Worth of a friend

From the perspective of the ordinary man, the relationship between Glenn and Menagerie could not be described as anything other than an alliance. With a deployed military contingent, an economic partnership, numerous cultural, scientific, and technical exchange programs, what else could it be?

Glenn and Menagerie existed in an alliance so close that it was easier to consider them a single state entity in two forms than two separate Kingdoms.

Menagerie's youths went to Glenn's technical institutes, and Glenn workers regularly spent their holidays in Menagerie, and Menagerie was booming with a service industry that didn't rely on the natural supply of anything. While Glenn was happy to take advantage of the near bottomless supply of frustrated Faunus willing to work for somewhat less, restoring Glenn's sagging workforce to the economy. It had even led to other Kingdoms lessening their 'unofficial' policies against Faunus just to have a chance to compete!

Needless to say, even Glenn's army had not long ago allowed the recruitment of Menagerie citizens into its ranks. With the condition that they be repatriated to Glenn and change their citizenship, of course, but the very fact that such a thing was possible already spoke of the deep alliance ties between the two states.

And relocation and change of citizenship? What difference did it make to the average Menagerie denizens? After all, it did not mean anything when the journey from one state to another took less than an hour, the average salary in Glenn exceeded the one in Menagerie, and social conditions were better there. Did the change from one document to the other mean anything at all to the common man of Menagerie?

Moreover, the influx of labor force from Menagerie, superimposed on the emergence of a large pool of possible labor force from Mantle and Atlas, led to Glenn first launching the next step of their becoming a 'real' Kingdom. At least in the view of the international community.

The establishment of a satellite settlement.

This was Glenn's first, tentative step, not so much for any unambiguous economic purpose, but as their first action as a state. It was nothing spectacular, in fact when considering Glenn's, perhaps earned, reputation for ground-breaking achievements, it was positively mundane. It would be a farming settlement, with logging and manufacturing as a far second priority.

But, should this endeavor prove that it could at least break even, it would herald an era of fairly expansive growth and colonization of Glenn's territory.

And all this was happening with the help of Menagerie, so how could one call their relationship with each other in such a case anything other than as close allies?

But this was, as one would expect, only the picture that the two state wanted to show their citizens, with one state more insistent in that view,

While not exactly an empty facade, that most of the common people and even the lesser officials were convinced of the veracity of such statements, after all, there were some facts underneath these beliefs to confirm their veracity. But the higher up in the power chain the residents of the two states climbed, the more evident of the underlying tensions between the two states became.

It was natural really, part and parcel of diplomacy, after all, there's no such thing as infinite resources.

Any action aimed at obtaining a maximum share of any limited resources was in one way or another a competition. A Hunter who missed his prey might be glad of his fellow Hunter's success, after all, they are defenders of Humanity first. But, that joy would not make the other Hunter's earnings appear before his eyes unless the more fortunate fellow shared it out of his own altruism.

And states have incredibly rarely acted solely out of altruism.

Those higher up in the chain of command, ministers, deputies, big business owners, were privy to the nature of the relationship as a relationship of 'healthy competition'. Sometimes good, neighborly and even 'fair', sometimes brutal and criminal, no more so than any other competition. If there were two large consortia of dust mining and selling, one from Glenn and the other from Menagerie, each of which had the opportunity to capture, without any hindrance through economic alliance, the capacity of the other? Why would they not try to do so?

And this is where another truth of life came into play… Glenn was not just luring the population of Menagerie to their side for entirely altruistic reasons.

The most respected person, and coincidentally the top of this chain of command, in Menagerie, was certainly Ghira Belladonna. A wise leader and an excellent politician, administrator and economist, at least, as most of the population believe, under whose keen and wise leadership Menagerie blossomed from a desolate wasteland into a flourishing and thriving economic garden. However, the second link, right after Ghira, would not be his father, Ka, or his wife, his deputies, or the pop divas of Menagerie's recent meteoric rise in the pop scene.

It was Jonathan Goodman, the King of Glenn.

The one, with whose allied 'help', Menagerie was able to overcome milestones that had previously seemed insurmountable.

In other words, if a major conflict arose between Menagerie and Glenn tomorrow, even if most of Menagerie would follow Ghira's lead, the number of those who would follow Jonathan would simply be unacceptable from any government's point of view. You cannot quell a protest if a third of the country protests.

That would be called a revolution, and you can't quench one without spilling a lot of blood. Atlas has learned that the hard way.

Even if it could be quenched by some miracle, losing even a few percent of the state's population would mean at best a prolonged depression and a massive collapse of the economy as a result. At worst, the state could simply collapse into itself.

In other words, a rift between Ghira and Jonathan was impossible, it must be, for economic and political reasons at least. But, a relationship where you point Mutually Assured Destruction at each other, could by no means be called an alliance. Unless forced.

However, having climbed to the highest possible position of Glenn, the position of King, Jonathan Goodman knew the most secret of all truths about Glenn and Menagerie's relationship. Glenn and Menagerie's relationship was neither an alliance nor a competition.

It was the relationship between a maniac and his hostage.

At least that was the easiest analogy to imagine in the current circumstances.

A maniac possessing outstanding, almost ultimate power, that is Glenn. Sure, they're holding out the 'carrot' right now, in the form of technology, magic, medicines, economic partnerships and production capacity. They're also holding the 'stick' in the form of the ubiquitous RATS, and nestled a few steps away from the residence of Ghira's army, were a complement of Glenn's. Coincidentally, the economic 'cooperation', were backed by the economic power of Glenn, which, if adding Mantle's own, one that is already recovering, Glenn could if not destroy, then cause serious unrest in Menagerie's economy.

Of course, the 'victim' was not completely defenceless, but there was a reason why Menagerie was a 'victim taken hostage' rather than a full participant in the conversation.

Menagerie had only a few cards in hand that they could play… But that didn't mean that Ghira couldn't do anything at all, though.

And he tried.

No matter how many times Jonathan threw a beautiful 'collar' Menagerie's way, Ghira, with Ozpin's help, could always navigate the mire. They would find some loophole or other that brought Menagerie just a little but still closer to the point where they could, if not dictate their terms, then at least expect to have their voice heard in the negotiations. At least more than just out of politeness.

Which means Menagerie must be dealt with definitively.

Distracted from the reports, endless bales of paper slowly trying to squeeze through the desk in Jonathan's office, he rubbed his eyes before reaching for the steeping mug of tea, taking a sip. Glenn's actions in Mantle had provided the Kingdom with a powerful base, dramatically propelling Glenn into the position of a new potential world leader.

A potential that the Kingdom's current bureaucratic machine was realizing with all its might every day, as the mountains of paperwork in front of Jonathan proves.

But at the same time, clawing their way to the top, they also shed Glenn's mask. If before, Jonathan could somehow shield himself with words like 'alliance' and 'mutual assistance', Jonathan's actions now showed, at least to Ghira, that Glenn had grown from its humble beginnings. Gone were the days when it was just a settlement under Vale control, it carried the fierce ambition of being a contender for the throne of Remnant, making one remember for the first time in a long time that…

Jonathan's official title sounded like King of Vale.

Gone were the days when Glenn was just that one small country, with an eccentric culture – it even has a King! Not like the advanced Kingdoms with their council and Democracy!

That is, until that small Kingdom, so fledgling and funny to look at, beheaded Atlas, the previous King of Remnant. Suddenly, Glenn wasn't that small and cuddly anymore.

In politics, especially when that went from local to international, you couldn't leave your hands completely clean. Jonathan couldn't even pretend to himself that he hadn't just sacrificed countless for his ambition, the dead in Atlas and Mantle would quickly prove him a liar. Nor did Ghira keep his gloves white, you can't save millions without sacrificing at least a couple.

And now Ghira was trying to free himself from Glenn's grip with all his might.

In consequence of such blatant action, Ghira had suddenly realized that Jonathan… was not the kind of man who would hesitate even before the most radical decision.

Not that Ghira represented a difficulty for us…

What difficulty could he have posed, after all? More to the point, what difficulty could anyone present to the ubiquitous RATS now?

Finishing off Ghira was not difficult. One order, and an assassin would be headed Ghira's way with a bullet with his name on it, removing the next obstacle in Jonathan's path. With Ghira gone, Menagerie would come under Glenn's new and now absolute control, as Mantle had already done in the past, and Ghira's loyalists…

Will be consigned to the inevitable – you can't save millions without sacrificing a few, can you?

No, of course, it's much easier said than done… Too bad that Jacques is already out of the picture, he would make such an easy patsy, no Ghira Belladonna could not be felled with such an obvious ploy.

Even if Jonathan's popularity was unquestionable in Glenn, and high in Menagerie and Mantle, such an action would be a foolish move and would bring Jonathan nothing but incredible havoc. Even Jonathan's confident followers would ponder their position again after such a rash move, and given the power of the RATS previously outlined by Jonathan himself? They would put two and two together in an instant.

It wasn't just dangerous, it was so dangerous and stupid that it was easier to forget the idea as a bad dream altogether.

But why fret, when our arsenal was far greater than that of any mere bandit or soldier?

Ironwood's death and Robyn's wounding, which later forced her to retire – actions done by Jonathan, with Kaiser as his patsy, were possible because there were extremely unambiguous and simple, understandable scapegoats that Jonathan could use to cover up Glenn's trail. This was not the case with Menagerie.

Unlike Atlas and Mantle, who had pretty much landed in Jonathan's lap, their Civil War needing only a spark to start, Menagerie was now enjoying a once unthinkable position.

That of an equal participant in Remnant's international community.

Not as an enemy, their White Fang days are long behind them, not as a pariah or as a beggar, but a full-fledged player, albeit only by standing behind Glenn. But behind Glenn, Menagerie was standing on its own two feet.

Jonathan simply did not have an enemy to pin Ghira's death on, Menagerie was at peace. There was no external or internal threat, and whether by bullet, poison, or some other, more creative means of murder, there was no one whose hands Jonathan could plant the murder weapon on.

What about an accident, Jonathan? Not the best of excuses, those happen naturally from time to time. Illness, a car crash, a fall down the stairs, a stroke, or a heart attack, a death by natural causes. Everything down to the accidental unlucky step that caused Ghira to roll down the stairs and wring his neck at the last moment, a tragic and ridiculous accident… Yes, many will suspect, but will it matter what others suspect, if at that point Glenn's position is fixed definitively? Three hapless Kingdoms, Glenn, Menagerie and Mantle, spawning one giant, and the whole world won't be able to resist that power.

Of course, it was a plan, not the best, far from it, but it was a plan. It would probably be best to deal with Ghira in such a way that no one could even think of suspecting Glenn's hand. If it were possible to infect him with an incurable disease, or to prepare an 'enemy' for Ghira…

But the time for such long planning had already passed.

The previous years, Jonathan had been too busy working integrating Mantle, the economic initiatives linking Menagerie to Glenn, and fighting Vale, diplomatically that is – he was simply too busy. Trying to play long term, creating plans and manipulating the enemy now…

It was not impossible, but it was dangerous.

Every day that Ghira was free and subject only to his own ambitions, and Ozpin's desires, was a day when Menagerie was leaving its position under Glenn's wing, more and more. Procrastination now, trying to do 'better' could easily lead to doing nothing at all.

Determination was what was required of Jonathan…

To get rid of Ghira Belladonna.

Jonathan rose from his desk, stretching before making his way to the large panoramic window in his office, looking out onto the streets of Glenn. He could see passers-by rushing about their business and the cars passing at his feet…

Is something wrong, Jonathan?

Jonathan only silently continued to observe Glenn's quite idyllic life outside the window.

How… Did it happen?

At what exact moment did life change in this way, he remembered the days when he would also be down there, in the streets of Glenn, working as a courier, his only worries being how Cinder's schooling had gone…

Remember, Jonathan. Even masters of the Order don't get involved in the politics of the Umbral worlds.

Jonathan wanted to snort, grinning at such a thought, but he kept the bubbling humor just at the edge of a chuckle, as he looked at the world literally beneath his feet.

After all… He wasn't a bad man, was he? He didn't enjoy killing and the sight of blood being spilled in his name, nor did he demand sacrifices or create mindless cults in his honor. As always, his first duty as the first citizen, as a King, as Princeps, was to maintain the quality of life of his state, of the people whose welfare he was responsible for.

He saved them from the manipulations of Ozpin and Salem, developed technology and grew the economy. Defended them from enemies inside and outside, promoted the rule of law. Every action he took, in the open or not, was solely for the lofty purpose of protecting his people, developing the state, saving the whole world if you look at it in an even broader sense.

No matter how you assess his actions, Jonathan was not a bad man…

But was he a good man?

Ghira Belladonna, the man he was just contemplating the death of – could Jonathan call him a friend? Perhaps… No.

A close acquaintance, an interesting conversationalist, a colleague, a father like him…

Does the knowledge that he is not your friend make your betrayal easier, Jonathan Goodman?

Jonathan had no easy answer to these condemning words. The mere fact of answering would have done the most important thing, it would have confirmed that he considered such an action a betrayal.

How did we get to this point? At what point did 'all for the future' cease to be a possible justification? When exactly did sacrifice cease to be 'necessary'. At what point did one go from a tough but determined leader fighting for the good, the light, and everything beautiful in this world to becoming a tyrant, a traitor, a problem in and of itself?

Do you want to know, Jonathan? It's not that hard to check…

Ghira Belladonna had been an acquaintance of Jonathan's for… Twelve years? That's right. Would you call them, then, close friends? Of course not. In high politics, your 'colleagues' from other states could not be your friends by definition, simply because that was simply the reality of it.

There are no friends in politics. Your 'friend' today, could easily become your enemy tomorrow. There are no friends, only common goals. And Ghira Belladonna would soon become a detriment to that 'goal'.

But other than that, perhaps Jonathan and Ghira were the closest thing to what you could call 'friends' in their current situations. Jonathan attended Ghira's birthday parties and Ghira reciprocated, the children of the two rulers had a good rapport with each other and both even stayed at each other's houses on holidays, however rare that might have been in their position. In other words, they were exactly what a different audience would call 'friends'.

Perhaps if they had not been so deeply entangled in the chains of their position, if they had not been so much involved in political squabbles, they would have been friends – good ones even. It is even possible that if their situation were slightly different, they would not need to do anything more to be friends, perhaps they would be comrades-in-arms.

After all, Jonathan could easily see himself supporting the Faunus Rights movement, so easily in fact…

But we are not friends, which means that sacrificing Ghira cannot be considered a betrayal of a friend.

Jonathan shifted his gaze from the stack of documents to the small clock mounted on his desk, soon counting down the eighth hour, and grinned crookedly as he looked into the small painted mirror mounted next to his desk.

Hello there, stranger. I've been expecting you.

The mirror reflected his body, his crooked grin and his gaze… Except in a slightly different way, maybe his eyes flitted a little differently, maybe his facial expression, maybe his posture or something else, a quirk of the light but….

But it certainly wasn't Jonathan Goodman.

At one point… How many years ago was it? Five, six?

At some point, Jonathan stopped being afraid of what he would one day see in the mirror. He…

Accepted it.

Yes, the correct word was that Jonathan Goodman had accepted it. Yes, he was still Jonathan Goodman, the same guy who had once, so long ago that it now seemed to him a past life event, gone from… Why is it so hard to remember, he was from…

London.

Right, London. From London, to the Order of Hermes, to confirm his successful training and receive his well-deserved official rank with the Old Man…

And now here he is, in a different world, in a different environment, with different people and in a different position.

A powerful king, a powerful politician, a miracle worker and dozens, hundreds of other names…

Man adapts to everything, doesn't he?

The first time he woke up in this world, of course, he wanted to immediately return. Why shouldn't he? There, on the now faraway, though with the Umbra that might not be so true. Not that he had found any way to return, so even if it was literally a step away, it might as well be in another universe… On that far away Earth, he had everything. Friends, memories, studies, the Order, the future, everything, right down to the very last book he had left with a bookmark on the last pages, intending to finish it after he returned from his journey to Umbra…

What was that book about?

How would I remember it now?

Jonathan stopped to think about his past world, his old acquaintances and his goals…

When was the last time I thought of Earth? Five years ago?

But this was not some overnight decision. Jonathan did not decide one day to stay in this world forever. No, it was gradual, first he was distracted by Cinder, then he had Neo, then he was exalted as the King Glenn, fully and completely at some point… He no longer thought of Earth as his home.

That's what happened. At some point, there was nothing else, no plans, no decisions, no thinking on the subject of returning. How could he contemplate such a frivolous subject when Salem loomed as a threat on the horizon? When Ozpin was breathing down his neck, when stacks and stacks of documents rested on his desk. Each one is urgent. Each one could change lives – thousands, hundreds of thousands of lives, and there are thousands of such files.

Possible new wars and alliances, economic initiatives and secret reports whose mere mention could make one 'disappear' in broad daylight…

Have we grown up? Have we grown old? Are we stuck? Who's to say, Jonathan, who's to say?

There was no more Jonathan Goodman. Or rather, Jonathan Goodman was certainly already in this world, a thirty-year-old man, by no means could he be called young. Though he certainly could not yet be called old, but he was already older than children imagine 'adults' to be, and younger than people thought of 'older' people.

But the Jonathan Goodman that had just been in this world a decade and some change ago, was certainly no more. And it was not some sad fact or horrifying conclusion to which Jonathan would pathetically raise his hands to the sky in anger, asking into the void the question, 'what has become of us!' as if on a soap opera.

He had long since outgrown the age when he really questioned every step of his life. He had long ago stopped wondering if he was living his life correctly, how he was supposed to build his personality, where to direct his thoughts, Jonathan had already built his personality, had already quieted his mind, had already…

Stiffened.

Jonathan's life path had been laid out, not in the sense that he was living a routine, definitely not, considering how the world sometimes changed overnight, 'routine' was an unfamiliar word to Jonathan. Rather, his life had gained understanding, a clear order, a pattern of behavior. Jonathan had studied his life and arranged his life…

And arrived at a further progression of his life. That's all.

What does 'betrayal' even mean? Could Jonathan call Ghira's elimination a 'betrayal'? They were not friends, they were politicians. Each held in their minds the plans, the ideas, the goals that guided their nations, and each played against the other at any given time, simply because that was the job of a politician.

To secure the lives of his citizens at any cost.

Ghira was a pacifist, but after all, at least now, having gone through the years with the reformed White Fang, he was no longer an idealist. He understood that sometimes it was necessary to act…

Around the usual boundaries of law or morality.

And there was nothing terrible about that.

There were reasons, perfectly objective and logical reasons, why there were secret services, why some cases laid cold with a simple description that they're 'missing'. Why there were certain criminal organizations tolerated by the governments, and why some coroner seemed to be doing no work at all and yet maintained seniority.

In an ideal world? In an ideal world, there was no need for all this. For in an ideal world of abundance, equality and friendship, where there was no scarcity, wars, money, cheating, stupidity, accidents, in this ideal world there existed an ideal society of ideal people…

Wouldn't it be nice to be in that perfect world, Jonathan?

But the world outside Jonathan's window was not perfect. And even perfectly ordinary and honest people, loving the simple pleasures of life, shedding a tear watching another melodrama, loving their families, could easily become criminals, executioners, and worst of all…

Politicians.

Barring special existences like Salem or Ozpin, Humanity have never found it terribly difficult to become monsters to each other. And it was Jonathan's job to keep the monsters at bay for the people of Glenn, even if he has to act monstrously to do so.

A harmless man is hardly ever a good man.

So, to depose Ghira Belladonna… Not that he needed to kill Ghira in the first place – an accident that would leave him unable to continue his reign…

Like… With his family?

Jonathan continued to stare into the mirror across from him, as his subconscious gave him such a ridiculous idea. The act causes his reflection to only blur into an even more cocky grin, shrugging his shoulders as if to say 'I don't know, you decide, I'm no help to you here'.

A bloodless coup… Would have been possible if we'd had the time, but we had to concentrate on Mantle! And Ozpin, knowing this, took his chance, a peaceful resolution in Menagerie is out of our hands. Are you willing to bet on Menagerie and play against Ozpin, against time, hoping that by some miracle Ghira won't manage to break free from your control before you take control of Menagerie? What's the odds, one in ten? Come on, Jonathan, we were never one for gambling.

Betraying a friend… In a way, you could tell that Jonathan had already crossed that line. Robyn Hill, a fan who admired him and built her political agenda and ideology on Jonathan's own actions, and Jonathan had cut her budding political career short. Simply because he could not trust her enough to follow his lead. She certainly kept a council of troublesome influences…

Fear not, she probably doesn't even remember where it all started now.

Initially, Robyn didn't even think that Jonathan was the cause of her troubles, probably didn't want to think about it, but after two months of rehabilitation… At some point, of course, she had made the facts fit together.

Maybe when Glenn had used the newly drafted Mantle's constitution as an 'opinion', for the laws of the 'peacekeepers' area of responsibility' rather than fully following Mantle Liberation Front's lead? Or when the 'Mantle and Glenn Coordinating Council', originally set up for high-level interaction between Jonathan and Robyn, became merely a deliberative body? Or maybe she didn't know anything until a RATS agent in a gray, inconspicuous waistcoat appeared and asked her to 'sign the papers and keep their contents confidential at all times'.

So was it any surprise that when Robyn was discharged from the hospital, she was given a state mansion, to live in carefully secured… Inside and out.

Robyn could receive guests, and even leave her mansion, she wasn't completely imprisoned, just under… Close guard.

At first, of course, she tried to fight back her impromptu retirement, but under the supervision of RATS, who were not stingy with the most magical and technological surveillance equipment, it did not work. The first time, the second, the fifth, the tenth, and, is it the twentieth now? Well, she had found another avenue.

Willow Schnee has cured her alcoholism, Robyn Hill decided to take the plunge for Willow Schnee's and her three offspring, hoping for their support to buck off Jonathan's control.

Robyn was likely to die in the next few days.

She might even have wanted Jonathan to do so. Jonathan knew she'd had two emergency visits to the hospitals already, her death would come either way. But, the death of a retired, but still revolutionary symbol, would not reflect positively on the mood of the people of Mantle. So she was forced to be resuscitated again and again, that was perhaps why she was now forcing his hand…

But is that life? When someone purposely tries to get drunk and fall asleep on their back with their head positioned exactly so that their face is facing the ceiling and can't roll to the side, that's saying something, Jonathan.

Robyn was not Jonathan's friend at all. Maybe if it wasn't for politics, Jonathan might have called her an admirer, a student and a junior colleague, but not a friend. And he betrayed her, but still didn't kill her, he simply forcefully kept her alive…

So let's up the ante, Jonathan! Robyn is too little, now let's betray Ghira, and kill him! Let's go, Jonathan, let's go!

Jonathan looked away from the mirror, unable to look at his own reflection, his own and so alien reflection, and set off on his way.

Don't be afraid, Jonathan. You've been invited to Kali Belladonna's birthday party! And what better place to make the decision to kill her husband on?

With that morbid thought in mind, Jonathan looked away from the stacks of documents and left his workplace, ending his workday a little early.

Sometimes even the most unlikely people needed at least a day to themselves…

As long as they remained human.