AN: Hey everyone, I have the next chapter here. Thank you for all the support this series has gotten here and on Tv Tropes. Despite this chapter being short, this one is intense as friends become enemies. Penny is out for revenge as Neo tries to get away. I don't want to spoil much but get ready for things to get messy. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.
Chapter 26 – Terminate
Penny.
Neo ran through Clockwork Academy, making her way to the outside landing platforms. She looked to see a small airship in the distance, seeing that as her only way to avoid the threat behind her. However, as she was a few meters away, the concrete floor in front of her erupted. Emerging out of the ground was the Atlas Android her eyes focused on the mute girl. Neo's eyes turned white as Penny landed, "I told you," Penny said before summoning six of her short swords, "You're not getting away."
Neo gritted her teeth as she summoned Caladbolg Umbrella. Suddenly, two of Penny's swords rocketed towards the mute girl. Neo parried one as she docked the other. Penny scowled as she sent the other four swords at the same time. Again, Neo parried one sword, while barley dodging the rest. However, she gasped upon realizing it. All six blades were behind her. Penny sneered as the six blades all lunged towards her prey. This time, the rocketed towards Neo at high speed. The mute girl could not dodge as all six swords stabbed her in the back. Penny had a wide smile at her revenge, but it soon faded as Neo's body turned to glass.
With her teeth gritted, Penny's eyes gleamed green. She scanned the area before noticing a white flash. Neo reappeared, but gasped as Penny focused on her, "Locked on!" The atlas android said before regathering her swords. She and her blades then rushed towards Neo at high speed. The mute girl changes her weapon into a whip, hooking an orb of light in the sky to evade the tackle. However, Penny was not finished charging. From the souls of her shoes, a set of thrusters expelled a green flame. The atlas android rocketed into the sky as Neo gritted her teeth.
Neo vanished in white light, but Penny quickly turned her head to the left, spotting the mute girl. The atlas android unleashed three of her swords toward her target. Neo gasped as she had no time to full dodge. In repositioning her body, one of the blades missed her head. However, one cut against her right shoulder, while the other cut the left side of her abdomen. Neo expected the other three blades to come next but suddenly felt something shot her in the back. Her whole body shook as her aura instantly vanished. In turning her head, she saw the three blades she just dodged. Each had smoke coming from the end of the handle before recharging for another blast. Neo then looked back to Penny, who opened fire with the other three blades.
With nowhere else to go, Neo hooked her Caladbolg Umbrella towards the ground. As the beams fired, she avoided the crossfire while heading for the concrete pavement. Penny reengaged with her other three blades, following Neo as she plummeted towards the ground as well, "Nowhere to run, you cannot escape me!" Penny said as Neo was about to crash into the ground, "At this speed, all you will do is shatter-" The Atlas Android said before realizing.
Neo's body smashed into the ground, breaking into glass shards. Penny gasped before realizing she was about to hit the pavement. She held her arms and legs in front of her body, the thrusters slowing down her movement, but not as much as she hoped. In hitting the concrete, the same arms and legs were now embedded in the stone. A second later, all six swords stabbed the ground, each going more than a foot deep. Penny struggled to free herself from the trap, unable to pull her limbs out.
Standing behind her, Neo watched her opponent in the vulnerable position. She raised Caladbolg Umbrella over her head, but a look of sorrow came over her face. At that moment, she remembered her message, Penny is my teammate. Neo thought as she lowered her weapon to her side, I will not hurt her. Neo then looked down at Penny, "...I'm sorry." Neo softly said before turning around and running.
However, Penny did not listen those words. Instead, the Atlas Android heard the mute girl's running. In turning her head, Penny saw making Neo way to the loading hatch of the airship. "NO!" Penny shouted as all six swords pulled themselves out of the pavement. With a line of thread attached back the atlas android, her sword's thrusters took off. Penny's body bursted out the concrete. As Penny locked on, the six swords gathered around her in a circle, "You will not escape!" She declared as the six swords began to glow with a green light, "You will pay for killing my friend!" Penny said before thrusting her arms forward, causing the blades to unleash a high contact beam of green energy.
The blast collided with the airship as Neo was about to get on, causing the whole vessel to explode. The shockwave sent Neo backward, landing on her back as she saw her only way out disappear. She then looked up to see the six swords aimed down at her, each charging an individual beam. The green lasers rained down on Neo as she rolled out of the way.
While she dodged the barrage of beams, she realized she took her eyes from Penny for too long. "Got you!" Penny shouted as she was to Neo's right. As the mute girl turned, her eyes widened in dread. The atlas Android had to land a direct punch into the mute girl's ribs.
Neo felt her bones shatter as she was flung across the landing platform. Upon landing on her back again, five swords stabbed their target. Neo felt the blades run into her forearms and thighs, "AAAAAAA!" Neo scream as the fifth sword slashed Caladbolg Umbrella out of way. Neo's eyes grew whiter as Penny walked over, wielding the sixth sword in her left hand.
"I told you I was an android," Penny said as she approached Neo, "I cannot cry for those that I have lost in this cruel world." She said as she stood over Neo's abdomen, raising the sword over her head, "But, I can eliminate those who make others suffer." The Atlas Android said as her eyes filled with hate, while Neo's filled with tears, "Like how you made BB suffer!" Penny said before thrusting the sword down towards Neo's head.
However, the blade was destroyed before it could reach its target. Penny witnessed a blue elaborate sword crash into hers. She looked to her right to see where the weapon had originated from. However, she also saw two more blue elaborate swords coming for her. Penny dodged out of the way, jumping away from Neo before landing a few feet away. She then discovered the members of Team CBOS glaring back at her, "What's going on here?" Charlemagne asked as three red elaborate swords radiated near his body, "Friends should not take sparring matches this far."
"That girl is not my friend!" Penny said before summoning six new swords, "And you will not stop me from getting revenge!" She declared before rushing towards the Benevolent King.
Charlemagne responded in kind, calling the six elaborate swords to his side while drawing Joyeuse. The two fighters collided with each other; Penny's swords slashed against Charlemagne's. Each wielders blade acting on their own, expect Joyeuse in the Benevolent King's hands. He had attempted a downward slash, but Penny caught it with her right hand. With her left, she attempted an uppercut to Charlemagne's chin. He jumped back to avoid, pulling back his Joyeuse, causing the blades to cut into Penny's hand. However, this was when the Benevolent King noticed his opponent was not human. The Atlas android's right palm showed the mechanical layer before closing into a fist. Penny attempted a right cross into her opponent's stomach.
However, Oryou rushed to get in front of Charlemagne. With her right, the Hero's dragon delivered a chasing blow with Penny's fist. The two punches created a shockwave that rung throughout the area. Penny scowled in a rage before noticing Sakamoto had flanked her. With his revolver, he unleashed four shots into Penny's back. To his shock, the bullets bounced off the Atlas android's back. In responding, Penny rocketed herself backwards, tackling The Hero of Restoration in the chest and sending him flying back. "Ryoma!" Oryou cried as she saw his body headings straight for a stone wall. The Hero's dragon rushed to her master, getting in between him and the wall the last second before impact. The two were embedded in the wall as rocks collapsed over them.
Penny then turned her attention back to Charlemagne, who reposed his Joyeuse. In response, Penny called her six swords to her sides, forming a circle with all blades aimed at the Benevolent King. "Stop getting in my way!" Penny declared as the sword charged with green energy.
Charlemagne gritted his teeth, but then gasped as Bradamante jumped in front of him, "Leave it to me." She said before spawning her gem lance and shield made of green light, "An amalgam of spirals!" The peppy paladin reeled back her lance, causing a pillar of swirling to erupt form the weapon. In response, Penny fired her green contact beam at the paladins. Bradamante screamed in a battle cry as she aimed her spiral laser at the atlas android. The two waves of energy clashed before both fighters reposed themselves. Penny rocketed herself forward with her thrusters. Bradamante raised her shield as it gleamed in the green light, "My whole body, my whole soul!" the peppy paladin said as she lunged at her opponent, "Bouclier d'Atlante!" Bradamante declared as Penny reeled back her left arm. At the moment of impact, the atlas android unleashed her fist as the peppy paladin bashed her shield against it.
Charlemagne watched as a large pillar of yellow energy erupted between the two fighters. As the pillar reached the sky, the nearby clouds evaporated into nothingness. A few seconds later, The Benevolent King saw his teammate flying back towards him. Charlemagne caught Bradamante, sliding back on the souls of his boots for a few meters. He held his slightly unconscious teammate, his eyes widening at her current state. He then looked back to see the pillar fading as smoke filled the area. However, he saw a green aura radiating from their opponent. Walking out the smoke was Penny, her left side of her face and left arm fully exposed to the metal endoskeleton. Despite the sparks of broken wire, she clenched her left fist as she walked toward the paladin. Charlemagne set down his teammate before reposing his Joyeuse, readying for the next round.
In the distance, Neo breathing was getting heavy. Her vision was getting blurry as she looked up at the sky. "Neo!" A voice called to the mute girl. She turned to see Ruby, Archer, and Irisviel. The three made their way to Neo while Medusa and Atalanta ran to dig up Sakamoto and Oryou. Anastasia was moving Bradamante out of the way of Charlemagne and Penny's clashing blades. "What happened!?" The red hooded girl asks, but Neo struggled to open her mouth anymore.
"Oh no, she's losing to much blood." Irisviel examined, "I can't heal her until the blades are removed." She said before looking at Ruby, "Please, hold Neo so she doesn't fail and cause more internal damage." The pale-skinned woman then turned to her son, "Shirou, you need to take out the sword as painlessly as possible."
"Understood," Archer said as Ruby nodded. The red hooded girl placed her hands upon Neo's shoulders. While the Archer grabbed the sword in Neo's right arm. He looked back at his mother, seeing her hands glowing in white light. The red mantle hero looked back to Neo before pulling out the sword in a single quick tug.
Neo's eyes widened as they turned white. She gritted her teeth as Irisviel placed her hands over the open injury, healing it as she stopped the blood from spilling. Archer tossed the sword away as he moved to the left arm. In the same motion, he pulled out the sword. This time, Neo could not hold her silence to the pain, "AAAAAAAAA!" She screamed as Ruby struggled to holder her down. Irisviel moved to heal the wound as Ruby tried to hold Neo sill.
In the distance, Penny heard the scream and turned. Her eyes widened in shock, "Ruby…?" the atlas android said as her last friend was next to Neo. Penny's mind went to hate, knowing she could not lose another friend to this mute. She knew she had to silence Neo permanently, "GET AWAY FROM RUBY!" Suddenly, Archer heard a metal clanking. He looked to see the first sword he removed, now seeing a thin string at the end of the handle. As Penny thrust her left arm, the sword moved with a thing string attached, rocketing towards Neo. Before he could make the warning, it was too late.
Ruby watched as the sword slashed across Neo's neck, slitting the mute girl's throat. Blood splattered on the red hooded girl's face, but she could not close her eyes. In response, Neo's eyes widened for a second before closing. Her body going limp in Ruby's arms. Archer and Irisviel looked at Neo in dread. He dropped the second sword as she desperately tried to heal the throat wound before... The red mantle hero then looked back to Ruby, her heart racing, and her eyes trembling as they started to glow silver, "NEOOOOOOO!" Ruby screamed as the whole area was encompassed in the light. Charlemagne and Penny shielded their eyes but could next escape the encompassing illumination.
Upon reopening his eyes, Charlemagne gasped in horror, "No…" The Benevolent King said as he examined the blank white void, "Nonononono!" He said before looking over to Ruby, whose eyes were half-open as she was about to pass out, "Ruby, get us out of here!" Charlemagne ordered as he walked over to the red hooded girl, "Now, get us out of here before-" Suddenly, Charlemagne felt someone playful tap the back of his right shoulder. The Benevolent King's whole body froze as he remembered this feeling. Slowly, he turned his head to see the apparition behind him. In fully white attire was the servlet paladin, who smiled with a faint chuckle. However, Charlemagne reminded speechless as tears started to run down his face.
Penny watched the two paladins before examining the rest of the void, "I remember hearing about it, this what Ruby can do?" She said to herself before having an idea, one that brought a smile to her face, "I can see someone I have lost; I can see BB!" The atlas android said as she frantically searched, "I mean, who else would it show me?" She said before having a forced laugh, "I have no other friends..."
Suddenly, Penny saw someone. However, this person looked exactly like her, "Huh?" Penny said as she looked at a girl. One who wore a similar outfit, but white. Their hairstyle match, the orange hue was the same as the atlas android's. As Penny moved her right arm, so did the apparition, "Who are you?" Penny asked with apparition speaking.
While no voice came out, so Penny could read the lips. "April…Cotton?" Penny said as she tilted her head, causing the apportion to do the same, "How do I know you?" Penny said with April speaking again, "I…am…you." The atlas android said as the apparition started to reach out her right hand. However, Ruby now fully lost consciousness. As her body went limp, her reality marble faded.
Now entering the outside landing platforms, Mordred and Gray came upon the scene. However, their eyes widened at shock at the sight. The grey hooded girl first noticed the unconscious Ruby next to Neo's body, then seeing the pool of blood around the two. Irisviel tried to heal the mute girl, but her face was sweating with panic in her eyes, "Oh no," Gray said as tears formed in her eyes, "Please no." She said before running over to them.
Mordred began to follow but then noticed Penny standing in the distance. The Knight of Rebellion's gritted her teeth as she ran over. Along the way, she noticed Charlemagne, who remained on his knees as he looked to the ground. Refocusing on the atlas android, Mordred approached her from behind, "What happened here!?" Mordred asked in a rage, but Penny was unresponsive, "Hey, what happened-" Mordred asked again as she pulled on Penny's right shoulder. However, The Knight of Rebellion's eyes widened with horror as she gasped.
In turning around, Penny's eyes were pitch black. The Atlas Android's face showed she wanted to cry but no tears came out. Suddenly, she fell backwards, hitting the ground with a loud thud, "I'm…not…real…" Penny spoke in a distorted voice as her body twitched and sparked.
"Oh no, Penny!" Mordred said as she looked down at her teammate, "What's happening to you!?"
"It…hurts…" Penny spoke as her voice got deeper, "Please…help…me."
"I-I don't know what do?" Mordred responded in panic, "How can I-"
"Kill…me…" Penny asked as Mordred gasped, "…I'm…not…" The last part of Penny's words never came out. Her voice stopped as her body only contorted with metallic clanks.
Mordred gritted her teeth as tears ran down her face, "Penny, you're suffering." She said before spawning her Clarent, "…It's okay, I'll…" Mordred said as she raised the sword over her head, aiming to do it in one swing. However, her hands trembled as gritted her teeth. She then closed her eyes before she was about to swing.
However, she felt someone grab her right shoulder, "Wait!" the voice said as Mordred opened her eyes, seeing the one who stopped her was Archer, "I think we can still save her."
"What?" Mordred responded in shock, "How?"
"…I don't know," Archer said while he took out Neo's scroll, "But she might." He said before dialing the number.
AN: There you go, have Penny and Neo just come down with a terrible fate, or is there still hope? What will happen after Archer makes a call to Cinder? Will she have the answers he needs? Who will live, who will die, or who will become a painful memory? I do hate doing cliffhangers, but next chapter will answer all these questions. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.
