Technical Difficulties
Ruby woke up to the sounds of birds through her window. She blinked a few times before opening her eyes completely. She sat up in her bed, and let out a big yawn as she stretched her arms, almost touching the roof. She let her arms down and looked around the room. She noticed that she was the only one awake in her room, so she took the opportunity and decided to go out for an early morning stroll. She jumped off her bed and quietly changed into her outfit, ready to go on a morning stroll. She grabbed her crescent rose, walked out of the room, and quietly closed the door behind her. After closing the door, she headed down the hallway with all of the rooms. She noticed that all the rooms were quiet, so she walked quietly down the hallway, trying not to wake anyone up.
Ruby walked out of the main doors of beacon academy, the cool morning wind hitting her face. She looked around the courtyard, taking in the morning view and seeing it in its true beauty. The morning birds were chirping all around the courtyard, filling the air with their melodic tunes. The trees were swaying in the wind, releasing bright green leaves into the air with a swish. The grass around the path was still wet with the morning dew. Ruby took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cool morning air, waking herself up in the process. She let out a big breath with a smile on her face, and then continued on her morning stroll. She walked along the main path of beacon academy before taking a turn towards the town of Vale.
It was still fairly early in the morning, but there was still a lot of activity going on in the town. Cars were driving along the roads and there were people already walking along the sidewalks. Ruby didn't mind the busy sidewalks; seeing other people awake as early as she was made her happy. It made her feel normal seeing other people up and about early in the morning. The sounds of people talking and engines running filled the air now, and the fresh morning air was replaced by the smell of gasoline. Although it wasn't as peaceful and calming as beacon, it was still pleasant enough that the smile on Ruby's face never went away as she walked along the sidewalk. As she walked along, she noticed a familiar face from across the street. A look of confusion came across her face as she realized who it was.
"Penny?" She said to herself confused. Penny was usually accompanied by Atlas guards so this was surprising to her.
"Penny!" Ruby yelled across the street. Penny noticed and turned towards the noise.
"Ruby!" Penny said joyfully. She ran across the street over to Ruby, jumping at her and knocking her to the ground, crushing Ruby underneath her. "Oh it's so good to see you!" Penny said hugging Ruby. "How have you been?"
"Good…" Ruby wheezed. "I can't breathe."
"Oh!" Penny got up off of Ruby. "I'm sorry Ruby. I'm just so happy to see you."
Ruby stood up catching her breath. "It's good to see you too Penny. What have you been up to?"
"Oh you know. Just exploring the city. Seeing new things."
"Wait, where's General Ironwood? Or even the guards? Aren't they normally protecting you?"
A look of realization came across Penny's face. Penny looked around uneasily. "Can we talk about this somewhere else?" She said hesitantly.
"Uhh…" Ruby said confused. "I guess?"
"Thank you Ruby." Penny said hugging her again.
Penny grabbed Ruby's hand and escorted her to an alleyway where there was no one around. Penny looked around again before talking to Ruby.
"I'm not supposed to be here" Penny said leaning in closer to Ruby.
A look of confusion came across Ruby's face. "What? Why not?" She said slightly tilting her head to the side.
"Because I've snuck out too many times and I don't want to get in trouble again."
Ruby was still confused. "Why would you get in trouble? You're such a nice person."
"It's just that…people shouldn't know that I'm not real. I've already caused two major problems and I don't want to cause a third one. Can you promise that you won't tell Ironwood that I wasn't here?" Penny said nervously.
"Of course I can Penny. I've kept the secret about you being a robot. So this one won't be any different." Ruby said smiling.
"Oh thank you Ruby!" Penny said squeezing Ruby.
"No problem Penny." Ruby said muffled in Penny's chest.
"I can trust you with anything!" Penny said releasing Ruby from her grasp. Ruby bent down trying to catch her breath again.
"Yeah." Ruby said panting.
"I can even trust you wi-" Penny's speech was cut off unexpectedly. Her facial expression changed to a blank stare.
"Penny?" Ruby looked up at Penny, noticing that she had stopped talking. "Is everything okay?" Ruby looked confused. She noticed Penny's blank stare and didn't know what was happening. She looked behind her, thinking that Penny had seen something, but Ruby saw nothing. She looked back at Penny worried now. "What's going on?" Something was happening and she didn't know what it was.
Suddenly Penny's bright green eyes turned blood red; much like Yang's. She glared at ruby.
Ruby looked back at Penny. "Penny?" Ruby said frightened. "Friend?"
"Don't. Call. Me. FRIEND!" Penny said with pure rage in her voice.
The slot in her back opened and a bundle of swords emerged and started spinning behind Penny's back. Ruby's eyes shot open as she noticed the swords. She turned around and ran, almost tripping in the process. She ran down the alley as fast as she could, trying to get away. Penny sent a single sword at Ruby, snagging her in the hood and lifting her off the ground. Penny then guided the sword behind her, throwing Ruby over her head and into a wall. The sword stuck into the bricks, pinning Ruby in the process. Ruby hit the wall with a small thud, hitting the back of her head on the brick wall. Her head dropped. She lifted up one arm as she rubbed the sore spot with her hand. She looked up still rubbing her head, and noticed Penny had turned around and was glaring at her. She then looked up at the single sword above her head that had pinned her up against the wall by her hood. She reached up and grabbed the sword by the handle, desperately trying to remove it. Penny guided the spinning swords above her head. Ruby still struggling to remove the swords noticed the spinning blades, and started to panic. She shook the sword up and down continuously, loosening the sword slightly. Penny then guided the spinning blades slowly towards Ruby, on level with her neck. Ruby panicking shook the blade with all of her strength, loosening it even more as the blades still inched towards her. Penny then let out an evil smile as she threw her right hand forward, sending the blade hurtling towards Ruby. Ruby had released the single sword just in time, causing her to drop to the ground as the blade sliced into the wall just centimeters above her head.
Ruby landed on her feet with one hand on the ground, and the other clutching her Crescent Rose. Ruby stood up and switched her crescent rose into its scythe form. She spun it around and fired a single shot at Penny, knocking Penny to the ground. Ruby then dashed forwards at Penny readying her scythe. Penny had just gotten up before being knocked back by the top end of Ruby's scythe. Penny flew down the alley, tumbling and turning on the ground. She slid on the ground, as she came to a stop. Ruby stood still, holding her scythe; panting. Penny got up from the ground angrier than before and put her hands out in front of her. The swords flew back to her and stopped in front of her hands. Penny guided the swords, spinning them around in a circular motion, readying the laser to fire at Ruby. Ruby's eyes shot open because she knew what Penny was doing. Penny brought her arms in beside her torso clenching her fists, and then shot both of her hands forward, sending out a large green laser beam from the swords straight at Ruby. Ruby was quick and jumped behind a garbage container just moments before it reached her. The beam fired straight through the alleyway and through the wall Ruby was pinned up against. Penny fired the shot for a few seconds. After firing she stood up straight and looked in front of her. A clean circle had been formed on the wall she had shot at, leaving a clear view to the ocean. Penny looked around the alleyway searching for Ruby, still glaring. Ruby then quickly jumped out from behind the garbage container and fired her weapon behind her, sending her flying towards Penny. Penny didn't have time to react; Ruby swung her scythe at Penny, cutting straight through her. A look of shock came across Penny's face. Her eyes then switched back to their normal green colour. Penny fell over on her back with a thud. The top half of her body slid a foot away from her. Sparks were flying out from her torso and waist. Penny's facial expression turned neutral and her eyes closed.
Ruby walked over to Penny, looking at her expressionless face. She sat down on the ground next to her, bringing her knees up to her chest, as she grabbed her legs and started to cry.
"I'm sorry Penny. I had no choice." Ruby said tears rolling down her face. She sat in the middle of the alley, sobbing, until she heard a very stern and familiar voice.
"What's going on here?" It was general Ironwood. He had noticed the green beam and had decided to check on it to see if anyone had gotten hurt. He looked down at Penny and noticed the state she was in. He then looked up at Ruby and quickly walked towards her with a look of anger on his face. "What is the meaning of this?" He said with anger in his voice.
"Oh God don't hurt me!" Ruby screamed scooting away from Ironwood as she stuck a hand out in front of her.
A look of sympathy then came across General Ironwoods face.
"Please don't kick me out of Beacon. I don't want to go. I want to stay here!" Ruby said crying and holding out her arm
"It's alright." Ironwood said getting down one knee and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not going to hurt you."
Ruby looked at General Ironwood hesitantly. Her eyes still full of tears. "You- You're not?" Ruby asked.
"Of course not." General Ironwood said comforting her. "I wouldn't do such a thing to a student of mine." He said smiling at Ruby.
"Do I still get to stay at beacon?" Ruby asked worriedly.
"Of course you can Ruby."
"Am I in trouble?"
"No Ruby. You did what was necessary, and you took action."
Ruby looked at General Ironwood and then hugged him. "Thank you General Ironwood."
Ironwood hugged Ruby back. "It's the least I can do."
Ruby released Ironwood and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"First things first though, I need you to tell me what happened." General Ironwood said looking at Ruby.
Ruby sniffed and wiped her eyes once more. "Well, I was just having a conversation with Penny and then she just stopped talking. She just stood there for a few seconds, and then her eyes turned red, like Yang's. And then I called her friend and then she got really mad and attacked me."
Ironwood put a hand to his chin. "Hmm. It must have been a bug in the system. Was she acting any differently beforehand?"
"Not really, no."
Ironwood thought for a bit longer. "Well I'm not sure what happened, but I'm sure my colleagues at the repair shop might." Ironwood said pulling out his tablet and dialing a sequence of numbers in. He put the phone up to his ear and started a phone call.
"Hello? This is James. We need a repair on Penny…she's been cut in half…Town of Vale in the back alley…alright, thank you. Goodbye." Ironwood put the tablet away in his pocket. "I've requested an airship to take Penny to a repair shop in Atlas. They will be here in a few minutes. Make sure nothing happens to her, alright?"
Ruby nodded.
"Alright. I'll wait for the helicopter." Ironwood got up and walked over to the entrance of the alleyway. Ruby scooted over to Penny and sat next to her. Ruby looked at Penny's face and let out a small sigh. She placed a hand on her head and started stroking her hair. "I'm sorry Penny. I didn't want to do this." Ruby sat there continuing to stroke Penny's bright orange hair.
A few minutes had passed and General Ironwood walked back into the alleyway. "She's over here!" Ironwood said directing two Atlas guards towards Penny. They both came running in carrying a metal stretcher. They ran over to Penny and placed the stretcher on the ground next to her. Each one picked up a different half of her body and placed them on the stretcher. The two of them picked up the stretcher and carried her off. General Ironwood looked at Ruby. "Thank you for watching over Penny. We will update you on her condition." Ironwood gave a salute to Ruby and walked off.
"Wait!" Ruby said calling out to Ironwood. Ironwood walked back into the alley.
"What is it Ruby?" Ironwood asked.
"Can I come with?" Ruby said shyly.
Ironwood let out a small grin. "Yes, you can come with."
Ruby got up and walked over to Ironwood. When she turned the corner she got a glimpse of the airship. It was much like the one she traveled in on her mission, but cleaner and more futuristic. She hopped on and sat on a seat next to Penny. Ironwood got in after and closed the door behind him. The airship took off with a small shake, and they were in the air.
The flight to the repair shop was long. Ruby sat quietly the whole trip, hoping that Penny was going to be alright. Ruby reached over and grabbed Penny's hand, holding it tightly. She held her hand the entire trip, until they landed in Atlas. The airship landed on a helipad next to a very large building. The door was then opened up by an Atlas guard shortly after. Penny was then carried off by the two guards from earlier. Ruby followed them not far behind. They carried Penny to the entrance of the building, which was a large glass door being held open by Atlas guards. Ruby followed as they rushed Penny in through the doors. The group of them walked through a narrow hallway, much like a hospital. The floor was a very clean and polished white tile, reflecting everyone standing on it. The two guards then made a quick right turn into a room being held open by another guard. Ruby followed them into the room.
The room was fairly small, and had lots of tools and mechanical parts covering the walls. A single welding table stood in the middle of the room, occupying most of the space. The floor wasn't tile but smooth dark grey concrete. The two guards lifted Penny up onto the table in the middle of the room. They connected a wire on her forehead, one over her heart, one on each arm, one on her waist, and one on each leg. The wires were connected to a small screen which blinked on, showing an outline of Penny, which had an "x" on her torso, where she had been cut.
Ruby was told to sit down and wait while the mechanics fixed her. Ruby let out a sigh and sat on one of the chairs a few feet away from the table. She put her hands in her lap and sat down quietly. The mechanics pulled a welding curtain in front of Penny, dividing them from Ruby. Ruby could only see the silhouette of Penny through the curtain. General Ironwood walked into the room and sat down in the chair next to Ruby.
"You did the right thing Ruby." Ironwood put a hand on Ruby's shoulder.
Ruby looked at Ironwood worriedly. "Will she be okay?"
"I don't know. A vital part of hers was damaged. We're doing the best we can."
"How long will it take?"
"I don't know. It could take hours for her to be fixed."
Ruby let out a sigh and looked down at the ground. "Will she remember anything?" She said as she looked back at Ironwood.
"I'm afraid not Ruby. She was shut down completely, which wiped her memory card."
Ruby let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair. She closed her eyes and after a few minutes, she fell asleep. Ruby woke up groggily in her chair. She sat up straight and let out a big yawn and a stretch. She looked around the room and noticed that everyone else was gone. She looked over to the table that Penny was lying on, and saw that she was fixed. Ruby jumped out of her chair and rushed over to the table where Penny was staying. She leaned over and looked at Penny.
"Penny?" She said hoping that she was alright.
Penny's bright green eyes blinked open. "Salutations!" Penny said with a smile.
Ruby's face lit up, as she let out a smile.