'Heading back to Beacon. Have particularly important news. No relation to THAT other thing. Surprise guest'.
Was the message Qrow wrote on his scroll with the intention of sending it to Ozpin. His sister, however, demanded that a lot of the details remained bogus. On one hand, she was still paranoid that someone working with Seido would recognize her; on the other, she was still not trusting of the wizard nor did she know if he would hold anything against her out of spite for leaving 'his cause'. Despite that, she also knew that he would be the only thing close enough to help against whoever or whatever Seido was. "Ok. Looks good enough, little brother".
Qrow sent the message and both brothers went outside. Raven changed her attire to a white shirt that fitted her, jeans, and black boots. She stepped outside and joined her brother, 'husband' and protégé. "Ok… I'm ready… I think…" She said less than enthusiastically.
"Trust him. Please". His brother said with a hand on her shoulder.
She then turned around to face the other two people present. "Behave yourself," she told Vernal. The girl rolled her eyes but smiled, nonetheless. She then faced Tai and took a deep breath. "Thank you… for everything. And I do mean it". Neither knew what to do now, but Tai-Yang then offered his hand and she shook it. They both knew there was still some ground to cover before things returned to something resembling all those years ago, but they were willing to not push it too hard.
With everything set, both brothers then turned into their respective black birds and flew away. Back on land, Tai and Vernal watched them go. Once they were lost in the sky, Vernal then talked to Tai. "Soooooo… are you making risotto today?".
Tai-Yang rolled his eyes and then sweep-kicked the girl to the ground. When she got up on her elbows, he then offered his hand. "I think we should focus on getting you back in the game. I know Raven will not stop yapping if you suddenly gain weight. You eat more than Yang and Ruby combined! How did you manage to live in the woods!?".
The girl stood up and cleaned herself before answering. "I enjoyed the freedom. But I'd be lying if I said I don't miss the food and commodities of the normal world".
There was no meeting on Saturday. There was also no meeting on Sunday. Both team JNPR and RWBY would say that it was because of no major developments which, yes, it was true, but also because the enjoyment once felt was getting lost. Pyrrha and Jaune were still on no talking terms, Ren and Nora had learned to be quiet when both their other team members were present knowing that the smallest suggestion could start a chain reaction. Team RWBY was no better; the anger was directed only at Yang, but she had grown tired of the way the others acted towards her. Even worse for her and Jaune was having to act as a couple whenever team KHTE, or Hanzo specifically, were around.
The drama had also pushed both Sun and Neptune as far from Beacon as possible most of the time. Working and surveillance was a better alternative to what was happening.
Some theorized that the souring moods happened because, even though it had been just a couple of days, there was still no answer from both the secret ex-accountant from the SDC and Penny. The most the later ever did was answer with a 'still working on it' twelve hours after being asked for a report.
In the end, Monday afternoon had Ren listening to Yang and Jaune complain about people angry at them, the rest of team RWBY doing nothing on their room waiting to hear back from their collaborators, Pyrrha throwing all of her frustration with Nora in a training room while Sun kept looking around the hotel and Neptune keeping guard on him. That was until they all received a voicemail where Sun was hyperventilating.
Meeting at eight. It's urgent!
Was all the message. Knowing Sun was not easy to agitate, everyone was there at the corresponding time and found Neptune patting Sun in the back. Blake then sprinted towards the monkey faunus. "Sun? What happened?" she asked him.
He looked at her and then at the others for a while before speaking again. "Cyborg robots are real!" he said while grabbing Blake by her shoulders "They are monsters! Seido; they don't just do prosthetics… they… they…". The images of what he saw at the health wing of the hotel flashed in front of him as he told everyone what happened.
Despite Neptune's complaints, Sun worked both Saturday and Sunday and took another shift for Monday morning. A mundane job serving people in a restaurant waiting for evidence against Seido to come was far better than the alternative of dealing with love triangles.
Things were going so well at the restaurant that Mr. Onyx even called Sun for a time-out. "Look, Sun. I know that what I am going to say is going to be weird, but yesterday your shift went without a hitch". Sun indeed looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What I mean is that you are always so playful, cheerful, and I have to stop you from over chatting with the guests. Is everything alright?". Sun sighed and decided to relieve some pent-up emotions with a third party who did not know anything about what was happening leaving out identities and objectives, obviously. "I see. If you ask me, that guy back in Heaven is, indeed, a blind goofball if you ask me. Is there anything else?"
"Weeeeeeell…" truth be told. There had been a second nuance since Saturday.
Maurice, the mouse faunus, had been visiting the restaurant almost every hour to check on with everyone. He had become good friends with Pinky, shared interest in swimwear with Cyan, annoyed Mr. Onyx constantly with the financial situation of the restaurant, but spent most of his time just talking with Sun. First, it was just trivialities about him, then things escalated to exclusive VIP access to The Night Beetle's gym, sauna, massage parlor, and others with Maurice even paying the whole thing. It then escalated to offering a company retreat on the beach where everyone had to use custom-made swimsuits.
Sun had a purpose since day one: Work at The Night Beetle, gather intel and carry out the plans. Maurice was a great boss, but he was now turning into an annoyance since he had moved his laptop to a table on the far end of the dining room to work there for the day and waving on Sun whenever he happened to pass nearby.
"Hello, Sun!" Maurice said from behind both waiters. They both jumped in surprise, considering the HR head was on the other side of the room not so long ago. "Say, it's almost time for lunch; would you mind if I treat you something? I heard you were doing an outstanding job for the last few days!".
Onyx was now getting annoyed, but all in the board of directors didn't seem to care a lot about him, and he hadn't had a chance to talk to Hotaru about the actions of Maurice. "Mr. Feta, would you please stop harassing my employ-".
"Mr. Onyx! May I remind that by Chapter twenty, article five, sub-section thirty-four, paragraph eight, as the head of Human Resources, I can compensate and or punish employees whom I see worthy based on my parameters. Mr. Wu Kong is also on the timeframe for his lunchtime, which as far as I know was set exactly a month and thirteen days ago as 'fifty minutes'. Also, my time here has not jeopardized my work on the company; I would be very glad to show you I have finished my work on time and since I can't leave until my respective hour, I spend my time checking on the staff. Therefore, I am not in violation of any of the hotel's rules" Maurice told the head waiter with a hint of hostility.
"… You could be against the department being 'HUMAN Resources'…".
"I make a six-figure salary. They can call me cheese-muncher and would love it!" he said as he took Sun to his table.
For a long time, Maurice did nothing but stare at Sun with a normal smile. Figuring his boss would not do anything for the moment, Sun decided to start the conversation. "So… you've been very active these past few days. Any special reason?".
Maurice changed his silent smile to a silent surprise for a few seconds before answering. "Oh, no reason, really. Just figured it could help morale in the hotel".
"But… morale has gone up since Mr. Taakoizu returned yesterday…".
"Uh… yeah, but… would you say no to a day on the beach?".
"Well… you got me there". The mouse faunus returned to have a smile on his face; that, in turn, allowed silence to fall on the table again. "Umm… Mr. Feta-".
"Oh, Sun! no need to be so formal. You can just call me Maurice!".
"Yeah, right. Well… Maurice… We have spent ten minutes and we have not ordered anything yet. So…".
"Oh, don't be silly. I prepared this lunch myself! The kitchen will be ready with the plating right about…" Maurice said confidently while looking at his watch with a finger raised. "… any moment now" he said after ten seconds. "aaaaaany moment…" after twenty seconds more. "… I'm sure it will come out soon" thirty seconds. After another minute had passed, he excused himself and ran while cursing in a low voice towards the kitchen.
After Maurice marched into the kitchen, Mr. Onyx arrived next to Sun. "Have to tell you, Sun. I just don't know what happened to that guy. He was nothing like that when he began".
"You mean before or after The Pyramid?".
"Ah. He told you about the incident with the swimsuits".
"During induction. Didn't even hide it".
Their conversation was cut short as Maurice emerged from the kitchen with two waiters and a trolly holding, what he thought was, their food.
"Ah, I see he prepared his 'Famous Passion Heart' soup. He brags about the flavor, but he is just can't handle the plating and decorations. No wonder he bothered the cooks with it".
"Are they using one of the new electric trolleys?".
"Oh yeah, you are right!". The electric trolleys were a new concept of the technology development wing of Seido Industries for The Night Beetle to use. Instead of pushing, dragging, and stopping the cart with the risk of dropping food, the trolley would move at a designated speed with the push of a button and stop when released. Mr. Onyx, however, was not sure the thing was for use in the dining room yet. "I'm don't sure that he, above everyone else, should be using that".
"Oh, come on! He just wants to be nice. Besides, you just need to press a button and steer; how hard could it be?".
"Aaaaand, he just lost control over it…".
"Wait. What?". As soon as Sun turned around again to look at Maurice, he just had a fraction of a second before the trolley crashed into the table; making the soups fall all over Sun.
All staff present went to help them. Sun got up cursing about the burns the soups made on his chest and shoulders, so he immediately removed the top part of his uniform and waited for the cooks to get him ice. Maurice, on the other hand, seemed to be buried under the table and the trolly. When the others managed to pull him out, everything seemed good until he noticed everyone looking at him with horror. "Uh… what is it…?". Mr. Onyx pointed towards Maurice's arm. "My arm? What is wrong with it? I don't feel anything wrong with- Oh, right. It's not supposed to bend in that direction…". Indeed, Maurice's left elbow and shoulder were both dislocated. "But wait… Oh no! what happened to Sun!?".
"I'm ok. But you are not, Man!" Sun yelled from behind Maurice.
The mouse faunus sighed in relief and turned around to face his employee. "Thank goodness. I thought you…" he stopped midsentence and just stared at Sun in complete silence.
"Yo! Maurice! You alright?". Sun asked now really concerned about the other man. Maurice's left eye then began to twitch for a few seconds before he fell into convulsions for a short time before passing out. Within a minute, Sun and a now unconscious Maurice were being taken to the medical facilities.
"Thankfully, you removed your wet clothes fast enough. Your burns are not so serious and with your aura doing most of the job, you'll be good as new in about five minutes". A random doctor in his mid-thirties with a short beard told Sun who was sitting on a consulting bed. "If anything, it'll take longer for laundry to clean your uniform".
"Thanks, Doc. But… what about Maurice?". The doctor then looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I mean… Mr. Feta".
"I already told you, Sun. He has to be seen by the doctors on the other side of the aisle".
"But you could have also fixed his arm and helped him wake up. What gives?".
"Look, I don't know. But orders from the presidency are that he is one of Dr. Oniro's exclusive patients. But I can assure you, he'll be fine". An alarm went off on the doctor's desk and he rolled his chair towards it. "Oh now. It's time for my lunch with my wife… Sun you will be ok, just wait for your uniform and you'll be free. And don't worry about Maurice!" the doctor said as he changed from his white coat to a leather jacket.
Sun was left alone in the room, but everything about what just had happened bothered him. He and Maurice arrived on wheelchairs, but just as the elevator opened on the medical floor, Maurice was taken away by a pale man with black hair in the form of a short ponytail, long sideburns, and a goatee. 'We'll take care of Mr. Feta' the man said and took his wheelchair without facing any opposition.
Sun was not convinced that the special treatment was because of his position; so, he decided to investigate what about Maurice was so special to these doctors. He got off from the bed and opened the door to find the empty aisle and the lone door on the other side of his. Fortunately, the door was unlocked, and he opened it slowly.
"Radical hormonal shifts seem to be, again, the cause of malfunctions this time. Is the update available already?" Sun heard Dr. Oniro say to a communication device. "Fine! I'll go get it myself… Yes, the subject is just 'resting', hehe. I'll take the direct route; wait for me".
Sun waited until he heard a mechanical door close. He entered the room, and even though it was pitch black, his faunus vision left him in horror. He was surrounded by various body parts; eyeballs, hearts, lungs, intestines, tongues, and brains, to name a few, were located on shelves. Worse was that at the end of the hall were two headless semi-naked bodies on a chair; one male and one female with the male one missing the left arm. Sun noticed there was no bleeding before getting close. He was then able to see wires coming from both necks and followed them to the shelve on the right finding the decapitated heads of Maurice and a girl with freckles and brown hair. On closer inspection, he now saw their skulls open and their brains suspended on the air with even more wires connecting them to the heads.
Sun then stepped close to the female head and read what the screen was showing.
Cottonfield, Carmen.
Artificial memory implant at 52%.
So distracted was Sun that he never noticed Maurice's body reaching for his tail. When the headless corpse grabbed and pulled the tail, it made Sun jump, but he thankfully kept the scream down. He then kicked the hand and flipped back while assuming a fighting pose. "Who's there!?" he heard Maurice ask with fear.
Everything in this room was becoming worse by the minute for Sun; now the decapitated and brainless head of Maurice was talking. The head then looked to its left and saw Sun. "Oh, Sun; it's you!" the head claimed happily before his expression changed to panic. "Oh no! don't look, I'm not fully dressed, how embarrassing…" Maurice's head said with a light blush. His expression then changed again to a more serious one as he noticed something. "Wait… you are not authorized to be here… you are breaking the rules!".
Sun didn't know what to make of this situation, but he did know that alerting security was the least he wanted right now. "Yes… I am here… because I was worried about what would happen to you!".
Maurice's face then changed once again to one of surprise and then of happiness. "You… mean that? You care about me?".
Truth be told, he was more scared, but this seemed to be the Maurice he had known since his interview. "Of course, I do. But… what happened?" Sun asked while pointing at his own body.
Maurice's head just looked at Sun with confusion. "I don't know what you are talking about. I've been like this for a long time".
"Well… what about her?".
"Oh! Carmen. Poor thing. It took Dr. Oniro ages to rebuild her. 'Not enough fleshy parts' he said. He's a funny guy". Maurice then became serious once again "You should not be here though… you are breaking rules about areas you can access to".
"No, no, no! I swear I am just here because I care about… your best interest…".
Maurice was happy once again "So… you are interested in me?".
"YES!" Sun said wanting to get out of the horror factory he was currently in. "And something bad could happen to me if you tell Dr. Oniro I was here".
"But… Seido Industries wouldn't hurt you…".
"But would you risk it?".
Maurice was not sure what to do now. But he then felt vibrations. "Ok! I won't tell anyone you were here Sun! If that makes you happy, then I am happy. Now go! The doctor is coming back!".
"Thank you so much!" Sun managed to say as he left the room quietly and then running to the other medical room. When the room closed, he dropped his body over the bed and began to take deep breaths.
"Sun Wukong!" A female voice yelled behind him making him fall from the bed. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know you were asleep" An old spider faunus woman said while holding his uniform. "the restaurant says you can leave early if you wish".
"No, no! No need, I'm always ready to serve!". Sun told her while taking his uniform. Right now, his biggest fear was acting strangely and making staff suspicious and getting him and Maurice in trouble.
"Ok then, honey. Get to the restaurant whenever you are ready".
The rest of Sun's shift went without a hitch. He was relieved when he saw Maurice checking on everyone without being to intrusive this time and no one in security asked him anything. Once night fell, he got changed and managed to send a voice message to everyone.
Meeting at eight. It's urgent!
He and the rest of the employees got to the streets, but he was frozen in fear when he felt a hand oh his shoulder. Sun turned around and found Maurice with a smile on his face.
The mouse faunus, however, noticed Sun's reaction. "Sun is everything ok?".
"Yeah, yeah, no problems here!".
"Are you sure you don't hate me because of… 'it'?" Maurice asked with concern.
"What, no. Maurice, I don't hate you. It's who you are and… I… like you that way…?".
Maurice was smiling again and stopped Sun once he started walking away again. "Well Sun, you see… the guys were talking about going to a bar, and I thought maybe you would like to-".
"Sun! There you are, I was growing worried!". A boy with blue hair and googles of around Sun's age yelled from across the street.
"Oh, Neptune! I was just leaving". He then noticed the surprise on Maurice's eyes. "Oh! Uh… Maurice, this is my partner, Neptune. Nep, he is the head of HR, Maurice Feta".
Neptune played it cool and went to shake Maurice's hand. Maurice stared at it for a while before reciprocating the shake. "Your partner… my pleasure…".
"Well, I would like to stay and chat, but we really need to go Sun".
"Oh! Yeah! Bye Maurice. Say goodbye to everyone on my part! I'll take tomorrow off, see you on Wednesday!".
Maurice saw the two 'partners' going until Pinky got his attention. "So, to recap: We'll get to the bar and we'll each pretend to have an emergency. You'll then have the whole table for you and Sun to-".
"Forget it Pinky. He already has someone…".
Pinky sighed. "I told you. He is young and good-looking; he was bound to be taken. Sorry, little buddy. The plan is over guys!".
Maurice felt a lot of things at that moment; but all of those were derivative of one thing: betrayal and a feel to make the monkey faunus pay for playing with his feelings.