Kali disconnected the call, a renewed fire in her heart as she pocketed her scroll and whirled in place. The feline faunus began a quick walk through the cargo hold of the massive carrier ship, her heels clacking loudly against the metal flooring. Several other members of the Black Claw saluted her as she walked, though only one decided to speak as she approached the door to the cockpit.

"You look like someone lit a fire under your ass."

Kali offered the other woman a nod and smirk. Amaya stood leaning against the wall next to the cockpit, her enormous wings folded in. The barkeep was dressed in simple black leather armor, though slightly modified to show off her curves. A pair of exotic hookswords with gun barrels fused to their short, semicircular grip-blades hung from her waist. Though Kali wasn't entirely used to seeing Amaya kitted out, she knew from a single glance that the other woman was ready and well-trained for a fight.

"You could say that. Global comms are coming back online, and I just got through to Blake. She made it to Atlas, and the twin cities are currently under siege. We need to speed it the hell up and try to save Argus before it falls entirely while Salem is distracted with Mantle."

"…making a move from behind while she goes for a power play," Amaya commented as she pushed off the wall and let her arms fall to her sides. "I like it. It's about time we made ourselves known and made it bombastic. Global comms, though… I'd imagine you've got some other calls to make, too. I sure as hell do."

"After I talk to our captain and get the fleet moving faster," Kali said with a nod. "Let this be the faunus' finest hour. It's time to make history, Amaya."

"History ain't ready for what we're about to do to it," Amaya replied as she stepped aside and took out her scroll and began to fidget with the screen. "This ought to be fun…"

Neptune sat alone in the lobby of the infirmary nursing a small plastic cup of apple juice with a foil peel-away top. People were rushing back and forth around him into and out of various rooms, and yet, all he could manage to do was breathe and drink in small amounts. Everything felt awful, from the loss of Ruby to his sudden, immediate separation from Sun right after their reunion.

Worse still, he had been directly asked to influence the major players around him in a way he didn't quite understand.

Taking care of and reassuring Blake along the way to Argus had been challenging enough. Sun telling him to use his "level head" and "big heart" when both felt as though they were outright broken seemed totally impossible. There were other, far more qualified leaders than him, and one was on her way toward him as she walked down the hall. Much to his surprise and against his mental image of the young woman, she looked exactly how he felt.

"How are you holding up?" Coco asked, sounding exhausted.

"…we lost Ruby and Oscar," Neptune answered, his voice monotone as he looked down at his half-emptied cup. "I don't know if Sun made it out of Atlas yet."

Coco stopped just before Neptune, looming over him. He didn't see her facial expression in response to the news. Neptune didn't see her grip his shoulder, either, and he was surprised by Coco's strength as she wrenched him up to a standing position. The immediate crushing hug that followed was just as unexpected.

"If you need anything, you come to me," Coco said softly as she tightened her grip upon the taller boy. "No one should have to go through something like this alone."

"Uh… Coco…?" Neptune asked uncertainly, not daring to put his hands on the older girl.

"Now probably isn't a good time to go into detail, but the year before you started at Beacon- my first year- we lost someone from another team," Coco explained. "It was sudden. It was ugly. CFVY then wasn't anything like CFVY is now… and I didn't take it well at all. I'm not going to let something like that happen to you, especially while separated from your team. You, me, Fox… and Cardin, too. The remnants of Beacon here in Atlas. We're sticking together."

"Team…" Neptune began, his usual wit failing him as he finally allowed himself to slump forward into the hug. "…I don't even know."

"We'll figure that out later," Coco reassured as she rubbed at the boy's back. "For now, you need to focus on staying on your feet. I'm trying to do the same thing, even if I feel pretty fucking lame. I just can't sleep and I'm stressed out, meanwhile we've got several others seriously injured and I'm down here not helping."

"I feel exactly the same way," Neptune commiserated. "I should be doing more. Feeling shitty isn't enough to justify staying on the sidelines…"

"Yet everyone is pushing us to take a minute," Coco pointed out as she leaned back and finally looked Neptune in the eye. "In my time as a leader, the most important thing I've learned is to listen to people who care about you. So, as much as this sucks… you and I need to just stay out of the way and try to recover right now. Even if we're pretty well off compared to the rest, we need to take care of ourselves, too. You need time to mourn. We both do. It hasn't even really hit me yet…"

"…I can't," Neptune said as he looked away from Coco. With a weary sigh, he brought his attention back over to her with a grimace. "Ruby's dad is in that room over there. He… h-he needs to know…"

Coco waited patiently for Neptune to meet her eyes once again. The two spent quite a while simply looking at each other, and somehow, a silent understanding was reached. Neptune was eternally grateful for it… though he felt immensely guilty with the conclusion.

"…I'll go," Coco said quietly. "I don't want that burden falling on you, or… gods, on Yang once comms are back up. He does deserve to know, and I was with both of them in Sanus. Let me handle this."

"Let me help?" Neptune asked weakly.

"No," Coco denied as she finally let Neptune go. "No offense, but I don't think you're emotionally ready for something like this. I'm not ready."

"Yeah," Neptune agreed, not entirely sure of what else to say. "I… I owe you."

"We're a team," Coco reminded. "It'll even out in the end, and we'll slog through all of this together. Right now, I think you should seriously find an empty room, lie down, and try to get some rest in. Even if you can't sleep, just… rest. We've all been through hell today, and it's not even noon."

"I'll try, but I'd feel a lot better i-"

The interrupting vibration in Neptune's pocket filled him with sudden hope, followed by the immediate squashing of the emotion as he forced himself to be reasonable. With a shaky hand, he drew out the small tablet and looked at the screen. A wave of relief washed over him, and he let out a sigh long enough for his shoulders to drop as his body threatened to collapse entirely.

"It's… Sun," Neptune announced as he read the short message over and over again. "He's safe. The other two planes are fine, and they're out near Argus. Thank the gods…"

"Things are looking up," Coco said with a weak smile. "Check in with him, and I'll come and check on you after I break the news to Taiyang. It's… probably gonna be a while."

"Good luck," Neptune offered. "And th-"

Again, he was interrupted by his scroll, but by a call instead of a text. A name he hadn't expected to see at all popped up onscreen, and his stomach filled with butterflies instead of nausea. Coco gave him a wink and walked off, headed for Taiyang while Neptune was distracted.

"…hello?"

"Hey, Tiger," Amaya lilted from the other side of the line. Neptune could practically hear her confident smirk, and the thought manifested a little flutter in his chest. "I'm on my way to you."

"R-really?" Neptune asked. "But I thought…"

"You can thank Daisuke," Amaya explained. "He got word to Kali that Argus is under siege, and she mobilized the entirety of the Black Claw alongside the remnants of the White Fang. We're going to try to pull Argus out of the fire, and then head over to you. You're in Atlas, right?"

"What!?" Neptune said as he ducked into a spare room. "Don't… don't come to Atlas! We're being taken out of Salem's reach, flying the city so high up that she can't get to it. If you come here, you'll be dealing with her entire invasion force alone!"

There was a pause, during which Neptune took the time to close the door to his room and sit down upon the bed.

"…fuck. I'll consult with Kali, but in that case… I guess we'll just hit Argus hard and then try to draw fire away from all of you. Any luck, and we can sandwich Salem between our forces. That's assuming you can convince Ironwood to drop out of the sky and challenge her directly, that is."

"I don't know if I can do that, but… I'll let him know you're heading for Argus," Neptune offered. "We're dealing with a lot right now, but he'll be happy to hear we have some form of backup."

"Good. Do that," Amaya praised. "But that's not the main reason I called. How are you holding up?"

Neptune paused, considering just how much he wanted to say. Had the woman been there with him, things would have been different… or at least, that's what he told himself. He did miss her, and thinking back to his time in Kuo Kuana gave him an idea.

"…I mean, I've got some apple juice," Neptune said with a smirk as he held up the tiny cup. "So… things can't be totally irredeemable."

Neptune's smirk turned into a smile as he heard Amaya snort. He could practically hear her rolling her eyes up in whatever transport vessel she occupied.

"…you're such a godsdamned dork. An adorable dork. I'm gonna find a way to get to you, even if it takes a while. Blake and her crew are headed to Vacuo, right? Maybe Salem will chase them and give us an opening."

"That is possible, yeah," Neptune agreed. "Maybe even likely, considering… oh, who even cares anymore? How much do you know about the Relics and all that jazz?"

"Kali explained it all in great detail, after we got bits and pieces from you guys," Amaya let on. "Sword's in Vacuo, right? Salem's going to want that little toy. I wouldn't mind having it myself and ramming it up her ass."

"You and me both. Guess we should just make it up as we go, huh? In all seriousness… I'm not doing great, Amaya. I just lost a friend in the invasion."

"Do you want to talk about it? I've got nothing but a long, boring flight ahead of me for the next few hours."

Neptune hadn't even considered what he wanted. Deep down, he agreed with Coco that he needed to mourn in his own way… but he wasn't yet sure what that way would be.

"…I really don't," Neptune admitted as he set down his juice and lowered himself atop the bed. "I just… want to escape all this. Sleep. Wake up in a better world."

"If only it was that easy," Amaya agreed. "Get some rest. Take care of yourself- you'll need the energy for when I see you again."

"Could we like… get on a video call, at some point?" Neptune requested. "You know, just so I can see you again? I, uh… I miss hanging out with you. It was fun."

"Sure," Amaya accepted. "Maybe we can do more than just talk. Just rest, for now. See you soon."

"…Amaya?"

Neptune looked at his scroll, finding the line disconnected. With a nervous grin, he folded his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling.

"She doesn't mean… nah…"

Author's Note:

Neptune needed a win. He's a good boy.

Also, no, we're not doing Coco and Taiyang. No one needs that shit after so much misery already.

-RD