. The vehicle halted and they opened the back doors. They rushed out of the Van, with Violet throwing a dust grenade into his getaway vehicle, destroying it while they fled.

They rounded a corner and slid down an already open sewer grate. Once there, they were met by several Black Knights headed by Glaston. He saluted Zero, "Team Green ready! All men are accounted for."

"Excellent, any word on Azul's team?"

"They all fired their machine guns effectively, but some of the weapons had to be abandoned in the escape."

"Not surprising. Tell team Blue to proceed to their caches and rearm."

"What? Aren't we done here?" Glaston said.

"No. The police may act in a rash manner, so we need them on standby for now. Tell them to head towards the ghetto area. We're going there as well."

They rushed through the sewer system as instructed. Violet let the rest of the group go ahead of him, as he had a private call to make.

"Oh hello, Vio. What's up?"

"Hi, Ruby. Can you check what's on the news right now?"

"What? I mean, I wasn't watching the news. Was something supposed to be on TV?"

"I just figured something must have happened since there is all sorts of panic here. I might not make it to class in time, can you relay that to my team?"

"Huh? You can't get out of sparring practice like that! Wait, I just put them on and they are saying something about an attack in downtown Vale. You're safe, right?"

"Yeah, Blake and I are stuck in traffic, that's all."

"Stuck in traffic… You sure you had nothing to do with this?"

"Come on, who do you take me for?" he chuckled, "I'm not a White Fang agent, I assure you. Anyway I'll see you later, little Whirlwind." he hung up the phone.

He was elated that they chose to report on it. It would have been worrying were they to censor it instead.

Blake returned to find him, "Come on, what are you waiting for? You'll get lost."

"I'm coming." he followed her lead.

"I can scarcely believe we actually managed that." Blake said, "You have a lot of faith in your men."

"Of course. I recruited each one of them myself. They're all either 4th year Signal students or people like you."

She was confused, "Terrorists?"

He gave a playful smile, "Strays."