Ilia chose to take the lead of the pack as they entered the central building of Aurora's Cradle, with only Moss walking in front of her. The inside of the three-story structure seemed quite like the standard layout of a hotel… at least, down on the first floor. Just beyond the large revolving door was a lobby, though the place was bereft of any reception desk or accommodating staff. Fake plants were set up throughout the space next to leather couches, and the far wall from the door was taken up by an absolutely massive aquarium full of fish that Ilia wasn't familiar with. A large, crystal chandelier hung over the center of the tiled floor, lending the space an air of added sophistication. All in all, the place seemed fancy- far fancier than it appeared on the outside.
Extending down past the aquarium on either side were a pair of hallways that gave way to plush carpeting and rows of numbered doors. Ilia could only assume that the building was a central living quarters for everyone in the small colony- that, or it was for guests, which seemed unlikely. Moss began walking the group toward a pair of elevators near the rightmost hall before jabbing the 'Up' button with a gold-plated finger.
"Boss'll wanna see all of you for a minute, and then we'll get you divided up into rooms. This might be your home-away-from-home for a while. It's pretty comfortable living… so long as you play by the rules."
"And what are these rules?" Winter asked immediately, her arms folded behind herself as she stood up very straight and looked down upon Moss.
"Em?" the man asked with a knowing smirk.
"Let me guess," Emerald tried as the elevator doors opened and the group began to shuffle in. "Don't be an asshole, don't cause trouble for the Cradle, and do what you can to help the overall cause?"
"That's about it," Moss confirmed with a nod as he entered the small carriage last. "Though what 'the cause' is seems like it's about to take a drastic turn. A lot of us have family in Mantle and Atlas… and even those that don't rely on those two cities to make a living, one way or another."
"You're seriously thinking about jobs and profits while Mantle is burning?" Ilia asked as the elevator began to ascend.
"Not what I meant," Moss tried to clarify with a wave of his hand. "I'm ready to fight for Remnant. So's Rose, and… Shiv will, too, but he'll bitch about it the whole time. Some of the other people here… they're gonna take some convincing. I think we can make it work out, in the end."
"I hope so," Whitley offered with a long yawn. "All of this is just… we need everyone we can get. This is about to become a world war."
"Yeah, it is," Ilia agreed as the elevator stopped. She waited patiently for the others to exit, taking note that there was a button labeled 'B' underneath the others for each of the three floors. "Rose can't just order them to help out?"
"General Ironwood couldn't just order you and Sun to stay up in Atlas," Winter pointed out. "Well, he could've, but… would you have listened?"
"…fair point," Ilia admitted as she emerged from the elevator into a hallway stretching about twenty feet ahead to a sealed blast door. "This… doesn't look like a hotel, anymore…"
"That's because it's not," Moss replied as he approached a retinal scanner just outside the shielding. The man paused with his eyes just in front of the device, and it turned green almost immediately before a series of locks within the door began to disengage. "Top floor's all Rose. She lives large… and messy."
"Any advice?" Winter asked with a sigh as she stood before the unlocking portal, tense as ever. "Or is this going to be… a less formal exchange than I'm used to?"
"…you could say that," Moss said cryptically as he led the way into what appeared to be a singular gigantic room separated into several distinct sections by wooden walls that reached to the ceiling. There were half-constructed projects, unlabeled boxes, mannequins, and weaponry scattered about the space in relative disarray. "Boss! I'm back with the others from Robyn's place!"
'Boss', or presumably 'Rose', was sitting at a large, L-shaped desk with several computer monitors atop the surface on the side. The central portion of the desk was covered in messy piles of paperwork, a few seemingly random objects, a harness full of odd firearms, and some sort of blueprint, which the woman's booted feet were crossed atop as she sat back in her computer chair. Rose was reclining as the group walked in, her chair precariously tilted as she drank straight from a large bottle of alcohol. The woman didn't lower the bottle until it had been drained entirely, at which point she slammed it down on the desk with enough force to make a noise that made Whitley jump a little.
"Well, well, well," the woman said as she let her legs slip off the surface of the desk and down to the floor before rising to stand. She was taller than Moss, yet shorter than Winter, coming in at around Emerald's height. "'bout damned time you lot showed up. I'm bored of talkin' to Robyn an' Jacques. One's a self-absorbed cunt an' the other's a two-faced coward. Here's hoping you're all something more."
"…which one's which?" Ilia dared to ask as she watched Rose dip into a little mocking curtsey, the woman's movements a little unsteady as she rose.
"…now ain't that the question," Rose answered with a devilish smile. "Choose your own adventure, love."
Ilia took a moment to look over their host, taking in the woman's appearance. Rose's most distinct feature was her lilac-colored hair with inconsistently placed streaks of white tied in a low ponytail off to one side. She had blue flowers in her hair at the base of the ponytail and on the opposite side that matched her namesake and provided a striking contrast to her piercing green eyes. Rose's skin was a dull bronze, suggesting along with her odd accent that she was not, in fact, from Solitas at all. Her clothing only added to her eccentricity- she wore mostly brown leather with her boots, corset, and pants all made of the material, worn over a white ruffled blouse. Ilia couldn't quite place the look she was going for, but it certainly make the woman easy to find in a crowd.
Satisfied with the exchange, Rose turned her attention toward Moss, who had been waiting patiently beside the group.
"Good job bringin' 'em in. You get to eat this week."
"About time," Moss said with a smirk.
"W-what?" Whitley asked, eyeing the man with a horrified expression. His unease only grew as Rose snorted in amusement. "You don't get food? That's…"
"A joke," Rose finished for him as she made her way to a refrigerator standing against one of the nearby dividing walls. "Lighten up, kid. Plenty to go 'round, assuming you're not as much of an asshole as your dear ol' dad."
"Yes, Jacques is indeed an awful person," Winter acknowledged as she watched Rose pull another, much smaller bottle of alcohol from the refrigerator before biting the cap off with her teeth and spitting it onto the wooden floor. "Can we move on to business? Who are you?"
Rose took a pull from the bottle before passing it over to Moss, who tipped it back as he leaned against a wall.
"Another fine question," the woman taunted as she spread her arms out to the sides. "Call me Boss. Captain Rose. Alice Accelerando. The Blue Lady. Jane Ironwood, if you feel so inclined. Whatever you'd like- none of 'em are my name, but friends do usually pick one and stick to it. Moss- take the kid out of here, get him a room. I think it's time for adult swim."
"I don't," Winter cut in as she flicked her eyes toward Moss, causing the man to stop as he leaned off the wall. "He's the only family here I care about, and I don't want him out of my sight. Not until I know what we're really dealing with here, and where Jacques is."
"Hey, you can trust me," Moss insisted. "I'm not gonna do anything untoward. You have my word."
Winter cast a sidelong glance to Emerald, who huffed a sigh.
"… he won't. You're working with me, and Moss is way, way less of a terrible person. Whitley looks exhausted and this is about to turn unpleasant. Let him go."
"As for Jacques," Rose added, "he's down in a cell with Robyn, in the basement. He won't be getting anywhere near his son. Always did strike me as the diddlin' type with that fucking mustache. That, an' I don't need him anymore with Mantle on fire and Atlas in orbit. Let him rot."
Whitley perked up somewhat, though he looked equally embarrassed as excited.
"He didn't… h-he never…"
"Don't worry about it, she's just having fun," Ilia guessed as she watched Moss pass the bottle back to Rose. "We know. Go and get some rest, alright? You look wiped. The three of us can handle this."
"That settles it, then?" Moss asked as he clapped his hand down on Whitley's shoulder. "C'mon, champ. Let's get you set up with a private room. I'll message you all with a room number in a bit."
"…if you're all sure," Whitley said uncertainly as he followed the man back toward the blast door. "Come and check in before the night is over?"
"I will," Winter reassured. "See you soon…"
Ilia waited for the doors to close again before turning to face her host. Rose had taken to sitting atop her desk, her legs swaying idly from side to side as she finished her bottle.
"…alright. I've got three questions, in order of importance. Where's Neon… and what do you want us to call you?"
"Neon?" Rose asked as she set her beer down next to the larger, fancier bottle that had been emptied previously. "That the cat faunus with the three ankle biters? They're all in their own rooms, floor below this one. As for what I want to be called… now there's a question most people don't bother to ask. Go with… I think Alice works for the three of you. After all, we're about to go down one hell of a rabbit hole together, eh? What's the third question?"
"Got any alcohol to spare?" Ilia asked, nodding toward the fridge. "I need it after today."
"Help yourself," Alice said with a smile. "Now, I've got a question for you. I, and the other major players of the Cradle, all saw Ironwood's little speech. Exactly how fucked are we, and how close are all of you to what's going on with this… Salem woman? She really impossible to kill?"
"So far as we know, yes," Winter answered as Ilia took three bottles from the fridge. "The situation is as dire as the General made it sound, if not moreso. Why did you take us in? I, in particular, have been hunting you for years…"
"Yeah, well," Alice started with a shrug. "You suck at your job, thankfully. I'm a humanitarian, mate. I home the homeless, give jobs to the jobless, and keep the economy… interesting. You three seem to need help preventing the whole damned world from catching fire. I'm more a fan of controlled burns, so count me on board."
"It's that simple, is it?" Ilia asked warily as she passed a bottle to Emerald and Winter each. The latter was reluctant to accept it, though after a moment of hesitation, she did. "Why should we trust you?"
"What other choice ya got?" Alice asked. "Tell me everything you lot know, and I'll get to work on figuring out step one."
"Em?" Ilia asked as she watched the thief open her bottle using her weapon. "What's the move, here?"
Alice's expression twisted into a knowing smirk as she watched the former thief's internal struggle.
"…any port in a storm," Emerald said. "I trust her over Ironwood, and definitely over Salem. With her, we'll at least have a safe place to stay and a chance at getting something done."
"It's settled, then?" Alice asked as she clapped her hands together. "Alright- lay it on me. And remember- the more I know, the more I can do in the long run."
Ilia took another swig, swallowing the beer before beginning to rub at her forehead.
"…right. Here's everything we know…"
Author's Note:
I don't know what the fuck to title this chapter and I'm exhausted, so this is what you people get.
-RD