[City of Atlas - Warehouses]
Inside the warehouse, Daniel walks alongside GLaDOS, following her in silence as she leads him to a door that opens automatically. The entrance reveals a wide, spacious room, but completely empty.
"Here?" he asks, looking at GLaDOS. She only nods her head, giving him the confirmation he needs.
"Well, let's do this…" he murmurs as he steps into the room. He raises a hand, concentrating and breathing calmly, taking a few seconds to achieve the necessary focus. A faint glow runs through his fingers and, little by little, the objects he had transported from the Mantle warehouse begin to materialize. The place fills quickly, dividing into two clear sections: on one side the gacha objects, on the other Rosella's belongings, which she will surely want to recover.
In just a few minutes everything is in place. Daniel lowers his hand, letting out a sigh as the tension in his shoulders relaxes.
"Are those all the objects?" asks GLaDOS, walking through the room and carefully inspecting each thing.
Daniel nods. "Almost all of them."
"I am keeping the Frog, the Ice Cream, and the Cocaine," she adds, calmly listing the items she still maintains in what she has already started to call her inventory.
"Besides, there are also the objects I left in Vale." He pauses briefly before adding it, although GLaDOS does not seem to give importance to his words, appearing much more attentive to the objects in the room. Daniel can't help but wonder what she intends to do with them.
"Probably analyze them, process them… maybe both," he thinks, mentally shrugging his shoulders. In the end, he does not care too much. Among those things there is nothing that particularly interests him.
"Well… if that is all, I will leave." He points toward the exit, already turning with the idea of returning to Mantle and continuing his hunt for semblances. There were still many girls left from whom to obtain them, and time was not exactly on his side.
Before he can take another step, he feels a hand on his shoulder.
"Not yet."
The voice of GLaDOS stops him immediately.
"There is still one more thing you have to do."
Daniel lowers his head, letting out a tired sigh. "Ahh… what thing?" he asks without enthusiasm.
"Return to Atlas quickly," replies GLaDOS as she passes by his side. Her tone leaves no room for doubt: it is an order more than a request. "The people are a little impatient to speak with you."
He follows her, frowning. "Why? Did something happen with the Jaeger core?" His interest is genuine; only three days had passed since construction had started, he saw no reason for so much impatience.
"Could they have realized the deception?" he questions himself, but immediately shakes his head. He knew GLaDOS had manipulated the recordings so that it looked like she was still inside the core room.
"Nothing has happened with the Jaeger core," replies GLaDOS in a dry tone, interrupting his thoughts. "It really was my fault."
That surprises him. For her to admit a mistake was not exactly common.
"The cameras with which they monitor the progress of the Jaeger core show you working." Daniel nods calmly. "Okay… I already knew that part. And the problem?"
"The problem is that I forgot that humans need to rest."
The answer leaves him both confused and surprised.
"What does that mean?"
[Atlas Tower – Core Room]
"Bam! Bam! Bam!"
Blow after blow, Weiss keeps pounding on the door of the core room, demanding that they open it immediately.
"Three days!" she protests, not stopping her pounding, her voice filled with annoyance and concern. "That idiot has not slept in three days," she thinks, clenching her jaw before raising her voice again.
"Open the door!"
She commands firmly, drawing the attention of the guards posted at both sides of the entrance, who only look at each other uncomfortably, avoiding her gaze. Weiss knows she is losing her composure, but she cannot stop. The frustration and the anguish weigh on her almost equally.
Just a few minutes ago, she had been summoned by General Ironwood and her sister Winter. The sudden notice made her nervous and she went right away, with several questions. Had something happened to Daniel? Had the Jaeger core project been stopped? Maybe the project was too much for him and just a few robots.
But the truth was another.
The project was advancing even faster than expected. The problem was not the progress, but Daniel himself.
The recordings they showed her made it evident. He had been working for three entire days without rest. Without sleeping. Without eating. Without stopping even for a moment.
Some would see his actions as an example of discipline and determination. Weiss, instead, saw it as a slow suicide.
Of course, she demanded an explanation for why they had not stopped him earlier. The answer she received was as simple as it was irritating: they could not. The door of the core room could only be opened from the inside, by Daniel, or by GLaDOS.
And although GLaDOS was under Atlas's orders, her priority was still Daniel. She obeyed only his instructions. And he, with all his stubbornness, had ordered that the door not be opened under any circumstances.
The solution of Ironwood and Winter was to call her, hoping that as his girlfriend, maybe she could persuade him to come out.
"Open the door! Open the door this instant, fool!" Weiss yells with renewed fury. She knows it is not the most effective way to convince him, but she has few options.
Time passes and the desperation begins to grow inside her. For an instant she considers breaking down the door, but after a quick analysis she discards it. It is not that she does not want to… it is that she cannot. The door and the walls are too thick, neither her weapon nor her glyphs would be useful.
With a deep breath, she lowers her arms, forcing herself to recover some calm. "It is not proper for a Schnee to stoop to blackmail… but I suppose I have no choice."
Her fingers quickly search the weapon transport case resting near her. She opens it and takes out a rapier, holding it firmly as she observes it for a few seconds. It is not just any weapon: the hilt has the shape of a bee, a striking and elegant detail, quite pleasing to the eye.
"I have your rapier!" she shouts, raising the weapon toward the camera installed in the door.
This was the rapier Daniel had spoken to her about so much. It had arrived that very day, but with him locked inside no one had been able to tell him.
"Open the door or…!"
The threat is left unfinished, because at that instant the door swings open.
"My rapier!" Daniel's excited voice takes her by surprise.
Not only her; also the guards, Winter and even the General, who are all watching through the cameras, are stunned to see that it actually worked. Weiss looks at him in disbelief as Daniel rushes forward, taking the rapier into his hands and looking at it with an evident sparkle in his eyes.
She stays still, astonished. She had prepared herself mentally to find him in a deplorable state, almost dying, after three days without rest. But, to her surprise, he does not look as bad as she had imagined. Of course, his clothes are a disaster and the lack of hygiene is obvious, but physically he does not seem as broken as they had made her believe.
"What is it, Weiss?" he asks, without looking directly at her. He is too focused on the weapon, although obviously noticing her stare.
She coughs into her palm, hesitating for a moment. "Well, it is that you look…" she searches for the right words, but none sound appropriate. All of them seem too offensive to say aloud.
"Do I look as if I had been launched with a mechanical spring platform across an entire city and then dragged myself through dirty ventilation systems?"
"…"
"What?"
[15 minutes earlier]
"I do not see how to reach Atlas Tower quickly…" he murmurs as he leaves the warehouse with GLaDOS, evaluating the options. He knows they cannot land a Bullhead nearby, it would be too suspicious and would draw immediate attention.
"Do not worry, I have everything prepared," says GLaDOS with a smile that inspires him no confidence at all. Daniel frowns, doubtful, but in the end he follows her. She leads him to an open area right next to the warehouse.
On the ground, perfectly marked, there is a large X.
Daniel looks at it cautiously and then turns toward her. "I do not feel I should stand there…" he answers, the distrust clear in his voice, almost sure that a rock is going to fall on him like a dirty coyote.
GLaDOS sighs, tired of his resistance, and rolls her eyes. "Just do it."
With a firm push she forces him to stand on top of the X. Daniel looks around, nervous. "Now what?" he asks, not noticing anything strange.
"Hold on tight."
He blinks, confused, quickly looking again for something to grab onto. "I do not see anything to hold onto."
"I was saying it to Aegis."
"What—? BAM! AHHHHHH!"
He does not finish the phrase when a plate camouflaged beneath his feet activates, catapulting him into the skies with brutal force.
-/-
Weiss is left perplexed by Daniel's strange and very specific question, but before she can say anything else, she sees him move quickly.
"Thank you for bringing it," he comments, turning around naturally and starting to return to the core room. He turns his back on her as the door begins to close.
"Oh, no, of course not!" Weiss exclaims, reacting instantly. She hurries forward and manages to slip inside at the last second, just before he locks himself in again.
Daniel looks at her amused. "If you wanted to come in, you only had to ask me." He swings the rapier from side to side with evident enthusiasm.
Weiss frowns, stepping firmly toward him.
"What is wrong with you?!"
He looks at her confused, though without stopping moving the rapier from side to side.
"I do not know what you are referring to," he answers, playing dumb.
"We are all very worried!" Weiss replies forcefully. "You have gone three days without resting, without eating, without sleeping!"
She gives him no margin to evade anything. She remembers perfectly why she is there, and the frustration only grows when she sees that he does not give it importance.
"Really? Three days already passed?" his voice sounds genuinely surprised. He stops moving the rapier and looks at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Time really flies," he comments amused.
Weiss presses her lips together, unable to understand how he can joke in a situation like this.
"I appreciate your concern, Weiss, but I am more than capable of continuing. Three days of continuous work are not really a big problem for me." [lies]
"That cannot be healthy," she objects, pointing at him from head to toe, noticing his wrinkled clothes and the neglected appearance that betrays him.
"Please, it is only a bit of dirt, do not exaggerate." He makes a careless gesture as he returns to his improvised dueling pose with the rapier, a posture executed in a disastrous way.
Weiss places a hand on her forehead. "You have never used a rapier, have you?"
"No, but… pff, how hard can it be? You point and stab, right?" He laughs lightly as he tries a clumsy thrust that to Weiss seems like an insult to all her years of training.
"You are doing it wrong."
With an annoyed grunt she steps forward and takes the rapier from his hands without hesitation. She adjusts her stance and speaks calmly, though without hiding her severity.
"First, keep the tip focused on the opponent." She extends her arm firmly but in a relaxed manner, showing him the correct position.
"Without forcing the shoulder. And always keep the guard closed, the elbow close to the body, the wrist firm. Protect your central line."
As she speaks, she positions herself with precision, advancing with a fluid and natural step.
"Never cross your feet, or you lose balance and speed." She demonstrates with a couple of clean, elegant movements, the result of years of practice.
"The thrust comes from the legs, not only from the shoulders."
To finish, she makes a small flourish, lowering the weapon with measured elegance, more habit than intention of showing off.
"Slap, slap, slap" The sound of clapping breaks her concentration. Daniel applauds with a wide smile.
"Very impressive"
The comment surprises her. His tone is genuine, and the praise manages to make her blush before she can react. She had not planned to show off, only to give him a basic lesson. She tries to hide it, lowering her gaze slightly as she examines the weapon again between her fingers.
"You should also get a better rapier. This one is… low quality, at best." She inspects the blade carefully, noticing how cheap the material is.
"The hilt is not bad, but the blade… if you can even call it that, it does not look like it would last more than a single clash." With a quick gesture, she bends the metal slightly to test its resistance, confirming what she had already thought.
"Oh, my dear and naïve Weiss…" Daniel smiles confidently. "The blade is the most resistant thing that exists."
She listens without giving him credit. She had already heard before that claim that the rapier was unbreakable. But that made no sense. Nothing in the world could really be indestructible; breaking the laws of physics was absurd. Although, to be fair, she admitted that Daniel had already shown her objects that seemed impossible, but there was always some explanation behind them. However, an unbreakable object… that simply could not be.
Even with the doubt, she presses the blade a little harder between her hands, forcing it to find a limit while Daniel continues speaking.
"I can assure you that there is nothing in this world capable of breaking this rapier. It is one hundred percent indestruc—"
CLACK.
The dry sound of metal breaking in two interrupts him. Weiss freezes, staring in disbelief at the weapon in her hands, now divided into two shining pieces.
"What was that?" he asks, raising an eyebrow, surprised by the noise as he turns to look at her.
"Nothing! It was nothing…" Weiss answers quickly, immediately hiding the fragments behind her back and forcing a nervous smile.
"Oh, look at the time…" she says as she lifts her arm and pretends to look at a nonexistent watch. "I think I should let you work."
She begins to step backward toward the door, not daring to turn her back on him, watching him closely.
"Weiss…" Daniel's voice sounds different now, deep and slightly worried.
"Where is my rapier?" he asks, but she avoids his gaze, stretching out her hand to open the door, although she cannot find the access panel.
"I do not know what rapier you are talking about…"
Clack.
The lie collapses when one of the metallic pieces slips from her hands and hits the floor, left in Daniel's sight. The silence weighs for an instant, broken only by his heartbreaking scream.
"¡Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!! AaaAAAHHHHHhhhhh!!!!!!"
[Patch Island – Xiao Long Cabin]
Yang walks calmly through the cabin on her way to her room. As she passes in front of Ruby's, she throws a quick glance inside. It is not difficult to see in: the door is no longer there. Summer had taken it away after the incident with the porn video and, since then, the trust toward Ruby had been slightly damaged. Her sister had been left without a door… and, apparently, also without the right to complain.
"Hehehe…"
Yang cannot help laughing a little to herself when remembering it, although the smile fades when she sees what is happening inside the room. She stops dead and sighs. Ruby is sitting on a chair, in silence, her eyes fixed on her scroll.
Obviously waiting for a call from Daniel.
"No, not again…" she murmurs, annoyed. She knocks on the wall with her knuckles, knock-knock, before entering without waiting for an invitation, calling her attention.
"Ruby, we already talked about this." She points directly at the scroll. "You cannot spend all day waiting for Daniel's call."
Ruby at least has the decency to look embarrassed. She rubs her hands together, nervous, showing herself slightly anxious.
"I know… but if my calculations are not wrong, the package should have arrived today. I am sure he is going to call me at any moment."
Her eyes shine with a mixture of anxiety and excitement.
Yang cannot help but bring two fingers to her temple. "Ah…" she sighs heavily. Since the attack in Atlas, Ruby had done nothing but obsess over Daniel. She even tried to travel there alone to see him, but without money and without Crescent Rose she did not get very far.
Ruby never knew who had made her weapon disappear. It was Yang, of course, and not out of malice, but because she was convinced that keeping it hidden would prevent her sister from doing something stupid. She was going to keep it stored a while longer, even if that meant carrying Ruby's anger.
Seeing that her words have no effect and that Ruby remains stuck to the chair, staring at the scroll as if nothing else in the world existed, Yang decides she has had enough. Without warning she approaches and snatches the device from her hands before Ruby can react.
"No!" Ruby complains immediately, stretching out her arms to get it back.
"I am sorry, Ruby, it is for your own good." Yang tries to put it in her pocket, but Ruby does not make it easy. She pulls at the device with force, stubborn and without intention of giving up.
"You cannot take it from me, it is mine!" Ruby protests, clenching her teeth.
"You need to go outside and get some sun, touch grass already!" Yang replies, struggling impatiently.
"I do not want to!" Ruby pulls harder, refusing to give up. "I have not spoken with him in four days!"
Yang counters with coldness. "Maybe he does not want to talk to you."
"Ah?! How dare you!" Ruby screams furiously, pulling strength from who knows where. "We are a very happy couple!"
Yang frowns, holding the scroll firmly. "Of course…" she murmurs, in a tone that borders on irony.
Ruby does not stop, completely red from rage. "And I know you have my Crescent Rose!"
"I will give it back to you when you come to your senses!!"
There is no chance to continue arguing. To the surprise of both, the scroll vibrates and the screen lights up with an incoming call. Ruby, surprised, manages to snatch it back during that brief moment of distraction, lifting it with excitement.
"YESSS!!!" she shouts, seeing Daniel's name on the screen.
But the joy lasts only seconds. The scroll sparks and the screen shuts off abruptly.
"NOOOO!!!" Ruby shakes it desperately, but it is useless, the device no longer responds.
"You broke it," she complains, pointing at her.
"My fault?!" Yang exclaims, incredulous. She cannot defend herself because her own scroll starts ringing. The name that appears on the screen is the same: Daniel.
This does not go unnoticed by Ruby, who, upon seeing the name, throws herself at her trying to snatch the scroll. "Give me, give me, give me!" but Yang keeps her at bay with a single hand while answering the call, ignoring her sister's pleas.
"At least put it on speaker," Ruby protests, but Yang ignores her.
"Hello—" she tries to say, only to be interrupted by a cold voice on the other side.
"I don't know what you want. If you're looking for a ransom, I warn you I have a lot of money."
Yang opens her mouth, but something in his tone makes her stay silent, deciding it is better to let him speak.
"However, you will not see a single cent. But what I do have is a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career… Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you return my rapier now, that will be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you do not… I will look for you, I will find you… and I will kill you."
Yang freezes and, without thinking too much, abruptly ends the call.
Beep.
"WHY?!" Ruby screams, outraged, not understanding why she hung up.
"Bad reception," she answers quickly, avoiding her gaze while putting the scroll away.
Ruby calms down a little, although she soon asks with hope, "Oh… did he say anything about me?"
Yang swallows. She does not have the courage to tell her that Daniel had not only noticed the rapier was not his, but had also threatened to kill them if it was not returned. Ruby would not believe her; she is too blinded by her own feelings.
"Yes… he said that he misses you and that he hopes to see you again soon."
"I knew he had not forgotten me!!!" Ruby smiles brightly, convinced of her words.
Yang remains silent, watching her with resignation, and makes a mental note to resume the search for the rapier as soon as possible.
-//-
Author's Note:
I'm not going to make excuses for not uploading chapters more often; I've just been busy. One more chapter in the Atlas Tower, and then we continue with the R18 chapters. Here are some images, let's see if you can recognize the characters:
[Image]
I'm not sure what else to say… mhmm. The next chapter should come out faster; I already have a part ready. Anyway, leave a comment or whatever you want.
Anyway…
Kisses and hugs. ❤️