Sun kept an arm tight around Blake's waist as the buildings surrounding Haven Academy came into view from the cockpit. Ilia shifted uncomfortably as she leaned against the wall, and Kali narrowed her eyes as she spoke in a low growl.
"…they have no idea what's coming for them. We can't afford any mistakes- I'll radio the other planes and have them take up position around the walls, as close to the Academy as possible. You three, get ready for drop off near the city gates, and make your way in swiftly and silently."
Sun nodded as he kissed the back of Blake's ear. "You got it. Neptune, and hopefully Sage and Scarlet, will meet us there. A party of six should be able to approach without too much commotion, as long as we're smart. Maybe we'll split three and three?"
"That sounds good," Blake agreed as she looked up to Sun. "I think the divide is an obvious one, too."
Ilia pushed off the wall and laced her fingers together into an outward stretch before herself. "Yeah. Have you checked your scroll for your team, yet?"
Blake let out a small noise of frustration as she drew her scroll and hovered a finger over the screen. "I… I think I was planning to just ignore it, and hope that they would call me, if they're around. What do I even say?"
Sun added another kiss to Blake's cheek, and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'll help you, if they're actually in range. They'd be happy to see you, if anything. Trust me."
"You know I do," Blake said with unease. She pressed her finger to the touchscreen and navigated to her contacts, only for her face to go ghost white.
"…what?" Ilia asked as she folded her arms.
"They're… they're here. They're all here. Ruby, Weiss… Yang… even Team JNPR is in range!" Blake said in surprise, only for her ears to wilt immediately. "Well… I guess they're not JNPR, anymore, are they? I don't…" she began, only to trail off.
"We can worry about their team name later, this is great news!" Sun cut in as he braced his hands onto Blake's shoulders. "Call someone!"
"Start with the leader, maybe?" Kali offered as she leaned over the pilot's shoulder and began to give instructions.
Blake merely nodded, and connected a call to Ruby. The cockpit fell into tense silence as Blake waited, her eyes growing more desperate by the second.
"…why isn't she answering me…?"
Sun bit his lip, and gave Blake's shoulder a squeeze. "Maybe it's on silent? Try Weiss?"
Blake ended the call, and attempted to contact her other friend, only to be met with a similar result. Without a word, she dialed Yang, and waited breathlessly for a response. Ilia rubbed at her upper arms, and shook her head.
"…something's wrong. Are we too late?"
"Or are they all actively ignoring me? I wouldn't exactly blame them," Blake complained as she ended the call.
"C'mon, don't give up!" Sun encouraged. "Try someone from… whatever they're called, now!"
Blake narrowed her eyes, and pressed the screen once again. "…Nora. If anyone wouldn't blow me off, it would be her. Or at least, she'd blow me off loudly and publicly."
Again, the call let out several rings, before a panicked voice came over the line.
"Hello!? Blake!?"
"Nora!" Blake yelled in disbelief. "What's going on? Why is nobody answering? Where are you guys?"
A loud crash echoed through the scroll's speakers, followed by an unfamiliar yell.
"Haven Academy! Come f-" the call was interrupted by a bout of static, and more angry voices. "-eed you! Get here as quickly as you can!"
"Is it Adam? Is Adam Taurus inside?" Blake asked, her shoulders tense.
"Ad-…" more static interrupted her voice, only for the bubbly tone to surge back unexpectedly. "No, Adam's not in here. Cinder, a-… -cury, a-…"
"Nora? Nora, are you there? Nora!" Blake attempted, before the call ended abruptly. She whirled on Kali and the pilot, and twisted out of Sun's grip to lean over the chair. "Set Sun and Ilia down, now! We need to get around to the back of the Academy, unseen! I'm going in alone!"
Sun opened his mouth to protest, before closing it with an annoyed grunt. "…alright. You get in there, and find out what's going on. Call us with details, if you can, and we'll bring the rest of SSSN in through the front door."
Ilia nodded, and moved to stand next to Sun. "And if we see Adam… we'll call you, and take care of it."
Blake turned once again and marched up to Sun, before pulling him into a passionate kiss. He accepted the gesture, and briefly draped his hands along the curves of her hips.
"Be safe, Sun. We'll meet inside."
"Go get 'em," he replied with a nod. "RWBY is unstoppable. I'll see you soon."
Blake nodded, and tightened her grip around Sun as the cargo plane began to rapidly descend. Upon touching the ground, Sun eased out of Blake's grasp and gave her a crisp salute, before he and Ilia walked out of the cockpit and into the cargo bay, where the long section of floor at the back end had already begun to descend into a ramp.
Ilia punched Sun in the shoulder as they approached the exit, and gave him a quick nod. "You ready to do this?"
Sun gave her an uneasy smile. "…gotta admit, knowing that it's already going down inside the Academy isn't exactly what I was hoping for… and if Cinnamon's right, Adam and Corsac are somewhere outside. That'll be our fight."
"But this time, we're ready," Ilia replied. "We've got this. We've… oh my god, this douche dyed his hair electric blue," she finished as they reached the bottom of the ramp, only to be greeted by a smirking adolescent.
Neptune Vasilias stood quite tall, wearing his usual red jacket, yellow goggles, and charming smile. His halberd was balanced along his shoulders as he hung both hands up and over the shaft. He shot Ilia a quick wink, before speaking in a smooth tone.
"Dyed? Excuse me, it's all natural. 'Sup?"
Ilia regarded him with a look of both shock and horror, before shaking her head and bringing a hand up to her forehead. "…I think I'm actually gayer, now."
Sun jumped ever so slightly as the cargo ramp began to retract, and the plane began a vertical ascent behind them once again.
"Neptune… gods, it's good to see you, man." Sun outstretched a hand, only for Neptune to blow past it and scoop him into a crushing hug. Sun gingerly returned it with a guilty smile.
"…you, too. It sounds like this is pretty serious?" he asked as he pulled away and clasped his hand firmly around Sun's.
"Extremely. We don't have any time to waste; there's already a fight going on inside the school. No Sage or Scarlet…?" Sun asked, already fearing the answer.
Neptune let out a weary, uncharacteristic sigh, and shook his head. "Scarlet's… gone."
"Gone? What do you mean, 'gone'?" Sun asked as he looked over to Ilia. The girl had busied herself with doing a quick weapon check by extending her whip and snapping it back into several configurations.
"He sorta… left. He decided to go his own way, and leave SSSN last month. So we're sorta… SSN, now. Possibly SN, if Sage's reaction to all of this is anything to go by. He absolutely refused to come out tonight, because of you," Neptune finished as he looked over to Ilia. She scowled back at him, and gave her weapon one final snap.
"Then we don't need them. This goes beyond petty arguments and bullshit. Let's get going."
Neptune inclined his head her way, and looked back to Sun. "Is she always this pleasant?"
"Only around new people, or assholes," Sun offered with a grin.
"Time will tell which you are," Ilia added with an icy glare, before softening her features ever so slightly. "But… thank you, for helping us. Seriously."
"Hey, Sun's my main man, and this is our job, right? We're supposed to protect the people, and blowing up an Academy isn't benefitting anyone. So… let's get to it!" Neptune said with an enthusiastic smile. "Lead the way, man! Go Team SIN!"
Sun and Ilia exchanged looks, before they spoke in unison. "…no."
"Dude, just… absolutely not," Sun griped as he brought a palm to his forehead.
"That's awful," Ilia agreed as she gave Neptune an unimpressed look.
"Oh, what ever," Neptune shot back with a wave of his hand. "Let's hear you come up with a better one!"
"Let's get going, before Haven Academy burns to the ground," Sun corrected, before breaking into a run. Ilia took off immediately after him, while Neptune lagged for a moment, and then brought up the rear.
"Hey, wait!" he cried, as he broke into a sprint. "So, uh, details, my guy? Where's Blake? Is she alright?"
"Blake's…" Sun trailed off as another cargo plane flew overhead. He looked up, before snapping his eyes back to the road ahead and keeping up his pace. "…she's in one of those, with her mom, headed for Haven. She's not doing great. Her dad just… we lost him, last night. To Adam."
Neptune's face twisted into an expression of disgust as he tried to process the information. "That's…"
"It's a huge part of why we're here," Ilia said icily. "And if we do find him, you are going to back off, so you don't get yourself killed. Sun and I have some idea what he's capable of. You don't. I don't want to see you get skewered while trying to be a hero."
"Aw, you do care!" Neptune lilted as Ilia rolled her eyes. "But seriously, though- I don't even know what to say. She's taking it badly, I'm guessing?"
Sun didn't reply at first, and Ilia filled the silence.
"Better than either of us expected her to, but still, not great."
"…she's handling it better than me," Sun admitted with a frown. "We got… close. Like… maybe he was sorta becoming my dad, close."
Neptune's expression melted from disgust and confusion to something softer. Ilia watched, interested as she tried to figure out the dynamic between the two boys, but came up short.
"I'm… sorry, man. I dunno how much you want me to say, but…"
"Ilia knows," Sun said quickly. "It's cool."
Neptune gave each a glance as they rounded a corner together, and made their way onto the main footpath through the city. "So, you two must be close, then."
"He's my brother. Period," Ilia said with a sense of finality.
"…yep. So be nice, alright?" Sun asked.
"Hey, now! That's great news! Sorry about the whole flirting thing, it's just what I do," Neptune offered to Ilia as she let out a sigh.
"You and most boys. It's fine."
Neptune raised a brow, before looking back to Sun. "You know what I'm gonna ask. Well?"
Sun looked to Ilia for help, but received only cold denial in the form of her shaking head.
"…Blake and I are a thing, yeah. And it's… even better than I could've hoped for."
Neptune's grin finally returned in full form, though instead of the loud, boyish enthusiasm it had before, his tone was one of honest warmth. "Congrats, man. I told you not to give up."
"Yeah, yeah, you were right. Blake's… she's the one," Sun mused as he continued to run. The Academy came into view ahead of them, and he picked up speed as the others matched his pace.
"How about we focus on the incredibly dangerous undertaking that is now in clear view?" Ilia seethed. Neptune looked at her with a bit of confusion, before realization dawned on him. He shot Sun a sideways look and received a curt nod.
"Right. I'll follow your leads, since I'm the new guy in all this. Adam's yours, and I'll play a support role. Cool?"
"Cool," Sun affirmed as they made their way forward.
Before long, a line of uniformed White Fang grunts stood fifty feet before them, with the familiar form of Adam pacing in front of the line. Sun grit his teeth and twirled his weapons up into his grip, before firing a warning shot into the dirt at Adam's feet. The man jumped at the noise, and Sun, Ilia, and Neptune all ran to a stop before the line of soldiers as each drew their guns and Adam rested a hand atop the hilt of his blade.
"Again with this? I thought that perhaps losing Ghira would send a message to stay out of our affairs," Adam snarled.
Sun narrowed his eyes as he joined his nunchaku into a long staff. "It's over, Adam. We know what you're up to, and we've got backup. You're not getting away, this time."
As though on cue, two cargo planes, one from each side, moved in over the walls of the city and set down next to the Academy. Faunus began to pour from the planes as a third plane circled around the spire of Haven and moved to hover over the ground, shining lights on Adam as Kali peeked out from the side hatch with a megaphone.
"Throw down your weapons and come quietly!" she demanded, her eyes locked on Adam's. He hissed in rage as he watched the assembling faunus greatly outnumber his group of around fifty grunts. Each shifted their aim between multiple targets as more faunus emerged from behind nearby buildings, backed up by the local police force. The scene quickly turned into a standoff as multiple members of the White Fang began to back away toward the school, and Adam threw up a hand signal for them to stop their retreat. Few bothered to obey, and he shot Sun a venomous look.
"How… when did you even…?"
"It's over, Adam. You went surgical, we went nuclear. No more running, no more games, and no more gloating. You might be able to take me… maybe even Ilia and I together, but you can't take all of us," Sun threatened. "And you have no idea where the one who wants your head most is, do you? She's close. Close enough to take control."
Adam bared his teeth, before he let out a labored breath. He raised his sheathed sword in front of himself, and then dropped the entire thing into the grass. Several members of the White Fang began to murmur amongst themselves, and Adam started to speak over them in a slow, calm tone.
"…lower your weapons, brothers and sisters. This battle may be lost… but the war is still ours," Adam began. Sun rolled his eyes at the statement, and Adam raised his gaze to meet them. "You've forgotten one, pivotal fact, little boy."
Sun planted his staff into the stone walkway beneath himself with a loud bang as he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah? Regale me, old man. What do you think you've got, after all this?"
Adam reached slowly into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, black, handheld device. His thumb rested atop a depressed red button as he lifted the remote skyward, and his men recoiled in shock.
"…when you all die here, you've got nothing left. That's the disadvantage of going all-in. We'll be martyrs. Another reason for my successor to fight harder, more viciously, and remove more people like you from our path than ever before. Make one move, and I let the switch go. Haven is rigged to blow, and all of us are in the blast radius."
Neptune stammered as he helpfully pointed to Adam's hand, his own shaky as his eyes widened. "Sun, t-that's a detonator…"
Sun grit his teeth as he ignored his friend, and found that despite everything, his breath still caught in his chest at the potential for disaster. He felt his every muscle tighten as the theoretical suddenly became very real, and neither he nor Adam blinked or looked away from each other. From out of his line of sight, a warm hand rested on his bare forearm as Ilia leaned in and whispered into his ear.
"Trust her."
Sun's lip twitched as he managed one last, uneven breath.
"If that's what you think… then do it, you psychotic, delusional tyrant."
Several members of the police and the townsfolk of Kuo Kuana turned to shout at Sun. Without missing a beat, Adam lifted his thumb from the dead man's switch, only for nothing to happen. With his state of shock clear upon his features, he hammered the button several more times as his followers began to join in the angry yelling. Adam tossed the remote onto the ground and bent to scoop up his sword as Sun fired off several shots, only for Adam to deflect them with Blush.
"Kill them!" Adam commanded as he took off at a sprint. A grand total of ten members of the White Fang opened fire into the crowd of police officers, while several others got down on their knees and dropped their weapons, and still more began to run in random directions. The townsfolk of Kuo Kuana charged as Sun quickly turned to Neptune.
"Let them fight it out! Get inside, and help out Blake and the others with whatever!"
Neptune hastily lowered his goggles over his eyes as he swung his halberd down and around while transforming it into a gun. "What are you doing?"
Sun looked over to Ilia, who had already taken off after Adam into the tree line to the side of the Academy.
"Ending this!" he replied as he followed after her without so much as a look back. Neptune merely nodded and took one final deep breath before sprinting toward the front doors of Haven Academy.
Author's Note:
I am so pleased that the events moving forward seem uncertain and intriguing, especially when it comes to Cinnamon and Adam's fates. Rest assured- it's all planned out already, and I'm working through updates as quickly as I can. I'll have more to share in specifics once we hit the final five or so, but that's still a decent distance away.
Next update on Saturday.
-RD