[Atlas Academy]
Penny smiled as she picked up her pace, leaving the academy behind and heading through the corridors toward the rest areas, where she knew her father would be. It took her a while to get there from the dorms, just where, minutes ago, she had left her new friends... and her best friend, GLaDOS.
Just thinking about it brought a wide smile back to her face. It was hard to resist. In just a few days, she had made more friends than she ever thought possible.
As she arrived at the small green area reserved for students, it didn't take her long to spot her father. He was sitting under a metal canopy in his mechanical chair, with his scroll's screen projected in front of him. He seemed to be reviewing data that, judging by the tense expression on his face, wasn't exactly pleasant. It probably had something to do with the incident in Mantle a few hours ago.
Penny really wished she could be in Mantle. She was certain she could be useful in many ways, but the General had ordered her to stay at the academy. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Even so, she picked up her pace a little more, stopping right in front of Pietro and raising her hand in a firm salute.
"All set, Dad!" she said energetically, holding the position a moment longer before relaxing.
"Everyone is in their rooms, perfectly safe."
Pietro looked up and smiled when he saw her. He immediately closed the scroll's screen. Penny caught a glimpse of it just in time to confirm she was right: the data was about the massacre in Mantle. Her father, as a scientist and a key figure in Atlas, had access to classified information, though he usually didn't share it. He was probably checking it out on his own, not on the General's orders. Maybe he wanted to see if there was anything he could do to help.
He looked at her for a moment, as if noticing something.
"I see your friend GLaDOS stayed with Daniel too."
The moment he said it, Penny's smile faltered. She lowered her gaze slightly, feeling a strange knot she hadn't expected.
"Yeah…" she replied with less enthusiasm, letting the air out slowly. She didn't really need to breathe, but she mimicked the gesture anyway, hoping her father would notice she was feeling down.
The truth was, she had wanted to spend more time with GLaDOS. It wasn't an exaggeration to say she was probably the only one in the world who could truly understand her. Sure, her father understood her in a way, and she liked her new friends... but it wasn't the same. With them, she had to be careful with her words, adjust her speed, simplify details or leave out what they might consider unnecessary.
With GLaDOS, she didn't have to do any of that.
She still remembers clearly when she told GLaDOS about the Atlas tower. She gave her every detail she knew: doors, ventilation ducts, windows, cameras. And she understood it all. Didn't miss a thing, and Penny loved that. She didn't have to repeat anything or stop to explain the obvious. In fact, it seemed like GLaDOS processed it even faster than she did.
And she probably did.
She still remembers it, when she worked on her upgrades and examined her interior. GLaDOS may be compact, with a small protective casing, but what she holds inside is astonishing. Most of her structure is dedicated to processing systems, but her core, her memory, what truly defines her... is barely a three-centimeter chip. A tiny component with a capacity that surpasses any technology seen so far. Truly incredible.
Of course, she hasn't told anyone about it. She knows very well that has to be a high-level secret. That kind of tech isn't listed in the schematics being prepared for Atlas, which can only mean they're saving it for a future reveal. And she can't wait for that day.
It's going to be revolutionary.
"Looks like they had some important things to discuss with Daniel," she says, trying not to dwell too much on the topic.
Pietro nods slowly as he listens.
"He probably wants to rest. It's been a long day."
Penny couldn't agree more. She knew that GLaDOS's creator—or maybe she should say her father—had to be exhausted after all the work he'd done. She always thought that whoever had designed GLaDOS had to be brilliant, but seeing him in action, collaborating with the scientists on their projects, was something else. Fascinating. In a matter of minutes, he solved problems that had left Atlas's top researchers stuck for weeks.
Even though she was surprised to see so many scientists gathered in one room, she didn't think it was a coincidence. She was almost sure it had been the General's idea. A kind of showcase, to display how impressive Atlas and its developments were. And she didn't blame him. She wanted Daniel to see it too. To understand everything they could offer him. To stay. So she could spend every day with GLaDOS.
Although the one thing the General probably didn't expect was that instead of being impressed, Daniel would end up correcting all their projects.
She still doesn't understand why so many of them got so upset. From her point of view, he saved them weeks of work. Literally. Wasn't that a good thing? She'd have to ask her father.
"Father—" she starts to say, turning to him, but stops cold as a warning floods her system.
ALERT: SYSTEM INTRUSION!!
Her systems go into alert at the same time Pietro's scroll lights up with the same warning. They both react instantly, but just as quickly as it appeared, the alert vanishes. They look at each other, equally confused, and just a second later, the screen of Pietro's scroll flickers and loses connection to the network.
"Are you getting any alerts from Central Tower?" Pietro asks quietly, his brow already furrowed as he tries to restart the device.
Penny nods without hesitation. She immediately begins connecting to the Atlas network, checking the latest updates.
"There's a notification. It says it was a false alarm," she reports, continuing to review the logs.
Pietro doesn't look convinced. He glances down at his scroll, which still refuses to respond.
"A false alarm isn't exactly common," he mutters. He's weighing whether he should send her straight to the tower or at least contact the General. Penny is already prepared to go if he gives the order, but just then, the system emits a brief and familiar tone.
"Oh! Looks like the connection's back," she says with enthusiasm, detecting that the communication systems are responding again. Pietro's scroll also starts to react, but something doesn't add up. Even though the network is back, his device can't connect to anyone.
"Penny, connect and get in touch with the General."
She nods without wasting a second. She links to the newly restored network. Everything seems normal...
Connection reestablished—
It would be a decision she'd regret almost immediately.
"AAAHHH!!"
The moment she establishes the link, a scream escapes her. Her body arches violently as jolts of electricity surge through her limbs. Small sparks jump between her joints, disrupting her systems and forcing her to collapse to her knees.
"PENNY!" Pietro shouts, his chair jerking forward the moment he sees her drop.
Her body trembles. The lights in her eyes flicker. Something is attacking her from within. They don't need to say it out loud to know what's happening.
"You're being hacked," Pietro says, alarmed, as Penny's internal security protocols start activating on their own, trying to stabilize her systems.
It takes her nearly a minute to regain control. When she finally does, she shakes her head with effort and, trembling, forces her body to stand.
"No... it's not just me," she murmurs, struggling to speak.
It's worse than Pietro realizes. But she doesn't need to explain, because he sees it too.
From the sky, flying above the academy, multiple aircraft begin to take off all at once. Some emerge from nearby hangars. Others, from more distant launch points. But all of them, without exception, follow the same trajectory: toward the cities of Atlas and Mantle.
Penny can barely move, but she manages to turn her head toward her father and see the horror written all over his face.
Seeing her father like that makes something twist painfully inside her. Even with her systems compromised, she prepares herself. She knows she can still help. Her special programming allows her to operate, even if only with difficulty.
She forces herself to stand. Her movements are clumsy, unbalanced, but she doesn't stop. Emergency protocols activate as she stabilizes what she can of her internal functions.
"Father... I'm going to Atlas Tower," she says firmly.
Pietro reacts immediately, shaking his head sharply.
"No. You're in no condition to go," he replies, worried, not moving from her side.
Penny knows he's right. Her body is unstable. Her systems are still being disrupted. But she can't stay still.
"The virus was uploaded recently," she murmurs. "There's still a chance to find the culprit in the tower... and stop them."
She doesn't like doing it, but she pulls away from Pietro. She has to try. It's her duty. Even with her programming compromised, she still has a mission. She still has a purpose.
She lifts off the ground, straining. It's hard to stabilize, but there's no time to lose. The virus, although partially contained, continues spreading through her system.
Atlas Tower isn't far. She calculates a direct trajectory and accelerates. But as soon as she gains speed, the problems begin. A Bullhead flies by, out of control, cutting dangerously close to her. She dodges it with a sharp maneuver... and it's not the only threat. Her radar sends out an alert.
Atlas' automated defense systems have locked onto her.
That's bad.
Penny veers off and climbs higher, putting distance between herself and the academy. If she stays close, she could put it at risk. She gains altitude, buying herself some space, but also losing precious time. Her sensors detect incoming projectiles. Several.
She braces.
She narrowly avoids the first. Fires her defensive beams and destroys the second. One more remains. If she can neutralize it, she can keep going.
But right then, her systems suffer another failure.
"Ah...!" she cries out as her thrusters shut off all at once. She tries to reboot them, but it's too late. She can't move. Her weapons don't respond either.
The last projectile hits her dead-on.
BAM!
Her body spirals down, completely out of control. Her consciousness remains online, but everything else is locked. She can do nothing as she plummets at full speed, straight toward the ground.
A bitter mix of sadness and frustration rises in her. She's failed. Pietro... the General... they'll be disappointed. It's the last thought in her head before impact.
The crash leaves her body motionless. Physically intact. Internally, still functional. But she can't move.
From where she lies, she sees multiple Atlesian units approaching. It doesn't surprise her. She already suspected they were likely being controlled.
She tries to activate her defense systems, but as expected, there's no response. She's completely helpless.
The units surround her. All of them raise their weapons, aiming directly at her.
Penny doesn't feel fear for herself. Only sadness. Not because it's the end... but because she won't get to see her father again, or the General... or her new friends. Especially her best friend.
GLaDOS.
... ... ...
Seconds pass... and she doesn't understand why they haven't opened fire yet. Even more confusing—every single Atlesian unit lowers its weapon at the exact same time.
She has no idea what stopped them, but there's no time to question it.
Suddenly, glyphs appear beneath the feet of each Atlesian unit—and in the blink of an eye, they're crushed.
Penny looks up, forcing her optical sensors to focus. A familiar figure is approaching.
Weiss.
One of her newest friends. The moment she sees her, Penny can only smile. Relieved. Grateful to have such good friends.
-/-
Weiss breathes heavily, feeling her aura dimming after everything she's spent. Her eyes stay locked on Penny's body, lying there on the ground in front of her. She's still smiling, though it's that serene expression that does nothing to ease the tension.
"Thank you for saving me, friend Weiss," Penny says, not moving.
Weiss doesn't respond immediately. She stays still, processing what just happened. She'd seen everything. Penny dodging the projectiles, weaving between them with precision... until one hit her directly. For a second, she thought it was over. But then she remembered—Penny wasn't an ordinary girl. She was an android. And she had aura. So maybe, just maybe, she'd survived.
She had been right.
Finding her hadn't been difficult. Surrounded by Atlesian units, yes, but none had posed any real threat. The glyph Daniel created had made it easy.
Weiss examines Penny more closely. She's damaged—several parts of her body show clear signs of the impact, but she's still in one piece. And she's still smiling.
Weiss swallows. She's not sure what to say.
"I'm glad to see you're intact," she murmurs, not knowing if the words sound as awkward out loud as they do in her head. But Penny seems to like them, judging by the smile she gives in return.
"Thank you, friend Weiss!" she answers cheerfully.
Thankfully, the awkward moment is interrupted by a loud voice that instantly grabs their attention.
"PENNY!"
There's no need to turn around to recognize it. It's Pietro—racing toward them in his mechanical chair, visibly alarmed. He rushes to Penny's side, not even sparing Weiss a glance. His eyes are only for his daughter.
"Penny, my girl... are you alright?" he asks, his voice trembling.
Penny's smile fades slightly when she sees him.
"I'm sorry... I wasn't able to be of help," she says softly. "My body is no longer operational."
Pietro immediately shakes his head, hard, like he can't bear to hear those words.
"The only thing that matters is that you're okay," he replies, clearly holding back tears.
"We have to hurry," Penny says, her expression turning firm again. "The ones responsible might still be in the tower..." She tries to continue, but Pietro raises his hand to stop her.
"I'm sorry, Penny… too much time has passed. The virus has already spread completely. They've probably left the tower by now."
Weiss listens in silence. She hears every word and starts putting the pieces together. Someone hacked the system and took control of the Atlesian units. It's just a quick theory, but it fits with everything she's heard… and would explain why she's been fighting robots nonstop.
You never realize how many robots there are in Atlas until you have to fight all of them.
There's no time to dwell on the thought, because Pietro speaks again—this time directly to her.
"Can you help me carry Penny?" he asks, gesturing to his daughter, who's still looking up at her from the ground.
Weiss nods without hesitation. She didn't need to be asked. She had no intention of leaving her there. She crouches down and lifts her carefully. Penny's much heavier than she expected, but her aura makes the weight easy to manage.
"Where are we taking her?"
"Follow me," Pietro replies, turning quickly.
Along the way, they encounter several robots. Weiss crushes them effortlessly with her glyphs, never slowing down or loosening her grip on Penny.
As they move forward, she starts recognizing where they're headed. Straight toward the laboratories—the same ones they were shown during the facility tour. It doesn't take long for her to notice that the number of robots is thinning the closer they get… while the number of people is rising. Mostly students.
They've formed a defensive perimeter.
"Atlas trains its students to respond to emergencies," Pietro says, catching her glance. "They've created safe zones."
And he's not lying. Weiss sees that it's not just hunters or soldiers guarding the area. There are employees, technicians, even civilians, all gathered in a protected space overseen by academy students. They're doing what they can to keep things under control.
It doesn't take long to reach the labs. Once inside, the scene is chaos. Weiss recognizes a few of the scientists she saw earlier, but now there are twice as many. They're everywhere—arguing, cross-checking data, scanning screens. Some are shouting at each other. One man clutches his hair and slams his forehead against the side of a computer.
No one seems to notice they've just walked in.
She moves forward without waiting to be noticed and gently lays Penny down on a nearby table. The metallic sound of her body hitting the surface echoes across the room.
That, at least, gets their attention.
But not toward her.
Everyone turns at once, eyes locking onto Pietro.
And then, as if they had been waiting for that exact moment—which clearly they were—the scientists rush him. They surround him in seconds, each one talking louder than the last.
"The virus can't be stopped!" one yells.
"There's no way to delete it!" insists another from the back.
A woman hurries over, extending her scroll. Somehow she managed to get it working, though Weiss can't make sense of what's on the screen.
"Every infected machine acts as a backup!" she explains quickly. "It keeps spreading even when we erase individual units!"
Before Pietro can say a word, another researcher shoves her aside without hesitation.
"We can't patch it!" he shouts, almost frantic. "The virus updates itself! It's adapting!"
Someone else grabs Pietro by the shoulders and shakes him, like that would somehow make a difference.
"We're all going to die!"
"If this escapes Atlas, it'll be the end of the world!" screams another from a corner, clearly on the verge of a breakdown. A colleague pulls him back before he completely loses control.
Weiss watches in silence.
Pietro is trapped in the middle of the chaos, everyone demanding answers, looking to him for a miracle solution he clearly doesn't have. It's hard to watch. She feels a tight knot in her stomach as she notices how they won't even let him stay by his daughter's side.
Her gaze shifts to Penny, still unable to move, but her expression—faint as it is—is locked on Pietro, full of worry.
Weiss hesitates.
Part of her wants to stay. It wouldn't feel right to leave Penny alone like this. Not in that condition. But she's also a Huntress-in-training. She has a duty beyond these walls. Out there, people are in danger, and she knows she should be doing something… especially finding Daniel.
She closes her eyes for a second, takes a deep breath, weighing her options.
"I really wish Daniel were here..." she murmurs, anxious.
He'd know what to do, she thinks. He always figures something out, something new, innovative… things that feel like miracles. And right now, Atlas could use a miracle.
"This is a terrible idea..."
Weiss can almost hear his voice. Low, but familiar.
"IS THAT A SPIDER?!"
The voice is louder this time.
Weiss's eyes snap open. That wasn't her imagination. That was Daniel's voice. She quickly looks around, confused. She could swear Daniel wasn't here when she came in.
Where…? she thinks, spinning around over and over.
"Nope, false alarm. Whew… just a dust bunny."
She hears him again, and then she notices. The voice is coming from the vents.
And she's not the only one who realizes it.
The murmurs gradually die down as everyone turns to look in the same direction: toward a metal grate high up on the wall. The voice gets louder, clearer, until—
CLANG!
The grate shoots off, flies across the room, and crashes to the floor with a loud bang. A few students in the room immediately raise their weapons, aiming at the vent, on full alert.
A second later, Daniel's head pops out from the opening, with Aegis perched casually on his shoulder.
"See? I told you we were going the right way!" he exclaims, wearing a ridiculously cheerful smile for the situation as he looks over the entire room.
The reactions are mixed.
The students lower their weapons, relieved to see it's not more robots. The scientists, on the other hand, look at him with a mix of disdain and annoyance. Pietro looks hopeful at the sight of him.
And Weiss… Weiss stands frozen for a second. Surprised. Her expression is a mix of joy and confusion.
Daniel sees her and grins, lifting a hand in a playful wave.
"Hey, Weiss~~" he greets with a flirty tone from the vent.
Weiss walks up to him immediately.
"I have so many questions! When? How? Why?"
As soon as she says it, Daniel adjusts himself in the vent, placing both hands on the edge as he lets his head drop sideways, resting it there.
"Well… it's a long story I'll try to shorten," he says with a carefree smile.
"First of all, get down from there!" Weiss snaps, frowning at the way he's lounging.
But Daniel ignores her.
"I was in my room, working on awesome stuff, when suddenly GLaDOS picked up a strange signal—yup, the virus."
"I tried to get out to warn you, but the door locked down and all comms were cut. So obviously, I hacked the system, but outside it was just a bunch of Atlesian units firing the moment they saw me."
"Luckily I made it back to my room and escaped through the air vents. I've been crawling through the ducts ever since, looking for you guys. Figured you'd gather somewhere to organize a defense."
Weiss frowns. That doesn't fully answer her questions, but before she can press further, a guy dressed like a movie mobster cuts in, pointing at the vent.
"Can I ask how the hell you even fit in there?" he says, both skeptical and impressed, staring at the duct that doesn't exactly look spacious.
Weiss blinks. She hadn't thought about it until he said it, but the guy's right. Those ducts aren't built for people, not by a long shot.
"Well," Daniel replies proudly, "not to brag, but I'm very flexible~~." As he says it, he throws Weiss a shameless wink. "Weiss knows what I'm talking about."
Several people turn their heads toward her. Weiss can feel the stares—and the secondhand embarrassment—burning into her skin.
"Does that mean you two had sex—" Penny begins to ask, but a cat-tailed Faunus girl quickly clamps a hand over her mouth just in time.
When Weiss looks over, the Faunus gives her a thumbs-up, clearly congratulating her.
Weiss rolls her eyes, visibly uncomfortable, and shoots an annoyed glare at Daniel, who catches it right away.
"Ahem… anyway," he continues, looking away to dodge her gaze, "I've been in the vents since then."
"That must have been terrifying," Pietro says, clearly concerned.
Daniel shrugs.
"Wasn't too bad. Being in here"—he pats the duct—"gave me plenty of time to work on a solution for the virus… and also to make these."
As he says it, he stretches an arm with effort and pulls out some schematics, holding them up with pride.
"I call them Web-Shooters."
The room goes silent for a beat—until a scientist bursts out:
"How the hell did you make it!?" he shouts, clearly incredulous.
Daniel replies without missing a beat.
"The schematics? That part was easy. The hard part was writing them in such a cramped space, see…"
"NOT THAT!" Weiss cuts in, raising her voice. "The virus solution!" she yells, sure he's messing around on purpose.
"Ahhh, that..."
Daniel's tone turns falsely innocent, like he just now remembered. He quickly ducks back into the vent, but not even a second later, he pops back out, this time holding GLaDOS in both hands.
"Hello, friend GLaDOS. It's good to see you well," Penny greets her with a small smile the moment she sees her.
"Hello, Penny. It is not unpleasant to see you," GLaDOS responds, in her ever-neutral tone.
Daniel balances GLaDOS on one hand and gestures to her with the other.
"As you can see, even though she's connected to the network, GLaDOS hasn't been infected by the virus."
"How is that possible?" one of the scientists asks, frowning. "All machines—even Atlas' advanced defense systems—have been compromised. How is that… cube unaffected?"
Weiss catches the condescending tone. So does Daniel, but he doesn't seem bothered. In fact, he smiles.
"Well, no offense to anyone here… but GLaDOS is far more complex than anything Atlas has ever built." He pauses briefly to catch his breath.
"But we can sum it up as a distributed artificial consciousness. Hybrid quantum processing. Independent modular design. Active, adaptive threat learning. Secure self-reprogramming. Blah, blah, blah… Bottom line: it's better than what you people have. Just accept it."
The scientist looks just as offended as he is surprised, though he tries not to show it.
"Great," he mutters sarcastically. "You've got Atlas's most advanced paperweight. How exactly is that supposed to help us with the virus?"
Daniel drops his shoulders.
"I'll make it simple: GLaDOS can scrub the virus from the network and any system. It can purge and restore machines using dynamic analysis and advanced heuristics. And it can make sure it doesn't happen again."
Weiss understands most of the terms, though not all. Still, judging by the expressions around her—Pietro and a few scientists nodding—she can tell it's a viable solution.
"If it's that good, why don't you just hook it up already?" asks the cat-tailed faunus standing next to Penny. Weiss won't lie—she was wondering the same thing.
This time it's not Daniel who answers, but Pietro.
"Atlas's defenses block GLaDOS. Even if it manages to connect, it can't clean the network from here."
"Bingo," Daniel cuts in, pointing at him with two fingers. "So if we want to wipe out the virus, we need to take this beauty"—he lifts GLaDOS with one hand and spins it on a finger—"straight to the central control room of the tower."
Weiss is sure it can't be that easy... and she's right.
"And for that…" Daniel continues, looking around, "we need to get inside the tower. Which is completely infested with killer machines and automated defenses. Drones and armed turrets."
Weiss watches as he pauses, like he's savoring the moment.
"So… tell me, people. Who's ready to embark on a probably-suicidal mission to infiltrate a tower packed with murderbots where even the walls will try to kill us, just so we can plug in GLaDOS and save Atlas?!!"
"Who's with me?!"
...
The moment he says it, the room falls into an awkward silence. Weiss is certain he did it on purpose. To what end? She doesn't know. Probably just trying to entertain himself… though it's clearly not the time.
She's about to say something, but stops when, one by one, several students step forward.
From Daniel's surprised expression, it's obvious he didn't expect anyone to volunteer.
"Didn't think I'd get this many volunteers, honestly," he mutters, shrugging. "But hey, the more the merrier."
"Now… can someone please help me down from this damn vent?"
-//-
Author's Note:
I finally updated something! Whew… it's been a while, but the reason's simple—I was hospitalized for health issues these past days, so I didn't upload anything. I'm doing better now.
Honestly, it was kind of funny. Just when you think things can't get worse, somehow they do get worse.
—Me, lying in a hospital bed—
Me: "Well, at least it can't get any worse.
"Webnovel: We deleted your fanfic.
Me: Oh no!
Webnovel: And a bunch of your images.
Me: Oh no! x2
Webnovel: Also, two of the fanfics you were following got removed.
Me: Oh no! x3
Doctor: We need to take your temperature. Turn around, nice and easy.
Me: OHHH NO x4!!!
(The last part's a joke, but it pretty much sums up my week.)
Losing that fanfic hit me hard—I won't lie. I'm not sure if I'll re-upload it… maybe, but I haven't decided yet.
If there's a silver lining to all this, it's that while I had a fever, I came up with the best idea for a story: lots of furries and rabbits! …Or maybe it was just the fever talking.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Honestly, I didn't even remember where I'd left off—I just followed the draft my past self wrote.
Anyway, that's all I've got for now. See you next time!
Hugs and kisses! 💋