With Every Step Forward (Neglected/Abused Boosted Gear Reader x RWBY)

Chapter 49: Unforeseen Truths

Blake's POV

After Ilia's interference during the rally at the Belladonna Household, it seems like nobody on Menagerie wants to sign up to defend Haven, even if people agree with them.

Blake: "You think you can do this?"

Sun: "Puh-lease! I've beat up on monster and giant robots more than once. I think I can handle a few signatures."

Blake and Sun split up around town trying to convince people to sign up for the militia force. However, both of them are very unsuccessful. Not a single person wanted to sign up. Well, there was one that Sun ran into, but his mother called him back inside. Desperate and tired, they eventually find each other at the port, getting a drink.

Sun: "I don't get it! How can they just sit around and do nothing with the White Fang getting ready to attack!?"

Blake: "Because not everyone is like you and me. The Faunus here in Menagerie, the ones that weren't born on the island, moved here because they were tired of fighting, of struggling constantly. Menagerie is filled with people who just want to be left alone, and here we are, asking them to put the world before themselves."

Sun: "Guess I never really thought about it like that."

Blake: "The problem is, whatever happens at Haven is going to affect them whether they like it or not. If Adam has his way and Haven falls, everything's going to be worse for the Faunus. Everywhere..."

Sun: "So... not to be nosy, but this Adam... he was your partner?"

Blake: "*sigh* Yes."

Sun: "Sorry! I shouldn't have brought it up."

Blake: "No, it's okay." She pauses for a second. "Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, 'They are the personification of this word'?"

Sun: "Uhh..." He doesn't seem to understand.

Blake: "Okay, well, I remember getting to knowing Ruby and thinking 'This girl is the embodiment of 'purity'. After a while, I saw Weiss was 'defiance', and Yang was 'strength'."

Sun: "And Y/N?"

Blake: "I... There's a few words that come to mind with him, but I think 'perseverance' is probably the best one since he never slows down."

Sun: "You got that right. I bet right now he's either training his ass off or fighting."

Blake: "Probably... anyway, at first, I thought Adam was 'justice'. Then I thought he was 'passion'. But over time, I realized I was wrong. He wasn't any of those things. Adam was 'spite'. Not 'hated', not 'rage', but 'spite'. He won't accept equality, only suffering for what he feels the world did to him, and his way of thinking is dangerously contagious. That's what worries me about Ilia. She not like him, at least, not yet. I feel like she can be saved, but first, we need to convince her that Adam's way is wrong."

Sun: "You know, I have a feeling you know what to do."

Blake: "I do?"

Sun: "Remember when you were so scared of revealing you were a Faunus to your friends?"

Blake: "Yeah?" she says confused.

Sun: "Well, who got you out of that and what did they do?"

Blake: "It was Y/N... and neither you nor he left me alone in those few days I was running away."

Sun: "Yeah, but the difference between me and him is that even though he's human, he still treated you with love and respect and that made all the difference. He gave you a safe haven. He showed you through his actions that no matter what you thought your friends thought about you, you were wrong. He took your opinion of yourself and showed you that it was wrong. We just have to do the same thing with Ilia."