Of Maidens and Mecha - Seven

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Beta(s) :

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Sienna woke up to the familiar, foggy feeling of anesthetics wearing down, and the distant ache of the surgery they'd gotten her through. The first she noticed was the one she'd expected - right at the base of her skull, where, through the thin bandage, she could feel the small metal nodule that Juryrig had installed into her. But, after a few moments, she noticed a second, at the small of her back, where another little nodule had been installed. Which she hadn't expected, brows furrowing in confusion as the roof on the little container she'd been laid in for rest lifted up on groaning hinges and the 'Bot looked in on her.

"A-Ah, you're alive!" He chirped, then cocked his head and rubbed at it when her brows shot into her hairline. "I-I mean, um, you're awake! Good. How do you feel?"

"Sore in twice as many places as I expected." She answered, standing up from the little cot welded onto the side of the container and reaching for her clothes on another little cot across from her. "Where even are we?"

"Rest area, a few floor-blocks away." He said, "Sometimes, projects… Run a little long. So I built these for my organic assistants."

"Overworking them are we?"

"N-No!" Juryrig protested, eyes narrowing. "It's all voluntary! My science staff and apprentices, mostly."

"Mhm." She'd have to put that under review, later, make sure that it was actually voluntary instead of the more normal 'voluntary - but your boss is glaring at you' way things could go. More importantly, though, "What happened?"

"You mean the second socket?" She nodded and he sighed, shaking his head and reaching in with a hand she stepped onto, kneeling as he lifted her up and turned, meandering through the Foundry, "I… Underestimated the neural load, and overestimated your spinal sections' ability to hold it. The surgery went easy, but when I linked you to the neural-feed system, to set up your cogitative processing…"

"What happened?"

"You… Did, for a few moments." He answered lowly, flicking her a look as her blood ran cold. "I brought you back, but to do it, I needed the neural system. And, since one alone at the base of your skull couldn't take the load, I-"

"Added one as far down to the other side as you could." She filled in, humming, "To share the burden."

"Indeed."

"It worked." She sighed, pushing aside the sudden, existential, terror of having literally died on the table. She took a shaky breath and stood as they entered the workshop once again, and she said, "That's the important part."

"I suppose…" He said, letting her step back into the hanging cockpit and letting her ease into the seat. "You'll find a cable hanging down beside the helmet, now - split at the end."

"Got it." She said, pulling the chord down and leaning forward, peeling the bandages away and sliding the inputs into her outputs. It stung, and suddenly, she was aware of so much - numbers, information, ideas and sensations coursing through her and driving the air out of her lungs. As she leaned back, forcing herself to breathe, she gasped, "T-Tides… It's s-so much."

"Let it settle." Juryrig said, "And put the helmet on - it'll read out the data for you, help you process it in a way you can understand while you take it in."

"R-Right." She stammered, hand trembling as she did as she was told, sliding the helmet on and thumbing the new cord coming off its back. "W-What-"

"Base of your skull." Juryrig said, "Plug it into the round socket, right beside the larger, rectangular one."

It went in with a click, and a bruised sting, like the others, and she let out a breath as her vision swam, swapping back to the hanging eyes in the workshop. But this time, fully - there was no distance between her eyes and the wide screen the helmet used, or delay as she looked around. Nor was she really aware of the visor at all, beyond its light weight settled on her head. It was strange, or at least, she knew it should have been, but it all felt… Natural, in a way she couldn't explain any more than she could explain the natural flow of moving her arm to pick something up.

It just… Was.

Information swam across her vision, but it wasn't as chaotic now - instead, it ran in streams. Reading out the connection status, reading out her body's status - which was apparently 'stressed' and 'in caution' - along with complaints about her 'shell' and its status. What her 'shell' was she didn't know, but the answer came as quickly as she thought to think it, the words 'secondary body' and 'mech suit' flashing onto the screen until she'd read them, and dismissing as quickly.

Was it…. Reading her mind?

'Neural link query status - operational' the display reported simply.

"If everything is going well…"

For a moment, she forgot how to speak, so awash in the data and the feed, but at a thought, the feed vanished. Her vision cleared, and her second eyes turned, regarding the back of the 'Bot who turned, smiling pleasedly as she said, "Seems fine. Just… A lot."

"I imagine." He said, holding up a long cable half as thick as she was. "If you want, I've run a cable to a Cybertronian hand. I can plug it in. Test the tactile response and neural feed. Leg, too."

"It's that simple?" She asked, "Just… Plug and play?"

"As crude as that phrasing is…" Juryrig sighed, shaking his metal head, optics whirring and flicking between a dozen different settings as he went on, scanning the cable while he did, "Yes. These suits aren't like Cybetronians. You'll feel everything, but you won't die if you lose an arm, even if you'll pass out. Being able to remove a damaged piece and just socket it back in is… Efficient."

"Good." She nodded, "Plug it in - and try not to kill me, please."

"R-Right…" He stammered, stepping to one of the long, thin arms hanging on the wall and looking it over. Satisfied, he turned back and laid a hand on her temporary, prototype cockpit, holding the cable up and sighing, "You… May feel some pain?"

As it turned out 'some pain' translate to the feeling of her arm being dislocated and reinstated in a white-hot flash that made her scream. But, after a second, it eased and she flexed the fingers, hissing when she felt Juryrig grasp the connecter again, "Don't unplug it - it's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Y-Yeah." She let out a breath, watching - and feeling - the arm flex and bend, fingers curling and uncurling to match her own in the pilot's pit. "I… Can feel it. Like my own body. Amazing."

"Indeed!" Juryrig clapped, turning and speaking to her second set of eyes excitedly. "Perhaps we should ensure it's all properly attached before integration next time, though, hm?"

"Definitely." She laughed, "How long until you have other limbs for me?"

"Why?"

"I want to walk." She said, "And… We need to make sure a Faunus can handle a full body. Physically, not just the data-stream."

"I… Can hook everything together now." Juryrig said, "But we should pull you out, first."

"No." She said, grimacing. "One limb at a time. That way, if I hit a limit, we know it. Before you send me into cardiac arrest or whatever."

"Neural shock, but… I get your point." He sighed, "Let me call my staff - I'll need a hand, but it shouldn't take long. While we wait, I'll move your ride-unit and attach it to a mobile frame."

"Ok." She settled in, "Let's get it done."

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Netrunner's 'hideout', as she herself called it in her messages, was well outside Mistral's walls. And even a bit beyond the 'secure' area along the coast, or nearer to the walls, where the former Insecticons patrolled more heavily, and more settlements had been more well-developed, encircled by their own walls and defences. No, hers was far to the North, along the coast Atlas had long ago colonized for trade and military use, and which had largely fallen out of use as Mistral and Menagerie became more entangled. Atlas' fall hadn't helped at all, in that regard, showering the coast in fear, mourning and pain.

The Grimm had seen to the rest - before she or Kali had been in any state at all to do anything about it, after Ghira's death and Shockwave's… Departure.

Her hideout had been built to the North, almost in the middle of the northern coastline, where the mountains met the water and huge caverns had been worn into their sides. Some, she knew from what Sienna had told her a long time ago, could go for miles inland. Some even opened up into rivers and salt lakes, and had been traveled even during the war by fishermen and smugglers. Perfect for their Faunus fighters and sympathisers, back then.

And now, just as perfect for pirates, mercenaries, and… Well, the same smugglers as had been around then, more or less.

"How much further?" She asked, wading through the thigh-high water and thanking the Stars Leonardo had suggested she wear her private robes, which she'd hiked up onto her waist to keep them dry, instead of her more formal set.

Unfortunately, that meant that where it did get wet, ussually from water dripping down from the stalactites overhead, the thin whites weren't exactly… Modest.

"Not far." Leonardo answered, himself wearing, of all things, a set of rubber cover-alls over a black blouse. "Coordinates are just around this bend…"

They rounded the corner and came into a larger cavern, with a massive machine built into the wall just to their side, thrumming and hissing as steam poured off it. A cable ran off it, along with a thick pipe, both fasted together and climbing up the wall, spindling around crevices, stalactites, and a few scattered, dull red, light fixtures that flickered on as they stepped into the space, washing the cavern in a dull, menacing blood red. Ahead of them, the ground lifted up, out of the water, finally, and a thick, grated floor had been laid out, with a huge water tank to one side, with a heat sink beside it and an outflow pipe dumping the heated water back into the cavern's supply, and a wall of screens climbing up at least fifty feet as the ceiling suddenly shot up.

But it was empty, she realized with a frown as they made their way up the man-sized stairs and looked around. When she didn't see anything else, she frowned, "Where the hell is she?"

"I'm around." The synthesized voice said as the wall of screens flickered on, staticy and white enough to hurt Kali's sensitive eyes. After a second, though, she turned back to the screen. Netrunner wasn't there, physically, it seemed. But the screens all worked in tandem to display her avatar, which was a simple circle. It was outlined in red, with four eyes above a smirking mouth. The avatar didn't move smoothly as she spoke, instead setting flat and flickering faintly. "I must say, I'm rather surprised you actually came all the way out here like this, just because I demanded it."

"You said you could send me where my daughter is." Kali hissed, frowning and folding her arms over her chest. "I'm fine with whatever I need to do to get there."

"And you, Headmaster?"

"Kali is a dear friend." He answered, "I failed her, and I'm going to make it right."

"Very well." Netrunner said, avatar frowning deeply. After a second, a little slot on the base terminal clicked open and Kali padded over, pulling out the data-shard and eyeing it warily. When she looked up, Netrunner explained, "Everything I have. Coordinates, mainly, for transmissions to and from our little spy, out to a base in the South. If you head back to the last turn and head straight, you will be on the right path. Turn left at the third bend, and you'll reach a surface waterway. From there, it's a straight shot."

"Is…" Kali blinked, "that's why you-"

"Don't read into me." Netrunner cut her off, screens flicking off instantly. "I do what I want. And you do, too, if you want anything. You did, so enjoy your reward."

"Alright." Kali frowned, turning to head back. "Come on, Leonardo."

"R-Right…"

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"Ruby is no threat to us." Penny finished her report quietly, sitting alone in the little flat her Mistress' people maintained in Vale, to make their coming and going just a bit easier. It was mostly empty, beyond the kitchen and a few cots, but served well enough. The Seer across from her hovered closer, and Penny grimaced, "S-She seems to have the silver eyes, yes, and Ozma… Did move her ahead. But I am quite confident that I can keep her from-"

"Confident?" Salem cut her off, "Or hopeful?"

"I-I, um…"

"You're smitten." Salem observed, "I can see this easily, so don't bother lying."

"I-I…" She pursed her lips and thought quickly, faster than any Human could. She would have preferred to speak to her father, to get his advice, but even in Up-Time, he couldn't respond to her messaging. They wouldn't even arrive until she came down. So, meekly, she came down and nodded, "I-I l-like her quite a bit, yes. She is… A good person."

"And you want her to live."

"Y-Yes."

"You understand what that means, don't you?" Salem pressed, sounding… More amused than anything else. "She would be your captive. Here, in the Grimmlands. In the dark. She'd hate you for this, even if I didn't have Tyrian blind her."

"P-Please, no!" Penny squawked, faster than she could catch herself. Clapping her hands over her mouth, she flicked her eyes away, frightened, and stammered, "I-I-I have, um… A plan, Mistress."

"Oh?" She hummed, "Do tell."

"The day of our attack, I will access Beacon's administrative systems and, using it, direct her team out into the Emerald Forest for an 'emergency mission'." She explained quickly, "While she is out there, Beacon will be attacked. At the same time, Tyrian and I can capture them all, and safely relocate them for the duration. Separated, they will not dare to try anything for fear of reprisal against the others, and they will be unable to properly coordinate a joint effort to avoid that."

"That cannot possibly be a permanent solution."

"No, Mistress." She agreed, "B-But, um, well… By the time they're in the Grimmlands with us, Beacon will have fallen, and Vale will be occupied. Unarmed, and so far away, they won't have a choice."

"A fair plan." Salem hummed, "And, so long as she does not breed, she can hardly pass on her eyes."

"H-Her team is all women, so…" Penny frowned, "That shouldn't be a problem."

"Then by all means, try your little plan." Salem said, the Seer withdrawing, "Fail, however, and I will make you kill her yourself. Slowly. Are we clear?"

"Y-Yes, Mistress." Penny nodded, "W-We are."

The Seer didn't respond, slipping away, up into the air-duct it usually lurked within when it wasn't needed. Even with it gone, though, she couldn't let herself relax - not yet, at least. There was still work to do, to prepare for their part of the plan. And now, she'd have to convince Tyrian to help her instead of running off into a school of Hunter-hopefuls to maim and kill to his hearts content. Which would be a challenge…

But one she was up for.

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"I see." Soundwave hummed, "And you found them?"

"Yes." Rumble whispered, voice low, harsh but calm, for now. "The child is here - the guards present have spoken of her. And she is alive as well. They have plans for her, and need her to be for a while yet."

"How many guards?"

"Forty two, not counting their leader." Rumble reported, "That's my estimate, at least. The leader is the largest concern, but a small one."

"How so?"

"He has Aura."

"Ah." And that meant a Semblance, and a lot of other problems besides. A room away, he could hear Shockwave working, manufacturing a new set of implants and limbs for the woman. "Will she be alive in two days?"

"Most likely."

"Lazerbeak is coming to you." He grunted, "If that changes, move in - kill them all, rescue her. If not, Shockwave and I will move ourselves."

"Why wait?"

"He is recovering, and repairing his Human as well." Soundwave said simply, "I would not interrupt it and stress him now. The child can wait. And Shockwave will not be alerted to our knowledge. Notify me of changes, and we will adapt."

"Understood." Rumble answered, "Out here."

He let the connection quiet and sighed, turning, "All so complicated…"

Quietly, he compiled his information into another report and sent it out, across the net on a familiar channel. It would arrive as soon as it could, he knew, but for now it was mostly a task of idle hands. Standing then, he turned and made his way into the hall, turning towards Shockwave's laboratory with the intent to help him finish his oh so important work.

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Spoofy Ohio :

I hate you for being right, lol. Valid points.

Kolomte :

De acuerdo, entonces, si desea un buen lugar para comenzar, comience con la Revolución Estadounidense y comprométase con el clima político. Hay cosas interesantes involucradas allí, una vez que pasas lo obvio. Otros ejemplos que podría dar... Podrían meterme en problemas.

Mencionó a Atlas; sin embargo, Atlas, para ella, es solo Mantle. Ella también estaba siendo impertinente. Recuerda, ha estado atrapada en un frasco glorificado durante mucho tiempo. Está frustrada y deprimida.

En cuanto a Penny y su papel, ¡yo también lo odio! Jajaja. Duele. Pero, lógicamente, tiene sentido, así que lo hago. Aunque tengo planes. Pero la tragedia es un elemento de todas mis fics.

Espero que sigas disfrutando.

Shadowstorm Vash :

In order-

The Faunus Revolution is canon. Oobleck mentions it.

Ozpin directly grooms people - he literally is doing this in V1-3, with basically the entire main cast. You can assert that moving her up two grades isn't grooming - it is - but he did more than that, from giving her the missions she wanted, to noting WHY he had recruited her in her eyes, and just so happens he's always around JUST when she needs someone to talk to, too, or help, including when he gives her special allowance onto a mission.

Shockwave is, indeed, adorable, lol

I'm American. I am complaining about shit happening to me, lol. Also, complaining isn't 'nationalistic discrimination'?