Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

            The General was 5 minutes and 39 seconds behind schedule for his own special meeting, a worrying sign. It wasn’t the irregularity of being called into General Ironwood’s office that concerned Ciel, it was his lateness. Especially since he’d called for this private meeting before announcing her Academy team composition.

            Atlas Academy, rather than relying on some archaic system of randomly arranging partnerships, used sophisticated testing and an algorithm to create optimum the team compositions for every student. It was Atlesian efficiency at its finest, so when the teams were announced to the new first years and Ciel noticed her name was not on the list anywhere, it was more than a little startling. Being called into a special meeting with the General in regards to her team composition only took some of the edge off.

            When the office door finally slid open, Ciel nearly shot upright from her seat and turned to stand at strict attention. It was General Ironwood reading some kind of report on his scroll, he almost didn’t notice her at first, and looked startled when he did.

            “Ah, Ms. Soleil, apologies for the delay. At ease.” He replied, having barely lifted his from the report. Ciel’s posture only eased slightly as the General circled his desk to take his seat, future Military Specialists were always prepared.

            “That wasn’t a request Ms. Soleil. Sit down please.” He said a bit more forcefully, and Ciel decided that maybe following orders would set a better example and sat down.

            “Thank you. I’m sure you’re wondering about your team status and why I called this meeting.” He continued as his eyes drifted back to his mysterious report, which she tried very hard not to find annoying.  

            “Yes sir.” Ciel sat as still as possible, although the General’s calm demeanor was doing nothing to soothe her nerves. As if he could sense her hidden anxiety, the General smirked over his scroll and turned his full attention to her.

            “To be clear, you will be getting a team. In fact, you’ll be leading one. There are just some…unique circumstances surrounding your team.” It was fascinating how quickly anxiety could turn to excitement, but what did he mean by unique circumstances?

            “You see, your test scores and combat performance were exemplary, but what really caught our attention was your discipline and your sense of loyalty to Atlas.” The General continued. “I believe you may be the perfect candidate for a special military project, one that will require some…adjustments to your team lineup.”

            “A military project, sir?” In Atlas the military and Academy were almost synonymous, even before they were run by the same man, but Ciel had never heard of a military project being run with students before, especially not with first years. She also had to wonder what her team specifically would have to do with it that required a private meeting with the most important man in both institutions.

            “Yes, specifically involving this young woman.” The General finally revealed the mysterious contents of his scroll to Ciel.

            The device showed a picture of a young woman about her age with dark, freckled skin and bright green eyes. Her short bob of curly, orange hair was partially tied up in a large pink bow and her outfit spoke more to an old-timey picnic than the miliary. Her lips were curled into a wide grin and perhaps in a less formal setting Ciel would have called her pretty. Beneath the image was her name, Penny Polendina, not one Ciel recognized from any of the major families of Atlas. A normal girl by all metrics, and she found that strange.

            “Who is she, sir?” Ciel was at a loss for how this chipper, seemingly simple young woman could be important to the Atlesian military.

            “The specifics are classified.” The General replied evenly as he took the report back from her. “But suffice to say Ms. Polendina and the technology her father has designed are both of critical importance to Atlas. We need a dedicated and exemplary team to carry both to this year’s Vytal Festival so they can be tested in direct combat scenarios.”

            Ah, it was beginning to make sense now, this equipment must be designed for the specialist program and they needed a student to collect combat data. And what better place to test Hunter’s equipment then at the bi-annual interkingdom combat tournament? Trusting Ciel to be a part of this project showed a phenomenal amount of faith in her skill and loyalty, so she could only imagine how adept, disciplined, and patriotic this Penny girl must be. She sat upright with confidence almost beaming through her strict presentation.

            “I will do my absolute best to ensure the success of this mission, sir.” She stated with pride, earning a brief smile from the General.

            “That’s excellent to hear Ms. Soleil, but there are a couple of important details regarding this mission I need you to keep in mind. Firstly, the rest of your team will not be informed of this project. Secrecy is of the utmost importance; we do not want the other kingdoms or…outside forces learning about Ms. Polendina’s capabilities.” Ciel felt a small twinge of discomfort at the idea of having to keep something like this from her team, but Atlas always came first.

            “Secondly, we need you to look out for Ms. Polendina.” The General added.

            “I’ll protect her with my life, sir.” She replied firmly, granted she always intended to look out for any team she was a part of, but under orders from General Ironwood she would double her efforts.  

            “That’s quite admirable, Ms. Soleil, but that’s not what I meant.” At that, Ciel paused and tried not to cock an eyebrow, if Penny was so capable and trusted why did Ciel need to keep an eye on her?

            “Penny is a unique case, she’s been isolated for most of her life and has grown up rather quickly. We need someone to help her integrate into the student population while also keeping her focused and away from those that might take advantage of her trusting nature.” The General was no longer smiling, his attention was now intently focused on Ciel.

            There was a brief moment, perhaps a second or so, where Ciel felt a sense of uneasiness with what she was being asked to do. It would be one thing if Penny was a fellow, willing Atlas Academy recruit but this sounded like something else, like she had been chosen rather than choosing for herself. She shook off these doubts quickly, however, she knew Atlas had the best interests of the world at heart and couldn’t imagine that they would be involved in anything unethical involving such a young woman. General Ironwood was one of the most trusted men in the kingdom, she needed to have faith and follow orders.

            “I understand the importance of my role sir, and accept it.” There was a pause before the General’s expression finally softened somewhat and he rose from his desk to offer her a hand. Ciel rose and took it with relief, this certainly hadn’t been what she expected, but the knowledge she was now part of a special military assignment thrilled her. She was going to make something of her time at the Academy and serve Atlas with distinction.

            “That’s good to hear Ms. Soleil. We have big expectations for Penny, and for you as well. Now with that out of the way, you should meet your new partner.” Ciel was excited, but hid it well, it didn’t behoove Atlas personnel to act like giddy schoolgirls after all. The General turned to the intercom. “Come in, Penny.”

            Ciel turned sharply on her heels, head high, back straight, ready to meet what was surely the best and brightest Atlas had to offer. The young woman who stepped through the doors looked a lot more like, well, a giddy schoolgirl. The young woman was still dressed in presumably civilian clothes and bouncing on her heels with unrestrained enthusiasm and a broad grin spread across her freckled face. Pretty, as she’d observed earlier, but also seemingly as far from a military specialist as one could get. There was a man in a quad-chair behind her, presumably her father given the resemblance, looking as concerned and hopeful as any parent would be on their child’s first day at Atlas.

            “Salutations!” She announced cheerfully with an overeager salute as she marched up to Ciel and the General.

            “Greetings Penny,” Ciel managed to keep a professional tone as she bowed formally and offered Penny a hand to shake. Penny opted to take a different approach, took Ciel’s hand in a vice-grip, and shook her entire body.

            “I am so happy to meet you, we are going to be the best of friends!” Penny continued, apparently oblivious to how hard she’d just jostled her new best friend. Her father looked mildly amused, if sympathetic.

            “Y-Yes, I suppose we are.” Ciel replied, wondering just what she had signed herself up for.

Chapter Text

            Team CCPR (Copper) was 13 minutes and 49 seconds behind schedule to the reach Amity Coliseum for Round Three of the Vytal Festival. That would be unacceptable under normal conditions, but considering a member of their team was in the Singles Round, the fact that they were so late to attend had Ciel Soleil practically fuming. It didn’t matter that they could watch the final match from their temporary dorm room, as Clark and Realta had, this was about the mission. The same mission Ciel’s teammates knew nothing about.

            Perhaps under better circumstances Ciel would have been calmer about dealing with this kind of delay. Actually, that was a bald-faced lie, punctuality was one of her biggest points of pride and being late on any level made her itch. But the sheer volume of strange and frankly anti-Atlesian events happening around Vale were not helping her nerves in the slightest. White Fang robbing Dust shipments, Paladins run amok, Grimm attacks in the middle of downtown, and just yesterday a Beacon student crippled her opponent in the first finals match.

            That would be distressing enough on its own, but the fact that it was the teammate and sister of someone that had taken an interest in Penny concerned her. Nothing in the analyst profiles suggested Team RWBY was a threat, either in the tournament or to the mission, but something about their leader made Ciel suspicious.

            After the first night they met, Penny hadn’t stopped talking about how wonderful Ms. Rose was, and had snuck off from the team repeatedly to see her. Ciel didn’t believe in intuition, but something about Penny’s behavior toward Ruby put a knot in her stomach.

            “We have now arrived at Amity Coliseeeee…” The pilot’s voice slowed to a crawl as Ciel activated her Semblance, Flash-Forward, and bolted out of the airbus before the ramp had even fully come down.

            It was a useful Semblance, from the outside she seemed to be moving at incredible speed, but the truth was it only sped up her perception of time. She could think faster, react faster, or in this case, move faster through the crowd as she raced toward the stadium entrance. She could only use her power in short bursts, but she made every burst count as she sprinted up the steps and into the stands.

            “F-Finally…made it…” It took a lot more cardio than she would have preferred, but Ciel was able to find a decent spot near the exit from which to observe the in-progress fight. She’d hate to let down Penny and the Atlesian brass by not being here to watch her teammate in action.

            From her vantage point Ciel could see Nikos was good, very good, as one would expect from a graduate of Argus. But she was facing one of Atlas’ best fighters, and its best weapons technology. The Mistrali was getting hits in, sure, but naturally Penny had her on the ropes as fighting Floating Array was like fighting a perfectly coordinated arsenal. Ciel never understood how her partner was able to control those all blades so efficiently, but it was always impressive to witness.  

            So of course, Penny had Pyrrha on the backfoot although as the fight dragged on something seemed…off. Nikos kept hesitating, flinching, like she was expecting a hit that never came. Ciel had an eye for detail and everything she was seeing indicated that Pyrrha was off her game and scared out of her wits. It was a little unnerving to watch, seeing such a powerful and experienced fighter clearly wrestling with herself more than her opponent.

            In any event, Penny was winding up for a big finishing blow now, a little heavily telegraphed, but Ciel’s partner always enjoyed a friendly spar and liked to show off. It seemed to be working on Pyrrha at least, the girl looked petrified, like she was staring down a hundred blades.

            Floating Array shot forward, Pyrrha lashed out with a wave of…something that sent it flying, and time slowed to a brutal crawl. Ciel didn’t know if this was her Semblance or some awful trick of the mind, but she saw knew what was coming before it happened, yet she had to watch every second of it unfold.

            Penny lurched violently as Floating Array shot back, wires going taught as they curled around her body, digging into her skin and tightening like a snare. They tore through her, ripping her body to pieces, even as she looked on in shock. Ciel braced for the horrible gore, but it never came, instead Penny fell to the arena in pieces, trailing sparks leaking some unknown fluid. The revelation contorted her already twisting guts into a tight knot. Penny isn’t human, she’s a machine with a soul.

            Was a machine with a soul.

            Ciel’s mind was racing, recontextualizing every awkward interaction, every stilted conversation, every covert debriefing. It all made a sickening kind of sense, Penny was far stronger and more coordinated than your average person and her control over the Floating Array was mechanically precise. Penny wasn’t testing experimental weapons for Atlas, she was the weapon, and now that weapon was lying in pieces on the arena floor.

            “This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident.” The words coming over the PA cut through Ciel’s mental spiral like a shard of ice. There was so much cold contempt in the woman’s tone.

            “This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians but are in reality nothing more than men. Our academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both.” The shot at General Ironwood sat heavy in the pit of Ciel’s stomach.

            “They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference.”

            The rest of the speech blurred into hateful background noise, Ciel couldn’t muster a response to the mystery woman’s charges. Grimm wouldn’t care what Penny looked like, as long as she (it?) had a soul and emotions, they would consider her an enemy. And why would they need to consider her an enemy in the first place? A soulless, emotionless machine would go unnoticed by the Grimm until it became a threat. So why did they build such a powerful defender to pass for a teenage girl? Surely not just to test her in the Vytal Festival. Ciel trusted Atlas and General Ironwood implicitly, they only had the best interests of Remnant at heart, but nothing in her training prepared her to explain this.

            “…So, I ask you, when the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?” The dead silence that came after the transmission cut off hung over Amity like a shroud, tension quietly building underneath. Until the Grimm raid sirens went off, and giant Nevermore began to swarm over the coliseum’s outer shields, and the quiet tension detonated like a bomb.

            Panicked attendees flooded out of the stadium in droves, almost trampling each other as they raced for the airbus bay. Ciel wanted to run as well but her limbs felt like lead, they wouldn’t move, the shock still kept her pinned in place and staring at the mangled remains of Penny lying on the stage. She’d failed Atlas, she’d failed the General, she’d failed her team.

            “Hey, kid, kid! C’mon we gotta get out of here!” Someone was shaking her, she barely noticed, not until the stranger physically grabbed her and began to drag her back toward the airbus bay.

            “No…Penny…” Ciel fought, weakly, against being pulled to safety, but as Penny’s lifeless eyes disappeared from view, she found the strength to move under her own will as she ran to the airbus.

            Cold, plunging horror gripped her as she staggered through the crowded airbus hold, and she wasn’t alone in that. Students and civilians huddled into groups, some openly sobbing, others starring quietly off into the distance. Momentum more than anything else carried her to the far wall of the airbus and she found a small spot against the thrumming walls of the ship.

            Once she was alone and relatively safe again the weight of everything that had happened in the arena crushed her to the floor. She didn’t know what to believe anymore, her partner was a government android infiltrator, Beacon students were launching violent attacks on their opponents, and someone had organized an attack on the Vytal festival. Her mind was racing, but always in loops of sheared metal, frantic screaming, and cold threats.

            The first shots had been fired, and in a moment of horrific clarity Ciel realized she didn’t know who to trust anymore. And one look around the terrified figures crowded in the airbus told her she wasn’t alone in that.