Jolly Hill (New)
Jolly Hill
Sunset led the way out of the Councillor's residence. The street was quiet, and not just because all the soldiers were laid out unconscious in the middle of the road around their truck. In the rest of the street, there was no sign of anyone, no one stirred from the houses within, there weren't even any visible lights on, no sign that anyone—
Sunset caught sight of something: a twitch of a curtain across the road, a brief flash or chink of light that was gone as swiftly and as soon as it had appeared.
So people were watching, if only tentatively. The fear of General Blackthorn's martial law declaration, or perhaps just the fact that a truckload of soldiers had just pulled up or maybe even the fact that someone had just taken out all those soldiers was giving them sufficient pause to stay indoors and pretend they weren't here, even as their curiosity tempted them to briefly expose themselves.
Sunset wondered if they recognised her. She still had her helmet on, so her face was concealed, but her tail wasn't, and she was wearing the same outfit that she'd worn for the Vytal Tournament. Did they recognise her, and if so, what would they think about her attacking the Valish troops and spiriting off the First Councillor like this?
Ultimately they would think what they liked; Sunset couldn't change their minds, she could only help Councillor Emerald get this situation under control, and then … and then, it would be up to the First Councillor to convince the people that everything had turned out for the best.
Councillor Emerald stepped out into the street. "Is something wrong, Miss Shimmer?"
"No, Councillor," Sunset said softly. "I was just thinking about how you've got a harder job than I have. I've only got to keep you alive tonight; you've got to run this city tomorrow."
Councillor Emerald let out a bark of laughter. "If there is still a Vale to run tomorrow, and if it is a city free from military rule and safe from grimm, then I will gladly endure all the hardships." He paused. "Do you think the grimm will attack?"
"I think they already have, Councillor," Sunset replied. "But, aside from wishing I could be there with my friends, that worries me less than what's going on inside the walls. My friends, General Ironwood's forces, all my fellow…" She stopped, remembering that she was not a Beacon student anymore; that was why she was here. "All the students, they can handle grimm. Even a lot of grimm. It's the Siren that concerns me, the Siren and what she has done to your military."
"What…" Councillor Emerald began. "What can we expect from this … this creature? If you defeat her, will General Blackthorn and all the rest become themselves again?"
"I'm afraid I don't know, Councillor," Sunset admitted. "I would hope so, but I don't know. I've never fought one of these things before."
"I'd never even heard of them before," Councillor Emerald muttered. "At some point, you must tell me how you know of it."
"We'll see how that goes, Councillor," Sunset murmured, without committing to anything. She had told the Councillor as much as he had need and, perhaps, the right to know, but to tell him everything? She didn't dislike him, by any means, but they weren't that close. "Now, we should—"
"Dad?"
Councillor Emerald turned around. Sunset leaned sideways to look past him and see Bramble standing in the doorway, wearing yellow pyjamas with elephants on them that were just a little too small for his legs, riding up above his ankles.
A middle-aged woman stood over him, her hands on his shoulders.
"Bramble," Councillor Emerald said softly. He bent down as he approached his son. "What are you doing down here? You should be in bed." He looked up at the woman as he said that.
"I'm sorry, Mister Councillor," she said apologetically. "But—"
"I heard noises," Bramble said. "What's going on? Are you leaving?"
Councillor Emerald knelt down in front of him. "Yes," he said. "Yes, I am. There's something that I have to take care of, for the good of Vale. But I shan't be long. If you go back to bed, then by the time you wake up, this will all be over, and everything will be fine."
"You promise?" Bramble asked.
"I promise," Councillor Emerald said. "I will see you in the morning."
Bramble smiled a little and looked over his father to spot Sunset standing behind him.
"Sunset?" he asked. "It is you, isn't it?"
Sunset smiled at him as she moved to stand beside the Councillor, following his lead in kneeling in front of the little boy. "Yes," she said. "Yes, it's me."
"Are you going to protect my Dad?" Bramble asked solemnly.
Sunset had promised Councillor Emerald that she would not put his life over the good of Vale. She could feel Ruby wagging her finger at her in her head, demonstrating with her about the evil consequences that a promise like this could lead to.
But the little boy in front of her was a reminder of why it was easier to put the people you knew over the people you didn't — even if he was also a reminder of why you shouldn't.
But am I really going to tell a kid that I’ll let his father die for the greater good if that’s what it takes?
No, no, she wasn’t. That wasn’t the kind of person Sunset Shimmer was. She wasn’t the kind of person who could tell a kid that.
Was she the kind of person who could…?
Well, hopefully, with good fortune — and all the skill and ingenuity that she could muster up — they wouldn’t have to find out.
She smiled at Bramble. “Sure I will,” she said. “Of course I will. I’m going to keep your dad perfectly safe. He’ll be back before you know it.” She paused, but couldn’t help but add, “He might even have a lot more time to spend with you in future.”
“Sunset and I need to be going,” Councillor Emerald declared. “And you need to get your sleep.” He looked for a second as though he were about to stand up, but instead, he reached out and pulled Bramble into an embrace.
“Tonight,” he said, “is nothing more than a bad dream. One that will fade away when you wake up, like something that never was.” He kissed the boy on the cheek and let him go. “Now, upstairs with you, and stay there.”
The Councillor himself stayed kneeling. Kneeling on the street in front of his door as the woman — some sort of housekeeper or nanny, presumably — started to chivvy Bramble upstairs, shutting the door behind them.
Only after a few seconds kneeling in front of the closed black door did the Councillor regain his feet, adjusting the fit of his jacket with both hands. He looked down at Sunset. “‘Sure I will,’ Miss Shimmer?”
Sunset remained kneeling on the ground, looking up at him. “What would you have had me say to him, Councillor?”
Councillor Emerald fastened his jacket. “You gave me your word, Miss Shimmer.”
“I will not let Vale down,” Sunset said. “Not tonight.” She gestured down the street. “My bike is this way.”
Councillor Emerald glanced at the soldiers. “Are they going to wake up?”
“Not until morning, I should think, at least,” Sunset said. “I didn’t hold back my power much. You needn’t worry about them waking up and breaking down the door again; by that time, all this will be over. Come, Councillor, if you will.”
Her bike was waiting where she had left it, haphazardly parked, or more accurately, stopped dead where she had dismounted to assault the Valish troops.
Councillor Emerald stopped once he got a good look at it.
He stared at it. He thrust his hands into his jacket pockets.
“It seems to me there is a good chance that we may die before I ever set eyes upon the Military Headquarters,” he observed.
Sunset rolled her eyes. I am sick and tired, absolutely sick and tired, of all the casual insults rained down upon my bike. Never has a poor vehicle been so undeservedly slandered.
"This bike," Sunset declared, "will get us where we need to go, Councillor, have no fear. You may depend upon it."
She did not say that he might depend upon it as he might depend upon her, because that might have been to the motorcycle’s detriment rather than its benefit.
"It is fast," she added, "and more manoeuvrable than any car we could drive — that you could drive, Councillor, for I only know how to ride. I know that she looks a little … eccentric, but she's got it where it counts." She paused. "Now, before we mount up, one more thing." She placed a hand on Councillor Emerald's shoulder and cast the reverse want-it need-it spell on him. Green lines spread out from all around him, rippling along the ground like cracks from a fault line, disappearing off into the distance.
Sunset took a deep breath as she stepped away.
Councillor Emerald shuddered. "That felt … like being doused in cold water seems the closest comparison. What—?"
"Just a little trick to keep you from notice," Sunset said. "And, in keeping you from notice, to keep you from harm also. At some point, I'll have to drop it so you can try and give some orders; otherwise, you would be shouting into the void with not an ear to hear you, but until then, well, people who don't know you're there won't shoot at you."
"But will they shoot at you, Miss Shimmer?" asked Councillor Emerald.
"Unfortunately, Councillor, if I were to do this trick on myself, you wouldn't know I was here," Sunset explained. "And that would be … awkward."
"Undoubtedly," muttered Councillor Emerald dryly. "Your semblance seems to be a plethora of diverse abilities, Miss Shimmer."
"Yes, Councillor, it is a veritable box of delights," said Sunset. She got on her bike. "Climb aboard, Councillor."
Councillor Emerald climbed on behind her. "It's a good thing that faunus with horns or antlers are exempt from the laws on crash helmets," he said. "I should hate to set a bad example."
Sunset chuckled as she pushed the visor of her own helmet down over her face. She felt Councillor Emerald put his arms around her waist, although a little more loosely than was perhaps advisable.
"Hold on tighter, Councillor; there is no call for propriety here," Sunset shouted, so as to be heard through her helmet.
The First Councillor tightened his grip. Sunset could feel him pressing against her back, although that also meant he was pressed against Soteria and Sol Invictus, which probably wasn't all that comfortable for him.
It wouldn't be too long.
Sunset kick started her bike, making the engine growl like a tiger. She turned in the middle of the road to head back the way she'd come, back in the direction of the Valish Headquarters.
Where the Siren waited.
The Siren, and Cinder.
As she retraced her tracks along the empty roads, down the deserted streets, Sunset had a little time to think about what that meant. The need to rush off and rescue Councillor Emerald meant that she had been able to put off thinking about it until now, but now … now, with the roads so quiet, she had — unfortunately or otherwise — enough time and space in her head to think about it. About Cinder, enslaved by the Siren. Bound to her — but not so completely that she had given away Sunset's location.
Cinder, the real Cinder, Cinder in all her flaws and in her glories too, was still in there.
And yet, that Cinder was half-hidden beneath the Siren's will. Yes, Cinder had concealed Sunset, but there would come a time when Sunset could not be concealed, and then … would Cinder be able to refuse to fight Sunset? Could she resist the Siren's will to that extent?
And if she could not…
Sunset didn't want to fight Cinder. She didn't want to for a whole host of reasons, not least of which was the fact that she was not at all certain that she would win such a fight. It had taken the whole team to bring down Cinder last night, and while Pyrrha had beaten Cinder by herself, Cinder had been holding back her magic at the time; Sunset couldn't expect the same courtesy from an enthralled Cinder. And Cinder could deflect her magic; she'd done it last night, using convection currents to turn the bolts aside.
And even if Sunset managed to defeat her, if she managed to pull a splendid triumph out of the bag, then … what? Kill her? Cut Cinder down?
She didn't want to do that either. She … very much did not want to do that, for all that it would solve a host of problems. With Cinder's death, Amber would be the only Fall Maiden once again and a shadow lifted from her, Professor Ozpin's mind would be set at ease, and … Sunset might prove to Ruby that she was not wholly unworthy and without use.
Yet for all that, Sunset did not desire it. There was … there was too much between them to end in blood on a black sword.
Perhaps Sunset's best hope was that Cinder felt the same way.
If only she could make her realise or recall it.
Perhaps … perhaps…
Sunset was roused from pondering some future confrontation with Cinder, inevitable though it might seem and rapidly though that future was barrelling towards them, by the fact that they were not alone on the road.
They had been, to their good fortune. The streets were clear; the lanes were empty. Not too surprising, all things considered: with the grimm attacking the Amity Arena, fighting in the streets of Vale, the declaration of martial law, General Blackthorn threatening to shoot people caught breaking curfew, it was no mystery why people were keeping to their own homes. No doubt, they were keeping their doors locked, their ears open, and their hopes bent towards the return of sanity and peace.
As Councillor Emerald had told Bramble, tonight would seem like a bad dream — provided that he and Sunset succeeded.
In the meantime, Sunset's helmet was muffling the sounds of fighting going on elsewhere in the city, but not so much that all the sound of it was gone. She could still hear, though it seemed very far off indeed, and a good thing too. She meant to steer well clear of the hotshots of the fighting; just because Councillor Emeral couldn't be noticed didn't mean he couldn't be caught by a stray bullet.
And then, as Sunset rounded a corner down a street of terraced houses, their luck ran out, because the road was no longer empty to them.
It was occupied by a Valish military convoy: an armoured car, a sort of light tank on wheels — Sunset had a vague suspicion it was not actually a tank, but right now, she didn't care about the fine details so much as about the big gun on the turret — a couple of trucks at least, and motorcycle outriders on both flanks of the column. They were trundling down the road, moving at a deliberate and steady pace, and the turret of the tank, or whatever it was, was open. A man was sticking his upper body out of the turret, addressing the empty streets through a bullhorn.
"Do not be alarmed! By order of General Blackthorn of the Valish Defence Force, martial law is now in effect. Do not panic. Remain in your homes. A curfew is in effect. Anyone caught breaking curfew will be shot on sight. Do not be alarmed. We are here to protect you. Everything is under control."
Sunset's first instinct was to turn her bike around and head back the way they had come, round the corner, out of sight. Unfortunately, the Valish troops had already seen her. The machine gun mounted on top of the armoured car was turning her direction.
"Hold on!" Sunset shouted as she squeezed the accelerator hard, sending the bike leaping forwards, towards the Valish.
She took her hand briefly — very briefly — off one handle to shoot a burst of magic towards the machine gunner, hitting him square in the chest and dropping him out of sight into the recesses of the armoured car.
Sunset grabbed the handle again just as her bike started to wobble.
The bike drove in front of the armoured car, in front of one of the motorcycle outriders, and then she turned, tires screeching, vaulting up onto the roadside pavement as she flew down the column, past the tank and the trucks and the other armoured car at the back of the convoy, flying past them them all. She turned aside at the first opportunity; she was going so fast her bike nearly fell over, but it was worth it to get out of the Valish line of fire. She wasn't quite going the right way, but she could easily—
"Miss Shimmer!" Councillor Emerald shouted.
Sunset checked her mirrors. Two Valish motorcyclists — no, four — were following her, and one of the armoured cars.
This one also had a machine gun. And it was taking aim.
Sunset kept hold of one handle — the accelerator handle, on the right — and threw her left hand out behind her as best she could, reaching around Councillor Emerald as best she could, conjuring up a shield between them and that machine gun.
Sunset could feel the bullets thudding into it, the force of impact transmitting through the magic to jar her arm. She swerved wildly — no point just taking hits when you could at least try to avoid the bullets — leaning left, then right, zipping from one side of the road to the other as the tracer rounds slammed into the road around her.
She needed to turn again, she needed — or wanted, for sure — to get out of the line of fire, but there were no good options; this was a long, straight street of terraced houses, with a dry cleaners and a coffee shop on one side of the road, but neither of them offered much in the way of escape options. There was only the left turn toward which Sunset was racing and the hope that there would be more ways out once they made the turn.
Sunset squeezed on the accelerator as hard as it would go, feeling more rounds slam into her shield even as she tried to keep the gunner guessing as to where she was going to go next.
The fire slacked off. Sunset glanced down at her mirrors. The armoured car was still behind her but had ceased fire — for the moment, at least — as two of the motorcycles raced up on either side of her.
One drew level with her, past Sunset's shield covering her and the Councillor's back; their face — their whole head — was concealed beneath a helmet painted in camouflage greens and browns. They had one hand on the handlebars and one hand on the boxy pistol they aimed at Sunset.
Sunset swerved into them, narrowly avoiding an outright collision but getting close enough to grab their gun arm and pull it towards her. The Valish soldier, yanked in Sunset's direction, struggled to keep their tottering bike under control as it swayed on the road. They fired once, twice, three times with their pistol, the bullets flying past her face, and the muzzle flashes dimmed by her smoky visor. Sunset twisted the pistol out of their hand — it clattered to the road and was swiftly left behind — and then let go of his arm to grab him by the helmet instead.
They hit her, battering at her chest with their now-released hand, but Sunset ignored it as she slammed their head down into the handlebars of her bike.
Sorry to treat you like this, but needs must.
The Valish soldier flailed as she forced their head down, one arm waving, the other still trying to control their bike. Sunset bashed their helmet into the bars once, twice; they started to struggle a bit less; she did it a third time, and they lost control of the bike. Sunset let them go before he could take her with them, and they skidded out, motorcycle slipping away to slide frantically across the road, rider rolling after it in a tangle of arms and legs.
The other outrider was a little more cautious after that; they didn't draw level with Sunset — they didn't even try — they hung back and aimed their pistol from behind her.
Sunset flung her hand out in their direction as best she could, blasts of magic flying from her fingertips. Most of them missed, though the outrider had to swerve and sway on their bike to avoid them, but one bolt struck the wheel of their motorcycle, flipping bike and rider up into the air before dumping the outrider headfirst into the road with their bike on top of them.
The gunner on the armoured car started to fire again. Sunset leaned so far to the left that Councillor Emerald's antlers were practically scraping the road as the bullets flew overhead. She was almost at the turn now, and as she turned she raised her palm and fired two blasts of magic in quick succession at the pursuing car.
They glanced off the armour, flying up into the night sky without harming the vehicle or the gunner.
Sunset gritted her teeth, but at least she'd made the turn now, the turn that led to another long street, but this one had shops and plenty of turnings and a shopping centre!
Yes!
Sunset raced down the road, heading straight on, passing two opportunities, three, to turn off in a different direction.
"Miss Shimmer?" Councillor Emerald said loudly, making his voice heard despite Sunset's helmet.
The remaining two motorcycles, faster than the armoured car, turned the corner in pursuit.
Sunset shot past another turning.
The armoured car turned the corner.
"Miss Shimmer?!" Councillor Emerald shouted.
Sunset turned hard, tires screeching as she raced towards the glass doors of the shopping centre. The name was still illuminated: Jolly Hill shopping centre.
She had just enough time to register a poster on one of the doors for some kind of wedding fair before she blew up door and poster alike with a bolt of magic, shattering the glass and sending it down in shards to cover the floor.
Sunset plunged through the hole, leaping over the little metal lip of the doors and bursting into the shopping centre; she immediately had to swerve to avoid the wedding dress mounted on a plinth right behind the doors.
There was no one around, but the lights were still on, the shutters hadn't closed over the stores, and in the sterile white lighting reflecting off the white floor, Sunset could see the common space was littered with wedding dresses on pedestals behind velvet ropes, some on their own and some in clusters, empty stalls offering fittings or photography, artisanal jewellers, cakes.
So that's what they meant by wedding fair, Sunset thought. She drove past a strapless, shoulderless wedding gown with a bodice and a ballgown skirt and thought it might look nice on Pyrrha.
Pity I don't have time to take pictures, Sunset thought as the Valish outriders destroyed two more of the glass doors to follow her inside.
Sunset grabbed a stallfull of wedding cakes with her telekinesis and threw them out in front of the leading biker; she mistimed, the cakes splattered all over the floor in front of them, and they simply drove through the resulting mess, icing and buttercream sticking to the grooves of their tires.
One was on the other side of the dresses and stands; the other was coming up behind her.
Sunset heard their pistol crack twice; she leaned forwards into the handlebars.
There was an old-fashioned carriage — as in horse and carriage — black, with red lines, sitting in the middle of the concourse, with a sign advertising traditional wedding transportation.
Perfect.
Sunset circled around the carriage, her hand glowed as she started to grip the antique vehicle.
The Valish outrider pursued.
Sunset shoved the carriage with her telekinesis, rolling it across the floor and into the Valish motorcyclist, bearing him into and through the window of the nearby budget clothes shop. He lay, unmoving, with all the broken mannequins in their Fall collection.
A bullet slammed into the side of Sunset's helmet. She was knocked sideways, her bike skidding and slipping on the shopping centre floor. She grabbed the handles with both hands as she fought for control, leaning back to the right to right herself, pulling the bike level. She heard another bang — from a gun larger than a pistol — though she didn't feel an impact.
"Councillor, tell me that didn't hit you!" she shouted.
"I don't believe it did," replied Councillor Emerald.
Sunset turned her head to the right. The last motorcyclist had stopped their bike and unslung a lever rifle from across their back. As Sunset watched, they worked the lever again.
The armoured car crashed through the doors, shattering the remaining glass and the metal and everything else that got in their way, ignoring the debris that landed on the hood of the vehicle as they ploughed on. Wedding dresses, velvet ropes, stalls and stands and signs, all fell before them as they drove into the shopping centre with all the inexorable force of a great wave, sweeping inland no matter what buildings might stand along the shore.
Sunset drove — dove, one might say — into the Valish Home Stores whose open doors gaped open to receive her. The Valish motorcyclist fired at her again as she drove in front of them but missed, and Sunset was through an entrance crowded with Vytal-themed homeware. The faces of Team SAPR smiled up at her from a stack of lampshades as she drove by.
Another shot flew over Sunset's — and Councillor Emerald's — head, shattering a plate on display.
Sunset grabbed everything in reach with her telekinesis: display tables and chairs laid out for nonexistent dinners, sofas, lamps, cushions, and rugs, she grabbed them all in as great magical handfuls as she could and dragged or threw them all past and behind her towards the doors, hoping to hit her pursuer.
She didn't hear anything — and that included any more shots from that rifle as she drove down an aisle filled with mugs on either side.
She reached the bottom of the aisle and turned as she heard the armoured car begin to crash through the debris she'd piled up around the entrance.
Fortunately, big stores like this always had more than way in or out.
At least, she hoped they did.
This one did, thank goodness, another door at a right angle to the one that she'd come in through, past a wall covered with kitchen utensils. Sunset might have tried throwing those around too, but she doubted they'd do much good against an armoured car.
She was more interested in the escalator to the second floor position right in front of the exit.
She raced towards it, hearing the armoured car continue to crash through everything in its wake. Aisles fell, crockery and glassware shattered, but the machine gun didn't fire, not yet. They must not have had a clear shot.
Sunset burst out of the store, her bike speeding towards the inert escalator. The ridged metal steps looked like they had teeth, waiting to tear into her tires.
Sunset teleported, a crack and a burst of green light bearing her, her passenger, and her bike up to the top of the escalator where they reappeared, a foot up in the air over the top step.
They landed, skidding along the ground as Sunset broke and turned, slamming her foot into the floor to bring the bike to a stop before it bore them all into the window of a jewellers.
Charm bracelets and necklaces glistened as Sunset dismounted her motorcycle.
"Stay here, Councillor," she said. She took a couple of steps away from the bike, towards the escalator and the brass rail with the transparent plastic underneath that separated the edge of the first floor from the drop down to the ground.
She didn't approach all the way, not yet. She held out her arms and conjured four — then two more to be on the safe side — six spears of magic hovering above her, poised to descend.
She wasn't sure how many people were in the armoured car, exactly, but she didn't think it could be more than six.
She heard, but didn't see, the armoured car crash through the exit from Valish Home Stores; it sounded like it was a bit of a squeeze for it: she heard the screech of scraping metal for a moment before she only heard the soft sound of an engine idling.
Sunset took another step forward. She didn't want them to see her too early. She wanted them to get out of their armoured car and follow her up the escalator.
She couldn't hear any doors opening or closing, but that might just be because her helmet was muffling the sounds.
She did hear footsteps thudding up the escalator. Sunset dashed forward to see four men with rifles jogging up the still metal steps. A fifth man still manned the machine gun, covering them.
Sunset unleashed all of her magical spears, the emerald bolts descending on her targets, two for the man on the gun. He opened fire; Sunset threw herself to one side as the bullets soared through the air. She heard cries of alarm briefly interrupted.
Then nothing.
Sunset looked up. She scrambled up onto her hands and knees at least. The machine gunner was out of it, slumped across his now-silent machine gun. The other Valish soldiers were all down too, sprawled across one another halfway up the escalator.
There was no sign of the motorcycle outrider. Sunset could only conclude that she'd gotten them with all of those domestic goods she'd thrown around earlier.
There was no sound of any other pursuit.
Sunset pushed her visor up. "I think we're good," she said. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"
"I'm fine," Councillor Emerald assured her. "I…" He paused for a second. "They ran into us completely by accident, not hunting for either of us, hardly able to recognise you; they bumped into us by random chance and decided to start shooting. To chase you through Vale and kill you."
"We are breaking curfew, Councillor," Sunset said.
"Please don't be glib, Miss Shimmer," Councillor Emerald murmured.
"Sorry, Councillor."
"These … these are Valish men and women," Councillor Emerald declared. "Not robots, not mindless automatons, men and women of Vale, whose homes are here in Vale, and yet … I could understand them coming to get me; if Blackthorn honestly thought he could do a better job running this city, if his soldiers thought so, then why not take me into custody, by force if necessary? But this? To shoot their fellow Valish for being out on the street? How could they do such a thing? How does it not revolt their spirits?"
"They may not be mindless automatons in ordinary circumstances," Sunset said softly. "But I fear that is what the Siren has made of them."
Councillor Emerald hesitated. "I must admit I wasn't entirely sure whether to believe you about that," he said. "It seemed a very fanciful, fantastical idea; I could conceive that General Blackthorn had been hiding his ambition and his hatred of me secretly all this time; it would have been as plausible. But now … I think you must be right."
"I am, Councillor, and you should be glad of that," Sunset told him. "Magical creatures are a lot easier to deal with than the human heart. If the military really had decided they wanted rid of you, you might need a little more help than me."
Councillor Emerald seemed for a moment as if he might smile but did not. "As you say, Miss Shimmer."
Sunset didn't want to leave the way that they'd come — just in case any of the Valish soldiers had called for backup or the rest of their convoy came sniffing around — so she took her bike by the handlebars and walked it towards a set of directions stuck to one of the columns stretching up towards the ceiling.
The arrow for 'Exit to Car Park' pointed up and in the opposite direction to their entrance, complete with a number 3 next to it.
Sunset took off her helmet for a second as the two of them walked her bike to the nearest elevator, a glass box that let them see out of it onto the shopping centre around them as they rode it up to the third floor. Not that Sunset was doing much watching. Instead, her thoughts had returned to the battle that would come once they finally reached the headquarters.
The battle with Cinder.
Her fingers tapped on the handlebars of her bike.
"Miss Shimmer?" Councillor Emerald murmured. "Is everything alright?"
Sunset wished that she'd kept her helmet on; then, he wouldn't have been able to see her face so clearly. "I'm fine, Councillor," she replied, because how could she tell him that she was worried that she couldn't win the fight against Cinder at the place she was leading him to? He was relying on her to keep him safe; his son was relying on her to keep his father safe. She had promised that she would.
So I can't lose, Cinder, not even to you. I have to beat you, or a little boy will cry.
I have to beat you, and then…
Yes. And then, and then, and then. If Sunset won the fight, as she really had to win the fight, then her problems were not at an end.
I really wish you hadn't come to Beacon, then I could cut you down with a clear conscience.
Except that wasn't really true, was it?
Getting ahead of myself; I need to beat her first.
She can deflect my magical blasts, but not telekinesis; I'll keep her at a distance and attack her from all sides. I'll do what I did to Bolin.
Of course, she's a lot more capable than Bolin.
I'll grab whatever I can in the actual headquarters and throw it at her.
Will that be enough?
It had better be; I can't hit her with a magical attack — maybe I can, but only if I'm lucky — and she's better with the sword than I am.
But she's not invulnerable. She's been beaten twice already, once in a one-on-one. I just have to make sure that I stay out of the way of her sword and her magic. I can shield myself, she can't, so I can protect myself in ways that she cannot. I can protect myself and then hit back.
Shield, then riposte. Shield, then riposte all the way to victory.
Victory, and…
Sunset looked down at her hands, her hands which were currently still enclosed within the white bridal gloves.
Perhaps…
She was grateful when the elevator carried them to their destination and the glass doors opened to let them out.
They stepped out opposite a toy shop, Fun-'n'-Games, with its window full of Vytal Festival merchandise — along with a big sticker in the window stating that it was all discounted.
They could have waited until tomorrow to do that.
"We can go through here, come out on the other side and be closer to the car park," Councillor Emerald said, pointing into the toyshop.
Sunset looked at him. "You've been here, Councillor?"
"Do you think that Councillors don't go shopping, Miss Shimmer?" Councillor Emerald asked as he led the way.
"I thought you might have people to do that for you, Councillor," Sunset admitted. "The woman left with Bramble, maybe."
"Mrs. Hughes is very useful," Councillor Emerald agreed. "But there are some things that I prefer to pick up myself. I was here just a couple of days ago, getting Bramble a, um," — he scratched his elbow — "an Amity Colosseum playset, and some additional figures to play with in it."
Sunset glanced at the window as she and the Councillor walked in. There were several different Amity Arenas there, some of which dispensed with the stands and the like and were just battlefields with the biomes, others of which presented a more complete recreation, right down to the externals. One of them was even floating.
"Which one, if I may ask?"
"The expensive one, that can use real gravity dust to float and has the biomes coming up out of the floor," Councillor Emerald replied.
Sunset wasn't altogether sure why you'd want an Amity Arena that really flew, at least not if you were Bramble's size and it would just float above your head where you couldn't get it or see anything that was going on within, but that wasn't something you said to a father who was trying his best. He'd probably just bought the most expensive one because he thought it was also the best or the coolest. "I'm sure he'll … so there are some figures who come with it?"
"A couple of Shade teams I'd never heard of," Councillor Emerald said. "I brought some of the … they called them blister packs, of teams that he would like better."
Sunset guessed from the way that he was playing ever so slightly coy that he had gotten Bramble Team SAPR but he didn't want to admit it in case he stroked her ego. Well, it was satisfying to know, to think, or to imagine that he had.
"Did he like it?" she asked instead.
"He hasn't got it yet," Councillor Emerald told her. "I was going to give it to him tonight, before…"
"You can give it to him tomorrow," Sunset said. "I'm sure he'll love it."
"I hope so, Miss Shimmer," Councillor Emerald said softly.
The toy shop almost seemed to have become a Vytal Tournament shop as Sunset and Councillor Emerald walked through it. Sunset spotted the blister packs that Councillor Emerald had referred to; the figures in question were quite small scale, moulded plastic in rigid poses: guns aimed or blades drawn back. There were other, larger figures that offered more movement in the arms and legs, as well as toy weapons, posters, board games. As she walked her bike through the displays, and as the eyes of the larger individual action figures in their transparent plastic packaging seemed to follow her down the aisle, Sunset's ears drooped, and her tail fell down to hang limply between her legs.
They all looked so happy. On the posters, on the lampshades in the home store, on the boxes for the toy weapons, on each and every single action figure — or doll, if you preferred — with a rigid smile painted on its face that somehow managed to reach the eyes all the same by some magic better known to artists than to unicorns. They all looked so happy. Even she, even Sunset Shimmer in a plastic bubble, with a plastic sword and a gun that didn't shoot and see-through plastic flames that could be stuck on her shoulders, even she looked happy.
Everyone was smiling.
And why not? This was their Vytal Tournament, their time, their chance to strut the stage. This was their happy time, and it had been taken away. Their happiness had been stolen. Sunset's happiness, it could be said, she had thrown away herself by her mistakes, but everyone else? Everyone else was the victim of a theft, as all of Vale was, a theft that had replaced the joy and celebration that should have been with chaos, madness, and the fear of death.
Sunset looked up and down the aisle of dolls, watching them as they seemed to watch her. Pyrrha, with a sash made of cloth; Jaune, who for some reason had been given short hair and a square jaw that made him look like Cardin, even though the picture of him at the bottom of the packaging was more or less accurate; Trixie, with a nylon hat and cape with reflective stars; Rainbow Dash, whose figure came with foldable wings; Penny, whose swords didn't connect to her body at all; they all smiled out at her from behind the plastic.
But now … Sunset couldn't help but wonder how many of them would be smiling come the morning, if they might not…
She quickened her pace, pushing the bike along faster. If this was the shortcut, then she wished that they had taken the longer route. She didn't want to stay here any longer. This plethora of merchandise … it mocked her, it wounded her, it callously reminded her of all that she had lost and of all that was precious and was now placed in jeopardy.
She was very happy when they were out of the toy store and making their way across the remainder of the shopping centre.
They reached an automatic door, which was locked but which was almost made of glass, meaning that Sunset could teleport herself, the bike, and Councillor Emerald onto the other side, onto an open-topped bridge between the shopping centre and a multi-story car park.
They walked across, Sunset turning her eyes towards the sky as she watched for any Valish airships that might be patrolling the air as their troops were patrolling the ground.
She saw none. No Bullheads bore down on them with guns blazing or deposited more troops — or worse, huntsmen, for why shouldn't any huntsmen in Vale have paid heed to the Siren's song? — to challenge and obstruct her. There was no sign of any Valish air presence, even at a distance.
Sunset pulled her helmet back on; the cool night breeze upon her face as they crossed the bridge had been welcome, but it was time to enclose herself within the vision-obstructing stuffiness of her helmet once again.
She could feel her ears, all four of them, starting to heat up almost immediately.
They entered the car park. It was empty, as far as Sunset could see in the darkness; she couldn't see a single car parked here, unless it was lurking in the very shadowy recesses out of her sight. They passed the ticket machines, sitting idle, their screens dim. Sunset turned her head towards the ramp heading upwards.
"Let's go that way, quickly," she said. "Let's see what we can see from a vantage point."
Apart from anything else, having turned aside with the Valish in pursuit, she wanted to check the route to the Valish headquarters.
Councillor Emerald did not object, and so, they walked Sunset's bike up to the top level of the carparker, higher than the upper level of the shopping centre next door, and all the way to the edge where they could look out on Vale.
It did not look like a dying city; that might seem like a low bar, but considering everything that was going on, the fact that they could stand there looking out and not see flames consuming whole districts or great explosions leaping up from every corner in immense fireballs, that seemed like, if not a victory, then something worth celebrating.
She could hear fighting going on, and the fact that whole areas of Vale were dark, the power cut off, was definitely less than ideal, but that could be fixed. Power could be restored. The fighting could end. The situation was far from unsalvageable.
For those who were left.
The sounds of the fighting, the sounds of the shooting, the blacked-out areas were reminders, in case anyone had forgotten, that not everyone would see the morn.
And while there were no immense explosions, there were some smaller ones, little flashes lighting up the night, tiny flowers of yellow blooming for a second and then vanishing again. Sunset wasn't sure what they were; artillery fire, maybe, or small missiles. It seemed too small to be airships crashing, even if there were any airships in the air to crash, which there were not. The skies were clear almost everywhere. When Sunset looked towards Beacon, or further south from there towards the outskirts of Vale, then she could see General Ironwood's Atlesian warships, but over Vale itself?
The large explosion that Sunset had been glad not to see erupted, a great ball of fire erupting into the darkness, rising towards the moon. It had come from the skydock. Had one of the great skyliners exploded? Because of who? What was going on down there?
The same thing going on all across Vale, as likely as not.
Looking away from the explosion and down from the empty sky, Sunset could see some more Valish patrols moving nearby, convoys about the same size as the one that they had run into a little while ago. One of them, which looked a little smaller, might even be the same convoy. They were not, thankfully, converging on Sunset's position, but rather, continuing to move slowly down the streets, no doubt doing as that first column had done and reminding people to stay indoors if they valued their lives.
And they were moving in such a way that Sunset could plot a course through them without running into anymore of them by accident or design.
It was important not to lose hope, not to let the small explosions, or even the big explosion on the skydock, get Sunset's spirits down too low. This wasn't … this wasn't like the description of the sack of Mistral, with the gods marshalling enemy forces everywhere to burn the city down, with desperation and death everywhere one turned one’s eyes, with people being led off in chains to slavery; Vale was far from beyond salvation, provided that they could get to the Military Headquarters and set things right.
Sunset's eyes turned to said headquarters, the tall towers plainly visible.
Plainly visible, too, was the immense battleship, one of the two Mistralian battleships purchased by Vale, floating above the towers, hovering protectively over the headquarters.
"Is that going to cause you any trouble, Miss Shimmer?"
"I … think not, Councillor," Sunset murmured. "I mean, I daresay it would hurt a great deal if one of those big guns were to hit me, but I think that I'm a little too quick for them to take aim, especially on my bike."
Although, of course, there was the issue of the troops that she'd seen outside the headquarters, barricading the roads around it: the troops and tanks and roadblocks. If they could slow her down long enough…
They wouldn't fire those big guns downwards with their own troops so close, would they? It would be mad!
This whole thing is a little mad, isn't it, and the strings are pulled by a Siren; why should she care how many Valish soldiers die?
But can their guns even lower that far?
"I think," Sunset went on, "that that ship is there to deter airships rather than us; it's there in case General Ironwood decides to launch an air attack upon the headquarters."
"And will they?" Councillor Emerald asked. "Launch an aerial assault, I mean?"
"I hope not, because if they destroy that battleship, then the falling debris will crush the headquarters, and we'll never get in," Sunset muttered. "But you'd be better off asking my friend Rainbow Dash, or Twilight, or Blake; I don't know General Ironwood well enough to predict his intentions."
"So we must hope that General Ironwood shows some restraint?" asked Councillor Emerald. "I suppose he has been quite restrained so far, in spite of many provocations, some of them by me or Novo. Now, it seems, we will see how restrained he is when he is off the leash, as it were."
"My friends, at least, think very highly of him," Sunset said. "And so does Professor Ozpin. While I don't pretend to know his mind, I have faith in their good judgement, and out of that faith, I'm sure that, tonight, General Ironwood will prove himself worthy of that same good judgement."
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This phrase is missing an “one” before the “way in”.
Anyway, I loved seeing a full on chase sequence with no other than Sunset herself! The Fall of Beacon on this version is much more dynamic and with much more different types of actions, it really makes you feel like we are in the climax of this part of the story, and it seems like we will have a Part 2 as good as this one in the future.
Sunset may have made a mistake on the tunnels of Mountains Glenn, but it didn’t changed the fact that she would do anything to protect those she cared about, and it doesn’t matter what happens, she can’t lie to a little boy about not being sure of the protection of his dad. I would love to see more kids who see the members of the cast as their heroes, and I wonder how a meeting of the rest of SAPR with their fans would go.
I also like how Sunset is thinking of way to defeat Cinder during the chapter and, honestly, how outmatched she really is, but it is always the victory of the Underdog that is the most excited one. I expect Sunset vs Cinder be an exciting battle and see what Sunset’s Trump Card will be.
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Ruby would likely give Sunset some shit for it, but provided Sunset allowed a little bit of that heroic fire within her to blaze for once the clear answer is 'Anyone here who is heartless enough to be able look a small child in the eyes after they asked you to protect their beloved parent and tell them that if the greater good demanded it, you would let them die... rise their hands.'
Then again, to me Sunset didn't make any mistakes under Mountain Glenn... except for one. She allowed her team to go all heroic and get on the stupid train when they could have just left. Yes, the White Fang would have blown the bombs and arrived in Vale... but between the Atlas military being ready for them and the Grimm coming up behind, that still wasn't going to go well for them. If anything, the White Fang would suddenly be a very important barrier against the Grimm since they don't wanna die and it wasn't like Atlas was going to give them much room to run.
Would the Breach have been a bloody, corpse filled mess? Yep! Would the White Fang be able to hold the Breach long enough for Atlas to move in and lock it down? Debatable. That being said, best case scenario, less people would have died overall because some of the White Fang might have actually survived.
But will she do point five past lightspeed or make the Kessel Run in under nine parsecs?
Well, that was a thrill. I can imagine trying to fight on a motorbike is not easy, especially when you're playing escort to a public official.
Quite interesting to have further insight on how the Vytal tournament was merchandised. I mean, we saw wigs and toy weapons being sold at the fairgrounds and such, but now we got Vytal contestants on everything, from plates to lampshades, and dolls to action figures. Also Jaune with short hair? Reference to his Atlas look in RWBY? I wouldn't be surprised of Bramble was asking for SAPR or specifically Sunset merch from his dad.
I guess we can only hope Cinder has enough control to show some restraint and hold back against Sunset...
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My vendetta against short-hair Atlas Jaune will never cease.
On an unrelated note to current events, why don't they unlock everyone's aura? I'm not saying in this moment of the story but there must be a reason.
An interesting twist would be that the real reason was that aura makes it easier for grim to detect emotions, your soul is outside your body. So Ozpin doesn't want a ton of random people who don't have a huntress mindset to have it, this attracting grimm.
Of course the populous would need a plausible reason why they shouldn't want super powers. Even just being super strong and durable would be game changing. Why wouldn't every soldier want that.
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Especially since Aura heal the body, I remember that when the chapter with Ciel's brother was revealed, I asked why Ciel didn't at least unlock his Aura to mitigate the worst of his affliction, so that idea of your make sense.
From Sunset's reaction I'm guessing contestants don't get any royalties for all this merchandise with their likeness. Official posters and general tournament stuff I can see skirting payment but stuff like individual action figures and the like? That seems like that'd have to pay something for that, if even just to the schools (though even that still seems unfair to the individuals). Some students could really use that money! Ren and Nora are literally homeless orphans! Let them get a kick back!
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At one point I was going to include something about this in the chapter, but it didn't really seem to fit. My thinking is that the students basically sign their likenesses etc away to the school for the duration of their time there, and then the schools get paid. This has the advantage that no one student can hold out for a better deal, or just refuse to let their image etc be used, and is a nice little earner for the schools themselves (it's probably how Shade makes most of its money).
A bit rough on the students, however, as you say.