"…so, she's a completely irredeemable bitch with her head so far up her own ass that she can't see sunlight, convinced that her way is the right way, and that she's above established society as a whole? She basically sounds like Adam, but angry at all life, instead of just humans."
"Yeah, I… guess that sums it up pretty well," Sun considered as he leaned his head back into the cargo netting hanging on the wall behind him. "She's more competent than he is, though, and has more followers that seem able to get things done. Cinder's a legitimate threat, and if she's at Haven… they might not even need bombs to get the job done."
"Great," Ilia groaned as she mimicked Sun's motion, and rested her head backward as well while hugging her knees. "That means, if we do manage to deal with Adam… we're not done. Not until she's under control, too."
Sun gave Ilia a quizzical glance, and scooted over along the smooth metal of the plane's floor to touch shoulders with her as they sat together in the cargo bay.
"…you sure you want in on all of this? I still don't think you really owe us anything, but if you help us take down Adam… there's your supposed 'debt' paid off in full. Cinder's a whole other job, and probably a lot more dangerous, all things considered."
"You're not getting rid of me that easily, bro," Ilia joked as she nudged her shoulder into Sun's. "I'm in it for the long haul, now. I've got nowhere else to go, and no family but you guys."
Sun nodded as he listened, and idly swished his tail behind himself. "I mean, I'm pretty much in the same boat. Our plan was to look for Team RWBY next, and go from there. If we get lucky, we might be headed straight for 'em, and then we can make a game plan. I'd hate f-"
Ilia interrupted Sun with an undignified squeal and punctuated the noise with an unexpected flailing of her arms as her scroll began to ring with a shrill tone. She accidentally smacked Sun across the nose with her wild motions, and the boy rubbed at his face as Ilia pulled her scroll from her pocket and held the device up.
"Hey! Watch it, alright?"
"Sorry," Ilia replied, her eyes glued to the screen. "It's… her."
"Cinnamon?" Sun inquired as he leaned over to take a look. A small icon of a dark-skinned face with short white dreadlocks and matching, striped tattoos along her cheeks stared back at him with blazing orange eyes.
"Yeah. We must have just gotten in range. I've been checking every few minutes since we took off. I think it's a good sign that she's contacting us," Ilia stated as she took a deep breath.
"Here's hoping. Don't leave her hanging."
Ilia nodded her agreement, before tapping the screen to connect the call and tapping it again to put the device on speaker. She brought her legs down to cross them, and rested the scroll in her lap.
"…hello? Cin?"
"Amitola!" came the deep, husky voice over the line. Sun shivered involuntarily as he listened in, but remained silent. "What's going on? Where are you?"
"I'm… listen, are you safe to talk? Like, really talk?" Ilia questioned.
"I'm not stupid, you know. Yes, I'm alone. Adam's apparently inbound for Haven Academy as we speak, according to Corsac."
Ilia raised a brow, and exchanged a confused glance with Sun. "…not according to himself?"
"Oh, we're not talking," Cinnamon replied with a bit of annoyance in her tone. "I haven't picked up any of his calls. I told him not to stay in Kuo Kuana, both to save you some grief and because we have bigger things to attend to… but he wouldn't listen to me, so I'm not listening to him, in return."
"That's… I don't even know what to make of that, but listen- I'm on a plane right now, headed for Haven Academy. Sun's right next to me, and Blake and Kali are on board. Half of Kuo Kuana is coming, too, to put a stop to the attack. We know everything, Cinnamon. Even what you didn't tell me directly."
Cinnamon scoffed. "Well, I'm not going to tell you everything. It's too suspicious if things go off without a hitch, and Adam's little attack on the school is going to blow up in his face as it is. Or… not blow up in his face, if you know what I'm saying. What happened? How did you get your information?"
Ilia bit her lip and took a few deep breaths as she closed her eyes to mentally prepare herself to relive the previous night. She never got the chance, as Sun leaned over the scroll and began to speak.
"Adam murdered Ghira Belladonna, after setting fire to the mansion. He and I fought to a draw, he ran with his tail between his legs, and Kali took out Fennec in a fit of rage. We have his scroll, and that led us to you," Sun seethed.
A long, uncomfortable stretch of dead air came over the line. Sun cracked his neck as he waited, and Ilia rubbed her temples.
"…I know it probably means nothing, but I'm sorry for your loss. Ghira was a good man, and Fennec will be missed. This is exactly why I told Adam to come with us, instead of staying behind. He's made a fine mess of things, now. Just to clarify, though- I'm not at Haven, nor will I be. I'm closer to the Mistrali border with a small unit. Once you all thwart this stupid plot and do whatever you see fit with Adam, I'll roll in and take hold of the Fang. From there, we can all sit down and hammer out a… deal, of sorts. Something that will benefit both sides."
"Yeah, that's gonna be a negative," Sun replied immediately. "Kali's set on taking over the Fang, and even if you're… 'with us', supposedly, you've already done enough shady stuff that I think she's a better call. She's got you beat on morals, experience, and would probably garner more support from the general public, once word gets out that her husband was murdered, and you're shacking up with Adam."
Ilia punched Sun hard in the shoulder, and mouthed a silent 'what are you doing!?' as they awaited a response. Sun ignored her, and narrowed his eyes as he glared down at the portrait on the scroll.
"…from your perspective, that makes sense… but I have my reasons, and my ways. Like I said- we'll talk. I'm open to discussion, and a deal, but it's going to have to wait. You've got an asshole to stop, and I've got authorities to call with an anonymous tip to help you out. Focus on your crusade against Adam, for now, and I'll re-enter the picture after the dust has settled."
Ilia jumped back into the conversation before Sun could speak again, and picked up the scroll. "Yeah. Let's just cool off for a bit, and then worry about the future when it gets here. Thanks for keeping in touch, and sticking with us, Cin."
"Not a problem, Amitola. I'm a woman of my word."
Ilia nodded and hovered her thumb over the screen to end the call, only for Cinnamon to start up again after a brief pause.
"…Sun?"
Sun tried and failed to fight back a grimace as he busied himself with adjusting his pauldron.
"…yeah?"
"I'm sorry we got off to such a shitty start, especially with the whole… using you as a hostage and playing with your semblance bit. It was nothing personal- just defending my home. No hard feelings?"
Two words came to Sun's mind almost immediately, but he fought them back as he looked over at Ilia. Her eyes were pleading for him to accept the apology, and so, he heaved a massive sigh before propping his elbows on his knees and putting his head into his hands.
"…yeah. Sure, whatever. We can start over, I guess. And… thanks for saving my life, back in the square."
"Don't mention it. Adam's crossed too many lines lately for me to even continue pretending to care. He's on his own, now. I'll see you two at the finish line."
A message of CALL ENDED flashed upon the screen, and Ilia hung her head as she let out a sigh of relief.
"…thank you."
"I've got your back, alright? But I'm not gonna not call her out, when she's got no right to just lay claim to the White Fang because she's a double agent. She's still complicit in a lot of things that shouldn't have happened," Sun stated matter-of-factly.
"I mean… so am I," Ilia admitted as she put her scroll back into her pocket and drew her knees back up to her chest. She looped her arms around them in a self-hug once again, before giving Sun a rather pathetic look and turning her facial scales a powder blue. Sun shifted uncomfortably, and frowned.
"…stop that."
"Stop what?" Ilia teased in a singsong voice as she continued her efforts.
"…making points I don't have a defense for. This is all really complicated, and I'm not a complicated guy, alright? Politics are out of my wheelhouse, and I probably shouldn't have said anything. I screwed up," Sun griped.
"First of all, you are a complicated guy," Ilia pointed out as she changed her expression to be more neutral.
Sun rolled his eyes. "Yeah? How?"
"A simple guy would spend most of his time with Blake staring at her boobs, instead of being her wall to lean on," Ilia countered.
"Oh, like you do?" Sun teased, only to get smacked upside the head.
"…you're an ass," Ilia accused. "Also, totally guilty. Second, maybe it's better that you did say something. Questioning people keeps them honest, and I don't know anyone better with honesty than you. I don't think you're even capable of lying."
Sun chuckled, and offered her a toothy grin. "Guess you don't know I used to be a thief, and street hustler. Blake changed all that."
Ilia looked at Sun in surprise, before shaking her head sadly. "…she really does change people. So do you."
"I'm trying. But… some people can't be saved," Sun said ominously as he pulled out his own scroll. "Guess it's my turn. I really hope Neptune picks up…"
"He will," Ilia said reassuringly. "You said he's cool, right?"
"Too cool, sometimes," Sun grumbled as he began to scroll through his contacts. His face fell into a frown as he pulled up the page for his team, and his heart sank.
"What? What's wrong?" Ilia asked as she leaned over to try to peek at the screen.
"…Neptune and Scarlet's scrolls are either out of range, or off. I've got signal to Sage, but it's weak… and I'm pretty sure he's pissed at me. The guy knows how to hold a grudge," Sun warned as he tapped on the contact.
"Lives are at stake. Grudges can wait," Ilia said as she stood up and raised her arms in a full-body stretch. Sun merely nodded as he set the device down into his lap as Ilia had done before, and put the scroll on speaker as it began to ring. After what felt like an hour, but what was in reality five rings, a surly, unimpressed voice came over the line.
"…you have got a lot of goddamned nerve calling this number."
"Sage, wait, don't hang up! Please!" Sun insisted as he immediately brought his head into his hands once again. "This is serious! I need the entire team, if they're around!"
"What, trying to bum a condom off one of us for your little cat girl? I don't even know why I bothered to pick up."
Sun's eyes widened as Sage's voice grew more distant. "Sage! Don't do this, man! Cinder's crew is planning an attack on Haven Academy, and we're on our way to defend it! We need backup! We can sort out the team later, and…"
Ilia gave Sun a sympathetic look as he stopped talking, and received no reply. Moments later, a scuffle and garbled yelling came over the line from somewhere in the background of the call. Sun nervously tapped his fingers against the side of his head, before another familiar, albeit lighter voice echoed out in the cargo hold.
"Hello? Sun? Are you still there?"
Sun let out a huge sigh as he dug his fingernails into the side of his head out of stress. "Oh, thank gods, Neptune, you're there!"
"Yeah, of course I'm here! My scroll's off, and Sage is being Sage, but I've got your back. What's up? Did you find Blake? Where are you?"
Sun couldn't fight back the grin that came in response to his friend's concern, but he quickly got it back under control as he shook his head.
"I… yeah, I did, and I'm on my way to you now, in a plane. But, listen- her ex, that crazy Adam guy? He's planning to blow Haven Academy sky high, and that Cinder woman might be there, too. Blake, her mom, her friend, and I are on the way with half an island's worth of faunus to stop it. I need backup, man. I'm sorry I left you guys hanging for so long, b-"
"Ah!" Neptune interrupted, and Sun fell silent. "Don't worry about it. I said I'd take care of things, and I don't go back on a promise… even though things got pretty bad, while you were away. Where do I meet you?"
"You're in?" Sun asked hopefully as he picked up the scroll and rose to stand.
"What do you think? Of course I'm in! What friend wouldn't be?"
Sun closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead. "…you're the best, dude. I'll find a way to make this up to you."
"…is Blake's friend cute, and single?"
Ilia shot Sun a deadpan look, and walked closer to the scroll. "Yes, she's cute. Really cute, and aggressively single."
Neptune's voice adopted a hopeful tone, and Sun could practically hear his million-lien grin over the scroll.
"…well hey there, cutie."
Ilia rolled her eyes and folded her arms with a devilish smirk. "She's also gay. Extremely gay."
Sun snorted in amusement as Neptune was momentarily at a loss for words.
"…oh! Well, hi there, anyway! Neptune Vasilias, at your service."
"…Ilia Amitola, and you definitely won't be 'servicing' me, anytime soon. Maybe tone down the charm a bit, before you go barking up the wrong tree?" Ilia advised in a playful tone.
"Yeah, maybe. But never mind all that- listen, Ilia, this is all going to work out. We've got this! Sun's a good guy, a great leader, and an awesome fighter… and now, you've got me! Just play it cool, take it slow, and trust us. We'll take care of things."
Ilia raised a brow and looked to Sun, who couldn't help but smile.
"…yeah, we will. Listen, we're gonna touch down right outside the city gates, and walk in to see if we can't get the drop on anyone scheming around Haven. Meet us there?"
"You got it, Sun." Neptune's voice dropped down to a near whisper. "…is she really gay, or did I just come on too strong?"
Ilia huffed as her scales flashed red. "She's really gay, and you're still on speakerphone, dumbass!"
"…right, seeya, gotta run! I'll convince Sage and bring him along!"
"…so dumb," Sun mused as he ended the call and stashed away his scroll. "Sorry about him, he's… yeah, let's just settle on 'dumb'."
Ilia flashed Sun a grin. "…I like him already. We should be about half an hour out. Maybe 45. Let's get Blake from the cockpit, and do one last gear check."
Sun nodded his agreement, and began to walk toward the door at the end of the bay. "Neptune's right. We got this."
Author's Note:
A new dumbass has joined the party.
Posted this way early due to the holiday tomorrow, so I figured I would give people a chance to read it now, in case they're tied up tomorrow. Next update on Wednesday.
-RD