Reception and Reaction (Rewritten)
Reception and Reaction
Ozpin got the impression that if First Councillor Aris had been speaking to him in person, she would have been pacing up and down. As they were talking on a screen, she was forced to remain where he could see her, but nevertheless, he could spot the nervous energy that was consuming her. Her entire body was trembling.
Or that might have been simply a sign of how upset she was.
“This… this is the biggest stab in the back by Atlas since their refusal to help us retake Mountain Glenn!” Novo snarled. “I’m starting to wonder if Aspen isn’t right about Atlas after all.”
“Please, Madame Councillor, let’s not get lost in the weeds of hyperbole,” Ozpin pleaded. “To be frank, and speaking as someone who was there at the time, the Atlesian decision with regard to Mountain Glenn was eminently correct: even if the city could have been retaken, to what end? It had been amply demonstrated that it was unsuitable for further settlement. Any further attempts to reoccupy the territory would have been a waste of manpower, and any attempt to recolonise the city would have been throwing good men after good.”
“We are their ally, Ozpin,” Novo insisted. “What price the special relationship if they won’t support us when we’re counting on them?”
It was Ozpin’s considered opinion that the so-called "special relationship" existed only in the minds of Valish politicians and journalists; in Atlas, it figured not at all. In Atlas, there were those who were only looking for the interests of Atlas and those who took a more high-minded view that encompassed the entire world. No one, or at least no one in any position of authority, saw Vale as being more important than Mistral or even Vacuo.
“I have my disagreements with General Ironwood,” Ozpin said delicately, “and there are certainly areas of Atlesian policy which I find somewhat vexing.” He doubted that anyone else was as vexed by them as he was, but he found the Atlesian tendency to push Atlas students towards the Atlesian Corps of Specialists to be counterproductive at best and dangerous at worst. Huntsmen were supposed to be free to choose their own allegiance without pressure; having them groomed for four years to enlist in the Atlesian military as a better class of soldier was not what he had had in mind when he set up the academy system. “Nevertheless,” Ozpin continued, “I trust the good intentions of General Ironwood. In my experience, Atlas will always do the right thing.” Even if they have to try everything else first.
“I’m not sure how granting diplomatic status to a White Fang terrorist-”
“A former White Fang terrorist,” Ozpin corrected her.
Novo glowered at him from out of the screen. “Once again, you assert that without proof.”
“Miss Belladonna has harmed no one during her time at Beacon, save for genuine White Fang insurgents whom she has resisted with all her might,” Ozpin replied. “Does that not prove something?”
“An argument she could have made in court if the Atlesians had not granted her diplomatic status,” Novo declared. “Why? Why would they humiliate me in this way?”
“I’m sure it was not General Ironwood’s intent,” Ozpin said diplomatically.
“It was the outcome!” Novo snapped. “Our much trumpeted arrest of a terrorist has now backfired completely, and the suspect, whom we took into custody with so much fanfare, is now free to walk the streets under the protection of Atlas!”
“With respect, Madame Councillor-”
“If you’re going to say that this is my fault for making a fuss, I would advise you not to,” Novo growled. “I am not in the mood for anyone to say 'I told you so.'”
“In which case, I wouldn’t dream of it,” Ozpin murmured. “Nevertheless, the situation is now what it is. Miss Belladonna’s status places her beyond the reach of Valish law.”
“Why?” Novo demanded. “Why would Atlas do such a thing?”
“I think,” Ozpin said, choosing his words carefully, “that the Atlesians believe that Miss Belladonna can be of use to them in their efforts against the White Fang here in Vale.”
Novo’s eyes narrowed. “You mean… she is their informant?”
“Something like that, yes.”
“Hmm,” Novo murmured. “That… yes, I could spin that. We will tell the press that she was always an Atlesian agent within the White Fang, that her cover was blown and that we acted based on incomplete information fed to us from within the White Fang who hoped to punish her for what they perceived to be her betrayal. Do you think the press and public would buy that?”
“I think you have the bones of a fascinating story, Madame Councillor, full of intrigue, espionage, and betrayal,” Ozpin declared, “and the people love a good story.”
“I hope so,” Novo said. She exhaled loudly. “Are you going to let the girl back into your school?”
“If she is a former Atlesian agent whose cover was blown, then how can I not?”
“Very droll, professor.”
“In all seriousness, Madame Councillor, Miss Belladonna completed Initiation successfully and has not committed any offence since arriving at Beacon that would warrant her expulsion.”
“Your students might not feel the same way,” Novo pointed out.
“Without meaning to sound unduly harsh, I don’t poll the students on whether they approve of all their classmates, although I will admit there may be issues with her teammates,” Ozpin replied. “But nothing unmanageable.” He hoped not, at least.
“I see,” Novo said. “Very well, Ozpin. I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“So do I, Madame Councillor.”
The elevator ground its way to the top of the tower with what seemed to Sunset to be an agonising slowness. She could hear the cables rattling above her as they bore her up to Professor Ozpin's office.
She wanted to get there quickly. She didn't want to get there at all. There was a part of her that wanted to rage at how terribly slowly this stupid elevator cab was moving; there was another part of her that wanted to push all the buttons so that they'd get there even more slowly, although the fact that she was not alone – that she was accompanied by Rainbow Dash, of all people – meant that that part of her was being quieter than it might otherwise have been. She had a care for her dignity, after all; if Rainbow caught her futzing around with the lift buttons like a kid, then she'd never hear the end of it.
Nevertheless, even a concern for her precious dignity couldn't stop Sunset from visible fidgeting as the lift rose inexorably to the highest height in Beacon Tower.
"Are you nervous?" Rainbow asked.
Sunset couldn't hear any scorn in the other girl's voice, only curiosity, but still, she reacted with a snap as though Rainbow had sneered at her. "No, I'm not nervous! Don't be ridiculous."
A moment of silence descended between the two of them.
"So, what are you nervous about?" Rainbow asked.
"I told you that I wasn't nervous!"
"And I didn't believe you," Rainbow clarified. "So, what's up?"
'What's up'? Seriously? "It doesn't matter."
"Come on, we're both in this together."
"The fact that you can say that reveals the paucity of your understanding."
"Oh, so you think you're running a bigger risk than me, is that it?"
"I think that..." Sunset trailed off. "I said it doesn't matter. You wouldn't understand anyway." She shuffled from side to side and willed the elevator to move faster.
Rainbow snorted derisively. "Why wouldn't I understand? Because I'm not as smart or deep as the great Sunset Shimmer?"
"Because you never had to struggle to be a good person!" Sunset snarled, recoiling as she realised what she'd just said. If I knew a spell that could erase memories or turn back time, I would use them both in a heartbeat.
Rainbow stared at her as though she'd grown another head. "I... huh?"
"I'm about to go to bat in front of Professor Ozpin for a former terrorist," Sunset muttered. The leather of her jacket creased as she folded her arms. "I want to help Blake, but... all I can think of as this damn stupid slow elevator crawls up the shaft is that I'm about to put my credibility on the line for an ex-White Fang... whatever she was. And I know it's selfish, and I know that her problems are much worse than mine and that whether or not anyone still respects me at the end of this is the last thing that I should be worrying about, but this is who I am, okay? You can... you can't ever understand that because you always made being nice look easy. That's one of the many reasons why I never liked you."
"You disliked me specifically?" Rainbow asked. "I always just figured you were just a mean-tempered jerk."
Sunset exhaled loudly. "You were popular when I wasn't, so I couldn't blame everything on me being a faunus, your powers aren't nearly as cool as mine, but everybody fawned all over you; you're cocksure, arrogant, unbelievably annoying, and so... so nice. Like, why did you used to stick up for Fluttershy when you had it worse than she did? How were you so nice? You were a faunus in Atlas, just like me, how did that not fill your stomach with so much rage? How did that... didn't you ever want to scream and shout in the faces of those human friends of yours, didn't ever just want to hurt them the way the world kept hurting us?"
"No," Rainbow said, leaning slightly away from Sunset as though she were suddenly afraid of her. "No, I never wanted to do that."
"Why not?" Sunset demanded. "Why weren't you as pissed as I was?"
"Because things weren't that bad," Rainbow said. "Sure, some people were assholes about my ears, but who cares? I didn't. So long as I had my friends, I didn't need to care what random people thought about me. They were just... air on my face as I flew, you know? I felt them for a moment, and then I left them behind. You know what the difference is between you and me?"
"Do I want to know?"
The elevator shuddered to a halt.
"I don't need other people to tell me how awesome I am," Rainbow answered.
The doors opened before Sunset could form a response – something along the lines of she didn't need to be told that she was great; she just needed her greatness to be appreciated by others, that was all – before they both had to step out of the elevator cab and into the headmaster's spacious tower office.
The gears of the clock ground away above their heads and cast their shadows on the floor.
Professor Ozpin sat enthroned in his seat, silent and inscrutable as the two young huntresses walked in. The only sound apart from the grinding gears were the footfalls of Sunset and Rainbow as they crossed the floor.
Two chairs had been placed in front of the headmaster’s desk – like he’d been expecting the pair of them – but neither of the two girls sat down. Rainbow stood at ease, her feet spread apart and her hands clasped behind her back, and Sunset found herself doing the same, if only to have something to do with her hands.
"Please, Miss Shimmer, Miss Dash, there's no need to stand on ceremony with me," Professor Ozpin said, sounding genial enough. "Sit, both of you."
Sunset took one of the two chairs in front of the headmaster's desk. Rainbow, a moment later, followed suit.
"Now," Professor Ozpin said, "why don't you tell me why you wanted to see me?"
Rainbow said nothing; she had already agreed to let Sunset take the lead on this. As an Atlas student, she would let Sunset make the running and only intervene if necessary or when questioned, so it was Sunset who said, "It's about Blake."
Professor Ozpin nodded sagely. "An unfortunate business. And yet I gather that Miss Belladonna has already been released from police custody."
"Yes, Professor, she has," Sunset said. "Blake has... she's entered into an arrangement with Atlas."
"I see," Professor Ozpin said, leaving his opinion on what he saw unclear. "The terms of said arrangement being what?"
"Service, sir, in exchange for immunity,” Rainbow said softly.
"It means that Blake will be undertaking missions for Atlas for a while, against the White Fang here in Vale," Sunset said. "But when she isn't... we were hoping that she could come back to Beacon."
Professor Ozpin cradled his hands together and rested his elbows upon his desk. "There are some who would find the very idea of what you're suggesting to be absurd, Miss Shimmer."
"Unless any of those people are in this room, I don't see the relevance of their opinion, Professor."
Professor Ozpin chuckled. “You have a point, Miss Shimmer. I have no objection to Miss Belladonna returning to school if she wishes to do so. Indeed, it would be a shame to lose such a promising young huntress in training at this stage, and after the two of you have gone to such lengths to secure her release from police custody. You may tell Miss Belladonna that she may return and be welcome. Although…”
“Professor?”
“There is the question of Team Bluebell,” Ozpin said. “It will be difficult for Miss Belladonna to continue leading a team if she is at the beck and call of Atlas. And then there is the question of whether Team Bluebell will want their leader back. You are correct that most of the objections other students might make are of little consequence, but with a team, it is a little different. In order to fight together, there must – or at least should be – absolute trust between teammates. That may be difficult to achieve in this case.”
“Can’t you just order them to suck it up, sir?” Rainbow asked.
Professor Ozpin chuckled. “This is not Atlas, Miss Dash; we do things a little differently here.”
Rainbow muttered something about doing things worse, to which Professor Ozpin did not deign to respond.
Sunset’s brow furrowed. “If… if Blake can’t be with her team… what place is there for her here?”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Miss Shimmer,” Professor Ozpin said. “Will you please speak to Team Bluebell on Miss Belladonna’s behalf and take their temperature?”
Sunset’s brow furrowed. “Professor… is this some kind of test?”
Professor Ozpin stared blankly at her for a moment. “Whatever would give you that idea, Miss Shimmer?”
“The fact that you want me to do this instead of doing it yourself or asking one of the teachers,” Sunset said.
“Do you object?” Professor Ozpin asked.
“I think that this is Blake’s life we’re talking about, not a chance for you to see how I interact with other people,” Sunset snapped.
The professor’s smile broadened. “But who else could I ask who would be as concerned for Miss Belladonna as you, Miss Shimmer? I must say, I’m impressed; you’ve grown a great deal since the year began.”
Sunset coughed into one hand. “I… thank you, Professor. I’ll do it, I just- is there no one else?”
“I think a friend will be better at conveying Miss Belladonna’s merits than a more remote figure of authority,” Professor Ozpin said.
“I see. Very well, Professor,” Sunset said as she got up from her seat. “And thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, Miss Shimmer,” Professor Ozpin said. “As of yet, I’ve done absolutely nothing to be thanked for.”
“Professor,” Rainbow said, “do you not need to talk to the Council about this?”
Ozpin smiled. “Oh, did I forget to mention, Miss Dash? I already have.”
“So Blake’s been hiding a pair of cute little kitty ears under the bow the entire time?” Nora asked rhetorically, flopping down onto her bed.
“She did wear it all the time,” Ren pointed out.
“Ren, we all wear the same outfits all the time,” Nora replied.
Ren considered that for a moment. “Fair point,” he conceded.
“Isn’t the fact that she’s a member of the White Fang more important than the fact that she’s a faunus?” Dove asked.
“She used to be a member of the White Fang,” Yang replied.
Nora sat up and looked at Yang from across the dorm room. “You knew!” she cried, pointing at Yang accusingly.
Yang laughed nervously. She scratched the back of her head with one hand, her fingers running through her luxurious blonde hair. “Well… a little, yeah. How do you think I knew to be at the docks last semester?”
“We never found out,” Ren reminded her.
“Because you kept it to yourself,” Nora added.
“I take it that Blake found out about the robbery and asked you to help her stop it?” Ren suggested.
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“But how did she know there was going to be a robbery if she is only a former member of the White Fang?” inquired Ren.
“She’s still got a few contacts on the inside, or she did,” Yang admitted. “People like her who aren’t thrilled about what the White Fang is turning into.”
“What is the White Fang turning into?” demanded Dove. “Aren’t they just a pack of thieves and murderers?”
Yang looked at him. “How much did you know about the wider world before you came to Beacon, Dove?”
“Not much,” Dove admitted. “We didn’t get a lot of contact with the outside world.”
“Right,” Yang said. “Well, when we were growing up, the White Fang used to be a peaceful organisation; they used to hold rallies and stuff. It’s only in the last five years or so that they started using violence to try and get their way. Blake could explain they changed, but the point is that Blake saw them getting more and more violent, and so, she saw that it wasn’t for her. So she decided to quit and devote herself to becoming a huntress, just like us.” She grinned. “Just like me and Nora, anyway.”
“I see,” Ren murmured.
“Do you?” Yang replied. “She’s not a bad person, Ren.”
“Has she killed people?” asked Dove.
Yang’s mouth opened, but no words emerged. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “We’re not close, and we haven’t talked about it. In fact, we haven't talked about it at all because – repeat after me – we’re not close. Maybe, or maybe not.”
Dove balled his hands into fists and rested them upon his knees. “What are Team Bluebell going to do with only three members?”
“Maybe they won’t be a man down for very long,” Yang suggested.
“You mean Professor Ozpin will admit a new student?”
“No, I mean Blake will be back,” Yang explained. “I think Sunset and Rainbow Dash have a plan to… rescue her? Save her? Fix things? They’ve got a plan, anyway, and that’s where they went after Blake was arrested.”
Ren opened up his scroll and, with one finger, opened up an app that seemed to be news related, although Yang didn’t recognise the exact app he was using. “Hmm,” he murmured.
“Well don’t keep us in suspense, Ren!” Nora cried. “What’s going on?”
“Blake has been released,” Ren declared. “According to these reports, she was an Atlesian agent within the White Fang, wrongfully detained by Valish authorities unaware of all the facts.”
“That’s a great cover story,” Nora said. “Really helps everyone save face.”
“You don’t believe it?” asked Dove.
“Yang, did Blake ever mention to you then she was really an Atlas agent?”
“No, but-”
“No, I don’t believe it,” Nora interrupted. “But good news, Dove! Team Bluebell is back up to four members!”
Dove didn’t look very reassured by that. He scowled. “She shouldn’t be allowed back into this school. Huntsmen are supposed to be paragons of virtue and integrity.”
Yang chuckled. “Okay, anyone in this room who thinks that they are flawless, raise their hand.” She didn’t raise her own hand, and nobody thought so highly of themselves as to do so.
“I never said I was flawless,” Dove declared, “but there’s a difference between being flawed and being vile! She joined a violent gang of brigands; the fact that they eventually got too violent for her doesn’t change that.”
“So she was just supposed to smile and take whatever the world dished out to her?” Nora demanded. “Do you think that the violence of the White Fang is worse than what the faunus have to go through every day?”
“I don’t know what the faunus go through,” Dove admitted, “but I know that nothing justifies violence against the innocent.”
“Well, that’s very chivalrous of you, Dove,” Nora said with evident sarcasm, “but the world is full of people who are getting put down all the time, and not all of the people who are putting them mean to do it, but nothing ever changes because of people like you who see any attempt to change anything as bad and wrong just because it upsets people!”
“There’s a difference between upsetting people and killing them!” Dove cried. “And if you can’t see that then maybe you shouldn’t be at Beacon either!”
“Calm down, guys,” Yang said, standing up and casting a shadow over Dove. “We’re not here to debate whether violence for change is justified or not. The point is, Blake’s been let out, and she’s going to be coming back to Beacon. Dove… I know that it doesn’t seem like a very huntsman thing to do, but I really do believe that Blake is trying to make amends for her past. And I think that she deserves a chance to do that. You’re not going to make trouble for her, are you?”
“No,” Dove said at once. “But…”
“But?” Yang asked.
“I wish Lyra and Bon Bon didn’t have to go through this.”
“So she’s not an Atlesian agent?”
“No,” Novo said, her voice echoing out of Cardin’s scroll to strike at his very soul. “Blake Belladonna is nothing more than a White Fang agent.”
“'Is'?” Cardin demanded.
“Professor Ozpin says that she is no longer with them, but he has no proof of that,” Novo said.
“And despite that, he’s still letting her come back to Beacon?” Cardin snapped. “And there’s nothing you can do about it… ma’am,” he added quickly, remembering just who he was talking to.
“Don’t apologise for your temper, Cardin; I share your aggravation,” Novo informed him. “But no, there is nothing I can do. Now that she is under Atlesian protection, I can’t order her arrest, and Professor Ozpin can admit anyone he likes to Beacon.”
“And everything about her having been in Atlesian service-”
“Is just a cover story for the press, to lessen my humiliation,” Novo confessed.
“And so we have a-” Cardin stopped himself from saying something he would regret. Novo Aris’ sister had married a faunus, after all, and she seemed to get on with her niece and nephew as much as Skystar did. As much as Cardin might find it disgraceful that even more faunus were walking the halls of Beacon, the First Councillor probably wouldn’t feel the same way. “And so we have a terrorist in the school. Why are you telling me this?”
“Because Skystar’s role as Amity Princess means that she’ll be going up to Beacon not infrequently,” Novo reminded him. “While she’s there, and while that terrorist is there… I’m trusting you to keep my daughter safe.”
“She will be safe, with me.”
“I hope so,” Novo said. “I’m trusting you with what is most precious to me in the whole world, Cardin.”
“You can rely on me, ma’am,” Cardin declared. He’d die before he let anything happen to Skystar.
“Thank you, Cardin,” Novo said. “That’s a load off my mind.” She smiled at him. “Are you still going to come over for dinner this weekend?”
“I wouldn’t miss it, ma’am.”
Novo chuckled. “Good boy; it will be wonderful to see you again. Take care.”
“You too, ma’am,” Cardin said as Novo hung up on him. He shut his scroll with just a little more force than necessary, and then remembered that he needed to use it to open the door into the dorm room, at which point, he opened it – again, just a little too forcefully – and stalked back inside.
“How was the mom-in-law?” Russell asked.
Cardin ignored him. “I can’t believe that they’re letting a terrorist back into this school!”
“A former terrorist,” Weiss corrected him.
Russell grinned. “You two already knew, didn’t you?”
Weiss fixed him with a glare. “Sometimes, Russell, you can be a little too smart for your own good.”
“Or yours,” Russell replied, still with that easy grin on his face like this was all some kind of big joke to him.
“You knew?” Cardin demanded. “Both of you?”
“How do you think Team Sapphire ended up down at the docks fighting the White Fang?” Russell asked. “I may not talk much, but I can put the pieces together.”
Well, when you put it like that, it makes perfect sense. “If you knew, then why didn’t you report this to the authorities?” Cardin demanded. “You should have had Blake arrested long ago.”
“Cardin, you’re overreacting,” Weiss declared, standing up and doing that weird thing she did where she managed to look down on him despite the fact that she was about half his height. “Blake is no longer a member of the White Fang. Yes, I admit, the fact that she had been a member was concerning, at first, but she has promised that she is no longer with them and I believe her.”
“So that’s it?” Cardin yelled. “She says that she’s sorry, and we all have to be okay with this?” He gestured at Flash. “How can you, of all people, be okay with this?”
“Don’t use my father’s name to justify your bigotry, Cardin,” Flash said, quietly but firmly. “Enough people have tried to do that already; I won’t have you be one of them.”
“Sorry,” Cardin grunted. “But after everything the White Fang has done to Atlas and the Schnee Dust Company-”
“Blake isn’t the White Fang,” Weiss said.
“That was her robbing an SDC train,” Cardin pointed out.
Weiss was quiet for a moment. “True,” she conceded. “But I talked to Blake about that, and she had the chance to massacre the crew aboard the train… but she didn’t. She chose to spare them instead. And that was when she left the White Fang; she could have walked away and left them to die, but she didn’t; she saved all of them. That… is not something that I can just ignore. That’s something that I think deserves to be kept in mind before we rush to judgement.”
“She’s broken the law!” Cardin shouted.
“Would that matter so much if she were human?” Flash asked.
“Don’t make this into a race thing.”
“Isn’t it already a race thing with you?” Flash replied.
“Says the guy who broke up with his girlfriend because he couldn’t stand her tail,” Russell pointed out.
“It doesn’t matter whether she’s a faunus or not,” Cardin lied. “She’s still a terrorist, a lawbreaker.”
“Whom the law isn’t punishing,” Flash insisted. “You can agree or not with that decision, but the decision has been made. And if you go outside the law to punish Blake when the law won’t… then you’re no different from the White Fang.”
The hell I’m not, Cardin thought. He wasn’t just going to let this lie. This wasn’t about faunus or human; this wasn’t some stupid feeling of unearned entitlement like his resentment of Sunset or Jaune Arc; this was more than that, bigger than that; this was actually important. Skystar’s safety, the safety of Beacon itself, could be at stake.
He wouldn’t be the only person who felt that way. He couldn’t be the only person who felt that way. He would find others who felt like he did.
And together, they would drive that damned faunus right out of Beacon.
“He knew,” Sunset muttered. “He knew all along, and he just let us witter on regardless.”
“So?”
“What do you mean, 'so'?” Sunset demanded as she and Rainbow descended back down the tower in the elevator that seemed to be moving much faster going down than it had coming back up again. “The headmaster just played us; doesn’t that bother you?”
“It would bother me more if he didn’t know what was going on,” Rainbow replied. “It’s good that he’s on top of things.”
“He’s on top of us, pulling our strings,” Sunset replied. “I don’t trust him.”
“Do you trust anyone?”
“Yes, I trust lots of people, as it happens,” Sunset snapped. “Professor Ozpin just isn’t one of them.”
“Huh,” Rainbow muttered as she looked at her scroll.
“What?” Sunset asked. “And how is your scroll still working in here?”
Rainbow looked up. “Huh? Oh, Twi did some modifications to it; I can get reception even in places like this.”
“Lucky you.”
“Yep.”
“So,” Sunset said, “what’s so interesting?”
“Apparently,” Rainbow said, “Blake was an Atlesian mole in the White Fang all along.”
Sunset couldn’t help but chuckle. “She’s going to love that.”
“Yeah, I don’t plan on letting her live this down for a while,” Rainbow replied. “Or perhaps I should.”
“Why?”
“Because I am going to win that girl over to the side of Atlas,” Rainbow declared.
“Again, why?”
“Because I think she needs a cause to fight for,” Rainbow said. “In fact, scratch that, I know she needs one. I can see it in her eyes. That’s the difference between the two of you, the reason you don’t actually like each other, even though you can trust one another: you can get by just living for yourself, but Blake needs to fight for something bigger. She’s like me that way. I was just… I was just drifting through my life until I met Twilight, but once I got my eyes opened to what I could do for Atlas, once I had something to strive toward…” She grinned. “Well, you know, I became this totally awesome person you see before you now.”
“Humble, too.”
“And I think Blake is the same way,” Rainbow continued. “She needs something to fight for, and I think that thing can be Atlas. It doesn’t have to be, but I hope at least I can show her that we really are the good guys, protecting the world and shielding it from harm.”
“To be honest? I think you’ve got your work cut out if that is what you’re aiming for,” Sunset said.
The smile returned to Rainbow’s face. “You know how much I like a challenge, Sunset.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “You’re going to go with me to speak to Team Bluebell, right?”
“Sure.”
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened to let them step out of the elevator and into the tower lobby, where Pyrrha was waiting for them.
“Pyrrha?”
“Hello again,” Pyrrha said, a soft smile playing upon her lips. “How did it go up there?”
“Pretty well,” Sunset replied. “Blake can come back; we just need to speak to her teammates about it first.”
“I’m glad,” Pyrrha murmured. “Blake… deserves a second chance.” She hesitated. “It was her you were out with last night, wasn’t it?”
Sunset raised one eyebrow. “How did you guess?”
“The fact that you’re helping her now… no offence, but there aren’t that many people outside of the team you’d do this for.”
I don’t know whether to feel praised or insulted. Neither, I suppose, since it’s the truth. “Honestly… I don’t really know why I’m helping her now or why I helped her last night. But since Rainbow did all the hard work, there’s only a little left to do before Blake returns.”
“As I said, I’m glad Blake isn’t suffering unduly.”
They passed through the lobby – charting a slightly winding course between the students and the visitors – out into the open plaza beyond the tower. Sunset shielded her eyes briefly against the sudden return of the light compared to the darkness within the elevator and the dim, blue artificial light within the lobby as she stepped out into the courtyard.
“Sunset!” Sun cried as he ran across the open square, marked with the double-axes of Beacon, towards them. His blue-haired friend Neptune trailed after him. Sun came to a halt in front of her. “Is Blake okay?” he asked. “Where is she? Do the cops still have her?”
“No,” Rainbow said. “She’s on the Valiant until we sort out what’s going to happen to her now.”
“The Valiant?” Sun repeated. “Is that like an Atlas ship or something?”
“Yes, it’s an Atlas ship,” Rainbow replied patiently. “It’s the flagship, safest place in Vale right now.”
“Why is Blake on an Atlas warship?”
“Maybe they’re holding her there so she can’t hurt anyone else?” Neptune suggested.
“Dude, for the last time, Blake’s not a terrorist!” Sun snapped at him.
“But she was,” Neptune insisted.
“Just because you’re lucky enough to have never done anything that you regret doesn’t mean that we’re all so fortunate!” Sunset snarled, making Neptune recoil a step away from her. “Blake’s done things that she regrets. She isn’t the only one. But she’s trying to do better; that’s about all we can do, since we can’t change the things that we did. She’s made mistakes… but just because you’ve been lucky enough to never be in that position doesn’t mean that you can judge.”
Listen to me, I sound like… I don’t even know what I sound like, but… if Princess Celestia could hear me now, what would she think? Ponies believed in forgiveness; they even took it to a fault. Whatever you’d done, no matter how terrible, all your sins would be forgiven so long as you were penitent and appropriately sorrowful. Repentance would wipe away all crimes, and redemption obviate the need for punishment. I always thought that I was different from other ponies, but listen to me now, preaching Equestrian values.
She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. When she opened them again, she saw that Neptune looked mildly ashamed of himself.
Sunset looked at Sun. “Atlas got Blake out of jail. She’s free… but she’s going to have to do some work for Atlas on the side for a while against the White Fang.”
“Pffft, so all she has to do is get back at that Adam guy?” Sun asked. “That’s nothing, Blake was gonna do that anyway.”
Sunset snorted. “I wouldn’t necessarily put it like that to her when you see her again… but you’re not wrong.”
“So when’s she coming back to Beacon?” Sun asked.
“Soon,” Rainbow said. “We just need to talk to her teammates first and make sure they won’t make a fuss.”
“Why would they?” Sun demanded. “Why would anyone object to having Blake back?”
“Yeah, no,” Bon Bon said flatly. “I’m afraid that’s not happening.”
“You barely let us finish!” Rainbow cried.
“I’m sorry-” Bon Bon began.
“Yeah, you really sound sorry, too,” Sunset muttered.
Bon Bon continued as though Sunset hadn’t spoken, “-but we just can’t take her back as though today didn’t happen.”
Rainbow sat down on the vacant bed; Blake’s bed. “Listen, Bon Bon, Lyra, you know me, right?”
“Of course we know you,” Lyra said. “You’re Rainbow Dash, the Ace of Canterlot.”
“Right, and you trust me, don’t you?” Rainbow went on.
“We trust you,” Lyra replied.
“So trust me when I vouch for Blake,” Rainbow said. “She’s kind of clueless, but she’s going to do a lot of good for Vale, maybe for Remnant.”
“Just because we trust you doesn’t mean that we can trust Blake based on your word,” Bon Bon replied. “Blake lied to us.”
“Technically,” Sunset pointed out, “it’s more that she kept secrets.”
“Whatever,” Bon Bon said. “She lied, she didn’t tell us the truth, it all comes to the same thing in the end. We’re supposed to be a team. We’re supposed to be like family, but she didn’t trust us with the truth about her.”
“It’s more than that,” Lyra said. “Blake has never behaved as though she were a part of this team, so why should we show her any loyalty now?”
“Because she needs it.”
“Where was she when we needed her?” Lyra replied. “Where was she when I was struggling with my homework?”
“Oh, boo hoo!” Sunset snapped. “That’s your response? Blake didn’t do your homework for you, so you’re going to cut her loose now? How about I ask where you were when Blake was studying with us in the library?”
“Isn’t that the point?” Sky demanded. “Blake was with you-”
“While you were at the movies!” Sunset cried. “Did you invite Blake?”
A guilty silence settled over the three present members of Team BLBL.
“Dove was the one who invited us,” Lyra murmured.
“Oh, so you’re blaming the guy who isn’t here, very brave of you,” Sunset said derisively.
“That’s not the point,” Bon Bon said sharply.
“The point is that you three are a bunch of hypocrites-”
“The point,” Bon Bon insisted, “is that Blake trusted you before she trusted any of us.”
“She was trying to protect you,” Sunset said.
“That wasn’t her decision to make. Maybe we’re not the best students or the best fighters, but we’re Blake’s team, and she should have had faith in us. But she didn’t.”
“She lied to us,” Lyra said. “We just can’t forgive that.”
“Sometimes, people lie for good reason,” Rainbow said.
“Would you forgive Pinkie if she lied to you?” Lyra replied.
“Pinkie forgave me when I lied to her for years about liking her pies,” Rainbow reminded her.
Lyra blinked. “Oh, yeah, that was a thing, wasn’t it?”
“Maybe we’re just not such good friends as you and this Pinkie,” Sky muttered.
“Something we can agree on,” Sunset growled.
“Blake can’t come back,” Bon Bon said. “Or rather, she can’t come back to this team. We’re not bullies, we don’t have a problem with her being at Beacon, but we don’t want her back on this team.”
“How are you three going to manage without a fourth person on your team?” Rainbow asked.
“We’ll figure something out for now,” Bon Bon said. “Having a fourth teammate we couldn’t trust would be a lot harder.”
The sun was beginning to set beneath the far away horizon by the time that Blake disembarked from the Atlesian airship and began to walk back towards Beacon, escorted by Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash.
The tower loomed above her; the whole school seemed less like a welcoming place and more like a fortress that she had to assault for… for the reason that it was the only place that she had left to go.
Her steps dragged a little; she felt as though weights were burdening down her feet and making her slow and heavy in her progress here… towards whatever was waiting.
Rainbow Dash must have sensed that, because she said, “It’s going to be okay. Nobody’s going to give you any trouble.”
“I doubt that’s entirely true,” Blake murmured.
“Nobody important,” Sunset said. “No one who matters.”
“And if anyone not important does make trouble, we’ve got your back,” Rainbow assured her.
“Because we faunus have to stick together?” Blake guessed.
“I hope not, or we’ve been doing an awful job,” Sunset muttered.
“Nah, it’s nothing like that,” Rainbow said.
Blake looked at her. “Then what is it? Was this really all about getting my help against the White Fang?”
Rainbow shook her head. “Once upon a time,” she said, “there was a punk called Rainbow Dash who didn’t have any prospects, who didn’t have a future, who was never going to amount to anything. And then, one day, another girl, an Atlas princess with all the gifts in the world, held out her hand to me and changed my life so completely that… that anything is possible for me now. I wasn’t born as General Ironwood’s protégé; I wasn’t born with opportunities that most faunus don’t have. I got this way because someone held out their hand to me… and now, I’m holding out a hand to you. Paying it forward, you know?”
“I see,” Blake said softly. She hesitated. “So… my team doesn’t want me back.” They had broken the news to her already, but it was something that she found she kept coming back to, like a dog worrying at an old bone.
Rainbow cringed. “That’s… that’s rough, yeah. But, all the same… no offence, but that’s kind of your fault, a little.”
Blake glanced at her. “Thanks,” she said flatly.
“Look, I said no offence, okay?” Rainbow said. She fell silent for a moment. “You remember the first leadership class that I joined you two for? You remember what I said when Professor Goodwitch asked me what made a good leader? It was General Ironwood who told me that the first step to being a good team leader is to know your team better than their mothers do and love them as much. Everything else, the strategy, tactics, you can learn all that stuff. But if you don’t start by learning to know and love your team, then you’ll never get anywhere.”
“And you do that?” Blake asked.
“I try,” Rainbow said. “I don’t know if I succeed, but… did you try?”
Blake didn’t say anything, the answer was so plain to see that it didn’t need to be vocalised by her or Rainbow Dash or anybody else. She hadn’t ever truly embraced her team; had she ever even tried? She’d envied the bonds that Sunset shared with her teammates, but she hadn’t tried to act on that sense of longing by replicating those bonds with her own teammates. She had shut them out, and as a consequence, they no longer trusted her.
She didn’t blame them for not wanting her back.
She didn’t deserve to be welcomed back. Not to her team, not – she thought as she passed into the spacious courtyard – into Beacon at all.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Sunset, the bad influence upon her other shoulder. “I don’t know what Professor Ozpin has in mind for you, but until he makes his mind up, you’re welcome to crash with us.”
“With you?” Blake said. She glanced at Rainbow Dash. “Shouldn’t I be staying with you, or at least with the Atlesians?”
“You would look good in an Atlesian uniform,” Rainbow admitted, “but you’re not technically an Atlas student or an Atlas soldier. You’re like… imagine if you were a graduated huntress, and the local Atlas garrison needed your help on account of you had special skills. So they hired you. You’d be working with Atlas, but you wouldn’t be an Atlas soldier. That’s you, only we aren’t paying you – not in anything but freedom, anyway. So keep your Beacon uniform, crash with the Sapphires, and when you do find a billet, it will probably be with another Beacon team. You’ll just be helping us out when we need it. Beacon’s still your home.”
I’m not so sure about that, Blake thought.
“Hey, Blake!” Sun called out to her as he approached. He wasn’t alone either; the three other members of Team SAPR were with him. Nevertheless, it was Sun who was jogging towards her and Sun who reached her first. “You’re back.”
“Yes,” Blake said. “I am back.”
“So,” Jaune said, as he became the next to arrive, “all your problems are taken care of?”
“I wouldn’t say all my problems,” Blake replied. She glanced at Rainbow Dash. “Some problems are just beginning. But what you meant… yes, I don’t have anything to fear from the law in Vale any more.”
“That’s good to hear,” Jaune said. “Welcome home.”
“'Home'?” Blake repeated, wondering why everyone had suddenly started saying that.
“Yeah,” Ruby said. “Whoever we are, wherever we came from, Beacon is our home now for the next four years, and you belong here as much as anyone.”
“Welcome home, Blake,” Pyrrha said.
Sun put his arms around her, drawing her in and squeezing her tight. “Welcome home, Blake.”
“I…” Blake began, then trailed off. “I’m home.”
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I knew that BonBon and Sky wouldn't forgive Blake so easily. And I find it interesting to watch how the Equestrian values, preached by Ruby and Sunset, to simply forgive Blake, because she wants to be a better person now, are clashing with human nature. Meaning that every committed crime in life should be punished accordingly by consequences and not merely put aside.
On another note, it was amusing that Sunset called Ozpin out on his scheme. Guess she had more than enough 'character tests', when she was still under Celestia's tutelage.
Yeah, I figured that was about how those interactions would go. Bon Bon's went a little more south than I thought, but for the most part I feel I predicted accurately.
9350768
Dude, if Ozpin and Celestia were to get into a shadow war, it would end in a tie. They are that similar.
Poor Blake.
Can I hug the kitty, too?
you're powers aren't nearly as cool as mine but
Why is Blake on at Atlas warship
and the rolls we choose to play as we move forward
1. Your.
2. An.
3. Roles.
What do they normally do if someone has to drop out and they're left with an odd number of people to assign to teams? There must be a process in place.
Now the question is what's going to happen with Blake. We can surely fit a B somewhere in SAPR, right?
Remnant is a little more complicated than Equestria. Real life can be messy. We all have limitations. We all make mistakes, which actually means we all have a lot in common. But the lessons from Equestria are not any less true, and that is why they are universal. The more we try to understand and forgive one another, the more exceptional each of us will be. But we have to try. Such changes, whether to make the world a better place or simply to make yourself a better person, all start with you. With all of us. And that is what Equestria teaches us
As Professor Hooves once said in a previous 'incarnation', "Hatred is always foolish, and love is always wise. Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind."
Cinder and her team tried to rat out Blake, believing that everyone would turn on her without hesitation or effort, that she would be made an irredeemable pariah that everyone would avoid like the plague, and that she would be a problem for them no longer. But instead, they inadvertently handed Adam's former right hand to the White Fang's mightiest enemy and made her an even greater problem. And instead of becoming an outcast, her exposure has instead drawn support from the strongest and most influential students at Beacon. It has opened the doors for Blake to one day have more real friends than she ever did. Friends came and got her, and made her feel like she was home. Because your past is not today!
I'll bet Cinder and her team are tearing their hair out wondering how it actually turned out this way because this isn't how the world is supposed to work!' Well, to that I say never underestimate what the power of Friendship can accomplish.
Incredible, isn't it? This is why Friendship is seen as true Magic.
Awkward wording there.
Weiss is my favorite character in RWBY, in part because she struggles to be better than the environment she was raised in, and in part because she has good reasons for her prejudices but still sees that they are wrong and strives to overcome them. It's not seamless or easy, but she makes the effort. You've conveyed that so well in this story, and I must commend you for making my favorite character still feel like herself in a different rendition of the story.
9351230
that or they'll up the paranoia and suspicion, having everyone focus on the ex-terrorist could be useful.
Dove to blue bell and Blake to yangs team there problem solved and everyone is happy AND HOME *cries in spanish*
9351582
They've already played a very unsubtle hand. Any further attempts at this point would risk their exposure and would bear no worthwhile fruit anyway. Turning rumors and gossip against the combined influence of Pyrrha Nikkos, Weiss Schnee, Ruby and Yang? Trying to find anyone willing to speak foul things against those illustrous names isn't at all likey to happen.
Besides, what would so little accomplish? Atlas has already made their decision and Blake's protection and status are now stamped and on paper. It's already done. The gossip of school children cannot remove her from operations against the White Fang. Too many obstacles for too little reward. They tried, and it backfired. Only thing they can do now is grit their teeth and move on with the plan.
9351652
True completely true I was saying use the gossip as distraction, but your right everyone would want to know were the gossips coming from.
Rainbow Dash always knew she was awesome... except when she was younger and wasn't and needed the confidence her parents cheering gave her. Lol. Not admitting that is typical Rainbow Dash though.
says the Chessmaster.
also glad to see Cinder fucking up, and seeing Blake being greeted by her friends.
Looks at her from over my glass lenses Weiss.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I love this with some restraint because relationships need to be rebuilt and there's not enough time until the Vytal Festival...
Videogame Loading Screens in my SAPR? I'll take four.
I love the entire exchange around this, especially with RD seeing through Sunset so thoroughly that Sunset inadvertently speaks her mind, and is forced to explain herself. If Rainbow hadn't already started to warm to Sunset, I think she really began to trust her here. There's an (albeit) inadvertent openness between them now, and some good honest discussion. Rainbow, of course, has simply dealt with this all her life, and has perhaps worked out a way to avoid that. Was Rainbow ever tossed in the jails after a White Fang incident? I'd be curious to know. There is some more backstory to her that I think is still coming up, so I'm going to have to pay better attention when we get there (and I'm quite certain I haven't missed it... probably).
While I don't think I've missed this literally, I feel like it hilariously captures Sunset's read of Rainbow's situation.
No, those are minions. Sunset has those
When you've been through so many tests of character you call them out. I feel like, that were it not presented as such a test, Sunset would not have been so slow to accept it. I can't say I'm surprised, given her history, and her desire for her own control in her life.
Such a weird dynamic. I feel like Rainbow's got a handle of Sunset's loyalty now, even if her past history might still offer her some hesitation (which, of course, could totally play into later feelings). At the same time, Sunset is not coming to grips with it well, to RD's (and my own) amusement.
Ruby is terrible with secrets. At least when confronted by her big sister. I mean, I say that as though its obvious, but it took me this long to connect the dots. I'd always thought she knew something she wasn't supposed to, but rather it's her sudden admission that Sunset finds surprising. I think, at least.
Previously, I'd always thought she'd somehow figured it out and was angry at someone trying to rat on Blake, but this makes a lot more sense. Not sure how I didn't pick up on it before. Just another good detail to justify another reread.
It is almost a shame we don't get to see Sunset weigh in on this, even if just narrating. Then again, I'm not sure that we can know what she'd think, or perhaps more specifically, how Equestria does jail time and if her thoughts differ. It reminds me of... Pericynthion here on fimfiction, I think it is, where the idea of jail time is floated to Celestia for the human character's (off-world) misdeeds, to which Celestia asks him why he thinks they would have jails at all. Even in her clarification to twilight, she makes the distinction that seems to draw a line between rehabilitation as compared to punishment (or containment, but there is Tartarus for that afaik).
That all said, I'm sure if Sunset had any truly major issue with jail time as a concept for punishment, it would probably have come up with all the justice talk over the last few chapters.
Ruby weighing in makes the argument of ideals that Sunset never could, or perhaps, one that Sunny could never pull off as effectively. Part of Ruby's charm. I don't even think Sunset calculated it, but it was a very good narrative handle to have her there, as well as her own reflections, on her own past, and their shared attendance at Beacon. Also interesting that Sunset asks herself what choice does she have in this, yet gives no consideration to the idea of not choosing Blake once again. There was definitely a heart-grow moment somewhere.
I'll be interested to see if we get more of Lyra and Bon Bon. After part one. I'd hardly be heartbroken if we don't (so many other characters have captured my attention, mainly 'minor' RWBY characters), but as someone who kind of shares this understanding, I do like Lyra. It is odd that she doesn't want Blake back though, Bon Bon definitely has the right rationale for not being keen on Blake returning to the team.
If anything, Blake was the big sister figure, it makes some sense that she never had one. It's really interesting watching them get a read on one another, with Dash who is even less invested in her status as a faunus than Sunset, and Blake who really can't be more invested. I will have to keep an eye on their future exchanges a bit more, because I really want to see some more exploration of this.
So, one, I love the sudden expectation shift Blake goes through with this line. Two, and entirely unrelated, I want some Yang and Rainbow Dash taunt exchanges. Those could be great. Enjoyable chapter all around, good character, good flow, good bacon in Sunset's hair, oh wait, that's just her natural curls.
If there's one thing I didn't learn from this chapter it's that Winona x Zwei is OTP. Give it to us, give it to us now!
Huntsmen are also meant to be exemplars of justice. And as a great man once said, "There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute!"
What greater paragon of virtue and character is there than one who has faced their past sins and inner darkness... and turned away from it? When it takes great patience, motivation, and effort to make themselves a better person? To devote themselves to a path where they always risk their lives for others?
A lesson that Sunset and Blake have slowly begun to take to heart at last.
Slight remark without any ill thinking but didn't Pyrrha already guess that in the "Sunset and Blake" rewrite?
Sans your friends and Ironwood.
Isn't that the reason why Blake left the White Fang? Because she knew the difference?
You're a foolish Hothead, Cardin but it's sweet to see you care.
That what she thinks.
Well, why don't you tell the truth about who you really are? I thought so.
I haven’t mentioned it yet, but I need to say, the added politics between Ozpin and the councilors, that how unlike the original version where he walked in and didn’t recognize who was on the council, that he is actually present in it, and that how through Cardin and Nova we have more of a peer into the politics… fantastic addition. One that I loved the moment it happened, but didn’t mention till now.