"Alright Ruby, you're kinda cute, but if you fuck around, I will break your face," Ilia said to herself as she cracked her neck and did a few small hops before the door to the hospital room. "Atlas Academy is only big enough for one short girl with short hair, and I've got seniority."

With an annoyed sigh, Ilia pulled the door open to reveal someone who was very much not Ruby Rose- in fact, the one who had knocked was perhaps the closest to her opposite in the entirety of the Academy.

"…you wear it better," Cardin replied plainly as he stared the faunus down with a neutral expression. "Haven't seen you before. Cardin Winchester."

"…Ilia Amitola," the girl replied as she stepped to one side to allow him to enter. "I've heard that name before…"

"Cardin?" Sun said incredulously as he sat up in bed. "I knew you were here, but I wasn't expecting… you."

"I don't think anybody was," the young man answered as he strode into the room. He was shirtless, his entire chest and shoulder area covered in gauze wrappings with a few bandages around his forearms. His lower body was still covered by his usual steel armor, though the metal near his waistline was blackened. "I wasn't expecting to end up in Atlas tonight, either."

"You two know each other?" Ilia asked as she folded her arms across her chest and leaned back into the door.

"Yeah, he's a…" Sun stopped himself from saying racist asshole at the last second. He knew that the reality of the situation was that a lot of time had passed, and he didn't fully know the other boy's situation. There was also the small matter of what Ilia's reaction might be if he dug up the past, and Sun had absolutely no fight left in him to stop her from going off. "…former Beacon student. We ran into each other every so often, but we weren't exactly close."

"…that's one way of putting yeah," Cardin said as he gave Sun a grateful look, unseen by Ilia as she stood behind him. "I came by to see who the new arrivals were, and to see if I could do anything to help out. A lot of medical staff just ran out of here like they got some order from up top, and the rest are in surgery with Fox. He got it bad."

Sun and Ilia exchanged a nervous glance. The girl gave her friend a nod and opened the door once again before making a move to step outside.

"I'm… gonna go make a call or two, see if I can get to the bottom of what's going on. I'll stay outside the infirmary and cut Ruby off if she tries to get in here. See you two in a bit."

Sun gave Ilia a nod as she stepped out of the room, only for Cardin to approach the bed immediately as his face fell.

"Listen, man, I'm sorry about a-"

"Save it," Sun interrupted as he raised a hand, his tail flicking in annoyance. "It… doesn't matter. Not right now, with everything else that's going on. If you're here to fight with us against Salem, then you're good in my books for the moment. I'd rather focus on the present and immediate future than worry about how things used to be at Beacon."

"Me too," Cardin agreed as he sat on the end of the bed. "But that doesn't make it right. I know you don't want to hear it, and I don't blame you… but I feel like I need to get it out. Later, if not now. Doesn't even have to be you, honestly."

"Tell Ilia," Sun suggested with a smirk. "She'll put you in your place when it comes to the faunus."

"Maybe I will," Cardin considered. "I probably deserve it."

"But I doubt you deserve whatever caused all that gauze to be necessary," Sun said warily. "What happened…?"

"Salem happened," Cardin said in a hushed tone.

Sun had never seen the other boy look scared of anything, but the fear on his face was noticeable and immediate. Cardin's posture had changed without him realizing it. His shoulders were tense, and the lines on either side of his throat visible as he kept his jaw clenched. He opened and closed a fist several times as he stared off into space, focusing on a single spot on the wall.

"…whatever you're thinking she's like… she's worse," Cardin began. "A lot worse. Grimm are soulless, but they've still got some kind of motive or ambition to kill in their eyes. Listening to Salem talk, watching her get angry… it was just different in a way I can't really explain. She's cold. She's death. Unstoppable, unshakeable… if she was ever human, it's entirely gone, now. Even her rage doesn't feel like you're looking at someone else being angry- it's like emotion is beneath her, and it's all for show and intimidation. She's an unnatural shell, and more a force than a person. I've been trying not to think about it."

Sun was quiet for a moment as he tried to make sense of what Cardin was telling him. Though he knew that at some point, words would likely be exchanged with Salem face to face, he had never stopped to picture what she might be like as a person. Roman Torchwick had seemed perpetually annoyed, and his impatience was exploitable during their few encounters. Adam Taurus was very much alive and there was passion behind his anger- some of which Sun could relate to. Cinnamon Shoal was equally troubled, and he was beginning to see more and more the hesitance and thought behind her actions. The prospect of facing down a villain he couldn't understand at all terrified Sun and made his blood run cold. No inhibitions, logic, or discernable emotion meant no reason or predictability, and he always needed to understand what he was fighting and why to feel comfortable.

"I still want to know who she really is," Sun admitted. "I mean, we know who she is in a general sense, but… who was she? How did she get to the point she's at now, and what does she even want? I feel like we're missing huge pieces… and Ozpin probably knows them all."

"He probably does," Cardin agreed. "And you've got the way to find out sitting right there next to you."

Sun flicked his eyes sideways to look at the lamp. The temptation was very real, but Sun shook his head all the same.

"No. I'm not gonna be the one to blow the last available question without consulting the entire group. That's what we're trying to stop Ruby from doing."

"And I don't think you should, just to be clear," Cardin reassured. "Ruby wants to know about her mom, I'm guessing?"

"Which could be important, but… I feel like we need to gamble as little as possible with so many unknowns all stacked against us," Sun explained. "Now isn't the time to worry about Summer Rose. Soon, probably, but I think Ironwood needs to see more pieces on the board before making a decision about what to ask."

"Do you trust him to make the right decisions moving forward?" Cardin asked. "He seemed like a great guy at Beacon… but so did Ozpin, and he's been acting suspicious for weeks."

Despite having some time to cool off and reflect on the meeting, the sting in Sun's jaw from the barrel of General Ironwood's pistol was still there. He could still see the gun barrel aimed at his face in his mind, and still hear the words signaling that the plan was to effectively abandon the majority of Mantle as soon as the situation became unsafe. He thought about all of their tense encounters, orders he disagreed with, and every time he looked at the older man and saw him struggling to maintain to his composure as tensions mounted. Despite it all, Sun knew for a fact that he couldn't do any better himself, nor would he wish the burden of leadership on that level on himself or anyone else.

"I do, yeah," Sun said quietly. "We… just had a meeting where things went a little… it's not good, Cardin. Tomorrow is where every single move we make could start directly costing lives. It's going to get really ugly, and I don't think anyone is ready for what's about to happen… but if I'm being honest, it's probably the best we can do. It's better to have him at the helm and forcing us to move our asses and do something than everyone continuing to argue and coming up with nothing while Salem keeps advancing."

"I can get behind that," Cardin agreed. "I was working with some professors and CFVY to push back and slaughter whatever grimm we could as often as possible until Ruby found us. Better to get something done than just sit on our hands waiting for the end…"

"Yeah…" Sun said, his voice full of unease. His scroll vibrated once again, and he did a quick check of the screen to find a message from one of his friends. "Jaune intercepted Ruby on the way here. He's going to keep her away from the lamp. Guess I'll call Ilia back in…"

"Jaune…" Cardin said almost wistfully as he stood up off the bed. "Maybe… I'll go help him out. Make sure he's got her under control. Make sure he's okay, too."

Sun couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.

"Looks like all of us have changed quite a bit with everything going on."

"You haven't," Cardin replied with a shrug. "You seem like the same old Sun to me."

"I don't know if that's a good thing," Sun considered. "Or if I agree…"

"Think about it while you're getting some rest, or whatever. You look like hell."

"I feel like hell," Sun agreed. "Speaking of… are you sure you're up to dealing with whatever's going on with Ruby? You never did answer what Salem did to you…"

Cardin reached a hand down and knocked on one of his armored thighs.

"She melted my entire breastplate with some kind of boiling grimm-vomit shit. I ended up getting shrapnel and sheets of metal fused into my skin… and some of 'em aren't coming out. Almost got cooked alive inside of my armor."

"Damn… and Fox?" Sun asked warily.

"Impaled," Cardin answered solemnly. "He went down fast, and Coco lost her shit. "I think he'll make it, but he might be done on the front lines."

"And what about you?" Sun asked. "I doubt you want to hear this, but I don't think you should be charging out into battle in the state you're in, either. Sit this one out, at least for a little while."

Cardin let out a sigh, rolling his shoulder and pulling a face.

"Yeah… I don't know if I could even lift my mace right now, let along swing it with force without ripping open my chest. I want to get on out there again, but I don't want to be a liability, either. Besides… there are other ways to fight. Just let me know what I can do. I hear you're a good leader, and I'll do whatever I have to in order to make sure as many grimm die as possible. Just point me in the right direction."

"Right there with ya," Sun reassured as he finally allowed himself to lay back atop the mattress once again. "Cardin? Thanks for stopping by. We're all stuck in this together."

"Not for long," Cardin said as he exited the room. "So… let's make it count. Get some rest and leave things to us for a bit."

Sun didn't get the opportunity to ask Cardin what exactly he meant as the other boy left the room. As the door closed and the lights were flicked off, Sun stared up at the ceiling and let out a sigh. The faunus put his forearm over his eyes to try to force himself to sleep, and after only a few minutes, he passed out due to exhaustion.

Author's Note:

Next time- back to Qrow & Neo…

-RD