Sun frowned indignantly, his head shown to the screen. "Come on, Mr. B! This is really not necessary!"
The camera zoomed out to show Sun now wearing a dog collar, held on a black leash by Ghira.
"That's Mr. Belladonna, or better yet Sir. You lied to me!" He pulled Sun back towards him. "You said you were just friends! I go away for a yoga and meditation class to try and calm myself, and the next thing I know, you have her pinned against the wall!"
"That's not true! I...!" Sun tried to protest.
"How do I know that you're not going to hurt my daughter? I trusted Adam, who I had known for years, and look what happened! And what nearly happened!" The strongman gave Sun a heinous glare. "How can I trust you after what you have done!?"
"Dad, stop it!" Blake ordered. "I've known Sun for over a year, and we've been dating for a little over three months now. We started dating on November 26th of last year, and we haven't gotten into one major argument since then, whereas the three month point was where me and Adam started bickering. Not to mention Sun risked life and limb to save me after my fall to Adam and once before when I faced Corvina Noire. He's brave, he's selfless and he truly cares about me. Before I admitted my feelings towards him, he told me himself that he thought he was insane, and he feared his feelings were not returned. He also feared that he didn't deserve me. He was wrong there, and I will admit, I made a mistake by ever trusting Adam all those years ago. I didn't listen to my instincts at first. But none of my instincts are telling me that Sun's bad. I was scared to tell you the truth about our relationship after what happened during my time as a prisoner of war, so part of it is my fault as well. I asked him to be silent, and he respected my wishes. So let him go. Now!"
Ghira groaned as he took off the collar from Sun's neck. "You're let go, but don't think you're off the hook just yet."
Sun tensed up.
Blake groaned, aggravated with both of them. "Guys, stop. We have bigger problems."
"Unfortunately, she's right." Kali spoke off-screen.
She was wrapped up in a towel, her hair still wet as she appeared before them.
Ghira turned to her. "What do you mean by that?"
"I got news for you, but we should get back to our room first. Just to ensure no one overhears us. Also, it's cold out there and I'd like to get into my normal clothes."
Kali gestured for them to follow her, and so they did.
Sun's stomach churned. I got a bad feeling about this.
Meanwhile, aboard the ship Pride Odell, Pyrrha found herself carefully examining the blades of Floating Array. Nine of the swords were laid out in a vertical line upon her and Jaune's bed. The room was empty- Ruby was at her shift as First Mate, Ren and Nora decided to explore the ship, and Jaune decided to hit the gym. She took one blade and examined it closely for about ten seconds. Then she did the same with another one.
Alright... I know some of these blades have already been divided, but which ones? And which could be divided further?
The gladiator girl looked at her right boot, concealing the tenth sword. The only sword I believe hasn't been divided yet would be the one in my boot. She lifted up her right leg, testing to be sure the sword wouldn't slip out. She put her boot down and sighed.
If only Penny's swords came with an instruction manual.
She lifted the swords on the bed, tied them together and formed the sword skirt around her. She left the room, hoping to find the captain. As she roamed the halls, the soft clanker of her swords was heard. She felt her heart tense a bit.
I hope no one files a noise complaint. Pyrrha sighed as she went through the halls. I miss them. The other guys and girls back at Beacon. Blake, Yang, Weiss... Velvet, Coco, Fox, Yatsuhashi... The only ones I don't miss are Cardin and his goons. What ever happened to them anyway? Oh well, I guess it might not matter much in the long run. She sighed again. I even miss the staff...
Eventually, she came to the Captain's Suite and knocked on the door. After not getting an answer, she noticed a nearby red button and a sign reading;
Press button for service
1- Requests
2- Emergencies
She pressed the button once and waited for a few moments.
Captain Odell smiled as he opened the door and greeted her. "Ah, Ms. Nikos. How may I help you?"
"Hello again." Pyrrha greeted. "I was wondering... do you have any scrap metal that you don't care if it gets damaged or not?"
"I think I might have some spare metal sheets down in the scrapyard room. Why?"
"Well, I need to find some non-living targets to test a certain weapon on."
"Hmm. I see. Come, follow me."
They made their way through the halls of the ship. They saw guests enter their rooms aboard the ship. A little boy looked at her sword skirt before being dragged along. Pyrrha and the captain found a staircase and began their descent.
Upon reaching the end of the staircase, the two turned left abd found a small room with a dim lantern or two overhead. The two went forward to a room on the right. He turned on the lights, with two of the four overhead lights working. On the floor were pieces of metal pipes, rusted beyond repair. There were also a few metal sheets, torn or broken into irregularly shaped pieces.
Where did they get all this junk metal from? Pyrrha briefly wondered.
"Here you are. An entire depository of metal we tried to sell but no one would take. Feel free to experiment with the swords to your heart's content."
"Thank you. Hopefully my training session will be successful."
Captain Odell left Pyrrha to do her training.
Alright. Let's begin.
She took one of the swords into her hand and cut the metal sheet with ease. With her right hand using her Polarity, she used the levitated sword to cut a pipe, only for the blade to divide into two.
"Hmm..."
She took the original blade and set gently on the ground. Then she took the new blade and brought it closer to her.
The new blade looks to be as sharp as the old one. But is it so?
Pyrrha took the new blade and cut another pipe, this time with the same efficiency as the old blade.
It would seem so. Upon examining the new blade she noticed a small tiny detail; there was a small tiny green interlock of sorts on one side. She turned it over, trying to find it on the other side, but to no luck.
So that's how the blade is divided... but how far can they be divided? And more importantly, how do I unify them?
The gladiator girl took the new blade and the old blade and out of the corner of her eye, saw the interlock on the old sword. With both of her hands using her semblance, she stuck the two blades together, forming them back into one.
That answers unification. Now it seems all the blades are normally stacked or layered by default. So now the real question; What's the minimum and maximum amount of blades I can get? I have ten blades to start...
She set the first sword down and used her semblance to unravel the strings holding her 'sword skirt' in place and levitated them all in front of her. With both hands, she focused on dividing each sword one by one and about a minute or two later, saw twenty blades.
So we have twenty. Can the blades be divided again? Judging by the lack of the visible interlock on one side, I think I might be able to divide each individual blade twice.
The spartan tried out her theory by setting eighteen of the swords down, leaving only the very left sword and its duplicate levitating. She concentrated and sure enough, split it again. She brought the third blade to her, took it in her hand and sliced the rusted pipe with it.
Third sword is just as sharp as the other two...
She tried to divide the third sword, but to no avail.
Looks like my theory was right; each sword has two identical sub-blades. So there should be a total of thirty swords here.
She set the first set of three down and divided the swords until she saw a total of thirty swords on the ground.
So with no blades divided, there is a minimum of ten blades, and a maximum of thirty swords. Now... can I use my semblance to wield them all at once?
Pyrrha breathed in, concentrated her focus and was able to lift all the blades off the ground. Her fingers twitched as she struggled to hold up all the blades at once.
Oh my... this is... a bit more straining than I thought it would be. Then again, what's more challenging- levitating lots of smaller objects or lifting one bigger object, like a large gear in a clocktower?
She let the swords fall on the ground as a flashback came back to her.
When Pyrrha tried to crush Cinder with gears, only for her to use her fire powers to blast them away from her and knock Pyrrha into a wall.
No. You can't think like that. Breathing in, the spartan steadied herself. You need to train and improve. Unfortunately, most of the practice I might get with these swords might be trial by fire. But at least I'm familiar with the basics of Floating Array now.
She briefly thought of her duel with Tyrian. I managed to use those swords well enough against Tyrian during the Battle for Aletheia. That however, was more than a bit of a gamble. I got out with skill, but won with a small bit of luck. But luck may not be on my side when I face Cinder. Still, it's a start. And something I can continue to do as we make our way eastward to my old home. Oh wait, how long have I been here?
Pyrrha got out her Scroll and checked the time;
March 7th
3:30pm
She pocketed her mobile and reminded herself that they were closer to Vale, and thus, a long way from Mistral.
Perhaps I should start with ten swords and work my way upwards from there. That way I can use the swords and sets to their maximum efficiency.
Activating her semblance once again, she unified the swords, taking three at a time, until the array was back to its original ten. Then she lifted all ten of them and waved her arms controlling the direction of the blades.
Cinder may be the Maiden of Fire, but I am just like fire. I'll burn out the way. Burn away the negativity and obstacles that may try to stop me. No matter what happens or whatever awaits us in Anima.
Back in the hotel room, Blake, Sun and Ghira were anxious to hear the news Kali had to deliver them. The three stood in the bedroom, waiting for her to change. A moment later, she stepped out of the bathroom, back in her normal attire.
"So what's the problem?" Blake asked.
The cat mother pulled out a small Scroll, labeled with red tape. "According to Addie's Scroll, which we found from the clothes Blake stole, two messengers of Athena's messenger squad are supposed to be leaving today to deliver messages to the other White Fang leaders. Addie is one of them. The other is a woman named Negra. Negra is to head south to Menagerie, and Addie will go north to Atlas."
"Oh dear. This is a disaster." Ghira sighed. "Negra and Addie were already problematic enough simply for being Revolutionist spies, but now they pose a genuine threat."
Sun raised an eyebrow at the panther faunus. "Couldn't you beat them?"
"You're missing the point. Adam already has large control over the White Fang. With the CCT tower down, one would think this wouldn't be so, but unfortunately, it is. With his alliance with Athena, he has Mistral. With Wungeng, he has Vacuo. And since he was the original Valeian leader before usurping High Leadership, he has Vale too. If he gets any of the other branches to recognize and accept his authority, he'll have even more branches to draw soldiers and specialists from. Not to mention that if he gets Menagerie to accept his authority, he and his followers could potentially corrupt nearly all of the world's faunus into believing his dangerous ideology. The results would be disastrous, and Adam would be unstoppable."
"So what do we do?"
"We must stop their messengers before they leave the city. Assuming we're not too late already." The panther faunus turned to Kali. "Did those texts say when and where the funeral would take place?"
"The funeral takes place at Athena's hotel fortress, and is supposed to last from... three in the afternoon to six in the evening. It is now... 5:48."
"Less than fifteen minutes. We'll never make it in time to intercept them then and there."
"Maybe we don't have to. Perhaps we can chase them down." Sun suggested.
Blake raised an eyebrow, saddened. "You think that's the best idea?"
"Anyone else got any better ideas?"
There was a moment of silence that pervaded the room.
"We'll chase them." Ghira concluded. "There's two of them, and four of us. Since me and Kali are the only ones who know what they look like, we'll have to part ways. Blake, you and your mother will hunt after Addie. She's known for being fast, but between Blake's speed and stamina and Kali's quick reflexes, they shouldn't have any problems catching her. As for Negra, me and Mr. Wukong will track her down. From what I've been told, Sun is also a fast, agile fighter, so if he can lure the second messenger over to me so I can detain her, we'll be in good shape. Once we have both targets, we meet at the nearest abandoned building and discuss what to do with them. Any objections?"
I have to work with him? Sun thought. Oh Gods help me!
"Excellent. We have no time to lose. Everyone got their weapons and wits about them?" Ghira asked.
"I do." Blake answered calmly.
Kali nodded. "Ready to go."
"Ready as I'll ever be." Sun answered.
"Alright. With ten minutes to go, we must leave at once."
Ghira led the way, being followed by Kali, Blake and Sun. Sun made sure the door was closed, then dashed to catch up with the others. The four entered an elevator and quickly pressed the button for the ground floor.
Why am I now being cursed with such bad luck? First Blake is kidnapped by Adam and nearly raped, Zhu returns as Wungeng, I start feeling weird things and now I have to work with Blake's dad who hates my guts? He bit his tongue to prevent a sigh from escaping. Could this get any worse?
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be able to stop them." Kali told him.
"I hope so." Sun told her. "I have enough to worry about as it is."
The elevator door dinged open as they reached the bottom. The four walked briskly to the outside of the hotel.
"Looks like this is where we part ways." Blake said.
"Good luck catching the dog." Sun told her.
She faintly smiled. "Thanks. Same to you and trapping the bear."
The monkeyman felt his heart melt and smiled as Blake and Kali ran off.
That smile... Even if faintly there, it's beautiful.
Ghira cleared his throat, catching Sun's attention. His smile faded. "Are you coming, Mr. Wukong?"
Oh boy... I'm dead.
Sun sighed sadly and went along, knowing that he had a job to do.