Eheheheheheh, time for suffering
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Down in Mantle, Pietro was getting together some various tools he'd need to finish up the work on Amity. Screwdrivers, wrenches, fire Dust welding tools; that last one might seem excessive, but considering that there was a fight in there just a night prior and he didn't know about the damage it sustained, well, better safe than sorry.
"And you're sure about heading out now?" Lev asked, handing the good doctor another tool.
"Afraid we don't have the luxury of waiting. I don't know how much needs to be done when it comes to the communication system. So, the sooner I start, the better," Pietro answered.
"At least let us call the Huntresses. They can send someone to escort you. Or we can call Yang and the others."
"They're all busy with the evacuation. No idea how far that's come along and we shouldn't interrupt. Besides, Penny will be on her way soon. It'll all work out. Just you watch."
"Ever the optimist, aren't you?" Lev smirked, handing the doctor one final tool.
"In dark times like this, someone has to be," Pietro beamed. He placed the last tool into his toolbox and shut its lid. He activated a magnetic Dust clamp on the side of his chair, letting the toolbox click in place. The mechanical legs of his chair began moving, taking Pietro to the front of the clinic. Ari was still keeping an eye on Ben, checking on his vitals every now and then, seeing if he was any closer to waking.
Nothing yet.
But then, the trio were thrown into a panic when they heard jet engines overhead, instead of the smaller thrusters in Penny's legs.
"You gotta be shitting me," Lev cursed, activating the weapons in his prosthetics. He rushed to the front of the store and saw a Manta land in the street, right in front of the clinic.
"Of all the times they could find us…and you still haven't woken up," Ari added, looking to the unconscious Ben.
Before Lev could even get into a fighting stance however, Penny landed in front of the Manta and quickly stopped Lev.
"Wait, wait! We have some new friends!" Penny announced. She stepped aside as the Manta's doors slid open to reveal Holiday, and Ciel. Six was still in the cockpit, turning to the clinic and giving a simple nod.
"You're sure?" Lev asked.
"Without them, we would not have made as clean a getaway as we did."
"If Six really agreed with Ironwood, do you think Penny would even be here right now?" Ciel asked.
"That's not ominous at all," Lev rolled his eyes.
"Point stands though," Penny pointed out.
"Penny? Eunice?" Pietro spoke up, having left the clinic. The android girl rushed up to her father and quickly hugged him.
"We're here. We're here," both of Pietro's daughters answered in unison.
"Does…does this mean you're ready?" Pietro asked.
"We're…we're ready to head out, at least."
"We'll hold down the fort then, as it were. And…well, I guess we'll know if you've pulled it off," Lev said.
"That you will," Pietro said before his chair walked over to the Manta and boarded. The airship's doors slid closed before the vessel and Penny, her thrusters igniting, took off for the colosseum.
"Good luck you guys," Lev sighed before he went back inside.
"I take it…it's do or die now?" Ari asked, leaving behind the medical room for a moment.
"Yep. Only way we're gonna know if it works…is if we hear it."
As if he could hear them, Ben started to stir. His eyes shot open and he started slowly coming to, sitting up on the medical table.
"Hear what?" Ben called out, catching Lev and Ari by surprise.
Back aboard Monstra, Cinder is storming through another corridor with Raddock and Floyd close behind. The Fall Maiden's eyes shifted around, keeping track of any of the Anur guards that had joined the Grimm whale's crew. None of them seemed to pay her nor her subordinates any mind, mostly speaking amongst themselves in an alien language that Cinder couldn't begin to understand.
"Did you see that thing?" Raddock asked, "A Grimm that scared another Grimm. Always knew she had a twisted mind, but that's on a whole new level."
Floyd shivered at any mention of the Hound. Despite the Alpha Geist's greater intelligence, Grimm of any kind didn't really feel fear. So not only was it strange to see the third of Cinder's new trio react like this, but to have that reaction stick with them like shellshock was cray.
"I'm not that concerned with her new pet," Cinder huffed, the annoyance clear on her face. The trio stopped only for a second to allow the membrane door tear itself open, letting fresh air seep into the monstrous sky-whale's interior. Raddock raised a brow when he realized they were back at the "landing pads" that Monstra sported.
"Then what are you concerned with? Considering your orders were to-"
"I know what she said! I just…I just need to check on something. Otherwise its going to gnaw at the back of my mind for days. Assuming Atlas even has that long left."
"Know that feeling. But if I'm going behind her back," Raddock moved in front of and cut Cinder off in a surprising show of defiance, "I want to know exactly what we're doing."
"Bold of you to get in my way like that…but fine," the disgraced Maiden sighed, "We're going to check on Amity Colosseum."
"You think they're gonna try something there? They don't have the resources to get it in the air."
"You'd think that, but you're thinking logically and that's the last word I'd use to describe anything they do. Besides, you've just proved my point. I know these…these children better than you, better than Salem. She's not worried about them but she should be. They'd look at an impossible task and they'd say 'let's have a go at it,'" Cinder ranted a bit as she pushed past her new partner and walked over to the stolen Manta.
Before she could reach the aircraft, though, another membrane door tore itself open, causing the trio to freeze in their tracks. Cinder's head swiveled so she could see who was walking in and she felt a small bit of paradoxical relief when she saw the last of the Murrians walk through, ducking his head ever so slightly to avoid the top of the fleshy archway. Vilgax's crimson eyes locked onto the three, shifting focus from Cinder to Raddock to Floyd and back again. The warlord took a few thundering steps towards Cinder before he stopped in his tracks.
"Vilgax…what do you want?" Cinder asked nervously.
"...you should hone your senses more. I'm only here because I noticed her," Vilgax answered after a brief period of silence, pointing one of his clawed fingers over to Raddock. The crime lord seemed offended at first, but then he heard a gasp from behind him. He quickly spun around and grabbed his invisible tail by the wrist. With her presence now known, Emerald dropped her Semblance and sighed.
"How long did you know?" Emerald asked.
"Since you started. I decided to follow you indirectly. I merely guessed you were heading to this…improvised hangar," Vilgax answered.
"Emerald," Cinder practically growled, her paranoia returning in full force, "How much did you hear?"
"...all of it," the thief answered.
"You wish to investigate the colosseum, correct?" Vilgax asked.
"I do. Why? Do you plan to stop me?" the Fall Maiden asked, ready to conjure up a weapon the second the warlord said yes.
"No."
"No?"
"You wish to investigate because you believe that Tennyson and his hangers-on have a plan involving it. And I agree."
"...you do, huh?" Cinder asked, once again calming down.
"You believe you are the only one with issues with her command?" the warlord asked.
"Not…issues, exactly-"
"But she is too passive. She has amassed an army of monsters unlike any horde your 'Hunters' have seen before, or so she has boasted. But when she arrives at her enemy's capital, what does she do with such a force? She waits. She does not even send smaller creatures to assail them, instill proper fear into her enemies. Deprive them of sleep, of security, lower their morale."
"And that's what you would've done?"
"Exactly. Salem's war has been run from the shadows so long, that she doesn't know how to fight in the open. All due respect to her, but she doesn't know Tennyson OR Rose," the Murrian continued.
"There's an Earth saying that fits wonderfully here. Not sure if you've heard it or not. 'Great minds think alike,'" Cinder couldn't help but grin.
"Ok, so…taking the giant squid with us, then?" Raddock asked, "What about her?"
"I doubt you're gonna just let me go," the illusionist rolled her eyes.
"And you'd be right," Cinder nodded.
"Bigger group, more chance of being missed."
"Then someone will just have to stay behind. Like Floyd."
The Geist put a hand over its chest and a small hissing noise, almost like a human's gasp of surprise. While the Grim couldn't talk, that hiss sounded very offended. No doubt, it'd have a strongly worded argument for Cinder if it had the capability to.
"You'll be fine on your own. The dog doesn't go far from Salem and I doubt you have a reason to go near her, now do you?"
"Floyd, stay here. Make sure no one finds out we're gone," Raddock ordered.
With a bit of disappointment, the Geist hung its head before obeying. It turned and floated down the fleshy corridor, leaving the villainous quartet to their plan.
"One question," Emerald spoke up, "Are we still taking that?" She pointed to the rather diminutive aircraft. While it could certainly fit herself, Cinder, and Raddock, the towering enhanced Murrian would never fit in it. Of course, that fact wasn't lost on Cinder either. She looked between the warlord and the ship, trying to think of where she could acquire a new mode of transport.
Vilgax had that covered though. He simply walked to one of the free landing pads and activated a few buttons on his gauntlet.
"Have none of you ever questioned," Vilgax began, "how I arrived on this world?"
"You landed as a meteor. Not much to really question," Raddock scoffed.
"And yet I lack the ability to fly. I am no Aerophibian…"
A dark red light began to shine in front of him, much to the surprise of the others.
"You really do just prepare for anything don't you?" Cinder smirked.
"One must when dealing with Tennyson," Vilgax said.
"Truer words have never been spoken."
About an hour after arriving, Pietro was putting the finishing touches on part of the Amity Tower. The time to fix it all had been greatly reduced because of all the extra help he'd gotten. Doctor Holiday, Six, Ciel, even Penny's and Eunice's own contributions. Speaking of the two sisters, the good doctor received a call from Penny as he finished some last minute welding, covering up some of the internal wiring.
"Everything going okay with you two?" Pietro asked as he picked up the call.
"...Dad, this does not seem like a very good idea." Penny said.
At the moment, Penny was sat in the main chamber of the old SDC mine that was used as the secret construction site for the tower. Placed in front of her was just one of three high-yield bombs that were needed for this. Passively scanning it as she looked down at it, her threat assessment protocols alerted her to the danger of its detonation.
Didn't really need a scan to tell her that.
"There is a difference between a good idea and our best idea," Pietro clarified as he finished up his work on one of the outer thrusters for the colosseum. The boots of his leg chair were connected and holding on to the outer hull through very sturdy use of gravity Dust. With the extra tweaks he'd made here and there, the thruster was ready to go.
"Sadly, we don't have enough time for much else," Penny's father continued before looking up to Ciel, "Alright! Good to go! On my way back up!"
"Huh, but I saw-" Ciel began, but she was caught off guard when Pietro began to move. One of the wrenches in his tool kit jangled loose from its sheath and began to fall back towards the earth.
"Nevermind, there it is."
And we're sure about this? Eunice asked nervously, quickly doing some calculations, The chain reaction alone…
"Do you still possess that Aerophibian flight speed?" Penny asked.
Yes.
"Then we should be fine. We arm them, we get out. Easy!" Penny explained before she armed the bomb. She quickly got to her feet and flew off, arming another device in the scaffolding around the main chamber. She quickly flew into a tunnel with a high concentration of fire Dust and armed a third bomb.
Remind me. Why are we using bombs for this?
"We have enough systems up and running to broadcast our message and keep Amity in atmospheric orbit," Pietro coughed, "But our thrusters just aren't capable of reaching our target altitude on their own...but we have some good minds with us to help maximize efficiency."
"But what if no one is able to come and help Atlas? If I stay behind, I could maybe-" Penny suggested.
"We're not discussing this again, Penelope." Pietro frowned. "I'm your father and I'm telling you that you belong on Amity."
Penelope? Eunice repeated.
My full name, Penny explained, I just prefer the shorthand version more. He never uses Penelope unless...
Unless he's mad?
Unless he's focused. Penny frowned.
Pietro sighed as he rubbed his temple and moved back inside, moving through the corridors that were still littered with ladders and tarps. Ciel was walking with him, though there was a thought she had on her mind she needed to say.
"Don't you think Penny has had enough people telling her what to do?" the Huntress asked.
Pietro just sighed again in response at first.
"Let's...let's prepare for launch, please" Pietro began, "We need to move into position soon."
With that, the good doctor began making his way back to the central control terminal where Six and Holiday would be waiting. Ciel...to say she wasn't pleased with that response was an understatement, but she followed the doctor back anyway.
The control terminal was still raised up, a remnant of the duel between Watts and Ironwood from a night ago now. Holiday was sitting at the terminal, getting the coding and commands put in while Six was putting the finishing touches on the transmitter itself. Because of Ironwood's bluff, the component hadn't been installed yet, even if it was an easy enough job. The problem was just how big the transmitter was, a spare part repurposed from the main CCTs found across the world. In order to connect it, Six had to pilot a massive, gray-green plated construction mech, an AP-06, the civilian version of an Atlesian Paladin.
Once all the bombs were armed, Penny and Eunice flew out of the Dust mine and up to Amity Tower. Once she arrived, she sat on the edge of the platform, while Pietro worked on a computer.
"Everything ready?" Ciel asked.
"All the bombs are armed and...awaiting our signal," Penny said disappointingly.
"Requesting Amity Launch...now." Pietro said, as he pressed a button
Penny looked at the screen, which read "Connecting..." She looked down, waiting. Pietro and Ciel looked at Penny, and after a few moments, her eyes glowed slightly. The tower's stabilizers activated, glowing purple, and Pietro beamed.
"It's working… It's working! Yes!" Holiday cheered.
Penny looked back up and smiled. The plan had worked, but her mood hadn't really changed. She looked back down at her hands, wishing she could go out and help her friends again.
It doesn't feel right, does it? Eunice asked.
No…it does not. We are safe up here and yet all our friends are down there, fighting or at risk of discovery, Penny answered, balling one of her hands into a fist in a rare sign of frustration.
A firm but gentle hand soon found the mechanical girl's arm to try and comfort her. When she looked up, she saw the face of her father, his focused mindset having left him, returning him to that kind, gentle soul she knew and loved.
"Hate to interrupt the celebrations, but I feel I should ask," Ciel said, "Does this thing come with seat belts?"
"Afraid not. Didn't have time to install them," Pietro said, activating the gravity Dust boots in his chair again, "So you may want to hold onto something."
Down in the Dust mine, countdown timers appeared on all the bomb's screens, starting from thirty seconds and quickly descending. 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24 and so on. Ciel moved over to one of the support columns and grabbed hold of it, preparing for the inevitable blast-off.
Penny braced for the launch as well-
But then warnings began flaring in her vision.
"E-eunice?! What's-?!" Penny yelled.
I'm not sure! I'm detecting some kind of foreign signature of energy approaching the coliseum! I don't recognize it! Eunice answered.
"W-what?"
As if to answer her question, the ceiling above them smashed apart as a large red sphere crashed down into the nearest row of what would be empty seats. As the dust settled, Penny locked onto the strange, but tank-sized sphere, with small spikes dotting its surface as if it were the head of a mace. The ball spun and ground the floor beneath it further as it turned towards them all, Penny, Ciel, Six in his mech, and even Holiday getting into combat stances. The sphere then clicked and split open, revealing a doorway in the middle. The android girl focused on that entrance, but she was blindsided by a barrage of flaming arrows launching out from the strange vehicle, forcing her to deflect them with Floating Array. When the last one was fired though, a larger projectile launched from the sphere and clashed blades with Penny.
With jets of flame under her feet and a fire of ambition in her one good eye, Cinder smirked as her weapons struggled against Penny's.
"Going somewhere, Penny?" Cinder asked with a grin.
Ciel was about to get involved with the fight, strike at Cinder from behind, but she quickly turned and blocked a barrage of bullets and Dust projectiles, fired off from two of Cinder's companions. Emerald and Raddock had stepped out of the sphere by now and were ready to fight.
And then he had to come out of the sphere too. Penny's eyes widened with shock.
That's Vilgax! Eunice gasped. What's he doing with Cinder!?
I do not know, but Ben is going to be most displeased. Penny frowned.
"So...this is the Amity you spoke of." Vilgax began, "You claimed this was the site of their previous downfall...and now they intend to use it as a beacon of hope?"
"We call that irony, big guy," Raddock scoffed. Vilgax spared Raddock a passing glance of annoyance; he knew what irony was. Not everything was an Earth-centric concept. He drew his To'kustar blade and stabbed it into the floor to make a statement.
"It fell once and it shall fall again," Vilgax promised.
Cinder looked around at the defenders and found herself disappointed by those gathered.
"I was hoping your friends would be here," the Fall Maiden said, "But it looks like they left you to do all the work..."
"And Salem sent one of her worst fighters to deal with us." Six countered. "Remind me again, how's that record of yours looking?"
"You couldn't even kill Tennyson properly," Holiday added.
"I was alone if you recall," Cinder corrected, shoving Penny back, ending their blade-clash, "But if you bothered to count..."
"She's got back-up this time, bitch," Raddock smirked.
Six and Holiday shared a look.
"...your backup is wearing a pig mask." Holiday frowned.
"IT'S STYLISH!" Raddock countered.
"Banter all you want," Vilgax interjected, ripping his sword from the floor and getting into a fighting stance, "It took your entire military to hold me back while there are only four of you who are fit for combat. I doubt even your combined efforts could even scratch this shuttle, while I can destroy this station with minimal effort."
"You say that like we'll let you," Ciel countered as she readied her chakrams, eyes locking on the last of the Murrians.
"I know you won't...but even with all your 'training,' all your 'skill,' this station and this Kingdom will fall all the same!" Vilgax hissed and started off this fight with a bang, firing off his eye-lasers right at Ciel.
The clairvoyant Huntress barely dodged the attack, but the damage done to the surroundings was intense. The beams easily melted metal so they could probably cleave through Ciel like though, her future vision would tell her when and where to dodge.
But before she had the chance to activate it, Cinder launched off Penny with a burst of flame and kicked Ciel off the platform. Vilgax's arm unfurled into a collection of tentacles that launched up and grabbed one of the few Huntresses to see Ironwood's madness. With the smallest amount of effort, Salem's newest recruit tossed the girl aside, having her bounce off the nearest wall. Raddock, meanwhile, took aim and began blasting magma Dust projectiles at Six, the blasts sparking against the armor of the AP-6. It wasn't designed for combat, but it'd have to do. Emerald did the same, firing off a few bullets at Holliday and forcing the doctor to jump down after her.
Cinder smirked, seeing how well the plan was working so far. Simply divide and conquer, leave the tin soldier to her.
The Fall Maiden turned her attention back to Penny, who was struggling to get up. Cinder stepped forward, preparing to deliver a final blow, but as she raised her arm, a sudden burst of electricity surged through her body, knocking her back.
Pietro huffed, the turrets from his chair began to smoke.
"Don't you even try it." the doctor warned, voice low.
"D-dad?" Penny and Eunice asked in sync.
"You're..." Cinder started laughing, "You're serious? The old man is gonna try and fight me? Fine." With that, Cinder turned on a dime, morphing her glass swords into a glass bow, an arrow already knocked. She grinned wickedly and fired off the arrow, aimed right at Pietro's heart. In a blur of green, Penny raced over and caught the arrow in her hands. She looked to Cinder and, for maybe the first time in her life, her eyes were filled with nothing but fury. The green Maiden flames flared at the corners of her eyes and all Cinder could do was smile. Her own Maiden flame ignited at the side of her good eye and flames gathered in her palm.
But in all the excitement, everyone had forgotten about the bombs. Their countdowns had reached their last few precious seconds.
5...
4...
3...
2...
1!
The bombs detonated, triggering a chain reaction of blasts as they ignited the volatile and unrefined Dust. A cacophony of multi-colored explosions blasted through and out of the mine as four rocket thrusters ignited on the sides of the colosseum. The blast from the mine reached skyward and the combined force of the roaring engines and the explosion were enough to launch the arena skyward. The sudden increase in g-force threw most everyone to the ground, save for Six, thanks to his mech, and Vilgax, who was used to this sort of force. Cinder growled as she was forced down to a knee, her hands outstretched to keep her steady, her focus broken and dispelling her glass weaponry.
In Atlas Academy, Nesmith, Vine, Harriet, Chiffon, and Cammie were gathered around the holo-table in Ironwood's office, all of them watching a live feed of Amity launching. Ironwood narrowed his eyes as the prospective symbol of Hunter unity began lift-off and he narrowed his eyes at it.
"It's time," the general said, marching out of his office.
Back in the flying arena, Cinder smirked as the tiles beneath her hands began to glow with Maiden energy. Penny watched a collection of glass swords of all kinds of designs appear on the tiles around her opponent.
"As usual, you're just a tool to be used," Cinder hissed.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Penny said defiantly.
"Don't I?" Cinder scoffed.
The tower shot up into the sky, its powerful jets propelling it higher and higher. With a sudden jolt, the engines cut off, leaving Amity hovering ominously in the air. With a wicked grin, noting the return to normalcy, Cinder thrust her hands forward, unleashing a barrage of glass swords hurtling towards Penny with deadly precision.
Penny's thrusters roared to life as she swiftly propelled herself backwards. With lightning reflexes, she arranged her own swords in a deadly circle, ready to strike. The glass swords came hurtling towards her, but Penny was faster. She spun her blades with incredible force, shattering the incoming weapons into a million pieces. A glass sword pierced through the air, narrowly missing Penny's head and embedding itself into the wall with a sharp thud. Her mind raced with fear, yet she persisted in spinning her swords with unyielding determination.
Vilgax suddenly descended from the sky, landing behind Penny's defense, adding himself into the Maiden's intense confrontation. His eyes blazed with fury, nearly paralyzing Penny's body. Vilgax's left arm unfurled, revealing his many tendrils, with his other brandishing his To'kustar Horn Sword. With Vilgax on one side and Cinder on the other, Penny felt like she was caught in a vice. She needed to think quickly and come up with a plan to take them both down.
Cinder smirked at Penny's unease and unleashed a flurry of glass daggers towards the new Winter Maiden. Penny spun her blades with expert precision, deflecting each dagger away, but the Fall Maiden continued to bombard her icy counterpart with glass projectiles. Despite it all, Penny pressed forward, her jets propelling her towards her enemy. Vilgax raced in from behind, swinging his To'kustar Horn Sword with deadly intent. Penny ducked under the swing, then kicked Vilgax in the chest with her powerful metal legs. The warlord stumbled back, then charged forward, swinging his sword in a wide arc. Penny leapt over the blade then landed behind Vilgax in a little bit of deja vu.
The warlord's breathing mask hissed before he spun around, his horn sword aimed right at Penny's neck. He was going to end this quickly, but a flying blade sliced through some of his tentacles, catching him by surprise and making him lose his grip on the weapon. The chakram swung back around, giving Vilgax enough time to raise his armored hand and deflect the flying circular blade. Ciel jumped over the warlord and grabbed her weapon in mid-air. The last of the Murrians wasn't impressed as his tendrils stitched themselves back together, letting him grab hold of the To'kustar-made weapon.
"Rude to interrupt!" Ciel yelled, spinning her chakrams in her hands. Vilgax didn't even share banter, simply pointing his bio-launcher at the girl and opening fire. Ciel's Semblance activated and she used it to weave through the grenades as they bounced once before detonating. The fiber-chord whip extended out from the warlord's arm after the limb reformed, missing his new opponent by a few inches, but he was able to use it like a grappling hook, flying at her and destroying the tiles where he landed. The To'kustar Horn Sword came around in heavy arcing swings, none of which could hit the clairvoyant Huntress. It looked like even one of those hits could break through her Aura easily.
Six drove the AP-06 into the fight with Raddock, punching the crime boss with a massive mechanized fist. The pig-masked mobster dodged the punch and wrapped his flail's cord around the mech's arm, pulling it tight. He quickly brought out and slotted a fire Dust crystal into his weapon, super-heating the cord and, with an extra tug, sliced right through the construction suit's arm.
"Yeah, not very durable is it?" Raddock smirked. Six just glared daggers at him from behind his shades and activated the emergency eject. The cockpit door fired out at Raddock, forcing the mobster to smash through the glass. But the shower of glass shards gave Six the perfect chance to close the distance. His dual swords unfolded and the agent quickly began striking at the crime lord with precision, forcing the brute on the defensive. The swords connected and cut away at Raddock's Aura with each successive hit.
Emerald looked to Holiday, shifting Thief's Respite into its sickle mode.
"So, what's your deal, anyway?" Emerald taunted, "We've got the robot, her maker, a Huntress, and a secret agent. But you're just a normal doctor, aren't you?"
"Field medic's one hell of a job," Holiday shrugged, rushing at the rogue. She pulled out a pistol from a holster on her thigh and began firing off rounds to distract her. Emerald's hand was quickly covered in a green magical aura which she used to summon up a mana barrier, blocking each of the shots. The Dust bullets themselves didn't do much to damage the barrier, leaving behind small cracks in the shield, but it did give Holliday time to close the distance and leap over the shield. In an impressive display, she backflipped over the shield and swept Emerald's legs out from under her, much to the thief's surprise. She rolled out of the way as Holliday brought down an ax-kick aimed at her head.
"Ok," Emerald grumbled, "You got moves."
"You had doubts?" Holiday smirked before she went in for a flurry of quick palm-strikes, mixed with some gun-kata moves. Emerald was struck a few times with the palm strikes, but her Aura held her strong. She countered the gun-kata moves with her own, shifting one of her weapons back into its revolver mode. She moved to shoot Holiday in the head, but the doctor shoved the gun away, moving to fire her own point-blank bullet. Emerald sidestepped the Dust bullet and landed a swift series of kicks to Holiday's back, ending off the combo with a roundhouse.
The doctor was sent tumbling away but she quickly recovered as the thief lunged at her with her sickle. The two engaged in a close-quarters fight, their weapons clashing and sparks flying off in every direction. Neither seemed to have the advantage at first, but Emerald quickly gained the upper hand with her agility and speed. She darted around the doctor, landing blows whenever she could, slowly wearing down Holiday's Aura.
Her speed is incredible, Holiday thought, but predictable. Her eyes traced Emerald's movements over and over again. She quickly caught onto Emerald's pattern and then, when the thief lunged, Holiday sidestepped and grabbed Emerald's arm. The doctor twisted it behind her back, causing Emerald to drop her weapon.
Emerald growled as she slammed her head back into Holiday's, forcing her to let the thief out of her grip. She took a series of swings at the doctor with her remaining weapon, but as before, none of the slashes connected. Her free hand glowed with magic energy as a similar green hue appeared around her weapon, having it fly back to her hand.
Penny's blades clashed with Cinder's glass constructs in a shower of sparks. Each graceful move made the twice-disgraced Maiden skid back ever so slightly. When Salem's chosen was tired of defending, she kicked away the next swing of Floating Array with a flame-enhanced kick before throwing both of her glass scimitars at Penny. Their casings shattered revealing the flaming core within the weapons. Penny tried to block, forming up a shield by interlocking her blades together, but the cores detonated against the shield on impact. Using the smoke, Cinder rushed in from the side and blasted the newly christened Winter Maiden with a pillar of flame at point blank range, knocking her back into the nearest wall. Cinder took to the sky and, with a roar, breathed fire at Penny, knocking her through several layers of the building and even out the bottom of the arena.
Stabilizers losing integrity! Eunice called out, Swapping to Aerophibian flight!
Penny's thrusters extinguished for a moment and she just hung in the air for the moment, her flight now self-propelled like Jetray's. Cinder raced after Penny through the smoldering tunnel she'd created, two new glass blades at the ready. As Penny was about to jump back into the fight, she noticed what this improvised exit had done. One of the gravity Dust projectors keeping Amity aloft had been partially melted by Cinder's attack. It seemed stable, but the rounded piece of tech sparked and flickered. She didn't have time to ask Eunice for an update on that thruster's stability as her opponent charged at her again with a roar.
From a distance, blurs of bright green and fiery red energy clashed in the sky around Amity like fireflies, colliding and moving back as they flew higher and higher up the tower. Penny, in this upward fight, actually used one of the spare antennae jutting off from the side of the colosseum like an acrobatics bar, using it to build up momentum before launching herself at Cinder for a double kick. The Fall Maiden blocked the strike and pushed Penny off, sending her flying and making her the perfect target. Flames ignited on the edges of Cinder's blades as she slashed the air, sending arcs of fire racing towards the Protector of Mantle. With that added Aerophibian speed, Penny was able to duck and weave through the flaming arcs, firing off recreated neuroshock blasts at Cinder, forcing her to be on the move as well. The arcs, instead of hitting Penny, buffeted the side of the tower, shaking its interior.
Vilgax's eyes narrowed, watching Penny's fight through the somewhat open roof of the tower.
"So...that's where the Unitrix went," the Murian muttered.
"The what? You mean Eunice?!" Ciel asked, terrified of what a monster like this could want with Penny's sister.
"You named it? How…disturbing. But yes. I sent an assassin to try and retrieve it a few weeks back, for my own project..." Vilgax explained, "It seems I'll simply have to acquire it myself."
"Over my dead body," Ciel cursed, spinning her chakrams in her hands.
"That was a given," Vilgax cracked his neck and charged at who Ironwood would dub a traitor. His attacks were brutal, heavy, making it seem like every single swing of that blade was intended to be a one-hit kill. Ciel either dodged or did her best to parry the strikes with her weapons, sparks flying as Atlesian metal clashed against the thick blade of a To'kustar. Of course, her Semblance helped time each dodge and parry, but Vilgax was anything but predictable. He threw in whatever he could to try and catch her off guard. An optic blast after a sideways swing, a whip thrash after an overhead arc, a few bio-grenades after a parry. Despite seeing them coming, Ciel managed to get hit quite a few times. The optic blast singed her side, the fiber-like whip cut across her stomach, stinging her flesh, and the bio-grenades buffeted her Aura significantly. But she wasn't going down from a few cheap tricks. Every chance she got, she slashed and cut into Vilgax's body, slicing away at the warlord. If it took a thousand cuts to bring this bastard down, she'd go for two thousand just to be sure.
She threw one of her chakrams into Vilgax's shoulder, the blade digging deep into the Murrian's flesh. He recoiled only slightly, just from the sheer momentum the weapon carried, not from any actual damage. But that was all she needed, closing the distance and climbing Vilgax to grab her weapon and try to sever his arm. She grabbed hold of the chakram but the warlord grabbed her by the ankle, tearing the chakram free from his shoulder and slamming her to the ground. Ciel rolled out of the way as Vilgax brought down an armored boot that would've crushed the girl then and there, but instead it just dented the metal floor of the arena. The bio-fiber whip emerged again as the warlord began lashing at Ciel, forcing her to continuously roll out of the way, each strike tearing through the tiles and metal more and more.
As the fight between the two continued, Emerald and Holiday clashed once again. The thief was still quick and agile, but the doctor had figured out her rhythm. She countered Emerald's attacks with ease, delivering her own blows in what seemed like a dance. But while they fought, Holiday noticed something odd about Emerald. There was a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes, a slight hesitation in her movements. It was as if she was holding back. The doctor took advantage of this, launching a surprise attack and knocking the thief off balance.
"What's the matter?" Holiday taunted, "Feeling guilty about something?"
Emerald's eyes narrowed. "What would you know about guilt?"
"Enough to see it in someone's eyes. You don't...like what you're doing here, do you?" Holiday asked. "Does Salem even know about this?"
"She'll understand," Emerald countered, firing off another barrage of bullets, forcing Holiday to take cover, "...she has to." That last part was almost drowned out by the sounds of gunfire. In truth, while Emerald had been roped into this, she was afraid of what would happen if Salem did find out and didn't understand the logic here. Because knowing the Grimm Queen, the punishment wouldn't fall on Emerald's head, but, to make a point, it'd fall on the head of someone close to her and that thought terrified her.
Holiday emerged from cover and charged at Emerald once again, but the thief was ready for her this time. She sidestepped the doctor's attack and grabbed her wrist, twisting it behind her back with ease.
"Nice try," Emerald smirked, "but I'm not as predictable as you think." Holiday gritted her teeth, but didn't give up. She quickly spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick to Emerald's face, knocking her back. The thief stumbled back and quickly regained her footing.
Holiday didn't let up, firing a quick barrage of Dust shots that peppered Emerald's Aura. The electric shock of each hit made the rogue's Aura flicker, much to her annoyance. Time for the big guns.
Six ducked under another of Raddock's heavy but slow swings, before he parried the flail-hit that the crime-boss spun into. The weapon's cord wrapped around one of Six's blades, letting Cinder's new follower pull the agent in close for a clothesline hit. Six groaned from the hit, quickly jumping up from the hit and landing a quick punch to the mobster's gut, followed up by a series of sword slashes that clashed with the Dust-imbued flail. The mobster was relying more on brute strength here, hoping to just overpower the Atlesian agent. Of course, it wasn't that easy. Even as he lashed out with a powerful, magma-infused overhead strike, Six just parried it off to the side and lunged in with a double-thrust. The mobster would've been impaled right there if he didn't jump out of the way. The pig-masked felon then slammed his head into the side of the agent's and grabbed him by the wrists, forcing the blades down and opening him up to a swift punch to the face from the now retracted-flail.
Outside the tower, Penny flew around the upper levels, dodging fireball after fireball launched from the Fall Maiden's hands. Each miss only served to make Salem's prodigal piece angrier, but she focused that rage into a deadly precision. She fired off one fireball, purposefully missing Penny but letting the girl dodge right into the path of a second blast fired mere seconds after the first. Penny launched one of Floating Array's blades back towards the colosseum, stabbing into the roof and pulling the cable taut. Using the momentum she had, she swung herself back around so as not to leave the arena. Cinder growled and the flames beneath her feet roared as she stopped and turned mid-air, racing around the main antennae at the top of the colosseum. As Penny rounded the building, Cinder flew into view, having morphed her blades into a bow. Three glass arrows were already knocked and aimed right at Penny's head. She and Eunice both gasped in unison as the arrows flew. Penny raced ahead, making the arrows miss her, but they still found a target. Each arrow pierced into the metal of Amity, and Cinder just smirked. She snapped, embers flying into the cold air at the act, and the arrows detonated, shaking the tower's interior more. What's worse, if Cinder did more of that, the massive tower might actually be destroyed.
Eunice brought up an integrity meter for the tower, visible to Penny from the corner of her left eye. It wasn't as damaged as she thought, but more blasts like that could topple it. She looked back at Cinder and realized something. She was Cinder's target, not the tower, and Cinder herself was prone to anger, letting her be easily goaded into reckless actions. More arrows formed from glass shards in the fiery Maiden's bow, already aimed at her wintery counterpart. Before she could fire, Penny turned and flew away from the tower.
"Get BACK HERE!" Cinder roared, flying after her prey. She fired arrow after arrow out at the fleeing android girl, but with that Aerophibian maneuverability, not one of the arrows pierced her Aura. The two raced through the cold wintery night, before suddenly, Cinder stopped.
Uh...Penny! Eunice called out, bringing up a rear feed of the now hovering Cinder. Penny turned around and stopped, locking onto the Fall Maiden and magnifying the image. Cinder was grinning, wagging her finger in the air as if she was scolding a child. The Maiden turned and raced back to Amity, forcing Penny to follow.
She got wise to the plan! No, no, no, no! Penny panicked.
Time was running out and every second counted. Racing towards the tower, she was deafened by the thunderous explosions that rocked the air. The metallic structure screeched and groaned under the force of the blasts, sending shivers down her spine. She plummeted onto the edge of the towering structure and gazed downwards. The ground trembled beneath her feet as the tower's supports gave way, threatening to crumble at any moment. Cinder's triumphant stance at the tower's base was a sight to behold. Destruction lay in her wake, a testament to her power and might. The tower teetered on the brink of collapse, its supports giving way one by one as the weight of the structure bore down upon them.
With a fierce determination burning in her chest, Penny hurled herself off the edge of the towering structure, hurtling towards her target with a single-minded focus. She would not let Cinder slip through her grasp, not when so much was at stake. With fierce determination, she locked onto her target, the fiery Maiden. Cinder spun around, a wicked grin spreading across her face as she prepared to face her opponent head-on.
The twice-disgraced Maiden slammed her palms together, conjuring a colossal sword that crackled with raw power. Penny's eyes widened in shock as the towering blade descended towards her with a resounding crash. She darted forward, narrowly missing getting impaled.
Cinder smirked as the sword actually cracked and shattered in places, sending shards flying. With another ember-causing snap, those shards turned to daggers that flew at Penny from behind. Eunice's warnings alerted the protector of Mantle and she was able to use half of her blades to form a spinning barrier that shattered the daggers into more shards. But those shards then began to glow and hiss and buffeted Penny with a series of small explosions that launched her towards Cinder. The Fall Maiden leapt over the blasted Winter Maiden and sliced her in the back with her Grimm claws, before pulling her legs up to her chest and blasting Penny in the back with a fire-boosted double kick. The blast knocked Penny over the central control terminal, where Pietro could do nothing but watch.
Penny quickly caught herself, stopping herself mid-air before she began to look around for Cinder.
Eunice! Penny yelled.
Already on it! Looking for- on your right! Eunice gasped. Penny turned to see Cinder breathing fire on one of the support beams that kept the control center aloft. The Fall Maiden raced away right as Penny fired off a recreated neuroshock blast at her. Salem's chosen disciple burned each support pillar in sequence with her newly created fire breath, threatening to drop the control center and Pietro.
"NO!" Penny yelled, holding out her hands and firing off concentrated streams of pure cold, try to freeze the melting steel. But that's what Cinder was counting on. She raced ahead and wrapped her legs around the android girl's waist, rearing back her Shadow Hand and thrusting it right at Penny's face. She used one of her hands to catch the Maiden's Grimm replacement arm. The twice-disgraced fiery Maiden hissed and grabbed hold of Penny's hand, activating her Semblance and scorching the girl's hand. Penny let out a quick yelp of pain, pulling her hand away, allowing Cinder's Shadow Hand to grab her face and muffle her screams. Green energy began siphoning into Cinder's arm, traveling down it into the rest of her body.
"FINALLY!" Cinder grinned.
But her triumph was short-lived. Penny's eyes glowed with a blue light, her body enveloped in a sudden burst of icy energy that sent Cinder hurtling away. She landed on the ground with a thud, her Aura flickering from the unexpected attack. Penny's eyes widened as she looked down at her hands, still glowing with intense cold energy.
Good news, we've got something new. I was able to reroute the energy in what would've gone into the Aerophibian's tail to your entire body. Eunice explained. I call it a 'Maiden Flare'.
A Maiden Flare... Penny repeated, Nice name!
Thank you! If she could, Eunice would be taking a bow.
Back down with Vilgax and Ciel, the fight was very much not going in the Atlesian's favor. No matter how many times her blades cut into the warlord, the wounds just stitched back together in a few seconds. With this hyper-aggressive fighting style, even if she could see what VIlgax was going to do next, he'd throw in something to catch her off guard. Those bio-grenades, the whip concealed in his arm, even the eye blasts, all of it knocked her off balance. She suffered more than one close call, nearly being impaled or sliced through by the To'kustar sword. Ciel was in the middle of one such close call, the To'kustar sword mere inches away from her face as she bent backwards to avoid the attack. She righted herself once the blade passed, only for her head to be grabbed by Vilgax's massive armored hand. He reared back and threw her through the nearest wall, charging after her to separate her from the others. He only hesitated for an instant, looking over his shoulder to see Cinder get blasted away by the newly dubbed Maiden Flare.
...she's going to lose, Vilgax determined mentally, before his eyes shifted back to Ciel. She was righting herself in the hallway, surrounded by rubble and dust, her Aura flickering from the damage.
A contingency is in order then, the Murrian decided, unraveling his arm into its component tentacles.
Ciel looked up just in time to see Vilgax's tentacles lash out at her, wrapping around her arms and legs and pulling her closer to the warlord. She struggled against the grip, but it was too strong.
"Let go of me!" she shouted, thrashing around.
"Quiet," Vilgax growled, as he forcibly restrained her...within his arm.
"What is-!?" Ciel cursed.
"This is a bargaining tool my people used, long ago, during our dark ages." Vilgax frowned. "It is shameful, but it's the only tactic right now."
Emerald and Raddock in the meantime, had now been forced into a back-to-back situation. Even with her magic, Holiday was, putting it bluntly, kicking her ass right now. The same could be said with Raddock and his losing duel with Six. The duo both looked up in shock to see Cinder be flung away by the Maiden Flare.
"Fucking..." Raddock cursed under his breath, "Hey, greenie. That voodoo all you got up your sleeves?"
"Emerald," the thief corrected, "and no...it's not. You keep Six off me..." she had three small stone "marbles" appear in her hand thanks to a magic flash, "And let these guys deal with the doctor."
"...starting to wish I brought Floyd along."
"Did we really need him to stay behind?! He could've possessed the AP!"
"Boss' orders! One of us needed to stay back, remember?! I'm still wearing the damn-"
"Ok fine. Now, do your thing!" Emerald yelled, tossing out the marbles and watching them grow into three of Charmcaster's trademark stone monsters, gifted with Emerald's green colors in lieu of the usual purple/violet. The beasts charged Holiday, giving Emerald the perfect chance to turn her focus on Penny. She focused and her Semblance activated.
Cinder growled as she stabilized herself in the air, growling and creating a massive, jagged spear of obsidian glass. She leveled it in her hands and readied to charge, but the Winter Maiden was prepared. With the Maiden Flare powers, this should be easy, but then she got more targets. Penny's eyes widened as she saw a small army of Cinders appear around her, each armed with that same spear. So which was the real one?
She quickly assessed the situation and decided to trust her instincts. She charged straight at the closest Cinder and swung her blades, only to have them meet a barrier of glass. The fake Cinder chuckled and swung her spear, but Penny was quick to dodge. She continued dodging and striking at the fake Cinders, but none of them seemed to be the real one.
Eunice, any ideas? Penny asked as she continued to weave through the fake Cinders.
I'm tracking their movements and analyzing their patterns, but I can't find the original, Eunice responded.
Penny grunted as another spear went by, narrowly missing her.
Suddenly, Penny had a realization. She looked up and saw the control center hanging precariously above them. The real Cinder had likely gone back to finish the job she started and destroy the tower. Penny made a decision and flew up towards the control center, leaving the fake Cinders behind.
At first, she didn't see anything. Whatever created the fake Cinders had probably masked the real one. Penny blinked and changed the spectrum she was looking at, scanning for heat signatures. Sure enough, there she was. The Fall Maiden had morphed her jagged spear back into that massive, flaming greatsword. She reared back the blade and was ready to cut through one of the support pillars that Penny had managed to save. Floating Array quickly formed up into two circular lenses. Maiden power flowed into her eyes and combined with the Aerophibian neruoshock. The Protector of Mantle reared her head back before firing off a duo or Maiden-enhanced energy blasts, the lenses Floating Array created boosting them even further. Cinder didn't have the time to block, getting blasted with the beam head-on and smashed into the nearest wall. Cold and electric energies surged through the Fall Maiden's body, causing her to scream out in pain.
"BOSS!" Raddock yelled.
Emerald had managed to hold her own against Holiday using her semblance to dodge and counterattack, but she quickly realized that she couldn't keep this up forever. The doctor was relentless and seemed to be getting stronger with each passing moment.
"We need to do something!" Emerald shouted to Raddock as she ducked another strike. What was Doctor Holiday's semblance!?
Raddock grunted as he parried a strike from Six, "Like what? I can barely deal with this guy!"
Emerald gritted her teeth and focused. She had to buy some time for Cinder to get back up and thankfully for them, she'd get her opportunity.
"Sorry, Raddock. Gotta set this up right!" Emerald said, disappearing in a flash of green light.
"What the-HEY!" Raddock roared, leaving him open to a quick slash from Six that carved a good chunk away from his Aura. Emerald reappeared beside Cinder, spinning Thief's Respite into their revolve mode and opening fire. The bullets missed and sparked off the support towers, forcing Penny to stop her assault and shift her focus to the rogue-mage.
"I know I can't beat you," Emerald began, "but I betcha I can fill that platform full of holes before you take me down."
"I will take that bet," Penny said.
"You'll what?"
"The time between being at rest and reaching a velocity that closes the distance between us is so infinitesimal for me now because of Eunice's copied DNA. Your bullet wouldn't leave the chamber before I am within striking range." Her tone of voice, that wasn't idle bragging or desperate bluffing, both of which Emerald could pick out easily. This was cold hard fact.
"You're...you're serious...?"
"I am," Penny said, before racing towards Emerald, Floating Array out in front of her to deflect any and all bullets the thief tried to fire off in retaliation. But right when Penny was seconds away from tackling Emerald into her superior, a blast of crimson energy slammed into Penny's side, knocking her off course. Another pair of lasers blasted Penny in the chest, singing her shirt and even some of the synthetic flesh beneath it, revealing the metallic chassis.
"Aerophibian speed," Vilgax began, "paired with the cold logic of a machine. Some would consider that perfection but you are antithesis to that. Aren't you?"
Penny gritted her teeth and stood back up, readying herself to face Vilgax. "We are not machines. We're both just as human as anyone."
Vilgax chuckled. "People with mechanical enhancements and weapons. You may have emotions, but they will hinder you in battle. They make you weak..."
Vilgax held up his arm. "Like this hindrance. She means a lot to you, does she not?"
"C-ciel?" Penny gasped, eyes wide in horror.
"What the fuck?" Emerald muttered.
"Prove me wrong. Fire. Stab. I will hold up my arm and allow her to take all of the damage," Vilgax explained, "Her...Aura is weak, on the verge of being shattered. One good stab and you may pierce her heart. Were you a machine you could live with that. But, by your own admission, you are not. You are. A person."
Penny hesitated, struggling internally with the decision laid upon her. Ciel reached out as best she could. "Penny..." She muttered, voice weak.
Vilgax laughed. "Your compassion wounds you. Throughout my entire existence, I have seen countless beings who claim to be warriors, who claim to be strong, who claim to have the power to conquer all that lies before them. But when faced with a tough choice- all that strength vanishes. They never commit..." Vilgax towered over Penny, his intimidating presence casting a dark shadow upon her. He sneered, his voice dripping with disdain as he continued his speech.
"Look at you, 'Penny.' A supposed warrior, yet crippled by your own compassion. You speak of strength and power, but when faced with a true test of resolve, you falter. You claim to be a person, but your actions betray your weakness." He took a step closer, his eyes gleaming with malice. "True strength lies in the absence of mercy, in the willingness to make the difficult choices. Emotions, compassion, they are mere distractions, shackles that bind you to your feeble humanity. You cling to them as if they define who you are, but they only hinder your true potential."
Penny's eyes narrowed, her determination flickering amidst the turmoil within her. She stood her ground, refusing to be swayed by Vilgax's words.
"Oh? You know how to lie too...that brave mask is fooling no one." Vilgax frowned.
Penny's eyes shifted from Vilgax to Ciel, her brave facade still up but it was obvious she was concerned. Was she shaking? Was she afraid? Vilgax seemed to think so, scoffing at the display.
"But never let it be said that Vilgax did not have mercy, machine," the warlord was practically smiling behind that mask, "Allow us to withdraw and I shall release the girl. Refuse? I suffocate her."
Penny's hands clenched into fists, her resolve hardened. "No. I will not allow you to manipulate me with empty threats," She declared, her voice unwavering. "If you think you can break me with your sadistic games, then you are sorely mistaken...You underestimate the power of compassion, Vilgax."
A flicker of doubt passed through Vilgax's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. "Your words mean nothing, girl. Your misplaced faith will be your downfall. Allow me to demonstrate."
Slowly, Vilgax's tendrils began to constrict around Ciel's throat.
Ciel struggled as the tendrils began to crush her windpipe.
"I do not make 'empty threats,' girl," Vilgax growled, glaring daggers at the shaking android girl, "So. Your choice."
Penny, shakily and reluctantly, lowered her weapons. Floating Array folded together and moved behind her. Even her Maiden flames dimmed down.
"As I thought," the warlord growled, "Sustrai. Take Fall back to the pod."
Penny's hands trembled, her heart torn between her compassion and the safety of her friend. She knew she had to make a choice, one that would have far-reaching consequences. With a heavy sigh, she made her decision. Vilgax's triumphant sneer widened as he loosened his grip on Ciel, allowing her to gasp for air. The tendrils retreated, but his gaze remained fixed on Penny, studying her every move.
"You are…correct though. You do seem to be more than a simple machine," Vilgax hummed.
"From you, that sounds like an insult," Penny hissed.
"Believe what you will," the Murrian chuckled, brushing past the android girl and letting her check on Ciel, "Raddock! We are leaving!"
"DAMN IT! I WAS JUST STARTING TO BEAT THIS GUY!" Raddock yelled. Vilgax glared at him and the mobster complied.
"Next time," Raddock growled.
"Oh...and one. Last. Thing," Vilgax grinned, firing back around and landing one last, singing eye-beam blast on Penny's back, breaking through her Aura, "That...was for my like-minded comrade. Enjoy the rest of your futile exercise."
With that, the villains all packed back inside the giant red orb, the warlord being the last of the team to walk in. Once the hulk form was within the strange mode of transport, the vehicle closed back up and began shredding the tile again before driving right through the nearest wall.
Penny cried out in pain as the searing beam pierced through her Aura, leaving a charred mark on her back. She stumbled forward, her legs giving way beneath her.
"PENNY!" Pietro yelled, as he and Ciel rushed to her side.
"Penny...no...no, no, no, not again! Please be ok! Please!" Ciel begged, despite how shaky her own breathing was. She was having flashbacks to the Vytal Festival, how she tried to stop the mechanical girl's initial "destruction" but couldn't. Now she was part of the cause and that...that was going to hurt even more.
"I am...ok..." Penny huffed, shakily getting back on her feet, "Are...are you?"
"That's...that's just so you," Ciel said, gently wrapping her friend in a hug, even if a few tears dripped down Ciel's face, "Isn't it?"
"It's...very much her," Pietro said with a small smile.
"You...did not answer-" Penny began.
The moment was interrupted when the entire arena shook, right down to its foundations. Pietro quickly brought up a display from the arm of his chair, looking over a live feed of the tower's status. His eyes widened in absolute horror when he saw one of the gravity projectors on the side tower flash in the red, the same one that Cinder had partially melted during her battle with Penny. While the schematic flashed red, a warning of hue flashed across the readout: "Broadcast Signal Lost."
"No...no, no, no!" Pietro muttered.
"What...what's wrong?" Ciel asked.
"One of the stabilizers is loosing integrity. We've...we've missed our window..."
"No..." Holiday muttered, before using one of the gravity Dust-powered lifts to reach the central control terminal again, typing away to try and get confirmation, "At this rate, we'll just be set adrift before we touch down north of the city."
The colosseum shook again, sparks flying from some of the machinery, throwing everyone off balance again. Penny looked down to her hands and balled them into fists. Her eyes suddenly glowed with her Maiden flames again, pushing herself up with Ciel's help.
"Penny?" Ciel asked.
"I can fix this," Penny resolved.
"What?" Pietro, Ciel, and Six asked in unison.
"Our message isn't that long, only a few minutes. I can try to hold Amity in place until it's sent. With Eunice helpi-"
"Out of the question!" Pietro yelled, "You're in no condition to try something that straining! Without your Aura, the temperature alone could-!"
"She's right," Six interjected.
"What?! You can't possibly-!"
"It's our only option right now. You have to keep the big-"
"Don't you even dare finish that sentence! I don't care about the big picture; I care about my daughters!" Pietro slammed his fist into the arm of his mechanical chair with a low metallic thud, his arm shaking in frustration and rage. But then that rage cools and he takes off his hat with a solemn sigh.
"Penny..." Pietro turned to his daughter, "I lost you once already. And you...you have so much to protect now. A sister you just met, the friends you made when you visited Vale, Ruby, Ben, Kylie, Ceres. That first loss, it hit us all so hard. Are you asking us all to go through that again? No...no, I...I want the chance to watch you live your life. To watch you and Eunice enjoy all that this world, and beyond, has to offer."
"Dad..." Penny and Eunice said as they walked up to their father, both voices talking in perfect sync, "We are trying to."
For a moment, Pietro didn't say anything. Any father who had lost their child, given the chance to bring them back, would no doubt do anything and everything within their power to bring that child back. Pietro actually succeeded, instead of being the tragic lesson of some long lost legend. The old roboticist took the hand of his daughters in both of his own, gently, protectively. Was there an easy way to do this? To let her walk out there and put her life in danger again? No. Even when she was just the new Protector of Mantle and not the Winter Maiden, he worried when she was out in the field. What father wouldn't? But now...now he saw that resolve in her eyes, that steeled determination. Anger, fear, concern, joy, stubbornness...all perfectly human traits and Penny had displayed them all in one night.
"Right..." Pietro said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet, "Please..."
"We'll be safe," Penny and Eunice nodded, before leaning in and kissing their dad atop his head, bringing tears to the old man's eyes. Pietro removed his glasses and wiped them away, but felt that a lot more would be shed in the coming minutes.
"Pietro," Holliday called down, "Gonna need you up here."
"I'm...I'm on my way," Pietro nodded. Ciel gave one more look to her friends, concern in her eyes, but despite that, she knew Penny had this. With Eunice watching her back as well, this was a guaranteed success.
"Good luck out there," Ciel said with a sad smile.
"Thank you. I'll be back once the message is out!" Penny saluted, before she took off, racing outside to the damaged Dust stabilizer. Once they were outside, the two synthetic sisters looked down at Atlas and Mantle, seemingly so distant, but to them, they were right outside its borders. The duo then looked above them, the sky unobstructed by the lights of the city and the storm of Monstra, and they saw an aurora. The arctic lights shimmered against the cold, blue sky, shifting from one shade of green to the next, mixing in light and misty blues.
Have you ever seen one before? Penny asked.
Only in pictures, records in my data banks. Kylmyys, X'Nelli, Sonorosia, Petropia...they're even more beautiful than I could've imagined, Eunice explained.
I have only ever seen an aurora like this once before. And it was on my birthday, the day I came online.
It's a good sign then?
Very, Penny said, looking to the damaged thruster and racing up next to it, planting her hands firmly on a small section of Amity's hull, Thrusters...at...maximum!
The thrusters in Penny's legs roared to life, firing off streams of powerful green flame as the daughter of Pietro gave it her all, pushing into Amity with her enhanced, mechanical strength.
Back at the central control terminal, Pietro, Holiday, Six, and Ciel watched a live visual of Amity's altitude slowly rise towards a red dotted line, the threshold for the broadcast range.
"Come on, Penny..." Pietro muttered.
"You've got this. I know you do," Ciel said quietly, gripping Pietro's hand for support.
Outside, Penny braced her back against Amity's hull, holding out her hands for an extra boost.
Eunice! Penny mentally called out.
Rerouting Aerophibian energy! Maiden Flare Number Two, coming up! Eunice answered. Flames burst from the protector's palms, at first a bright green, like her own thrusters and Aerophibian neuroshock blasts, but they and the thruster flames quickly transitioned to a bright and wintery blue. Penny yelled as she exerted all the strength and power she could, the flames at the corners of her eyes growing in intensity.
Amity reached and crossed the red-line.
"Yes!" Ciel cheered.
"Atta girl!" Holiday beamed, hi-fiving Ciel.
"That's my girl," Pietro said with a smile. A window appeared on the terminal, requesting user input in order to continue. A prompt popped up asking "Initiate Broadcast Operational Sequence?" with options to proceed or to cancel. Pietro slammed his fist down on the enter key, the "proceed" option activating.
The signal was sent. Across Atlas, in the military HQ, on the personal Scrolls of everyone in Atlas...and beyond, on every Hunter community screen that received the signal, the words "Atlas Emergency Broadcast System" flashed across the screen. In Mistral, a group of Huntsmen and Huntresses-to be, including Cardin and Team ABRN looked up at one of the myriad screens at Haven's cafe, as they were enjoying their break from the rebuilding efforts. In Vale, Glynda and Maria along with the unexpected Sonorosian techie Fours, were negotiating Dust shipments for other expeditions and forays into still Grimm-held territories. In Vacuo, Velvet burst into her team's dorm after hearing someone mention the Atlas broadcast, seeing Coco, Fox, and Yatsu huddled around their team leader's personalized scroll. The typical broadcast pattern of multi-colored lingered for a moment before it flashed to show a familiar face.
That of Ruby Rose.