A Lie Based On A Lie
Leaning against a wall outside of the building Shen was in, Neo was staring at Torchwick with a strange look. "What?" Torchwick responded to her look, which only made her raise a brow. Utilizing her Semblance, she changed her appearance to look like Shen and raised one of her arms. "Him?"
Sighing, Torchwick could still see the smoke rising in the distant areas of the Purple Lotus's territory. "I already told you we were not really in a position to choose work. Beside him taking down the Purple Lotus alone proves it better to make an ally out of him than an enemy." Transforming back into herself, Neo put her hand on her waist.
"I know he's dangerous. Obviously, I don't plan on staying on his side. When we see the chance, we will do what we do best. Until then, just try to keep an eye out." Despite what he said, Torchwick looked extremely lax while doing so. Neo shook her head and sighed before noticing Taupher walking towards the building.
"Oh, back so soon? I thought you would still be out there convincing your men not to riot." Taupher had a calm disposition compared to when he was speaking before. Shen had dismantled his entire structure, killed his men, and basically subjected him. His emotions while standing close to them were obviously mixed.
But when it came to Torchwick, he could remain calm. "I'd rather not lose any more men today, so of course. Although some will require more convincing." Hearing his response, Torchwick laughed. "Then I guess we both count ourselves as impressed, huh? Who would've thought the White Fang would make a move like this so suddenly."
Taupher's body froze for a moment. "Torchwick, you have no idea what kind of monster that kid is. And I'm not talking about being a Faunus." Fear filled Taupher's eyes as he turned and walked into the building. "Hmm…" Torchwicks eyes narrowed a bit as Taupher left. Meanwhile, inside, Shen had finished everything he wanted to do.
He was about to stand up and make his way outside when he saw L1 enter the room. He bowed before speaking. "The one named Taupher wishes to speak to you. Apparently, the White Fang you ordered to meet us are outside of the Purple Lotus's territory." Shen smiled as he replied. "Good, have them meet me outside of this building. But first, tell Taupher to come in here."
L1 nodded as he acted out Shen's orders. In a matter of seconds, Taupher entered the room as the door closed behind him. Being alone with Shen was by far the most terrifying thing he could experience. Before, he had a mix of displeasure and anger when others were around. After all, Shen kept him alive because he had some level of value.
But the images of Shen becoming a demon were impossible to erase. "How can I-" Taupher's words were interrupted as Shen stood up and made his way towards him. He almost took a step back until Shen's voice rooted him. "Don't move." Making his way behind the terrified Taupher, Shen spoke calmly and placed his hand on Taupher's head.
"Like I said, your only job is to obey my orders and keep the Purple Lotus in line. Outside of that, you will run things to the best of your ability. Do we understand one another?" As Shen said this, he was using 'Mental Refitting' on Taupher's mind. His word's acted as a binding thread filled with an overwhelming amount of willpower.
Despite any natural resistance his mind had, Taupher was simply too weak. In a minute after Shen spoke, all Taupher's resistance had faded. He had done to Taupher what he did to both L1 and L2 except on a more narrowed scale. He would be loyal, but he would also focus on keeping the Purple Lotus in an optimal state for Shen's usage.
He was exactly the kind of person Shen wanted him to be. Taking his hand back, Shen looked at his arm. 'Being able to make the perfect servants to carry out tasks is wonderful, I must admit. Though it's a shame, it requires them to be weak or have a weaker will than me.' He really wanted to abuse the power on someone like the White Fang Head Leader.
But he knew the moment he tried, he would fail, at least for now. "Let's go." Without waiting another moment, Shen walked ahead, with Taupher following behind. Seeing Shen exit and hint towards them, L1 and L2 followed behind him as well on his flanks. The building they were in was raised off the ground and had to be reached with stairs.
As such, it was perfect for what Shen had planned. Reaching those stairs, he looked down and saw all of the White Fang Members and Officers he had brought with him. As soon as all of them saw Shen, the murmuring and questioning lowered significantly. Torchwick and Neo remained off to the side, watching and noticing Taupher's changed disposition.
"We of the White Fang have the goal of reaching equality with humans. We have tried peace, yet it has failed, and so we can only resort to fear. This is what we have been taught and is why we resort to things such as terrorism. However, today I have some new news, and I'll be telling you the reason we came here."
Hearing Shen's words, all two hundred of the White Fang made sure to pay attention. "Mistral is known for its discrimination against Faunus. I'm sure we've all experienced it before." Shen's words caused some of the White Fang to lower their heads while others showed clear amounts of anger.
"And so I proposed an idea to our Branch Leader. While the White Fang's presence had eased the discrimination against some Faunus, I feel it hasn't done enough. So instead of us Faunus having to retreat to Menagerie to live in peace or be forced to live with the White Fang, we will do something else. By taking over Kuchinashi City, it will be under our full control and become a safe haven."
Shen's words seemed to click in everyone's brains as sounds of wonder erupted. But also clear signs of doubt were in their eyes. Shen didn't let anyone ask any questions as he continued. "As everyone knows, Kuchinashi City is far from the Council's reach, and thus laws barely hold any ground. Alongside that, even the Police and Huntsman academy would stay out of our business."
"As long as we don't publicly admit to the White Fang being in control of the City, no lawful force would be able to act against us. Kuchinashi City would become a place where all Faunus are welcomed and where discrimination wouldn't be tolerated. Even members of the White Fang would be welcomed to live here in peace while I personally make sure my promises come true."
Shen's final words seemed to elicit a reaction as one of the White Fang spoke up. "Does that mean the Branch Leader decided you would be in charge of the city?" Hearing the question, Shen nodded. "Yes, she has trusted me with that task, and as such, I won't let her down. If we can prove this works here, then other cities like Kuchinashi may be susceptible as well."
Shen added a bit of wonder to his words as he continued. "Imagine multiple cities across the Kingdoms where Faunus discrimination is against the law, and we have the power to reinforce our freedom." Shen painted an image with his words, and slowly everyone's eyes began to change and shine.
"That does sound nice…"
"If it really does come to pass, then my family and I could…"
"It's almost too good to be true when you hear it like that."
A smirk appeared on Shen's face as he said one last thing. "Of course, all that will require your help. Just this morning, I had personally taken down the Purple Lotus, which is a well-known criminal exporting organization dealing in all sorts of vehicles. They had surrendered to us, making them the first step to us accomplishing our goal here."
Hearing that, eyes fell onto Taupher, who remained silent and lowered his head a bit. It was not out of shame or anger but simply because he knew it would help Shen prove his point. Sounds of awe escaped people's mouths when they realized Shen's words were true. "This is just the start, but together we can change Mistral!"
Shen wrapped up his speech with a smile as someone asked a question. "Sir… If what you're saying is true, then I'm willing to fight for it. However, how are we supposed to fight an entire City with our numbers?" Sure there were a lot of them but definitely not enough to take over a City. "That's exactly why Im here and why the Branch Leader put me in charge."
Speaking with the utmost confidence, Shen spoke. "In the next few days, I will demonstrate to all of you that what I wish to accomplish is possible. I simply hope you will give me your support and assistance. And I'm sure the Purple Lotus is more than willing to help us without endeavour." Glancing at Taupher, Shen's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward.
"Of course, we of the Purple Lotus will do everything we can to assist the White Fang." Taupher's agreement, along with the image painted by Shen and even the Branch Leaders' support, was a lot. It made the White Fang Member's think for a moment. This was a real opportunity, not simply a raid.
If they pulled this off, it would change so much and offer Faunus refuge in Mistral. Soon someone spoke up. "If that's the case, then I'll definitely fight!" After that person, another spoke up. "Ya! This is our chance to change things!" Soon almost everyone was yelling in the agreement creating a roar of voices.
Looking down at all of them, a gleeful glimmer appeared in Shen's eyes. "Good, with all of your support, I won't let you down." Shortly after that, Shen dismissed the White Fang as he 'planned' their next moves. 'That went extremely well.' He really couldn't believe how trusting the White Fang was when the Branch Leader was mentioned.
In any case, he couldn't complain. 'Now I can take over Kuchinashi City without worrying about backlash. After all, I'm doing it for the Faunus and the White Fang, and no one will question my being in charge.' Having finished speaking, Shen felt exhausted for the first time. Physically he was fine his body wasn't human at this point, meaning food and sleep were not a requirement.
However, mentally he was exhausted. "A wonderful speech… I would have believed it if we hadn't spoken prior." Shen saw Torchwick looking at him from the side. "You must be itching to start doing Torchwick . Tell me, how fast do you think the news will spread about the Purple Lotus if left unchecked?"
Torchwick showed a look of interest before responding. "I wonder... A day maybe two who can really say depending on how tight of a lid you tell everyone to keep." Torchwick joked as Shen smiled. "Good, the faster it spreads, the better. Now then, why don't I finally tell you what you're here for." Torchwicks tilted his head as he listened.
"I can handle Kuchinashi City myself, and I only have two things for you to really do. One is that I want you to set up operations within the city of Argus and, more specifically, Sanctum Academy." Hearing that Shen wanted him to do something outside of Kuchinashi City, Torchwick looked surprised.
"Don't worry. I'll be sending you there with the White Fang's full support. As for the second thing, I want you to start searching for a person under the name Cinder. When you find her, avoid making contact. She's very dangerous." Hearing the two things he wanted, Torchwick put his hand on his chin.
"This all seems fairly risky. I'm sure you're not expecting me to do this simply based on the protection you're offering, right?" Shen shook his head and spoke. "Of course not. If you do all of this, I'll gladly give you my full support in any future criminal endeavors. Men, Vehicles, Weapons, whatever you need as long as it does not conflict with my interest. You'll never be in a state of having nothing ever again. Not a bad deal, am I, right?"
Torchwick didn't even have to think about it to reply. "No, not a bad deal at all. But it's based on the fact that you actually succeed here in Kuchinashi." In the end, promises were easy to make but making deals based on future actions was foolish. Torchwick was a businessman and a criminal, and he knew better than that.
"True right now, there is nothing you can do. However, I am still protecting you from authorities finding your location. So In return, how about you let me borrow Neo. Since you're so worried about my failure after all." Shen gave Torchwick a scheming smirk as his eyes drifted to Neo, who was on guard.
"Hmm... Helping a future investment for myself?" Taking another look at Shen, Torchwick held out his hand. "Fine then."