Destiny No More

Chapter 74

Pyrrha threw out her hand without hesitation, calling on the powers of the Fall Maiden as several large spikes of ice were summoned and sent flying towards the androids. The sudden change in their behavior was a surprise to be sure, but not something Pyrrha was unfamiliar with. She recognized the red glow from before her death, so she felt her response was obvious. The others weren't quite so well-informed however. They had listened when she told them about it, and they knew it was something that had happened in her last life, but they didn't know what to look for; as such, they were shocked when she seemingly without warning attacked their own androids.

Qrow was the first to voice his concern. "What the hel-"

"He turned them!" Pyrrha snapped back quickly, cutting him off before he could continue. Just so she did, their radios came to life with a chaos that only confirmed her fears; this wasn't limited to only a few units.

Winter held a hand to her ear piece before turning towards the General. "Sir, our perimeter is collapsing, all Knight units are compromised and I can't reach the fleet."

"Have our men pull back here." Ironwood turned towards the main entrance gesturing to several locations around the room. "Set up defenses along these walls and get an engineering team to cle-"

"All forces are pinned down sir." Winter shook her head. "Most of the Knights were stationed on the walls to secure the high ground, now..."

Ironwood paused for a long moment, silence filling their immediate area but only helping to make the chaos outside even more apparent. The sounds of battle could once more be heard, only this time without the distinct barrage of their fleet. The General's shoulders stiffened suddenly, his eyes turning back towards the sealed door that the White Fang had retreated into.

"In order to seal a door that size, you would need a powerful generator; one too large and too hot to keep within the bunker itself without building the fort around it. This base was built decades before that technology existed, so they couldn't have planned for it." The General spoke, though once again Pyrrha found herself put off by his voice. There was something off about the way he spoke, that odd toneless quality she had noticed before returning. "That generator would need to be cooled, likely via the ocean since it is readily accessible and easier to use than ice dust. Specialist Schnee, take Specialist Nikos and find where it is stored. Specialist Branwen, coordinate with the men outside and get them to pull back in here and set up a perimeter."

Qrow and Winter nodded, as did Pyrrha after a brief hesitation, before rushing back out into the battle. Fighting the White Fang had proven difficult. They had been well dug-in and far better trained than what she was used to, but at the end of the day they weren't trained soldiers, they still missed their shots and hesitated; the Knights didn't miss. Even in the few seconds she had to take in the scene of absolute carnage outside she had already identified at least a dozen downed men, and the Knights along the walls were continuing to fire into the cover of their former allies.

Most of Atlas' forces were pinned down, unable to return fire without serious risk of injury. Qrow ran to the nearest group, barking out a question that she couldn't hear over the sound of constant gunfire. Even during the start of the assault, when the White Fang had been at their best, there had been lapses in the fire; moments of odd silence that had her hoping the day might have been won already, only to be broken when the fire renewed. This was nothing like that, there were no pauses or calls to reload, or even any hesitation in gunning them down. The Knights alternated fire to create a seemingly never ending barrage that kept the Atlesians down.

Pyrrha followed Winter off to the side, avoiding the main firefight happening by the main entrance, and off towards the section of the fort closest to the water. In order to get there, they would need to go up onto the walls though; either that, or take the long way around. Considering the sounds of battle, they decided to take the most direct route. The Knights outnumbered them, had the better positions, and there was no way of telling how many of their own people had been caught unprepared.