Intelligent Purple

As the alarm that I, Silva Branwen, set went off, I felt myself groggily wanting to sleep more, but there were too many things to do here in Atlas that I needed and wanted to do. I forced myself up to turn off the alarm on my Scroll. After switching it off, I yawned and then stretched to start my morning. After waking myself up a bit more, I went to rouse Emerald and Neopolitan from their shared bed. I went to see the two of them cuddling together, not surprising considering the fact the tavern is a bit chilly with an outdated heating system that barely works.

The area around and in the slums is in disrepair, and even the city heating system in this part of town needs maintenance. My honest thoughts at learning this after using Soul Archive on the tavern master is, F*CK ATLAS! It may be the leading kingdom of technological advancements, but it is a terrible place to live for faunus. I sighed, thinking of grabbing the Relic and the knowledge of Atlas' brightest minds as soon as possible. I took a picture on my Scroll of the girls cuddling together for warmth as it was a bit cute.

I grabbed Emerald and Neopolitan's shoulders and started to shake them awake. The mint-haired girl groaned and covered her head with her pillow while the tricolor girl pulled the blanket over them as well. This made me chuckle, but I kept trying to rouse them from their slumber. Eventually, they pulled themselves out of bed while wrapping the blanket around them. Emerald complained, still looking sleepy.

" Silva, why do we have to get up now?"

Neopolitan shot me a look that asked the same question, and I joked with a smile on my lips.

" But I'm lonely."

Neopolitan silently scoffed, and Emerald rolled her eyes. I then told them the actual reason for waking them up at six, along with me.

" You want a fresh hot breakfast, right?"

The mint-haired girl relaxed and gave me a slight smile as she replied.

" That is a good reason."

The tri-colored girl looked like she was internally debating whether to go back to sleep or grab breakfast as she held her hands out like scales to weigh her options. They both got up and changed from their pajamas and followed me to the dining area of the tavern. The goat-horned tavern master greeted me.

" Morning, what would you like for breakfast?"

" Morning to you as well, and do you have a menu?"

" Certainly, have a seat, and a waiter will be with you soon."

The tavern master stiffened as he saw Neopolitan and Emerald following behind me and commented while looking wary because they were human.

" I wasn't aware I had other guests..."

"They're my travel companions, and I used my Semblance to bring them over. Is that fine?"

The Tavern Master relaxed a little and replied.

" Sure, and I now know why you wanted a room for three, sorry, but we only have spaces for two people at most."

" That's fine. These two can share a bed."

The three of us took our seats at a table and waited for our menus. Emerald then asked me, looking concerned.

" Why did he look so worried after he saw Neo and me?"

" Around here, humans usually mean trouble for faunus, so be on your best behavior, you two—especially you, Neopolitan."

Neopolitan waved off my warning, and Emerald silently nodded. The waitress came by and gave us some menus while giving the former thief and mischievous girl a wary glance. After asking for our drinks, which the tavern only had water or alcohol, the waitress went off to give us time to think about our orders. I then informed the girls of my plans for today.

" I am going to be looking for someone, and if the two of you want, you can poke around the human side of town to find some better accommodations than here."

Emerald said as she looked over the limited menu.

" I'm fine here even though it is a bit chilly at night. But who are you looking for?"

Emerald asked me as she looked away from the menu, and Neopolitan also looked like she wanted to know. I then told them honestly as I didn't need to hide who I was searching for from them.

" Apparently, one of Atlas' finest minds likes to operate down here in Mantle to help the locals, and I want to meet him to see if he can give me any pointers on advancing my technical skills."

I plan on finding Pietro Polendina to use Soul Archive on him to get started on my plans for up in Atlas. Emerald surprisingly volunteers to join me.

" Mind if I come along?"

" Sure, and what about you, Neopolitan?"

The tri-colored girl shrugged, then twirled her finger around, and I got the message.

" Your thinking of wandering around?"

Neopolitan nodded in agreement, and I warned her once more.

" Okay, but be mindful of your surroundings because Mantle is littered with security cameras, and if you get in trouble, I might have some difficulties helping you."

The tri-colored girl simply gave me the okay sign, and the waitress came back to take our orders.

***

Not far from Silva and company's location.

Pietro Polendina helped a young girl with dog ears adjust to her prosthetic leg after losing her original one in a recent accident dent. After making some final adjustments, he told her.

"There you go, good as new. Now, if you have any issues with the leg, just let me know, okay?"

The little smiled and nodded at the good doctor, and the girl's dog eared mother also thanked him.

" Thank you, doctor; how can I ever repay you?"

Pietro smiled as he replied.

" It's no trouble at all; feel free to come again if there is anything else."

The mother-daughter pair thanked him once more, then left the excellent doctor alone. Pietro felt slightly envious of the pair since he is incapable of starting his own family due to him being sterile. However, he has hope since General Ironwood gave the challenge to Atlas' brightest minds to come up with the next step of national defense. His P.E.N.N.Y. Project is based on some old stories about how the smiths of old endowed the weapons they made with souls. He took the idea further instead of just using a sword or gun. He wanted to give a soul to a humanoid weapon platform or android.

In a sense, he will be making his own daughter and have a family member to nurture. He has already set up a blueprint to design the android's body. He now only lacks a complete understanding of how smiths gave souls to the weapons they created. He has hypotheses but needs more data before committing to anything. Unfortunately, smiths that can endow souls into weapons have been a rarity these days since the rise of the profession of Huntsmen/Huntresses because they generally craft their own weapons most of the time. Luckily he has a few leads in Mistral about such smiths, plus the recent confiscation of Aura Transference technology that was operating on the sly is an option to consider.

***

Arthur Wattz of Atlas was going over some final designs for his Paladin Project for James Ironwood's challenge for the next step in national defense. Arthur had a trial and error approach to this project of his; he created several different kinds of pilotable robots. He was building and then testing the machines in various circumstances to determine what would work and what wouldn't. So far, a bipedal reverse joint robot with maneuverable arms similar to people equipped with pulse cannon seemed to be the most suitable choice.

As he worked out the kinks of his prototype, Arthur felt excited at the prospect of proving that he is Atlas' finest mind over anyone else and taking James Ironwood's domineering attitude down a few notches. As he considered the variables and stress tests to put his Paladin through, the clever scientist allowed himself to smile. Yes, his Atlesian Paladin will prove his superiority once and for all.

***

After breakfast, Emerald and I started looking around the city for the friendly neighborhood scientist. It didn't take me long to find someone with a prosthetic in the slums to give me directions to Pietro's Clinic, and as we headed towards the clinic, the mint-haired girl asked me.

" So, how did you hear about this guy?"

" The CCTS, you would be amazed at what people will talk about online."

Emerald hummed in reply and then said.

" Silva, thanks."

" For?"

I knew what Emerald was likely talking about, but I still wanted to hear her say it regardless. The mint-haired girl walked up next to me and elbowed me as she replied.

" You know what for, smart guy."

I just smirked at her and kept my silence. Emerald gave me a wry smile and said.

" Thank you for taking me in, Silva. I was skeptical at first about your intentions, but you only continued to show me that you wanted to help me, and now I feel like I can trust you but only just a little bit."

Emerald made a tiny space between her thumb and index finger to show how much she trusted me. I smiled at her as I made progress in a little over a month since I picked up Emerald from Vale. I made a sarcastic joke.

" Really feeling the love here."

The mint-haired girl rolled her eyes at my sarcasm and walked next to me as we reached the clinic. I went up to the door and knocked. Soon I saw the man I was looking for walking on his two feet instead of that fancy chair; he must not have lost the use of his legs yet. I reached my paw out to him to offer a handshake as I introduced myself.

" Hello, doctor, my name is Silva. May we talk for a bit? I wish to pick your brain on a few topics."

Pietro smiled as he shook my paw, and I used Soul Archive on him. Got him! He replied in a friendly way.

" Certainly, come in, come in."

I already got what I want and then some, but I still want to talk with a far better man than me in a few aspects; after all, I need to cover my bases. As Pietro led Emerald and me into his clinic, he took a seat and asked us to do the same.

" Please have a seat."

I found a suitable spot and sat down with Emerald right next to me. Pietro then asked me, still looking friendly.

" So, what did you want to talk about, young man?"

" When I heard that one of Atlas' lead scientists was down here in Mantle, I figured you might be able to answer a few questions I have."

Pietro cleaned his glasses and asked me.

" So, what do you want to know?"

" How would I go about becoming a scientist like you aside from studying, of course?"

Pietro smiled and replied excitedly.

" Oh, is that all. It's easy; after reaching adulthood, you can apply at the Atlesian Institute of Technology for your preferred field of study."

" Thank you, but my other concern is my heritage might impair my application."

Pietro stroked his beard and replied, losing some of his enthusiasm.

" True, there aren't many, if at all, faunus studying at the AIT, but you could apply at the Vale Institute instead. They may not be as cutting edge as here, but they are no slouch either."

" Thank you for your time, and I wish you a pleasant day."

Pietro looked slightly disappointed at my leave and said.

" Leaving so soon?"

" Sorry, but I am not staying at Atlas for long with how things are."

Pietro sighed at my reply and bid farewell to me.

" I understand, and I wish you luck in your endeavors."

" Thank you."

Oh, if only he knew what I had planned.