DISCLAIR: This story is NOT MINE IN ANY WAY. That honor has gone to the beautiful bastard Ryugii. This has been pulled from his Spacebattle publishnt. Anyway on with the show...errr read.
Choice
Whelp.
I was fucked. I was pretty sure of that when I saw her sign and just about certain of it when I Observed her. The difference between us was trendous, whether based on levels, stats, or whatever else. In fact, going by pure physical abilities, she was by far the strongest person I'd ever been capable of Observing. This wasn't like fight Grimm or even like fighting the Nevermore; this was an intelligent, presumably trained individual with skill and versatility to back up her trendous power.
Even so, I stayed calm. I'm not gonna lieI owed that fact entirely to the Gar's Mindbut I did stay calm, analyzing the situation as I searched for a way out, a way through this. I recalled what I already knew and reminded myself that I didn't need to win this battle, I just needed to buy a little ti.
Even if standing in front of a level fifty-nine opponent made it suddenly seed like a lot of ti.
I considered my options quickly but before I even knew what I was doing, I'd stood up and walked fully into sight, standing before the young-looking girl beneath the moon and stars. A mont later, my brain caught up with my body and I almost nodded to myselfmy cover had obviously been ineffective anyway and if the point was to buy ti, this was probably my best bet. I'd have preferred to run, but even beyond the issue of defending the White Whale and the people being loaded into it, when it ca to people significantly more powerful than , my prospects for escape tended to be uncertain at the best of tis. No, this was smarter; I waswell, doubtful I'd be lucky enough to make it through on this alone, but it could do nothing but help.
"Penny Polendina," I said clearly, thankful as always for how broken Observe was while I scanned her profile. "The first synthetic person capable generating of Aura; Dr. Polendina's daughter and masterpiece. I didn't expect to et you so soonbut nonetheless, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Most people would have probably been off put by soone reciting hidden or private details of their life, but Penny just waved.
"That's !" She said brightly. "I'm afraid I don't know your na though."
"I tend to avoid introductions, I'm afraid," I replied demurely. "You see, surrounded as I am by so many amazing individuals, I feel rather embarrassed doing sowho could possibly recognize my humble self?"
"I'm sure that's not true," Penny said kindly. "I've heard a great deal about you! You must be a very skilled criminal to have taken the AS-WW. People all over Remnant know about you!"
"It's kind of you to say so," I thanked her in the sa tone. "Nonetheless, this is a good opportunity. Before the situation degenerates needlessly, may I speak with you, Penny?"
Penny tilted her head to the side and blinked at with bright green eyes.
"You seem very polite, but I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," She said, shaking her head. "And also, it's very important that I apprehend you and return what you've stolen."
"Strangers?" I asked. "But didn't you just say you knew a lot about ?"
She blinked and nodded.
"So I did," She agreed. "But I don't even know your na. And part of what I do know about you is that you are a criminal. Which, considering it, I believe even trumps being strangersthough I am uncertain."
"That seems a fair assumption, Penny," I conceded politely, eyes narrowed considering as I began to find my stride. "Yet I would argue that circumstance forced my hand. In return for a mont of your ti, I would explain. As for my na, however, I'm afraid that may still be an issuefor you see, I am wearing a mask, an item ant to conceal one's identity; a task I would be subverting if I then simply revealed it to you. I could remove the mask, but you see, it is much akin to military uniform and it would be tastelessperhaps even insultingto remove it in the line of duty. I can assure you that despite my fa, you would not recognize the face beneath, nor even my na, so I'd ask that you allow it to remain in my possession."
"Okay," Penny nodded, watching . "You wish to confess then? I believe that's allowed, though I will still have to take you into custody afterwards."
I gestured at her noncommittally before continuing.
"Are you aware of where we are?"
"Becheur, a mining facility owned by the Schnee Dust Company in Southern Atlas, Seventh Ring," She answered promptly. "Or do you an in terms latitude and longitude?"
"That won't be necessary. However, perhaps I should rephrase my question. Do you know what this town's purpose is?"
"It's a mining facility owned by the Schnee Dust Company," Penny answered, blinking owlishly at . "Presumably, it is a facility ant to mine Dust for the Schnee Dust Company."
Couldn't argue with that.
"But are you aware of the process through which this occurs?" I asked.
"I assu it is mined by miners, hence the na. Perhaps with the aid of mining equipnt, also hence the na," She said and if she was being sarcastic, she hid it trendously well.
"That's entirely accurate," I allowed. "But paints a false image. For you see, this is a company town, if you are familiar with the term. Everything in it is owned by the Schnee Dust Company, including, for all intents and purposes, the people. You may not be aware of it, but this mine is run almost entirely on Faunus labor and they are paid solely in company scripa form of currency that only holds value to the company that possesses it. They spend this scrip to buy their essentials from the Schnee Dust Company, but its value is entirely controlled by their employers for it has value nowhere else. They determine what can be purchased, when it's available, and how much it cost, determining not only how much their employees are paid but the worth of what they receive. Due to the state of Faunus on Mantle, they can get away with a great deal in this regard and it is effectively a legalized form of slavery."
"What?" Penny asked quietly. "But that's"
"Horrible," I finished for her. "And the reason why I am here. The situation, you see, forced this result. I'm sure you would agree that I had to act, but my options were limited. I needed to transport a large number of people a vast distance, you see, and I had no ans of acquiring an appropriate vessel except through the ignoble ans of theft. Nonetheless, I had no choice but to act; you, if anyone, must understand why."
I was getting wordy, I realized, and it strangely brought back mories of school; trying desperately to hit the word limit on an assignnt at the last minute by bloating things, andering on the topic. Sadly, it also brought back another moryof presentation day, when I'd found myself nearing the end of my speech with way too much ti left. I could feel Levant working in the back of my mind, raising figures into the White Whale one by onebut God it seed to be taking forever. We'd practiced this and I knew she was keeping an amazing pace given her task, but
"What?" Penny asked, looking surprised. "What do you an?"
"At the risk of sounding clich, I think you and I are rather similar," I said, refocusing in an instant. I honestly wasn't sure where I was going with any of this, yet; I was just doing my best to make the leap from thought to thought, to keep talking without sounding foolish or mad. As I ca to an idea I thought had potential, I seized it and pressed onwards. "In the eyes of others, we are naught but an animal and a machine. Not people, just tools to be used. Look around us."
I gestured encompassingat the town, at the machine's broken on the field, at the world.
"Could there be a more fitting place for us to et? A town where Faunus are enslaved and forced to work for human masters. A field of broken machines, sent to be destroyed by those sa masters. It was my hand which ended them and I did so thoughtlessly, for which I must apologize, but it was they who sent them against . And what does that an for you, Penny? They don't even deserve to be compared to sothing as amazing as you, of course, please don't take the comparison as an insultyou are so much more than a machine, while these are simply prograd to act in defined ways. They aren't alive and I felt no guilt in destroying them thusly, butFaunus are alive and yet still used. Perhaps even treated worse than simple machines. What can we expect, then, of those who might follow you, Penny? Of your brothers and sisters, of your children and kin? Will they be treated like us? Will they be forced to act as their master's desire, programd to do so instead of being given life, choice? Will they ever get a chance to live like you, Penny, or will you be left alone?"
Penny seed to shrink into herself at my words, a figure of trendous, unbelievable power looking abruptly frightened, hesitant, confusedand I tried not to let that bother , but I failed.
And yet, as with Weiss, I stood firm.
"Youyou're wrong," She said. "I'mI'm not a real girl. I'm not alive."
"If that's what you believe, then you are wrong or else you've been lied to," I answered after a mont, looking her over. "I can see it so clearly. Emotions on your face, in your eyes. Innocence and uncertainty in every line of your body. I can see the light of Aura burning within you, Pennythe light of your soul. Only living things have an Aura, Penny, and that ans you're alive. It's plain to see that you are a real girl and anyone who disagrees is blind."
"I" She tried, taking a step back, a step forward.
"We aren't enemies, Penny," I said soothingly. "Or we don't have to be. Let's not fight. I haven't killed anyone; the humans are still huddled quietly in their houses, waiting for this to be over. Just let take the Faunus from this place and I'll leave, just like that. There's no need for senseless violence."
"I can't," She said after a mont. "II'm"
"Would they punish you, Penny?" I asked. "If you let slaves go free? What does that imply, then? For usand you. For whom living and letting live is a cri. If that's how things truly are, perhaps you should question the world you knowand the people you think you do. Penny, you aren't anyone's property. You aren't owned or owed to anyone. You are a living, thinking beinga miracle of life and innovation both. And if they would punish you for that, try to control you, and then they are wrong."
She was silent for a mont, blinking at rapidly, lips forming silent words, but I kept going after only a mont's pause. I wondered a bit about my words, at how swiftly they could turn from a lie to buy ti to sothing else, sothing I could put passion intoor was that part of the lie? Either way, I continued.
"Pennyyou don't need to be afraid of anything. You're strongand if you wished, I could take you away from this place. I could take you wherever you wanted to goanywhere. If you wanted to escape and be free, I would do everything in my power to make it possible and protect you. You can co with , if you want. Or you can stay and go ho. Whatever you want, it's your choice. But let's not fight for them. I don't want to be your enemy. I'd rather be your friend."
I saw emotions on her face and more in her status screenuncertainty, wonder, hesitation, fear, curiosity, worry, sadnessand realized how innocent this enormously powerful girl must have been. About life, about the world, about everything. Really, she was very much a child, hypocritical of as it might have been to call her such.
And maybe that was where I'd made my mistake. Or perhaps, it had simply been inevitable. She was a childuncertain and innocent and curious and afraid and everything else that could anand faced with all of that, she did what any child would do.
"No, this isI can't. This is wrong," She shook her head. "Sothing's wrong. There must be a mistake. You shouldn't have tothey shouldn't need tosothing must be at work here. My father, he would know what to do"
She turned to her parents.
I saw my only real hope dwindle before my eyes.
"You love him," I said, abruptly tired.
"He's my father," She said simply, extending a hand. "He and General Ironwood built andhe's my father."
I nodded, understanding what she struggled to put into words. It didn't make this any easier.
"He told to bring you in. There's an ergencythe White Whale, Ziz, it'sit's important," She said. "But we still don't have to fight. I can take you to him, let you explain. I'll vouch for you. I still want to be your friend. But I have to"
"You have your duty," I finished for her. "I understand. And I still want to be your friend, too. But I can't go with you. I have my duty, as well. There are people relying on , counting on , and I won't let them down; I'm sure you get that. Are you sure you can't let go? If it's about Ziz, I can tell you where it is."
"I" She looked down. "Don't understand what's happening. I know I don't understand what's happening. But I trust my father. He's not a bad person. Whatever's happeningI trust him and I know he'll understand. SoI have my duty to the people of Atlas and of Remnant. Even if I want to be your friend, to believe you, I can't make any mistakes. I have to protect everyone. Please, co speak to my father, tell him what you told and"
I was silent for a long mont, more in an attempt to delay the inevitable than anything else. I couldn't go with her. Even if I had so way of know that her father could do what she wanted to believe, even if I knew he had that much power and was a good person and would listen to , I had too many lies that could be uncovered. And too many enemies. The Schnee, at the very least, would
"I can't," I said at last. "I'll miss my flight. We have to do this, then?"
Penny looked down at the ground and nodded shallowly, looking miserable. I inhaled deeply.
"A pity," I said and ant it. "Such a pity."
For , I couldn't help but think.
"I'll make this quick," She said and I barely saw the first attack before it hit . I heard tal scraping and saw starlight gleam of a razor edge as a sword unfolded behind her, held by nothing and multiplying abruptly with a sharp soundand then I was sent flying back. The White Tiger's Hide held under the impact for a mont before shattering, tearing apart with a rush of sensation that I felt against my very being as the blades bit further inwards. I felt my MP drain as my Aura took the hit, soaking it in place of my body, but didn't have ti to check on any precise numbers as I was hurled back into a wall.
Or, more accurately, through a wall.
And the one behind it and the one behind that. I felt cheap wood breaking under my body and I was flung into what seed like a small work room, over several small desks or tables that I only noticed peripherally, out the other side into the street where I was sent for a rough tumble into the dirt, hit sothing like a curb, and was sent flying into a thin tal shutter of so kind. The door crumbled beneath and I went rolling across a warehouse floor.
It hurt. A lot.
But only for a second before the pain faded, swept away by the Gar's Body. Still, for a mont all I could do was lay there, stunned by the pain and the confirmation it had carried with it. I was strong and I had trained hard and I'd layers my defenses. Between and any attack was the White Tiger's Hide which soaked a large amount of damage before failing, my tal Aura which reduced any damage by a large fraction, and my Aura which made damage roll over to my MP before touching my HP, to say nothing of my Physical Endurance, which also reduced any source of damage by a large fraction. It was a powerful effect, taken altogether, especially with how highly I'd leveled all my skills; for soone my age, for soone who'd only trained for a month, it was an amazing defense.
And if not for all of that, this fight would have ended in that one blow. Penny had hit with enough force that even with all of that, she'd still stripped away nearly half my MPand I was pretty sure she was holding back, especially since I'd felt the blade draw away from a second after impact. I wasn't surprising, really; I'd always known about the difference between and so of the ridiculous opponents I fought. Hell, just earlier, I'd killed a bunch of robots a little less than half my level effortlessly and the difference between Penny and I was a fair bit larger. Even if I hadn't gotten to experience it first hand, 'a hit from an opponent nearly forty levels above you would hurt like a bitch' went without saying.
So I wasn't surprised, really. I wasn't even scared, really, even ignoring the effect of the Gar's Mind. As I lay on the warehouse floor for a second and just stared at the ceiling, I justaccepted it. She was vastly stronger than and she had the speed and versatility to back it up. She was, in every sense of the word, above my level.
But I got up because that didn't change anything. I still had a job to do, I still had things to fight for, and I was still going ho, sohow.
I tried to think of a plan. I considered trying to fly away or at least out of range but there were more than a few problems with the idea. Levant could lift and hold a single person fairly easily now, allowing to walk on air or even carry around. Butthat wasn't quite the sa as being able to fly myself. Ideally, Levant would be materialized and holding onto my back as she had during our practices, at which point I would either relay instructions to her or let her do what she thought bestand either way, the result was amazing but not ideal for a fight. In the forr, there was a delay between thought and action, like telling soone how to drive in your place. It was a short delay since I could rely on Levant for most things, but if there was sothing precise or if I needed to dodge sothing fast, the fact remained that I wasn't doing it the mont I thought about it, I was thinking of it, telling soone else to do it, and waiting for them to.
Levant was amazing, but adding steps to a process like that was going to cause delays no matter how good you were. Leaving things to her was bettera lot smoother, certainlybut it had the problem of soone else being in control of my movents. Even if Levant didn't need to focus on evacuating the Faunus and could manifest and guide my flight, having another person effectively controlling my legs while I fought was not going to make this any easier. And if that first hit was any indication, if I made a mistake once, there were decent odds I wasn't going to get a chance to make another.
All of which was a moot point, I supposed, because of the situation. I couldn't be certain of the range on those blades of hers, but they hit fast and from what I'd seen, could be used without her touching them. Given that, I pondered what I would do if I were designing such a thing and figured they probably had a pretty huge reach. Being able to hit at a distance was rather the point of a ranged weapon, after all. Even if I could afford to draw Levant's attention away from evacuationdealing with the effect splitting her power would have on both my mobility and the ti it ant I'd have to buywhether it'd be enough to save was, ironically, up in the air.
If I was just trying to run awaymaybe, but for this? No.
Stealth, perhaps? I'd leveled it up so, though it had never been a focus given the plan. Still, I might be able to lead her on a chase for a bit while remaining unseenassuming that no one involved with the construction of a super robot had considered the nurous advantages of sensors and enhanced vision, which seed rather unlikely. If you were creating a combat robot forwhatever reason, why would you stop at normal human capability for such a major thing? I wouldn't have. Hell, if it was , Penny would have been able to see Ultraviolet light bare minimum, and as much of the rest of the Electromagnetic Spectrum as I could manage. I didn't know the limits the top scientists in Atlas might have in that regard, but hellthey'd created life. Assuming they'd had fun thinking of ways to ruin things they sent their robot at seed reasonable.
Can't talk, can't fight, can't run, can't hide, which kind of left out to dry. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't think of anything that had a real chance of stopping Penny. Or slowing her down. Or doing more than montarily inconveniencing her.
Which was worriso, since I could feel her approaching.
I looked around, prioritizing quickly. Right now, I needed to survive long enough to figure out how to keep surviving. I scanned the warehouse for a way out or anything useful
I paused, suddenly realizing where I was. All around were neatly arranged crates, boxes, and various other storage containers, all looking read for shipping. Given this town's purpose, it wasn't hard to guess what was inside them and a quick check with Observe confirming it regardless.
I was in a storage warehouse surrounded by tons and tons of Dustall of it carefully stored and prepared but no less potentially explosive for that fact. If sothing happened to a warehouse like thisWell, assuming whoever was responsible for looking over my remains gave a funeral, they'd be able to bury in a petri dish. There was enough Dust in here to wipe away this whole town easily.
Maybe even enough to take down an unbelievably strong android, a coldor maybe just frightenedpart of whispered before I hushed it. That was a horrible strategy no matter how I looked at it for many, many reasons. From a practical standpoint, while it may well have been enough to defeat even soone as powerful as Penny, uncontrolled close-proximity explosives did not lend themselves well to survivable strategies and there were a lot of people who could be caught up in one as big as this. I would be endangering the very reason I ca here on such a desperate strategy and I'd probably die pulling it off besides.
Just as importantly, if it could take down Penny, it may very well kill her in the process. Desperate attempt to buy ti or not, I'd ant the things I said and I couldn't do that. It seed kind of unfair that I had to worry about the safety of my opponent as well as myself, but I couldn't endanger her like that. If I had a lot of ti, full knowledge of Penny's abilities and limits, and had a lot of experience with using Dust in such a way, maybe, but setting of a bunch of explosives and crossing my fingers? No.
Although
It gave an idea. Not a very good idea, unfortunatelyit would have been more honest to call it a fool's hope, but that seed self-defeating. But as the Gar's Mind kept calm and all my other options had run dry
Vulturnus, I reached out to my Lightning Elental and he was by my side in an instant. Though he was immaterial, I couldn't keep a shiver from going down my spine as I saw him standing in a room full of Dust, imagining it exploding. Vulturnus didn't even look at at first, gaze focused towards where Penny must have been.
When I told him what I wanted, however, he shifted to look at . The uniform color of his entire body made it hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure he was staring at in disbelief.
You're my only hope, I told him seriously. Go.
He remained as he was for an instantand however long that must have been to a Lightning Elentaland then was gone. I felt him in my mind, crossing my senses like the elent he represents as he flashed towards Penny.
And as he moved right passed her, leaving he untouched and unaware of his presence.
I will return. He whispered back as he stopped near the edge of my range. Don't fade away.
Then, with a sound almost like static, he fell silent and my awareness of him slide to the back of my mind to join Levant.
I tried not to feel any less confident then I did already, but with Vulturnus gone I had one less Elental by my side and I'd gotten used to their constant presence and support. Still, he'd be more useful where I'd put him then by my side, even if he was one of the best choices for facing this situationwhich had probably been the reason for his unusual focus until now. He and Crocea Mors had the best chances of hurting Penny, after all.
But they wouldn't let win this. If Penny was sothing elseif she was a Spider Droid or even a super Spider DroidI would have any reason to fear her. If she was just as strong and a normal robot, I'd tear her apart regardless of our level difference. It might be difficult in a few ways and a tad dangerous in others, but I was almost certain I'd win such a fight. Crocea Mors could let tear strips of tal from the White Whale's hull with about as much effort as lifting a bed sheet. Vulturnus could reach into and cause havoc on any electrical system, tearing up the power and letting it run loose. Between the two of them, I was certain that if I had to face a Spider Droid or two or even three, I would win. Not so much because I was powerful, but because I could literally just reach inside them and turn them off.
But Penny wasn't just a super advanced robot. She had an Aura, a soulshe was a real girl.
And that changed things. I couldn't reach into her and ss with things, even if I wanted to. I could sense her, the tal and electricity that made her run, but I couldn't control itor at least, not like I did with everything else. It was a matter of my Aura and hers and it would an a clash that she'd almost certainly win. If I could touch her, fight it directly, and hold on for a while, maybe I could do sothing, but I was pretty sure what would actually happen was that my body would be introduced to realms of physical discomfort previously unheard of.
There was a serious risk of dying in fact, now that I thought about it. Though I had no desireand limited abilityto hurt Penny and doubted she really wished to injure , as far as she'd be able to see, her attacks would seem ineffective because of the Gar's Body. It was possibly that in her attempts to take down, she might instead drive to the grave because nothing would happen until I lost my last HP point.
I briefly entertained the idea of explaining that to her. My power was strange enough that I was sure I could buy a fair amount of ti with that explanationbut no. There was a better then good chance that anything I told Penny would find its way to the people above her, one way or another. It might save from dying here, but if I was captured and they knew about my power
I'd take my chances risking my life. Besides, seeming invulnerable gave a psychological advantage, if one probably lost on Penny.
Instead, I tore open one of the boxes and pald one of the Dust crystals. A yellow one, reminding of Vulturnus.
"I'll buy you so ti," I murmured to myself even as I opened my Status Screen in preparation. "Soulforge Restoration."
I felt power and vitality flow into on the wings of strange sensationsa crispness to the air, a scent of the wind, hair standing up along my arms, water on my face, and the distant rumbling of thunder. I felt my HP and MP return to and exhaled slowly, looking at the window that appeared before .
The Status Effect, "Haste", has been created. Duration: 20 seconds.
God, I hoped this worked.
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