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Then don't
Talk
About Cinder like that

[if she didn't have autocorrect those words would be messes right now.]

She's better than Salem
She's smarter, she'll be stronger
It won't be the same with her
Don't talk about her like she's the same as everyone else

[ although emerald can't see the concerned furrow of yang's brow, it's there. yeah, she's technically a bad guy, but it's clear she's feeling some kind of way. maybe they can compromise. ]

Alright how about this
Let's agree to not talk about Cinder. We leave that topic alone and it stays that way
That cool with you?

[she takes longer to reply to this than she wants. reading back over what she sent out, it feels like she's let too much slip. like she's told Yang too much about herself without even bringing herself into it. but... she's dumb, Emerald says to herself. she's just some blonde-haired girl with big boobs and a full heart that hasn't been broken down by the world yet, Emerald lies. to herself, if no one else. and that's the thing about being the Ultimate Liar.]

Yeah.
I already got my answers about her and I don't think I need to bring you in between us ever again while we're all here in this dream.
I'm sure that's a relief for you.
We can get back to... talking about how much we're going to kick each other's asses or something.

[ it takes an equally long time for yang to respond. she rereads their conversation, mulling over the intensity of emerald's reaction. "in between us" is an interesting turn of phrase. it's sounding more like cinder isn't just an important person in her life, she's the only important person. like she's someone emerald would walk into hell for.

yang gets it, she really does. she'd lay down her life for her teammates, team ornj, or uncle qrow without hesitation if it meant keeping them safe. emerald expects cinder to do that and more, to save her from her a situation she desperately wants an escape from.

yang may be a hothead this month, but she's no heartbreaker. she doesn't want to expose her to the same lesson that raven taught her once upon a time: that to someone like cinder, everyone is disposable, even if you're like family.

and so she moves on. ]

You know people talk about other things, too.
Like the weather. Or sports, if you're into that.
Sometimes they even talk about TV or movies. Crazy I know.

[changing the subject is... a mercy. she'll thank Yang when she's thinking more clearly. maybe.]

I haven't really had a lot of time for those. Some of us are on tighter leashes.
I guess TV can tell stories that Salem doesn't want us hearing, which is great because now even the stuff I did care about is definitely off the air.
And there's no way we're gonna be able to tap into Remnant's broadcasting network from in here, right?
Ugh. I'll never know how bad that guy broke.

[ emerald sustrai thanking someone? thanking her? yang thinks they might not be in remnant anymore. ]

Oh man, that did get stopped when the CCT towers went down didn't it
It was never my thing, but Nora lived for it. I think I know everything that happens because she would tell me over breakfast the next day.
You aren't really missing anything, if that helps. After Beacon, most stuff like that...stopped
But if you love the news then boy there's a whole lot of that
I think I'm an expert on Atlesian politics now

Edited 2020-08-06 01:28 (UTC)

Oh yeah, that reminds me.
Varian mentioned someone named Robin Hood or whatever and I'm still pretty sure he was talking about Robyn Hill.
You know, the rebel leader? Fighting back against the Altesian military overreach and all that.
Any news about her? I know she tried to keep a low profile, but it's hard to imagine anything in Atlas keeping a low profile lately.

Low? Not anymore
She's running for a Council seat against Jacques Schnee. And leading in the polls too
You can imagine how well he's taking someone from Mantle potentially beating him at his own game.

Haha, for real? Weiss' own dad? Of course.
Gods know I'm not exactly up to speed on the little heiress, but she had daddy issues written all over her face.
Hope Robyn kicks his ass. Atlas could use someone who actually cares about Mantle making decisions instead of some corporate billionaire who only wants to make more money.

[ yang can almost hear weiss correcting the conversation with a cheery 'ex-heiress, actually,' but she'll keep that to herself. it's not that well-known that on remnant, anyway, and her friend deserves the privacy although she isn't here. ]

He's...not great from the couple of seconds I met him
He showed up to complain about something then to complain to Weiss, and then to complain about me, Ruby, and Blake. And that's small potatoes compared to all the crap he pulls against Mantle and the Faunus who work in the SDC mines
So yeah. I'm hoping Robyn kicks his ass too. The people of Mantle deserve somebody who actually wants to help.

Didn't think we'd end up agreeing on this, but hell, I'll take it.
Tell you what. I end up in Atlas after I wake up, I'll show up at a rally or something. I'll do canvassing if I have to.
Like a real member of the political movement.

No offense Emerald, but I can't see you going door to door and asking for signatures.
Like at all
The rallies, yes. Robyn and the Happy Huntresses are a lot more hands on than most candidates
Heck you'd probably like them a lot

Oh, are you kidding? I've wanted to meet them since I heard they existed.
A bunch of cool girls fighting for the rights of the people society steps on? Sign me up.
I really hope nothing bad happens between now and whenever I eventually get there.

You're telling me.
We haven't had the best track record with academies lately. It'd be nice if just one of them was still standing when we left. Or didn't have the White Fang attack
I'll take either, I'm not picky.

Hey, from what I've heard from Hazel and the others, it sounds like the White Fang aren't going to be a problem anymore.
They tried and you all kicked their butts, or something like that.
Congratulations, by the way, on driving all of them off. Never liked the way Adam acted and the less I have to "work with" him, the better.

[ adam.

just seeing his name triggers a wave of fury yang thought she had let go off when his lifeless body tumbled into the frigid waters of argus. emerald doesn't know what he did, didn't know what he was capable of.

or rather, the lengths he used to be capable of. he's gone. and he can't hurt any of them anymore. she has to hold on to that.

yang's next reply is slow as she takes several deep breaths as she struggles to reign in her anger. ]

Hey we can't take the credit.
The militia from Menagerie did the hard work of taking care of the White Fang.
Blake and Sun helped gather everyone to help at Haven. But between you and me I'm pretty sure Blake was the one doing most of the work
I'll give her your congrats the next time I see her

And yeah. Let's just say Adam didn't have the best attitude.

[ to put it mildly. ]

Edited 2020-08-11 03:11 (UTC)

Well, maybe, but the militia's not here. ;)
Whoever's responsible for it, they're not gonna be a problem for you anymore.
Which means they won't be a problem for me anymore, either. And that'll make taking down the real problem go a lot smoother.

You know, I'm starting to think teamwork may actually have a hand in making the dream work.

Yeah. Yeah it will.
But if you're on board then you mean they're not gonna be a problem for us, right?

Teamwork makes the dream work...now I know you've been talking to Ruby.
Man, she is going to be so excited when she knows you said that

They failed. Salem won't be working with them again. You know how it goes.

Oh no, she's already rubbing off on me! This is dangerous.
I'm gonna have to rob a jewelry store to keep my reputation up.
Want me to grab you anything?

(I'm joking. I know crime is probably bad.)

Uh oh it's too late now. You've already been infected by Ruby Rose-itis.
In about a week, you'll start wanting large amounts of sugar. Then you'll start seeing the good in everyone and start making big darn hero speeches....
It's irreversible. I'm sorry

[ yang's messages stop for a few minutes. the grief that she's held at bay with flimsy resolve finally swamps her defenses. she's floundering in the tide, almost washes out to sea. ruby is gone. she's gone and this house is too empty without her, without weiss, without blake, it's just her, she's alone again--

but.

ruby was able to get through to emerald. to neo. she made a difference. she existed. and if yang can even do half as much good as ruby could then...maybe she can live with this ache for a little bit longer.

she drags herself back to shore and finally responds: ]

There's a few people who consider crime to be pretty bad
However the joke's appreciated
You should make those more often.

I guess if I ever run into those people I'll have to prepare a lengthy slideshow about how crime can be good, actually.
See, the thing is that I make jokes all the time? It's just that people don't ever think they're funny.
But I'm actually incredibly clever and hilarious, and I'm not bad to look at, either.

I'd usually disagree with you, but we did steal an airship to get to Atlas
So some crime is okay. Not all of it though

Hot, secretly funny, and modest? Wow
You're like the perfect dream girl
Where have you been all my life?

Oh, you know.
On the opposite side of an eternal war between the forces of good and an evil, immortal witch.
Tale as old as time, right?
So how hard is it to steal from Atlas? Tell me more about your crimes.

Yup, a tale as true as it can be.
As long as you've got Weiss Schnee, a baby, and someone who can hack into Atlesian security then it's easy
Or it should have been. It was a team RWBY plan so everything went sideways fast. You know us.

You had a baby?
Man, there are some SERIOUS gaps in our intel. Which one of you's the lucky mom?

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