A.N. (11/20/21) - Just so you guys don't have to wait too long, here's another chapter.
Argus (29) - Battle
The various terminals in the room began to light up as Pietro's program began to do something to them. All three of them (Jupiter having returned from his patrol) watched in marvel as dozens of screens suddenly turned on and began running.
They turned to look at each other.
"Ready to talk to General Ironwood?" Rin asked.
"No," Jupiter replied.
"Yes," Pyrrha answered. She pressed a button, and the terminal in front of them started contacting Atlas.
Right as the call came through, the screen switched to a video call as Ironwood's face appeared. As expected of a high-ranking official, he was dressed immaculately and in a formal uniform. Despite the grey in his hair, he didn't look too old to her eyes. She reckoned that was due to the benefits of Aura keeping him healthy and fit.
The man gave them a confused look.
"What's going on?" He regarded them with a strange look, noting the weapons visible on them. "Who are you? Why are you contacting us?"
"Sir," she spoke. "My name is Rin Tohsaka. I'm not sure if you've heard of me-"
"I have," he interrupted. "After all, you're the reason one of our top scientists has left the city. Doctor Pollendina was quite insistent on meeting you, despite your past actions."
She blinked. Right, that made sense.
"Oh, then that should make things easier. I'm not sure if you're aware, but something bad has happened to the military base at Argus."
Ironwood looked as if he was about to speak, but paused as if listening to something else. Turning to the side, he spoke. "Cesar, send Leonel and the rest of the huntsmen to the southern front. We have to neutralize those centinels."
"Yes sir," they heard a response come from the other end of the call. "Moving out."
"What's going on?" Pyrrha asked. "Is something happening at Atlas?"
It was only then that Rin noticed how tired the older man looked. Now that she noticed it, she wondered how she didn't see it before.
He gave out a bitter sigh. "Multiple Grimm attacks on Mantle. Word got out about the faunus kidnappings, and the citizens are getting restless. Not to mention that there seem to be some strange new variants of Grimm popping up all over the place."
That got Rin's attention. "New variants?"
Ironwood nodded. "They've been mostly sighted around the old facilities of Merlot Industries, so we suspect that they're the products of some of his old experiments. Although, with the number of Grimm, some are under the belief that the scientist is still alive. That is… well, not a lot of us are happy about that idea."
Rin tried to recall if she ever heard mention of someone named Merlot, but came up empty. "What exactly are these new Grimm variants like?"
"There are quite a few types, looking as if they mutated from some of the more well-known species of Grimm. Beowolves, centinels, sabyrs, Grimm that you usually find in numbers. But all of them have a similar theme where they're larger than their normal counterparts and a greenish coloration."
She gave out a sigh of relief. For a moment there, she thought… no. Rin made sure that she destroyed the formula when she left Mistral.
"But I'm digressing," Ironwood said. "Tell me everything about the situation in Argus."
Rin told him everything, with Pyrrha and even Jupiter adding in their own parts to the story as Ironwood listened carefully. They explained how the Allies have overtaken Argus, and how they just managed to reclaim the CCT from under their control to contact him for help.
Ironwood stroked his chin. "So my Ace-Ops are stuck out of the city. Strange, because I was actually interested in speaking to them. According to Winter, they claimed to have been in the middle of investigating Merlot himself after it was revealed that he might be involved with the Allies."
"What?!"
"If anything, this might be a diversion so that Merlot can act from Argus without Atlas interfering. After all, with all these attacks, I'm afraid I can't send any support to help you reclaim the base. Not at least until the situation here settles."
"That's absurd," Jupiter cried. "With all due respect, sir. You have no idea how bad things are here. The faunus are on the brink of rioting, the number of soldiers protecting the walls is at an all-time low, and none of the huntsmen are willing to take back the base from the Allies. Hell, I'm surprised that the people of this city haven't noticed yet and panicked. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason we're not being besieged by Grimm from all sides here."
"And what about Mantle," Ironwood asked. "Atlas is demanding that the council do something about these attacks. I'm not just talking about a dozen Grimm causing trouble. No, I'm talking about hundreds spread across the city. Until I am certain that the forces of Argus cannot handle the situation without our aid, I will not order my troops to leave while our city is under attack."
"Do you truly mean it?" Pyrrha asked. "About your earlier theory that Merlot is trying to distract you while the Allies are here?"
"Even if that is true, Atlas cannot afford to send immediate aid. Any help that we could send would have to come from the other cities where our troops are stationed, and that could take days."
"Which we may not have," Rin muttered. "No, if Atlas can't help us, then no one else will be able to reach us fast enough to matter."
At that moment, they heard an explosion in the distance. All of them looked up in alarm, including Ironwood.
"What was that?" he demanded. "Report!"
Jupiter ran to check the window. "T-This is bad. That came from Argus base!"
"What?!" Pyrrha yelped. "Is it the Allies?"
"I'm not sure," Jupiter replied. "But it looks like they're fighting someone. Did the huntsmen change their minds? Are they trying to reclaim the base?"
Rin ran to the window and began to check herself. Strengthening her eyes with reinforcement magecraft, she saw what was going on. "No, it's the White Fang."
"The White Fang?!" Ironwood gave a look of alarm at the news. "Miss Tohsaka, the White Fang cannot be allowed to take over the base under any circumstances. The Allies is one thing, but if one of our military bases is taken over by terrorists-"
"I understand," Rin interrupted. "Don't worry, sir. We'll try and coordinate with everyone to see what we can do."
He sighed. "Thank you."
The call ended.
"Jupiter, can you stay behind and try to see if you can contact the rest of the Atlas troops outside the city?"
"Y-Yeah." He looked unnerved, but Jupiter quickly composed himself. "And I'll try and see if I can convince the huntsmen to change their stubborn minds. Maybe once they hear that the White Fang is attacking, they'll actually do something."
"You do that." Rin turned to Pyrrha. "Are you going with me? I'm planning on scouting out the situation. I could use someone to watch my back."
Pyrrha smiled. "With pleasure."
"Great," and Rin smiled. "Now, this is a time-sensitive matter, so we'll have to move fast."
"How will we get there?" Pyrrha asked. "There aren't any airships around here last I checked."
Rin thought about it until an idea came to her. "Do any of you know where the nearest janitor's closet is?"
"Huh?"
She shook her head. "Never mind, I'll go look myself. Come on, Pyrrha."
"W-Wait!"
The two girls ran off until Rin stopped in front of a closet marked 'Cleaning Supplies' with the door locked shut. Kicking it open, she searched the room until her eyes landed upon what she was looking for.
"Perfect." She grabbed the broom and began to take out a few Dust crystals. "Now, let's move outside."
"Rin, why did you drag us around the place to grab a broom?"
"You'll see."
Once they were out of the building, Rin immediately dropped to the ground and began drawing an intricate magic circle using the knowledge ingrained inside her head. Her hand flew across the dirt as she quickly created the diagram.
"What are you doing?"
"Tapping into the dragon pulse connected to this area," Rin replied while drawing. "In certain places, like underneath Sanctum, there are spiritual grounds where naturally-occurring pathways of energy converge at. By tapping into such an area, I can travel along these pathways using a special procedure called the Anchor Attraction Ascension method."
Well, she said that. But really, an energy-intensive method like this was most likely going to require her spending a few Dust crystals to power instead. After all, leylines weren't exactly built in a way that is easy for people to draw energy from.
A while ago, Rin learned that the thaumaturgical foundations of black magic seemed to also work on this world for some reason. Most likely, it was because of the similarities in their folk tales and stories of how witches acted, somehow allowing Rin to tap into the same Mysteries from her previous world.
But it was because of this that she was able to tap into the Mystery of broom flight. Using magic power as fuel, a magical anchor is placed at the destination while the magus is pulled towards it. In Rin's case, she was using the location of her two familiars as a point of reference to guide her to the Argus base.
It wasn't exactly flight, but it was close enough that the exact wording didn't matter. By hovering using magecraft and gravity dust, they could fly along the leylines that led to the Argus base at a speed faster than most automobiles.
"I never heard of that before." Pyrrha gave her a questioning look. "Is this related to your Semblance?"
"Something like that." Rin stood up. "Done. Alright Pyrrha, get on behind me."
"Eh?"
Rin held the broom between her legs and patted behind her. "Hop on, we're about to leave now."
"W-Wait," Pyrrha's eyes widened. "What are yo- kyaaah!"
Impatient, Rin instead just pulled Pyrrha until the other girl stumbled close enough to grab onto her.
"Hold on tight," Rin said. "Not sure if I should have mentioned this before, but this will also be my first time trying this. So it'll be a great time to find out what it's like for the two of us."
Pyrrha screamed as the two suddenly took off, racing through the air in the middle of the night.
}-{
A dull ache throbbed through her head as Cordovin blinked through the blurriness of her vision.
Small amounts of blood could be seen trickling down the corner of her lips, and it was obvious that her Aura was broken. Her face was badly bruised, her body carrying even more injuries underneath the once clean Altas uniform she wore. Standing in front of her was the traitor from before, the Atlas soldier who started this entire incident.
"Still won't talk," he narrowed his eyes. "Tell us what we want to know, or you will get a very painful death."
To emphasize his point, he smacked a large baton in his hand, with arcs of electricity sparking at the end of it.
"The theatrics are amusing, I'll admit." She spat out a glob of blood before she forced a smile.
"But the insinuation that I'll give up valuable military secrets is even more hilarious."
"Do you seriously not get it?" He raised an eyebrow. "I'll kill you if you don't talk. Are you willing to bet your life that you'll last long enough?"
"Gladly."
He searched her eyes and saw that she was telling the truth. Growling to himself, he swung the object and smacked the side of her head. Her head lurched as her neck twisted to the side, and she felt blood gathering in her mouth as she realized that she accidentally bit the inside of her cheek.
"Crazy woman," he muttered. "Or rather, fanatical is the word. I shouldn't have underestimated your reputation. Everyone in the military warned me that you had a few screws loose, but it's really something seeing it for myself."
She ignored the pain. "And where is your patriotism? Do you really expect to get away with all of this? Atlas will hound you till the end of days."
He roughly grabbed her hair and shook her head. "That's my problem to worry about, and I already have plans for lying low after this. No, what you should focus on now is telling me exactly what I want."
"I'll tell you…" she whispered.
"Hm?" He leaned closer. "What's that?"
"I'll tell you," she repeated. "That you an incompetent idiot that should just drown himself to save us all the trouble of throwing you in jail. I'll never talk, and you should just kill me now."
"Got my hopes up," he sighed. "I don't even know why I'm doing this, I'm not trained at information extraction."
"Hardly a surprise to hear more about your incompetence."
This time, he kicked the chair legs underneath her, causing her to topple onto the ground. Her head swayed, and she desperately tried to reignite that spark inside herself to get her Aura back up. That was her only chance of fighting back, and she needed to be prepared.
"Last chance," he said. "Tell us the access code to controlling the Colossus."
That was what the Allies were here for in the first place. Taking control of the base was never supposed to be a long-term thing. No, what they were truly after was the enormous Atlesian mech kept in reserve at their base. With it, the Allies wouldn't merely be an annoyance but a significant danger to the people.
As members of the military, the Atlesian soldiers knew how to pilot and control the robot. But without the master code needed to access its full functions, they weren't able to even enter it, much less maneuver it. No, only Cordovin had the master code as the highest-ranking official stationed here.
And she intended to keep it that way.
"Never."
The man growled before kicking her in the stomach. "I tried, by the brothers I've tried being nice. Fine, it's clear that beating the shit out of you isn't working. But there are other ways of getting someone to crack. You had your chance, so now we'll have to get someone else."
Her eyes widened. What was he planning?
He did something, and suddenly the doors opened. Two men came in dragging another soldier in between them. She recognized him as one of her personal guards, even though his face was a bloody mess. His body was harshly thrown against the floor, and her interrogator placed a foot on top of him.
"Now, either give us the code." He pulled out a gun and pressed it against her guard's head. "Or I'll blow his brains out."
She bit her lip, trying to force down the panic building in her chest. This… this was too cruel of a choice. But she couldn't… wouldn't give him access to the Colossus. One man, versus potentially countless victims if those monsters got their hands on the mech.
And yet…
No, she couldn't. She steeled her heart and shook her head.
The sound of the gunshot exploded in the room.
"Alright," the man shrugged as he gestured for the body to be dragged outside. "Oh, we're just getting started. There are still a few more people we can kill if you're stubborn about remaining silent. How many men must die before we change your mind?" He chuckled. "I'm quite interested in the answer myself, Specialist."
Her heart began to despair as they dragged in another body.
"Look on the bright side," he laughed. "You'll be joining them once we're finished with you. So you won't be lonely once you die. Now, let me ask again? What's the code?"
And Cordovin made a decision. This… monster, he needed to die. If the devil came himself to offer her aid in vengeance, she would gladly accept. Glaring hatefully at the man, she gritted her teeth and remained silent.
He stared at her.
"Hm, guess that's a no." Another gunshot. "Now, what's say we drag in number three?"
}-{
"Split up," Sienna ordered as they entered the building. "Remember, we need to plant the explosives at the specified areas. They're only supposed to go off if things go badly for us, so make sure you handle them properly. Stick to comms and coordinate back with me once you're done."
They nodded and the group separated.
Sienna walked ahead of her group, keeping an eye out for any soldiers coming their way. Every time they came across a sealed area, they planted a small enough bomb and backed off before blasting the metal gates open. The expenses for this operation were going to rack up, but if they came out successful, it was going to be worth it.
Her earpiece crackled to life. "Team two, done."
"Team one finished."
"Team four, charge is set."
She waited for a response. Pressing her earpiece, she spoke. "Team three, what's your status?"
There was no answer.
She frowned before she turned around. "Move ahead and secure the area. I'll check on them and see what's wrong."
"Do you need anyone to come with you?"
"No," she shook her head. "Something's up, and none of you will be able to keep up if it comes to a fight. This might be a huntsman or equivalent level foe, which is why I'm going. Take care while I'm gone."
"As you wish, High Leader."
She left without another word. The faster she handled this, the quicker she could regroup with them later. Still, the nagging feeling that something wasn't right kept pricking at her. Unconsciously, she began to pick up the pace.
She tried again. "Team three, where are you?"
Her ears twitched as she heard something crackle in the distance, and she paused to turn its way. Walking down a corridor, she looked down and saw one of the communicators on the ground. Glancing around, there was nobody in sight.
Picking up the communicator, she warily made her way further in as she kept her guard up. Her weapon remained in her grip fully extended in case she needed to act.
Someone's here, she realized. I can hear them breathing.
It was faint, almost impossible to tell if not for her ears. And even then, she doubted that most faunus that didn't have sensitive ears would have noticed.
There!
Her limbs snapped into action as she slashed behind her, causing the man trying to sneak up on her to jump back in surprise.
"Impressive," he said. "Not many have been able to catch me in the middle of an ambush. Count yourself among the rare few."
"Who are you?"
"Me?" He laughed. "Allow me to introduce myself. Marcus Black, assassin for hire. Although, I doubt you see many assassins these days talk as much as I do."
Her eyes widened, and she shot down as something passed by her head. A metal object stabbed into the wall in front of her, right next to Marcus's head.
He smirked. "So, you dodged that too."
"Where are my men, what have you done?"
"The faunus?" He curled an eyebrow. "There were four of them, right? Well, I was on my way out to look for a certain girl, but they rudely interrupted me when I was making my way through the command center. See, I was trying to access city surveillance cams, and they decided to try and knock me out while my back was turned…"
"What," she interrupted. "Happened?"
He raised a bloody knife and gave a cruel smile. "I killed them."
"Arrrrgggghhhh!" The cry of fury that escaped her lips was the only warning he got before the point of her weapon suddenly flew towards his face. He dodged at the last second before throwing one of his knives toward her in return, to which she knocked out of the air with her fist.
"Come to daddy," he gave her a mad grin. "Let me see that anger."
She charged forward, and the two fighters clashed.
Again, I'm pretty casual regarding things in the Nasuverse, so if I messed up in my understanding of broom flight magecraft, that's my bad. Still, I'm surprised that it doesn't come up more in any Nasuverse media other than brief references in conversation.
The Allies are really stepping up their game, with Merlot even trying to help behind the scenes. And if they get their hands on the Colossus, that might spell trouble for Rin. But then again, she has Pyrrha on her side. And with her Semblance... it might not be that bad of a match-up.