Adam stood before the assembled population of Kuo Kuana with a smirk plastered upon his face as he held his arms out to the sides and eyed up the crowd. His mask and sword were absent, and he wore his usual black suit and gloves. The opulent outfit provided a stark contrast to the people around him, and the villagers regarded him with a mixture of fear, reverence, and hatred as he turned back to face the Belladonna family once again and spoke in a booming, accusatory tone.
"Did you really think you could convince them to rally against me? That I didn't have eyes and ears all over Kuo Kuana, ready to alert me to a move like this? You're not a subtle man, Ghira, and your words are as empty as your promises of peace. Your family tends to promise a lot of things they can't deliver," Adam spat as he fixed his eye on Blake.
Sun looked briefly over his shoulder toward Blake, and found her slowly backing away as silent tears flooded down her cheeks. Before he could stop her, she bolted for the door of the mansion and disappeared inside, as Ghira stepped up to take his place beside Sun at the podium. The gargantuan male rested his palms gently into the wood as Sun turned his attention back to Adam, offering a death glare as he listened to the elder male speak.
"Mister Taurus… you are welcome to speak your opinion to my people, but know that I will not stand for your slander, or attacks on my family. I am here to invite peace, and if you feel the same way, then we can engage in debate right here, right now, to reach an ideal resolution," Ghira stated in a slow, methodical tone, his knuckles growing white as he gripped the podium with steadily increasing strength.
Adam merely laughed in response from his position at the bottom of the steps, as the crowd began to shift and murmur.
"You want to 'have this out', old man? You want to see who among 'your' people would rather follow me? Then don't blame me when the results skew against you," Adam retorted as he turned once again to face the townsfolk. "Know that I, too, have our best interests in mind, as faunus. Ghira, and all of the Belladonnas, pledge loyalty to our race and your immediate families, only to allow the humans to trample us into the dirt and happily accept their scraps of land. There can be no self-sufficiency in Kuo Kuana, while trade with humans is allowed."
Sun seethed and grit his teeth as he listened to Adam's words, his tail swishing angrily behind him. Sudden movement within the crowd drew his attention, and he found the anger in his chest bubbling up even more greatly as he watched Ilia, Cinnamon, and Fennec emerge to stand at the edge of the ring of people, each in a different position around the front of the crowd. Sun narrowed his eyes as he noticed an odd, unfamiliar black shape of some sort in one of Fennec's hands, the object partially obscured by his robes as he held it down and beside himself.
A sudden, unexpected jingling sound echoed from behind Sun and interrupted his focus. He turned his head to watch as Kali marched up to the podium and angrily wrenched the microphone down to her face level.
"Trade that your organization encourages, and enables! Neither race can survive without the other, and shutting ourselves off from the outside world would only lead to us falling even further into the dark ages! You say whatever is convenient for you at the time, Adam! Not what's right for us as a people!"
Once again, Adam laughed, and began to clap slowly as Kali fumed from atop the steps. "Well, well, well. It seems that the beloved leader of Kuo Kuana is incapable of thinking for himself, or fighting his own battles. I will say, though, that it's nice to see that at least one Belladonna woman isn't afraid to face me," Adam sneered.
"You shut your goddamned mouth!"
The crowd fell silent at Sun's sudden outburst, and he found a feeling welling up inside of him unlike any he had experienced before. A burning, intoxicating haze clouded his every thought as he found himself marching down the steps toward Adam, his body on autopilot and the fists balled at his sides shaking in uncontrolled rage. Sun vaguely recognized Ghira's voice calling out to him as he continued to walk, but somehow, the sound meant nothing to him, and he drowned it out with his own enraged voice.
"How dare you come here!? How dare you stand before the Belladonnas, and even pretend to give a shit about these people? You want bodies for your insane, misguided war, and you want to continue your twisted, psychotic cycle of abuse that began with Blake and continues with all of us, even now!" Sun shouted, spit flying from the corner of his mouth as he made his way up to Adam and stopped within arm's length. "You sick, condescending, unbelievable douche!"
A tense silence hung in the air as Adam stared at Sun in momentary shock, before his features began to twist into a confident smirk.
"…you must be the new flame. Sun, is it?" Adam questioned as he tilted his head. "I would suggest you stay out of this, little boy, and let the men talk about the future of Kuo Kuana. No one is going to listen to some feral, vulgar kid with a grudge. Unless, of course, you want to make this physical. But violence breeds violence, does it not? Your… 'new family' has already accused me of using such things to inspire hatred. How fitting it would be if you sank to that same level," Adam taunted as he once again spread his arms, making himself vulnerable. "Go ahead. Hit me. Do it for Blake."
Kali paused halfway down the steps, and her eyes widened at the words. She watched with bated breath as Sun took a massive inhale, his right arm shaking horribly as it remained balled in a fist. Without warning, he raised the hand as quickly as he could, opened his palm, and used it to push Adam to the side as he stepped forward toward the crowd. Adam stepped several times to regain his balance, and narrowed his eyes as Sun began to speak.
"…this… supposed man," he began, as he pointed back at Adam, "is an abuser of the worst kind. He takes advantage of people for his own gain, manipulates every system and person in which he finds a vulnerability, and gives nothing back. I have heard more from his victims than I care to say publicly, but I can tell you all that he makes me sick. None of you know me… and none of you have any reason to listen to me, but I hope you do. I'm Blake Belladonna's…" Sun paused, and inhaled sharply as he weighed his options. "…boyfriend. My name is Sun Wukong, and I've been living with the Belladonnas for weeks, now. I've seen what kind of man Ghira is… and I've heard and seen what Adam Taurus has done, in the name of our people. I, too, was at the fall of Beacon... and I know that he was there."
Several members of the crowd looked back and forth between Sun and Adam as a new storm of conversation pulsed through the assembled faunus. Adam moved to stand even with Sun, and glared at the younger male as he narrowed his eyes. As he tore his glance away from the younger man, he cracked his neck and began to speak.
"…it's true, I was there… but what none of you know is why. If you heard what was said by those responsible for the attack, they are of a similar mind as the White Fang. They are unimpressed with the state of humanity. The comforts they've been handed, and the chains that their leaders foist upon them, unbeknownst to the common man. Those that I have met who worked to bring Beacon to its knees have cast aside their ties to humans, and now work only to wake the world from its content, unapologetic and self-serving delusions. They have provided the White Fang with resources, weaponry, and the transport we need to finally begin to make effective change. The advent of our ascension is now, beneath my rule, and it is due in part to our cooperation with them."
"Are you even listening to yourself!?" Sun asked incredulously. "You think working with 'the humans' is a sacrifice that you're willing to make? How many faunus were slaughtered like animals at Beacon, because of a war effort that you pushed? Are those just acceptable losses, too?"
Adam sneered as the crowd turned their eyes on him once again. He waved a hand to the side dismissively, and doubled down on the ice in his tone. "Faunus who cast their lot with institutions such as Beacon deserve what they what they received." Sun made a pained noise and shook his head as he sighed. "While it is always unfortunate for some of our kind to perish as collateral damage… they will not be missed, in our new dawn. What do you know of loss, Sun? I have been told by one of my associates that your parents abandoned you, but it seems to me that beyond that event, one which you were too young to even remember, you know little of what it does to people."
Sun slowly turned his gaze to Ilia within the crowd, and found that she refused to look at him as she held her arm in shame. He inhaled deeply through his nose as he tried to calm himself, and Adam took the vulnerable pause to continue, and address the crowd at large in a soft, contemplative voice.
"People of Kuo Kuana… look at me. Look at the left side of my face, and see what humans do to our kind, when we dare to disobey. When we dare to question, or lash out at the injustices they lay at our feet. I was branded like cattle, claimed as a possession of the Schnee Dust Company… the very same company that sold their stolen product all throughout Vale, and on the campus of Beacon. To fund and attend that school is to endorse the theft of the dust that I, and countless others who never escaped those mines, procured. All those who would stand silently by and utilize the resources stolen out from under us by the Schnee family deserve justice at the hands of the faunus. How many of you have relatives who have a story like mine? How many of you know our misguided brothers and sisters, who one way or another allow this to simply continue? How many more of us must suffer silently, until a change is made?"
Adam narrowed his eyes as the villagers whispered in agreement, and his voice gained a threatening, malicious edge. "I am that change made manifest."
"…you are a pathetic, hypocritical psychopath," Sun said in an exhausted, defeated tone as he brought a hand up to his forehead. "Violence isn't the answer. You operate out of the shadows, clinging to scraps and begging for resources from your supposed enemies while you tie your tongue in knots to justify your actions. Look at Kuo Kuana- this entire town was built on faunus working together, regardless of belief or origin, and making do with what we have. The fact that this town stands says more to the humans about our capacity for greatness and desire for equality than any amount of smoldering buildings ever will. Your actions, and the White Fang, are holding us back. The greatest loss I know is the lives you stole in support of your own ego, and inability to deal with your past in a way that benefits anyone but yourself."
For once, the cool, cocky mask that Adam kept in place seemed to slip as he bared his teeth, and several faunus near the edge of the crowd stepped back in fear as he whirled on them.
"And Kuo Kuana is good enough, is it? An island at the edge of the world, mostly uninhabitable, that we were given just to keep us quiet. That isn't good enough for me. Anyone who looks around us and sees anything more than a sad imitation of the comforts and indulgences that the majority of humans enjoy in ignorance and undeserved decadence is a fool!"
"Then I'd rather be a fool than a member of your cult!" Sun countered as he stepped forward, putting mere inches between himself and Adam. "You have no appreciation for what you do have, and you're here sitting atop the pile of followers you supposedly care about while trying to convince them to be your shields! The family bonds and sense of community in Kuo Kuana are worth more than what most major cities will ever have in lien! We'll get to their level in time, but it takes patience!"
Adam's anger continued to flare as his face broke out in a nasty scowl. "I've done my waiting… and these people have, too. Enough false promises. Enough thoughts of 'someday'. I have the power, resources, and people to elevate us now. My grip upon the White Fang is absolute, now that Sienna Khan has been assassinated by humans, and they will come to cower at our name for their crimes!" Adam snarled.
"You have no power over anything, except through fear," Sun said slowly and carefully. "You appreciate nothing, you earned nothing without using intimidation and taking advantage of people more vulnerable than you, and you're a coward for waiting until now to march into town to try to sway Kuo Kuana to your side. You call me the emotionally unstable little boy? The rage on your face right now and your inability to compromise and adjust is the reason you're going to lose this bid for power… and the reason you lost Blake."
Adam's lip twitched as he let out a frustrated noise. "Enough of this!" Without another word, he cast a gloved hand out to the side, aimed at Fennec, while he kept his eye locked on Sun. Sun followed the gesture to look at the red-robed faunus and his mouth opened in shock as time seemed to slow.
Several members of the crowd gasped as the sheathed katana flew through the air toward Adam, though the blade never made it to him. Adam hesitated for several seconds before he closed his outstretched hand and sucked in a deep breath of disappointment and followed it with a shaky, furious exhale.
"Oh, now what?" he complained, as he let his gaze follow Sun's to where the sword had been intercepted.
Cinnamon stood in the distance between Fennec and Adam, clutching the black sheath that the former had attempted to throw. Wilt remained firmly lodged inside of Blush in Cinnamon's right hand as she glared at Fennec, who slipped backward into the crowd. Slowly, she turned to look at Adam instead, a silent fury in her eyes.
"…there will be no martyrs today. Enough damage has been done on both sides, without spilling blood, and to do harm to this child would only tarnish our image. Back off, baby, and… Sun, was it?" Cinnamon asked as she narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. "Go home. Lick your wounds, and stay out of this. Your pointless idealism has no place here, or anywhere else that falls within White Fang territory. This is your first and only warning."
In a clean, graceful motion, Cinnamon turned to address the crowd and folded her arms across her chest, keeping Wilt tight to her body as she projected her voice. "Those of you who can see sense, and wish to join the White Fang in our crusade… there is a large boat with our flag waiting in the harbor. I will be there, and willing to answer all questions you might have about our organization and intentions. Follow me to the docks, and you will see the truth that the Belladonnas failed to admit to you."
Without another word, Cinnamon began to walk forward with purpose as the crowd parted for her as if on cue. Adam spared Sun one last, sidelong glance and let out a small chuckle.
"…you're lucky, little boy. Next time, she won't be there to save you."
Sun chose not to dignify Adam with a response as he watched the older male walk off to follow Cinnamon. He turned, only to collide with Kali as he was scooped into a hug.
"Sun! You really didn't h-"
"I really did," Sun interrupted as he returned the hug. He half-listened as Ghira began to address the people who remained behind, and tried to call back those who had turned to follow Cinnamon. Despite his efforts, he made out few of the words as Kali squeezed him harder still.
"You salvaged what may have been a disaster, and almost…" Kali shook her head, and stepped back as she dropped the hug. "Please, don't take a risk like that again, especially while unarmed. He wouldn't think twice about killing you…"
"I know. I… kinda lost my mind, but… he can't just get away with this!" Sun fumed as he walked past Kali, and up the steps.
"Where are you going?" Kali asked, as her ears perked.
"…where I belong. To Blake," he said with determination as he reached the door of the manor and pushed his way inside.
Author's Note:
Hey, look, Sun and Adam talked and settled their differences, and everything will be fine forever, now!
Consider this the blanket happy birthday to everyone ever, since it seems that all of the reviewers were born around the same time. Crazy how that worked out. As far as planned chapters work out… the speech and Adam interrupting was supposed to happen 10 chapters ago, according to my pacing guide. 50 is looking pretty damned likely right about now, before "this" story "ends."
Make of those quotation marks what you will, but I'm not telling until later. I have a feeling that those following What You Stole will be very, very pleased.
Next update on Thursday, the 18th.
-RD