For Cause and Comrades (New)
For Cause and Comrades
“Sir,” des Voeux said, “we’ve got First Councillor Emerald on the line.”
“That was quick,” Fitzjames muttered.
“It’s the Vytal Tournament, Fitzjames; everything is being reported live,” Ironwood said. “They’re probably liveblogging about prisoners being brought out as we speak. Des Voeux, put the First Councillor through.”
“Aye aye, sir,” replied des Vœux. “Putting him through now.”
“General Ironwood,” Councillor Emerald said at once, his voice filling the CIC of the Valiant. “The news is reporting some interesting developments aboard the Amity Colosseum. Developments that don’t have anything to do with the success or failure of the contestants.”
“Good morning, Councillor,” General Ironwood said. “Yes, my people have subdued and apprehended a group of White Fang agents. In the spirit of cooperation and the goodwill of the Vytal Festival, I was about to ask if Vale wished to take custody of the prisoners.”
There was a moment of pause. “Well, you know how to take the wind out of my sails, don’t you, General?” Councillor Emerald replied. “But may I ask how you caught these White Fang agents?”
From behind General Ironwood, Sky Beak coughed. “If I may speak, Councillor?”
“Colonel Sky Beak?” Councillor Emerald asked. “Yes, of course you may.”
“Not long ago,” Sky Beak continued, “General Ironwood was contacted by Blake Belladonna, the … former Atlesian mole in the White Fang. She had spotted one of her … a former member of the White Fang amongst the crowd in the Colosseum. General Ironwood, acting in his capacity as head of security for the Vytal Festival, acted swiftly to organise a search for this terrorist and any of their comrades, culminating in, as you know, their capture.”
Again, Councillor Emerald was quiet for a moment, processing the information that he had just received. “And you didn’t think that it was worth evacuating the Amity Arena, in case the White Fang wished to, to be blunt, blow it up?”
“We considered the possibility, but discounted that as their likely objective,” General Ironwood replied. “Based on Belladonna’s knowledge of the individual she had spotted, her capabilities, and the presence of a large number of faunus amongst the crowd, we judged that their intention was not to cause mass casualties.”
“That was a risk you took, General,” Councillor Emerald remarked.
“That’s what I get paid for, Councillor,” General Ironwood said.
“Yes,” Councillor Emerald murmured. “I suppose you do.” He raised his voice. “Do you think you’ve got them all? The White Fang, I mean.”
“We believe so,” General Ironwood said. “Although, of course, the search of the Colosseum interior is ongoing in case there are any holdouts. But that search won’t disrupt the resumption of the matches, and I don’t anticipate any more trouble from the White Fang today.”
Although I didn’t expect any today.
“I must admit you make it very hard to be angry with you, General,” Councillor Emerald declared candidly. “Your people appear to have done good work.” There was another pause. “The liveblog of the Alexandria Guardian reports that medical personnel have been spotted on the promenade, although they’ve been kept back by Atlesian soldiers from getting a better look. Were any of your people—?”
“Two students, Neon Katt and Jacqueline Apple, suffered minor injuries, but nothing serious,” General Ironwood said. “They are being tended to, as are various of the White Fang, most of whom were injured to a greater or lesser extent in the course of their capture. They’ll be transported down to the ground in ambulances, although under guard. Only two of the terrorists are fit for a prison transport.”
“I’m surprised you don’t want to keep them for yourself,” Councillor Emerald said.
“If we’re being honest with one another, Councillor, I would like that,” General Ironwood admitted. “At least one of these people is not from Vale, or even a part of the Valish branch of the White Fang; I wouldn’t mind finding out … according to my people, the White Fang claimed that their mission was to assassinate Belladonna and another of my students, Rainbow Dash.”
“Your students?” Councillor Emerald said. “Blake Belladonna is a Beacon student, isn’t she?”
“She’s transferring to Atlas next year, Councillor,” General Ironwood said mildly.
“But not at the moment,” Councillor Emerald replied.
“I stand by what I said, Councillor,” General Ironwood said mildly.
Councillor Emerald snorted. “Very well, General, two of your students. Two of your students marked to be assassinated by the White Fang. Do you believe it? I would have thought that the White Fang had better things to do.”
“Belladonna and Dash did expose a slavery ring operated by rogue elements of the SDC recently,” General Ironwood said.
“Isn’t that reason to give them thanks, not a bullet?”
“I won’t pretend to know the White Fang mind, Councillor, and I won’t pretend to be sure that they’re telling the truth, although it would be an odd lie to tell, if they meant to lie. To get back on the subject, no, I wouldn’t mind having the White Fang in Atlesian custody, but as you’ve pointed out yourself, we won’t be staying here for much longer, and although the Valish Council has graciously requested the assistance of Atlas in securing the Vytal Festival, nevertheless, the law in Vale is Valish responsibility.”
“Yes, yes, it is,” Councillor Emerald said. “But, in the spirit of goodwill amongst kingdoms, the spirit of the Vytal Festival, I am prepared to … offer Atlas a seat at the table in this matter. Joint investigation. When your forces depart, you can leave a team behind to work with the Valish police, interrogate these terrorists, learn what their real intentions were.”
General Ironwood’s eyebrows rose. “That’s very generous, Councillor.”
“You’re making it quite hard to be churlish, General Ironwood, much as I should very much like to be,” Councillor Emerald said, in a tone so dry it was hard to tell if he was joking. “I’ll leave you to sort out the details, and you can talk to the Valish Police once you can spare it the attention. I’ll let them know to expect a call from you. In the meantime, I suppose I should let you get back to securing the tournament. Unless there’s anything else going on that I should know about?”
“Nothing that you’re not already aware of, Councillor,” General Ironwood said. “I think, in some areas, you might be even better informed than I am.”
“Really?” Councillor Emerald asked sceptically. “Colonel Sky Beak?”
“No developments that I’m aware of, Councillor, no, other than the issue that you’ve been made aware of by the press,” Sky Beak said. “I must say, Councillor, I’m surprised to learn you read the Alexandria Guardian. Isn’t it a bit liberal?”
“It likes to think it is, Colonel, but quite often, it’s actually rather sensible.” Councillor Emerald said. “And when it isn’t, it pays to know what the liberal fantasists are thinking. Plus, they’re about the only major news outlet that’s never been accused of hacking scrolls, a quality that I find myself appreciating today even more than I did before.”
“I see, Councillor,” Sky Beak said, without offering any further comment.
“Alright then, General Ironwood, that’s all,” Councillor Emerald. “Except, please pass my congratulations and the thanks of Vale onto your people.”
“How are you doing, Neon?” Rainbow asked.
“I’m fine, I’ll be fine,” Neon said, in spite of the fact that she was holding an ice pack against her left temple. With her other hand, she waved away any and all concerns about her health and wellbeing. “They said that I might have a concussion, but honestly, I feel fine; they barely got me at all.”
“When we were on our way, you told me that your aura was fine,” Rainbow pointed out.
“And I said that I wasn’t saving it for anything,” Neon replied. “Come on, Dashie, you saw my fight with Weiss Schnee; you knew I wasn’t starting off with my aura intact.”
“I asked you—”
“And if I’d told you that I didn’t have that much of it left, then what, you would have left me behind?” Neon demanded. “Flynt wasn’t going to leave me behind.”
“Flynt wasn’t going to send you out in front either,” Rainbow pointed out.
“And so, what?” Neon went on. “You would have gone on by yourself? Rescued Blake and Applejack all on your own?” She grinned. “I didn’t know you were that desperate for the glory.”
“You know that’s not what this is about!” Rainbow snapped.
“No, I know it’s not,” Neon admitted. “But Blake needed help, and you needed backup, and I wasn’t going to just sit on my tail while there was a fellow Atlesian who needed my help.” She sighed. “I appreciate your concern, Rainbow, but I’ve already got a mom back in Mantle; I don’t need another one.” She smiled. “For that matter, I’ve already got my allotted responsible friend, so I don’t need another one of those either.”
Rainbow’s jaw tightened. “You could have … ended up in a lot worse shape than this.”
“But I didn’t,” Neon said. “Thanks to you, Blake.”
“You would have done the same for me,” Blake said. “You did do the same for me; you came to rescue me.”
“And then you ended up rescuing me,” Neon muttered. “Funny how that works out.”
“That’s how it’s supposed to work out,” Rainbow said. “We look out for one another. You rescue Blake, I rescue Applejack, Blake rescues you … Blake rescues me, too.”
Blake’s cheeks flushed slightly. “I didn’t—”
“You got Gilda off me, meant that I only had the little one to worry about,” Rainbow reminded her.
Blake looked away, her ears drooping a little into her wild black hair. “Ilia,” she whispered. “Her name is Ilia.”
“You say that name like a country song,” Applejack grunted. “Old friend of yours?”
“You … you could say that,” Blake admitted.
The four of them stood — actually, Blake and Rainbow Dash stood; Applejack and Neon were sitting down — in the middle of a circle of Atlesian soldiers, keeping the crowd and, maybe more importantly, the Valish press at bay.
Medics had finished looking over Neon, and just finished looking over Applejack as well. Neon, in addition to the ice pack she was holding up to her temple, had some ripe-looking bruises on her arms where the ape faunus had pounded on her, although as quickly as they’d sprouted, those bruises would probably fade again once her aura started to come back. Applejack had a broken nose that had been reset by one of the medics and a missing tooth that was noticeable when she opened her mouth but which … to be honest, it kind of suited her country style. Maybe. Rarity would know better than Rainbow Dash whether that was actually true or just really stupid. She also had some bruises on her face around her nose and — although you couldn’t see them anymore, Rainbow had seen them when the medics were examining Applejack — some lightning scars on her torso. Hopefully, they’d fade, too.
“You wanna talk about it, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked.
Blake looked at her. “You got hurt trying to save me, you and Neon, but you want to talk about my feelings.”
Applejack shrugged. “If you want to. You don’t owe us nothin’.”
“I’m sure that’s the opposite of true,” Blake replied.
“No, she’s right,” Neon said. “Tell her, Dashie. I mean, if you want to take me out for a drink sometime, or a nice meal, then I won’t say no—”
Blake rolled her eyes. “I’m serious.”
“Okay, seriously, it’s like Applejack said, you don’t owe us a damn thing,” Neon said. “We’re all in this together, and we look out for another. It’s … it’s just what we do. So don’t feel guilty about me, don’t feel guilty about Applejack, and don’t feel obliged to either of us.” She paused. “Of course, we don’t owe you anything either, I hope you understand that.”
Blake managed a slight smile. “Yeah. Yeah, I understand. That’s … fine by me.”
“Then do you want to talk about it?” asked Applejack.
Blake sighed. “What’s there to say?” she asked. “Ilia and I were in Mistral together, and … I thought that we were close. I think that she thought we were close too. She told me things that I’m not sure that she told a lot of people.” She looked at Rainbow Dash. “Do you remember when we first met?”
Rainbow chuckled. “Honestly? There are times when I try to forget the way that we first met.”
“I told you about an old friend of mine, a Crystal Prep student,” Blake said. “The one who—”
“The one who passed for human and had to put up with a lot of grief from her so-called friends, until one day, she snapped and attacked them,” Rainbow finished. “That was her?”
Blake nodded.
“Huh,” Rainbow murmured. “She doesn’t look the type.”
“She don’t look angry, you mean?” asked Applejack.
“No, she doesn’t look like she could break anyone’s teeth,” Rainbow replied.
“Appearances can be deceptive,” Neon said. “I mean: look at me.”
“I thought that we were friends, and then she tried to kill me,” Blake went on. “Or perhaps she tried to kill me because we were friends.”
“Not to burst your ego or nothin’, Sugarcube,” Applejack said. “But Ah’m pretty sure that she tried to kill ya because someone ordered her to.”
“Yeah, I mean I never met her before, but she tried to kill me too,” Rainbow pointed out. “Not that…” She put a hand on Blake’s shoulder. “Not that that makes it easier, I know.”
Ilia might not have used to be my friend, but Gilda did.
“The thing you have to remember,” Rainbow went on, “is that it’s not your fault. They didn’t try and kill us, your friend didn’t try and kill you because of … because of who you are. It’s because of the cause. The cause you’ve found, the cause they have. After all, they’ve got their reasons for fighting, the same as us, and they … make us collide with one another, like waves, or like ships on the waves, or … something like that.”
“You’re right,” Blake said. “I’m sure you’re right, but at the same time … before Applejack arrived, Ilia really was upset with me personally. And yes, it was to do with the cause, but also … it was like I’d betrayed her personally with my choice of cause, by abandoning the White Fang but even more by joining Atlas.”
“Gilda felt the same way,” Rainbow said. “But what are you gonna do? What could you have done that wouldn’t have made her feel like that? Not joined Atlas?”
Blake made a wordless noise. “What’s going to happen to them next?”
“They’ll be locked up somewhere, for a start,” Rainbow said. “Either on one of our ships or in Vale, I’m not sure.”
Blake looked at Rainbow. “Do you think … do you think that I could see her, before she gets taken away?”
Rainbow’s eyebrows rose. “You … you want to talk to her?”
“I … I’d like to, yes,” Blake said. “If it’s possible. Is it possible?”
“It … might be,” Rainbow replied. “But why? She tried to kill you.”
“This isn’t about me,” Blake replied. “This is about Ilia.”
“Ilia who tried to kill you,” Rainbow reiterated.
“And Gilda tried to kill you; does that mean that you’re going to give up on her?” Blake asked.
“Gilda,” Rainbow said. “Gilda is … what do you mean, 'give up on her'?”
“I don’t want Ilia to go down the same road that Adam did,” Blake said. “And to the same end. She isn’t there yet, just like Gilda isn’t.”
“Ah mean,” Applejack broke in. “No offence, Sugarcube, but… well—”
“She’s not!” Blake insisted. “Yes, she tried to kill us, but we’re combatants. We were all fighting, we all had a fighting chance, she didn’t kill anyone who wasn’t actively engaged; as far as I know, she hasn’t … yet.”
“She’s not likely to get the chance in prison,” Neon pointed out.
“You’re right,” Blake murmured. “But that doesn’t mean that I … I don’t want to just … I mean, I know that I have to leave her behind, but that doesn’t mean that I…” She sighed. “I don’t know. It just feels wrong not to say something, to try and get her to understand, with what might be my last chance to say anything to her. I don’t want her trying to kill me and my friends to be our last interaction.”
“Ah ain’t so sure that she’ll see you talkin’ to her right before she goes away for a spell to be much of an improvement, no offence,” Applejack observed.
Blake winced. “You’re probably right. You are right. It was a stupid idea.”
“No, no, it … maybe it is, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad idea,” Rainbow said. “And it doesn’t mean that we can’t see about making it happen. Just let me take Applejack back to the box—”
Applejack waved one hand. “Don’t worry about me; don’t hold back on mah account, Ah’ll be fine.”
“Your face says different,” Rainbow said.
“Well then Ah’ll stay right here until you’re finished,” Applejack said.
“I’ll get Ivori and Kobalt to carry you, if you like,” Neon said. “I’m sure they’re in shouting distance.”
But before Neon could shout for either of them — or before Applejack could say whether or not she actually wanted their help — Rainbow and the others could hear other voices from outside the protective circle of Atlesian troops.
“Excuse me,” Pyrrha said, her voice unmistakable even before Rainbow spotted the top of her vibrant red ponytail swaying this way and that over the heads of the crowd. “Excuse me please, if we can just get through?”
The soldiers parted, admitting Pyrrha, Jaune, and Penny into the circle, before they closed ranks once again on the rest of the crowd, excluding them from following.
“We heard something about a White Fang attack,” said Penny.
“I’m sorry that we weren’t around,” Pyrrha added. “I’m afraid that we were up talking to my mother, and then, well…”
“Are you okay?” Penny asked.
Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, to tell them that it was fine, that as much as their help might have been appreciated that it hadn’t been needed, that Atlas had taken care of its own and taken care of everything besides, and there was nothing whatsoever to worry about. That was what she intended to say when she opened her mouth, but before any words could fly out of that mouth, she was cut off by Neon.
“Oh, look who decided to show up!” Neon snapped, climbing to her feet. She swayed a little, despite her insistence then she was fine, but thankfully, she didn’t wobble too much, just a little bit, like a headrush or something. Hopefully. Her tail was rigid, stuck up behind her ramrod straight so that you probably couldn’t see it at all if you were stood in front of her. She was still holding the ice pack to her temple. “You missed the action, but now you want to show up with this, this ‘are you okay?’ like we’re supposed to pretend that you care or something?”
“Neon—” Rainbow said.
“No, Dash, don’t ‘Neon’ me in that tone,” Neon retorted, rounding on Rainbow Dash for a second. “This little madam has had this coming to her for a good long while, and I’m gonna let her have it with both barrels! I nearly got my head kicked in today,” she went on, even as she turned back towards Penny and the others, “but I don’t mind because I was doing it for Blake and Dashie, I was doing it for my Atlas comrades. I got the call, I heard that Blake needed help, and I went. Just like Dash went, just like the rest of my team went. Even though my aura hadn’t recovered from my fight this morning, I still went, because Blake and Dash would do the same for me, because they’ve got the Mettle, even Blake. Because that’s what comrades do.” Neon had her back turned to Rainbow by now, but Rainbow found that she could almost see the sneer on Neon’s face, if it was anything like the sneer that surged into her voice like an onrushing storm. “But you—”
“I didn’t know—” Penny began.
“Ooh, I wonder why that is!” Neon snapped. “You weren’t there because you were hanging around with your Beacon friends just like always, and you didn’t get the call because the General knows that you’re not reliable! You … you act like your life is so hard, like you are so put upon, as though everyone around you didn’t bend over backwards to make things easier for you, as though you don’t skip through life with everything falling your favour, as though you aren’t some pretty human girl from Atlas whose daddy pulled strings with the General to get you the best team assignment! You want to talk about a hard life, try growing up in Mantle with no dad at all!”
Neon’s voice trembled at that, and Rainbow found herself, without needing to think about it, taking a step towards her, hands out.
But Neon, though her whole body trembled along with her voice, wasn’t done yet. “You have never stood shoulder to shoulder with the rest of us. You’re selfish and self-absorbed, and to put the helmet on it, you’ve upset Ciel. Now, you’re transferring to Beacon; that’s fine by me. You want out, then I say good riddance; Blake is ten times the Atlesian you ever were, and ten times the person you’ll ever be, so we’re getting the better deal by a long way, but now you want to show up when the fighting is over and act like you give a damn?” Neon snorted. “Piss off with that fake concern; it makes me want to throw up.”
She turned her back on Penny, and now that she was facing Rainbow again, Rainbow could see that she had tears in the corners of her eyes.
“Get out of my sight,” Neon growled, turning her head to look at Penny over her shoulder. “Or even though my aura hasn’t come back yet, I’ll still throw you off this arena.”
Pyrrha took a step forward, her mouth opening.
Penny put a hand on her arm. “I … I’m sorry to have bothered you,” she said, her voice calm, level. She turned away, from Neon and from the rest of them. “Excuse me, please,” she said softly, and again, the soldiers moved aside to let her out the same way that they had let her in just a second ago.
Pyrrha and Jaune remained.
“There were some White Fang, there was a fight, we took care of it, everything’s fine,” Rainbow said. “Go with her.”
Go see if she’s as alright as she seems; help her if she isn’t.
Pyrrha nodded silently before she and Jaune followed Penny back out of the ring of soldiers cordoning off the four of them.
Neon drew in a deep breath. “I’m not going to apologise,” she declared. “And don’t bother telling me that poor Penny has stuff going on that I don’t know about; we’ve all got problems, it doesn’t give you the right to be an asshole to everyone.” She looked at Rainbow. “And drop your arms; I don’t need a hug.”
Rainbow dropped her arms, even as she said, “I wasn’t—”
“I didn’t bring that up for sympathy,” Neon insisted. “I just … like I said, we’ve all got stuff. It’s not a free pass.”
Rainbow didn’t reply. She wasn’t sure what there was to say, honestly. Yes, Penny really did have stuff going on that Neon wasn’t aware of, but Neon had made pretty clear that she didn’t care, and anyway, it wasn’t as though they could tell her what Penny’s stuff was, especially here. And if they had told her, then … what? Would it have made any difference to the way that Neon thought, to the way that she saw Penny? Maybe, but equally maybe not, considering.
“I … don’t necessarily agree with everything you said,” Blake murmured. “But at the same time, I feel as though I ought to thank you.”
Neon grinned. “I wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t true.”
“You wanna come back with me?” asked Applejack. “Ah’m sure Ciel would appreciate it.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’d be nice, thanks,” Neon said. “And as for you two,” — she shooed them off with her free hand — “go and evangelise to the White Fang before they get flown away. Go, go, quickly now.”
Rainbow and Blake both looked at Applejack.
“Ah already told you, Ah’ll be fine,” Applejack insisted. “Go on now, get.”
“Okay,” Blake said. “I’ll … see you both later.”
Most of the crowd, drawn by the excitement of something unknown but potentially exciting, had dispersed at this point, and so there were only a few people around as Blake and Rainbow Dash stepped out of the ring of soldiers. One of those people was Sun, whose tail wagged from side to side as he bounded up to them.
“Hey!” he said. “How are Neon and Applejack, are they—?”
“A little beaten up, but they should both be fine,” Blake said.
“Great,” Sun replied. “Listen, I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help back there.” He paused for a second. “I don’t usually get the point of semblance envy, but I really wish that I had super speed right now.”
“I don’t need you to swoop in and rescue me,” Blake said, reaching out and brushing her fingers against his hand. She smiled with one corner of her mouth. “Although it’s nice that you wanted to.”
“Yeah, you looked as though you had things pretty well under control by the time we got there,” Sun admitted.
“We appreciated the backup, if only for persuading Gilda and Ilia to call it quits,” Blake said.
Sun nodded. “So … what happens now?”
“Now I’m going to go talk to Ilia,” Blake said. “And Gilda, I suppose.”
“The girl who just tried to kill you?” Sun said.
“I’ve already gone through this with Rainbow Dash,” Blake murmured.
“Well, if you didn’t want to go through it a second time, maybe you should have let me into that circle,” Sun pointed out.
“Just because Ilia tried to kill me doesn’t make her a monster,” Blake insisted. “She’s not … she’s not Adam, and not even Adam was a monster sprung out of the darkness, fully formed. Ilia, Adam, Gilda, the White Fang, they’ve been shaped by their world, the way we all have. And just because I’ve turned my back on the White Fang doesn’t mean that I want to turn my back on all the people who were part of it. I want…” She hesitated. “Perhaps I just don’t want Ilia to hate me for what I’ve done.”
“You haven’t done anything,” Rainbow said. “I mean, obviously, you’ve done stuff, but you haven’t done anything worth hating anybody over.”
“And if I could persuade Ilia of that, I would be glad,” Blake said.
“Why?” Sun demanded. “Why does what she thinks matter to you so much?”
“Because we were friends once, comrades, partners,” Blake said. She looked at Rainbow Dash. “There was a time when Ilia and I were like you and me. I can’t just ignore that or pretend that it didn’t happen.”
“And if Ilia thinks you’re as sincere as Neon just thought Penny was?” asked Rainbow.
“Then I hope she feels better for getting to tell me to … that,” Blake said.
“Well, I mean … if you want to, then … can I come?” asked Sun.
Blake was silent for a second. “Sure,” she said. “It would be good to have you there.” She reached out, wrapping her arms around the shoulders of both Sun and Rainbow, drawing them in closer to her sides as she steered them forwards. “I’m glad to have you both here.”
Rainbow smiled as she put a hand on Blake’s wrist. “So, if I’m Ilia, and you’re still you … does that make Sun the Adam?”
“Hey!”
“No,” Blake said. “No, Sun is definitely not Adam.”
There was no missing the prison transport, parked on one of the docking pads that wasn’t in regular use by Skybuses and with another ring of Atlesian soldiers standing around it to deter onlookers — or at least to obstruct their view. As they drew closer, Blake released Sun and Rainbow Dash, and the two huntresses straightened up, walking with a more military stride than they had been just a second before.
The airship, which they could see much better once the soldiers had stepped aside to let them through, was a bit bigger than a Skyray, longer rather than wider, with a very square shape like a flying box with a cockpit at the front, and even the cockpit had sharper and more angular lines than the smooth bow of a Skyray. Rainbow knew without having to look inside that the cockpit would be separated from the main section where the prisoners were, but nevertheless, the airship had no weapons, just in case.
Major Schnee was standing beside the airship, and she looked up from her scroll at them as they approached.
“Dash,” she said. “Belladonna.” She looked at Sun, stared at him for a second, but said nothing, probably because she didn’t recognise him.
Rainbow saluted. “Ma’am.”
Blake also saluted. “I was hoping that I could speak to the prisoners before they’re taken away.”
Major Schnee blinked. “For what reason?”
“For … my conscience?” Blake asked. “I know that may not sound like a very good reason, but it is mine.”
Major Schnee glanced at Dash. “And does this apply to all three of you?”
“I can wait outside if that’s easier,” Sun volunteered.
“I wouldn’t mind a word, ma’am,” Rainbow admitted. “But Blake comes first.”
Major Schnee hesitated. “Alright,” she said. “You can have your word, but make it quick.”
“Yes,” Blake said at once. “Thank you.”
She led the way, with Rainbow and Sun following behind her. Rainbow followed Blake inside the exit, while Sun lingered in the doorway at the back of the vehicle as though he was afraid that if he actually stepped inside, then the doors would shut, and they’d all be locked in here with Ilia … and Gilda.
Gilda and Ilia had the space all to themselves; there was room for a lot more than two prisoners in here — Rainbow thought you could probably get at least ten people in the back of this airship — but everyone else had needed some medical attention, so it was only the two of them actually in here. They were both shackled to the floor by their arms and legs, which meant that Gilda’s back was hunched over in a way that looked kind of uncomfortable.
Ilia was smaller, so she didn’t have that problem. It also meant that when Blake and Rainbow came in, Ilia didn’t have to look up quite so much in order to see who it was.
“Traitor,” she spat.
“Hey, Dash,” Gilda said. “Hey, Blake.” She sighed. “Listen, about the whole … stabbing Applejack thing, no hard feelings, yeah?”
“'No hard feelings'?” Rainbow repeated incredulously. “'No hard' … you snuck up here to kill one of my friends, and then I catch you standing over another of my friends with your sword ready to stab her, and now it’s ‘no hard feelings’?”
“Well, it was nothing personal!” Gilda cried. “It was just war. We’re on opposite sides, and sometimes, that means … Applejack came to us; I didn’t go looking for her.”
“You went looking for Blake,” Rainbow growled. “Or as good as makes no difference.”
“Blake deserves nothing less!” Ilia spat. “You deserve death, you deserve worse than death, you deserve a more painful death than we could give you!”
“Ilia,” Blake whispered.
“You betrayed us all!” Ilia yelled. “You betrayed the movement, betrayed the High Leader, betrayed the cause—”
“Oh, knock it off!” Rainbow snapped. “You know, I’ll take criticism where I’ve earned it, but I am fed up to here” — she raised her hand over her head, touching the roof of the prison airship — “with people like you two sneering at us, looking down at your noses at us because we’re not out there throwing bombs or painting our faces or yelling insults at Weiss Schnee.”
“What?” Gilda asked.
Rainbow ignored her. “Calling Blake a traitor, calling me a sellout or a house faunus, you know, I’ve about hit my limit.” She pointed to herself. “I have done more for the faunus in the last couple of months than you have in years! Blake and I took down a slavery ring recently; what have you two accomplished for your precious cause?”
“Rainbow Dash—”
“I’m sorry, Blake, but if Neon can stand up and let rip, then why shouldn’t I?” Rainbow demanded. To Ilia, she added, “You know what, I don’t think you even care about Blake betraying your cause or any other; you’re just upset that Blake betrayed you!”
Gilda looked down at the ground. Ilia kept on looking at Blake, but her skin turned yellow. Hopefully, that meant she was ashamed of herself.
Blake sighed. “You might not believe me, but I didn’t come here so that Rainbow Dash could yell at you.”
“She can yell if she wants to,” Gilda muttered. She looked up. “If our positions were reversed, I’d yell at you too.”
“You would if you’d had to put up with what I’ve had to put up with,” Rainbow replied.
Gilda said, “Listen, about that whole SDC thing … that was good work. And so was that Low Town stuff, saving all those people, solving the mystery. And I guess that goes for you too, Blake. I owe you both.”
“You’ve got a funny way of showing it,” Rainbow said.
“You know how it is, Dash,” Gilda said. “We’ve all got jobs to do, even if we don’t always like them.”
“How can you talk to her like that?” Ilia demanded. “She’s your enemy!”
“No, she isn’t,” Blake insisted. “Rainbow Dash isn’t the enemy, Ilia, and neither am I. I … I betrayed the White Fang, I’ll admit to that, I left, and I… I’ve fought against them since, because from my point of view, the actions of the White Fang here in Vale became evil, indefensible. But that’s still a betrayal, and one I don’t expect you to forgive right away, just like I don’t expect you to forgive my personal betrayal, that’s not why I’m here.”
“Then why are you here?” Ilia demanded. “I have nothing to say to you!”
“But I have something to say to you,” Blake declared. “I betrayed the White Fang, I might even have betrayed you. But did I betray the cause for which I joined the White Fang? No. Never. I didn’t join Atlas because I’d forsake our cause; I joined Atlas because I believe — and I believe I’m proving through my actions — that I could do more for our people in a white uniform than I ever could in a white mask. All the bloodshed, Ilia, all the death, what has it gotten us? What has it accomplished? Rainbow’s right; we’ve done more in Atlas, working through Atlas and Atlesian power, than in my whole life before. And we didn’t do it alone. I have the ear of an Atlesian councillor; we worked with Weiss Schnee to rescue the kidnapped faunus from Low Town. That’s the way forward: humans and faunus working together towards a brighter future, not divisions constantly reinforced with violence.”
“Brighter for who?” Gilda asked.
“For all of us, that’s the point!” Blake cried.
“Sounds like your parents’ way,” Gilda said. “Ask nicely; they’ll love us if we’re on our best behaviour.”
“And that didn’t work, I know, because my parents were still on the outside, standing on the doorstep with their hands out—”
“And they got the door slammed in their faces,” Gilda said.
“But I’m inside the house, and so is Rainbow Dash,” Blake insisted. “I’m not talking about standing on the doorstep; I’m talking about getting our hands on the door handle so that it can never be closed on anyone again.”
Gilda stared at her, her golden eyes seeming to get a little wider.
Ilia’s skin returned to its normal colour. “I don’t know who you’re lying to,” she said, “us or yourself. Either way, you’re wasting your time.”
“I know that you’re angry—” Blake began.
“Atlas killed my family!” Ilia yelled. “The Schnee Dust Company killed my family!” Her chest rose and fell with her heavy breathing. “If I had free use of my hands, I’d show you something of the power of Atlas. You’re an idiot if you think you can bend that power to serve you or our people. I don’t know whether I’d rather think you were that stupid or that you were just a traitor.”
“I’m making a difference,” Blake said, and Rainbow had to admire her patience in just standing there and taking everything that Ilia threw her way without losing her temper over it. “I’ve found a better way than the one we knew back in Mistral. A way that doesn’t require us to sacrifice our humanity in the name of progress and the revolution, a way that doesn’t require me to hollow myself out until there’s nothing left of Blake Belladonna but bitterness and anger.” She paused. “You may not believe it, but I still care about you, Ilia.”
Ilia froze, her eyes fixed on Blake.
“I still think about our time together; I still remember those days in Mistral, the things you taught me,” Blake went on. “And it’s because I still care that I don’t want to see you lose yourself to wrath and bitterness like … I know that you still have your humanity, Ilia. Please, hold onto it, while you still can.”
Ilia kept on staring up at Blake. Her lower lip quivered.
Then it curled into a scowl, and a reddish tint crept into Ilia’s skin. Her voice sharpened as she said, “You’re right, I don’t believe you. I don’t believe that you still care, not one bit! Because if you did, if you really cared about me, if you remembered our time together the way you say you do, then … then there’s no way in Remnant you would have hurt me the way you did. The way you have. The way you’re doing right now.
“You’ve made your choice, Blake, and I’ve made mine, and so, if you came here to change my mind, to change who I am, to make me forget everything that has been done to me, to make me like you, then … then you’ve just wasted your time.
“And if that’s all you came here to say, then we’re done here.”
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Why do I have the feeling Ironwood is referring to Sunset and the Breach?
About Neon and Penny... I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I can see where Neon is coming from and why she feels... frustrated to say the least, and part of it is because of how Penny treated Ciel, but at the same time, I feel it's one of those incomplete picture kind of things where Neon doesn't know thing's about Penny's side of the story. So while I don't blame Neon for blowing off the frustration and anger, it still makes me feel uneasy for some reason.
Rainbow, on the other hand, to you I say THANK YOU! Blake's right, instead of killing innocent humans and pointlessly shedding blood, the White Fang could've been actively helping the faunus. They could've done something like discover the SDC slavery ring, but no, they had to stick to their hate-boner for humanity.
The fact that Gilda is thanking them for the stuff in Lowtown and exposing the slave ring signifies that there is hope for Gilda and she's not a lost cause.
Ilia, however, is just gone...
Ruby, don't let the hurt consume you, don't turn out like Ilia. Please come back to us!
A lot of harsh but well-deserved words in this chapter. Even for Penny, much as we try so hard to not think that way about her.
We know that Penny deserves her chance to make her own choices, rather than be a thing for others to use. But, much like Pyrrha Nikkos, she had it far better than most people in Remnant. She had it comfortable and she had respect. And she left it all behind, left the flag and her comrades behind, because it wasn't enough to make her happy. And as Neon said it, everyone has problems but you don't see her or Rainbow Dash running from them. Especially when it says the people you left behind coudln't make you happy.
"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks." - John F. Kennedy
***
EDIT: Wow, when you think about it, this fic is full of people who always believe the grass is greener on the other side. That includes canon RWBY as well.
It’s a interesting contrast on how this chapter and the White Fang situation mirrors the ongoing Arc; Neon shouting out loud arbitrary Penny for notions that she doesn’t have the full picture of like Ruby and Sunset; how the ‘betrayal’ mirrors Amber herself. This chapter is a small pond on the ocean of the Volume 3 storyline, and Ruby is slowly becoming more like Illia than ever, but she’s not so far gone yet.
I miss the Wednesday releases, I am so excited for the next chapter that I would kill to read the next one early.
11806034
For me, Neon, as fun as she is and as much as I love her friendship with Ciel, has these moments where she also represents the dark side of Atlas. Not the obvious dark side of SDC labour camps and Jacques Schnee, but the more subtle way in which camaraderie can shade into cliquishness and hostility towards anyone who isn't an enthusiastic part of the ingroup.
After all, though Neon wouldn't thank me for the comparison, she's basically proving Robyn Hill right when she told Penny that people would turn on her because 'no one is allowed to walk away from Atlas'.
11806051
That's true. While I'm not sure how it would apply to Ruby, the other three members of SAPR definitely apply; Sunset running away from Equestria after being denied ascension, Pyrrha choosing Beacon and Vale over Haven and Mistral to (try to) get away from her reputation, and Jaune running away from home to seek his dreams of being a hero, and getting out from under the thumb of his family.
11806210
I was thinking of Robyn myself during that rant, and how Rainbow has a very similar view of despising her for walking away from General Ironwood. I noticed the same view in Rainbow with how Penny left, even insisting that Penny shouldn't go to the singles round for Atlas. But turnabout was such fair play when Blake pulled the same thing.
I imagine Rainbow will be thinking of Blake's words and Neon's rant the next time she sees Robyn's face.
I love the banter between the councillor and the general in this section. They are unlikely allies - especially since Emerald doesn't much like Atlas - but they work well together. Councillor Emerald has really grown a lot. I admire that he's willing to recognize Ironwood's skill and virtue and be gracious with him.
Yeah... Ilia has very much taken things way to personally.
Neon is always a blast.
That got a laugh.
She makes a fine point.
I appreciate Gilda. She's one of my favorite parts of the story. I loved her part in the original, and I'm glad to see even more time spent with her in this version.
Preach, sister! Sing it from the housetops!
I know that was supposed to be a moment between those two, but i laughed so hard when I've read "piss off". I dont know why but i found it funny. Might be because this is the closest thing we'll get to a swear in this fic, might be because Neon said it or it might be because i first read it " piss of you twat". Who knows, but i found it funny. God, i fucking love Neon.