Sun kept his eyes dead ahead as he continued walking back toward the docks. Once again, he lagged behind the procession of the Ace Ops, though in contrast to their trip to Pietro Poledina's office, he said nothing to anyone throughout the journey. The mechanical noises of Pietro's chair behind him only served to intensify his burgeoning headache, and it wasn't until Weiss rested a hand upon his shoulder that Sun blinked and let his mind come off of autopilot as he looked sideways to her.
"…are you alright?" she asked as she dropped her hand back down to her side. "You look miserable right now… and every time you're not talking and putting on a show for others, lately. We're all noticing it, Sun."
"Yeah, well, I'm running on fumes right now," Sun admitted. "Not only that, but… this is it. We're headed for Ironwood, and we're about to find out what's going to happen to us for the foreseeable future. And… I'm our leader, responsible for making decisions and saying the right things to him. I think I'm gonna hurl."
"You'll do fine," Weiss reassured. "We're all behind you, Sun, no matter what you decide to say or do. If it comes down to the idea that remaining in Atlas isn't the best course of action… then we'll follow you anywhere."
"…yeah. Thanks," Sun offered as the docks came into view.
Two large planes awaited them in the massive parking lot just beyond the beach, as did a familiar trio of women standing just before the vehicles. Clover picked up his pace and his fellow Ace Ops moved to join him as he made a hasty approach, his voice loud and firm. He quickly handed the relic of knowledge backward to Marrow, who lagged behind and gave it to Pietro while using his body to shield the handoff from view. The older man tucked the relic beside himself in his mechanical chair, and used his arm to cover it entirely as they all approached the platinum blonde woman with the crossbow upon her arm.
"Robyn Hill, this is now a matter of the Atlesian military, and dealing with classified information and materials. You no longer have authorization to be here," Clover warned as he stood directly before her. Robyn's facial expression quickly turned to one of contempt, and she braced her hands upon her hips.
"Excuse me?" the woman replied in a hostile tone as she gestured toward Sun. "We were here to help defend Mantle, and now, suddenly, we're not even allowed to ask who these people are, or why they're with you? I'm not expecting full clearance, Clover, but give me something. The people are going to want answers, and if General Ironwood stays completely silent as usual, public opinion of him will fall even further."
"Excuse me," Weiss interrupted as she moved ahead of the rest of the group and stood next to Clover. "May I ask who you are, exactly? We've all been wondering about your role here, and we're incredibly grateful for your help… even if the Ace Ops feel otherwise. I'm Weiss Schnee."
"I know," Robyn replied, her voice full of venom. She took a long, deep breath through her nose before blowing it out and shaking her hands free of nervous energy. After a short internal battle, she offered her hand to Weiss, and the girl accepted it. "Robyn Hill. I'm running against your father in the election."
Weiss' eyes widened in horror as her hand fell limp in Robyn's grasp.
"The… he's… what?"
"…there's an empty seat on the council of Atlas," Clover explained as he shook his head. "Your father is in the running to occupy it, as is Miss Hill."
Quite suddenly, Weiss tightened her grip upon Robyn's hand, earning back her attention.
"…do not let him win," Weiss insisted. "I will do anything in my power to support your victory over him."
Robyn's eyes widened as Weiss let her hand fall. Gradually, her forced neutral expression turned to a smile, and she nodded.
"…well. That's… not at all what I expected to hear from you. Thank you, Miss Schnee- I'll make sure to do my best not to give him an inch."
"My father is a snake," Weiss spat. "I want nothing more than to see him fail here."
"Huh," Clover interjected with an amused smirk. "Then maybe you and I will get along, after all. Still- Miss Hill, there's only so much I'm allowed to say, here."
"Then say it," Robyn insisted as her voice grew cold once again. "Give me something to say to the people, and we'll step aside."
"Tell them that there was a grimm attack at the docks," Marrow offered as he stepped forward.
"Amin," Clover warned as he gave the faunus a dangerous look. Marrow ignored it and continued to speak.
"Tell them that we worked together to push back the wave, along with a group of volunteer citizens, and that the Atlestian military took care of the larger threat at sea. They don't need to know that these people are from outside of Solitas."
"Marrow Amin," Clover repeated, while turning to face his colleague. "This isn't your place. Do you see Harriet or Elm speaking up and volunteering information?"
"…was anything he said unreasonable or classified?" Weiss cut in, folding her arms as she moved to stand next to Marrow. "The people at least deserve to know those facts. He didn't do any damage with that information."
"…and he didn't say much of substance, anyway," Robyn pointed out with a heavy sigh. "Fine. Thank you all the same, Marrow. We'll get going, but first- Miss Schnee, may I have your scroll information?"
Clover bristled, but Weiss turned away from him and waved Robyn and her subordinates over to the side, away from him as she withdrew her scroll from her pocket.
"…alright," Clover said, his annoyance clear in his tone as he turned to address the crowd before him. "Corsac, Dr. Polendina, and Hope- you're with me. I want one of the Aces with the crew from Argus, in the other transport."
"I'll go," Marrow volunteered immediately. The faunus wasted no time in hopping into the side door of the waiting plane, before his superior could deny him.
"…then it's settled. Elm. Harriet. Let's go," Clover finished as the remaining Aces, Corsac, Pietro, Maria, and Hope moved for the other plane. Sun, Yang, Ilia, and Jaune moved to follow Marrow, and Weiss brought up the rear and jogged to catch up after speaking briefly with Robyn.
"I've got her info. I think we should speak to her again in private, sometime soon," Weiss offered to Sun as she climbed up into the transport.
"So do I," the boy agreed as he offered a hand and helped pull Weiss up into the plane. "Anyone who has the best interests of the people in mind deserves our support."
"…especially when the competition is my father," Weiss finished as she sat down next to Sun within the plane's central chamber.
"…be careful," Marrow warned in a cautious tone from his place sitting on the bench on the opposite wall. He sat alone, while Sun, Weiss, and Yang occupied the bench across from him, and Ilia and Jaune shared a smaller one against the perpendicular wall. "Robyn Hill is a better option than Jacques Schnee, but she does push too hard for information she isn't entitled to, sometimes."
"Hey, speaking of," Yang said loudly as the plane began a straight vertical ascent, "why's your boss such an absolute dick?"
Marrow visibly cringed as his shoulders slumped and his tail stopped its gentle wagging.
"He… Clover is under a lot of pressure and has a lot to consider. He doesn't mean to come off that way…"
"That may be true, but so are we," Weiss offered. "We are not acting hostile and unfriendly, even though we're being threatened with potential arrest. He treated you like dirt."
"I know," Marrow said quietly. He sighed, before looking up at Sun from across the chamber. "And I'm grateful to all of you for being so flexible, despite everything. What did you tell him in Dr. Polendina's office…?"
"Everything, basically. The truth, like you asked," Sun replied.
"…everything?" Ilia questioned. "He's aware of what happened at Haven, and afterward?"
"More or less," Sun clarified. "I won't run through it all again now, since we're about to fill in General Ironwood, but… yeah. Clover knows what's up."
"Good," Jaune offered as he leaned his head back into the metallic wall of the hold. "The less head games we're playing, the better. This is all so big and scary…"
"It is," Marrow confirmed, "but so far as I can tell, you're all going about it the right way and handling it wonderfully. Things should get better after we talk to the general as a group. I can't imagine that you'll be in any sort of trouble, after helping us at the docks."
"…you seem young, for the Ace Ops," Ilia commented. "How green are you, exactly?"
Marrow shrank down a bit, looking conflicted.
"I'm… 26, and this is near the beginning of my third year with the Aces. Why?"
"…because you're really naïve," Ilia said with a shrug. "You can't imagine that we're about to be screwed over, when you're transporting two former members of the White Fang? It might be the best move to give Ironwood the relic, sure, but I don't trust him beyond securing it in the vault. I don't trust anyone with the sort of power he has."
"Ilia," Sun said cautiously. "Cool it. Please."
"…what was it that Robyn meant when she said that General Ironwood's approval ratings were falling?" Weiss asked as she looked back over to Marrow. "I thought he was beloved…?"
"…he was," Marrow agreed before coughing lightly into his hand. "Lately, though, he's… I'm not really sure what I'm allowed to say, but the flow of information from Atlas down into Mantle isn't quite what it should be, in the eyes of a lot of people. Mantle is feeling cut off, and in some cases, lied to. The general isn't lying to them, of course, but he has to dance around the issue of Salem's existence. It's getting difficult, and sometimes, that means coming off as short, or disinterested, or…"
Yang snorted and shrugged.
"So, red tape is making Ironwood look like a massive douchebag to people who aren't inclined to trust authority. Makes sense."
Marrow pulled an uneven face and gave Yang a sorrowful nod.
"That's… about the size of it, yes."
"Great," Ilia said as she rolled her eyes. "So, what are the chances that he's going to treat us the same way? Here we are, putting our asses on the line to make this work, and we might get a pat on the head and the cold shoulder?"
Marrow squirmed in his seat and bit his lip.
"…it's very possible…"
"…I won't let that happen," Sun resolved. "Do you all trust me to take the lead?"
"You know we do," Yang said simply. "Do your thing, and don't back down if we're fed a line of bullshit. We'll be there to support you the entire way."
"What she said," Weiss agreed. "I'll interject as needed on the subject of my father, but beyond that… whatever you decide, I'm with you."
"Don't even need to ask me," Ilia pointed out. "You've got this, big bro."
"…I'm in too deep now to just walk away," Jaune offered. "And I believe in you, too."
Marrow offered Sun a smile, and a small nod.
"…so do I."
Sun smiled despite himself and laughed lightly as he returned the nod.
"Well… okay, then. In a few minutes, we'll see how this all shakes out."
Sun kept his shoulders tense as he once again found himself in a large procession of people. They moved swiftly through the clean and featureless upper halls of Atlas Academy, and no one dared to say a word. The walls were a sterile white and lit by high, intensely bright blue lights, and the floors were a cold, polished tile. The entire setup from the lobby to the elevator reminded Sun of some factory in a science fiction movie, and he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something just a little off about the whole place as they approached a massive, bisected sliding door at the end of a large lobby.
"…alright," Clover said sternly as he turned to face the crowd. "Hope and I are going in, along with our new arrivals. Harriet, Elm, and Marrow- keep an eye on Corsac, Dr. Polendina, and Miss Calavera. I'll fill you in afterward."
"Yes sir," Harriet replied with a crisp salute before gesturing to one of the plush couches in the circular waiting room. "Go ahead, and don't try anything funny."
"Don't try anything funny," Maria mocked as she hobbled over to the couch and hopped up onto it. "Young lady, if I were in my prime…"
"We're just doing our jobs, ma'am," Marrow offered with a disarming smile as he moved to sit beside her.
Clover merely rolled his eyes and turned toward the door, before detaching the relic of knowledge from his belt and holding it down at his side. The man swiped an I.D. card through a reader beside the gigantic portal, and the doors slid open to reveal another large, circular chamber with a desk at the far end and a wall of windows behind it. Clover walked into the chamber first, with Hope, Sun, and his group following close behind.
General James Ironwood sat behind his desk, watching the group intently with his fingers steepled in front of his mouth as his elbows rested atop the furniture's surface. His eyes were narrowed, his expression was cold and calculating, and in place of his clean-shaven and chiseled jawline was a closely cropped, thick, black beard that extended down to his neck. He wore a uniform of white, blue, and red, and at his side stood Winter Schnee, in her own complimentary outfit.
"Winter…?" Weiss said breathlessly as she stepped forward in front of the crowd.
"…Weiss," the woman replied uneasily as her eyes lit up ever so slightly. She stepped forward as Weiss moved to meet her in the center of the room. "Your tip about the incoming leviathan saved lives. I'm proud to s-"
Winter stopped speaking immediately as Weiss encircled her in a tight hug. The smaller girl rested her head against Winter's chest, and the older Schnee let out a sigh before finally relenting and resting her head atop Weiss' for a brief moment.
"…I missed you," Weiss said softly. "And I'm here, now. To help."
"…welcome home," Winter replied before breaking the hug and moving to stand on the side of the room with Weiss, between Sun's group and Ironwood's desk.
The general offered the pair a small smile, before movement from the other end of the room caught his attention. Clover closed the distance to the large desk and deposited the relic of knowledge atop it, causing General Ironwood to stand up and lean over the lamp as he began to inspect it with wide eyes.
"…so it's true," he said with an aura of reverence in his voice. "And you really did bring it here…"
A long moment passed as the man inspected the lamp, before finally walking around his desk and standing before the assembled teens as Clover took up a place at his side.
"…you have my profound thanks for your service to Atlas, and really- all of Remnant. I remember most of you from the Vytal festival, though, I'll be honest, I… don't remember any of your names, beyond Weiss."
"Sun Wukong," the boy offered as he stepped forward. "I'm… I guess I'm leading us, right now, and I'll be happy to answer all of your questions, Sir."
"Yang Xiao Long," came a follow up as she stepped forward. "And we need to talk about the Vytal festival, after everything else is squared away."
"Jaune Arc," the boy offered with a small bow, though he remained in place.
"…Ilia Amitola," the faunus said with a heavy sigh as she avoided the general's eyes. "I wasn't there, and I was with the White Fang at the time."
"But she's cool," Sun added quickly. "I mean, she's one of us. Fighting for Remnant. She isn't…"
General Ironwood raised a hand for silence, before clasping it with the other behind himself.
"There will be time for all of that later, both involving the Fang and the tournament, but for now… we desperately need to discuss what you know, and your intentions moving forward."
"We know a lot," Sun began. "We know who Salem is, and some of us have seen her… or an illusion of her, projected by Emerald Sustrai within Haven Academy. We were all there to defend it, and we worked together with Cinnamon Shoal, the second in command of the White Fang at the time, to protect the school. She sabotaged the bombs intended to destroy the building alongside Ilia, and allowed us to get inside to fight with Salem's agents while the rest of us went after Adam Taurus."
"…then let's start small," General Ironwood suggested. "Adam Taurus. What do you know about his current status, and the level of threat he poses to us now?"
"He's… dead," Sun said bluntly. "I… Weiss and I killed him."
Silence befell the room for a tense moment, as Winter rested a gentle hand upon Weiss' shoulder. Clover raised a brow, his features marked with intrigue.
"Adam Taurus is dead? And you managed to kill him?"
"We did," Weiss agreed. "Cinnamon betrayed us and sent him after us. Specifically to target me."
Winter's grip upon her sister's shoulder tightened, and she locked eyes with the general.
"Hope- pull everything you can about Cinnamon Shoal and fill me in after this conversation comes to a close," the man instructed, only to earn a nod of affirmation.
"Scanning all available databases," the android replied as she stared straight ahead, seeming to ignore everyone else in the room.
"She's a threat," Sun confirmed. "She did help us out and was working to prevent Adam's plot to apparently knock Atlas out of the sky, but… she can't be trusted. She lied to us… and she knows about Salem, too. We told her everything, before we knew she was… working toward her own interests."
General Ironwood closed his eyes and pinched his thumb and forefinger against his temples before opening them again and taking a deep breath.
"…Salem… is not a subject to be taken lightly," the man began to explain. "If the people find out from the wrong source, or the information is delivered the wrong way… it will incite mass panic, and chaos. Cinnamon is now the High Leader, I'm assuming?"
"She is," Ilia confirmed with a nod.
"Then she has a platform to do exactly that, if she isn't found, and dealt with," General Ironwood stated. "Another new issue that needs to be resolved. Tell me about what happened at Haven."
"I'll take this one," Yang offered before giving Sun a pleading look. The faunus nodded, and Yang gestured toward the lamp. "My mom- Raven Branwen- is the Spring Maiden. She worked alongside Cinder Fall- who is now dead- to unlock the vault and take the relic. I stepped in and took the relic voluntarily, since she wanted nothing to do with it."
"Cinder is dead?" General Ironwood asked, mirroring Clover's impressed expression. "You're certain? You killed her?"
"Raven killed her," Yang corrected. "And I'm certain. That about sums it up."
"There is… one other thing, that I don't think anyone's mentioned yet," Jaune added. "Professor Ozpin's alive. He has a new… 'host', I guess you'd call it. He was traveling with us."
"Oz is…?" General Ironwood said softly, before his expression and tone turned cold. "But he isn't here? Why wouldn't he come with you, to help? Where is the rest of Team RWBY?"
"That's… that one's my fault," Sun replied as he scratched at the back of his head. "I devised a plan to divide and conquer, and Professor Ozpin went along with it. We came here, to transport the relic. Blake Belladonna, Neptune Vasilias, Qrow Branwen, and Kali Belladonna are in Kuo Kuana, rebuilding and working to found the Black Claw. Adam Taurus murdered Blake's father, and they're… trying to counteract the White Fang, and create a fifth kingdom in Menagerie. Ruby Rose, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Sage Ayana, and Oscar Pine- Professor Ozpin's new body- are headed to Patch to find Taiyang Xiao Long, and hopefully, Raven. The Professor thinks he and Ruby can convince Raven to join us, and teleport everybody here to stand as a united front."
General Ironwood made an uncomfortable noise in reply.
"That… is a dangerous and unfortunate move… though for acting completely on your own, and given the fact that Ozpin agreed to it… I can't fault you," he admitted. "Is there anything else you believe I should know?"
Sun briefly turned and looked over his companions. Each of them either shrugged or shook their head, and Sun turned back to face General Ironwood with a resolute nod.
"That's everything, Sir. Everything except the White Fang prisoner out in the lobby."
"The General has already been briefed," Clover replied coldly. "We'll deal with him after this."
"And on that note… I'm going to make you all an offer," General Ironwood began in a tired voice. "You have all done well- incredibly well, all things considered, in coming here and informing me. I saw you all stand at Beacon and defend it when the odds were just as bleak as they are now, and I commend you for your bravery and dedication to the career of hunter. That being said… looking at you now, I see something else. I see my own reflection in each of you, and I can't in good faith demand that you continue down this path. You're exhausted. Injured. Some of you, I can tell, are barely holding on to hope. I would like to offer you an 'out', as it were- in reward for your service, you may have a place here, at Atlas Academy. Full room and board, instruction, or simply… a space to live out your lives. If you choose for this to be the end of your path in defense of Remnant, I will not hold it against you."
"With all due respect," Ilia replied, "I think I speak for all of us when I say fuck that. We're in this, and we're doing it together. Or am I wrong?"
Sun gave his companions a brief glance to see their reactions. Yang smiled wide at Ilia's words, while Jaune had a smirk of his own hidden behind a hand. Weiss looked utterly mortified, as Winter glared at the chameleon girl.
"…she is speaking for all of us," Sun reassured. "We're here, and we'll fight for Remnant. We'll fight for you."
"Then there is one demand that I will make," the general warned. "From here on, while I'll be happy to hear your opinions and take your advice into account- further decisions regarding Salem, Atlas, and the good of Remnant will come from me. Decisions like splitting our resources and working with the White Fang were reckless, dangerous, and could easily have compromised our entire effort. If you want to provide your assistance- and it is assistance that we desperately need- I need to know that you'll fall in line and carry out orders as you receive them."
"We will," Sun replied quickly. "We're in this as a team, and we all want the same thing. I… sorry, for screwing things up."
Ilia shifted uncomfortably, and again looked elsewhere in the room.
"…you needn't apologize, Sun- you did what you thought was right," General Ironwood confirmed. "I will still provide you housing here, near to the Ace Ops and away from the other students. There will be other benefits that come in time, but I'll need to prepare some paperwork and pull some strings before I can offer them. For now, I want to tell you about the plan, moving forward."
The man turned and walked back to his desk, only to pick up a remote. Upon pressing a button, shutters slid down to cover the windows around the room's perimeter, and a projector slid up from the center of the floor. In the darkness, a holographic projection of Amity Coliseum manifested and began to rotate slowly in midair as Clover made his way for the door.
"I'll go and fill in the rest of the Aces. Hope- come with me, and keep an eye on Corsac and the other two."
"Affirmative," the girl responded as she seemed to snap back to life and moved to follow Clover. "I'll have a full report on Cinnamon Shoal upon my return."
"Very well," General Ironwood replied while the doors slid open and his subordinate disappeared into the hall. Once the doors shut themselves once again and the room fell back into darkness, he gestured to the hologram. "Priority One is to convert Amity Coliseum into a sort of global CCT, in order to reestablish communication throughout Remnant."
"We can do that?" Jaune asked in disbelief.
"That's… that's brilliant," Weiss commented as she watched the hologram develop a domed roof and elevated tower atop itself. "We could stand against Salem as a united front, if that happens."
"…and reestablish contact with the other groups," Ilia added with a sly smile as she moved forward to nudge Sun's arm with her elbow. She snorted lightly as she watched his tail twist and flick behind himself in excitement.
"We… yeah, we could!" Sun agreed.
"But doing so would require a ton of gravity dust," Yang pointed out. "Right?"
"It would," General Ironwood confirmed. "We need to elevate the coliseum higher than even Atlas to send out a global signal… and to do so requires far more dust than we currently have access to. I have a plan for that, and it's something that all of you could certainly assist with."
"Can it not be mined from beneath Atlas itself?" Weiss asked. "Cut off in large quantities by airships, and quickly affixed to the coliseum?"
"It can't," General Ironwood lamented. "Because Atlas doesn't use gravity dust to stay afloat- what you see beneath the city is synthetic, and a mere prop. It uses the relic of creation as a perpetual power source to stay airborne. The staff is only capable of sustaining a single creation at a time, and for longer than I've been alive, it's been used for that purpose."
The assembled teens stared at General Ironwood with wide eyes and shocked expressions as they tried to process the information.
"I… the entire city runs off a relic?" Weiss asked.
"It does," General Ironwood confirmed. "All power in Atlas comes from the relic, and we rerouted it into a system to keep the city afloat, among other things."
"…then what does the relic of knowledge do?" Sun asked. "Do you know?"
"…Professor Ozpin didn't tell you?" General Ironwood asked, only for the faunus to shake his head. "Then it's better if I show you, at a later date. For now, though, we need to focus on the CCT. Once it's up and running, I'll be addressing the world about Salem, and we move into the phase of coordinating an attack on her stronghold. I'm done running and hiding. This is going to turn into a final push, for all of Remnant."
Sun tensed slightly as he watched the hologram disappear and the lights in the room come back up.
"…okay. Then what do you need us to do, right now?"
"First, I need you to rest," the man replied. "I need you in top form by early next week, so we can begin procuring large quantities of gravity dust in secret. You're taking the rest of the day- and the next few days- off, in order to collect yourselves. Lieutenant Schnee- pick out an assortment of rooms on this floor for them, and show them our facilities."
"Sir," Winter replied with a firm nod before heading toward the door.
"Thank you," Sun offered with a small nod. "We'll do our best."
"Thank you," General Ironwood replied. "Let's hope that this is the beginning of a long and productive partnership. I'll be in contact, both through the Aces and in person."
Sun offered a quick salute and moved to follow Winter, while his friends fell in line. Ilia lingered for a moment longer and eyed the general with suspicion before turning to follow with a silent shiver.
Author's Note:
It's a triple. Next update will likely be next weekend, because now I'm exhausted. I've been dreading this chapter ever since Volume 7 content began, given the sheer amount of information that needed to be conveyed in both directions. That being said, I'm happy with how it came out. Hopefully that's true for all of you!
-RD