Later that same day, Sun found himself alone. He was in the gym, running laps around the track. His weapon had been safely stored away in one of the nearby lockers. The monkeyman was thankful he was alone, so that no one could see his tormented expression.
I don't get it. Why have I been feeling like this? He internally sighed. Ever since the longest night, I've been restless. I've been more angry with Adam, and with Zhu. The former even more so. It's been a week, but yet the anger I felt towards them is still as strong as it was when it first formed. No. It feels even stronger. And then there's Blake. My girlfriend and the love of my life... but she won't even talk to me.
As he ran around the track, his mind went back to a series of flashbacks on how Blake had become distant from him.
It was the morning after the worst night of their lives. The clock on the wall read; 8:45am. Blake was still dressed in her White Fang outfit as everyone had gotten up.
"Alright, I believe breakfast runs until 10am."
Kali turned to Sun. "Are you coming with us?"
"You guys go on ahead. I still need to find my wallet and Scroll."
Ghira raised an eyebrow, but Kali led him along. The door closed behind them.
"You already have both of those things." Blake spoke for the first time that morning.
"I know. I... I wanted to talk to you. I know you're still trying to recover from the events of last night, but... do you think we should tell your parents about... us?"
"Honestly, I don't think that's a good idea. Knowing my father, he'll react badly. The previous man I dated had been a close friend of theirs, and, as you might remember from his backstory, was given a home in Menagerie. We took him in after the three of us had found him in Atlas. And what did he do? He betrayed me, and by extension, my whole family. Father would be furious. I... I just don't think we should."
Sun blinked and then grimaced. "Oh. I respect your wishes. Would you like me to bring you anything from the breakfast hall?"
"No thank you. I'm not hungry."
"Not hungry? You hardly touched your shrimp fried rice from last night."
"I'm fine." she insisted. "Just go.
The monkeyman hesitated. She was not fine, and he knew it. He also knew not to press her further, so Sun left, deciding to give her some space.
Sun finished a lap around the track and switched to walking as another flashback came to him.
It had been three days after the longest night. It was also one of the few times that Sun had been able to speak with her alone. Her parents had already gone to pick up dinner from a nearby local restaurant (since it was cheaper than room service), leaving the two late teens/early adults in the room.
Blake, still wearing her White Fang uniform with her cat ears exposed, sat on her bed, her knees curled to her chest with a white sheet over her. Sun stood to the side, not knowing what to say to her. The windows had their curtains pulled back, revealing that night had already fallen.
Sun slowly approached his girlfriend. "Blake?" He sat beside her on the bed, trying to comfort her. "You've hardly spoken a word in the last few days."
"What is there to say? I failed. I had one task- to defeat Adam. Both to avenge Yang for the loss of her right arm, and to prevent him from causing other harm. I let rage consume me, and look at what happened. Sienna Khan fell, he became High Leader, with both Athena and Wungeng accepting his authority, and he took me as prisoner. He tortured me. He hurt me in ways I never thought possible. He attempted to rape me!" She breathed heavily, trying to prevent herself from crying... "And even though he did not succeed there, it still feels that he stole something from me. I... I feel violated." And sequentially failing. "And on top of that, he plans to invade Haven and there's nothing we can do to stop him!"
Sun was confused. "Why would you say that? We faced off against Corvina's army of sailors and we won. Surely we can stop Adam!"
"The only reason we won was because Xanthe helped us. One might even argue that we were lucky. But our luck has run out." She used her hands and draped the blanket around her front side. "Look at us. We're just four faunus against the White Fang. Adam has an army to command. He has more troops to command than Corvina Noire did on her ship. Not to mention Adam has some of the most skilled fighters I know alongside him."
"There has to be some way to stop him."
"Honestly, I don't believe there is. If I can't even stop him from torturing and violating me, then how could I ever hope to stand up to him?"
The Vacuan native placed his hand on her shoulder. "Blake..."
"Don't touch me." she ordered. He immediately withdrew his hand. "I thought I stood a chance against him. But I never did." She sighed. "I need a break for a while."
He hesitated but asked, "A break? From what?"
"Everything."
Taking the blanket she wrapped herself around in, she laid down on her left side, curling her legs as the blanket fell back down on her.
As Sun returned to the present, he went back to running. His thoughts ran with him.
Blake has been avoiding physical contact with me ever since Adam's assault on her. She's been avoiding it from her parents a lot too... She also told me that she's been having nightmares. Almost every time I tried to help her, she turned away from me...
He sighed aloud. "How can I be there for her if she won't even let me near her, physically or emotionally?"
The monkey was fortunate he was alone.
And adding to my ever-increasing emotional woes is Zhu. Or Ganglie. Or Wungeng. He has so many names. So many aliases. I knew him as Zhu Bajie Huong. Or at least, I thought I knew him. But why would he ally himself with the White Fang? It doesn't make any sense! They said that he was given more than he could have imagined, so there's no way he was blackmailed. He also mentions having gained the attention of the previous Vacuan Fang leader. But if he was happy working as a thief, why would he join the Fang? What does... or what did he have to gain by doing so?
Not like it matters much. He deserted the tribe a long time ago. Which brings up the question- if he hated tribe life so much, why didn't he leave peacefully with Starr, who had expressed the desire to and had been planning on establishing a training dojo in Vacuo City months before Zhu deserted us? Does he really hate his family that much?
He felt his blood boil and his speed increase as negative thoughts began to cloud him even further.
Then there's the bull in the room. Adam Taurus. That thrice-damned incubus! I knew he was bad, but I never would gave thought that he'd be that malevolent! If it weren't for the fact he's highly dangerous, I'd report every crime he's ever committed to the authorities. But all I'd be doing is sending cops to their own demise. Not to mention contradicting Blake's wishes to keep her traumatic experience quiet. Curse that man! Damn him!
Sun groaned. I should have killed him when I had the chance. He raised his eyebrows in shock. Wait? Kill? Would I really...?
As Sun questioned his morality, he failed to notice the black laces of his black and yellow sneakers had become undone, causing him to step on one of them, tripping and falling onto the cold, hard ground.
He groaned, this time in agony. He sat up, and noticed his laces were undone. Taken down by a mere shoelace. As he redid his shoelaces, he noticed that they were worn-out and a bit tattered, along with his sneakers in general. I really need to get these things replaced. But I suppose that's been the least of my worries lately. Standing up with a sigh, the monkeyman decided to leave the gym, feeling exhausted as he noticed a few athletes walk in. He roamed the hotel hallways, trying to cool down.
And why... Why do I find myself staring at Blake more often? Both out of concern and... intense longing?
All the while, a crow was shown on the top of the captain's cabin aboard a cruise ship. The cabin was twenty feet tall, with a small window about six feet up from the bottom.
Alright. It took me nearly all day, but I finally found a ship to hitch a ride on. Qrow thought. My arms, or should I say wings, are exhausted. Thankfully my legs still work. With his stubby bird legs, he walked from one side of the metal cabin rooftop to the other, looking at the sunset, very low on the horizon. The other part of the sky was painted with a faint dark blue. The bird walked back to his place and looked at the deck below- there was hardly anyone there, and the few people on deck were so far below that they couldn't see him.
The bird soon turned back to his human form, his legs dangling over the edge.
Perfect. Thanks to the big height of this cabin, neither captain or his first mate can see me. Looks like I'm aboard the S.S. Albatross. How fetching that a walking bad luck charm is aboard a ship supposedly blessed with good luck. He took out a ration of salted deer meat and began to eat his meal. Bird by day, and human by night. Hopefully my chosen timings for transformation will help prevent me from being detected aboard the ship. Now I guess the real question is- where am I going to sleep and in which form?
He finished his dinner and pondered his options.
Most of the time, I'm an early bird, and can wake up with or shortly after the sun. Other times, if I'm heavily drunk and hungover, not so much. As long I don't drink too much, I should be able to get enough sleep by the time the sun rises and be fine throughout the day. I would try to build a nest, but there's not much material for me to build with. I could sleep on the ground, but I could risk being stepped on (which would hurt), or worse. I could sleep in the cargo hold and wake up before anyone catches me, but on the other hand, I don't think anyone would be too happy about a bird inside the cabin. Hmm... I guess I'll have to try various options and see what works without me getting caught.
He laid on his back, thinking about his nieces.
I hope Ruby's okay. And Yang... Two sisters that were once so close... have never been farther apart. Then again, this wouldn't be the first time... His thoughts drifted back to Raven, back during their days at Beacon Academy.
We had a small sibling rivalry during our youth, but for the most part we got along. Even during our four years at the academy. And then, the accident occurred... And from there, it all went downhill. He sighed. I know the tribe wasn't the best. They were pretty bad people in hindsight. I can't lie though, there are some days that I miss my sister... He shook his head vigorously. Gah, why should I miss her? She abandoned her daughter, her husband, her team, and is overall a pretty horrible person! He looked at the canister, currently filled with vodka. Like you're any better?
The veteran huntsman sighed again. At this rate, it was going to be a long, long night.
Meanwhile, the scene showed Watts fighting an Asian-esque man with fair skin, dark grey eyes and black hair in a long ponytail. He was wearing a bright red kimono robe that flowed to his ankles. He had a longsword similar to Wilt within his hands, only the huntsman's sword was white. His name was Shiro Wan, and he was Watt's target. The huntsman repetitively attempted to strike down his target.
Shiro blocked many of Watts's bullets, even as the gunman increased his fire rate.
"Five, four, three." he said to himself after each one was fired.
Unfortunately, one of those bullets hit his arm. "Two." The pain was enough to distract Shiro and let Watts shoot him in the gut, causing his aura to break in a flash of a white. "One."
With the last bullet, he was shot in the neck. A dead Shiro Wan fell to the ground.
Watts scoffed. "That makes zero and a dead huntsman. Looks like another one bites the dust."
A paper airplane drifted in the wind. He caught it in his hands and read it.
Well done, Dr. Watts. Your next target, in the city of Argus- Star Rivera. You know what to do.- Salem
The Alestian scientist smirked. He pocketed the note and held the revolver in his left hand. With his right thumb, he activated the cylinder release before opening it with his other hand. With the left, he ejected the previous round of now-empty metal shells with the thumb. Once the empty cartridges were taken out, the muzzle was inverted, and the left hand grabbed the loading device and inserted a new round of bullets. The empty loading device was promptly discarded and the left hand closed the cylinder, leaving the gun in the right hand, or shifted to the left hand.
With this, he was done reloading the gun within a matter of seconds.
"Locked and loaded."
He put his gun back at his side and started to make his way to the city.
Seems like only yesterday things were different... Fifteen years ago, I faked my death in the Paladin Incident. But the general never cared about me. He just used me and never gave me credit for anything I did. He chose Dr. Polendina's project over mine.
He laughed as he exited the forest and the city of Argus in chaos below him. The scientist took a moment to enjoy the city burning. And look how that worked out. I may not have directly destroyed Penny, or manipulated Pyrrha into doing all of our dirty work, but I did play a part in bringing down that wretched machine. All thanks to that meticulously crafted computer virus. Tis almost a pity that Pyrrha Nikos fell beneath the ruins of the school she tried so hard to save. It's almost funny how easily many people were manipulated into believing Pyrrha was a murderer all because she destroyed a machine with life. And in the aftermath, the world peace that everyone enjoyed so dearly began to shatter.
Watts turned away and started to descend down the mountain. Who knows? Perhaps we'll soon be in the age of war.
[cue RWBY music- Like Morning Follows Night- piano]
Blake found herself roaming the halls of the first floor. The catgirl reached for her purple bow, and felt it there upon her ears.
I'm losing it. I knew my bow was there, why did I reach for it? A shiver came over her. Am I that scared of being exposed again?
She sighed, placing her back to the wall. Memories of Corvina taking her black bow and tearing it apart flooded her, followed by memories of Adam taking the white bow and ripping it to pieces.
No one was there to witness Adam stealing my white bow. So why does it hurt even more than the first time with Corvina? Or is it because...?
"Blake?" a familiar voice asked.
She turned around to find her boyfriend standing there. "Sun? What are you doing here?"
Sun answered calmly, "I could be asking you the same thing."
"I..." she stuttered. "I just had to get some fresh air and time alone with my thoughts." She looked at him annoyed, trying to hide her pain. "And why are you here?"
"I was worried about you. Your mom and dad wrote out some notes, telling us that they were heading to the pool and a yoga/meditation class respectively. You weren't answering your Scroll and I was getting worried that something may have happened."
"That I had been kidnapped by Adam again? Thankfully it isn't so." She grimaced. "But what if this sanctuary comes crumbling down before my eyes? What if he comes after me because I know the truth about Sienna's death?"
"I thought you said the White Fang wouldn't find us here."
"I know, but... I'm still worried. I... I know this is supposed to be the safest district, the only true safe haven in a city of criminals, but... what if that haven falls apart? I... I don't know if I could bear such a frightening possibility."
The monkeyman hesitated. "Is that... why you've been shutting us out?"
"Shutting out?" Blake questioned. "I'm trying to recover from this. To come to terms with the fact that I can't stop him!"
"But we can!"
"How?! We got our rear ends kicked by Athena and Adam! Not to mention those were only two people in the terrorist group. There's still Ares, Athena's Revolutionists and who knows what other threats are lurking within this city. No, scratch that, the entire kingdom and even abroad." Her eyes started to water. "Not to mention you recklessly fighting Adam on the rooftop! You almost got killed facing him! If anything happened to you.. I..." Blake shed tears. "I don't know how I could forgive myself. I can't even forgive myself for what happened to Yang." She turned away from him. "This is why I left alone. I didn't want anyone else getting hurt because of my mistakes. Everyone that's been hurt by him... you, Yang, and even myself... are all my fault. You could even argue that Sienna's death is my fault too." Her eyes darted to the ground. "I wasn't fast enough to save her."
"No. What Adam did to you is not your fault. None of those things are your fault." Sun told her. Blake turned back to face him. "I chose to fight Adam. To save you from more suffering at his hands. Blake..." He extended his hand, only to draw it back. "I know you're scared. We all are. But shutting us out only places you alone with those fears. You think you're being selfless by your original intention to face the White Fang and Adam alone, but you're not. I know you don't want us to get hurt, but the real pain is when you shut me out."
The catwoman stood in somber silence for a moment. Then she threw her arms around Sun. "Sun... I'm so sorry. I know that you would never hurt me. But yet... I'm scared to hold you... It makes no sense."
He gestured the gesture, gently stroking her head. "I understand. You're tense. You're scared. We all are, for one reason or another. How do you think I feel about Adam now? Or the return of Zhu? Or you shying away from me?" The Vacuan faunus sighed and backed away a little. "Maybe I am a bit selfish. For wanting to hold you closer to me when you stepped away. In Zhu's case, I had been bottling up emotions for years because I didn't think my feelings mattered."
"Sun... Don't say that!" Her eyes began to tear up. "Your feelings do matter."
He wiped away her tears. "Please... stop acting like feelings don't matter. I know this is easier said than done, for both of us... but please. I don't want to lose you..."
The two held each other, trying to silently comfort one another. No one was sure how long they were standing there, but eventually the silence was broken.
"I know I'm hurting. We're all hurting." Sun told her. "But I vowed that I wouldn't abandon you. I promised to help you stop the White Fang, and that is a promise I intend to see through to the very end."
"Sun..." Blake sniffed. "Thank you."
She kissed him on the cheek, with Sun stunned and Blake briefly smiling thereafter.
He gently entwined his left hand with her right. "If I may?"
Blake answered, "Yes."
Sun took her hand and placed it upon the wall. He leaned in and kissed her gently. Blake softly moaned, and sweetly surrendered to his embrace. She threw her arm around his neck.
I don't know why my anger feels white hot all the time, or why my longing for Blake has been so tense, but I know one thing's certain. I love her. I will protect her, even if it costs me my life.
He wanted this moment to last longer, but unfortunately...
"Mr. Wukong!" Sun drew in a raspy breath for a gasp as stepped back and saw Ghira standing there, his arms folded and not at all pleased with what he had seen. "What is the meaning of this?!"
The catgirl awkwardly lowered her arm and thought, Oh dear... This isn't going to end well.
Sun smiled and tried to lighten the situation, scratching his head. "I guess the cat's outta the bag, isn't it?"
Blake raised an eyebrow, annoyed with her boyfriend's puns. "Really? That's the best response you could come up with?"
The monkeyman chuckled for a second before he was grabbed by his collar. Ghira pulled him in as Sun's look turned anxious before the screen faded to black.