And after two weeks off, we're back with another chapter of "Reality" here in November! Hope everyone's been able to enjoy the content thus far! It's weird, but I like writing RWBY-related stuff a lot. Maybe it's because I want to make my own interpretation with how frustrating the canon material can be sometimes… That's not to say I don't appreciate the hard work being put in by Rooster Teeth.
And I know that Volume 9, should it be out by this chapter's release, is getting all the time it needs to be done properly. I just hope that wherever that story goes, it can end on a high note. But enough about that, let's talk about this chapter we're getting into!
This is another of my favorites from Volume 8, particularly because of the fights and character development. I'll explain more at the end, but this was where the series was starting to peak for me. So without further delay, let's get into it!
REALITY
Human. Machine. In many ways, machines are the tools that help humanity thrive in years on. Without their coexistence, the world may not have grown to such a high state.
But of course, we all come under the presumption where someone acts human or acts like a machine. Complying with orders, doing their creators' biddings, and living only to serve. We've already how a man can essentially turn into a machine with but a single objective.
So one has to wonder… could we see a machine become more human than that man? I think that may very well be the case…
Splashing water onto her face, Ruby looked up at her reflection in the mirror. She was in one of the many bathrooms of the Schnee Manor, which Weiss dubbed powder rooms. Water dripped for the silver-eyed huntress' face into the sink as she stared at her reflection, expressing a distraught look.
"What am I doing…?" she asked herself, shaking her head. Rather than let Penny decide what to do for herself, she instead insisted that she go help with Amity Tower's launch. Granted, she wouldn't be alone as Jenny volunteered to help, but it still felt wrong to essentially… force her to make that choice.
And it made Ruby feel like an even worse friend. Reluctant as she was, she wasn't opposed to Penny staying as far away from Salem as possible. She looked at her reflection again.
"You did this…" she told herself, "You chose not to tell Ironwood everything…" she noted, gripping the sink tightly with both hands, "You chose to let Ben take the fall in case things went wrong…" she continued as she gritted her teeth together, "You…" she snarled out, now glaring at her reflection. Elsewhere in the manor, the unconscious Nora had been set down onto a bed in one room, getting bandaged by Kim and May. Peter was seated against the wall with an ice pack pressed against his head.
"She any better?" he asked out of concern.
"Not really," the Happy Huntress responded with a shake of her head, "She needs an actual doctor, not just us," she affirmed on.
"Well, I doubt any of us have PhD's…" Peter remarked in reply, earning a scoff out of May.
"Come on, let's not joke around," Kim advised of the pair.
"Right, sorry…" the web-slinger apologized, pressing the ice pack against his head again. At that moment, the door to the room opened, getting their attentions. Coming in were Blake, Genji, and Obi-Wan. The former was carrying a tea tray in her hands.
"Got some stuff to make tea later…" she pointed out, "Would you want any?" she inquired of her colleagues.
"Yeah, that'd be great," Kim replied with a smile, while Peter raised his right hand in approval.
"Where're the others?" May asked as Blake set the tray onto a nearby table.
"Weiss and Danny are helping gather provisions for us," Genji answered.
"And Miss Lockhart is inspecting the grounds in case Ironwood's forces were to pay us a visit," Obi-Wan added.
"What about Ruby?" Kim questioned on.
"If I remember right…" the cat Faunus started to reply, "she went into the bathroom earlier," she recalled.
"She doing okay?" May wondered, sounding concerned.
"She did seem… distraught over our situation…" Obi-Wan noted in reply, looking back to the door, "You should all get some rest," he advised of the group, "I sense that some of you could really use it…" he mentioned.
"Yeah…" Peter agreed, lying down on the floor on his side.
"I'm gonna go find Ruby…" Blake decided, opening the door and walking out. There was brief silence in the room.
"You seem troubled…" Obi-Wan noted, getting Kim's attention as she blinked in surprise.
"Huh…" she exhaled, "Even though we got the code and got away from the compound," she pointed out, "something…" she continued with a shake of her head as she paced a little, "something doesn't feel right…" she admitted, folding her arms underneath her chest.
"Are you referring to how the Ace Operatives retreated in the midst of our battle with them?" Genji assumed.
"Yeah…" Kim answered as she lowered her gaze in thought, "They probably knew we were gonna beat them in the first place, so it'd make sense for them to turn tail," she pointed out.
"But why would they take one of Penny's swords?" Peter asked for her. Silence filled the room as no one had a good answer for the moment.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Obi-Wan admitted with narrowed eyes. Elsewhere in the manor, Danny was opening up several cases, taking Dust cartridges out from them. Weiss was doing the same, loading a few into her pouches as extra ammunition.
"Hey, I think I found the water ones," the half-ghost teen noted, getting her attention as she walked over to see him pick up a trio of blue cartridges.
"Thanks," she said in gratitude with a small smile, taking them into her grasp, "We're gonna need all the ammo we can get if we're gonna have to hold down the fort here," she pointed out.
"Yeah…" Danny agreed, letting out a sigh, "I'm sorry I wasn't back there to help you guys…" he apologized, causing Weiss to blink in surprise as she looked over at him, "I just thought that leaving May alone to try and find a ship would be a bad idea and—"
"Hey, don't do that," Weiss insisted, interrupting him as she placed a hand onto his, making him turn to face her, "We're all doing what we think is best," she affirmed, "If it wasn't for you, we probably wouldn't have been able to escape in the first place," she mentioned on. The half-ghost teen blinked in surprise, but then chuckled.
"Well… look how the tables turn…" he remarked to her confusion, "Now you're the one giving me the pep talk," he pointed out.
"Oh…" she uttered in realization, laughing a little, "I didn't notice I was…" she admitted, earning another chuckle from Danny. The two of them slowly saw that neither pulled their hand away, looking at each other somewhat longingly. Weiss leaned in as she blushed, closing her eyes and… heard glass shatter. She and the half-ghost teen were jolted out of their moment at the sudden sound. "Ergh…!" she growled out, "I swear to… GAH!" she yelled angrily as she stomped off in a huff, heading toward the origin of the sudden noise. Danny let out one last chuckle before following her. Apparently, the universe wasn't too keen on letting him have at least one romantic moment with the ex-heiress.
They made their way toward one of the many bathrooms, with Weiss grumbling under her breath. However, both of them stopped the moment they heard whimpering coming from the room amidst the running water. They quickly ran in and gasped to find Ruby lying on her knees, crying into her gloved hands. Blake was kneeling beside her, putting her hands onto her shoulders reassuringly. Danny was quick to notice the shattered mirror in the room, with some shards lying in the sink.
"What… happened?" he asked as Weiss went over to check on her team leader. Blake exhaled a sigh.
"We're all just really stressed right now…" she answered, comfortingly rubbing Ruby's shoulders as she continued to whimper. The situation they were in was made worse because of what they had done. And the silver-eyed huntress wasn't sure if there really was a good way to rectify it…
X
Jenny could hear the thunder rumbling outside, perking up with worry. She and Penny were in one of the Dust mines, with the Amity Communications Tower floating just outside. Pietro was atop it upon his chair, putting the finishes touches onto the tower's large antenna. He coughed into his right fist for a moment, looking back at the ominous sky above. Even with things seeming rather bleak, he knew that this was the best chance possible to get a warning out to the rest of Remnant before it was too late. Just then, his communicator pinged.
"Dad?" his daughter communicated.
"Penny?" he uttered in surprise, wondering why she was contacting him. She and Jenny were still in the mine, having set up the bomb inside as they were seated in front of it.
"This… does not seem like a very good idea…" the former of the two robot girls admitted with a shake of her head. Looking down at the bomb, her sensors were indicating that it was a danger. Jenny gave her a concerned look.
"There is a difference between a good idea and our best idea," Pietro affirmed to his daughter, "Sadly… we don't have time for much else," he pointed out. With somewhat of a sigh, Penny went ahead and tapped the bomb's interface screen, causing it to be armed as it glowed red. She and Jenny stood up afterward. In the meantime, the former's father was riding the elevating center of the tower downward. "We have enough systems up and running to broadcast our message and keep Amity in atmospheric orbit," he explained, "But our thrusters just aren't capable of reaching our target altitude on their own," he pointed out as the platform docked at the lowest level of the colosseum. He turned to see that Maria was piloting an industrial construction mech, using it to carry a large interface system.
"Ha!" she laughed over communications, "Fortunately," she continued, "we're sitting on a couple hundred tons of thrust!" she exclaimed, walking the mech to the center of the platform and putting the machine down securely. Carla walked over, standing alongside Pietro.
"Are we sure this will work?" she asked in concern, earning a nod in response from the doctor.
"Once we passed into broadcast range," he began, "we'll activate stabilizers, re-establish global communications," he listed off through the communication line, "and boost the message we've recorded out into the rest of the world," he affirmed as the platform he and the others were upon started to lift back up, "After that, we just have to pilot Amity away from all this mess," he finished, while Penny and Jenny were continuing to arm each of the bombs in the mine. The former then flew up to a tunnel where another one was sitting, still having a somber look upon her face. Her fellow robot girl glanced over and flew up to her.
"But… what if no one is able to come and help Atlas?" the Winter Maiden asked of her father, "If I stay behind, I could maybe—!"
"Penny, we are not having this conversation again!" Pietro emphatically interjected, "I'm your father…" he pointed out from the tower, "I'm… telling you that you belong on Amity," he stated firmly as the platform he and others were upon was about to dock.
"Yes, sir…" his daughter responded disappointedly from the mine, causing Jenny to look at her sympathetically. Meanwhile, Maria looked blankly at Pietro back at the tower.
"Don't you think Penny has had enough people telling her what to do?" she inquired of him. He let out a sigh, not wanting to start another argument.
"Prepare for launch, please," he requested, "I'm moving us into position," he pointed out, turning to face the former huntress. In the meantime, Jenny helped arm the last of the bombs in the mine before looking over to Penny, who was standing at the entrance. She looked she would cry if she could.
"Hey…" the Omni Force member said, getting her attention as she put a hand onto her left shoulder, "I know how you feel right now," she pointed out, "Not having the freedom to do what you want to… really sucks," she admitted, causing Penny to look down sadly, "But you should be able to make your own decisions for everyone's sake," she affirmed to her, "You don't need to always take orders and follow them," she mentioned as the Winter Maiden turned to face her, "You get to decide what kind of hero you want to be," she finished, giving her crush a soft, reassuring smile. After a moment, she smiled back.
"Thank you, Jenny," she replied with gratitude, "We should get ready," she advised, earning a nod in response from her fellow robot girl, who assumed her regular colors before deploying her eagle-like wings. Together, the two of them flew out of the mine and up to the floating tower. Once they arrived, they stood by the edge of the platform that had been docked at the top of the colosseum, with Carla beside them. Pietro was working on the holographic computer projected by the console that Maria had placed earlier, as the former huntress was right next to him.
"All systems are ready," he confirmed, "Penny?" he called out to his daughter. She perked up and walked over. Jenny could still see the apprehensiveness in her expression. She really wanted to help the people of Mantle after all of this. But she didn't want to go against her father's wishes. "Amity is requesting launch access…" he continued as he typed on the holographic keys, "now," he said, pressing the enter key.
Looking up at the screen, Penny saw the 'CONNNECTING…' sign flashing upon it. As Jenny and Carla walked over, she looked down, waiting for the signal to come. She could feel everyone's eyes come onto her expectantly. And after a few moments, her eyes slightly started to glow. The tower's stabilizers activated as they glowed a bright purple. Everyone could feel the vibrations.
"Oh yes, it worked!" Pietro exclaimed in celebration, while Maria yelled and the others smiled. However, his daughter frowned for a moment as she lowered her head, which he noticed. He placed his right hand onto her arm to comfort her, which she appreciated as they shared a smile.
"So how much time will it take for us to reach the height the tower will need to be at?" Carla asked curiously.
"A few minutes at most," Pietro replaced as he started typing on the computer again, "Oh, and I didn't have time to install seat belts…" he noted to the group, "so uh… I'd advise you to hang on…" he insisted, pressing an icon upon his walking chair. Parts of its legs started glowing purple, while Maria laughed before walking back over to the construction mech.
"We'll finally be able to get the world to come together again," Jenny affirmed, "And maybe…" she continued, taking Penny's left hand into her right, "we'll be able to stop Salem for good," she concluded confidently.
"I do hope so," her fellow robot girl agreed. The bombs in the Dust mine below were starting to count down from 30 seconds. As Carla helped get Maria back into her mech, they both heard a loud thud nearby. Everyone was surprised to see a large fireball flying up into the air from below. Quickly, Penny and Jenny flew over to the edge of the platform, looking down in shock to see the huge hole melted through the floor from outside the colosseum.
"Oh no…" the latter of the two uttered, seeing a small airship levitate up from the smoke. And standing atop it was none other than Cinder, who had flames emitting from her hands.
"And where do you think you're going?" she wondered aloud, taking on an excited tone. Jenny gnashed her teeth, while Penny gave off a worried expression. She looked back at her father, who seemed scared.
"Penny, no!" he cried out. But against her father's wishes, the Winter Maiden flew down and floated above the aren't below to face Cinder, drawing the blades of her Floating Array. Jenny flew over to her side, morphing her arms into cannons.
With a puff of flames emitting from her feet, the Fall Maiden hopped off of the airship into the arena floor with a grin, while Emerald disembarked from the airship that Neopolitan was piloting. Another epic battle between the two Maidens was about to ensue. But not before the countdown for the bombs in the mine reached zero.
The resulting explosions set off a chain reaction of Dust eruptions. They colorfully intensified, reaching the tower. The four jets upon it activated, with the combined force of the blasts and propulsion sending it high up into the air. However, it also slammed Penny and Jenny down onto the floor, with the former's Floating Array blades clattering alongside them. Meanwhile, Cinder just dropped to a knee, steadying herself with her hands against the floor. As the tower continued to fly into the air, no one realized that an even graver situation was about to befall them.
X
In his office, James was standing at the table with Vine, Marrow, Elm and Harriet gathered around, with a hologram screen showing a map of Solitas. On it, the locations of the kingdom, Amity Tower, and the Monstra were marked. All of a sudden, a new screen appeared, displaying the words 'SENSORY ALERT' as an alarm played. What followed was another screen appearing that showed footage of the communications tower's take-off beginning. The general folded his hands together behind his back.
"It's time," he confirmed, walking away. Back at the tower, Emerald had gotten herself forced to the floor by the sudden ascent, gritting her teeth. She looked up at Cinder, whose focus was entirely on Penny.
"I was hoping more of your friends would be here…" she noted to the Winter Maiden, who was struggling to push herself back up, as was Jenny, "But it looks like they left you to do all the work…" their foe concluded, spawning dozens of glowing hot glass swords on the floor around herself, "Heh," she laughed, "You're just a tool to be used!" she proclaimed wickedly. At that moment, a loud stomp was heard amidst the rumbling, getting her attention. Jenny had gotten to her feet, raising her left arm slowly.
"You don't know what you're talking about!" she shouted, firing off a shot that narrowly missed hitting the Fall Maiden as she managed to lean her head aside in the nick of time. She growled angrily. At that moment, the tower finished its ascension as its jets turned off. Grinning in realization, Cinder yelled as she thrusted her hands forward, making the glass swords launch themselves at her robot foes.
Quickly, Penny used the jets in her feet to get up and move backward, arranging her swords in a circle in front of her. She spun them to deflect and shatter the glass swords sent her way. Jenny transformed her arms into Hard-Light shields, blocking off the ammunition fired toward her. However, one blade nicked her right foot, causing her to fly back thanks to her boosters.
Meanwhile, Penny gasped as she saw a blade stab into the wall right next to her head. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to stop them all if their velocity increased, even as she spun her swords. But all of a sudden, the construction mech that Maria was piloting hopped down in front of her, using its arms to block the remaining blades as they shattered.
"Maria!" Jenny exclaimed, watching as the mech started stomping toward Cinder.
"Get away from them, you bi—!" Before she could finish her shout, the former huntress found her mech suddenly get slammed by the Manta that Neopolitan was piloting, knocking it away as she yelled. Penny was surprised, but then saw Jenny land next to her, deploying her eagle-like wings. The two of them glared at Cinder, who glared back. They then flew towards each other in an instant.
However, the Winter Maiden rolled aside to dodge her foe, who growled in frustration. That left her open to take a right hook from Jenny, who grabbed her left leg and slammed her down onto the floor. She then transformed her right arm into a spiked fist, about to strike the Fall Maiden with it. Quickly, she rolled aside as her opponent struck the floor, followed by unleashing a fireball from her foot that struck her squarely in the stomach, making her stumble back.
In the meantime, Penny flew past Maria's mech, who was wrestling with the airship that had slammed into it. Cinder gnashed her teeth together before rocketing after the Winter Maiden out of the arena. Noticing, Jenny flew after her as quickly as she could. Emerald watched on worriedly, but then turned her attention onto the battle between the former huntress in the mech and Neopolitan in the airship.
"Stupid… clunky machine…!" the former growled out, trying to push back against her foe. Eventually, she managed to slam the Manta against the floor. However, the mute girl was quick to tap the reverse icon of the ship's acceleration upon an interactive screen. It flew up out of the mech's grip, floating away.
Maria looked around as she stood the mech back up, only to find the airship no longer in her sights. Before she could assume that her eyes had failed her, she took notice of Emerald in the stands with her hands raised in concentration. Perking up in realization, the former huntress suddenly saw the ship come into her view as it once again slammed into the mech, pushing it until it struck the wall hard, falling down.
As Neopolitan parked the airship and got out, Maria opened the cockpit of her now damaged mech. She started to climb out, only to find the mute girl looming over her. She gave off a grin while holding Hush over her shoulders.
"Let's go!" Emerald called out to her, hurrying out of the arena. Neopolitan only spared her a mere glance before looking back down at the elderly woman.
"And what do you want?" she inquired, narrowing her mechanical eyes. Leaning down, the mute girl had pink, shimmering, glass-like energy flow down her body, making herself look identical to Ruby. Maria yelped slightly in surprise before she was suddenly grabbed and tossed out from the mech. However, she rolled to her feet, sliding to a stop with a confident grin as she held onto her cane. On the platform above, Pietro and Carla watched as she started dodging her foe's attacks while shifting back to normal.
"I'm going to help her!" Carla decided, quickly making her angelic wings appear in a puff of pink smoke before flying down to the arena below. The doctor watched on with horror. Things were already bad enough with their enemies having attacked. But so long as the message could get out, that was what mattered the most. He hurried back to the computer to check on the tower's status.
"Please, please, please!" he pleaded repeatedly as he typed on the keys, hoping that the tower was still able to reach the broadcast range. Upon the screen, an image of Amity Tower was above a green dotted line that was the range's label. And the top of the screen had an icon that read 'BROADCAST SIGNAL RANGE ACHIEVED'. "Yes!" Pietro exclaimed with relief.
However, as the tower's stabilizers activated with a purple glow, the text on the holographic screen changed to 'WARNING! STABILIZER FAIL', with a diagram and multiple windows appearing. The screen then changed yet again to display the tower dipping below the now yellow dotted line. The top of the screen said 'BROADCAST SIGNAL LOST IN –' with a countdown timer for three minutes. The hole that Cinder burned into the colosseum was directly next to one of the stabilizers, causing it to malfunction and struggle to remain active as its purple glow flickered.
"We're… drifting?" Pietro realized in disbelief. He immediately starting typing on the holographic keyboard, trying to rectify the situation as quickly as he could. Meanwhile, Penny flew around the outside of the colosseum as Cinder was still in pursuit of her. But she had yet to realize that Jenny was also tailing them.
Ports of her metal wings opened up, unleashing a volley of mini-missiles. The Fall Maiden noticed, expelling fireballs to counter them in small explosions before they could strike, all while continuing to chase her target. She sent flame arcs at the Winter Maiden, which she dodged as they flew outside of the tower, weaving around the ramps and docking bays.
Penny fired off lasers in response to her foe's attacks, which she evaded. Cinder then tried to slash at her with swords of black glass formed in her hands, but her fellow Maiden blocked them with her Floating Array, flying up above the colosseum. There, the Fall Maiden sent more flame arcs at her opponent, who was knocked off balance by one before another struck her in the back. She quickly used one of her swords and its wire to swing herself around the roof of the colosseum, regaining her momentum.
Cinder let out a frustrated grunt. She combined her hot glass swords into a bow, firing a few arrows that she formed. However, Jenny flew in and deflected them with her wings, yelping in pain from the burning sensation she felt from their contact. Gnashing her teeth together, the Fall Maiden shot down and tackled her onto the roof of the colosseum.
"Jenny!" Penny cried out. Her fellow robot girl pressed both of her feet against her foe's stomach, using her boosters to blast her off of her. She regained her balance in the air with fire expelling from her feet, readying another trio of arrows on her bow. She fired them down at Jenny, but Penny suddenly flew in to pull her aside in the nick of time. The arrows themselves sunk into the colosseum's roof and exploded. Inside, Pietro yelped as he could feel the rumblings of the blasts above.
As Penny let go of Jenny, allowing her to fly back up, she took notice of the damage that the battle was causing to the tower. If they kept fighting there, the message would never get out. The Winter Maiden looked over to the Omni Force member, exchanging a silent nod with her. The latter then flew down back into the colosseum. Cinder blinked in surprise, but then saw her target flying away.
Without hesitation, she pursued her, launching fireballs one after another. She was growing all the more frustrated as Penny was constantly dodging her attacks. But then she realized that must've been the point, blinking in realization. She slowed to a stop, causing her foe to do the same. She looked back, using the zoom function in her eyes to see that Cinder her sights on the tower above. She smirked at the Winter Maiden over her shoulder and flew back to the tower. Penny hurried after her.
Back in the arena, Neopolitan came down with an axe kick onto Maria, who laughed as she blocked it with her cane. Her foe repeatedly swung her parasol at her, but she continued to laugh and blocks every attack sent her way. Watching from afar was Carla, who was quite surprised with how well the elderly woman was handling her opponent.
"Carla!" Jenny's voice called out, getting her attention as she saw the robot girl fly down beside her.
"Where's Penny?" the humanized Exceed asked.
"Trying to lure Cinder out of here," the teenage robot responded, "What about Emerald?" she questioned on.
"I haven't seen her…" Carla admitted in reply. Just then, they yelped as they could hear a rumbling up above them. "Go!" the humanized insisted of her colleague, "I'll help take care of things here!" she promised. Nodding, Jenny flew back up to the platform docked above.
In the meantime, Neopolitan angrily hooked her parasol's handle on the cane and used it to throw Maria up into the air. Much to her surprise through, the elderly woman changed her cane into its sickle form, hooking it on Hush's handle, and then pulled herself forward to land a kick on her foe's head. What followed was Carla diving in and kicking the mute girl in the stomach, knocking her back.
She started to fall over, but caught herself with her right hand against the floor. She angrily glared at her two foes, as the humanized Exceed let her wings disappear in a puff of pink smoke. Neopolitan charged at them, leaping toward Maria first. However, the former huntress blocked her opponent's parasol with the top of her sickle and then folded its blade down to ram its head into the mute girl's face. Afterwards, she unfolded the sickle to hook onto Hush and pull, throwing her foe down. She smirked proudly.
Neopolitan tried to retaliate, only for Carla to kick her away. Back up at the platform, Jenny arrived and gasped to find that Cinder was there, flying around and unleashing flames on the metal beams that were supporting it. Three of them were already melting. She was about to move on to the fourth…
"STOP!" the teenage robot yelled, slamming into her as they crashed against the wall. The Fall Maiden sneered wickedly, planting her right hand against her foe's body and heating it up intensely. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jenny screamed out in agony.
"Jenny!" Pietro cried out from below. The teenage robot managed to kick herself off of Cinder, falling hard onto the platform. Smoke emitted from the burn at her stomach as she winced. The Fall Maiden chuckled, about to continue her work melting the rest of the support beams.
"No!" Penny yelled, getting her attention. She smiled upon seeing the Winter Maiden flying toward her with her swords at the ready. After dodging a laser shot her way, Cinder sent a fireball in return. The two hovered above the platform, with Jenny sitting up as Pietro approached. They looked up at the two Maidens staring each other down. "Why are you doing this?!" Penny questioned emphatically to her foe, "Why serve someone like Salem?!" she inquired on.
"I don't serve anyone!" Cinder shouted back with a smile, "And you wouldn't either, if you weren't built that way!" she mocked on. The Winter Maiden hesitated for a moment.
"That is not…" she started to retort, looking down at her father and then at Jenny. She remembered how her fellow robot girl had reaffirmed her faith back in the mine. "I choose to fight… for people who care about me!" she declared firmly.
All of a sudden, the melted beams began to give out, causing the platform to slowly sag. Penny quickly stabbed her nine swords into the floor, using their wires to pull the platform up as she clenched her teeth. She then let green flames of energy trail out from her eyes, firing off icy blue beams of light onto the metal supports, trying to cool them down. She looked down at Pietro and Jenny, seeing the amazement upon their faces. But then she saw Cinder, who was flying over.
"No!" Jenny yelled, quickly stretching her left arm out and snatching the Fall Maiden by her cape, making her stop before she could reach her target. She then pulled her down and slammed her against the floor hard. Getting to her feet, Cinder snarled as she formed black glass swords steaming with heat in her hands. The Omni Force member also stood up, morphing her hands into two trios of blades, which spun like propellers.
Penny watched as worriedly as her friend clashed with the Fall Maiden, all while Pietro had to move himself out of the way. Sparks flew between the two before they suddenly found themselves at a deadlock, with Cinder's blades getting between those of Jenny's as they stopped rotating. They glared at each other before in an angered grunt, the former heated her blades enough to slash off her foe's, followed by kicking her down onto the floor. She then reared her hot glass swords back, about to slash her robotic foe.
"NO!" Penny screamed, unleashing another icy beam onto the Fall Maiden's back, causing her to lurch forward as she yelped in pain, dropping her weapons. However, she then started to smirk as she whipped around and launched herself up at the Winter Maiden, who gasped. She wrapped her legs around her foe's waist as she screamed with terror, trying to grab her with her Grimm arm.
Penny grabbed the shadowy arm by the wrist, struggling against her foe as she grimaced. However, the ice on one of the beams started breaking off, enticing her to quickly shot another ray at it in order to keep it cooled again. In a grunt, Cinder grabbed the hand that her foe was using to hold her Grimm arm, applying intense heat to it as it glowed white hot. She lost her grip from the pain, and the Fall Maiden immediately took advantage, grabbing her face with her shadowy hand, which muffled Penny's screams.
"PENNY!" Jenny shrieked in terror. Cinder's Grimm arm started glowing bright green, siphoning off power from her terrified target. She attempted to fly away, but forgot that she was still tethered to the platform by her swords. She swung herself and Cinder beneath the platform and continued struggling, while Emerald had run back into the arena to witness what was happening.
The Winter Maiden was failing to remove her foe. But she steeled herself, stretching her hands out to their respective sides as an icy mist wafted off from them, much to her foe's surprise. She watched as Penny created eight jagged ice swords. She used them to push Cinder off of her, but her Grimm arm stretched and held onto her face, still glowing all the while.
But as she moved back toward her target, Penny put her feet up in the way onto her torso, using her jets to kick off from her. It sent the Fall Maiden flying backward to slam against a wall. The ice swords followed, with one pinning her cape to the wall as the others pierced around her.
"Cinder!" Emerald cried out. Meanwhile, Penny fell onto the floor of the arena, with the swords of her Floating Array clattering beside her. The sound of her yelp caught the attentions of Maria and Carla.
"Penny!" the latter exclaimed before Neopolitan kicked her away. In the meantime, Cinder pulled the blade of ice pinning her cape out, expelling flames from her hands and feet to keep herself airborne. She looked down to Emerald, exchanging a smile with her.
At that moment, the mute girl on the arena floor took the chance to knock Maria down with a swipe of her Hush. She then started walking toward her, drawing a sword from parasol. Carla quickly took a defensive stance in front of the elderly woman, which Neopolitan scoffed at. But she was suddenly struck by a large green laser, sending her crashing into the parked airship. She hit it so hard that her pink Aura shattered immediately, with its remnants wafting off from her like fading embers as she lied upon the floor.
Penny had risen up to a knee with all of her swords drawn, having them spin behind her as she stood back up. She was evidently weakened from battling against Cinder, with burns and damage all along her body. But she knew that it wasn't over yet. She took a few steps to get a running start before flying back up to face off with the Fall Maiden. She clenched her teeth together, determined to win.
"Penny…" Jenny uttered worriedly beside Pietro, while Carla and Maria watched on from below. Cinder created a glowing hot glass spear in her hands. All of a sudden, the Winter Maiden found herself surrounded by copies of her foe, all wielding the same spear.
Noticing how bewildered she seemed, Jenny looked around the arena before spotting Emerald below with her hands held up, casting an illusion thanks to her Semblance onto Penny. However, the Winter Maiden wasn't deterred in the slightest. She let her eyes flare up with the green energy once again, levitating her swords behind her as a storm cloud formed just above herself.
Cinder and her illusory copies each aimed their spears at her and charged. Green lightning rained down from the storm cloud onto Penny's hands, charging her swords with energy as well. Quickly activating her vision's heat signature mode, she immediately found the real Fall Maiden. She gathered her charged swords all together as they spun rapidly in front of her.
Cinder threw her spear in a last-ditch effort upon knowing that she had been discovered, but she was too late. The Winter Maiden fired off a powerful laser, destroying the spear and striking her target as she crossed her arms over herself to try and defend from it, only to wind up getting pushed into a wall of the stands below.
"CINDER!" Emerald screamed, rushing to her aid. Cinder shrieked with agony upon having to endure the powerful beam, with her Aura shattering just moments after it subsided. She fell onto the floor just as her comrade reached the top step, with a burn mark left on the wall she had been struck. "No, no, no! No!" Emerald repeated in dismay, kneeling beside her now unconscious friend.
She rolled her onto her back to check on her, all while Penny levitated near them, narrowing her glowing eyes. The battle was finally over. But that didn't stop Emerald from firing a shot from her Thief's Respite as she whipped it out at her. The bullet flew past the Winter Maiden as she dodged it, looking to see it harmlessly hitting the machine on the raised platform, barely missing Pietro. Angered, Penny then turned to Emerald and pointed her swords at her, glaring and gnashing her teeth. She breathed heavily.
"I know I can't beat you…" she confirmed to her foe, whose anger subsided as her eye flares disappeared, followed by giving off a sad frown, "But I can fill that thing full of holes before you take me down…" she proclaimed, all while shedding a single tear from her right eye.
"Not if I fill you full of holes first," Jenny's voice chimed in, getting her attention as she saw the teenage robot standing beside her with her arms morphed into machine guns, "Go ahead…" she said with a glare, "Make my day…" she challenged.
"Jenny…" Penny uttered, getting her attention as she saw her friend relax her posture and lower her swords, "I think that is enough…" she confirmed to her surprise. All of a sudden, she and the others felt the colosseum shake and rumble. She watched as Emerald picked Cinder up and brought her back to the Manta, setting her beside her in the backseat as Neopolitan started the ship. The greenish-haired girl worriedly patted the Fall Maiden's head, wondering if she'd be okay. Meanwhile, the mute girl looked back at them in annoyance.
"Get us out of here," Emerald requested of her immediately, "Hurry!" she shouted, causing Neopolitan to gnash her teeth together in anger. The ship's windshield came over before it was flown out of the tower, heading off into the distance.
X
Meanwhile, Carla carried Maria up to the platform with her angelic wings spread. Once they arrived, the humanized Exceed hand her wings disappear in a puff of pink smoke, setting the elderly woman down. Penny and Jenny flew up onto the platform as well.
"Dad!" the former cried out to Pietro, getting his attention as he turned to see her, breathing a sigh of relief, "Are you okay?" she asked, running over and kneeling down in front of him. The others approached, and Jenny immediately noticed the computer screen of the console saying 'BROADCAST SIGNAL LOST'.
"A stabilizer was damaged," the doctor told the group, "We've missed our window…" he confirmed, glancing over at the screen. His daughter got onto her feet and ran over to the console, typing on the keyboard quickly. "At this rate…" Pietro continued, "we're likely to drift until touching down just north of—" The colosseum rumbled again, interjecting him. Penny recognized the bleakness of the situation. But there was a way to rectify it.
"I can fix this," she affirmed.
"What?" Maria uttered in surprise as she blinked, while the others were just as shocked.
"Our message is only a few minutes long," the Winter Maiden pointed out to them, turning to them with a confident smile, "I can try and hold Amity in place until—!"
"Absolutely not!" Pietro shouted, interrupting her as she frowned with disappointment, "You're in no condition to do something like this," he pointed out as he approached her, "Even just the temperature out there could—!"
"It is our only option!" his daughter interrupted firmly.
"…She's right, Pietro," Maria confirmed, while he closed his eyes in frustration, gnashing his teeth, "We have to remember the big picture—"
"I don't care about the big picture! I care about my daughter!" he yelled angrily, slamming his left fist down onto the arm of his chair. Everyone's gaze on him softened in realization, especially Penny's. All of his decisions were only because he was so protective of her. "I lost you before!" he pointed out emphatically, lowering his head, "Are you asking me to go through that again?" he asked of his daughter. "No… No…" he repeated in refusal, taking his hat off of his head, "I want the chance to watch you live your life…" he said.
Hearing all of that, Penny understood his worry. She walked over to her father, placing her gloved left hand onto his head. She gently lifted it up for him to look at her.
"But Dad…" she uttered, "I am trying to…" she affirmed to him. After a moment, he took her hand into both of his, emotionally gathering himself and slowly nodding.
"Right…" he replied, having taken a deep breath through his nose. Maria, Carla and Jenny watched on with small, sympathetic smiles. Penny gently kissed the top of her father's head. He took off his glasses and rubbed his teary eyes.
"You're not going out there alone," Jenny stated as she and the others approached, with Maria and Carla standing beside Pietro.
"Are you sure, Jenny?" the Winter Maiden asked in concern, "I know your damages may not be the same as mine, but—"
"I'm living my life, too," her fellow robot girl interjected with a smile, "And this is how I want to live it," she added firmly. Penny smiled at her. They looked back to the others, with Maria putting her hand onto Pietro's arm as he put his glasses back. He gave a soft smile to both robot girls, who nodded to each other before flying out through an opening in the roof.
They looked down to the contrasting skyline with the dark red clouds where the Monstra lurked, and the rest of the clear night sky of Atlas. They then looked up at a borealis in the sky, smiling. Jenny turned to Penny.
"Hey… uh…" she started to say, getting her attention, "there's a lot that I wanna tell you after this is all over…" she admitted, "But for now…" she continued, "I'll just say that I'm so happy that you get to be what you want to be," she affirmed to her. The Winter Maiden gave off a thankful smile. They then flew down to opposite sides of the tower, with Penny approaching the damaged stabilizer.
She started to push on it, using the jets at her feet to propel herself as she grunted. Jenny was doing the same from the opposite end, gritting her teeth. Inside, the others felt the colosseum rumble as they watched the computer screen, seeing the image of Amity slowly rising up through the red dotted line that represented the broadcast range.
"Come on, girls…" Pietro pleaded. Outside, Penny activated her Maiden powers as her eyes flared with green energy once more. The jet that she was producing from her feet greatly increases in size, changing from green to cyan. In just a matter of moments, she and Jenny pushed the tower up even higher into the sky. A noise went off from the computer as the broadcast range had been fully reached.
"Yes!" Maria exclaimed, while Pietro and Carla smiled, "Atta' girl!" she remarked proudly. A window labeled 'USER INPUT NEEDED TO CONTINUE' appeared on the screen a moment later, asking 'INITIATE BROADCAST OPERATIONAL SEQUENCE?' with icons for 'YES' and 'CANCEL' present below it. Pietro brought his left fist down onto the keyboard, selecting 'YES'.
At the Atlas Military Compound, operators and other personnel immediately took notice of all their screen suddenly displaying a broadcast color pattern with the text 'ATLAS EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM' displayed across the top, emitting a long tone. Bill was amongst those in the central command room, dropping his mug in shock. Another screen upon a building in Mantle flickered on at the same moment, displaying the same image before switching to an image of Ruby. Onlookers were bewildered, wondering what was going on.
"Okay, go ahead," Blake's voice echoed from the screen as the silver-eyed huntress took a deep breath to calm herself. She looked to the camera with wide eyes of surprise.
"Um, uh," she stammered, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, "Hi," she greeted, taking on a more serious expression, "My name is Ruby Rose," she introduced, "I'm a Huntress," she mentioned, "And if we've done everything right, then… I'm talking to all of Remnant right now," she told audiences, as the pre-recorded video was broadcasting to televisions and Scrolls all over Remnant. People in Mistral were watching, as were ones in Argus. Saphron and Terra Cotta-Arc were also viewing the broadcast, as their son Adrian grinned at the sight of Ruby, waving his hands. "Doctor Polendina can explain more later," she continued, "but right now you all need to know that the Kingdom of Atlas is under attack," she stated, much to the shock of the couple as they looked to each other in shock.
Out in the tundra, Raven was watching the broadcast on her Scroll while seated on the bed. She looked to see that everyone inside the outpost was watching individually on their own devices, all with varying expressions of relief and worry. The Spring Maiden herself was indifferent to the news. There was no telling if anything would really come of it.
"Things are dire, and we need help," Ruby confessed, while Whitley was sadly watching from the holographic monitor in his father's office, resting his arms on the desk with his chin in his arms, "But please, try not to panic," she advised to the audiences around the kingdom, whether they were in the slums, Mantle, or Atlas, "This isn't some new enemy or invading Kingdom," she pointed out, "This is a force we've faced before, for centuries…" she mentioned through the Scrolls of Neptune Vasilias and Sun Wukong in Vacuo, watching the broadcast amidst the setting sun, "Salem…" Ruby said. The two teammates looked to each other.
"Dude…" Neptune uttered in shock.
"The White Fang, Atlesian drones, even the Grimm themselves have all been controlled and manipulated by her, in order to tear down the Huntsman Academies," Ruby explained, while back in Menagerie, Ilia Amitola sadly lowered her Scroll upon learning of the grim news. However, her device suddenly flashed, enticing her to look and see that Ghira Belladonna was trying to call her. Joanna was watching the broadcast in Mantle amongst citizens with her arms crossed. The message was getting out. Now all that was left to be determined was how would people respond.
At Amity Tower, Penny turned and pressed her back to the stabilizer, using her hands to produce two more cyan jets and continue pushing on the colosseum. Jenny kept her hands on the stabilizer at the opposite site, increasing the size of her jets at her back and feet as she kept pushing. Both of them were willing to do whatever it took to get the full message out to the rest of the world.
"I know the idea of the Maidens and Relics seems… well… crazy…" Ruby admitted from the broadcast, "but I promise Professor Goodwitch of Beacon and Headmaster Theodore of Shade can verify all of this," she confirmed as elsewhere in a local shop, a shopkeeper looked over to a stunned Glynda Goodwitch, whose eyes shook, "They might even be able to help organize a way to fight back," the silver-eyed huntress added hopefully, "But… sadly…" she continued as her expression darkened while looking away, "General Ironwood can no longer be trust—" Her message from Pietro's Atlas laboratory was quickly muted by Harriet, who was with the rest of the Ace Operatives as James stood behind them, having his arms folded behind his back. Clearly, she harbored resentment for anyone who dared to talk down on her superior.
He didn't seem to care about it however, walking over to the desk where Arthur was working, dismantling part of the Floating Array he had been given earlier. He was carefully prodding away at the circuitry with his tweezers and other devices. He took notice of the general approaching.
"It seems Polendina's proxy trick worked," he pointed out.
"And that's good news for us," the former Atlesian scientist responded, using his tweezers to grasp and slowly remove a chip from the sword with a green emblem upon it, "Penny's blades operate on the same principle as Amity in the launch terminal," he explained, "In order for her to control them all, they need to communicate with one another," he mentioned, grinning underneath his moustache.
"We didn't have time to prepare for Salem," Ruby continued through Tyrian's Scroll as he scowled, sitting beside his master's throne. She placed her hand atop his head with a smile, and he grinned back as he looked at her. "But now you do!" the silver-eyed huntress proclaimed, though her message seemed to do little to deter Salem in the slightest, "Just because she can't be destroyed, doesn't mean she can't be beaten," she kept going as back in the Schnee Manor, Weiss held onto Nora's left hand as she lied asleep in the bed. She then turned to Ruby and Blake, as they were watching the broadcast on the latter's Scroll. Peter, Danny, Kim and Genji each watched together as well, while outside, Obi-Wan, Tifa and May watched on the former's device. "If she really was unstoppable, she wouldn't have acted with such caution until now," the silver-eyed huntress pointed out to the audience.
"Way to go, Rubes," Peter remarked with a smile, getting her attention as she smiled back at him.
"She knows we're a threat," her voice stated from the broadcast, "So even if we…" she kept going, only to pause for a moment, "even if Atlas falls, you can't give up," she insisted of the audience. During that time though, Arthur was still at work. He used his tweezers to pick up a chip with a red, cursive W upon it. He showed it to James, who nodded in approval. With that, the former Atlesian scientist placed the chip into the Winter Maiden's sword. The lighting inside it changed from green to red.
From where she was, Penny gasped as her eyes flickered red for a moment, with the green flares going out. She then cried out and gripped her head in pain. Jenny took notice of her suddenly falling as her jets stopped working.
"Penny!" she screamed out. Fortunately, the Winter Maiden reactivated her jets and flew back up to push on the damaged stabilizer. But this time, she was struggling.
"Penny!" her father called out via her communicator, "What's going on out there?!" he questioned in concern.
"I…" Penny tried to reply as her eyes kept flickering while she grunted, "I do not know!" she yelled with a shake of her head. Meanwhile, the broadcast was still playing, with Taiyang Xiao Long watching it from his living room couch in Patch, with Zwei right beside him. He watched his daughter smile hopefully.
"I hope Amity Tower will help bring us all together," she said, "Because in the end, that's how we'll win—!" In that moment, the broadcast suddenly cut off, with the screen reverting to the Atlas Emergency Broadcast System.
"No!" Taiyang yelped as he reached out, "No, come back!" he pleaded. He lowered his head into his hands sadly. His dog whimpered, lying down and resting his head on his owner's leg.
"Penny…" Pietro uttered from the tower, "you and Jenny have done enough, sweetheart," he affirmed to her, "Get back inside!" he insisted, "We can ride out on Amity together!" he assured over the communication line.
"No!" his daughter screamed while still struggling, with her eyes flickering between red and green every few seconds, "I-I have to go!" she stammered out, "The Vault!" she yelled, letting out another yelp as her eyes flashed again, "No!" she bellowed out, trying to resist whatever was happening to her.
"Penny, hold on!" Jenny communicated, "I'm on my way!" she promised. The Winter Maiden clenched her teeth together. She wasn't going to be able to withstand whatever was happening for much longer.
"Dad!" she cried out in a panicked tone. As she looked up at the tower, her eyes became dull and lifeless. Her body went limp, and she started falling. Jenny flew over and saw.
"PENNY!" she screamed, diving after her.
"Penny! What is happening?!" Pietro cried out through the communication line. His daughter was still falling, going through the atmosphere as she became engulfed in flames. "Please, baby, say something!" her father pleaded. After a moment, the light returned to the Winter Maiden's eyes as she saw Jenny approaching, and she then closed them.
"I love you…" her voice communicated to Pietro, followed by static. He widened his eyes in horror.
"PENNY!" he exclaimed, followed by going into a coughing fit as he lowered his head into his hands, crying all the while. Maria put her left hand onto his back, trying to comfort him. "Penny…" he uttered sadly. Seeing that, Carla made her way over to the computer.
"Jenny, are you still there?!" she inquired loudly in a panic, "What's happening with Penny?!" she questioned on. There was nothing but static in response. She shut her eyes in frustration, lowering her head. Even if they managed to get the message out, they seemingly sacrificed both robot girls in the process…
X
"Global comms just went back down," Harriet affirmed from the lab, turning off a holographic monitor. Her superior was looking down his Scroll, with which he attempted to contact Penny. However, the call couldn't be completed for some reason.
"And Penny isn't responding," he pointed out, turning to the seated Arthur, who had his arms crossed, "What did you do?" the general asked slowly in a somewhat threatening manner.
"Exactly what you asked," the former Atlesian scientist answered as he picked up the sword he had used, observing his work with a grin, "It's possible Penny's systems are merely rebooting," he assumed, playing with the blade he had held it at different angles, "As for the tower…" he continued with a scoff, "well, perhaps Pietro isn't the genius you thought—" He didn't even get the chance to finish his remark as James angrily threw his Scroll at him. He managed to swat it away as it broke in the process, landing upon the desk as its light flickered out.
"Huh…" the general sighed, "We're not waiting," he decided firmly, "You're going to find her," he affirmed, turning his head to address the figure that had entered the lab, being none other than Winter. She had her hair in a loose ponytail like back in the medical facility, wearing her previous outfit without signs of battle damage. Although, she now wore two red-and-black pauldrons on her arms and legs similar to that of her brace. She stared at Penny's sword on the desk. "Winter," her superior said, getting her attention.
"Sir?" she responded expectantly.
"Until Penny either responds… or is standing in front of that Vault," James began to tell her, "we cannot assume her status," he confirmed, "Take the Ace-Ops," he insisted, "I want constant updates," he ordered on. Winter, Marrow, Elm and Vine saluted him. As they started to leave the room, Arthur picked up his tool kit and started rolling his swivel chair along the desk, turning off the monitors one by one. "Get him back to his cell," the general instructed of Harriet while heading for the door himself.
"With pleasure," she remarked in response as she cracked her knuckles. However, she failed to notice the former Atlesian scientist picking up James' broken Scroll, holding it behind his back as he stood up and faced the mohawk-haired Ace Operative. He wasn't about to stay a prisoner for much longer…
Back in the tundra outpost, almost everyone inside was looking at their Scrolls in panic. The color-patterned screen was upon each of their devices as the signal had been lost. Yang was pacing.
"That was the broadcast!" she realized, "Why'd we lose signal?!" she questioned frantically to her colleagues.
"Most of the message got out, but…" Gaara noted, narrowing his eyes with concern, "Something must've happened at the tower…" he concluded grimly.
"We have to go," Enji insisted of the group, getting their attentions as they saw him standing at the window, "Once we're back in Mantle, we can contact the others and learn more about the situation at hand," he affirmed on. All of a sudden, he and the others heard a loud noise in the distance, causing them to perk up. Raven immediately got onto her feet.
"Let's move," she advised. Moments later, the group was running through the snow in pursuit of the rumbling sounds, with Jaune leading them.
"There's another one!" he called out upon hearing a tremor happen again, "I think it's just up ahead!" he confirmed. He and the others then slowed to a stop, staring at what was at their feet with wide eyes.
"What… is this?" Ren asked slowly.
"Oh Gods…" Kevin uttered out. The ground before the group had broken open, with a reddish-black liquid flowing inside the crack steadily like a river. The ground rumbled again. Cautiously, Yang took a step forward. The slab of earth she touched with a small tree upon it broke off. Luckily, Raven quickly pulled her back before she could fall with the slab. It splashed into the liquid and instantly dissolved.
The blonde-haired huntress glanced back at her biological mother, who let her go before awkwardly looking away. Enji narrowed his eyes onto the liquid below. He and the others then saw the head of a Sabyr float to the surface.
"It's Grimm…" he concluded grimly, "A river of Grimm…" he added as he and his colleagues looked to where the liquid was heading, while the Monstra was hovering in the distant dark clouds in the opposite direction. The river was snaking its way across the tundra toward Mantle.
"…Heading straight for the Kingdom…" Yang realized in horror.
One defines 'Amity' as a friendly relationship. But there is no amity at this point. All there is… is grim.
This story will continue, but only with the help of one's upbringing. One whose tale mimics that of a famed princess, but with a more volatile conclusion. We'll understand how Cinder Fall became the person she is today. Until next time, everyone.
END
And that concludes the first third of this adaptation! I must say, I really enjoyed the canon chapter itself, especially with Penny defeating Cinder and Neo. And the emotions were really well-placed, too. However, I didn't know if I could really stand with James on his choices by using Arthur to hack into Penny.
Overall, a good episode! Now we'll be back to this story in a few weeks, as "The Challenge of a Lifetime" will be updated next. I'm excited to see how the adaptation of the next chapter works out, given its nature. But I'm up for the challenge!
Thanks for reading, everyone!