A.N. (6/12/21) - I'm back!
Argus (21) - Onslaught
Winter had allowed Rin to play with the children for several more minutes before she decided that it was enough. Saying goodbye to the kids, Rin followed after Winter as the two of them began to make their way into the city.
Rin was still somewhat confused as to what her current status amongst the Atlas military was. So far, nobody had asked what Rin had decided upon yet in regards to their previous offers. Winter's current actions didn't make sense at all to Rin, only telling the young girl to follow the older woman around as they left the base.
Finally, Rin's patience ran out. "Where exactly are we going?"
"We're headed towards the southern walls. There's an ongoing Grimm attack at the moment."
That caused Rin to blink in surprise.
The two of them entered a military transport and drove the rest of the way, with Winter taking the driver's seat and Rin sitting next to her. An hour or so passed by the time they reached the walls, and Rin was surprised by the amount of activity she witnessed once they got there.
"There are so many people working here," she said in amazement. Watching several soldiers run past her, she hurried after Winter as they left the vehicle parked in a garage. "I've never seen the city defenses active in person before. I never knew it was this busy."
"The military stationed at Argus has always held back the forces of Grimm whenever they came," Winter began to explain. "Because of Argus's importance to the kingdom of Atlas, it is imperative that we maintain a capable force that can repel all enemies that attack the city."
The two of them paused as a soldier ran past them, only to stop in front of another person with a firm salute. "The outer walls have been damaged slightly. Grimm attacks have lessened at the moment, and repair drones are ready to be sent to the field."
The other man nodded. "Good, send them out before the next wave of Grimm attack."
"Sir!"
The two of them watched as the soldier began to run back to his previous station, and Winter turned to face Rin. "As you can see, our soldiers are always working hard protecting the city and all of its inhabitants."
Rin gave a glance at her surroundings. "Everyone seems so tense…"
Winter gave a bitter laugh at that. "Soldiers aren't like huntsmen where students and huntsmen-in-training are capable of killing hordes of Grimm on their own. Even a single Beowolf can be troublesome for the average soldier."
Sometimes, it was hard for Rin to remember that most people weren't capable of fighting multiple numbers of Grimm like it was nothing. Even if a person had their Aura unlocked, combat experience wasn't something that just anyone could quickly pick up. That was one of the reasons why huntsmen were so popular with the masses.
A loud scream caused the two of them to look towards the direction of the gates. The two of them watched with alarm as several soldiers flew in the air as something smashed into them.
"They've breached the walls," Winter cried out as she drew her weapons. Dashing forward, she stabbed one of her swords into the ground and summoned a white Grimm projection.
Rin followed up with that by pulling out her weapon and aiming towards the nearest Grimm. Pointing the barrel in the direction of the Grimm, she fired off several shots straight towards the forehead of the monster.
Glancing to the side, Rin's eyes widened as she saw Winter's Grimm summons destroy a large group of Grimm in an instant. The woman herself charged forward and pulled out a soldier away right before a Beowolf managed to swipe at him.
Jumping on a nearby crate, Winter shouted above the noise. "Soldiers, stay on guard! The second wave is incoming!"
A roar sounded out right after she said that, and Rin watched as several more Grimm suddenly poured in through a broken section of the wall. Several soldiers aimed their guns towards the incoming Grimm, firing off a barrage of blasts that destroyed the front numbers.
Unfortunately, the Grimm behind them simply jumped into the air and descended upon the soldiers. The soldiers caught underneath them cried out in panic as the Grimm began to attack their Aura shields.
Rin acted quickly and began firing off several shots towards the Grimm, quickly killing them and causing them to dissipate before the soldier's Aura broke.
"We need to close off the opening," one of the soldiers cried out. "The Grimm are going to keep coming if we don't seal it off!"
"Everyone, stand back!" Winter cried out before closing her eyes and focusing on her Semblance. With a loud cry, she stabbed her sword into the ground as she summoned forth a large astral Manticore.
The Manticore roared as it charged forward, smashing through several Grimm on its path as it made its way towards the opening in the walls. Using its body, it began to block off the large gap and caused the attacking Grimm to scratch at its body as they tried to go past it.
"Tohsaka!" Rin was surprised when Winter suddenly called out to her. "You're skilled in Dust casting. Can you create a temporary blockade until the repair drones fix the wall?"
"Y-Yes," Rin stuttered. Pulling out a piece of rock Dust, she held it in her hand and shouted. "I can set up a stone wall that can close off the gap."
"Good," Winter replied. "My Summon is going to dissipate soon, use it when it disappears!"
Rin nodded and saw the moment the Manticore began to dissipate. Throwing the piece of Dust in her hand, she watched as it landed right as the Manticore disappeared. Activating the energy infused in the crystal, a gigantic wall of stone sprung up and filled the crevice.
Winter sighed at that before she began to direct orders to the soldiers around her. "Alright everyone, we still have Grimm waiting outside the walls. Set up the defense cannons along the walls and fire away."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
}-{
Several hours passed by before the Grimm attacks finally stopped. Winter and Rin both sighed with relief as they took a break at a small table by themselves.
"Your gun," Winter began all of a sudden. "I noticed that you seemed to have trouble using it now and then. Even though you were able to fire accurate shots the entire time."
Rin nodded at that. "My aim is something that I'm confident in, but I've only been using a gun for the past week. I'm still getting used to it."
Winter nodded her head in response to that, and the two of them were silent for a moment.
After a while, Winter spoke. "Grimm attacks like these are commonplace amongst any major city. It's inevitable with the number of people gathered in one spot, all the negative emotions draw in Grimm every day."
She gave a heavy sigh and pointed towards a group of soldiers resting at another table a distance away from them. "Those men take it upon themselves to protect this city from all threats that approach it. And as a result, there is always a risk that a few lives will be lost during the conflict."
"Why are you telling me this?" Rin asked.
"Because I want you to understand." Winter gazed straight into Rin's eyes. "The options we gave you may seem constrictive on your part, but we have good reasons as to why we decided to treat you this way."
She counted off one of her fingers. "Either you join Atlas as a ward of the kingdom, in which you train as a huntress in defense of all of humanity." Another finger rose as she counted another point of hers off. "Or you help develop the P.E.N.N.Y. Project with Doctor Polendina and help us create a capable protector in defense of Atlas."
Winter sighed once more as she began to rub her forehead. "With the recent discovery of internal sabotage, Atlas has been ordering Argus to invest resources in weeding out the rest of the members of the Allies. Because of this, the next few weeks are going to be troublesome as there may be gaps in Argus's defenses against the Grimm while we redirect personnel to focus on the Allies issue."
She gave Rin a tired smile. "You've seen what that means after today's events."
Rin nodded hesitantly at that. The southern gates guarding Argus were huge, which meant that there were a lot of places to guard against the incoming Grimm. Even though there were huntsmen and soldiers stationed across the perimeter, there simply weren't enough people to take care of every spot.
Fewer people meant more chances that a few Grimm would slip through the gaps without anyone realizing it. And with the investigation into the Allies, there was the chance that several troops would be dispatched out of the city to take care of them. Leaving the city weakened during that time.
"That's why we're placing such heavy importance on the P.E.N.N.Y. Project," Winter concluded. "If we discover a way of creating a synthetic person capable of generating an Aura, there may be hopes that we can finally create a powerful force capable of protecting all four kingdoms from the Grimm. To increase the number of huntsman-level warriors capable of combating the Grimm. To provide a promise of security for the normal civilians and a powerful aid to the huntsman protecting our cities."
Rin was surprised by the amount of emotion Winter was putting into her words. It was obvious from Winter's words how much value she regarded the P.E.N.N.Y. Project.
"Unlike huntsmen," Winter continued. "Robots are easily replaceable, but our current advancements in robotics mean that they are not capable of higher cognitive thought or combat potential on par with huntsmen. However, this issue can be resolved if we infuse the potential of generating their own Aura, their own soul into each robot."
"You make it sound like… like you want to create an army or something."
Winter didn't deny it, and Rin realized what she had missed.
No, it wasn't just that. She had forgotten that Penny wasn't just a prototype concept. Penny was the prototype that was supposed to advance the world to the next stage of security. What they were asking out of her was more than that. They wanted an army, an entire army of synthetic beings capable of generating their own Aura. An entire army of Aura-users easily manufactured and programmed to do whatever they needed.
I see a suit of armor around the world.
A particular memory of a movie from her past life came to her, and not a good one either.
"I… I can't," Rin swallowed and tried to find the words to express what she was feeling. "I'm… not sure if I'm capable of helping that much. I don't think my skills are at the level where I can properly assist Doctor Polendina."
And that wasn't even a lie. The only reason she was able to improve the Aura battery was that she used her magecraft to reinforce several parts of the machine. But unless she was willing to use reinforcement on every single component of the project, there wasn't much she could help otherwise. And reinforcement ran the risk of deteriorating as time passed.
She never studied that much in the creation of homunculus or golems. The only artificial beings she ever created were her familiars, which weren't even as complicated as the cheapest of Atlas's robots.
Simply put, she didn't believe she could help even if she wanted to.
Winter sighed at Rin's answer. "We need you… more than you can probably believe. This project is vital to not only our national security but to the rest of Remnant as well."
"I'm sorry," Rin wanted to laugh at that. "But you seriously expect me to believe that the Atlas military needs the help of a thirteen-year-old girl that desperately?"
"Doctor Polendina's been stuck on the prototype power source ever since he and his team first proposed the idea," Winter replied. "Even now, we still have no idea how you managed to completely upgrade the power source to its current state."
"What if I said that it was because of my Semblance?" Rin asked. "Something that nobody else can replicate?"
"Then we would still like to ask you to allow us to study your Semblance and discover a way to replicate its effects," Winter quickly answered. "Granted, our records are still uncertain as to what exactly your Semblance is. Our best theory at the moment is that it has something to do with Dust or energy manipulation."
Not exactly too far from the truth, Rin thought.
But how was she supposed to explain that they couldn't do what she did without explaining that her Semblance was actually magecraft? Their attempts at getting her to join them were fruitless since there was no possible way that they would be able to replicate the same abilities that she had.
Before Rin could respond, the sound of somebody's Scroll ringing rang through the air. Winter grimaced as she reached into her pockets and pulled out her Scroll.
Answering the call, she spoke. "I'm busy."
Her face changed as somebody spoke on the other end, and a few seconds later, she ended the call.
"What?" Rin asked, seeing the strange look on Winter's face. "What is it?"
"It seems," Winter began slowly. "That we've finally discovered the location of the headquarters of the Allies of Humanity. Right now, General Ironwood has given us orders to raid their base and take out their operations."
Rin blinked at that. "Really?"
"Correct," Winter answered, before giving Rin a strange look. "My apologies, I'll be escorting you back to base first. The rest of us will move out as soon as I return, so we'll have to leave now."
"Am I under house arrest."
"To be blunt, yes," Winter answered. "You're still under observation until you come to a decision. Even if that were not the case, we wouldn't take you out into the field anyway since it would only inhibit our field operations if we cooperated without knowing each others' abilities."
She gave out a heavy sigh.
"Regardless, I have to move out soon. The sooner I drop you off, the faster I'll be able to leave."
}-{
The ride back home was a time for Rin to contemplate her options once more.
Working with Altas was currently the option she was leaning towards. A life of running away wasn't worth the effort, especially if it meant living out in far-off villages with little access to resources or company. Rin was made for city life, and she really didn't want to pack up and leave once more.
Touching down at the base, the two exited the transport, and Rin was greeted with a small group of soldiers waiting for her.
"I'll leave you with them," Winter said. "It seems I'm the only one who hasn't left yet. We'll discuss more once our mission is complete."
"Good luck out there then," Rin said lamely. Winter only nodded in response before leaving towards a nearby aircraft waiting for her.
Sighing, she turned to face the soilers escorting her.
"Right this way, Miss Tohsaka."
She nodded before following behind them, only to blink as two of the soldiers moved to her side in a tight formation. With a start, Rin realized that her 'escorts' weren't exactly willing to give her the benefit of doubt like the Ace-Ops.
After a few minutes of walking, the person leading in front spoke.
"Pardon, miss. But we'll have to take a detour before we drop you off at your room. Some of us are being transferred after this, so we'll have to pick up some supplies."
"That's not a problem," she replied back. "Do what you must."
"Thank you for the consideration."
As the man turned around and faced forward once more, Rin noted that his arms were strangely slack. Both of them were barely swinging as they kept close to the side of his body and near the holsters at his belt.
"Turn right here."
The four of them entered a corridor that Rin didn't recognize. A suspicious feeling came to her as she realized that all three guards escorting her haven't removed their helmets once since entering the building.
Suddenly, she recalled an important detail about the Allies.
They were in the military as well.
She waited a few seconds before she spoke. "So, I'm guessing we're not headed towards my room."
The three of them didn't respond verbally. Instead, all of them stopped walking and faced her in silence.
She gave out a heavy sigh at that.
"Seriously, why do I always end up in these situations?"
All three of them quickly pointed their guns at her, but Rin was already on the move. A bright flash exploded at that moment, causing all three soldiers to yell out in shock. Reinforcing her body to the limits, her foot created a crater as her body charged forward and turned around. Her arm raised itself and pointed at the three of them.
-Finn Shot-
"—Gandr."
Three shots of her cursed spell fired towards the three of them, causing them to fall unconscious to the floor.
Too bad they weren't the only ones.
A yell down the corridor told her that more troops were on her way. Activating her mystic code, she felt the spell work right as several troops entered the corridor.
"She's not here!"
"Find her, she can't have gone far."
"Search her room."
"Find her, and capture her alive!"
Looks like the Allies infiltrated a lot more than everyone expected. Rin made her way out of the area silently as she tried to recall where Terra's room was located.
Something that concerned her was that the soldiers working with the Allies seemed to want to capture her for some reason. For whatever reason, she had no clue.
Whatever that reason was, right now, she needed to find Terra and the rest of the faunus.
Suddenly, she heard a shout behind her.
"She's over here! I see her!"
What, how?! Her eyes widened. My mystic code, it's still not fixed yet.
Rin had forgotten for a moment that she had stressed the mystic code's capabilities last time when she broke the group of faunus children out of captivity. Without a chance to repair it afterward, it was a miracle that she was able to even use it in the first place.
Sadly, that meant that it only lasted for a few dozen seconds before it stopped working.
The sound of multiple footsteps headed her way told her that Rin was going to be surrounded soon. Turning a corner, she quickly entered the first room she saw and closed the doors behind her. Pressing a hand against the digital lock, she poured her magical energy into it before causing it to act chaotically, breaking the lock and creating a series of sparks and smoke.
Somebody began pounding on the other side.
"Open up, Tohsaka! You have nowhere to run!"
Turning around, she saw that they were right. The room was a large closed-off area, with no other entrances or exits.
She was trapped.
I know it's been a while since this fic was updated, and I'm sure some of you are wondering why that was the case. To sum it up, I was taking a break from this story because I wanted to concentrate on school. Compared to my other writing projects, this story takes up more time and research out of me, and that wasn't something I could fit into my school schedule while I was barely passing my classes.
That's right, I focussed on school over my hobbies. Not that I've quit writing entirely, but I decided at the time to take a breather from this since this was one of the things that took up most of my free time.
But now, I have so much more time to focus on this since it's summer.
I'll take it easy over the next few weeks and slowly get back into this fic. My post speed will probably be slow at first, but I'll try and see how much more I can write for this.
So yeah, hope this was a nice surprise!