Cypher Meets The Tiger

Gray and Adam stood side by side in the empty garage. His subordinates had left the room after setting up the screen and camera.

The holographic screen projected onto the wall cast a soft glow across the room. As they waited for the call to connect, Gray couldn't help but notice the difference in their heights. Adam was taller than him. Quite a bit taller. Gray wasn’t all that short himself, but he was feeling a little... not jealous, more than...

Okay, maybe a little jealous.

He looked at the holo screen, waiting for the call to go through. The connection to Menagerie was tenuous. The infrastructure on the island was another reminder of the neglect it had endured from the Kingdoms. The islands' single relay tower was a lifeline. One that seemed unreliable most of the time.

As the screen buffered, Gray wondered who would show up. Perhaps it would be some old dudes in robes or a battle-hardened warrior. It would be nice if there was a sexy woman, but he didn’t get his hopes up.

As he was guessing who would pick up the call, the call connected. The timing made Gray jump a little.

The holographic image flickered to life to reveal a throne room, the theme of which was a lot of red. The throne itself was a high-backed chair made of dark wood and a red velvet backrest. Seated on the throne was a woman, her chin resting in her hand as she leaned to the side, her gaze imperious.

Ah, so it was a woman. And she was quite sexy too.

She had dark skin with darker markings, or were they tattoos? She had short black hair, swept to the side, matching well with the red and black of her attire. The small red dot on her forehead looked like some sort of cultural thing. Then there were the feline ears atop her head. She looked like some sort of tiger woman, if he had to compare her to whatever animal her Faunus traits seemed to portray.

Gray studied her, even as she seemed to study them. Her eyes seemed to look him up and down with a lazy intensity. Like a big cat wondering if he was worthy of being pounced on and eaten.

If Gray didn’t have the security blanket of his Semblance, he would be feeling very worried by now.

The holographic image of this woman flickered slightly, her eyes sharp and piercing as she took in the scene before her. Her gaze stayed on Gray, curiosity evident in her expression as she addressed Adam with an imperious tone.

"Adam, who is this?" She demanded. Her voice was filled with authority. She was a woman that expected people to answer promptly when she spoke.

Adam bowed briefly before responding with respect.

"Ma'am, this is Cypher." He announced.

The reaction from the woman was immediate and telling. She stiffened, her eyes widening as she leaned forward, her cat ears perking up in interest. The name "Cypher" clearly held weight with her. Just as his Semblance command directed. When he made that command a few days ago, it was worded so that all of the White Fang knew about him and his power over them.

"Cypher... I wasn't told you would be a part of this meeting." The dark-skinned tiger woman said, her voice tinged with a mix of surprise and curiosity. The shift in her demeanor was quite interesting for Gray to watch. He saw it when he first met Adam and Cinder along with the other criminals a few days ago, but it still felt strange to see such respect from these people. Towards himself, a random guy that got lucky with his Semblance.

Gray heard a small huff of amusement from Adam and glanced at him. Had Adam neglected to inform her on purpose?

“Adam, if you could introduce her to me...” Gray commanded, glancing at the tall man.

Adam cleared his throat.

“Sir, this is Sienna Khan. The High Leader of the White Fang.”

Oh, right. He did say that name earlier. Gray turned back to the woman, Sienna Khan.

"My apologies for not informing you, Sienna." Gray said, careful to keep up his own tone of authority and gravitas.

Sienna waved off the apology, her demeanor now one of flustered respect. "No, no. You don't need to apologize." She said, her voice filled with a newfound deference. "What can I do for you, Cypher?"

Gray activated his Semblance.

"You, Sienna Khan, are loyal and obedient and devoted to me. My goals are your goals. My cause is your cause. What I tell you to do, you do with trust and without question."

Sienna's response was immediate and unquestioning.

"Yes, Sir." Came her reply.

But Gray was not finished.

"Do you ever speak with Kali Belladonna?" He asked.

Sienna shook her head.

"No, Sir. We haven't spoken in a long time. She doesn't agree with what we do." She explained. There was some regret in her voice.

Gray nodded. That sounded likely from what he had learned from Blake.

"Kali Belladonna agrees with what I do as she is loyal and obedient to me." He said.

Sienna nodded in agreement. "So she is, Sir." She replied, agreeing with him.

Now, he deactivated his Semblance. From here, he should meet no resistance when giving his orders. It should all be smooth sailing.

Gray stood before the holographic image of Sienna Khan and began to give out his orders.

"Now, as you can imagine, I have plans to help the world realize the true potential of the Faunus people." Gray said, giving some flavor text that they would likely find inspiring. Sienna nodded reverently, her eyes gleaming with pride and expectation. She seemed quietly, yet intently, eager to play her part.

"First, I will need you to relay orders to one Ilia Amitola." Gray instructed. Sienna tilted her head, her expression thoughtful as she tried to recall the name. Her eyes flicked off to someone off screen for a moment. "Her orders are to come to Vale to continue her training with me and to take on a mission."

"Yes, Sir. What are the particulars of this mission, if I may ask?" Her eyes came back to him.

"It is an infiltration mission and requires someone who can remain inconspicuous among humans. I'm told she is talented at this."

Sienna listened intently, her gaze flickering back to someone off-screen before a look of realization dawned on her face.

"Ah, yes, Amitola, the Chameleon Faunus. A strategic choice." She acknowledged.

"The next thing I need from you is to speak with Kali Belladonna." Gray continued. He noticed the worried look that crossed Sienna's face.

"Sir, I don't believe she will want to see me. Things haven't been great between us ever since Ghira's ****." Sienna admitted. Ghira being Blake's father, the first leader of the White Fang.

"She will want to see you when you tell her that this involves reconnecting with my double agent, Blake Belladonna." Gray reassured her. The revelation left Sienna speechless, her eyes wide with surprise as she processed his words.

"Her defection was on your orders?" Sienna asked slowly in disbelief.

"Yes, Sienna. Blake is one of mine. She has been doing work for me this whole time." Gray confirmed. The revelation left Sienna visibly stunned.

"So, I will be informing Kali of this? Is that it?" Sienna asked, still reeling after what he revealed. A moment later she seemed to collect herself and nodded.

"Yes, as well as asking her to make the trip to see me and then to see Blake." Gray instructed.

Sienna nodded, her expression thoughtful as she considered the request.

"She is currently the mayor of Kuo Kuana. She won't easily be able to step down on short notice. How should that be dealt with?” She asked.

"Help her decide on a successor, whether temporary or permanent. Inform her that it may very well be permanent." Gray replied.

Sienna nodded along, looking like she was already thinking hard about the task. A moment later she nodded more decisively.

"Yes, Sir. I'll make sure it gets done. Was there anything else?” Sienna asked.

"Yes, there was one more thing that I needed from you." He said after deciding that he wanted this woman too. Yes, yes, his greed knew no bounds.

"Anything." She replied. The devotion and trust was evident in her tone.

Gray took a deep breath before saying, "I need you to come with them.”

The room fell silent.

Sienna took a moment to process the request, her expression shifting from confusion to shock as she realized the magnitude of what he was asking.

"Sir?" She asked. Her voice was tinged with a mix of disbelief and trepidation. "What of my work here?"

Gray kept his voice steady as he gave a hint of his vision for the future.

"You will have to consider appointing people to shoulder your responsibilities there, Sienna. I have great plans for the Faunus, and they require strong leadership. So, I need you here with me. You'll understand more when I can debrief you in person, but great things will happen here in Vale."

Sienna listened intently, her eyes shining with a mix of trust and trepidation. With a nod of acceptance, she acknowledged his command. "I'll do as you say, Cypher." She said, her voice filled with resolve.

Gray activated his Semblance once again and issued his final instructions. "If there are any other people you need to bring with you, such as attendants and guards, make sure there are no men among them." He said.

Sienna nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes, Sir."

With his Semblance deactivated, he prepared to end this call.

"Now, Sienna, if there's nothing else you wished to talk about..." He said, his voice trailing off as he implied that the conversation was drawing to a close.

Sienna shook her head; her expression was one of resolve. "No, Sir. I'll carry out your orders and see you in Vale sometime within the week, or perhaps later, since finding someone to take my place might take some time."

"I trust you'll find someone suitable. Also, one more thing. If Kali and Ilia are upset with me for making Blake a double agent, then they may voice those grievances with me. I take full responsibility. Please let them know that when you see them privately." He instructed.

Sienna nodded. "Yes, Sir.”

As the call drew to a close, Gray turned to Adam, who pressed a button on his scroll, cutting off the transmission. The room fell silent.

---

As the holographic call with Sienna Khan ended, the garage fell into a quiet stillness, the weight of the conversation lingering in the air. Adam turned to Gray, his demeanor thoughtful and curious.

"Sir, if I may?" Adam began, his voice respectful. Gray nodded for him to go ahead. "What are these big plans you speak of? How will they benefit the Faunus and our cause?"

Gray looked at Adam, considering his answer for a moment.

"The Mountain Glenn plan is bigger than I had let on in our previous meeting." He began. "It will be the center of something monumental for the Faunus, a beacon of hope and progress that will shape the future of our people."

Adam listened intently, trying to grasp the magnitude of Gray's words. The mention of Mountain Glenn piqued his interest.

"In the coming days or weeks, you may hear things about Mountain Glenn from the media." Gray continued. "Do not grow alarmed. It is all by my design and will not hinder your work. Even if you learn about the involvement of certain... hated individuals, know that they also work for me."

Adam's body language shifted from curiosity to confusion, the cryptic nature of Gray's words throwing him for a loop. The mention of hated individuals in particular likely brought many to mind.

“I... I’m not sure I follow, Sir.” Adam admitted after trying to think of who Gray could have been talking about.

Gray debated whether he should say anything more. He really didn’t have to. He could just order obedience or use his Semblance, but... he felt like giving him something to chew on.

“Did it not occur to you what I had Blake doing?” He asked Adam. “And why I had her join Beacon Academy?”

Adam thought for a moment. Silence filled the room for a long moment as the bull Faunus thought it over.

Then finally...

“... the Schnee.” He muttered. He looked up at Gray and spoke with more conviction. “You had her approach the Schnee Heiress. But... why? To threaten her father?”

That leap took Gray a little by surprise, but it made sense when he thought about it. From Adam’s perspective and hatred of the Schnee family, that would seem like the more likely tactic.

“Close, but not quite.” Gray said, making Adam tilt his head in confusion. “Blake did approach Weiss Schnee, but not to threaten or ****. No, I merely had her form a friendship with the Heiress so that I had a clear opportunity to approach her myself. From there, I ascertained her beliefs and world view and convinced her that I would back her when she finally took control of her father’s company and steered it towards her, and my, vision. Adam,” Gray looked the man in the eye, despite neither of them being able to see the other’s eyes. But Gray could tell that Adam was floored by this revelation. “The Heiress is loyal to me. And through her, I have made Jacques Schnee dance to my tune.”

Gray let the room fall silent there. Adam stared with incredulity. He didn’t have any words.

“Do you see now, Adam? I will even subvert the richest to my will if it means achieving our goals. Why destroy your enemy, when you can undermine them and influence the next to take the reins?” Gray finished talking, hoping that this wasn’t something that could trigger an unforeseen reaction in the terrorist. Who knows, maybe he hated the Schnee’s so much that he would see any angle of working with them as distasteful.

Adam looked up and Gray imagined that his eyes were flicking back and forth as he processed everything.

“Mountain Glenn will be funded, and partially built up, by our enemies own resources. I say partially because they won't be sending all that many people. The majority of the work will be done by MY people. My associates running the underworld of Vale, and you, the White Fang. All to create a city as our true base of operations, and where the Faunus can live without fear of discrimination. And my plans do not end there, but do you see now?” Gray continued.

“I... Sir...” The tall man looked back down at Gray, then stood straight and saluted the most crisp salute he’s made yet. “Sir, please forgive me if it seemed like I doubted you. I... cannot fathom what it took to plan all this, but I trust your plans, and I will follow your lead.”

“Thank you, Adam. Let’s make sure this all works out and give our people a proper home.” Gray was feeling a little odd about motivating this terrorist, but he had to admit that it kind of felt fun acting the villain here.

“Yes, Sir!”

---

With the meeting with Sienna Khan concluded and his plans set in motion, Gray turned his attention to the next item on his agenda. The night was still young, and there was more to be accomplished before he went back to the dorm.

The other Faunus that were with Adam in the beginning were now let back into the room. The cell leader was speaking with them and issuing orders. Likely in preparation for Sienna’s arrival in the coming days.

"Adam,” Gray interrupted. “I need a ride ready to take me to Junior's club." He instructed. "I have some business to attend to there, and I'll be securing additional manpower for our plans."

Adam nodded, his whole demeanor set with determination. He turned to one of his men, issuing a swift command. "Find the driver and have him ready the car. Cypher needs to be taken to Junior's club immediately."

The man moved with haste, disappearing into the shadows of the garage to carry out the order. Within minutes, the sound of an engine humming to life echoed through the space.

“Have a good evening, gentlemen. I’ll keep in touch.” Gray said as he left. The men he left behind saluted him on his way out.

Gray was escorted to the waiting car, the driver ready to take him to his destination. As he settled into the seat, he pulled out his scroll, his fingers moving swiftly over the screen as he composed a message to Roman.

Cypher: Meet me at Junior's club.

The response almost took a couple minutes.

Roman: How soon?

Cypher: As soon as you are able.

As the car pulled out of the dark parking lot, Gray felt his earlier fatigue come back to try and pull on his eyelids. He held it back as best he could, but the drive **** him to hold back yawns. So, he asked the driver to get him coffee under his Semblance.

All this villain work was pretty tiring.

---

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