Tundras of Solitas
"Hmm…" Ink sighed, settling into his perch atop the snowdrift. Nearby, Rust was tinkering with a clean, high-tech arm, neatly removed from an android. Nearby, a masked droid sat cross-legged, one arm missing.
Ferris burst from inside the snow mound.
"Well well! We're all here. One big happy family. Out on a mission to murder some school brats." He grumbled.
The other three paid him no mind.
"Archangel. Arm." Rust said, holding out the forearm he was poking at. The masked droid held up its shoulder. Rust began reattaching the two appendages.
"You could at least react when I say something. Or did your sense of humor die with your old bodies?"
"Humor is unnecessary." Archangel said. Its voice was filtered heavily through its mask.
"Yeah, yeah." Ferris waved his hand.
"One affirmation will suffice."
"Eyes up, kids." Rust said. Archangel flexed the fingers on its newly-reattached right arm, picking up a long-barreled railgun that was resting nearby. It rested the gun on the snowdrift, peering down the sights.
"Two. Tall one. One wearing red and white." Archangel said. "Switching scopes." It reached into a sling bag hanging by its waist, procuring a sniper scope. "Confirmation on target. ID: Summer S. Rose."
"And the other one?" Ink asked.
"A Grimm. Likely a Drake."
"What's a Drake doing in Solitas?" Ferris asked, leaning closer to the snowbank.
"Doesn't matter. We're here to take out anyone related to the Schnees, Rose-Xiao Longs, Arcs, and Valkyries." Archangel said.
"No… This may warrant investigation." Ink mused.
"Fire a warning shot. See how they react." Ferris said. "Then, we cross the distance and fight them. See how that Grimm ticks."
"That's reckless." Ink said.
"But it could work." Rust said. "We send Archangel. Remember, they aren't supposed to know Ferris is back."
"Acknowledged."
"Cross the distance faster with your booster." Rust said. "Now go."
Archangel fired off a shot towards Summer's feet. It fell short of its target, slamming into the ground and spraying snow high into the air. Archangel kicked off the snowbank, shooting forward with the help of an energy thruster on its back.
As the flying droid rocketed towards Summer and Grimmdark, it drew two pistols from hip holsters and opened fire. Summer, now on high alert, spun her scythes, blocking all of Archangel's shots.
The droid slammed into Grimmdark, sending the Drake sailing through the air. It skidded through the snow when it hit the ground.
Archangel turned, firing two shots toward Summer. She glyph-warped them behind her, dashing forward and swinging a scythe. The droid ducked, attempting to shoot upwards. Summer leaned back to dodge the bullet, but Archangel quickly followed with an uppercut.
Summer flipped back, tossing her scythes at the droid. They went through glyphs and reappeared above Archangel. They would have hit Archangel's shoulders, but before they could connect, the droid disconnected its arms, shooting them away and reconnecting them when the scythes passed by.
"What the-?" Summer's mumbling was cut off by more pistol whips to the chest and head.
She ducked into a glyph portal, grabbing her scythes and dropping back through. The two traded blows, parrying and striking with their dual weapons.
Summer broke out of a combo with a kick to Archangel's shins, followed by another roundhouse to the gut. However, instead of flying away or reeling in pain, the droid simply staggered slightly backwards, bringing its hand around and striking Summer's neck. She fell to the ground.
Archangel stood over her, reloading its pistols. Before it could do anything else, though, it was interrupted by a low growling. A Sabre leapt towards the droid, knocking it onto the ground. Archangel struggled to push back against the Grimm's chest, barely keeping its snapping jaws away. Archangel kicked it in the belly, rolling out from underneath the Grimm. The next time it leapt, the droid braced itself and jammed its guns into the Sabre's unprotected chest, breaking through the ribcage. The Grimm yowled, silenced by two gunshots inside its torso. Archangel pulled its guns out as the Sabre disintegrated, holstering them.
Before it could do anything else, Archangel was sent flying by a charging Grimmdark. The Drake grabbed Summer and stormed off, kicking up a cloud of snow in its wake. Archangel pulled itself onto its feet, retracting its mask to spit out a glob of milky transmission fluid. The wind blew its hood down. Its orange hair flapped in the wind, green eyes indifferently watching the duo flee. It sighed, voice sounding high and feminine without the mask's filters.
"One day. First you, then my sister."
A/N: Dun-dun-duuuun!
I hope you found this chapter enjoyable! I said this back in the final chapter of Volume 1, but there's a hint about Archangel's identity in that one. And now, we've gotten a look at its face! I wonder if you can see where this is going…
That's all from me this week. I hope you liked this!
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097Cyber, out!