Thanks to tonojohn over at Royal Road for being my first commenter on this story that isn't an Ad.
O-o-O-o-O
Eden learned a very important fact about Winter Schnee, and its that while she may have been disinherited of the Schnee heiress role when she joined the military she was still at one point in time the heiress of the SDC.
Eden would also come to find out that Winter actorly owns 5% shares in the compony thanks to her Grandfather Nicholas Schnee, with Weiss, Whitley and Willow also owning 5% as well, Jacques Schnee however due to manipulating Nicholas into giving him control of the company owns over 60% and the other 20% are spread over with the investors of the company.
The reason for why this was important is because when Eden checked how much he was giving for the photo it basically made him freeze, as on the back of the card where the value is show was the number 10000... 10K, he was paid 10k for a single photo.
After taking 5 seconds to process all that he properly put the money in the inside of his coat pocket and moved on... What he's British they basically accepts things like this and move on, no point in worrying about something that benefits him.
While in the show mantle may look run down and slightly helpless, it's actorly not that bad especially during the Vytal festival as while most of the main streets were crowded and there are definably quite a lot of tourist here to enjoy the festival, most of the locals seem to be quite happy as well.
Though something he did notice is that there is a lot of people with cybernetics be it an arm a leg hell there's even somebody with a cybernetic eye and not the one's Maria Calavera was shown having.
It honestly seemed like RWBY got mixed with Cyberpunk with all these cybernetics people have, though as he made his way towards the location Winter told him he discovered it's not actorly a clothing store but in fact a pharmacy specifically Pietro's Pharmacy.
Eden stopped outside the building contemplating if he should go in or not after all what if Penny is in there and she somehow gains access to his camera or phone... Though now that he's thinking about it there's quite a simple fix.
Moving to sit down somewhere that wasn't soggy or wet, he collected all the SD cards and locked them, then proceed to scratch the locked symbol off the cards, before keeping one on him and placing the other 8 back into the protective case, then he took out his phone made sure it was turned off and removed the SIM card, which took awhile due to not having the proper tool and put that in the protective case as well.
While it wouldn't truly do much, it would make sure people who try to edit, remove or simply override what's on the cards will be unable too and even then you'd need an SD card reader to even access them.
The sign above the entrance was simple and somewhat old-fashioned compared to some of the the sleek Atlas architecture he's seen on his way here. It looked more like a family-owned business you'd find tucked away on a side street than anything connected to one of the greatest scientific minds on Remnant.
Taking a deep breath before entering he pushed the door and promptly realized it's a pull door and that this was also the exit door not the endurance door which was next to it with even a little sign on the door saying "Entrance: Open."...
Pulling open the door, a small bell chimed overhead.
The first thing he noticed was the smell. It wasn't the sterile hospital scent he expected, but something warmer, medicine was definitely present, but so was coffee, machine oil, and the sent of an air freshener as though to cover up the smell of whatever came from the workshop.
The second thing he noticed was that nearly half the customers inside possessed some kind of prosthetic that and a few of them were laughing at him, probably due to the fact he failed to enter.
A teenager sat waiting while a mechanical hand is twitching and spinning, and with her other hand she was playing some sort of game on the scroll.
An elderly man chatted with a receptionist while tapping his metal fingers against the counter, though at some parts the middle and ring finger would would simply stop moving for a few seconds.
A little girl proudly showed off a brightly coloured prosthetic leg covered in stickers, however the part that it was connected too was reddened and bruised.
Instead of standing at the entrance while looking a young girls prosthetic leg like some sort of pervert, he went to find a corner seat and put his camera bag on his lap then hugged it, all the while listening to any conversation that could be happening.
"...and then Jess tripped because she was looking behind her and not where she was going! Making me the winner!"
The mother sighed. "You're not supposed to be racing people especially two days after just getting a replacement hun."
"But Mister Polendina said I could walk on it!"
"Walking and racing are two very different things."
The girl huffed and turned her head. "I was walking very fast then, besides it only itches I told you not to worry mom."
The mother apparently gave up arguing and simply rubbed her forehead. A moment later a door near the back of the pharmacy slid open.
A middle-aged woman wearing a white coat stepped out carrying what appeared to be a detached cybernetic arm.
"Miss Olivia Colomar?" The teenager immediately stood up.
"My hand fixed?"
The woman smiled. "It was never broken. You simply managed to install three separate modifications into the motor-control software and due to the conflicting settings the arm wasn't sure how to respond, so it simply executed everything at the same time."
The teenager looked offended. "I was sure my code was perfect, are you sure the software was the problem."
"You're code, according to Dr Polendina is indeed brilliant however like I said there were some problems with conflicting settings so you will need to make sure all the code is cohesive, honestly Olivia this is the 6th time you had to come here due to messing with it, if it was me I'd have made you pay..."
"Did you mess with your arm while I was in the back." The nurse? Asked while looking at the girls cybernetic arm that was now trying to scratch its self by folding the hand and using the fingers to scratch its arm.
"No... okay maybe but look I got bored and all thesegamesareboringsoIdecided-"
"Olivia Colomar." The woman pointed toward the workshop. "Lab. Now." The teenager followed while still trying to arguing her case.
Eden watched them disappear before turning his attention elsewhere. The entire place felt strangely normal even if it had it's own sort of chaos. In the show, cybernetics had mostly been presented through specific characters for instance Yang's arm, Ironwood's enhancements, and Maria's eyes along with a handful of background details.
Yet here in this most probably alternate universe of the show it painted a very different picture. People weren't treating prosthetics as some of incredible scientific marvel. They treated them the same way people back home treated glasses.
Something useful that eventually became something normal. Something you get repaired when it brakes and while he's sure there are people who are constantly upgrading them and making enhancements what he is more worried about is the fanatics and the people who will later try to be more machine than flesh.
That was the thought Eden fell asleep too after resting his eyes and laying his head on his camera bag like as if it was some sort of pillow.
O-o-O-o-O
Pietro wasn't expecting to find a boy in an oversized winter coat hugging a camera bag to be asleep in his waiting area but when he tried to move closer to wake the boy up, he was never given the chance as he mustn't have been quiet enough seeing as how the boy lifted his head and is now looking at him with a sleepy expression.
"Well, hello there, are you Eden? Winter called asking if you visited."
"Wait, she called?" Eden asked both alarmed and confused.
"Of course." Pietro took a seat near him.
"Winter asked me to keep an eye out for a sixteen-year-old who somehow crossed half of Solitas carrying nothing but photography equipment and asked if I could do a check up on him, and well lets just say I got curious."
"I'll have to correct you on something I had orange juice with me, and haven't you heard the saying curiosity killed the cat?"
After a few seconds the older man burst out laughing before moving on to the next subject. "Winter informed me that your Aura awakened recently."
"Apparently though I don't fully know when."
"And?"
"And what?"
"Any unusual effects you've noticed?"
Eden immediately becomes concerned while he's pretty sure aura shouldn't have any adverse effects due to it being something from the soul. This world seems to be an AU and Pietro is a doctor.
"Wait, are you saying there could be something wrong!? But I thought aura came from the Soul, shouldn't everything be fine?"
"While that is true everyone's situation is different for example I know this person who would have rather never awakened his aura but well, anyway if you do experience anything unusual due come contact me after all I am a doctor."
Eventually Pietro's attention drifted toward the camera bag. "So a photographer?" then noticed how he was holding it. "That protective of it?"
"It contains my livelihood."
The older man smiled probably suspecting something. "Sentimental value as well I'm guessing."
"Maybe."
"Understandable. You've been carrying that camera everywhere, have you got any interesting photos?"
"Well there was the photo of Winter and I have a few photos of the moon and the aurora."
"Oh that must have been nice. I didn't get to see it sadly, being too busy with repairs and what not. Though apparently she's framed it you know."
"Really?"
"Oh yes, It's sitting on her desk now she's also sent one to her sister."
"...What."
"According to Winter, it was professionally signed."
Eden covered his face. "Oh no."
"Oh yes."
"I thought she was being polite or nice by paying me. I didn't think she'd actually keep it."
"She probably was."
"So, why would she frame it?"
Pietro's grin widened. "Because apparently nobody has ever taken a photograph that made her look quite so heroic before."
Eden slowly lowered his hands. "You must be taking the mick and just making all this up."
"Maybe or maybe I'm not you'd have to find out I guess." The scientist stood. "Now, come on."
"Where?"
"The workshop."
That immediately triggered every warning alarm in Eden's brain.
"Why?"
Pietro looked genuinely confused. "Because you're here for me to fix your coat, remember."
"Ah right, right…"
As they entered the workshop, the room was enormous with half-finished prosthetics covering the workbenches and mechanical components scattered everywhere. Blueprints also covered every available surface on the bulletin board.
Standing in the center of it all was a red-haired girl waving enthusiastically.
"Father!" Penny Polendina practically bounced across the room. Then she noticed Eden and her eyes widened.
And for one terrifying moment Eden remembered exactly who Penny was. A machine capable of processing information far faster than any human and most profitably notice any lies he'll tell and apparently had x-ray vision. How else would she know Blake was a faunus?
And said machine was standing less than ten feet away from him and his camera bag.
"Oh." Penny said brightly. "You are the photographer."
Eden's survival instincts immediately activated. "My camera is not for sale." he ended up blurting.
The air in the workshop seemed to freeze.
"...What?" Penny asked, tilting her head slightly confused and most probably processing his reaction.
"I don't know." Eden admitted. "I felt like I needed to establish that immediately considering how many people seem to be interested in my camera or photos."
Then both Penny and Pietro burst into laughter.
With Penny being the first to recover. "That is a very unusual thing to say upon meeting someone. Is an introduction not better?"
Pietro blinked as if remembering "Ah yes right Penny and I believe I haven't introduced myself yet, I'm Dr. Pietro Polendina and this is my daughter Penny Polendina."
"Well you already know who I am but I'll introduce myself anyway. I'm Eden D Thorn, pleased to meet you both."
Penny blinked and tilted her head. "Are you truly pleased to meet me?"
"Uhh, yess?" Eden replied confused while looking over to Pietro who simply smiled.
"Sensational! Then I am pleased to meet you as well Eden."
He decided to move on and pretend that he knows nothing about Penny and that this is simply her little unique quirk after all he already knows her secret and this is all simply acting.
Satisfied, Penny immediately moved on to the next subject of possible conversation.
"You have taken photographs of General Winter Schnee."
"...Yes?"
"Then, did you know your photograph is currently displayed inside her office?"
Eden groaned. "Why does everybody know this?"
"Specialist Clover saw the photo on Specialist Winter's desk."
"Okay."
"Specialist Clover then told his team about it."
"Oh no."
"Specialist Harriet told about it to several others."
"Then Winter became aware and tried putting a stop to it."
Eden looked hopeful. "Oh, good."
"Then she made a copy to send to her sister, however the printer has a history category and so someone has printed multiple of said photo."
Eden buried his face in his hands, his photography career was rapidly spiralling out of control and while that is a good thing he isn't prepared for this and can't even capitalise on this opportunity.
"Now then, before your reputation spreads any further, let's have a look at that coat and get it fixed."
"Oh right." Eden stood but the moment he removed the oversized coat, both Pietro and Penny froze because without it he looked alarmingly thin.
Pietro's smile immediately vanished and entered doctor mode. "When was the last time you ate a proper meal?"
"..."
"Eden."
"...Define proper."
Pietro sighed. "That bad, huh?"
"It wasn't exactly intentional."
The scientist studied him for several seconds.
"Sit."
"What?"
"Sit."
Eden sat.
Pietro pointed toward Penny. "Penny, go get some proper food for Eden here."
"Yes, Father." she immediately saluted and before Eden could protest she had already vanished. A few moments later she returned carrying enough food to feed an entire family.
"How did you—"
"I have access to several cafeterias." Penny proudly placed everything down.
"There is a ninety-three percent chance you are malnourished."
"Ninety-three?"
"I rounded down."
Eden looked at the mountain of food then at Pietro then back at the food before releasing something. "You know, most doctors ask questions before prescribing treatment."
Pietro shrugged. "Most doctors don't have a daughter capable of diagnosing starvation by looking at someone."
"I wasn't starving."
Penny looked directly at him and Eden suddenly had the uncomfortable feeling she could see through walls.
"Your last meal seems to have been some noodles or spaghetti."
Eden slowly turned toward her. "...How do you know that?"
Penny smiled. "I can smell them. HICUP."
"Oh… Wait, what?"
Penny looked proud of herself. "I have excellent senses."
O-o-O-o-O
Right, well I'll leave it at that for now thanks for reading and sorry for the late upload I planed to upload every 2nd day but I then fell ill and could barely think properly so if this chapter is a bit shite then that's why.
Question: What game have you been playing recently?
Mines Overwatch... can you find the secret reference in this chapter?