"That's just about everything I can think of worth getting into right now," the projection of Weiss finished. "There have been some other… more personal things going on, but nothing we need to cover right now."
The holographic girl and the room around her jittered and bounced a bit as the truck continued to rumble along the roads of Sanus. Nora's scroll was on the floor of the shipping container, and she, Ren, Sage, Roman, and Mercury sat gathered around it. The group had been talking for the better part of an hour, trading information about the events surrounding the invasion of Mantle and Salem's attack on the lakeside resort. There was very little good news to be shared, and Nora couldn't help but feel like she simply wanted to crawl into a corner of the container and sleep after hearing from Weiss.
"None of this even feels real yet," Nora stated, her tone entirely devoid of any inflection. "I hate that we're so far apart, and yet everything is awful everywhere."
"I agree, but… not everything is awful. There have been… some small lights here and there. We did manage to stop Salem from getting two Relics, after all. Her count is still zero."
"Yeah, sure," Roman allowed, sounding unimpressed. "But if she manages to get to even one before us, especially if it's the so-called Sword of Destruction… we might not be able to stall her any longer. Keeping two away isn't so much a victory as a continued stalemate. Who names an artifact 'The Sword of Destruction' anyway? That's just stupid."
"I'm going to go out on a limb and say it destroys things," Mercury said. "We can worry about the specifics of it later."
"Salem never told you what it does?" Ren asked, looking over to the other man.
"Salem never told Emerald or I anything," Mercury answered, avoiding Ren's eyes. "That's… actually one of the reasons I left. It was always 'go here', 'do this', 'eliminate this target'… with no explanation as to why or how it would benefit the overall cause… which I also don't know. I figured it would just be a matter of time before I became one of those targets… or Emerald and Neo did."
"…you haven't mentioned Neo until now," Roman pointed out. "What went on there?"
"She… convinced me to walk away," Mercury said, still looking at the scroll as the truck rattled along. "Nothing happened between us, if that's what you're worried about."
Roman rolled his eye and shook his head.
"For what it's worth, Cinder didn't tell me anything, either. Not until the minute before I was asked to do it. Whatever the hell Salem's ultimately trying to do, she and she alone knows it. I doubt even Cinder has any idea what's going on, as much as she likes to think she's queen bitch of Remnant."
"…what about Tyrian?" Ren asked. "Tyrian worships Salem."
There was a moment of quiet as all eyes turned to Mercury. He didn't notice at first, and only did after looking up during the period of awkward silence.
"Hazel's always been in charge of our efforts in Sanus, but…Tyrian would probably know more than anyone else. He and Salem spend a lot of time together, doing gods know what. He's always been… coy about what he does and doesn't know, and what Salem might be up to. He talks in riddles, half-truths, and taunts. Pretty much nothing else. I could never get a straight answer out of him... not one that I believed, anyway. Hazel's always been vague, in a way that makes me think he doesn't actually know much more than me. Tyrian… something's off with him."
"That's a lot of speculation," Sage pointed out. "Why doubt Hazel's knowledge if he's in charge?"
"Salem is never straightforward, that much I know from experience," Weiss answered. "It does seem like her style to make Hazel the face of her efforts while trusting someone else with more information. Of course, there's no real way of knowing unless you could manage to capture one of them."
"…that's not a bad idea, Snowflake," Roman said while nodding his head. "If we could manage to locate and capture Tyrian… I'm personally not opposed to using torture to get what we need."
"Neither am I."
The initial shock and discomfort from Weiss at Roman's suggestion doubled as the sentiment was echoed by another. Ren shared the same immediate revulsion and was quick to make it known.
"Nora? You're not… you're not serious…?"
"Ruby's dead, Ren," Nora seethed as she gave him a cold glare. "Tyrian played a role in it. If we get our hands on him… I'll do what it takes to make him squeal."
"Don't throw the idea of torture around lightly," Sage cautioned. "I was… who the hell is that?"
The group turned their attention back to the hologram as Marrow walked through the background of Weiss' room wearing nothing but a fluffy blue towel wrapped around his waist. Dripping wet, hair down, and tail peeking out from over the back of the towel, the faunus paused as he noticed the scroll in front of Weiss and began to approach from behind the girl. Weiss realized what was going on almost immediately, and her face flushed as Marrow leaned down and moved to kiss her cheek.
"This must be your other group of friends?" Marrow asked, distracting Weiss from the call. "Hey, guys!"
"…hold the talk of torture for a minute," Roman suggested to the others. "This is too good. Princess Schnee is banging a faunus?"
"They are, yes," Weiss answered before turning a wary eye back toward the camera, apparently missing Roman's hushed commentary. "Well… some of them. Others are former enemies, but we need all the help we can get."
"Nice to meet you all," Marrow said, bending over to get closer to the camera and offering an enthusiastic wave. "Marrow Amin, Ace Ops. Looking forward to working with all of you, remotely or otherwise."
"Nora Valkyrie. I wouldn't mind seeing more of you, either," Nora let on as she eyed up the faunus in the hologram.
Weiss cupped her cheek in her hand, avoiding Nora's eyes.
"Sage Ayana. You're Ace Ops?" Sage asked. "What's the situation with Ironwood right now? Is he going to say something to all of Remnant about what's going on, now that we have global comms back up? The people should know…"
"He's due to give an address in an hour or so," Marrow answered. "I just woke up a little while ago and I'm still catching up on what's going on. Yesterday was exhausting, and Weiss and I didn't get much sleep…"
"Roman Torchwick. Say more about that."
"I-I'm going to go and make some coffee," Weiss declared before standing up and hurriedly exiting the frame.
Marrow was totally oblivious to the implication and moved to sit on the couch that Weiss had previously occupied.
"Well, you know. There's just a lot on my mind," Marrow explained. "Having Weiss around helps a lot, though. She's a treasure."
"...give us some details while she's away?" Nora requested. "This is the first time I've felt even a little bit happier in days. I'll take whatever mental reprieve I can get…"
"This feels so… weird," Ilia said as she walked along, her boots crunching through the snow.
The faunus made her way down the central path between the buildings of Aurora's Cradle, her eyes on the shifting, shimmering barrier high above. Emerald was at her side, keeping pace and her own eyes on her companion instead of their surroundings.
"How do you mean?"
"We were just fighting for our lives, and we didn't all make it out," Ilia explained as she met Emerald's eyes. "Barely a day later, we're in a hidden base that's just… beautiful and serene. I mean, look around us, Em. In any other situation, this would be an amazing getaway in a secluded place where we could just get away. We're even safe right now, but… the pressure isn't gone. We need to be doing things to help the war effort, even though we're no longer on the front lines. It reminds me of old times, back in the Fang…"
"I'm assuming that's some sort of comfort?" Emerald guessed. "Familiar ground is a good thing, even if it's tense."
"I fucking hate it."
Emerald abruptly stopped walking, and Ilia did much the same before letting out a sigh and beginning to speak once again.
"I just… we don't have time for this. We need to survey the rest of the Cradle, meet this Shiv guy, and figure out what our next move is. Forget I said anything."
Ilia barely made it a step before Emerald seized her arm. The larger woman had barely any trouble at all completely arresting the faunus' momentum and earned a frustrated glare for her efforts.
"Don't you dare start with that shit. Nothing good can come of keeping it all in, especially when you seem to have become our leader. I'm not letting you just sulk in a corner and hide your doubts."
"And that's just it," Ilia protested as she managed to wrench her arm free of Emerald's grip. "I'm… not who I used to be. Not at all. I finally feel like I know who I am, and all of this… it just doesn't jive with me anymore. A year ago, I would've been happy to be out here scheming and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike back at Salem while drinking in the scenery. Now? Now I just want to be out on the front lines, kicking ass and taking names with my friends at my side. Finding a family… it fucking broke me, Em. It broke me… and it remade me into something better. I'm starting to actually like myself, and I don't want to slip back into who I was while just idling and getting content here."
Emerald chewed her lower lip and folded her arms, adopting a more defensive position. She looked almost worried as she flicked her eyes up to Ilia only briefly before bringing them back down to the snow.
"…I think I'm on that journey too, but right now I'm just… at that broken stage. I've got you, but no other 'family' and I'm not sure where to even look. Doesn't seem like there's going to be much opportunity to do so anyway. We've got to figure out how we can help fight from here. Not exactly a great set of circumstances for 'found family' like you had with getting to know your team over time."
"A found family could just be two people," Ilia offered. "It could be whatever the hell you want it to be. I'm still figuring my own shit out, but I don't mind helping you with yours."
"You're barely holding it together," Emerald reminded. "I'm not putting my struggle on your shoulders, too."
"I'll put you on my shoulders when I want to," Ilia protested with a defiant look as she copied Emerald's stance. "As a leader and as a friend. All I ask is that you grind on my face while you're up there."
"Let's save that for tonight," Emerald advised. "Whatever ends up happening here, I definitely want to keep that going. I'll need it for stress relief."
"You and me both," Ilia agreed. "I am feeling a little better having gotten my thoughts out in the open, though, so… thanks. Things aren't exactly resolved, but at least now I know someone else gets it."
"It's just that easy?" Emerald questioned as they began to walk again.
"It can be, when people actually listen. Sun taught me that."
Suddenly, Emerald was seized by an overwhelming feeling of bitterness and guilt. It felt quite a bit like a weighty heartburn spurred on by memories she would rather have forgotten.
"…yeah, that's not really something I can relate to," Emerald admitted. "I don't think anyone actually listened to me in my time with Salem's crew. I was… I thought I was close with Mercury, but then he just… snapped when I started to question what we were doing. We never really had a chance to talk again after that, and I don't even know if he's still alive. He was sent to Sanus to intercept Ruby…"
Ilia closed the distance to Emerald and gingerly put a hand upon her waist. Emerald simply blew out a small, visible puff of steam into the frigid air and closed her eyes.
"…call him," Ilia said as gently as she could manage. "If he decides to be an asshole, he can't hurt you all the way out here and it's not like anyone knows where we are. If he's come around… you'll feel better. Don't just let old grudges lie. Do something about them."
"But what abo-"
"I'll handle it," Ilia dismissed. "Take care of yourself, I'll finish collecting intel, and we'll talk after, alright? I don't mind adjusting the plan when someone needs to take care of themselves. I'll get over my feelings of just… bleh in time. I don't think it's going to be that easy for you."
"Not exactly efficient," Emerald griped as she took out her scroll. "We'll never get anything done if people just focus on their own personal problems. Why are you so willing to let me just work on myself instead of the overall effort?"
"Because catching you up later isn't a big deal… and this is the kind of thing that family does," Ilia answered as she removed her hand from Emerald. "I've got your back."
Emerald watched as Ilia left for parts unknown without another word. After watching her friend disappear into one of the nearby buildings, she initiated a call to Mercury and raised her scroll up to her ear. Emerald had no idea what she wanted to say at all… if he even bothered to answer.
Author's Note:
For the week of 9/18.
The Call will take place next week, along with some other things.
-RD