Sun rubbed at his temples as he surveyed the wreckage all around him. Countless faunus ran all about in the surrounding area, surveying the charred walls of the manor behind him. Some whispered, others screamed, and still more had joined the efforts to douse the flames. The fire had long since died, helped along by yet another bout of rainfall, but nearly half of the manor had collapsed in upon itself. Sun looked over the remains of what had become his home in utter disbelief, and shook his head silently as the rain continued to trickle gently upon his hair and skin.

Though Sun wasn't sure when he had stopped crying, the feeling of the rain slowly crawling down his cheeks and neck felt much the same. He brought the back of his hand up to wipe his face, before slowly slicking his hair back with rainwater. The thought of how he might look like Adam with such a style immediately ruined the moment, and he dragged his fingers through his hair again to mess it up and let it hang in disarray instead. Sun cursed softly under his breath as he let out a ragged sigh, and let the events of the night play out in his head again. No matter what he did to help salvage the situation, nothing could take the thought of Ghira's lifeless eyes from his mind.

Without knowing what else to do, Sun began to make his way around the perimeter of the house, toward the front entrance. Many faunus he'd never seen before, along with what house attendants remained, darted back and forth around the manor as they tried to determine what to do next. Sun offered a weak smile to those that noticed him, and received similar gestures as he continued to walk. While he would normally have volunteered to continue lending his aid inside, Sun was exhausted, and he knew in his heart that the battle was lost.

As he rounded a corner to the side of the ruined home, Sun was greeted by the sight of an arrangement of bodies upon a large blue tarp. Each was covered by a featureless white sheet, and given enough space around it for those surveying the fallen to maneuver between them. Sun shivered as he began to count, and then forced himself to tear his gaze away from the macabre display as the number broke 20. Merely by chance, he found himself looking at Ilia, sitting alone with her back up against the manor wall while hugging her knees and burying her face within them. Sun's heart sank even deeper to a depth that he didn't know he had as he approached, and sat down next to her in the soggy grass.

Sun opened his mouth, only to close it again as he noticed that her shoulders were still shaking. The entire time that he and the Belladonnas had been carrying Ghira's body out of the mansion, Ilia had been sobbing. Not far from the entrance, she had begun to hyperventilate, and had to stop leading the group as a panic attack set in. Kali had insisted that they leave to set Ghira outside of the home and come back for Ilia afterward, but by the time Sun returned, she had vanished. Without any idea of what to do, Sun laid a hand upon her shoulder, only for Ilia to let out a nerve-shredding scream.

"Hey! Hey, it's only me!" Sun reassured as Ilia scooted away from him, looking horrified. "Ilia, it's just me. It's Sun."

Ilia's breathing quickened once again, and her chest heaved as she gasped for air. Her eyes welled with tears as she looked him over, eyes darting back and forth, before she looked down and began to calm. Ilia sniffled and wiped her nose, before speaking in a low mumble. Sun moved closer to try to hear her as she spoke, and frowned as he got the message.

"…my fault," Ilia said in a near whisper. "All of it. My fault. I should've never stayed in the Fang. I shouldn't have been angry at Blake. I should have helped you guys sooner. Shouldn't have let Cinnamon leave."

"Ilia, no," Sun said gently as he moved over to sit beside her once again. He rested a soft hand upon her shoulder as she continued to mumble, her eyes locked on the ground. "It's nobody's fault, but Adam's. You couldn't have stopped Cinnamon, and… we all make mistakes. It's okay."

Ilia's head snapped to the side as she yelled. "It's not okay! Nothing is o-"

Sun leaned in and pulled Ilia into a bone-crushing hug, and she stopped speaking immediately. The smaller girl burst into a fresh cascade of tears and sobs as she pressed her face into Sun's chest, and he let out a sigh as he looped a hand around to her back to begin slow, circular rubs. Once again, Ilia began to hyperventilate, and Sun steadied his hands upon her shoulders as he forced her back to look at him.

"You're right. It's not okay, but one day, it will be okay again, as long as we stick together. Blaming yourself isn't helping anyone, especially you. We all feel the same way, but we have to keep it in, for now. We have to be strong. We have a fight to finish," Sun said as he pulled her back into another squeeze. Slowly, Ilia started to calm as she rested her head against his neck.

"Yeah. I know, you're right. It's just… it's all just too much, right now. Please stay with me? This is the second dad I've lost," Ilia replied.

"…first, for me. I never knew my real dad. Ghira was… nobody's going to be able to replace him," Sun lamented as he rested his head atop Ilia's and returned to stroking her back.

"…and nobody better try," Ilia added. "Are… are you okay? You seem a lot more together than me," she added with a small laugh, followed by a sniffle.

"No. No, I'm… really not. I'm just keeping it in, for everyone else's sake. Don't be fooled, Ilia. I'm probably gonna have a breakdown worse than yours, soon, once I let it all set in," Sun admitted. "And… I don't know if I can be strong for Blake, right now. She must be a mess."

"Where is she?" Ilia questioned.

"…don't know. Probably hiding somewhere. I really need to go find her, and… try my best to hold us both up," Sun said with a weary sigh.

"Hey, stop that," Ilia warned as she repositioned herself to look up at him. "You can't shoulder everything, and like you said, we've got a war to fight. We need to do this together… so let me come with you."

Sun blinked in surprise at the offer. "What if Blake gets pissed at you? I doubt she's feeling particularly rational, right now."

"Then Blake gets pissed at me," Ilia repeated. "We need to help her. Be there for her. If she's the friend I know she is, she'll be there for us, too."

Sun merely nodded as he pulled Ilia up to stand with him, and dusted off the back of his shorts. "Yeah. You're right. When'd you get so smart and introspective?"

Ilia allowed herself a small, hollow laugh. "I guess… crisis brings out the best in people, sometimes. When they're not having a panic attack."

"Don't worry about that," Sun said with a wave of his hand. "We can work on it later. As a family."

"As a family," Ilia agreed as the pair began to walk slowly along the wall. "I… it's not just Ghira, you know."

"What else is bothering you?" Sun asked as he led the way.

Ilia shook her head, before pulling the glowing sai from her belt and beginning to look it over. "…F-fennec. Kali just… she popped his head like a grape, Sun. I've never seen anything like that… and I hope I never do again. It didn't bother you?"

Sun paused to consider the question, and kept his eyes away from Ilia. "If… if I say 'no', does that make me a monster?"

Ilia sputtered as she tried to find an answer, and bit her bottom lip as her breathing quickened. "…no… I mean, I don't think you're a monster, but… are you just used to seeing things like that? Or… why not?"

"…don't know. I just… felt nothing," Sun admitted. Something cold gripped his chest as he let the meaning of his words sink in. He found that he didn't like it, and shivered hard. "It was all just… drowned out by anger. He wasn't even a person, to me. Not after what I saw, and with Adam right there… I didn't even care. I still don't."

"…oh," was all Ilia could manage, before a long silence fell between them as they walked. She kept her eyes on the back of his sweat-stained red shirt, and bit her bottom lip. After several minutes of walking, they turned a corner, and Sun came to a stop. Ilia stopped behind him, and put a hand up onto his shoulder as she leaned around to get a good look.

"Kali's making a speech," Sun informed as he shook his head. "Already rallying the rest of Kuo Kuana. She's stronger than all of us."

"Even after losing her husband," Ilia added. "I wish I could be like her."

"Maybe someday," Sun offered. "We should be there. We should have been there, helping her inspire. I just… right now…"

"I already told you, stop that," Ilia chided. "You're doing the best you can. We all are. And hey, you got me to stop freaking out, for now. Together, we can both help her. That's something, right?"

"Right," Sun agreed in a deadpan. "I guess."

Ilia frowned, before looking back over to Kali. She squinted her eyes, only to tap Sun's shoulder and point to a nearby tree.

"Hey, is that… is that Blake standing there, watching?"

For the first time in hours, Sun felt something other than anger or cold indifference as a tiny spark of warmth found a home in his heart. He followed Ilia's finger and saw a figure standing alone beneath a giant willow, not far from the house or the assembled crowd before Kali.

"…with our luck, it's Cinnamon."

Ilia shook her head. "I told you, she left on a boat, probably for Haven. Speaking of…"

Sun looked over as Ilia pulled out Fennec's scroll, and swiped the screen.

"…find anything?"

"Loads. Enough to turn the tide in our favor, potentially. You go to Blake, and I'll help Kali," Ilia stated.

Sun nodded his agreement, and began to head off for the tree. "See you soon."

Ilia gave Sun a small wave before walking off toward Kali, and Sun returned the gesture. He walked slowly toward the solitary willow, and tried to collect his thoughts along the way. As he neared the tree, the identity of the figure became unmistakable. Blake's white dress shirt caught the glow of the moon, and her obsidian hair flowed gently in the cool breeze of the night air. Sun took a deep breath before walking up to her side, and softening his voice.

"…can I comfort you, or do I need to give you some space? The last thing I want to do right now is upset y-"

Sun never got a chance to finish his sentence as Blake uncrossed her arms and put a soft, freezing finger to his lips to silence him. Her eyeliner had run down her cheeks and dried against her face, and she looked absolutely miserable as she spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Are you okay, Sun?"

Sun made a small, frustrated noise as he turned his head to look away, only for Blake to grip his jaw and turn his head back to face her. At the sight of her intense frown, Sun felt his heart sink and fresh tears start to escape the barricade that he had so carefully set up.

"…n-no. No, I'm not."

It was Blake's turn to offer a vice-like hug, and Sun couldn't find it in himself to do anything but return the gesture with a weak grip of his own.

"Blake, this is all… this is the worst."

"Yes. Yes, it is," Blake said with a sigh. "I already spoke to the townspeople. It's Mom's turn, and then, we're taking the fight to the White Fang."

Sun recoiled from the hug in surprise, though Blake kept her hands on his waist. "You did what? How… but aren't you…?"

"Emotionally destroyed?" Blake offered. "Yes. But I'm also done. This is the second home I've lost, after Beacon. This is the second family I've seen destroyed, after RWBY. I'm not going to just run away, or simply put up with the hand I'm dealt. It's time to be proactive. It's time that we take control, and make things go our way. I just lost my father. I'm not losing Mom, or you, or Ilia," Blake resolved as she stepped back and folded her arms.

Sun reached up and wiped his eyes once again, before giving Blake a tiny smile. "Good. And… and I'll be here, to do it with you."

"I know. Once we figure out what we're doing tonight, and how, I'm going to focus on comforting you. I know this can't be easy," Blake began, only for Sun to look at her incredulously.

"Blake, you just lost your dad. I have no right to b-"

"You have every right!" Blake cut in, her strained voice full of anger. "At least I had a father, got to know him, and had the privilege of growing up with him. Yeah, I'm devastated, but you? Sun, this right here… this family, this smoking ruin that used to be my house? This is everything you wanted, and Adam just stole it all out from under you. I have some happy memories of Dad that I can hold on to forever. You had barely gotten to know him, and figured out how to coexist before he was taken. I won't let you hold back how you're feeling, for my sake. I thought I was being selfless by running away, when my presence caused problems. You helped me to see that I was anything but. Now, though? Now, it's time for me to really be selfless. Let me deal with this, by helping you. It's long overdue, and you can't sideline it anymore. If you keep shoving away your feelings and issues and I keep letting you do it, they'll all come out at once in a way neither of us will like, later."

The longer Blake spoke, the more Sun could feel himself losing his composure. He knew deep down that her words were entirely true, but until then, he hadn't allowed himself to accept it. Wordlessly, he walked over to the tree and sat down, before leaning his head back into the bark. Sun closed his eyes and allowed the miserable, selfish feelings to wash over him as a pair of icy hands covered his own.

"Sun… I know what you're probably thinking, but the loss is just as personal for you as it is for me. I'm… going to be mess for a long time, and I'm barely holding it together now, but I know I'll be alright because I have you. You won't let yourself have me. Not in the same way. It's time you did. It doesn't make you weak, or selfish, or entitled… it just makes us family," Blake reassured.

Sun opened his eyes and looked over at Blake. Her own were red and raw, though it seemed that she was done shedding tears. More than enough came from Sun as he slowly shifted and laid his head down into Blake's lap while doing his best to avoid her eyes. Blake cradled him close and began to run her hands through his hair as he simply focused on breathing with his eyes closed. What felt like hours passed in silence, before Blake planted a kiss on the side of Sun's head. He turned to look up at her, to find that she had a steely expression.

"…Mom's coming this way. Get up. Looks like we're about to make our move."

Author's Note:

Hooray for depressing aftermath! Oddly enough, this chapter came very easily, compared to the last one. I don't know what that says about this story, but let the ramping up begin.

Next update on Thursday.

-RD