A.N. (11/18/21) - I'm baaacckkk! (cue video clip of Toby Maguire falling off the ledge of a building and breaking his back).
Argus (28) - Conflict Ensues
"Alright, the program is being installed as we speak."
Rin gave out a sigh of relief at Jupiter's words. "How long will it take until it's done?"
"Erm?" The older boy squinted at the screen. "Maybe five or ten minutes?"
"So this program," Pyrrha said. Rin flinched as she realized that the other girl spoke from right next to her without Rin realizing it. "It's supposed to fix the damage done to this CCT tower?"
"Y-Yeah," she replied. "Doctor Pollendina and I discussed options of trying to contact outside help. So far, citywide communications still work. But who knows how long it will take for people to notice that something is up."
"I agree," Jupiter nodded. "With Atlas troops out of the city at the moment, we'll have to contact someone like General Ironwood if we want to ask for reinforcements. They'll definitely want to make sure that we reclaim our local military base, so hopefully, they'll make a quick response."
"Hmm…"
And it was at that moment that Rin finally realized that she was going to be stuck in the same room as Pyrrha for the next few minutes. Recalling exactly how their last interaction went, well… awkward wasn't enough to describe how she was feeling at that moment.
Luckily, someone else spoke first.
"I gotta say it's an honor to meet you," Jupiter says to Pyrrha. To her credit, she gave him a quick, polite smile. "Erm, I sort of seen you before. Not just on television, but also around town. I sometimes watch you run."
"..."
Pyrrha's smile was a bit strained at that admission, and even Rin cringed at his words. Luckily, Jupiter seemed to realize how creepy his words sounded.
"W-Wait, not in a stalkerish kind of way. But just like in general, I see you from my bedroom window…" He slowly trailed off. "I'm gonna shut my mouth now before I make things worse."
"That sounds wise," Rin comments.
The silence returns, but this time, it's Jupiter who feels the pain the most.
Eventually, he stood up. "W-Well, I'm gonna go patrol. I'll leave this room to you two girls."
After saying that, he quickly fled the room. Once he was gone, Rin turned to face Pyrrha. "So, do you usually get those kinds of responses from people?"
Pyrrha grimaced. "Pretty much. When fans meet me for the first time, a lot of them end up tongue-tied like that. Although, even I have to admit that this was worse than usual."
Rin gave out a strangled laugh. "Yeah, Jupiter seems to have a bit of a foot-in-mouth syndrome. Not sure if he has trouble talking to people in general, or he's just more nervous around strangers."
"I see," Pyrrha nodded. "So, can you please explain the situation to me again? I didn't learn the details from Doctor Pollendina or Miss Cotta. And while I think I got the gist from what you and Jupiter said, I'd rather I have the full details if possible."
This was it. After so long, Rin finally had the chance to actually talk with Pyrrha for once. And with how often she made mistakes these past few days, Rin wanted to do something right. So she decided that she wouldn't lie. Not anymore, or at least not to Pyrrha.
Rin sighed. "Guess I should start from the beginning?"
"That would be a good place to start," Pyrrha replied.
So Rin did. She told Pyrrha about how she accidentally found herself in a faunus smuggling operation. She told her about how she later escaped arrest and tried to help in her own way by looking into the kidnappers on her own, and how she eventually found a group of captive faunus children at one of the kidnappers' safehouses.
She recounted in great detail about her 'arrest' with the Atlas military, how she was given options of how she would be treated. She explained how she was still indecisive when the Allies made their move. How they quickly took over the Argus base, and how Rin had to escort the previously captive faunus out and bring them to Sanctum.
Pyrrha sat perfectly still, her face unmoving as Rin regaled the events of the past week. Her brow was slightly creased, an indication that Rin realized was because Pyrrha was trying to absorb the facts of her story.
Finally, when Rin was finished speaking, she spoke. "Alright, so it looks like you'll need all the help you can get."
Rin blinked. "Just like that? You believe me?"
"Of course." Pyrrha gave her a confused look. "Why wouldn't I?"
Was she serious?
"Well because," Rin sputtered at her response. "It sounds absolutely fantastical. I mean, I'm a thirteen-year-old kid. And I just told you how I escaped the Ace-Ops, freed a bunch of faunus from slavers, met the White Fang, got arrested by the military, and even how I faced off against several Atlesian battleships on my own. What part of my story made you think 'oh, this sounds about right'?"
Pyrrha frowned. "Honestly, you're right. It is a bit hard to believe. But there are a few things about your story that fits with the things I've heard. The news mentioned a criminal from Mantle that gave a description that seemed to match your appearance. And I personally witnessed you bringing in the group of faunus children to Sanctum, if you recall. While it's concerning to hear that our city's military base has been taken over, the fact that Doctor Pollendina seems to believe so adds credence to your story. Your story does sound a bit unlikely. But taking into account everything I just said, it sounds like it's true. And there's something else."
"What?"
"Before you told me everything, I told myself that I would carefully listen to whatever you had to say to me." Her answer came as a surprise to Rin. "After all, that's all I wanted from the start ever since I found you sneaking around my school. An explanation."
She crossed her arms. "Speaking of which, you still haven't explained why you were at my school that day. Care to explain that?"
"Erm…" Rin was still taken aback at how well Pyrrha was accepting her story. "Well, I'm a bit of a mineralogist. And one of my hobbies is scouring the nearby lands…"
"Rin." A tick mark appeared on the side of Pyrrha's head. "I said that I would listen to whatever you said, but even I can get mad if you keep trying to deflect my questions after everything you've said already."
"Urk…"
But really, what was she supposed to say? That she was trying to connect to the leyline located underneath the school to use as a pillar for performing a ritual to create a citywide bounded field? Nuh-uh, that was basically breaking the core principle of concealment of the mystics.
Yet, was there really any point to doing so in the first place?
Rin thought about it, she really did. The only reason she even bothered to hide her magecraft was her desire to avoid attention. But with everything that happened to her recently, there was no longer a need for that. No, the only other reason she still needed to keep her magecraft under wraps was to avoid the attention of Ozpin and Salem.
But if she told Pyrrha, was there really a risk that the other girl would tell others her secret?
Sure, they were effectively strangers. Maybe acquaintances at best. But Rin knew Pyrrha Nikos. Not enough to completely guess at what the other girl would think, but enough to know that the other girl was a kind girl who wouldn't just betray someone's trust like that. At least not without good reason.
Still, she was reluctant.
"Rin?" Pyrrha spoke. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Guh," Rin's face grimaced. "G-Give me more time."
"Eh?"
"Let's make a deal," Rin declared. "When all of this is over, when the situation with the Allies is dealt with. Let's sit down and talk properly. But until then, we focus on the problem before us first."
"You can't tell me now?"
"Instilled doctrine," Rin replied. "Not allowed to tell anyone. All I can say is that it has something to do with my abilities and that certain parties are going to be extremely interested in me if word gets out of what I can do."
Pyrrha looked as if she was thinking over what she said. Hopefully, she would come to the conclusion that Rin was talking about her Semblance. Certainly, it was more believable than the fact that Rin couldn't use Aura or Semblances.
"Alright," Pyrrha eventually said. "If you really can't tell me, I understand. I won't like it, but I won't force you to tell me all your secrets."
No, just the main ones she wanted to hide.
"But first..."
And without warning, Pyrrha's hand suddenly shot forward. Rin was unable to act as her forehead was flicked by the other girl. A loud 'smack' sound echoed throughout the room, causing Rin to flinch backward.
"That's for ditching me last time, now we're even."
Rin stared at her in shock. It didn't hurt. The pseudo-Aura of her mystic code made sure that she wasn't harmed. But the fact that it was Pyrrha of all people that flicked her was a surprise. Especially because Rin wasn't expecting someone like her to do that to anyone. It was only compounded by the fact that Pyrrha had a mischievous look on her face, the older girl clearly amused at seeing Rin's shocked face.
This wasn't her character trait before! What happened?!
"N-Noted." Absentmindedly, Rin began to massage her temple. "And I'm reaaally sorry for doing that. It was a mean thing to do, and I feel bad."
It was a lukewarm apology at best, but Pyrrha seemed to accept it.
"Good." Pyrrha continued to smile. "Glad that we can finally talk things through. Now, let's go over your plan on what we're supposed to do next. If you're planning on taking out the Allies, then count me in."
"Well first, we need to request backup from Atlas." Rin shuffled in her seat. "But if that doesn't pan out, then there's someone else we can team up with to get rid of the Allies. Admittingly, it's a bad idea. But it's still a viable last resort tactic if worst comes to worst, and I'm pretty sure they'll want to help."
Pyrrha tilted her head. "Who are you talking about?"
"The White Fang."
}-{
It was in the middle of the night that they came upon their target.
The Argus Military Base glowed on the horizon, a huge facility with several troops walking about while hard-light dust shields were erected around the island. They were prepared for an attack, it was obvious to anyone who paid attention. Yet it was unclear what exactly they were preparing for.
Flying from above, they knew that they would soon be spotted by their enemy. So they had to act fast.
"Alright everyone," Sienna's head moved around. "There's no time to waste, you all know what we're here to do."
Her group nodded, and everyone quickly moved to the doors where they were going to drop down from their airship. As the doors opened, everyone began jumping out one by one. All of them had trained for this, having practiced their own landing strategies using abandoned facilities as test grounds for their recruits. Even if most of their members couldn't match the strength of huntsmen, they at least managed to adapt and learn their tactics. Something that Sienna had a hand in encouraging amongst her ranks.
She turned to the pilot. "Don't wait for us."
"But High Leader-!"
"We'll get out by ourselves if we need to." Her face turned to a smirk. "Or not. If all goes to plan, we might even be the ones to take control of the facility."
Sienna was last, and once the final person had jumped, she too leaped out and began to plummet to the base below.
The feeling of the wind passing by her face invigorated her, giving her energy and sharpening her senses. It has been forever since she went out on a mission like this. Too long has she been stuck dealing with the more administrative side of things. But she was a warrior, and she lived for moments like this.
As she began to approach the ground, Sienna whipped out her whip and threw it so that it wrapped around a session of the tower. The rest of the group landed on the ceiling of the base.
She gazed around. "Set the charges."
They split up, all going to their assigned areas. Three groups would move together to target certain strategic locations around the island. Sienna was tasked with her group to target the emergency generator, specifically the one that powered their shields.
She took a bag with her and lifted the cover to reveal the contents, powdered Dust wrapped in cloth. A cheap and easy homemade explosive, a favorite of the White Fang. Then she pulled out the second favored tool of the organization, something every terrorist with even half a brain cell knew to bring.
Duct tape.
"Start placing charges along the wall," she ordered her group. "Two of you, move with me. We'll start from the other end."
They went to work. And for several minutes, they continued uninterrupted.
She had just finished emptying her own bag of explosives when alarms began sounding off. In the distance, she spotted several soldiers exiting the building with weapons ready. The soldiers began to split up, one group heading towards their location.
Sienna was the first to move. "Everyone, prepare for battle!"
She charged forward, dodging bullet fire as she bent her head and dove towards the feet of the soldiers shooting at her. Unable to react as she was suddenly in their space, she snarled as she began her attack. Using her legs to knock them over while she stole one of the soldier's guns during the chaos.
"G-Get her!"
Sienna sneered before charging forward and unfurling her weapon towards one of them. The metal chain wrapped around one of the soldier's arms, and Sienna jerked her arm so that the weapon turned to point at the other soldier. A cry of alarm came out of the poor soldier's lips he shot his companion unconscious, only for him to get knocked out as well once Sienna came upon him. With her other arm, she began firing on the group with her appropriated firearm, whittling away at their Aura reserves and sowing chaos amongst their ranks.
"What's the matter?" she taunted. "Can't even deal with a single woman? My, how the mighty Atlas has fallen."
"Surround her," one of them cried out. "We can't let the intruder overtake u—!"
*BOOOOOOOM!*
The sound of rumbling only lasted for a second before everyone felt it. The explosions shook the entire island. Heat seared the back of her head as Sienna felt another explosion coming from behind her, where she was just at.
"FOR THE WHITE FANG!"
It was at that moment that reinforcements arrived, as her group finally caught up with them. Immediately, her recruits began attacking the soldiers with fury as the two groups came into conflict. Knocking one of the soldiers out herself, she jumped in the air and stood above the others. The soldiers from Atlas were sprawled on the ground at their feet unconscious.
"Follow my lead," she ordered. "To battle!"
Her men cheered, and they began making their way towards the entrance.
}-{
Qrow knew things were bad.
He'd been in worse situations before, but this was a full-scale battle between his group and the killer robots attacking them. Normally, he fought alone because that was simply how he did things. His Semblance meant that more often than not teammates were a hindrance. No, even worse. They were also victims of his bad luck, and not just their enemies.
But something was different.
"Watch out!" Clover - that was his name - pulled him back right as a piece of the ceiling fell where Qrow previously stood. "Sheesh, would have been pretty sad to get knocked out like that after getting this far."
Qrow's response was to block the attack of a nearby mech that was going for Clover's back. To his credit, the man quickly reacted by vaulting over Qrow and smashing into the face part of the Geist, causing it to cry out and dissipate as it died.
"Sheesh," Qrow smirked. "Would have been pretty sad to get knocked out like that after getting this far."
"Haha," Clover rolled his eyes. "Alright smart guy, how about we watch each other's backs from now on."
"I'll scratch yours if you do mine."
"Can we focus!" Robyn fired another arrow towards a mech, causing it to explode in a ball of fire. "When should we expect those doors to open?"
"Not sure," Elm replied. She smashed her hammer into the head of another mech. "We can't contact anyone. Our only hope is that Vine will pull through and bring help."
Already, they were struggling. Normally, it was a full team of huntsmen that were tasked to take out a single geist. But they were fighting a whole horde of them, and ones inhabiting some of the best technology of Atlas. Even if they were stronger than the average huntsmen, it still wasn't enough.
Qrow cried out as his weapon transformed into a scythe and he charged towards one of the larger mechs. From the corner of his eye, he saw Clover using his fishing rod to pull in another one from attacking his teammate. Nearby, the rest of the Ace-Ops were working together with the other group of huntresses, who were focusing their attacks on a single opponent at a time.
Stabbing into the side, Qrow vaulted his body until he soared through the air. Dragging his weapon with him, he slashed through the mech and quickly targeted the screeching Geist that tried to escape. It quickly died under his blade.
He saw one mech charging towards Robyn, and he reacted.
"Hey!" he yelled.
The robot turned in his direction, and it made a whirring sound as its arm swung towards him. It would have smashed into him had he not jumped at the last second and started running along its arm. Changing his weapon into a sword again, Qrow decapitated the robot with a powerful swing before quickly scrambling away as the whole thing fell.
A fishing line pulled at his body right as an arrow shot towards the Geist that freed itself.
"Nice going," Clover smiled. But it was clear that exhaustion was getting to him. "You still got enough in the tank to keep going?"
"Not sure," Qrow wheezed. "Feel like my muscles are crying out in pain. Aura values are getting low too."
They both stared as a dozen more mechs appeared, their numbers replenishing themselves even after they've killed so many of their Geists already. The two turned to stare at each other.
"This might be it," Clover said.
"Or we might miraculously make it out of here," Qrow countered.
That got him a smirk. "Nice fighting with you."
"Ditto."
Both lifted their weapons, and together they leaped towards the nearest robot. However, they both turned to stare as they heard the sound of something large moving.
"Sorry for the wait," a familiar voice yelled out. Two transparent vines flew towards the robot they were targeting, causing it to trip as they attacked its legs. "Our technicians had some trouble with the security."
"Vine!" Clover cried out. "Good to see you."
"Not just me." Vine gestured to the rest of the soldiers behind him, who began firing upon the group of robots. "We heard everything Merlot said, so the rest of our soldiers are already on their way back to Argus. We're here to bring you all with us." He tilted his head as he recalled something. "Oh, and to kill the rest of the remaining Grimm here too."
Clover chuckled. "We'd appreciate that, thanks."
"You're very much welcome."
And soon, it was the group of mechas that were getting overwhelmed. Before long, the last of their numbers fell to the ground as every single Grimm was defeated.
Qrow looked around at the carnage of machine parts sprawled across the room, and the weary faces of his teammates.
"Come on," he told them. "We have work to do."
I finally got into the mood to start writing this again yesterday. So far, I've only finished this chapter and I haven't started on any new ones yet. But hopefully, I'll be able to release a few more over the next few weeks. I'll try to see if I can finish this arc before I take another hiatus, but no promises.
So this chapter, yeah.
I don't know why, but I can't help but write Jupiter as a really awkward guy who bumbles every social interaction with others. And as for Pyrrha meeting Rin again, I'm going to make sure they finally work together from now on. This won't be just a one-time thing, I promise that Pyrrha will play a more active role in the story from here on out.