Almost two hours had passed according to Ilia's scroll. Though she got no signal down in the basement of the tavern, she was thankful to have the space available all the same. Despite the fact that the space was frigid, damp, and isolated, they at least had a reinforced door and a barricaded staircase clogged with furniture between them and whatever was stomping around upstairs. Heavy footfalls echoed from above, made by far too many limbs and with far too much force to be human. Ilia could only guess at what they would be dealing with if the grimm somehow figured out that fresh prey was hiding beneath the building. With the state of her leg, she was really, really hoping she wouldn't find out.
"So… into the sewer tunnels if something comes down here, right?" Whitley asked, his knuckles white as he kept a grip on his borrowed pistol. "That sounds like a lot of grimm, and we don't have much space to fight…"
"Into the tunnels," Winter confirmed. "I sincerely hope whoever's coming back for us realizes that we're in quite a compromising position…"
"I'm just hoping they come back at all," Emerald considered from her place leaning against the cave wall. "Swimming to whatever camp is out there doesn't seem like a particularly great idea in freezing water beneath sheets of ice, and we already know the sewers aren't safe. Ilia and I had to sneak around some nasty shit down there last time. Grimm unlike any I've ever seen… and I've seen a lot of grimm."
"Gods, I wish I'd spent more time and energy on figuring out my Semblance…" Whitley said with a weighty sigh. "So much invested on company matters that ultimately don't matter anymore…"
"Chin up, kid," Ilia advised as she put a hand on the youth's shoulder. "Once we get back up to Atlas, the S.D.C. could have a huge role in turning this all around and providing for the people. We just can't let your fucking asshole dad back into power. This might be your chance to turn it all around, alongside Weiss."
"If we get back up to Atlas," Winter reminded. "I don't even see how it's possible, at this point. Fortunately, if we can somehow pull it off, we have enough evidence against Jacques that General Ironwood would be happy to throw him into a cell personally."
"Assuming we get that win, I'm going to insist I get to shove him in personally," Ilia spat as she shifted her weight more to her good leg. "Though I guess family gets first dibs. We could always yank him back and forth in and out of a cell so everyone gets a turn?"
"…that would be both cathartic and assuming, after everything we've been dealing with," Winter said with a half-smile. "Still, though, it's going to be a long road before he ends up where he should."
Another heavy footfall echoed from somewhere upstairs, weighty enough to shake the ceiling and cause a bit of dust to fall from above. Whitley let out a few coughs and used his hand to clear the particles away before smoothing his hair.
"If only we lived in a world where everyone got what they deserved."
Ilia and Emerald quickly exchanged a nervous look.
"…yeah, no, I'm good with this one," Emerald said. "Wait… you guys hear that?"
"The giant-ass beasts upstairs?" Ilia asked, only for Emerald to throw a backhand into her shoulder.
A reverberating sound came from deep in the watery tunnel. Slowly, the noise grew louder and louder, echoing off the walls until it filled the space with the unmistakable sound of an approaching motorboat. Just as the volume came to a potentially dangerous level that could alert the grimm upstairs, the watercraft came into view and its engine shut off as it began coasting toward the shoreline.
"…oh, for the love of…" Emerald began, rolling her eyes.
"Old friend?" Ilia guessed as she eyed up the lone figure in the boat as it reached the sand.
"You could say that," Emerald said warily. "We're definitely headed for the Rose I'm thinking of."
"Well, well, well," the man in the boat said as he disembarked and rested his tinted eyewear upon his forehead. "Been a long time, Emerald."
"She's got a boyfriend and she's a lesbian," Emerald said immediately, nodding toward Winter and then Ilia. "And I'm still not interested."
"Hey, it's not like that. Is that really how you want to greet the guy saving your ass after all these years, Em?" the man asked with a chuckle as he reached into his black denim vest and pulled out a cigarette and lighter. He ignited the small stick before placing it between his lips and approaching Winter, to whom he offered a hand with a smirk. "Moss Oaks. I know of you and your brother. Seems like all of Solitas does…"
Winter extended a hand, only to hesitate as hers reached one that was artificial. Moss' right arm from the elbow down was a mechanical one plated in gold with rubberized pads upon the fingertips and palm. An assortment of wires protruded from the elbow, revealing his tech to be far less sophisticated and professional than General Ironwood's. A quick glance downward revealed through the holes in his worn jeans that the man's legs were also mechanical and plated in rusted chrome, leaving his left arm the only limb that was fully flesh. Even that arm, though, was modified in its own way with a spiraling set of vines intertwined with blue flowers snaking up into his sleeve.
Moss' skin was oddly tanned for someone operating out of Solitas, and his style seemed to clash with the overall aesthetic of Mantle. His vest was pocked with a multitude of patches and a snakeskin undershirt completed his outfit, giving him the vibe of a roadie or rebellious youth despite his apparent age being somewhere in his 30s. The outer edges of his ears were loaded with black rings and studs, with a pair below his bottom lip and just above his scruffy goatee. All of Moss' hair was a deep blue and rather shaggy, with a pair of green sunglasses propped up amid the nest. What Winter noticed more than any of the man's eccentricities or style, though, was the playful kindness in his pale blue eyes that suggested there might be more to him than Emerald was willing to admit.
"…of me, yes, but not me," Winter insisted. "I'm not like my father."
"I should hope not," Moss said as he offered his mechanical appendage to Ilia. "And you are…?"
"Ilia Amitola," she replied as she gripped the rubber padding. "Former White Fang, now special agent gone rogue."
"…since when are you considered a special agent?" Winter asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I just killed Salem temporarily and saved your asses, let me have this," Ilia replied as she gave Moss' hand a firm shake. "We should get moving."
"We should," Moss confirmed as he offered a fist out to the remaining Schnee. "Whitley, right?"
Whitley eyed the gesture curiously before slowly giving the offered hand a bump of his own.
"…right. Erm… thanks for coming back for us…"
"Hey, as soon as I heard Em was with you, I upgraded to a faster boat and decided to come personally," Moss let on as he waved the crew along to the vessel. "Rose'll take care of things. She's currently having it out with Jacques and Robyn, and it's not going well."
"That's what I like to hear," Ilia said with a smirk as she climbed into the vessel. "Let's go make their evening worse."
The shattered moon was high overhead as Sun, Blake, Yang, Jaune, Corsac, Neopolitan, and Harriet made their way up the path to Qrow's summer home. Sun was leaning on Blake as they walked, and Corsac clung to Jaune. Yang moved at the head of the group, walking rather quickly on the way to the front door with the key clenched tightly in her fist. Harriet and Neopolitan lagged behind, neither speaking as they walked along. Sun watched through half-lidded eyes as Yang jammed the key in the door and hastily stepped inside, leaving the entrance open for the rest of the crowd.
"…she hit denial while we were on the plane, and I think we're firmly in anger now," Blake said as she looked to Sun, her arm around his back as she shouldered his weight. "We should all give her some space tonight."
"I'll… check on her later," Jaune offered. "If I had to guess, she's going to go find something to break in the back yard."
The sound of a yell and subsequent loud, cracking noise reverberating through the house confirmed his suspicions.
"Good luck," Sun offered with a sigh. "I really just… I don't think I have it in me right now. The whole situation with Ruby doesn't even feel real, yet, and with everything else going on I just want to sleep."
"We all need sleep," Harriet emphasized. "Several of us are wounded to different degrees, tensions are high, and we need to make as much progress toward Vacuo as we can tomorrow. We're on a tight timeline, a-"
"And we're only human," Jaune finished for her. "Well, and faunus…"
"Don't worry about that part," Corsac said softly. "We know what you meant, and the point is valid. We need to make sure everyone has fully recovered before moving forward, lest we arrive at the scene of a siege already underway…"
Harriet let out a ragged sigh as the group made their way into the home and Neopolitan locked the door behind them.
"We can sleep in shifts during the flight. I can get us a single aircraft, and we'll alternate piloting duties. I'm practically a walking bomb at this point, a-"
"Please," Blake interrupted, earning a venomous glare. "Harriet, with all due respect… please just let us see how everyone feels in the morning. You don't know your limits right now any more than you know ours. We need to be at our best and frustrated, worried sleep on a turbulent plane isn't going to do any of us any good."
"So how many days?" Harriet asked as she threw her hands up. "How long are we going to stay here, doing nothing and letting Remnant burn down around us?"
"Harriet," Sun said pointedly as he slipped out from Blake's grasp. "Just… stop. Everyone stop, separate into whatever groups you feel comfortable with, and we'll talk in the morning, alright? None of us are in a good place right now between injuries, grief, and just general stress."
"What do you think you're doing?" Harriet asked.
"Leading," Sun said with more bite than he intended. "You chose to come with us for a lot of reasons, but one of them is because you trust me over Ironwood, right?"
Harriet transitioned her arms from bracing on her hips to folding them across her chest. The weight of all eyes in the room on her began to grate, and she ground her teeth before shaking her head and letting out a weary breath.
"…I do, but I don't want us to linger unnecessarily."
"And we won't," Sun reassured as he put a hand up to his forehead only to find it oddly damp. "We'll only stay as long as we absolutely need to, and the sooner we all get to bed, the better chance we have of leaving tomorrow. So… let's figure out who's going to what room and get some rest."
"I agree with Sun," Jaune offered. "Corsac and I can head upstairs, and we'll pull Yang in with us once she's ready."
"Blake- same room as last time?" Sun asked as he nodded toward the hall.
"Yeah. Let's go…"
Sun nodded and led the way down the hall and away from whatever conversation followed. The door was thrown open without ceremony and Sun marched to the bed before falling onto the mattress face first with a groan.
"…good memories in this room," Blake said softly as she closed the door behind herself. "Now's not the time, but…"
"…if we stay another day, maybe," Sun mumbled into the quilt. "Gods, I'm exhausted…"
"I can tell," Blake replied as she sat down next to Sun on the mattress and began running her nails along his spine. "Does your head still hurt?"
"A little bit," Sun answered. "There's just so much on my mind, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep. Tomorrow's gonna suck, whether we stay or not."
"Why's that?" Blake asked as she began to unbutton her shirt.
"I have to call Ironwood," Sun explained. "And I have a feeling that's not going to be a fun conversation…"
Author's Note:
A short wind-down before things ramp up again soon…
-RD