Sun strode out into the back yard to find Harriet sitting atop the lone picnic table, looking to be lost in thought as she stared down at her scroll. The faunus had half a mind to simply turn around and leave the woman alone, but he knew that the situation could only wait for so long. Slowly and with a somewhat exaggerated motion, he began to push the sliding glass door closed once again, drawing out the noise as long and loudly as possible. The racket did manage to get the woman's attention, and she looked away from her scroll and stared at Sun with a blank expression for a moment before giving the boy a nod.
"…Sun. What's up?"
"Uh… I came to see if you want to call Professor Gumo with me, to give him a heads up that we're on our way and get any info that might be useful for the trip," Sun answered as he lingered in front of the partially open door. "You said you wanted to be involved, just in case I miss something or cause an international incident by being a dumbass."
"Yeah, I did," Harriet agreed as she slipped off the table and into a stretch. "Ready when you are. Let's go inside, just in case."
"Probably a good call," Sun agreed as he turned around and widened the door once again as he made his way inside. "Everything alright?"
Harriet didn't answer immediately as she followed the faunus back inside the house. Upon closing the door behind herself, she turned her attention to the figure laying upon the couch and offered a small wave. Neopolitan returned it and sat up, scooting over to make room for the others.
"…I don't know. Raven's having some problems with her Maiden powers and wanted to know if I have any insight. I don't, and I'm not having the issues she is, either. We're totally in the dark, and I'm just hoping that Salem didn't manage to do something to her during the invasion. She was on the frontline and engaging with a lot of grimm, on top of losing her arm."
"If there's something like that going on, I have faith that Marrow will be able to figure it out," Sun reassured as he pulled a small scrap of paper out of his pocket and looked in Neopolitan's direction. "You joining us?"
The ex-con gave Sun a double thumbs up gesture as footsteps echoed down the nearby hall. Blake appeared near the front door in short order, wearing some of Sun's clothing in place of her own.
"Hey. Yang just called me. I'm heading out to go and just… talk to her," the woman explained with a sigh. "I don't know when I'll be back."
"Is she safe?" Sun asked as he began to punch the number on the paper into his scroll.
"She's fine," Blake reassured as she opened the front door. "Just… not feeling great right now. I'll keep you updated. What are you guys up to?"
"Calling the Vacuan headmaster," Harriet answered as Sun set his scroll down on the coffee table. "Ironwood thought it would be a good idea, and for once, I agree with him."
"Me too," Blake nodded. "Well… good luck. I don't know him, but from what I've heard, he's a little… prickly."
"I do," Sun said with a grimace. "Well… sort of. I've met him in passing once or twice, and… yeah. Prickly is a good word. He's a good guy and he cares a lot, but he's pretty defensive and secretive. I'm not getting the feeling that this will be a lot of fun. Ironwood did speak to him a little bit ago, so at least he has some expectation of what's about to happen. See you soon."
"See you," Blake agreed before heading out into Mistral and closing the door behind herself.
Sun let out a ragged sigh and connected the call. He sat up a bit straighter, trying to look businesslike as he waited for an answer from Vacuo.
"I feel like this is gonna suck…"
"Chin up," Harriet advised as she moved slightly closer to be in frame of the holo-call. Neopolitan made no such effort, lounging casually on Sun's other side. "If it gets rough, I'll take over."
"Thanks," Sun offered as a floating screen appeared above the device. "Hello? Professor Gumo…?"
A man with eight dark eyes scattered about his face stared back at Sun unblinkingly. Each of the orbs suddenly alit with color, as though he was trying to analyze the huntsman for something from another continent entirely. Behind him was a black background, as though he was sitting in a room entirely devoid of light bar whatever happened to be illuminating him for the call. The man's expression hardened as he flicked his attention over to Harriet, and even more so as he caught sight of Neopolitan.
"… I am he. Sun Wukong, is it not? You would be a second year student here, had you not chosen to remain to defend Beacon Academy at the Vytal Festival and disappeared shortly thereafter. I thought you and the rest of your team to be dead. Quite the pleasant surprise to see you once again, young man."
"You… remember me?" Sun asked, his surprise clear in his voice as he blinked a few times.
"I remember all of my students, Mr. Wukong," the headmaster answered as he slightly upturned his chin. "Preparedness is essential, especially in times of war, and I make it a point to study my allies and enemies alike. You were the leader of Team SSSN, alongside Sage Ayana, Scarlet David, and Neptune Vasilias. At your time of departure, you were the #3 ranked first year team at Shade Academy, and a favorite to reach the upper brackets of the Vytal Tournament. Unfortunately, I was unable to watch your progress as it happened… but you and yours did put on an impressive show. A shame that it was for naught."
"I… yeah, thanks," Sun said with a sheepish grin. "Uh, I appreciate the praise and all, but I'm not just calling to check in…"
"Given that you have Harriet Bree sitting beside you, I'm going to assume that you were given my private line by General Ironwood," Professor Gumo surmised. "I'm not at all surprised that you would call to coordinate your next moves with me, especially given your personal role in transporting Relics about Remnant."
Neopolitan leaned forward and caught Sun's eye, giving the faunus a look of suspicion that he didn't quite understand as Harriet spoke.
"That's exactly why we're calling. We're on our way to Shade Academy, and wanted to go over the situation in Vacuo with you before we land. Would you be able to recommend a safe route to the Academy? What's the situation like with grimm down there?"
Professor Gumo paused, a few of his eyes closing momentarily as he shook his head.
"It isn't good, Miss Bree. Both in and outside of our walls, we're running into difficulty with Salem's forces. There have been breaches, and most recently, an apparent mole within the Academy itself. For that reason, I cannot allow you to approach, let alone enter. I would not recommend making the journey to Vacuo, even if you're doing so to try to flee Solitas."
"…what?" Sun asked, unable to mask his disappointment. "But… we can help you! I thought this was already decided. We can help fight off the grimm, maybe figure out what happened with that mole, and the Sword of Destruction has t-"
"I ask that you leave the Sword to me," Professor Gumo instructed. "It is currently quite safe, and only I and the Maiden have access to it. Given that the Maiden is missing, there is no way to access the weapon at present. Coming to the Academy would only complicate matters. My recommendation would be to stay in Solitas, or flee to Mistral if you must. I do not want to see you in unnecessary danger, and I do not want to risk the Academy or the Relic by exposing either to outsiders."
"Headmaster Gumo, with all due respect," Harriet began, "Ironwood already discussed this with you, didn't he? There was a plan in place for us to come and help, and this was supposed to be more of a courtesy call than anything. What changed? What's going on?"
"As I said, a mole was discovered," Professor Gumo explained. "Unfortunately, they were discovered only after one of my top advisors was slain, and we are still piecing together what could have occurred. This sudden reversal is nothing personal… but it is born of necessity. Did you and yours not also recently incur losses? I ask that you allow Vacuo to deal with Vacuan problems and turn your attention elsewhere for the time being. Once any and all leaks within Shade are plugged, you will be welcome here once again. Until such a time, Solitas has had enough of a role in complicating things for my people, wouldn't you agree?"
Neopolitan mouthed a simple three-word phrase at Sun that he most definitely understood before leaning forward and snatching the paper off the coffee table. She began to text the faunus as she looked the digits over, and Sun watched as a message popped up on the screen of his scroll.
Something isn't right. He's acting weird, and Ironwood had no reason to tell him about Ruby. I doubt he even called after that happened, given how frantic everything has been…
Sun shivered as he read the words and then locked eyes with Professor Gumo through the holo-call.
"…Professor Gumo, I… we have to be able to work something out. Some kind of compromise. I understand how you feel about Solitas, but… Vacuo is my home. And this isn't just about Vacuo, either- we're fighting for Remnant as a whole. We just want to help, a-… Neo, what are you doing?"
Sun watched as his companion held her scroll out in her palm, a familiar number upon the screen as the line rang audibly.
"…if you're going to not only ignore my requests, but waste my time with whatever charade this may be…"
Sun's stomach dropped as Neopolitan's call connected… and Professor Gumo's voice rang out through the scroll in her hand.
"…hello? Who is this?"
The moment that Sun looked back toward the hologram, the call ended and the projection died out. Neopolitan clenched her jaw and set her scroll down next to Sun's before turning on her own projector, summoning up the image of Professor Gumo once again… but something was different. The man was surrounded by computer monitors, each displaying a spreadsheet, map, data table, graph, or other analytic, and his office was well-lit and sparsely furnished. Professor Gumo's expression was a curious one, and he reached up to stroke at his goatee as he looked the trio over as though he had never seen them before.
"H-hello…?" Sun asked, still trying to process what was going on. "Professor…?"
"Yes?" the man asked. "I do not recognize this number… but you look vaguely familiar, young man. Who are you, and how are you contacting me?"
"…shit, you've gotta be kidding me," Harriet cursed as she grabbed for Sun's scroll. "Who the hell… how the hell…?"
"…who were we just talking to?" Sun asked, his face turning ghost white. "O-or… who are we talking to now? How do we know which is the real one, or…?"
"…I would ask that you at least answer my question," Professor Gumo insisted. "Who are you, and what drove you to contact me?"
"I…" Sun started, his mouth suddenly dry enough to make it difficult to speak. "I-I'm Sun. Sun Wukong. Ironwood asked me to call you, about… u-uh…"
"Sun Wukong," Professor Gumo repeated. "I see. He did say that you would call, but this isn't the number that he gave."
"Y-yeah, no, I… we're using someone else's scroll," Sun explained. "Sorry about that, but… Professor, how can I be sure that I'm talking to the real you? We were just in the middle of a call with… you. Or someone pretending to be you. I don't know what's going on…"
"…someone pretending to be me?" Professor Gumo asked. "Given recent events, I am unsurprised… though I have few ideas as to how I could prove my identity to you. Perhaps we should patch Ironwood in to the call? He would be able to verify my identity for you."
Sun nodded slowly and scratched at his neck.
"…yeah. Yeah, do that. He'll know what to do…"
Author's Note:
Neither side is playing anymore. The stakes will only rise from here…
-RD