Ilia bristled as Sun's hand lightly touched the bare flesh of her arm once again.
"Stop it, Sun," she growled as they walked side by side in the middle of a procession of a large crowd of combatants. "My arm is fine."
"Still," the boy replied insistently, "I wish you would've stayed out of combat until you got it officially checked out at the academy. I don't want you overdoing it."
"I don't think we have any option but to 'overdo it' at this point," the girl pointed out. "We're clearly not safe down here in Mantle, and if what Cinnamon said about having agents here is correct… we need to watch our backs."
"We do," Sun agreed as he brought his hand up once more and squeezed lightly around Ilia's bicep. "This really doesn't h- ow!"
"Did that hurt?" Ilia mocked as she reeled her hand back in from a harsh slap across Sun's cheek. "I'm fine!"
"Hey," a deep, feminine voice called from Ilia's other side as a hand came to rest on her shoulder. Yang gave the smaller girl a stern look as she watched Sun rub at his chin and shook her head. "Cool it, for now. There'll be plenty of time to abuse Sun once we get up to Atlas."
"Aw, thanks," Sun offered as he rolled his eyes. "Glad to know you're looking out for me."
"So, you guys are friends?" Marrow asked from his place behind Ilia. The wolf faunus cocked his head to one side and gave the group a friendly smile, which Sun couldn't help but return.
"Yeah! We all met at Beacon Academy. Well… Yang, Weiss, and I did, at least. Ilia, I met later, and we all… I mean, Yang and Weiss didn't know her until recently, so I guess…?" Sun trailed off while scratching the back of his head.
"…you are garbage at explaining things," Ilia griped as she huffed out a sigh. "Yang and Weiss used to be on Team RWBY at Beacon Academy. Sun met them at the Vytal Festival, and I… I met Sun in Kuo Kuana, as a member of the White Fang."
Sun's tail immediately began to twist and swirl behind him as he gave the girl a cautious look.
"Uh, is it really the best idea t-"
"It is," Ilia confirmed with a quick nod. "They're the Ace Ops, Sun- Ironwood's personal special operative unit. They will find a out, and it's in better faith to just tell them now. Yang and I fought with them for a bit before coming to you, and they filled us in. We have no chance of flying under their radar. This is Marrow Amin," she added with a quick nod behind herself.
"…hey," the dark-skinned male replied as he gave Ilia a wary look. "Please tell me that you're… former White Fang, and not an active member?"
"I am," Ilia confirmed as she pointed to the second group of people walking in front of them. "But still. The taller one with the hammer is Elm Ederne, and the shorter woman with the mechanical gauntlets is Harriet Bree. The leader up there, talking with Weiss and Jaune? Clover Ebi. They're our best shot at getting to Ironwood quickly… even if that means giving me up along with Corsac."
"We're not giving you up," Yang reassured as she rubbed the smaller girl's shoulder and gave Marrow a sidelong glance. "And if that becomes a problem, then I hope you four are as good as you say."
"Please, let's not create an issue before there is one," Marrow insisted with an apologetic grin as he raised both hands before himself. "I'm sure we can work this out… though getting up to General Ironwood may be a bit of a stretch, unless you have absolutely vital information. He's dealing with a lot right now, and I doubt he has time to speak to a group of civilians."
"He needs to make time," Sun said firmly. "We have information for him about what went down at Haven Academy… and some of that information might be above your pay grade. Trust me on this one- it's a potential game-changer."
Marrow slowed his walking, a cautious look on his face as he eventually came to a stop. Sun, Ilia, and Yang turned and followed suit, standing near the slightly older man and giving him unreadable stares.
"…you were at Haven," Marrow repeated. "And you have information for the general. Do you have something… physical with you, to go with that information?"
Sun exchanged a quick look with Yang, and the girl gave him a firm nod.
"…yeah. We do. Something that apparently brings grimm along with it," the faunus boy replied cryptically. "We didn't know that at the time… and we want to get it locked down and secured with a vault."
Marrow drew a deep breath in through his nostrils, his perpetually wagging tail suddenly very still.
"…something… lamp-shaped…?"
"So you know," Yang pointed out as she folded her arms across her chest. "Ironwood's filled you in."
"He has," Marrow agreed. "The Aces are aware of… her. He's preparing for the worst, and if we're really talking about the same thing… you do need to get topside, and fast. Please, take my advice- be honest with Clover. Be direct. Don't withhold any information, and trust his judgment… even if you don't understand it. It may be better to give the relic to him, honestly, a-"
"The lamp stays with us," Ilia said flatly. "We are bringing it to Ironwood, end of discussion. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we've been screwed over by people we thought we could trust more than enough for one trip, and I'm not settling for taking a 'hands off' approach when we're dealing with the fate of Remnant. We brought you a key piece in what's probably about to become a war. You bring us up to Atlas in return, and let us stay involved. Those are the terms. Right, Sun?"
Sun looked down at Ilia and found her face full of determination. He needed to see her expression for only a second before turning to Marrow and offering him a nod.
"Right."
Marrow made an uncomfortable noise, and mirrored Yang's posture.
"…if it was up to me… then I'd push to keep you all involved. Unfortunately… it's not. Just follow my advice for Clover, and hope for the best. If things go sideways, I'll talk to the general and try to get you an audience. That's the most I can promise, right now."
"…is something wrong?"
Marrow looked over his shoulder to find "Penny" escorting Corsac. The pair had caught up during Marrow's impromptu discussion, and the android girl eyed him curiously. Marrow raised a brow and nodded sideways to Corsac while keeping his eyes on Sun.
"…is he in the know?"
"No," Sun said quickly.
"And he was White Fang, up until just a few days ago," Ilia added while glaring daggers at the captive faunus. "He is not one of us. We were escorting him as a prisoner."
"I am aware," the android replied with a blank expression. "He turned himself in to Clover Ebi, who has designated me as his personal escort for the duration of this outing. I will take the necessary precautions to ensure that he does not cause trouble."
"And I assure you, I will not," Corsac added. "I am ready to face the consequences of my actions."
Sun shifted his stance as he eyed the disappearing crowd ahead of them and waved the group along to start walking again. They followed, with Sun walking backward at the head of his group as he spoke.
"…thank you, Miss…?"
"Hope," the android replied as she remained at Corsac's side. "Hope Polendina. A pleasure to meet you, Mister…?"
"Sun. Sun Wukong. This is Ilia Amitola, and that's Yang Xiao Long," Sun said warily as he watched Hope's eyes dart to each person he gestured toward. The bright green, nearly glowing orbs seemed devoid of all life and spirit, to the point of being unsettling.
"I'll add files for each of you to my database," Hope offered with a quick nod and rigid smile. "A pleasure to meet each of you, as with Mr. Wukong."
"So you really don't remember anything?" Yang said as she kept her eyes on the road ahead. "You have no idea who the hell we are?"
"I am afraid that you may be mistaken as to my identity," Hope replied simply. "Once we arrive at Dr. Polendina's office, I'm sure he will be happy to answer your questions. I have no record of a unit named "Penny," and I can assure you, that is not my designation."
Yang let out a low growl, only for Ilia to gently rest her arm upon the blonde's shoulder as the taller girl brought out her scroll and began to tap at the screen.
"Now you cool it. I don't really know what's going on, b-"
"What about her?" Yang asked as she whirled, catching Hope off guard and forcing the android to stop as she stood in place with her arm outstretched. Yang held out her device, which displayed a smiling portrait of Ruby on the screen. Hope eyed the picture with a raised brow, and scrunched her face as she narrowed her eyes, scanning the young girl's facial features. "Come on. You must remember something. That's Ruby. Ruby Rose."
"Ruby… Rose…?" Hope asked. She allowed herself a meaningful pause, before shaking her head and lifting her eyes back up to meet Yang's. "Miss Xiao Long, you have my sincerest apologies, but I really do not have any database records regardi-"
"Oh, come on, don't give me that shit!" Yang yelled, her temper flaring as Sun quickly moved to grip her wrist.
"Yang," he warned as Marrow gave the girl a stern look. "Stop. She doesn't know. It's not her fault, and we can't afford for things to get out of hand. Keep your mind on what's important right now. We can deal with this later."
Yang eyed up Hope one last time- beyond the android's fuller, waist-length hair and a minor change to her outfit, she could see no difference at all between the girl in front of her and Penny. The sight merely caused her rage to swell once again, and she grit her teeth before stuffing her scroll into her pocket and beginning to stomp off toward the other party.
Sun let out a heavy sigh as he watched Yang go, and shook his head before offering Hope a weak smile.
"…I'm sorry. Yang is under a lot of stress right now. I guess we all are, really. We need sleep, food, and just… some time to process everything that's going on."
"It is understandable," Hope offered with a wide smile of her own. "Don't worry- I won't hold it against her. Come- let's proceed to Dr. Polendina's office. The other group has already arrived, and they appear to be waiting impatiently," she added with a nod toward the other members of their party.
"Yes, good idea, Hope," Marrow said anxiously. "Come on- let's not keep them waiting even longer."
Hope, Marrow, and Corsac brushed past Sun and Ilia, walking side by side as they hurried along the cobblestone street.
"…so she's a robot, right?" Ilia asked as she kept her eyes on Hope's back. "Because if she's not a robot, this is really fuckin' weird."
"She's a robot, yeah," Sun confirmed as he and Ilia began to follow the crowd together. "I didn't know her too well back at Beacon, but… she used to be 'Penny', as I'm sure you figured out by now. She and Ruby were close friends, and we all… we kinda saw her die in the Vytal tournament. Yang's really torn up about it."
"You don't say," Ilia returned sarcastically. "Still, I… don't think robots can have friends. Isn't she just a machine?"
"…I don't know," Sun admitted. "Going off of how she's acting now, I'm kinda inclined to agree with you… but don't let Yang hear you say that. We'll deal with all of that later."
"Yeah. Focus on the lamp, for now," Ilia reminded as she approached the collection of individuals ahead and nodded to Jaune, who offered her a wave. "What's up, loser?"
Jaune cringed slightly and made a small hissing noise.
"Uh, I know it's not really a big thing, but could you… not call me that?" the boy asked. "It's brings up unpleasant memories."
Ilia quirked a brow and folded her arms across her chest.
"…sure? It's nothing personal. That's just how I treat everyone. My bad."
"It's fine," Jaune insisted with a cheesy smile as he moved out of the way for Clover. The leader of the Ace Ops strode through the assembled crowd, and fixed a Sun with a cold, unreadable stare.
"Alright. You're telling me that you all came here on business with Dr. Polendina… and I need to see proof, once we get inside. You, me, Hope, and two others of your choice are going inside, to avoid causing a scene. The rest of the Aces will stay out here with whoever remains, until the end of the discussion."
Hope gave Clover a crisp salute before moving to stand beside him and folding her hands before herself.
"I'm going," Yang said matter-of-factly as she moved to stand at Sun's side. "I don't care what you say. I have words for this 'Dr. Polendina' that I'm not about to hold in for any longer than I need to."
"Hold them in until we're done discussing what we came here for, and I won't fight you," Sun offered. The girl gave him an annoyed look, before blowing a harsh breath out through her nose.
"Fine."
Sun eyed the remainder of Ilia, Weiss, and Jaune, and took each of their appearances into account. Ilia was looking up at him insistently with exhausted eyes, her hair streaked with ash and salt as it trailed in an unkempt mass behind her. Weiss' dress was still marred with dried blood along her shoulder, her ponytail was uneven, and she looked just as dirty as Ilia while wearing a miserable look. Jaune's armor was tarnished and his hair was a mess, but the boy seemed to be in oddly good spirits as he stood between members of the Ace Ops. Sun had an internal debate for a while before finally looking back at Hope, and the decision immediately became clear.
"…Weiss. You're with us."
The heiress' lips curled into a thankful smile as she gave Sun a nod and moved to join him.
Clover swept his gaze over the trio of teens, and then turned toward the rather unimpressive brick building before pointing two fingers toward the door and beginning to walk.
"Alright, then. Here we go."
Author's Note:
Shockingly, this didn't cover everything I wanted it to, and will extend into the next chapter. Will this or won't this hit Chapter 100 before Volume 8? Place your bets now…
-RD