Chapter Nine: Combat Ready
The world would never be the same again.
Still feeling the residual effects of the empowering millennia earlier, the Rider Grid trembled and buckled as five new Riders transformed and strengthened the Grid further. One of the new Systems even accessed a small pocket of energy that refused to be absorbed; further strengthening its Bearer and connecting her to a wealth of power craftily hidden in her bloodline. While the jolt of energy received still wasn't strong enough for a second empowering, the added energy heightened the amount of energy in the five Systems to enhance their strength, speed and senses. Even Kenzaki, who had been using the Rider Grid for millennia, felt a tingle of additional power flowing through his body as the new Riders were added. Far away from Beacon and Vale, several figures looked up from their meeting as they felt the winds shift in their direction once more. One figure in particular looked up from the parchment on the surface in front of him and wondered why an image of a red-headed girl was flashing through his mind.
Cleaving the King Rouser through the neck of a Boarbatusk, Kenzaki looked around him to see the other Riders in action. They worked together flawlessly, each covering the other when they attacked and ensuring they knew there the others were at all times. He almost had to pinch himself as he remembered the girls were new to these powers…but were also trained warriors. More to the point, each of the Systems seemed to accentuate their fighting styles perfectly and it seriously made him wonder how Jean, Jo-Anne and the others could have pinned it down so explicitly. On the other hand, he knew it probably had something to do with the Rider Grid as those first armour designs had been nothing short of horrifically eye-bleeding. He snorted in amusement as he imagined Ruby cleaving the Spider Grimm Monster in a boxy yellow and white ensemble dress with a knight-like armoured breast plate. It was also a good thing he had talked him away from installing a secondary mode in the Scythe Belt as the pre-requisites for its activation were rather vague on paper.
Lining up several Beowulves and Ursa Grimm in a line, he dismissed his Blay Rouser and activated the Royal Straight Flush finisher – utterly annihilating the creatures in explosions of smoke. The Dragon Grimm was still flying towards them, though it had slowed down considerably from its earlier speed. Tearing his eyes away from the reptilian monstrosity, he looked towards Pyrrha and her unique way of fighting. The newest Rider seemed to take to her added agility and strength like a duck to water and delighted in blasting the Grimm around her with uncanny accuracy. Narrowing his eyes at the flame-like blasts that came from the barrel of her javelin/rifle weapon, he felt a small tingle go down his spine as he looked at her gloves and boots; carrying a very familiar red spattering of colour. The ARKOS Rider spun on her heel deftly to intercept a descending Deathstalker stinger with her shield, maddeningly familiar sputters of flame dancing around her palms.
"This power…" he breathed in amazement, watching Pyrrha battle, "It seems almost like his. It can't be though. Not unless…"
Breaking off that train of thought, he looked behind him to the tower and the remaining Huntsmen and Huntresses standing there. He could understand their amazement at seeing Kamen Riders transform and battle the enemies but they were literally sitting ducks if they didn't do something – anything. He could see Glynda attempting her token effort to repair most of the property damage and Qrow used his scythe/blade/whatever to attack some of the smaller Beowulf Grimm but the other members of Pyrrha's team were just standing there. They weren't even attempting to get out of the way and into some form of shelter. On the other hand, he didn't expect much in the way of Monster Shelters as one of Auric's attacks had proved how deadly they could be.
"What are you standing around for?" Their heads whipped to look at him and he groaned under his breath. "Yes, they have armoured and powered suits but you're Huntsmen and Huntresses, aren't you?"
Jaune nodded slowly and looked to the armoured Riders battling the Grimm. The way they moved was like a well-oiled machine, covering each other and seemingly being able to sense what attacks they would be using. Ruby was a whirlwind of action and activity, slashing several Ursa and Creep with the Crescent Rose and her forearm energy scythes. Yang and Blake were covering each other with blasts and slashes and Weiss was holding her own against anything that came her way. He wanted nothing more than to run, screaming and flailing, to the safety and security of the other students but he knew he would be disrespecting his family name if he fled. Unsheathing his blade, he looked at the sword and closed his eyes. His great-great-great Grandfather had used the Crocea Mors in one of the short wars against the Grimm years ago. The personal oath he had made to himself when he received the weapon had been hammered into the hearts of the Arc family ever since: 'That one must use whatever inner courage they have to overcome the evils present in the world.'
It was true that he had come to Beacon on nothing more than a lie and falsified papers but he had slowly begun to come into his own as a fighter. He couldn't ever imagine himself leaping through the air and battling the types of creatures Ruby had fought against earlier but he would do whatever he could to stand beside his friends. And, maybe, if he was brave enough to face down impossibly tall Grimm, he could muster enough courage to tell Pyrrha how he was starting to feel for her…and hope that she didn't laugh in his face. If that happened, well, he didn't want to think about events that hadn't happened and were in the ether. However, there was one, defining, truth his brain kept returning to. He was a Huntsman and he would be damned if he was going to sit around gaping any longer.
"Leave some for us!" Jaune cried as he dove into the fray, slashing his blade against the neck of a Beowulf.
As Ren and Nora passed him, Kenzaki smiled. From what he had seen, Jaune was a capable fighter in his own right and had proved his worth over and over in the past few months. There was a slight connection between the boy and Pyrrha and he hoped the Huntsman was strong enough to help her whenever her Rider Burden surfaced. Her friends would also help her but if her Burden was a personal thing…well, that was up in the air then. Leaping into a group of Ursa as they attempted to blindside the new arrivals, he was surprised to see a small handset icon flashing on the bottom of his HUD. Wondering who could be calling him at a time like this, and hoping it was Browne, he answered – only to be cut off by a familiar voice speaking Japanese.
"Kenzaki, can you talk?" He grumbled under his breath, ducking under a slash from an Ursa. The bear-like creature could only roar in pain and confusion as its life was ended by a stab from the King Rouser.
"What have you found out, Hajime?" The screech of claws on metal made him wince but he powered through with the strike, decapitating a quintet of Creep Grimm behind the Ursa. Growling in pain as a set of claws raked over his back, he whirled around to slice the offending Beowulf's head in half before turning to face a Deathstalker that was approaching.
"And I thought calling you in a free fall state was odd." The Navy Joker could hear his fated enemy chuckling ironically. "Anyway, my scanners just picked up a transport beam coming out of Beacon Tower. I don't think your friend was able to keep Cinder at bay."
"Shit." Kenzaki slammed his head into the descending stinger, thanking whatever gods were up there that Tachibana had the foresight to upgrade the durability of his suit. "Do you know where it was headed?"
"I can't say for sure but it looked to be in the direction of the old Yggdrasil Tower site."
Kenzaki rolled his eyes and bit back an exasperated sigh. After the last Kureshima had died, the formerly great company had been reduced to shambles literally overnight as some of its more morally disturbing practices had come to light. It had been easy pickings for the bigger companies to swoop in to pick it apart; though any and all research into the Sengoku and Genesis Drivers had been erased from all records – save for the personal drive Takatora had given him on his final day. He had almost had a panic attack when he saw the completed designs for the Scythe Belt; let alone seeing the actual product hot off the assembly line but Jean had repeatedly assured him that the design had been of his own making. As it had been around five hundred years since the end of the Kureshima family, he was inclined to believe him. Of course, the only Sengoku or Genesis Drivers he saw these days were whenever he was up in Atlas or whenever Kazuraba decided to pop in…and see if the locals had stopped worshipping him as the 'second coming' yet.
"This keeps getting better and better." Kenzaki griped. He opened his mouth to rhetorically ask what was so great about the ruins but spied something at the corner of his eye that made his blood freeze. "Oh shit, I'm going to have to hang up soon. Something's just come up that could be risky."
Ruby stopped mid-swing, Crescent Rose halfway through the neck of an Ursa Grimm, as a smaller Atlas drop ship touched down a short distance from the battle. It couldn't have been Weiss' father returning as she didn't think he was the type to swap out an extravagant method of transport for a more mundane and utilitarian one. Removing the scythe from the dissolving Grimm, she looked back to the quickly dwindling number of creatures and then to the top of the tower. After repositioning herself a few times due to accidentally looking into the sun, she gave up on the attempt and resumed waiting for whoever was in the transport to exit. After flicking her Scythe Blades through the head of a Boarbatusk that ventured too close for comfort, she was amazed to see two Atlas robotic guards step out while flanking an upgraded Penny. The robotic girl seemed to have been repaired from the damage inflicted on her synthetic skin by the Spider Grimm Monster and was sporting a thick set of armour that covered her chest and upper shoulders. There was a small 'G3X-3000' logo embossed on the left shoulder pad and a small collapsible stun baton hung on her right hip. Disengaging her transformation, the girl ran towards the three robots.
"Penny?" Ruby panted. "What are you doing here? It's not safe here, even for you!"
Penny looked at Ruby and called up the information that had been uploaded to her databanks a few moments before. The G3X-3000 was the strongest set of armour Atlas had developed for her use and was designed explicitly to go toe-to-toe with the strongest Grimm and win. It was based on some ancient plans that had been discovered in one of the prospective lab sites and, in some ways, had been her precursor. Cinder Fall needed to be stopped at any cost and her father, creator, had been adamant that she be given the tools to end her reign of terror before it began. The Chief Military Technician in Atlas had protested vehemently but had been overruled at every turn. Her guards would keep her safe from any dangers present in the Tower structure and would serve as distractions until her Pulverising Blast could be charged up. Her exit route was also secured as a short fall from the top of the Tower wouldn't hurt her in any way that she couldn't be repaired. The only variables in the plan running through her memory core were the humans.
"Ruby, I have to stop Cinder." The android looked up at the tower with determination in her eyes. "I'm still combat ready and I have to try."
The other Riders, finally finished with the majority of the Grimm, walked over to see what was going on. After taking a short amount of time to explain the situation to them, there was only one thing that they could all agree on.
"One of us should go with you." Yang panted as she shook her head. "Taking on Cinder head on will be a challenge. I still can't believe she would do this though"
Weiss and Blake nodded their heads, unable to comprehend that the person who had masterminded everything had been under their noses the whole time. Hell, they had been having a drink together in the cafeteria a week or so ago and Cinder had shown some sympathy for her 'injuries' a few hours prior. However, they were starting to realise that a lot of people around them had two or more sides with hidden intentions that were only now beginning to come to the light. Ignoring Ruby, the younger girl straining her arm to be 'picked' for the task at hand, Weiss looked in the direction her father had left and wondered what he was thinking after seeing what she was capable of. Had it been her imagination or did she see his eyes flash to black momentarily? And if she had seen it, how had she seen it if none of the others had mentioned anything? It made her head hurt just thinking about it but she wasn't going to split hairs just yet. At least not until she knew what these Systems were powered by and who Kenzaki actually was.
"No," one of the robotic soldiers intoned. "You will stay here and defend the Tower. If the CCT System falls, the world will be sent back to the Dark Ages. We are confident that Model PNY-01A will be able to subdue the offender."
Penny grimaced slightly as she heard her Designation Number for the first time since her initial activation. While she had taken up the surname 'Polendina' as homage to the spear-throwers of old, PNY-01A would always be a part of her very being until she was inevitably shut down to make way for the newer model.
"Affirmative," replied the other, "though, if you are still concerned, I suggest you follow in around two minutes. Our destroy protocols will be activated the moment we step inside this building and we will not be able to differentiate between friend and foe during the initial start-up period."
Shaking her head and checking everything was in working order, the android stepped between her handler guards and looked at the humans. The technological specifications on their Belts were incredible but, for some strange reason, her wireless data mining operations seemed to grind to a halt whenever she looked at the System on Pyrrha's waist. It happened with the other Systems as well but not to the extreme extent as her former opponent's Belt. If she had to take a guess, she would have said it incorporated bleeding edge technology that was several centuries ahead of what was possible in Remnant…but technology like that was unheard of in all of the contemporary companies she had researched. Even Atlas didn't have the technology to create systems as sophisticated as those.
"Friends, please let me do this." Penny pleaded with them. "I am confident I can slow her down enough for the CCT System to be backed up efficiently. After that time, I will retreat to a safe distance and the Tower will be blown up using sophisticated weaponry on my command. This is the only way to ensure the world of Remnant does not fall back into the times of the Dark Ages."
"All right," Ruby grudgingly agreed, "but I'm coming up after you. You can't fight her yourself!"
Penny nodded to her guards and the three of them entered the Tower through a side door. The four girls looked at each other with varying degrees of relief until a new wave of Grimm swarmed in on all sides. Those who had disengaged their transformations didn't have time to reactivate them as Griffons swooped down from the skies and, of all things, Goliaths led the charge. Still suited up in his King Form, Kenzaki tossed his Blay Rouser to Blake and his King Rouser to Jaune, causing the young man to overbalance due to the weight, and began striking the Grimm nearest to him with his fists. The next five minutes flew by in a blur he hadn't experienced for literally a million years as his old fighting instincts finally recovered from seeing Amber die. There was a Royal Straight Flush with Cinder's name on it somewhere in his arsenal but he had to ensure they survived the day first. Finally, the second wave of Grimm had been defeated and Kenzaki was left with the unenviable task of retrieving his King Rouser from the dead brain of a Goliath.
"Well, that's the last of them. Ruby, now you can…" Yang trailed off as she looked around for her sister. "Guys, where did Ruby go?"
Qrow swore under his breath as he wheeled to look at the tower behind them. He had seen his niece run off behind the building to attack some Grimm that were threatening to blindside them…but Glynda and Ironwood were keeping their backs free of Grimm. To make matters slightly more concerning, the two-headed Dragon Grimm had taken roost on the roof, causing a strange black fog to slowly envelop the upper floors. Strapping his scythe to his back, he took a step in the direction of the door the robotic trio had gone up but was literally stopped in his tracks by Kenzaki.
"I'm going up there, Kenzaki! You can't stop me!" He struggled under his deceptively strong grip as he looked up to the cloud of darkness that was slowly dropping down. "I'm sure her friends want to come as well but I know that you won't let all of them go up; so, who's my dance partner going to be?"
Kenzaki shook his head at Qrow and, after some measure of internal debate, conceded. It was better that they act now and deal with any consequences that may arise than wait and have everything fall out from under their feet. Besides, that Dragon didn't look as though it was going to leave anytime soon…well, not without encouragement first. And, if he recalled anything from the lessons Hongo and Kotaro had drilled into his brain, it was always a smart move for two advance scouts to be sent first. On the other, darker, side of the coin, there was something in that smoke that he hadn't seen in a very long time…not since the early hours of Moon Day. It was something that he would never, ever, forget as long as he lived and he was sure that Hajime would also never forget it either.
"Yang, you're with your uncle." Kenzaki shook his head as his Joker senses started to flare up. "Be careful in there. That smoke will make you see things that either aren't real or have happened a long time ago. Do not trust your eyes until you reach the top."
They nodded at him and bolted towards the door. The Navy Joker could only watch them go with a strange sense of foreboding in his gut. As Qrow and Yang began running up the emergency stairs, Ruby was almost at the top. The strange smoky mist had caught her by surprise and she had almost activated her System on reflex. However, there were images in the miasma that were extremely similar to the ones she saw when she transformed. She could see Kenzaki transforming into his golden form, a slender green and black Rider with red eyes changing into in slightly bulkier black and gold robotic form and, most curiously of all, the orange reptile-themed Rider transforming into a more armoured form with a strange tail-like assembly on his back. Whatever the images were supposed to mean to her, she had no idea but there were other images in the mix as well. Scenes of Yang seemingly punching Mercury's knee were intermixed with Pyrrha charging up her Semblance to completely destroy Penny in a tragic accident.
Shaking her head at the graphic detail, her ears picked up the sound of heavy fighting a few floors above her. Heading up the stairs, she yelped slightly as a strange mirrored creature luged at her…only to dissolve as the stairwell shook and trembled. Penny sounded as though she was giving her all against Cinder and she wanted to help her friend any way she could. Wrenching open the door to Ozpin's office and the Central Processing Area for the Cross-Continental Transmit System, she was momentarily blinded by a thick cloud of the black smoke. The images she saw were of the same Riders changing into stronger forms but the Orange Rider was flanked by two other, similarly themed, Riders or warriors behind him.
"Penny!" She called out as the smoke cleared from her eyes. "Are you…"
Her stomach dropped to her knees at the sight in front of her. The magnificently adorned ceiling and walls that had housed all manner of clockwork mechanisms was totally and utterly destroyed. Added to the mayhem were the two brutally mangled forms of Penny's robotic guards, their chests literally ripped open to expose barely sparking circuitry and stripped wires. Lazily watching the activities in front of it was the two-headed Dragon Grimm, small gouts of green necromantic 'fire' escaping from its mouth with each exhalation. At the head of it all was Cinder; the onyx-haired woman standing triumphantly over a literally disarmed Penny. Various oils and fluids leaked from the jagged stumps where her arms and legs had once been and a look of genuine fear and regret shone in her previously emotionless eyes. The armoured vest that she had been wearing minutes earlier was strewn across the room with the collapsible baton embedded up to its 'hilt' in the floor. The badly damaged android turned to look at her and opened her mouth…only to let out a surprised gasp as a white-hot stream of fire melted her away.
"Oh my," Cinder's voice was innocently fake as she nudged the glowing pile of metal by her foot. "Did I do that?"
"Penny…no…" Ruby slumped to her knees as her sadness and anger began to slowly bubble over. "You can't be…you were supposed to go to Beacon and have fun with us. And you, Cinder, you were…you…you…YOU KILLED HER!"
Silvery energy began to slowly leak out the corners of her eyes and flow down towards the Scythe Belt on her waist. Hidden circuits hungrily lapped up the unknown power, feeding it into a secondary System that, for all intents and purposes, was not meant to be used so early. The metal scythe twisted and warped for a few seconds, before settling into a new design of a small broadsword on top of an old brick tower wall. A dark veil of energy, power and anger began to exude from the fallen girl and seeped into her mind, erasing almost everything except the feelings in her heart. The consciousness of Ruby tried desperately to push the power back but it was a battle she was destined to lose; slammed into a mental cage of the System's making and ensuring total obedience. One of her last 'sights' was a silver knight looming out of the darkness before blackness enveloped her.
Now acting on automatic, the System-controlled girl stood up and opened her eyes wide. Twin bursts of silver energy burst out to strike the twin-headed Dragon Grimm; simultaneously freezing it and fusing it to the floor of the Tower. Locked in her mental cell, able to watch but helpless to act, Ruby wondered how ensuring the Dragon couldn't be ever removed was a good thing for them. Her right hand moved up to rest on the blade of the broadsword, the edge cutting into her fingers as blood-red energy began to wisp out of the System. To the outside world it looked as though Ruby had become wreathed in black and red flames, ready to unleash Hell.
"Uh…was this supposed to happen?" Cinder looked at the menacing aura enveloping the girl in front of her and took a small step back.
Wordlessly, her hand pushed the blade down until it clicked in the same position as her normal Scythe. A pillar of silver and crimson energy washed over her for the briefest of moments before dissipating to reveal a figure unlike any Cinder had seen before. It looked absurdly ancient with sharp lines that accentuated the heavy plate armour that covered her body. Behind the cracks in her seemingly impenetrable wall of armour, the new Fall Maiden could see a muted brown and gold bodysuit that looked almost…dirty or smudged. A silver and red cape extended from her neck to the middle of her back and a heavy spiked tower shield was mounted on her left forearm. Her helmet formed with a metallic clink and was similar to a grille over a radiator or heater, only the spaces between the metal gave off a piercing orange-red glow. Wisps of steam floated out from the Belt and Cinder could only begin to wonder where everything had gone so horribly wrong. The door at the far end of the room banged open to allow Yang and Qrow to survey the chaos.
"Oh shit." The senior Huntsman swallowed hard as he recalled everything he had been told about the Systems; particularly the one Ruby wore around her waist. "We're boned so spectacularly if we can't get her to calm down."
The newly armoured Rider stepped forward, that simple action creating a wave of pressure that slammed all individuals to the ground or bounced them off the nearby walls. Cinder scrabbled for a handhold before managing the strength to roll towards one of the holes she had blasted in the floor during the earlier battle. Attempting to throw the stoic Rider a jaunty smile, she glanced in the direction of Qrow and Yang and truthfully hoped they would escape this madness she had unleashed. Dropping several floors to land painfully on one of the lowermost levels, she shook her head again and ran to the rendezvous point, the plan abandoned at her feet. Although Auric was one of her 'followers', he would need to be told of this development to pass along to her.
"What? Where's all this pressure and power coming from?" Yang barely had the strength to push herself off the wall and take a step forward. She had seen Cinder fall away but didn't have the strength to stop her. "What's going on?"
"She activated the Bastion Protocol before she was ready." Qrow's voice was tight.
"She's out of control."
TBC…
AN: Did anyone seriously think Penny was going to get out of this unscathed?