"…completely ridiculous! The fact that James Ironwood won't step in and control what's coming out of the Ace Ops i-"
"It's not his place to police the thoughts of his subordinates," a second voice chimed in, coming from the portrait of a mustached man with a bad combover wearing a blue suit. "If he did, he'd be accused of being a tyrant and trying to put a stranglehold on freedom of thought. He knows that, so he isn't going to do anything about it."
"Well, he should," the first speaker- a woman wearing a hot pink suit vest and pearl necklace said in a huff. "He has to say something. Remaining totally silent while a member of his inner circle is mouthing off about how great Jacques Schnee is for Mantle is irresponsible and just plain dangerous."
"I'm with Dave on this one," a second woman chimed in from the other side of the screen. "There really isn't much that James Ironwood can do here. No matter what statement he makes, whose side he takes, and what interviews he does or doesn't do, he's going to come out looking like a villain. Marrow Amin might be totally out of line and a complete idiot, but he has a right to voice his opinion… no matter how insane it might be."
"It's a selfish, ignorant stance that makes it abundantly clear that he only cares about Atlas and his bank account," the anchor who had been identified as 'Dave' added. "All this time, he was supposed to be the relatable faunus Ace that the people loved… but he's just as guilty of being a shill for Atlas as the rest of them. I'm not thrilled with the way that Ironwood is handling this either, but he's making the right move- washing his hands of the situation entirely, and letting Marrow slowly dig his own grave. It's only a matter of time before he'll be forced to step down on public outcry alone. For his sake, I hope he isn't stupid enough to set foot in Mantle again. Things are bad enough down here without him parading around and acting like he's a friend to the people, after th-"
"Can we… maybe not listen to that?" Marrow requested as he kept his eyes closed and his thumb and forefinger pinched around the bridge of his nose.
The noise of their giant military truck crunching through the snow along with the bumpiness of the ride in the back cargo storage already had Marrow's stomach churning, and the feeling was only getting worse by the second as the footage went on. The faunus' head was pounding, and his face was ashen and pale in contrast to the rest of his skin. Upon seeing the Ace looking sickly, Ilia snapped her scroll shut, cutting off the news report in mid-sentence with a scowl.
"Fucking hypocrites. The second you do something they don't like, they try to turn the entire city against you, all while eating out of Atlas' hand to funnel carefully-selected narratives to the people of Mantle. I'd love to see who's signing their cheques."
"Yeah," Marrow said in a strained voice. "I know. Just… I don't want to think about it, especially right now. We have a job to do. Stay focused, guys…"
"You look unwell, friend," Corsac observed. "Do we need to stop the vehicle?"
"No, no," Marrow reassured. "Just… it's a lot to take in. They're right- I probably can't go into Mantle safely at this point…"
"That's bullshit," Ilia spat. "Don't you have family in Mantle?"
Marrow closed his eyes once again. The rumbling of their transport through the snow seemed to get even louder, and Marrow stood up to wrap his hand around one of the steel rods forming the inner frame of the back of the truck. Without a word, he lifted up part of the blue canvas covering that was secured to the frame and poked his head outside for some fresh air.
Through a light snowstorm, Mantle was visible far in the distance, as was the small town of Rust bordering the giant crater beneath Atlas. The entire area was covered in the shade of the floating city, as was much of the barren snow field between their vehicle and the crater. Lights from within the dust mines inside of the crater were barely visible, giving the hole in the earth an eerie glow. On Marrow's other side, sets of much brighter, tall pylons marking off the caves tunneling into the mountainside at their destination shone brightly through the snow. Only one other feature of note stood out among the white fields- a tall, metallic signal tower with a booth atop it just barely visible through the whirling snow stood proudly near the coast, its yellow lights blinking high atop it. Marrow took in a few deep breaths, filling his lungs with the crisp tundra air before he pulled his head back inside of the cargo bay.
"…we're about halfway to the mountain ridge," the faunus announced as Ilia and Corsac gave him a pair of worried looks. He held their gaze for only a few seconds before letting out a weary sigh and sinking back down to sit against the tailgate. "And… yeah. Yeah, I do. I went and saw them recently, just in case something like this happened. That's going to have to be enough, for now. Once we've taken care of getting Amity into the air and made our preparations for Salem… I'll blow the lid off the whole thing. General Ironwood has given me permission to expose Jacques Schnee's corruption to the entirety of Solitas, once we hit that point."
"Will knowledge of his coercion involving you and his election campaign be enough to win Mantle back to your favor, I wonder?" Corsac asked.
"It won't have to be," Marrow reassured with a grim smirk. "I'm going to do a little digging in the Schnee databases next time I'm at their mansion. I'm sure he'll want me back there soon enough, despite the fact that we're supposedly done. With any luck, I'll have an inside man to help me pilfer their systems for anything that would nail Jacques to the wall."
"Gods, I hope you pull it off," Ilia said wistfully. "He's such an asshole. That's the biggest thing that I still want to see happen, despite leaving the White Fang. Jacques Schnee needs to get what's coming to him."
"And he will," Marrow insisted. "But he'll go through due process, and he'll be punished to the fullest extent of the law, once we know all the details of what he's been doing this entire time. We have evidence of corruption already- there will be more to use against him."
Corsac closed his eyes and leaned his head back into the divider between the cargo space and the back of the truck's cab. He took a deep breath and made a contemplative noise as he folded his hands into his lap, trying to keep his expression totally neutral.
"If there is anything I can do to assist you with gathering data, then by all means, tell me. I am trying to set aside my hatred and let things play out in a… reasonable direction."
"And I hope it gets as unreasonable as possible," Ilia asserted. "If it was up to me, he'd be flayed alive on a Remnant-wide broadcast."
"That wouldn't help anybody," Marrow lamented as he shook his head. "I know you're angry, and I am too, b-"
"I just saw bodies of our people buried under rubble, Marrow," Ilia hissed. "Bodies that were there because of negligence, very close to where my parents died in the same way. Don't tell me to be reasonable and trust the system to enact justice on someone like him. I'll hold back and do this the right way too… but I'm going to say whatever the fuck I want about that snake. You can at least let me mutilate him in my mind."
"You can say whatever you'd like," Marrow replied with an air of defeat in his tone as he leaned his head back into the cold steel. "Just… remember that I'm part of 'the system', okay? I'll make sure he pays for everything he's done to the faunus, to me personally… and to his family, too. I've got a huge stake in seeing him brought to justice. Getting closer to Weiss and her brother lately is only making that even clearer."
Ilia shifted uncomfortably and wrinkled her nose in annoyance. With a heavy, ragged sigh, she drew her knees in toward her chest and looped her arms around them as she spoke in a hushed tone.
"…for what it's worth… I've got nothing against you. I may not love Ironwood or trust that he's got all of our best interests at heart, but… you seem like a good guy with your head on straight. If we had more people like you in the Fang, maybe things wouldn't have ended up this way. Maybe we would've actually… gotten somewhere with all of our efforts."
"But we didn't," Corsac reminded. "We had people like Adam, my brother, and I. People like Cinnamon. Out for blood, manipulative, and uncaring about the bigger picture beyond the faunus."
"And then there were the manipulated, too," Ilia agreed. "Blake. Me. Not that either of us were totally innocent in our bullshit, either, but what Sienna and Adam sold us isn't at all what we thought we were buying into…"
"What matters most is what you're doing now," Marrow offered. "You're stepping up to stand against Salem. Even once all of Remnant knows the truth… how many will be able to say that, regardless of where they came from earlier in life? Some people in the military and hunter's academies will walk away out of fear. If you stand with us right now, then as far as I'm concerned… you're like family. You're both worth fighting alongside… and fighting for."
Ilia gave Marrow a wry smile and crossed her legs, only to place her elbow atop a knee and cup her chin in her hand.
"I still don't know how much I believe that, or how I'll feel about everything once we've won… but thanks. We're trying. There isn't really any other option, if we're going to back up our words about making change and letting our lives mean something. You're the second person to bring me into their 'family'… and I like the feeling."
"I think we're all doing the best we can," Corsac agreed. "Sometimes, that means taking risks and placing our faith in people we might be unsure of. It's the only way to really get things done."
"And that takes strength," Marrow praised. "A strength that very few people really appreciate… and even fewer actually have."
"So… what are we doing out here, exactly?" Emerald asked as she pulled her padded white jacket more tightly around herself. The metallic studs inlaid amongst the outer layer of leather caught the sunlight through the flurries of snow, momentarily blinding her as she looked down. Emerald blinked in frustration and let out a grunt as she looked back up at Cinnamon, who was busy fiddling with a small device. "And what is that thing?"
"Truth be told… I have absolutely no idea," Cinnamon admitted with a shrug. "All I know is that Watts wants this fully assembled according to his instructions," the faunus said as she raised the device to Emerald's eye level, "secured near the top of that," she finished with a nod toward the tall metallic tower standing roughly a quarter mile away and barely visible through the snow. "Best guess is that it's a signal jammer of some sort… or for broadcasting a message of his. We won't know until he turns it on."
Emerald threw her hands up and turned around to walk the short distance back to her snowmobile. She sat heavily upon it and folded her arms across her chest with a huff as she crossed her legs.
"And that's good enough for you? 'Go here and do this, stay out of my face, I have a master plan,' and you just jump into action like a good little dog? It doesn't bother you that he clearly doesn't trust either of us, and doesn't want us knowing what the hell we're doing?"
"Being a complacent dog is safer than being a disobedient one and sneaking out in the middle of the night without my scroll," Cinnamon countered as she went back to working on the device with a screwdriver.
Emerald stiffened and narrowed her eyes, looking incredibly uncomfortable.
"…I don't know what the hell you're t-"
"Relax," Cinnamon interrupted as she rolled her eyes and waved the tool dismissively. "We're without scrolls right now so that we aren't picked up by that tower, are we not? This may be the one chance we ever get to speak freely without the walking mustache listening in. Care to share what exactly you're doing after he's asleep, or are you going to leave me guessing?"
Emerald mashed her lips together, seemingly lost in thought as she sized Cinnamon up.
"No, I don't… and if you keep pushing, then you can do this job on your own, without my semblance, and figure it the fuck out. Good luck with that."
Cinnamon looked up from the gadget and gave Emerald a hard glare. Neither woman blinked, until the faunus finally lowered the device down to her side and gave the thief her full attention.
"…then I'll drop it, and instead of asking about what you're doing, I'll tell you something you've no way of proving should Watts ask you later. I don't want to be here, Emerald. Running these errands, sneaking around Mantle, playing second fiddle to Salem's lackey? I'm not built for this, and I'm not happy with the way things are going. From watching your face alone over these past few weeks, I have a suspicion that you feel much the same way… and you don't have a leg to stand on with your habit of leaving the apartment in the dead of night, if you try to sell me out to Watts. He already knows."
"You told him?" Emerald asked, her eyes blazing.
"I did," Cinnamon confirmed. "I noticed, and I filled him in… before telling him that I'd get to the bottom of it on our little adventure out here."
"…you unbelievable bitch," Emerald accused. "It's true what they say about you…"
"Probably, yeah," Cinnamon agreed with another shrug as she went back to toying with her little project. "But you don't know me, and I don't know you. All I know is that we've got something in common. I just want to know what it is, before I make a move either way. If you want to tell me what you're doing out at night and it's something harmless? I'll assuage Watts' suspicions and save you a headache later. If, however, you'd rather fabricate an excuse with me because you're doing something that goes against his agenda… well. I suppose I'd be in for that, as well. I have no loyalty to him, or Salem. I'm here for my people, and my people alone. Your third option, I suppose, would be to run. I wouldn't try to stop you, because quite frankly… I don't care if you continue working for him. It's really none of my business. If you want to take that snowmobile and ride off into the tundra, be my guest. I'll tell Watts I lost you in a crowd and I've got no idea where you are."
"And you expect me to believe you're sticking your neck out to reach out to me and get to the bottom of things?" Emerald asked. "Because you think you and I can actually get something done other than what Watts wants?"
"Yes, actually. That about sums it up," Cinnamon answered as she gave the device a gentle toss into the air before catching it once again. "So, which will it be? The truth? Bullshit? Or are you going to save yourself and get out now?"
Emerald clenched her teeth and made a frustrated noise before she stood up from her snowmobile and walked over to Cinnamon.
"…we're going to make up a bullshit excuse… and tonight, you're coming with me. We're going to talk about this somewhere no one care hear us, without scrolls, and if that talk doesn't go the way I want it to… there might only be one of us returning."
Cinnamon laughed lightly and clapped Emerald on the shoulder before she turned to face the imposing signal tower.
"About damned time something exciting happened around here, even this is a bit of a gamble. You know, if your semblance doesn't reach that far, or you simply want to see me gunned down while casually walking up to an Atlas military tower with a strange device… now's your chance to be rid of me."
Emerald returned the amused noise with one of her own as her aura began to flare around her body.
"I'll think about it. Maybe I'll follow, and you'll be invisible walking up to the tower. Maybe I won't. Maybe you'll reappear halfway through climbing up. Who knows what could happen?"
"Mm-hmm," Cinnamon considered as she set out with Emerald behind her. "I think I'm beginning to like you. You're an interesting one."
"Tch. Whatever. Let's just get this done…"
Author's Note:
What could those two be up to? Probably broadcasting a "Happy Birthday" message for Sun across all of Solitas. That's gotta be what it is.
-RD