Restarted my D&D campaign, very interesting time. I traded a bra for an infinite pasta pass!
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Clang!
Clank!
Bang!
For a while, that was all she heard aside from the wind rushing her past her ears, but after what felt like forever, Ruby arrived at her destination. The door to the tube popped open, letting Ruby fall out, having lost all of her balance on the trip up and breathing heavily. May and Penny had arrived beforehand and had enough time to recover, so they could easily help the hooded huntress get back on her feet. Meanwhile, Blake had arrived via her own tube and was practically seeing stars.
"So...dizzy," Blake muttered, shuffling out of the tube with uneven and wobbly steps. She almost tripped over herself, but Kevin managed to catch her.
"You good?" Kevin asked.
"What? I think...I think my ears are ringing from all the wind," Blake's cat ears twitched as if to prove her point.
"Oh right...two sets of ears."
"You forgot to factor that in, smart guy," Doppler chuckled, only to get flicked on the nose.
"Shush you," Kevin chastised.
Neo, miraculously, still had Roman's hat perched on her head, though it was a bit off. The multicolored mute blew some hair out of her face before pushing the hat back into position with Hush's handle. If only she had a mirror, then she could make doubly sure. She was about to walk on ahead when she was suddenly grabbed by the collar and pulled back, almost comically losing her precious hat in the process.
"Are you crazy!?" Weiss scolded her mischievous teammate, "Do you have any idea how badly I could've been hurt from that premature launch?!"
Neo shrugged, adding an innocent little smirk for emphasis.
"Don't shrug at me like that was an accident!" the heiress huffed.
"Weiss, don't even try to guilt trip her." Blake said, shaking her head, the ringing in her ears having died down a bit, "She's the type to purposely tip a glass of water over."
Neo's little smirk just turned into a full on smug grin. Weiss glared daggers at her new teammate and sighed. Now to Neo, that just meant she won.
Ruby tried to fix her windswept hair, even if it would look unkempt in a few minutes.
"Everyone good?" Ruby asked, still minorly trying to fix her hair.
"We are unaffected!" Penny said, giving a thumbs up. Eunice gave one too, even if only Penny saw it as a little emoji in her vision.
"Weirdest water slide ever," May quipped, "Not that I've ever been on one, anyway."
"I am, thankfully, ok," Weiss said, eyes shifting over to Neo.
Oh, you can't hold a grudge against me for this. This was a once in a lifetime experience! Neo signed, each word practically dripping with smug.
"Good," Blake said, "Because I neeeeeeever wanna do that again."
"Alright robo-girl, you're up. Which way?"
Penny's eyes adjusted, turning green. She used her eyes to view the area ahead as a wireframe construct. From her point of view, vision then raced ahead past the door and further into the complex. Eunice helped her out here by marking every patrolling soldier that was between them and their objective. Suffice to say, there were a lot.
He's upped security, Eunice said, Not unwarranted per se, but still annoying. Count at least ten different patrols and I've marked the charging docks for the Atlesian Knights. And a few of the newer models they've introduced.
He's scared, Penny rationalized, No matter how far he's fallen or how much he wants to deny it.
It's heartbreaking, isn't it? Seeing him like th-oh! Well this is interesting.
What?
There's...hmmm, we'd need to patch into a terminal but there's something here.
Peculiar. And the directions? Penny outwardly tilted her head. May silently admitted that the movement was just a bit creepy.
Compiling...aaaaaand there! Eunice nodded.
Penny clapped her hands and blinked, her eyes returning to their normal hue.
"Thank you, Eunice!" Penny beamed, "Now, we'll cross the bridge, then go left, straight, right, straight, left, up, up, right, straight, right, right, straight, left, left." With each direction stated, the android girl actually pointed that way, just to give a quirky visual.
The group stared at Penny, either surprised at how quickly she listed those off or confused because they missed one of those.
Hope somebody caught that, Neo signed.
"And May? Our names are Penny and Eunice," Penny nodded proudly.
May rolled her eyes and activated her Semblance, hiding everyone from view. The group snuck around the empty corridors and eventually got in an elevator, taking them up a few floors. For those of them with normal hearts, they felt them skip a bit when they heard the elevator door open, backing away cautiously from the new passengers. A pair of Atlas Soldiers entered, and they were thankfully oblivious to the group's presence, thanks to May's invisibility.
"I don't think even the squad captain knows what's going on up there," One of them huffed. "No one can get close to that storm without getting shocked right out of the air."
"It's creepy, all those Grimm just…waiting." The other said, "Worse than if they'd just attacked."
Ruby raised an eyebrow. They're just waiting? Not even attacking? the hooded huntress thought to herself, Ironwood was really trying to fake us out, then. But then again, that many Grimm just sitting on your doorstep does sound pretty scary.
The group exited the elevator soon after a bit of a less tense ride than when the soldiers got on (and Neo hit every button on the elevator's control, because of course she would).
"Wait, what the hel-?!" one soldier called out when they noticed all the buttons that were pressed, their dismay cut off by the elevator door closing.
"This is going better than I thought," Kevin muttered.
"Well, hopefully it's gonna stay that way. Now shush." May whispered as the group made its way down a wide corridor to a large locked door with "03" in large white print on it.
Penny stopped by a nearby control panel and extended her index finger. The tip swiveled out to reveal a connector plug. Penny interfaced with the control panel and the attached handprint scanner flashed green. A hologram display popped up that showed Dr. Pietro Polendina's credentials.
"Penny? What are you doing?" Ruby asked.
"Opening the door. In order to get to the terminal we need-" Penny began.
The door slid open with a 'whoosh' and the group stepped through.
"To go this way. Right through central command," the android girl finished.
A door to the right opened as soon as that last word left Penny's lips to reveal a bustling workplace filled with digital workstations, holographic maps, and Atlesian officials and clerks, all dutifully carrying out their orders. Most were either monitoring the Grimm swarm and Monstra, sending resources to certain units, or keeping an eye for any alarms that would indicate the location of the fugitives.
"...of course." Weiss huffed.
"I can't maneuver us through that." May frowned.
"And I don't really have any aliens that can help here. I'm not as extensive as Ben is when it comes to full transformations." Kevin added.
"...I think I could help." Ruby chimed in.
"How?" Blake asked.
"Well, it was something Albedo said about my powers." Ruby said. "My Semblance is...eh, I'll just show you. We just need a distraction."
Neo looked over, to see an office worker carrying a cup of coffee. She stuck out her foot and tripped him. He lost his grip on his mug, and the coffee spilled all over a workstation, causing it to spit sparks of electricity. Its operator's lap was also drenched, and he cried out in pain.
"Oh my fucking god!" the operator next to the drenched station yelled, "WILL. There is a SIGN for a REASON!" The annoyed worker pointed to a workplace safety poster taped to a nearby wall. It depicted a trio of food items floating in the water while a Grimm shark rose up from the depths, almost like the famous Jaws poster. It had a simple warning above the art: No food or drink in Central Command.
"Oh, well I'm sorry!" Will said, "But I haven't gotten much sleep lately, what with having to upgrade three entire robotics lines to modern standards."
"You're a big shot, you can pull one all nighter! Didn't your kid do that with her weird camera thing?!"
"First off, that's not healthy. Secondly, just because we worked with aliens who could doesn't mean we should emulate it. Thirdly, it was more like four of them! And finally, yes, Velvet pulled back to back all nighters to make Anesidora but I specifically told her not to do that again! Sorry I can't just plug into a charging dock and feel refreshed after four hours!" Will argued. While Will and the other operator escalated their argument, the poor operator that got drenched in burning hot coffee made a beeline for the door.
"WHYYYYYYY?! TODAY OF ALL DAYS!" the guy yelled as he raced out of the command center.
"...that works." Kevin muttered.
"Well, I'm gonna take advantage of the chaos to hijack an airship to get us off of this place." May said. "Good luck."
Ruby nodded. "You too. Now, everyone huddle close to me..." Everyone got close to Ruby and she took them into her 'petal form'. The group flew past the workers undetected in a storm of rose petals. The complaints and argument of the technicians drowned out the sound of the rushing petals.
Ruby released her Semblance when the group reached the other side.
"There we go!" Ruby beamed as the group stared on in confusion.
"How did you-?" Kevin asked.
"Oh! By disassembling myself into my molecular components, which negates my mass, then reassembling them at the destination, I can move between points at an extremely high speed." Ruby explained. "Albedo said my power was unique like that."
"G-good to know." A dizzy Blake muttered.
How is it...I can handle the tubes we rode up here in...but you going flower storm is where I get unbalanced as fuck? Neo asked as she held onto the nearby stair railing, eyes wide in shock.
"I'm...not the only one who heard that, right?" Weiss asked, gesturing back down to the argument, "Velvet?"
"Yeah. You heard right," Ruby said. "Velvet's dad is a programmer or something. Never really chatted with him, but she brought it up during dinner."
"Small world," Kevin hummed.
"That was fun," Penny beamed.
Is she...is she faster than a Kinneceleran? Eunice asked.
If not faster, just -as- fast!
"Alright, Penny. Where next?" Ruby asked.
"This way!" the android answered softly but proudly, taking the lead once again.
Elsewhere in the base, Ironwood walked into Weller's lab, adjusting his new prosthetic arm and tie to make himself presentable. The good doctor was looking over the details of the city's hard-light shields again. Ever since that whale had parked in the skies just off the city, Weller had been going over the defenses over and over again, his mind racing with the singular question of "Can they hold?"
"Dr. Weller," Ironwood announced.
"Ah!" Weller jumped, so engrossed in the examination he didn't hear the general walk in. He almost dropped the pad, fumbling with it in his hands before managing to catch it.
"General! A-apologies, didn't hear you come in," Weller chuckled nervously.
"Any updates?" Ironwood asked.
"Well, when it comes to the shields...I..." Weller sighed, "I don't know. We've seen Grimm hordes before, the Winter of '94 springs to mind as one of the most significant outside of more recent events, but this? This is..."
"Heard it said before, believe me. Manticores, Nevermores...thousands of them. Even Tempests are in the horde, no doubt where the storm came from."
"You know, I never took her as one to rely too much on theatrics, but riding in on a self-made storm? Say what you want, it's an impressive spectacle," a familiarly smug voice said. Ironwood turned to its source and walked behind a seated Watts. The drafted scientist was practically shackled to an office chair as he worked on a certain project for the general. Lines of code raced across one screen, while another projected a wireframe diagram of Penny along with footage of her fight against Cinder in the medical center.
"I trust you spoke up because you made progress," Ironwood placed his hands on the back of Watts' chair, "since I'd hate to have to try and motivate you," his grip tightened on the back of the chair, causing the doctor to flinch, "Again."
"Considering what we're after, I'm plenty motivated. But taking down Pietro's magical science project, no matter how many resources are at my disposal, may prove...taxing," Watts explained.
"I trust you'll come up with a solution. You did always want to overshadow him, after all."
"Oh yes, I can feel the trust in the air," Watts' gaze shifted over to the four Atlesian soldiers aiming their rifles at him.
"Sir, if I may speak plainly-" Weller began.
"You may not, Dr. Weller. Because I already know what you're going to say. Your priority is the shield. If we need to reroute power from elsewhere in the city, then we'll do it," Ironwood interjected.
"We can just do that now, can we?"
"For the good of this kingdom, yes. I can."
Watts couldn't help but scoff at the exchange, earning him a glare from Weller. The mustache-twirling scientist was about to get back to work, but then an alert appeared on one of his screens.
"I do hate to interrupt," Watts mocked, "but are you aware that Dr. Polendina has returned?"
"He what?" Weller asked. Ironwood looked over Watts' shoulder and read the alert himself. DOCTOR POLENDINA'S CREDENTIALS IN USE.
"Unless, of course, one of your tin men is guilty of identity theft," Watts joked.
"...send in the Ace Ops." Ironwood said. "And I'll make sure they're well equipped to deal with this."
Chiffon fitted himself into his new wings. "Well, isn't this nice..." He smirked. Sure, he was on a short leash, but it beat sitting around with those mopey sad sacks, that mutt and someone who was so obviously framed.
"Can't believe they actually gave you a bloody deal," Cammie muttered as she slipped on her new Ace-Op issue armor as well. She'd always wanted to wear the blue and white, maybe throw in some green since red was more Ruby's color, but now that she had it, it just felt wrong, hollow.
"If it's any consolation, I hold no ill will towards you. I'm sure you know your way around computers and, considering who we might need to face, that'll prove invaluable."
"You talk about her like she's just another robot," Cammie turned around to face the extremist.
"Is she not, though? Specially built with an artificial Aura, sure, but she's got the same Atlas brand parts in her chassis. Her program's just faulty," Chiffon shrugged, "Don't know why the general can't just reset it."
"...I'm not even gonna say why that's fucked up. If you can't pick up on it yourself, then me explaining it is just a waste of breath."
"That's enough you two," Vine interjected.
"And watch the language." Nesmith said. "I like to keep these gigs clean."
Cammie frowned. "Oh, shut it, you punk bitch."
Nesmith's smile faded. "I outrank you, you know."
"Only because Ironwood says you do. If there's one thing we can agree on," Chiffon said, "it's that you should not be in command."
"Shite, he's making sense now," Cammie groaned.
"As if everything I've said hasn't."
"Listen, children-" Nesmith said.
"Wow, infantilizing us, so cool..." Cammie huffed.
Nesmith rolled his eyes. "We're in hard times right now! Hard times that could have been EASILY prevented if someone just followed orders or didn't look into certain classified things. No more bickering, just action, okay?"
"Alright, 'sir,'" Chiffon said, his tone one of mockery at Nesmith. Jacques' former PR mascot was about ready to smack this kid, but he was stopped when he heard the door to their briefing room open.
"Geared up, sir?" Harriet asked.
"Yeah, finished a few minutes ago. Had to deal with some...questionable behavior," Nesmith said.
"Good. You two, hurry it up. We got orders from the general."
"And he didn't contact me because?"
"You muted your notifications," Cammie said with a smug grin.
"...it was interrupting my music." Nesmith frowned.
Harriet groaned. "Whatever. We've got some intruders."
"Intruders?" Chiffon asked. "Someone is that stupid to break into the base now? I really hope it is who I think it is..."
"They used Doctor Polendina's credentials to break in. So you tell me," Harriet snapped back.
"But that...that doesn't make sense. Why would they come back?" Cammie asked, trying to play the part of a good soldier.
"I dunno. Maybe they're aiming to sabotage us again..." Harriet huffed. "Just get to it." Her eyes darted over to Elm. "that means you too. You don't even look like you've gotten ready."
Cammie didn't realize Elm was sitting in the furthest corner of the room and she looked like a total wreck.
"...go on ahead," Vine said, "We'll...catch up."
"Five minutes, Zeke," Nesmith ordered, grabbing his helmet and marching out the door.
"Zeki..." Vine sighed.
"Well, you heard the 'commander,'" Chiffon scoffed and followed suit, ignoring Elm.
"And you?" Vine asked, not even looking at Cammie.
"If you're checking on Elm?" Cammie nodded, "Stayin'."
"...thank you."
The group left, leaving the three of them alone. Vine took a deep breath. "I know you're upset about Clover...but we have a job to do."
Cammie winced at that. Way to be nice, buddy.
"Blunt as ever..." Elm said. Cammie actually had to double-take because that sounded nothing like her. It sounded like her throat had been torn up, run raw from just sheer overuse, or all her energy had been just...drained out of her.
"I..." Vine sighed, "My apologies. With the stakes right now, I suppose you could I'm off kilter when it comes to this."
"...did you really think this is just about Clover?"
"Is it not?"
"I just found out the people I could call friends are being branded as these...notorious criminals. If Salem wasn't outside, they'd be public enemy number one! I've known them for so long now. Hell, one of them broke me out of my shell, but now? I'm just so...conflicted." Elm admitted.
"You had a shell?" Cammie asked, covering her mouth immediately after she asked. She just blurted that out without thinking! Shit, shit, shit, shit-!
"I know. Hard to believe, right?" Elm sighed, "It was Kylie, in case you were wondering, Cammie."
Cammie didn't really interact with Kylie all that often, but she seemed nice enough. Someone she could call an 'acquaintance'.
"Regardless of how you feel, your relations are tertiary in a matter like this." Vine said.
"Did you even care?" Elm snapped back, her anger starting to rise, "Did you even care when we saw him in that body bag? We saw him just a few fucking hours before, and the next time we see him, he is in a fucking morgue! And you didn't bat a FUCKING EYE, DID YOU?! Regardless of how I feel?! Vine, when was the last time you showed some DAMN EMOTION?!"
"...since Marion."
Elm went quiet.
"Who's...who's Marion?" Cammie asked, cautiously.
"Marrow's predecessor. The one who got Harriet up to Atlas and convinced her to try for the Ace-Ops," Vine explained, "Clover...isn't the first Ace-Op we've lost."
"She was...great." Elm continued. "And she tied us all together. But...things haven't been the same since she died."
"All of us changed after that," Vine said. "...especially me."
"What, did you show more emotion back then?" Cammie scoffed.
"Yes."
Cammie blinked. "...huh?"
"Back then, I was a very different man. I acted first, then thought things through." Vine said.
"Harriet was a lot less by the book. Hell, she was our original Rex. I remember you two almost gave Marion and Clover heart attacks more than once..." Elm reminisced.
"That we did," Vine admitted.
"Then...what happened?" Cammie asked.
"It was supposed to be a routine search and destroy. We went in expecting a Geist, instead we found a Husk. In order to save us, Marion stayed behind and held it off...and I watched her be crushed by the monster. A few good hits made it bleed, but in the end all it took was one good-"
"You done?" Harriet growled, "It's been five minutes..."
Cammie spun around to see Harriet, peeking through the doorway. Come to think of it, she never heard the door close, making her wonder if Harriet was standing there the whole time, listening in.
"Right..." Elm huffed, standing up.
"Get yourself together, Ederne," Harriet ordered, "We have fugitives to arrest."
Another door opened deeper in the compound, courtesy of Penny and Eunice hacking into it.
That...thing you noticed before. Have you found it? Penny mentally asked, still connected to the terminal.
I'm downloading it now. It's an encrypted data packet...but with this level of code-work, no one else would've found it, Eunice explained.
So...this was meant for us? Is it harmful?
Not from what I can see.
We can decode it before we leave, then. It should be easy with the two of us working together!
Heh, yeah.
Ruby and the others had their weapons drawn once the door was opened, but they quickly lowered them upon seeing where they were. It was a cavernous chamber with only one way across a massive drop, a single with a circular platform in the middle. On the other side was an electrified door, blocking off any and all access without the proper authorization. The group made their way across, Kevin keeping an eye on the walls. This was set up all too perfectly for guns to just pop out of the walls and start shooting.
"Right up ahead," Penny said. She reached the other side and jacked into one last console, deactivating the electric defenses and opening the door. The lights flickered on within, revealing a large server room with various terminals and bolted-down office chairs. Ironwood's was located at the far back.
"So...where is everyone?" Blake asked as she stepped in.
"This area is highly restricted. Only those with the highest clearance are allowed!" Penny explained.
Like your dad? Neo signed.
"Precisely!" Penny said, moving to the back terminal and taking a seat. The door closed behind the group once they were all in the room, the electricity zapping back on and protecting them.
"Hmm," Kevin hummed as he looked at the energized door and what looked like the generators for the field.
"Hey Dad?" Penny asked, "I'm ready."
A few seconds pass before Penny's eyes flash from green to a darker yellow. She turned to look at Ruby, her movements now more stiff and jerky, firmly putting her in uncanny valley territory.
"Ahem. This process is a little complicated, so I'm remoting into Penny from the workshop. Eunice, we'll start working on that data packet together. If you wouldn't mind starting," Pietro said through Penny.
Right away, Dad! Eunice said, as she started her process. Penny began her work on the terminal as Ruby and Kevin watched on.
"You doing okay?" Kevin asked.
"Hm? Yeah, I'm...I'm good." Ruby said. "Ben's safe, Yang's protecting Mantle...everything's cool, dude."
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "I feel like that's a lie."
"...okay, just a tiny bit." Ruby huffed. "I'm freaking out bad, Kevin. We have to get this message out and fast. We have a potential war on two fronts and we're just a small group of heroes. I know what we're doing is right, but..." Ruby balled her hands into fists. "I'm so used to having more support on this. We're totally alone."
Kevin nodded. "I get it. First big moment without adults around to tell us what to do or what we're doing right. But, here's a thought, we're not kids anymore." Kevin said. "We're on that cusp of adulthood, and that's when we learn that...adults have no idea what they're doing either. No one does, really."
"I mean...yeah," Ruby said, still a bit unsure.
"Hey, if you're sure you're doing the right thing here, then you are. And you said you know it's right, so, end of discussion," Kevin explained.
"I always forget how much of a realist you can be."
"Nah, that was more optimistic than I would've liked it to be," Kevin joked.
"He's right. But honestly I think you needed a little bit of that right now," Doppler chimed in.
"Oh, my God, I forgot you were there. Sorry, Doppler." Ruby apologized.
"I'm not even sure anyone would miss me when I'm gone..." Doppler sighed.
"Dude. You know that's not true," Kevin said, "And before you counter with how I act, it's called a sibling dynamic."
"Yeah, and you do that so much better with Kylie. You know, your actual sister."
"Can we not do this now?" Weiss sighed.
Doppler sighed. "Fine. I'll just sit here, watching from your...watch."
"One sec..." Kevin moved over to the side so that Weiss couldn't hear him, as he had just realized something kinda important.
"Ok, so, maybe we avoid using the sibling term right now," Kevin whispered, "Given...well..."
"Yeah, I picked up on that too. But...seriously. When all's said and done...I'm just a bunch of nanites brought together to keep you alive. Once you're able to handle things on your own, I become obsolete."
"Dude, come on." Kevin said. "Don't say it like that."
"It's just facts, Kevin." Doppler frowned. "One day I will expire, and you'll be able to live without concern."
"You saying it all...clinically like that just reminds me of Ironwood."
"...then maybe I'll just stop talking now." Doppler said, retreating back into his wrist.
"Wait, no, that's not what I meant!" Kevin said, trying to salvage the situation. When Doppler didn't re-emerge, Kevin just started facepalming.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid..." Kevin muttered.
"Oh!" Pietro said, "Well this is interesting..."
"What? What's up?" Ruby asked. Kevin's dilemma could wait- whatever Pietro found sounded concerning.
"The data packet that Eunice found, it's a message and clearance codes. Someone's...offering to take me to Amity," Pietro explained.
"That's obviously a trap," Blake said.
"I don't think so...something about the coding seems familiar. And the clearance codes attached...I think we still have allies up in Atlas."
"...Albedo mentioned Cammie let them go. Do you think she's helping us from the sidelines?" Ruby wondered.
"It's a possibility, but she didn't know about Amity." Pietro hummed.
"So who else besides us and the Ace-Ops knew?" Weiss asked.
"...Weiss. Remember that time we tricked that snow pirate by carrying a shipment full of Legos instead of Dust?" Ruby asked.
"Yes and I still haven't had the time to look up that reference."
"Who was on the other truck with Ben and Rex?"
"Let's see...it was Vine and..." Weiss paused. "...Agent Six."
"Six? Is he even smart enough to do that?" Ruby asked. "I have like, no idea what he's capable of."
"Agent Six is a lot of things, but a coder is NOT one of them." Pietro said. "He must have had help..."
"Weller, maybe?" Kevin suggested, "I doubt he's ok with Ironwood's new stance on things."
"No, I would recognize Rufus' codework. This? This is-"
"I think I know who," Blake realized, "It's a long shot since...none of us have really talked to her...but isn't there a doctor that's been helping out Rex before all this?"
"You mean Holiday?" Weiss asked.
"Holiday? Honestly..." Ruby hummed. "It checks out. She's Rex's foster mom. I think she was left in the dark too...someone probably told her."
"...Harriet," Weiss realized, flashing back to the start of the Arrowfell Incident.
"Hare? She told someone about it? I...don't see that happening," Kevin admitted.
"Not if it was during a therapy appointment. I miiiight have overheard her after we searched that old Dust mine to find evidence on Glass."
"So, Harriet leaked that info on accident...because of her therapy." Kevin cofirmed. "Normally I'd be totally against it for the sake of patient-doctor confidentiality, but it gets a pass this time."
"Can you get into contact with Holiday?" Blake asked.
"That might give you away," Pietro pointed out, "And I've almost...got it..." with one last keystroke, Penny's now yellow eyes widened in joy, "There! Eunice is downloading the cloned imprint now. When Penny gets to Amity, we'll run the launch sequence and the colosseum's computer will try to connect to the general's terminal but get Penny instead."
The golden hue blinked back to Penny's natural green, her more human movements returning.
"And after the launch, we will return to help you all with the evacuation!" Penny declared.
"Um, about that..." Pietro coughed awkwardly over the comms.
Uh oh. An awkward cough. Something must have happened.
"...Pietro?" Ruby asked. "Is something wrong?"
"When Amity goes up...I think it would be better if you and Eunice joined myself, Ari, and Lev," Pietro said.
"But they need us here!" Penny said, her joyful expression becoming crestfallen almost immediately, "R-right?"
"Yes, but...we may need extra hands. And you're the only one who can really make it here at the moment." Pietro said.
"Bull. I can join her. Don't forget, I got an Omnitrix too." Kevin frowned.
"...but you are not the Winter Maiden," Penny realized, looking down at her hands, "I am. If I am aboard Amity when it launches...then Salem cannot open the Vault."
"Then we'll be down a person for the remainder of our run." Blake frowned. "What do we do then?"
Might just need to alter the plan. Don't mean to sound harsh, but one person isn't that big a blow, Neo signed.
"I suppose, we all have to do some things...we would rather not," Penny admitted.
"Penny..." Ruby began as she reached out to her friend.
"W-we should get going, then." the newly minted Winter Maiden turned, heading for the door.
The protector of Mantle went back up and connected to the terminal again, her mind focused on the task ahead, no matter how much she wished she could focus on...anything else. The door opened and Penny was about to take a step out, when-
Penny, eyes up! Eunice warned. The android girl looked up and her pack opened up, immediately bringing out Floating Array. Hearing that, the other members of Ruby's Outcasts lined up next to her in combat ready stances, locking eyes with the Ace-Ops, including their three new members.
"Hey there, kiddos," Nesmith saluted, "Been awhile."