Fiona was the first to speak, her brows knitted in seemingly deep thought as she wrung her hands beneath the table.
"Hope Polendina is… well… the designated 'Protector of Mantle', designed by Dr. Pietro Polendina. He's a brilliant machinist who has been contracted by Atlesian authorities several times in the past, but recently… Ironwood has more or less taken up all of his time with classified projects. Hope was one of them, until she was revealed to the public a few months ago and given the job of patrolling and protecting the lower city," the sheep faunus explained. "People are… mixed in their reception of her, to say the least."
"The doctor has always been in Ironwood's pocket, but never this deeply," May added as she folded her arms and offered Weiss an unreadable look. "He used to do public works projects and hold public seminars fairly often. That stopped after the Fall of Beacon."
"Because of Penny," Sun stated flatly. "I'm assuming you all saw the Vytal Tournament. I mean… Hope is just Penny rebuilt, right…?"
May offered Robyn a neutral glance, which the platinum blonde returned before heaving a sigh and shaking her head.
"…we don't know. Dr. Polendina was always a fan of walking the public through the hows and whys behind his science. Hope just appeared one day, and we're all just assuming she's 'Penny 2.0' at the moment. What that means beyond the fact that Hope is a natural evolution in the design process, no one knows. Few people seem to care, for that matter…"
"Yet you do," Weiss pointed out. "Why?"
"Simple," May jumped in. "Ironwood's involved, and it's just another on a laundry list of secrets that are starting to lose him public trust."
"Secrets that shouldn't be secrets," Fiona emphasized as three uniformed wait staff entered the private room and began depositing platters of food onto the large table. "The fact that nothing was said beyond 'here she is' implies that something sinister is going on. There's a lot that's been unexplained lately, and Robyn is fighting for the council seat so that it will be explained to the public. A lot of people aren't willing to trust a weapon that they barely understand, especially when Mantle has so many holes in its defenses."
"So Hope's situation is emblematic of a larger problem," Weiss offered. "You mentioned that Ironwood has been losing favor, back at the docks. I take it these 'secrets' you're referring to have a lot to do with that?"
"They have everything to do with it," Robyn agreed as a large, rotating wooden platter stuffed with fried foods and dumplings was deposited between her and Weiss. "Jobs are disappearing. People are disappearing. Dust and funding to Mantle are getting blanket cuts, and winter is approaching fast. Holes in the perimeter of the city are going unpatched, and grimm are starting to use them to enter. Grimm shouldn't even be here. It was thought that outside of the ones in the deep ocean, they couldn't survive the cold of Solitas. Terrestrial grimm are new to us, and Ironwood's total silence on the matter isn't earning him any good will. It's like the grimm have evolved, and it's happening quickly. Worryingly quickly…"
Sun and Weiss exchanged a nervous glance that didn't go unnoticed across the table.
"…you two know something," May insisted as she narrowed her eyes. "What is it?"
Sun gritted his teeth as he turned to look at the woman, his tail flicking furiously beneath the table.
"May," Robyn warned as she put up a hand and gave her subordinate a cold glare of warning. "Back off. We have time, and we're on neutral ground right now. There's no reason to sour that with demands right out the gate."
"…neutral ground?" Weiss questioned as she delicately plucked a fried shrimp from atop the pile on the central platter and moved it to her own, smaller plate. "I thought this meeting was on friendly terms?"
"You are working for Ironwood, aren't you?" Robyn asked as she began to load her own plate while turning her eyes to Sun. "You mentioned that the others were getting physicals or doing paperwork, and the Aces themselves escorted you up to Atlas. That tells me that you're important, beyond just having a Schnee with you. Who are the five of you?"
Weiss hesitated, her shrimp halfway between her plate and her mouth as she met Robyn's probing stare with total silence.
"…we're… displaced," Sun began, his eyes down on his empty plate. "We're students, from Beacon Academy. We were huntsmen and huntresses in training that didn't run when Ironwood told us to, during the fall. We stood our ground against the grimm, and we lost people. Some to grimm, some to separation and confusion during the attack… and we've just been drifting, ever since. We were all first years when it happened, but we're fighters, and we've been clinging to each other just to survive. Somehow, we made it out of there… and eventually made our way here. We pleaded our case to the Aces, because we have nowhere else to go, anymore. They brought us to Ironwood, and he's giving us a place to stay at Atlas Academy. The only thing we know is that we're finally somewhere safe, and that he didn't forget about us. He took us in, even though we're not exactly 'his' students. We owe him… but we don't know him, yet. So… I'm sorry, if you thought we could give you any inside information," the faunus finished as he looked up at Robyn, his eyes full of pained sincerity.
May's glare only seemed to harden, while Fiona raised a hand to cover her mouth and cast a sympathetic glance at Robyn. Robyn herself took a deep breath and sank farther back into her chair before shaking her head once again, her mouth pulled into a sullen frown.
"…then you two are still teens," she muttered to herself. "And none of you asked for any of this. You probably came here to escape the grimm, and now, you're finding yourselves right in the middle of a hotspot. Not to mention a political battle."
"…that's right," Weiss agreed as she subtly rested a hand upon Sun's thigh beneath the table. "Even so, we'll fight. We'll fight alongside you and yours if you'll have us, and given the upcoming election, we'll fight against my father, as well as the grimm. But that's really about all we can do. We don't have any special insight as to what's going on in Mantle or Atlas. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," Robyn insisted as she started in on her food. "It was my mistake to assume something else. Even though you're not 'in the know' with Ironwood, you're both still part of our ecosystem here, and the fact that you were willing to take a trip down to Mantle to meet with me says a lot. Your willingness to defend the city says even more."
"It says that, unlike most of the holier-than-thou crowd up in Atlas, you two might actually be worthy of being called 'hunters'," May added. "If Ironwood won't send you on assignment, then we will. And even if he does, we'll still have work for you, both with the grimm, and with the election."
"So long as it's in service to Mantle, we'll be happy to help where and when we can," Weiss reassured with a nod as she finally began to eat. "Doubly so if doing so hurts my father."
"You really seem to have it in for him," Robyn pointed out with a smirk. "He's been contributing to the problems in Mantle, all while playing the victim and shifting blame toward Ironwood where and when he can. Lots of people here have lost jobs because of a supposed 'dust shortage', and he claims that only by getting a seat on the council can he convince Ironwood to stop demanding so much for classified military operations."
"Is it a blanket shortage?" Sun asked as he finally took an eggroll for himself. "Like… all sorts of businesses are being affected?"
"So he says," Fiona confirmed. "Electrical dust in particular has been cracked down on, recently. According to Jacques, Ironwood is cutting into our supply to ramp up production of war machines. Ironwood hasn't confirmed or denied anything."
"What about gravity dust?" Weiss asked, growing tense.
"…gravity dust?" Robyn repeated as she tilted her head. "Nothing specific has been mentioned. Why do you ask?"
"It's extremely difficult to get a hold of, generally," Weiss explained. "When I was involved in the S.D.C., around 70% of it was imported from Lake Matsu, while the remaining supply was mined from deep within the core of Atlas itself. It just seems to me like it would be the hardest to come by."
"When you say you were involved, you're implying that you're not, anymore?" May replied. "If that's true, then what happened? Why did he just leave you at Beacon?"
"…he didn't," Weiss admitted. "He actually brought me home, for a time… before cutting me off from the company and shifting the status of 'heir' to my little brother. I guess he kept a stranglehold on the media coming out of Atlas, if you don't know about that…"
"Yet you were traveling with Sun?" Robyn asked with a raised brow.
"…I left Atlas, and joined up with Sun's crew in Mistral," Weiss explained. "I'm the 'newest' addition to the party, actually, but… I'm here with his crew, now. Not with my father."
"I see," Robyn said with a nod. "Well… at the moment, Mantle is torn almost down the middle between him and I. I could use any information you'd be willing to give me to get a leg up on Jacques Schnee."
Weiss smirked as she spun a collection of pan-fried noodles onto her fork and held the implement just in front of her mouth.
"Oh, I'll tell you everything…"
Cinnamon kept her cheek mashed into her fist as she watched the skyline through the glass, her elbow planted firmly on the rubber sill of the window. The ground far below had immediately changed from rolling hills to jagged, cracked rock upon crossing the ocean, and there was a complete lack of wildlife in the area bar the occasional grimm meandering about.
"…so, let me guess," the woman said in an unimpressed tone as she looked at the reflection of her companion in the window. "We're headed for where the sky is a cartoonish dark purple, with red clouds beneath? That section of this island that just screams 'evil lair'?"
Tyrian chuckled softly, his mechanical tail waving hypnotically in the space between him and Cinnamon.
"Evil, you say? Why, I find ash clouds quite beautiful, in a unique sort of way. It's unlike anything I've seen out on the mainland. So are you, for that matter."
"If that's an attempt at seduction, then keep it in your pants," Cinnamon warned. "I'm not here for any reason other than to keep my people safe, and to see the downfall of the Black Claw. Keep that in mind… and keep your distance."
"After the humiliation you gave me at your little camp? I intend to, for now," Tyrian reassured. "I'm content to just watch you. Study you. Look for any little inconsistencies, any attempt to go against the will of our goddess. In fact, I'm somewhat hoping that your intentions are less than pure. I'm itching for a chance at redemption."
"Then we'll spar, once we get to the citadel," Cinnamon replied with a shrug. "I'm sure Salem is going to want to see me in action as it is. I can knock you on your ass again."
Tyrian let out a mirthful snort, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous shimmer in the glass.
"So confident. Tell me- if you're so much more capable than Adam was, why did you ever submit to him? Even if you're a bit… callous, I'll admit that you've already done more than him, just by agreeing to meet with Salem. All he did was complicate our plans at Haven and complain."
"Because I know how to play the long con, in order to get what I want," Cinnamon answered as she finally turned to face Tyrian. "It's no different than what you're doing, is it? Surely, you're in this to see Salem on top, and secure a position for yourself in her 'new world', as you put it. I'm doing the same for the faunus, just as I was when Adam was in charge. I knew it was only a matter of time before he got himself killed, and letting it happen organically made it easier to swoop in and claim the Fang as my own than a violent takeover would have been."
"And yet you're content to simply serve, now?" Tyrian questioned. "Where has all of your fighting spirit gone? Aren't you the least bit tempted to try to seize power once again?"
"…it sounds almost like you want that to be the truth," Cinnamon pointed out. "Keep your zealous commitment to Salem in check, Tyrian. I'm well aware that if what you told me back at the campground is true, then Salem is going to win this little shadow war, and I've got no chance in resisting her. Again- I'm in this for my people. If serving her keeps them safe, and I have no option otherwise… then that's what I'll do."
"Smart. Pragmatic," Tyrian praised. "And boring. You're right, honestly- I was hoping there would be a little struggle, a little shame, a tiny spark of resistance from you as you wriggled against your chains. We've already got two within our number whose hearts just aren't in it anymore, but I'm not allowed to play with them. I can smell their hesitance to continue along this path, but Salem insists upon protecting them, regardless. I've told her that they're untrustworthy, but still, she won't even acknowledge the danger that one of them poses, should she defect. Maybe now, with you here, we'll be allowed to dispose of them."
Cinnamon rubbed gently at her chin, hiding a smirk.
"…not all is well in your neck of the woods, and you're actually worried about one of your own?" Cinnamon asked.
"Not worried- eager," Tyrian countered. "I want her to make a move, and try to run. Chasing her down would be so satisfying…"
"Hm," Cinnamon mused as she turned her attention to the window once again. "Is that so…"
Author's Note:
Next time- Ruby's big arc gets rolling.
-RD