A.N. (7/16/21) - Second chapter this week. If you haven't seen the last chapter yet, check it out first.
Argus (27) - Answers
Rin knew that her actions had consequences.
That was something she was painfully forced to face this week as many of her bad decisions caught up to her with explosive results. While there were things that she could have done differently had she been in a better headspace, her personality made it so that there was always going to be something that she did that she would later regret down the line.
Ignoring Pyrrha was one of them.
Now, the two of them were going to meet once more. And not on her terms either, but because the two of them would be working together to stop a human supremacist group from taking over the city. It was going to be awkward and uncomfortable. And it was probably the best chance Rin had if she ever wanted to apologize to Pyrrha.
"Uuuugggghhhhh…"
That said, there was no way in hell she was going to be prepared for that potential clusterfuck of a conversation.
"Are you okay?" Next to her was Jupiter giving her a concerned look. "You've been groaning like that for the past three minutes now."
Rin gave out a heavy sigh. "I'm about to meet up with someone and I am completely unprepared for that upcoming conversation. Let's just say she's… not exactly open to discussion at the moment."
"Ah," he nodded sagely. "Girl troubles, that's something I can relate to. The males in our family have the perfect solution to that kind of thing. Flowers, begging, and the willingness to shoulder all blame despite whatever the reality is. Trust me, it works every time."
"So basically, all the males in your family are wimps."
He shrugged, not even denying what she just said. That just made her groan in despair again.
"Hey," he scooted over to her. "Don't worry, your girlfriend's gonna forgive you for whatever it is that you did. And if not, well there's plenty of Nevermore in the sky."
"Are… you coming onto me?"
He chuckled at that. "Nah, I'm not into hebephilia. But if you're interested, I can introduce you to my younger brother, Neptune. He's a cool guy, if a bit of an idiot."
And again, another name she was familiar with. The image of a certain blue-haired idiot appeared in her thoughts.
"A lot of things about you suddenly made sense just now."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
She shook her head. "Regardless, we need to get communications back up as soon as possible. I'm pretty sure that people are gonna notice by now that only citywide communications are working."
Jupiter nodded. "I think that's actually part of what the faunus protests are about. I'm pretty sure that a few of them have caught on to the fact that the relay tower isn't open to the public anymore for a reason. People are catching onto the fact that the Allies are a lot more influential than we thought. They're calling them the next White Fang or something."
Rin snorted. "Let's just hope that the actual White Fang doesn't escalate things."
"All this attention isn't good for us," Jupiter said. "Argus may be part of Mistral, but Atlas has a heavy influence on how things go around here. With both the Allies and the White Fang gathering, the next few weeks are going to be troublesome."
"You think that's likely?" Rin asked. "I figured that the Allies were just a small group that would collapse by the end of the week with everyone's focus on them."
"I'm not just talking about the Allies." He sighed. "You know that Mistral is one of the most discriminatory kingdoms towards faunus, right? The SDC may be what the White Fang hate the most, but a lot of racism actually comes from Mistrillians. In fact, there was quite the controversy when Lionheart was first made headmaster of Haven when it was first announced. Most people weren't happy with a faunus getting such a high position like that."
"Your point?"
"What I'm trying to say is that I'm not surprised that a group like the Allies exists. Just because we take them out, it's not like their ideology will die." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's a bit of Mistrillian wisdom that most of us learn growing up. 'The name's may change, but the people never do.' Groups like this, they don't die out that easily. Human supremacist groups are nothing unusual in this world. Even if you take out the organization, the people that think they're right will still be around."
Rin shuffled in her seat. "You ever think that this world is just… broken? Like things are getting worse?"
"Oh, all the time."
Not like my world was any better either, Rin thought. Either of them.
"There's no perfect solution waiting for us at the end of this road," Jupiter continued. "The Allies may fall tomorrow or in a month, the White Fang might get destroyed or not, but people will still be people by the end of the day. Absolute idiots."
That cracked a smile from her. "To people being idiots."
"Human and faunus alike."
They bumped fists, an action that both felt comfortable with despite only having met an hour ago.
"Now let's stop with all that depressing talk and switch to something more lighthearted." A grin split across Jupiter's face. "So… this girl you're worrying about, she's cute?"
"Ephebophilia is also frowned upon, you know."
He rolled his eyes. "You have a thing for deflecting, I see. So what, she's older than you I'm guessing? Couple years or so?"
"Should I be concerned at how interested you are in underage girls?"
"Again, not a pervert. Besides, I'm bored." He shrugged his shoulders. "We could just go around interrogating Allies members like the rest of the huntsmen, but I don't have the stomach for that kind of thing. Unless you got anything else better to talk about, I'm game."
She hummed at that. Since she made the call to Pietro a couple of dozen minutes ago, she figured that there was some sense to his words. It would still take Pyrrha another couple of minutes to reach them.
"Are you always this nosy with strangers you just met?"
"Eh, I like listening to sappy stories. I live vicariously through them."
She gave him a look. "Because your own romantic experience sucks?"
"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies."
She couldn't help it, she laughed aloud at that. Maybe it was intentional, but Jupiter seemed to know what to say to lighten the mood. It certainly cheered her up compared to several minutes ago.
He smiled. "See, can't have a young girl like you moping around. I think everyone in this city needs a little cheer now and then."
"A noble goal," Rin snarked. "Planning on making that your day job?"
"Eh, I'll figure that out once we get rid of the human and faunus terrorists running around our city."
"Guess that makes sen—"
The doors opened at that moment, and Rin's words died in her throat.
Pyrrha was here.
}-{
"Soldiers, into the tunnel."
Clover directed his men down while he led from the front. Exiting into the large room where Qrow and Robyn were earlier, he grimaced. It was just like they said, a row of beds all filled with people with some kind of Grimm-like features growing out of them. Behind him, his men stirred at the sight and Clover couldn't blame them.
"Anyone who can read this, try and figure out if it's safe to move them. Once it's clear that we can move them safely, escort them to the airbuses."
His men nodded, and several of them moved to where the monitors were before they began to sort through the data. Gesturing for the others to follow him, Clover made his way down further.
Again, he checked his communicator but found that there was still no signal. Obviously, he was worried that something was wrong. But the sooner things wrapped up here, the faster they could return.
"Clear."
The next room was empty this time, and Clover waited for the others to catch up. He noticed that the rest of the Ace-Ops also returned, with Qrow and the four huntresses from Atlas with them.
"We found something."
"What is it?"
"An elevator," Robyn answered. "One built for transporting large amounts of goods, so we can have several troops go down at once."
"Then that's next on our list. Vine, can you stay behind and lead operations while we check it out?"
The pale man nodded. "Yes."
"Good." He gestured towards Qrow and the huntresses. "Are you okay with supporting us?"
"Sure," Qrow nodded. "Let's just get this over with."
"The four of us are happy to help," Robyn said. "We'll show you where the elevator is."
Their group split from the rest and Clover brought several other soldiers with him. Robyn led them to an area where the ground had opened up to reveal another tunnel, one leading downwards. A red glow lit up the entire area as several electric lamps lined up along the walls.
Fiona began to explain. "It's an inclined elevator, so we're not going straight down. I found a switch that turned on the lights inside, so everyone will be able to see."
"Lead the way."
As everyone boarded the platform, Harriet closed the gate and pressed something before an alarm blared out. The elevator began to move into the tunnel as a low hum filled the air.
"Be prepared everyone," Clover said. "We may be expecting trouble."
Qrow snorted. "No kidding."
After a few minutes, the elevator began to slow down. Exiting into a large room, the dim red light was replaced by a brightness that illuminated the entire area. Stepping off the platform, everyone began making their way towards the center of the room in a tight formation.
"Was this some kind of factory?" Qrow asked. "I'm seeing a lot of worrying stuff."
Clover looked towards where Qrow was facing and saw several Atlesian robots positioned against the wall. Luckily for them, they were inactive at the moment. But he knew that could change in a few minutes if things went bad.
"A lot of weapons here," Robyn said worryingly. "Were the Allies planning on a full-out attack?"
"No," Elm said. "These robots are decommissioned. Judging by how some of them look, somebody probably broke them down and cannibalized them for parts."
"So no chance of them turning on?" Robyn asked. "I'm not too interested in fighting a bunch of robots."
"It's impossible," Elm declared. "They wouldn't even be able to stand."
"That's weird," Fiona said. "How come no one's here?"
Right as she said that, two metal walls suddenly closed off their exit behind them. Everyone turned around in alarm as it happened, but it was too late.
Qrow cursed. "Shit, it's a trap!"
"Don't even bother trying to get through," a voice crackled through a speaker. "This chamber was built to supposedly hold in a Leviathan-class Grimm in the possibility of its capture. None of you will be escaping anytime soon."
Robyn took a step forward. "I'm guessing that you're Merlot?"
"Indeed I am."
A holographic screen suddenly hovered in front of them, causing everyone to tense up from the surprise appearance. The image of an elderly man with disheveled gray hair greeted them.
"Hello there," he said. "I've been expecting you all, and you have no idea how thrilled I am to see some of you. It's been a while since I've spoken to others. At least, those that are not in my employ."
"Some of us?" Qrow questioned.
"I was especially interested in meeting you, Mister Branwen." The figure on the screen smirked. "An agent of Oz himself, what a pity. I was hoping to talk to the man himself after all this time."
"What is your role in all of this?" Robyn interrupted. "Did you create the Allies? Did you order them to capture faunus from Mantle and Mistral? Was it all for those twisted experiments you were conducting upstairs?"
Merlot chuckled. "Too many questions. But to answer a few, I'll explain myself."
Clover subtly began to eye their surroundings as Merlot began to talk. While most villain tropes in cartoons made it out that the villain liked to monologue about their evil plans, in practice it was more of a tactic used to stall and distract the opponent. If there was a chance that Merlot was trying to divert their attention while they talked, it would be best if Clover made sure that there weren't any unexpected surprises coming their way.
"I've spent years in hiding after the fall of my company. The mistakes of my youth have made it so that I couldn't forgive myself for what happened."
"What?" Qrow snarked. "Killing an entire city while conducting illegal experiments?"
"No," Merlot said. "The fact that I've wasted years of my life trying to regain what I had lost. Decades of research, hard work, and all the specimens I had. All lost during that incident. But in the end, I simply moved on. As for the people, I could care less."
Qrow glared at that. "Nice to know you're not losing too much sleep over it."
"Why are you in Mistral?" Robyn interrupted. "What is your connection to the Allies?"
"The Allies of Humanity." Merlot snorted. "An organization of idiots and fools unsatisfied with their life. It was easy to gather and fund a group of such people in exchange for working with me. Although, I didn't start the organization. I simply play a part in leading it."
"And what for?"
"Why, because I needed it." Merlot beamed at them. "I didn't care whether or not my test subjects were human or faunus, but it was easy to play to their prejudices and have the Allies gather more test subjects for me."
"You sick monster," Fiona whispered. "You're talking about innocent lives."
"A necessary sacrifice for the advancement of science," Merlot dismissed. "A hundred years down the line, people will praise me for my accomplishments."
"More like they'll tell horror stories to their kids," Harriet muttered.
"What's the end goal?" Elm asked. "We saw what you did upstairs, that didn't look like an accomplishment to me. It looked like a mistake."
Merlot scowled. "Yes, the biological transformation of test subjects didn't work out so well. All test subjects subjected to the serum went comatose. I've moved on to better applications."
"The serum?"
"An interesting substance that allows the mutation of Grimm," Merlot explained. "However, I've recently discovered something several years ago that allowed me to… perfect my experiments. Something the soldiers of Atlas might be familiar with. After all, she recently came into your care, didn't she?"
A cold feeling washed over Clover. "You're talking about Miss Tohsaka."
"Miss who now," Qrow said. "Is this that supposed 'asset' you and Winter mentioned earlier?"
"Ah, yes." Merlot nodded. "Miss Tohsaka, an unusual girl who has caught my interest for a long time now. The knowledge on how to create M'Luna's proposed fundamental substance of Grimm Physiology. Something I desperately tried to replicate after hearing of her success, with less than stellar results."
"You're after her," Clover realized. His eyes widened. "The base!"
"Already under my control," Merlot said. The three Ace-Op Specialists gave mixed expressions of alarm at that. "Well, under my men's control. But the girl herself was not there, somehow she managed to escape before my men could capture her."
"The men we captured," Elm said. "They said that this was their headquarters. Did you use them to lure us down here?"
"Guilty as charged," Merlot answered. "I'm still somewhere in the city, but that entire base you are all at is completely empty. Well, except for a couple of my failed experiments."
"So what now?" Qrow asked. "What's your master plan after trapping us down here?"
"Now?" And Merlot began to laugh. "I still need Miss Tohsaka. The formula isn't complete, and my serum is still nowhere near perfect compared to hers. I still need her assistance if I want to complete my dream."
"And what's that?"
Merlot smiled. "Perfect control of the Grimm."
Black tar-like liquid began seeping through the ceilings, causing them all to cry out in alarm. Dripping to the ground, pools of oil began growing as the surface of the pools began bubbling. From the pools emerged greenish creatures of Grimm, and Clover's eyes widened as he recognized them.
"They're Geists!" He turned to everyone else. "They're going to take over the robots!"
But it was too late.
The ghost-like creature all flew towards the nearest broken machine before flying directly into their center. To their horror, all of the robots around them began to stir.
Merlot's voice continued to play over the speakers. "Now, I hate to leave my guests alone. But I have some business I need to attend to."
"Wait—" But Clover's cry was ignored as Merlot dismissed the screen. Around them, all of the robots stood up and began to converge towards their location.
"Shit." Pulling out his weapon, he cried out to the others. "We still have reinforcement upstairs, we just need to hold them off until they come to get us out."
"Great," Qrow growled. "Just my luck. Stuck underground with an army of possessed Atlas robots."
The robots reached them and began their attack.
Wrote this in a hurry. I was planning on adding more, but I realized that it was probably best to end it on that last scene instead of transitioning to something else.
The next chapter will most likely start off with Pyrrha and Rin talking, so look forward to that.