Blake's eyes widened and she scooted backward as the voice came through the scroll upon the table. Ghira clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes as he focused upon the device, and Kali clasped her hands and rested them in front of her mouth while she listened. Sun sucked in a rattling breath, and cracked his knuckles with a shiver. Finally, he closed his eyes and began to speak as a familiar sensation of rage began to boil up within his chest.
"What do you want, Adam?"
"Not the best listener, are we?" the voice teased, before letting out a condescending laugh. "Like I just said- I want to talk. You, me, and no one else. Are you alone?"
"Yes, I'm alone, but I won't be for long," Sun lied. "We'll take this to the authorities, and trace the call. We'll find you," he threatened through clenched teeth.
"Oh, I hope that you do. I'd like nothing more than for you to deliver yourself to me, wrapped in a nice little bow. Or, if you're feeling generous, deliver Blake, as well."
Blake slid her knees up into her chest and wrapped her arms around them as Kali moved in and enclosed her in another crushing hug. Both remained silent as Ghira stood, careful not to make any noise, and walked toward the doorway to lean against the wall. He fumed silently as he watched Sun, who pressed his hands down into the wooden floor until his fingers started to go white.
"…yeah, that's not happening. How about you stop being difficult and get to the point? You want to talk? Talk, before my patience runs out, and I hang up," Sun spat.
Another harsh, arrogant laugh came over the line, before Adam sighed. Sun balled his hands into fists and pushed harder into the floor as he could practically hear the confident smirk through the scroll.
"Oh, Sun. Didn't Blake ever tell you that I don't like being told what to do? I'm in control, here, and I'll take my sweet time as you sit there, livid, trying to be the better man. It must be hard, trying not to curse me out again. You know if you do, someone's going to come running, and I'll just… disappear, along with my offer," Adam taunted.
"I wish you would just disappear," Sun grumbled. "What offer? What stupid game are you playing?"
"No games," Adam said as another scraping sound echoed through the scroll. "Just… an idea. I want you and the Belladonnas gone from Kuo Kuana, as soon as possible. I'm getting bored, running these one-on-one interrogations and reassurances with the populace here. I honestly don't know how Cinnamon does it."
"Probably by not being a pretentious, self-righteous, holier-than-thou dictator who actually cares about her people," Sun fired back.
"The way you speak, it almost sounds like you know her," Adam mused. Sun looked to Blake, who shook her head furiously.
"…no. But it wouldn't surprise me, based on what little I've seen. Why don't you just hand control of the Fang over to her, and realize that all you're doing is pushing people away? They only rallied behind your cause once you finally shut up and she stepped in."
A long stretch of silence filled the room as Kali smirked. Upon his return to the conversation, Adam's voice carried a bit more of an edge.
"I'll handle things the way I want to handle them, little boy, and right now, I'm handling you. Come to the docks, tonight."
"Why?" Sun asked with a confident tone. "I'm pretty comfortable right here, with all of my friends. Especially my girlfriend. I don't know if you've met."
"I've met more of her than you ever will, and I found her disappointing in almost every way," Adam replied coolly. Ghira's glare intensified as he listened, and Blake looked away as her shoulders tensed. "She's a… decent lay, if you can get over how much of a cold fish she can be. At the start, anyway."
Sun spoke with a hiss as he jumped back into the conversation to prevent any further details. "Yeah, that's great, thanks for sharing. Why would I come to the docks to meet you? What happens if I don't?"
"If you don't, it's going to be bad for everyone involved… and many who aren't. The people of this rotting little village are complicit in their support of the Belladonnas, and if you won't play ball… then I'm not going to waste more time here, trying to convert the few left that will listen. I'll mark them as enemies, the same as your… 'family'," Adam said, making sure to put a sarcastic emphasis on the last word. "Does it make you feel wanted, being with Blake? Have you started calling Ghira 'Daddy', yet?"
Kali's expression turned into a sneer as she raised a middle finger and began circling it in the direction of the scroll. Sun took several breaths to try to calm himself, before replying.
"You know nothing about me. I don't care what Il…" Sun paused for a second as he caught himself, praying that Adam hadn't noticed. "…l-minded thoughts you have about how I feel. I'll be there, alright? You want to talk? We'll talk."
"Come alone," Adam instructed. "Unarmed."
Sun snorted in disbelief as he shook his head. "Yeah, I'll come about as unarmed as you did, to the plaza. That was low, man. Even for you."
"And yet, had my girlfriend not been there, we wouldn't be having this conversation, now would we? You need to get smarter, Sun. If you defy me, it's going to cause a whole lot of pain for those you care about. Alone. Unarmed. I'll know, if you break either of those rules."
"I mean, yeah, I'd have a weapon and someone with me. No shit, you'd know," Sun seethed.
"There it is. Getting frustrated?"
"Getting ready," Sun replied. "Whatever you've got planned for tonight, it's going to go down in flames."
"Oh, you have no idea. Say hello to Blake, for me. Tell her that I'm coming very soon, to give her another scar," Adam threatened. Another click rang out, and then the scroll fell silent as the time of the call flashed on the screen and the device went dark.
Sun looked over to Blake, who had her eyes clenched shut as Kali kept her in an embrace. Kali's ears flattened and the rings within them jingled as she nearly hissed.
"You're not going alone."
"Or unarmed," Ghira added as he walked back into the main room, looking furious.
"I know," Sun agreed. "But I am going, so we need to figure out how this is happening, and how to make it safe. Or… as safe as it can be."
"I'm going with you."
Everyone else in the room turned to look at Blake in surprise. "Honey…" Kali began, only for Blake to wriggle her way out of the hug and stand, her chest heaving.
"No, Mom. I'm going. I'll follow from the rooftops, and keep an eye on you, Sun. If he starts something, I will be there to finish it, at your side. I'm not running again," Blake resolved as she balled her fists.
"We should all go," Kali suggested, only for Ghira to shake his head in disagreement.
"We can't. This could easily be a trap. If Adam really is going to wait at the docks for Sun, he's likely expecting all of us to be there. That leaves our home vulnerable. If Blake is going to follow Sun, then you and I should stay here, ready and waiting for some sort of duplicity."
"Gotta say, I'm with Ghira on this one," Sun affirmed as he pocketed the dormant scroll and stood. "Yeah, it sucks, but… there are a lot of Fang on this island, and those against them aren't likely to come running and defend either set of us tonight, if and when we get into trouble. Blake and I have got it covered. I trust her with my life."
"And I trust you with mine. I'll stick close, and sneak my way up to you two as soon as things get ugly," Blake said as she wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her dress shirt. "Like you said… we've got this. I believe in us."
Sun smiled as he closed the distance between them and pulled Blake into a tight hug.
"Yeah. Yeah, we do. No matter what he's planning, I think we're going to make some kind of significant progress tonight. It'd be nice if we could somehow give Ilia a heads up, and maybe find a way to have her help us out… but she said not to call her," Sun considered as he ran his hands along Blake's back.
Ghira snorted. "Of course she did. I still don't trust that she has our best interests at heart."
"Ghira," Kali admonished as she moved to stand beside him. "She's in a rough spot right now. Yes, it's because of her own doing, but… there's little we can do for her, until she steps out to openly support us."
"Well, she'd better do it soon," Ghira said.
"Yeah… really soon. Like, tonight soon, if we end up fighting Adam," Sun agreed. "At least we'll get to have a really cinematic duel on the beach, if everything goes wrong."
Blake punched Sun lightly in the chest as she frowned. "It isn't going to go wrong. It can't go wrong, or else I really am going to snap. I'll follow your lead. So far, it's always worked out, hasn't it?"
Sun nodded in agreement as he gave Blake a gentle kiss upon the ear. "Yeah. Just go with it."
The cool breeze coming in from the ocean brought goosebumps to Sun's arms as he slowly walked toward the docks in silence. He closed his eyes briefly as he sucked in some of the refreshingly cold air and shook his hands out in an effort to steady his frayed nerves.
"Come on, man, you've got this," he said to himself as the docks came into sight. The wooden structures stood as oddly-shaped black lattices under the subtle moonlight, and Sun found that the orderly rows of support beams almost resembled headstones from a distance. He cracked his neck and licked his lips to try to banish the thought, before casting a quick glance off to his left side for reassurance.
A small black silhouette darted along the roof of a nearby building before crouching behind the raised edge of the square platform. Sun smirked, and continued onward as he slipped a hand into his pocket. He pressed the screen of his scroll and began to whisper, hoping that the flesh-colored earpiece would pick up his words.
"Blake, you doin' alright up there?"
"Just fine," came the nervous reply. "I'm running out of rooftops, though. I'll try to come on down once you reach the docks, and circle my way beneath the pier. Keep him distracted."
"You know me. I'm good at being distracting," Sun joked as he walked out onto the beach.
"Your ass does look great in those jeans, from up here," Blake replied as she leaped along to the next rooftop. Sun took note of the sudden flirtatious tone in her voice, and shook his head.
"…you don't have to do that, you know. We're gonna be fine. Just… have faith?"
"I do… but you can't blame me for being on edge. Going silent. Good luck. I love you."
"You know I love you, too," Sun replied as he made his way up to the ramp leading to the raised wood. As he stepped onto the boards, a dark shape leaning against a raised wooden pole jutting up from the pier caught his attention. The closer he got to the figure, the more it seemed that something was wrong, until they turned to face him fully with a smile.
"…Ilia?"
"Hey, big bro," Ilia replied with a toothy grin. She walked forward and jumped to grab him around the neck in a tight hug. Sun let out an anxiety-filled sigh of relief as he caught her, and looked her over with confusion.
"Hey, little sis. But… what are you doing here? I got a threatening call from Adam, telling me to meet him at the docks, tonight. He sent you instead?"
Ilia dropped back to the wooden planks as she crossed her arms. "Yeah, he did. He told me to come here and 'deal with you' while he 'tends to other things.' Little does he know that it's just going to result in giving you more details, while we hatch a plan. I think we may have an opportunity to strike him where it hurts most."
"Really?" Sun asked as he raised a brow. "Hold up a sec. Blake's here, too, and she should hear this."
Sun reached into his pocket once again, and pressed upon his scroll. "Hey, Blake? It's just Ilia. Adam was too much of a tool to face me, so he sent her to slap me around a bit, instead. What a dumbass."
"…wow. I'll be right there."
Ilia rolled her eyes as Sun took out his scroll and ended the call, before removing his hidden earpiece.
"So. How've you been?" she asked, before her face fell into a worried frown. "Actually… how's Blake, before she gets here? Is she holding up okay?"
Sun raised a hand and rocked it back and forth in a 'somewhat' motion. "About as well as can be expected, honestly. I will give her credit, though, she's hangin' in there."
"Probably thanks to you," Ilia teased as she shifted her weight to one hip. "As much as it sucks that she's taken… I really do owe you, for keeping her together. I honestly don't know if I would've been able to pull it off."
"Hey, you're gonna make some girl really happy, someday," Sun reassured as he patted Ilia on the shoulder. "Trust me."
"I hope so," Ilia replied as footsteps echoed on the pier. Sun smirked as Blake joined his side and wrapped an arm around his waist, before nodding to Ilia.
"…Ilia. So, this was a colossal waste of time and runaround, on Adam's part."
"Looks that way," Ilia nodded. "I did learn some stuff that might help us out, though, so it ended up being convenient. Turns out, he's… not…"
Ilia trailed off as she looked over Sun's shoulder, and her eyes widened. Quite suddenly, she clasped a hand over her mouth while she pointed, her hand shaking wildly as she looked on in horror. Sun's face fell as he watched Ilia's expression change, and he turned to find a sight that made his blood freeze in shock.
In the distance, a thick, black column of smoke was rising from the Belladonna mansion.
Author's Note:
Of all of the character development that Blake has received in this story, the piece that I'm most proud of is how she didn't light her own goddamned house on fire to see an opponent in a dark room a little bit better, despite having natural night vision.
I mean… seriously? Seriously.
Next update is on Tuesday.
-RD