Cassiel POV
The night passed with no problems that I heard anyway. I used Nightfall to lock the door before going to sleep, no one could get in without breaking the door. I had a nightmare for a moment, Yang's nightmare, I didn't wake up though. I'm used to nightmares after that night, and lucid dreaming is still something I'm more than capable of doing. It was early morning when I was awoken by some jackass banging on the door. I aimed Lionheart at the door and fired a random shot at it, not caring if I hit the guy.
"Shut!!! Up!!! Damnit!!! Fuck!!! Off!!!" I tried to shout, but I was still tired as hell. I heard someone running away, looks like I missed. That's good, I guess. After a minute, I was awake enough to leave the room and remembered the path I took from the throne room. The guards tried to stop me outside the room, but a few shots into the floor caused the guards in the room to burst out. Sienna took almost no time at all to stop her guards from doing something stupid.
"ENOUGH!" They all stopped as she approached. "He is a guest, and you would do well to remember that the next time you want to disrespect or threaten him again!" The all lowered their weapons. "Leave us." She ordered everyone. "You! With me!" She told me. The doors closed behind us, I followed her about halfway into the throne room before she stopped.
"Something wrong?" I asked.
"... I've thought over everything you've told me, I still find it all hard to believe. Salem, magic, even your speculations, as crazy they might be, make sense. Before I come to a decision though, I do need two things from you." She started.
"They are?" She pulled out her whip and quickly wrapped it around my neck from where she was. I wasn't expecting this, though I did have enough time to react otherwise.
"Why should I involve the White Fang, the Faunus, in your war??!! Why shouldn't I kill you right now for trying to bring the White Fang into this??!!" She asked, the blades on her whip pressing into my skin.
"I never said you should, I only came to ask for your help. As I said, best case scenario, I'm wrong about everything I told you regarding Adam, Haven, the Belladonnas being in danger, and all I did was waste your time. Worst case scenario, I'm right, and you can make the best out of a bad situation. I only came for that purpose, Salem as real as the threat is, was an attempt to open another path for the White Fang and Faunus in general, and that man last night was basically the final nail in the coffin that you can thank Adam for starting. If you decline, I'll never darken your doorstep again over that topic." She loosened her whip a little.
"What do we have to gain from this?" Pretty sure I already explained that.
"Your status as 'most wanted terrorists' will almost certainly be reduced significantly, perhaps even grant the White Fang amnesty for a number of crimes. Additional protection against Salem due to your 'treachery' and assisting an enemy she apparently had interest in in killing her emissary." I reached up to the whip around my neck. "It's not just a matter of what you all have to gain, but what you can't afford to lose, and the fact that not just humanity, but Faunus too, will all be subjugated again!" I emphasized as I took a few steps towards her. "Besides, what do you have to gain from killing me? What do you have to gain from killing perhaps the first and only human you'll ever meet that's trying to help you? You have more to gain, more to protect than I do! I have a little over a handful of people to fight for, you have an entire race!"
"..."
"..."
"I'll be putting a lot of faith in you. The White Fang will defend Haven should an attack happen, but Salem? You'll need to prove something first." She unwrapped the whip from my neck.
"Name it."
"There's some Grimm some kilometers west of here. They've posed no threat to us or others, so they were left alone. Though their numbers are increasing, and no one can seem to find any of the Huntsmen and Huntresses in Mistral to take care of them before they become a problem. You're going to prove you can tame Grimm before we kill them, and I'm coming with you." Screw it, why not?
"Afterwards, do we have an agreement?" I asked.
"We'll see." Not exactly an answer, but it'll have to do.
At least Sienna understands subtlety. She had a few of her men make themselves look like civilians before loading us up into a truck large enough for about 10 people and heading out. I'm pretty hungry right now though, I hadn't eaten anything after confronting the Albains. I do remember Blake saying something about going fishing with Kali a day or 2 after reaching Menagerie. Why am I not surprised a family of feline Faunus know how best to prepare tuna? Best seafood dish I've ever had, maybe we can make something out of it? I've never fished before so I hope she won't mind me using Thunder or Nightfall to catch them. I'm rambling on. Probably about a third, maybe halfway to the destination, I turned to Sienna after... I wasn't paying attention to how long the ride was.
"Do you mind answering a few questions regarding Faunus?" She looked at me like she wasn't going to like what she'll hear. "I'm asking out of curiosity. I wasn't lying before when I said I had never seen or heard of a Faunus until around the time Ozpin enrolled me into Beacon. If it's offensive, you have my permission to punch me." Technically true. I knew of Demi-humans, but not Faunus.
"Just ask your question." She definitely doesn't sound like she'll want to hear it.
"Is it common for Faunus to possess traits belonging to their respective animals? You being a tiger Faunus, does that mean people are more, for lack of a better word, approachable when their backs are turned? If it's a thing, spider Faunus being extremely patient? An eagle Faunus having better eyesight than damn near everything else?" She leaned back in her seat and looked at me like I was an idiot.
"I'm not going to punch you, though I would suggest never asking anything like that again. To answer your questions, a Faunus's sub-species is physical and nothing more." Dodged a bullet on that one.
The trip continued in silence. After a while, I pulled out my scroll and opened up a random game, I guess Tetris is better than nothing. Maybe 20 minutes later, the trucks stopped. Sienna got out first and ordered the others to stay. She took the lead off the road to the south, the woods became more silent as we progressed. I let my Darkness out, it still hurt a little, but I can deal with it. Eventually, we reached a clearing with a few Beowolves were in sight.
The alpha ran at me, but I casted Barrier to my sides to catch it's claws before slamming it's jaw shut, jumping over it, and slamming it's head into the ground. It was still alive and quickly moved away after I let go. It slowly circled around me until I held out my hand, then it backed away. I sat down, still holding my hand out, after a while it slowly moved towards me and sniffed my hand. I looked to Sienna, who looked like she's just seen the impossible happen with no effort at all. I scratched it under it's chin and it turned upward to give me a better angle.
"You actually can do it..." Sienna said in disbelief.
"In the end, they really are just animals. Extremely aggressive animals, but still animals. The only Grimm I've encountered that I couldn't tame was a King Taijita, it got it's fang ripped out and stabbed through it's head when it tried to eat me." The other Beowolves stayed away, but after a minute, I snapped the alpha's neck before shooting the rest of the Beowolves with Lionheart. The shots drew the attention of some Ursi and were disposed of by Sienna seconds later. I was expecting more Grimm, unless they're deeper into the woods, this looks to be it.
"CaSsIeL," The fuck was that??!! Alarms immediately went off in my head as a distorted voice imitating my mother. "cOmE hErE." I summoned Nightfall, ready to brutally murder something.
"ThAt'S mY bOy!" My father...
"LeT's PlAy!" My sister...
"GeNtLy NoW." My grandfather...
"It LiKeS yOu." My grandmother...
"LeT's Do ThIs!" Naofumi...
"TaKe CaRe Of YoUrSeLf!" Raphtalia...
"CoMe BaCk SoOn!" Filo...
"YoU'rE nOt AlOnE." Ruby...
"We'Re A tEaM, cAsSiEl." Weiss...
"It'S nOt YoUr FaUlT." Blake...
"NoT oN tHe FlOoR." Yang...
Several Grimm stepped out from the trees.
(fan-made Grimm, Ghoul, by Jakd-Nexus on Deviantart. Downsize it to about 9ft tall. Looks closer to the more monstrous-looking Wendigo, so we'll use that instead.)
"OH FUCK THAT!" I immediately threw Nightfall as a shuriken at them and started shooting them with Lionheart. Fuckers are fast, one cut through a tree with seemingly no effort. I recalled Nightfall as wingblades, grabbed Sienna, and flew high above them.
"What are you doing??!!" She shouted.
"As the Cursebearer, source of thy power, I order thee. Heed the Raven's Call and rain Death upon my enemies. Let not Blood, nor Bone, nor Ash remain. Abyssal Cataclysm!" She looked down at the destruction below, seeing them get crushed, incinerated by dark flames, and crushed again in seconds. I landed and needed a moment to catch my breath. It still takes a bit out of me.
"What was that?" She asked, uncertain she even wants to know the answer.
"Magic." I answered. "Fuck! Wendigos!"
"Those voices, did you know them?"
"... Let's just go." I didn't answer.
We returned to the White Fang and she brought me to what appears to be a war room. She had lunch brought in and we ate in silence. I looked at the maps, noting where and what they're targeting. It's mostly Schnee Dust shipments, the rest are really just people denying services to Faunus and anti-Faunus groups.
"I've decided you will have the support of the White Fang, though we will need something else from you." Sienna broke the silence.
"I'm guessing you want me to make sure the things I said you have to gain are actually given to you?"
"If you know, then am I safe to assume you'll do it?"
"I make no promises, though I did also say I can take everyone to a place with significantly less discrimination so far I've seen. Let me correct myself, two, technically three places actually. I can't point to any of them on a map, but one has no humans or Faunus, but several different races instead. The second option I've been told by the blacksmith who made my weapon that humans and Faunus, or Demi-humans as they're called there, all get along fine, though for the time being, that and the next option are all bad ideas. The third option encourages Faunus supremacy, even human slavery is legal, but they do worship a specific human in their history as if he was a god. Grimm don't exist in those places either."
"I'm not even going to ask about these places, I've had enough headaches for a week." She rested her head against her hand.
"How do you think I felt when I was trying to help Ozpin and the others? I was the only one to get any results on my objective. Because they didn't heed my warnings or follow my plans, Vale was toppled in just a few hours. It's amazing how much damage a few incompetent people can do to an entire country."
"If Vale fell so easily, I can't imagine Mistral or Vacuo fairing any better." She commented.
"What about Atlas?" I asked. "I doubt you care for Atlas, but having them on our side would be infinitely better than them abandoning the world or siding with Salem." She tightly gripped the arm rest on her chair.
"Atlas can burn for all most Faunus care!" She answered. "Truth be told, I'd rather not involve myself with them."
"We will have to though. Not just for the extra firepower, but to keep the Maidens and whatever is under each school safe."
"*sigh* I know, but getting the White Fang, or Faunus in general to side with Atlas is like asking them to chew off their arm."
"How I see it, they can fight for survival and freedom, or they can refuse and die or be enslaved." I leaned forward in my chair. "Allied together, a threat men display. Divide them with doubt, and it will all wash away. She knows the world united against her would be a threat, that's why she seeks to divide everyone and turn them against each other. Vale, then Mistral, I would expect Atlas because of how paranoid Ironwood is, then Vacuo. Finally, Menagerie, though because it has nothing of value like an academy, Maiden, CCT tower, or treasure, she's about as likely leave it alone as she is to attack it."
"Who are you really? I'd compare the way you think to that of a military commander, but you're still just a kid!"
"A kid with a more traumatic childhood than probably anyone you will ever meet, and grew up faster as a result." I removed my mask and looked her dead in the eye. "I'm tired of losing people I care about, I'll beat Salem and kill all her associates if it's the last thing I do. That is my resolve. Not just vengeance, but to keep what is mine."
"And just who are you hoping to avenge?" Did she seriously just ask that?
"Does it matter? The result is the same either way." I answered. A thought occurred to me, someone else who might want revenge if she's still alive. Though she's as likely to attack as she is to hear me out. "I just thought of someone else I could probably get in on this. Who do I go to for information? Specifically someone who can find anyone quickly for the right price?"
"If you had asked that from anyone else, they'd tell you to not get involved. You'll want the Spiders."