Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. All characters and concepts that aren't my own belong to their respective owners.
Adam Taurus's crimson blade approached Chrome's neck with blinding speed, the edge approaching the robot's neck with the clear intent to land a decisive blow.
Chrome was barely able to react in time, taking a step backwards and flicking his right hand upward to have Durandal intercept the attack just as the crimson sword would have cut into his neck. Had he acted a second later the edge probably wouldn't have stopped there, given the White Fang member's reputation.
"Nice reflexes," Taurus remarked as he swiftly resheathed his blade, "Let's see you do that again."
Just as the android brought the other half of his weapon up to defend the Faunus began his assault, unleashing a series of rapid blows too swift for the average human to track with the naked eye alone. Although he was superior in terms of raw strength, the silver-haired android was trapped in the defensive against the lightning quick Faunus as a single well placed hit could spell defeat for the former.
Under normal circumstances the android would have tried to trap Taurus in a blade lock to quickly overpower the criminal and throw him off balance, but the latter's method of sheathing his blade after every strike made that impossible. The artificial being simply did not have the expertise necessary to handle the monstrous speed of the White Fang elite.
In short, Chrome was completely and utterly outmatched.
"Come on, kid. You can't beat me if all you're going to do is defend!" resheathing his blade once more, Taurus fired his weapon at the head of his younger foe, who was forced to block as it rebounded off his own blade.
"You'll have to do better than this!" the White Fang member caught his sword before swinging it down in a two handed motion, generating enough force to send the android backward several meters.
Chrome converted the Durandal into its third form during this time, aiming both halves of the weapon directly at the Faunus before unleashing a storm of high-caliber rounds towards the most probable locations his target could run to.
However, Taurus did not run or hide, instead deflecting the rounds with a series of expertly timed swings before sheathing his sword once again.
"Sorry, I've already dealt with this country's security androids." he taunted, "That tactic isn't working on me."
"Target's speed far exceeds available parameters. Current tactics insufficient. Analyzing environment to determine the best course of action." Chrome thought aloud as his thought circuits raced to determine a viable strategy against the danger before him.
"What are you blabbering about?" asked Taurus.
Chrome didn't respond, his mind processing dozens of potential battle scenarios in a short amount of time. With all options considered, he found the only viable course of action.
The chance of success were less than 1%.
Even still, one entry that was missing from the robot's lexicon was the word "surrender".
The robot once again combined the halves of his weapon before gripping the sword with both hands and holding it low to the ground behind him, preparing to react at the slightest source of motion.
"You're not going to be able to block with that kind of stance." Taurus remarked, "You're practically begging for me to cut you down."
The android remained silent, his steely blue eyes trained on the Faunus's every movement.
Taurus merely grinned, "Your loss."
The red-haired swordsman rushed forward once more, aiming to end this fight once and for all.
Unfortunately for him, that plan went awry in a hurry, as the android's own plan took him by surprise.
The android's massive, double-edged sword came down with almost pinpoint accuracy as Taurus approached, almost cutting the Faunus in two. The faster foe had barely managed to bring his weapon up to stop it, an effort that was quickly becoming futile as the crimson blade began bending under the force of his opponent's blow.
"How the hell did you-" snarled the aggressor, his full interested now piqued by the young combatant before him.
"The time it takes for: Adam Taurus. To cross: ten meters. Of flat space is: 0.12 seconds." interrupted Chrome, "He begins his movement 0.24 seconds after clutching the hilt of his weapon."
Taurus's eyes briefly widened behind his mask, "You calculated the exact amount of time it took me to approach?"
However, his feelings of shock quickly passed, his mouth twisting into a smirk, "Now things are getting interesting..."
Chrome did not stop there, before Taurus could regain his footing the android once again separated the blades of the Durandal, pinning the Faunus with one hand while swinging half of the weapon with the other.
"Pretty good... but not good enough." Taurus scraped the edge of his blade against his opponent's as he rolled out of the path of both of the android's weapons.
As soon he did however, the right half of Durandal shot towards his position, the tip grazing the bridge of his mask as he attempted to create distance between them.
Chrome would have none of it, the powerful hydraulic systems in his legs allowing him to close the distance between him and the Faunus in seconds. While his overall speed was vastly inferior to his opponent, Chrome was still designed to be able to be able to move at a speed comparable to any trained Hunter, a trait vital to his determined course of action.
Taurus decided to finally return fire, rapidly releasing a small burst of rounds in an attempt to slow the robot down, all of which were deflected by the armaments of their target who spun to throw a pair of powerful downward strikes.
Even as the Faunus avoided the attack with a timely backstep, the android would not let up, continuing his series of attacks by swing the halves of the Durandal diagonally, forcing the pair to clash once more.
Taurus was then forced to block the first blade with his weapon before blocking the second with the scabbard, the ground beneath the pair of combatants cracking under the pressure from the robot's swings.
Taurus grunted, "You're trying to keep the pressure on me so I can't cut you to pieces, aren't you kid?"
"Affirmative." the android responded, his expression unchanging as he applied more and more pressure, his assault only being repelled by his opponent's gratuitous use of Aura.
"You've got guts... I'll give you that. But I think it's about time for me to get serious."
Chrome soon found both halves of his weapons repelled by an enormous burst of Aura before Taurus sent him flying with an equally potent side kick.
Less than a second later the criminal had closed the distance between them, slicing open the robot's torso with ease before letting him fall in a crumpled heap on the ground.
"I wasn't even trying to make it lethal that time. You really have no idea how to use your Aura, do you?" muttered the Faunus, "You'll stay down if you know what's good for you."
He turned to walk away until he heard the sound of sparking circuitry and cracking tiles from behind him.
"For the love of..." the android was still trying to pick a fight, supporting himself by stabbing the tips of his swords into the ground.
The gash on his chest was deep and certainly serious, but not mortal in anyway. The crimson sword had completely missed his power source, but had cut through important wiring along with the motors and tubing that held the same structural functions as the human core muscles.
"Movement capability at less than 40%."
"Combat efficiency dropping..."
However, there was something more troubling to the robot than the impending failure of his extremities.
"What is this sensation? It's akin to the human feeling of stinging or burning, but my skeleton is impervious to puncture wounds from Rapier Wasps, and the temperature of my body systems has not increased. What is happening?!"
However, his core programming took over once more, allowing him to focus on the task at hand, "Primary objective: Detain the target for as long as possible." Chrome recited, his jaw tightly clenched as he slowly managed to pull himself into a standing position.
"You're not going to let me go, are you?" muttered Taurus as he placed his hand on the hilt of sword once more.
Chrome didn't respond, but the message the android meant to send rang loud and clear to his opponent.
"Fine, just know that you brought this on yourself." the crimson blade once again approached the robot, only to be swatted away by the would-be victim's massive twin blades.
"The kid's reaction time got even faster!" noted the Faunus as the android stared directly into his eyes.
"Secondary objective: Maintain functionality at all costs!" Chrome swung both blades once more in a heavy arc, connecting with their target and sending him careening across the room.
He then held the twin swords with his palms facing outward, the edges soon crackling with white lightning as the android accessed his Semblance before sending two pulverizing shock waves of energy in an X-shaped pattern at his opponent.
Unfortunately, it was Chrome's turn to be surprised.
"Big mistake." Taurus partially unsheathed his blade, the blade catching and absorbing the projectile before he resheathed the weapon once more.
The engravings on his mask and the designs on his clothes lit up, turning the burgundy thread scarlet, "Let's see you survive this."
With a single horizontal swing a massive wave of energy of a magnitude far greater than its original left the edge of the crimson blade, annihilating everything caught in his path.
Chromes eyes widened as the attack approached, "This maneuver was not in my records!"
The structural damage he had sustained earlier had severed the circuitry that connected his thought circuits to the hydraulic systems in his legs, rendering his lower half all but inoperable.
In other words, he was a sitting duck.
The best he could do was hold the Durandal in front of him with the edge against the wave before bracing for the inevitable impact.
It was far more than an impact. The robot could feel his skin vaporizing as the attack made contact with the blades, revealing parts of his metallic skeleton in the process. His hands were shaking, straining despite the fact that his frame was built to reduce impacts by a maximum of 93%.
Finally the wave detonated in front of him, blowing him backward and crashing him into the wall, leaving a visible crater in the process. He once again found himself unable to stand no matter how hard he tried, much like a marionette with the strings cut.
"You're some piece of work..." remarked Taurus as he sauntered over, "but now it all comes to an end. You put up a good fight kid, but now it's time to say good night."
"Get away from my brother!" A flurry of short swords flew between the android and the Faunus, stopping the latter in his tracks and forcing him to back off as the blades homed in on his position.
"Chrome are you alright?" he managed to look up to see his sister unit rushing to his aid, her bright green eyes full of nothing but concern for her blue-eyed counterpart.
"Another one?" muttered the White Fang elite.
"Penny... this man... is exceedingly dangerous..." he managed to say with difficulty, grimacing in pain all the while.
"Don't worry, I've brought reinforcements." A group of Atlesian Knights began flooding in through the entrance with all of their rifles aimed directly at the criminal before them.
She turned and stood between her brother and the man before her, "Besides, I'm combat ready! So stand down, Adam Taurus!"
"Sorry, but I have places to go and things to see." casually remarked Taurus as he turned his back to his pursuers, "Torchwick's girl, you're up."
A petite girl even smaller than Penny and Chrome seemed to appear out of thin air, carrying an ornate umbrella. Her hair was bright pink on her right side and chocolate brown on her left, with the pigmentation of her eyes mirroring the same colors. If it weren't for her matching business attire and high heels it would have been easy to mistake the girl for someone of Penny's mental age.
The newcomer did not speak a word, instead smiling eerily sweetly at the group before waving goodbye as the Knights opened fire, the image of the pair of criminals shattering into dozens of pieces in the same manner as a dropped mirror.
When the smoke cleared, the pair was nowhere in sight.
"They got away!" exclaimed Penny in surprise, "But how? Was that her Semblance?"
She tugged her hair in frustration. "Oh... we're going to be in so much trouble when we get home!"
Her thoughts soon returned to her fallen brother, "Can you stand?"
"90% of my movement functions... have been disabled." his voice had grown closer to its usual monotone, but still held some uncharacteristically downtrodden notes.
"Okay then, I'll just carry you!" she scooped him up in her arms and began carrying him outside towards a waiting Bullhead.
Chrome turned his head to the side, his usually neutral lips turned into a small frown, "I apologize."
"What do you mean?" asked Penny.
"I failed to apprehend the suspect."
She smiled at him, "You don't need to worry about that. Father will be happy that you're home safe and sound."
The younger model went silent for a moment before looking into her eyes and asking, "Why do you have so much concern for my well-being?"
"That is just what a sister does! We're family!"
The term only served to further perplex Chrome, "A family is a group of humans with a similar genetic code as a result of sharing progenitors within a few generations. Artificial beings do not have a genetic code."
"Well, we sort of do. Father made the both of us, right?"
"That is true."
"Then we have the same father! That means we're family, right?"
Chrome only blinked before turning away again, "I... do not understand that question."
"You'll understand some day." her smile diminished a little, "I hope..."
After one thousand years, I'm free!
Or at least it feels that way.
Yeah, it's been a long, long time since my last update. I just finished my junior year of high school along with two SATs, an AP US History Test, four additional three hour tests, an eleven-page paper on how Eisenhower helped America dominate the world in the name of battling Communism (I'm serious), a creative art project that involved making a website, and so on...
Please cut me some slack here.
Though to be honest, I'm kind of ashamed that after such a long period I only have this two thousand-something word long chapter to show for it. Even then I'm not sure if the fight between Chrome and Adam was really up to par for the series. It feels a bit sluggish to me, but my intent was to show that Chrome's raw power is meaningless unless he gets the practice he needs to use it. Neo's appearance was probably a bit of a cop out I'm sure, but I just thought that it'd be a cool way for Adam to make an exit as well as act as a continuity nod for later events in the series.
The part at the end was more of an attempt to display Chrome's mindset that he is a weapon first and foremost, love and familial relations are still Greek to him as far as he is concerned. Not my best work, I know, but hey I'm trying.
So yeah, I'm back and I'm writing. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I look forward to seeing you next time.
P.S. I'm going to start assigning my OCs battle music because I tend to think of the source material when I write... which usually comes with awesome battle music. In Chrome's case, it's going to be "22nd Child" OR "Lost Children" from the Super Robot Wars series. The reason why he has two is because they're two different arrangements of the same song (which is also amazing by the way) and I couldn't decide which one fit him better, so I'll let you guys make the decision on that one.