Author's Note: Aaaah, got this one up a few days earlier. Would've actually had this up yesterday but I ran into several distractions with not only a snowstorm that required some snow shoveling but some other winter-related difficulties during the week like another pipe having burst and needing to be repaired. I also had my brother's graduation from corrections to attend to and I just felt like wasting away a day to just relax. There were also some other annoying, albeit minor, distractions…
Brain: Narhwals, Narwhals, swimming in the ocean~
Oh God damn it.
Brain: Causing a commotion~
I just got that out of my head!
Brain: Coz they are so awesome~
Hate that stupid catchy SONG!
Grammar Note: In case anyone remembered from Soulbound, when it came to androids, holograms, and characters speaking on scrolls or other communication devices, I decided to italicize and underline their lines. Going into this chapter that had a lot of those, I quickly realized that that was stupid and immediately put a stop to it. That is all.
Even before she and Blake became a couple, Yang had decided that she had been fortunate to land herself with a good-looking partner. Sure, there was when they first met in the auditorium with Blake in her pajamas but what would always remain in Yang's mind was how the Ursa had dropped at her feet due to the black beauty standing behind it, one hand on the ribbon that was attached to the beast's downfall that had stabbed deep into its spine.
Since officially becoming girlfriends, Yang found herself taking longer and more thorough looks at Blake.
"I thought that class would never end," the faunus in question remarked, tightening her signature ribbons around one arm while pacing in the middle of their dorm room.
"Uh huh," Yang responded, watching her from high up on her bunk.
This was an occasion that was particularly special. While Yang had begun to notice details that she hadn't really thought too much before concerning Blake like how much of her legs were bared by the skirt of her school uniform – made better with how Blake refused to wear the knee socks – or how the white shirt and black vest of her combat outfit teased and attracted Yang's gaze with the meager showing of her smooth stomach or Yang being hit with a sudden desire to see if that yukata was really as warm and comfy as it looked on Blake with a surprise cuddle, those were moments restricted to wardrobes that she had seen Blake in numerous times. Now she found herself inspecting Blake in something new and different and she was enjoying the view.
The white shirt that Blake wore offered more than just a better exposed midriff as the low v-neck cut gave Yang a marginal understanding of what others must feel when she wore her shirts and tops that directed attention to her cleavage. Blake may not have her size but the amount of skin that had never been allowed for the viewing pleasure before more than made up for it. How that shirt had a zipper at the front influenced a number of delectable fantasies – ones that Yang wasn't going to pursue but no one can fault her for thinking about them, right? Her lower half remained largely the same with tight black pants and boots but the cloth hanging from behind that Yang dubbed as an 'asscape' kept drawing her attention and she couldn't help but think that the waistband and fastened belt of her pants were lower than usual.
"Yang?" Done with her ribbons, there was nothing to distract Blake from how Yang was visibly roaming up and down her body.
Yang hummed in question.
"What are you looking at?"
"You," she answered without a hint of shame. Having been lying along her bunk with her head propped up in her hand, Yang made it a point to bend one leg up higher and place her other hand on top to adopt what she hoped was a sexier pose and arching a brow seductively. "All of you."
She hoped her own ensemble would have the same effect on Blake. It showed a bit less than her usual selection of clothing but the short, mid-sleeved jacket, cream top, black shirt, and thigh-high stockings with various straps and belts gave her the appearance of someone ready for a party. It was fitting for where Yang planned on going but she was currently thinking of a different kind of party that Blake was invited to.
The sideways movement of Blake's eyes told Yang that she was having the desired response before she stopped and immediately directed them to a corner of the room. She said nothing in reply, probably because she couldn't think of anything to say. There was a healthy blush at her cheeks that betrayed her efforts to appear indignant.
That was something else that had changed. Before, Yang had fun teasing such a reserved and serious partner with an occasional joke and prodding to shake her composure. Now she was absolutely merciless, taking whatever chance she could get to fluster Blake.
She didn't get the chance to continue though as that was when the curtains of Ruby's bunk were pushed aside to reveal their leader. "Alright guys, today's the day! The investigation begins!" Giggling, Ruby jumped down, nearly stomping on Weiss's feet who backed up just in time.
It was Ruby who insisted that they wear 'super-special investigator disguises' for their self-assigned missions but she hardly made any miraculous changes to herself. Other than her gray, long-sleeve shirt and an abstract shape of metal at her left shoulder, she still had the same color scheme of black and red with the overalls-corset combination over the shirt being very similar to her blouse. She still had her red skirt and, of course, a hooded cape that was worn more like a scarf.
"I'm glad to see we're taking this so seriously," Weiss remarked irritably. This was not limited to Ruby as she glowered up at Yang.
"Hey, we've got a plan." Breaking her pose – not so much because of Weiss as it was for her baby sister being present -, Yang pretended to examine one of her gauntlets, the visible shells spinning to make it more convincing. "That's…moderately serious."
"Right!" Ruby said. "Everyone remember their roles?"
"You and I will head to the CCT to check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistences." Out of all of them, Weiss was the most unchanged with her outfit consisting of a white skirted peacoat and gray thigh-length, high-heeled boots. "Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem."
Blake went next, having recovered from Yang's teasing at this point and holding herself high. "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."
Yang hopped down from her bunk to join her team. "I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard." She put a bit of effort to make herself sound confident to hide any of her misgivings. They had nothing to do with her part of the plan as she had the second easiest job next to Weiss and Ruby's.
"Great!" came Ruby. "We'll meet up near Yang to go over what we found. Let's do this!"
"Yeah!" came an unexpected call at their window, causing all of Team RWBY to jump from it in surprise. The culprit, when they all whirled around, turned out to be Sun, the monkey faunus hanging upside down from a branch of the tree outside thanks to his tail.
"Sun!?" Blake exclaimed.
"How did you get up there?" Yang asked. Their dorm room was a few stories high and the tree that Sun was using as a perch didn't offer many low-hanging branches to make any ascension easy.
"Aw, it's easy; I do it all the time," Sun casually replied.
"You do what!?" Weiss questioned shrilly.
"I climb trees all the time!"
Weiss narrowed her eyes at Sun as if searching for any kind of deception that his easygoing smile may be hiding. Honestly, while Yang believed Sun was telling the innocent truth, she made a mental note to make sure that they kept their curtains closed more often; she wasn't sure if being a peeping Tom was another minor crime that he didn't mind committing.
With a swing of his tail, Sun flipped through their window and landed on his feet within their room. Inspecting the four girls and their getups, his smile widened. "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"
"We are going to investigate the situation," Blake explained and gestured to the rest of RWBY. "As a team."
"Sorry, Sun," Ruby apologized. "We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to."
"Pfft, that's dumb!" Sun criticized. "You should always get friends involved." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and back to the window. "That's why I brought Neptune!"
The members of RWBY looked at one another in bafflement before going to the window and sticking their heads out. Sure enough, there was Neptune, his back flush with the wall of the dormitory as he sought to keep his footing on the small ledge that was all between him and a long fall down. At seeing them, he grinned coolly. "'Sup?"
"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asked, it being cleared that, unlike Sun, Neptune didn't climb the tree.
"I have my ways." He looked down and that cool demeanor was shaken at the reminder of how high he was. Pressing his back even further against the dormitory if that was possible, he nervously asked, "Seriously though, can I come in? We're like…really high up right now."
Weiss held out a hand which Neptune gladly took. With her guidance, he got to the window without incident until he nearly tripped over the short bookshelf that was located beneath it and Weiss had to prevent him from falling onto her by placing another hand at his chest.
"Thanks." Taking note of Weiss's hand in his own and the other that lingered, that smooth smile of his came back as well as that low, suave tone when he said, "Didn't expect to be dropping in."
Yang rolled her eyes – she had a feeling she was going to be doing this a lot – but Weiss didn't share her reaction. She jerked away from Neptune but not out of disgust if her own blush had anything to say about it. After a loud clearing of her throat, she stiffly replied, "It was my pleasure."
"So, Torchwick," Sun cut in. "Big plans. Want in."
"No," Blake immediately replied. "You're not coming, Sun."
Sun gave her a long-suffering look. "Really? We're doing this again?"
"There's no reason for you to get involved in this."
"Alright, I guess we are." He began ticking off fingers. "I'm a faunus, the White Fang are all faunus, they're giving faunus a bad name, I'm also a Huntsman so this could be classified as part of my job, and- oh!" He held up a fifth finger. "That's right, I kind of owe Torchwick one. That means I got an extra reason to be involved!"
"And the reason you want to come along is…?" Weiss asked Neptune.
"Well, we are partners."
"Say no more." Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "I have a dunce who keeps dragging me to places where I don't want to go."
"Hey!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Besides, from all that Sun told me, this sounds like a good way to check out Vale while having a bit of fun."
"We're not doing this for fun," Blake growled. "I'm going to be sneaking into a White Fang meeting. That's dangerous."
"Doing it alone has to be doubly dangerous then," Sun replied. "I can't help but notice that, before I came in, there was no other faunus in here other than you so I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and say that you were planning on doing that by yourself."
"This isn't going to be like the docks where we didn't know if they were going to be there or not. They will be where I'm going and there's going to be a lot of them."
"Which is why Sun is going with you," Yang suddenly interrupted.
Both faunus spun their heads to Yang, one grinning in victory, the other in shock.
Sun's concerns were the same as Yang's. While Yang expected some hostility where she was going, it was nothing like what Blake was heading to with the White Fang and Torchwick.
"Someone there could recognize you, Blake," Yang reasoned. "A few White Fang goons I'm not too worried about but if Torchwick happens to be there too and a fight breaks out…"
"I can handle it on my own," Blake insisted.
"Oh, I'm sure you can," Yang replied, forcing a confident smile. "But if you have some backup with you, I know you'll be more than okay. You two have done this before and, this way, we can make sure we get what we need and Sun gets his shot in at Torchwick."
"Have I said how I always liked you?" Sun asked.
Yang ignored him, attention fixed on Blake who was getting ready to argue. "Please, Blake. If I could come, you know I would. We said we weren't going to rush into this unprepared and this is the best way to make things as safe as possible with where you're going. I'm sure it'll make everyone feel better."
Me in particular, she added and hoped that Blake could detect the worry behind her smile.
Whether she did or not, Blake turned to regard Sun, the critical look on her face giving away as she relented. "I guess you can come along then."
"Alright," Ruby said while Sun pumped his fist in victory. "I'll go with Weiss. Sun, you can go with Blake." Stepping over behind Neptune, she began pushing him towards Yang. "And Neptune, you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner. Everyone good?"
The wink that Neptune gave Weiss while passing her told Yang that there was going to be an objection made before the fencer suggested, "Actually Ruby, why don't you go with Yang? After all, she is your sister."
Ruby stared at her in confusion. "But, Weiss, who would go with you then?"
"Well…I guess Neptune could come with me," she offered, trying and failing to pass off the suggestion as nothing more than innocent.
Ruby stood there for a second longer before she snorted. "Ha, nah!"
How Weiss's face fell to give Ruby a dirty look was downright comical, made even more so when Ruby, entirely oblivious to the whole thing, grabbed the back of her peacoat and began dragging her out of the dorm room with Weiss uselessly shouting, "But! But!"
Being a girl who spent most of her childhood on the island of Patch, Ruby hadn't grown up around a lot of what was everyday life for the city residents of Vale. Her island home had been more modest, lacking the tall buildings that stretched as far as the eye could see and the excess holograms and other lighting that kept the city bright all night. The population wasn't as large or as diverse either. After a year or two of living there, one could feel as if they were familiar with everyone in Patch.
A lot of the islanders saw Vale with disfavor. Crowded to the point of claustrophobic to some, and those bright lights and holograms had been described as obnoxious when combined with the typical sounds of the active day and night life of a city. In Patch, portions of the land remained untouched by modernization, gifting those who settled there with peaceful walks through nature and star-filled skies that they could sleep under.
Ruby, on the other hand, would always be dazzled by Vale. When she had been a little girl, she enjoyed taking strolls on the beach whether hand-in-hand with Yang or perched atop the shoulders of their dad to watch the sun set and be replaced with a different light on the horizon in the form of the glowing kingdom. During nights like those, she would compare herself to some of those storybook heroes; born to simple beginnings but destiny and adventure was waiting for them over yonder. For Ruby, it had been the luminous city across the seas and the 'hero school' within that would train her to become a great defender of the world just like her parents and uncle.
When she was old enough, Taiyang began taking his daughters on family outings to the city and it had been like stepping into a whole new world. Up until that point, the greatest buildings that Ruby had seen were those that made up Signal Academy so what was a child supposed to experience when she found herself surrounded by ones that easily eclipsed it with all manner of individuals from all walks of life - humans, faunus, Vacuan, Atlesian, Mistralian, etc. - filling the cramped sidewalks while traffic crowded the streets?
Amazement. Wonder. From the harbors where immense ships were docked while air variants flew overhead, the highways that wove and twisted together high above, the wide selection of goods advertised at the commercial district, and even to the farms of the agricultural district that had evolved from outdoor fields to multi-level skyscrapers where crops and animals were carefully grown and cultivated to feed the immense population of Vale. Despite several more trips into the city, Ruby could never stop being amazed at what the city showed her next. It was simply too big and new ideas were always being implemented to give something fresh.
The same went for Beacon itself. She had studied, slept, ate, and lived within its grounds for several months now but it would take many more for her to cease being astounded by what she could find here.
For today, it was the enormous cylindrical building that was her and her partner's destination. Ruby was immediately overwhelmed - from the holographic standards that lined the base to the four buttresses that supported the tower that reached high into the clouds.
"Wooowww!" she couldn't help but squeal, ignoring how the back of her neck began to grow uncomfortable with how far she craned her head back to take in the full scope of the tower and yet still coming up short. "I forget how big the transmit tower looks up close!"
"You should see the one in Atlas," said Weiss, the girl walking more casually to the CCT but was faintly amused by Ruby's attitude.
The scythe-wielder was actually beginning to fall behind and she quickened her pace to catch up. "That was the first one, right?"
"Correct. Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit system to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."
"Ooo, look at me," Ruby teased. "My name is Weiss. I know facts. I'm rich." She held her hands over her mouth in a vain attempt to suppress her giggles.
Weiss threw a glare over her shoulder. "Don't be a pest. Besides, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much. We could have just as easily made a call from the library."
"I know but it's so coool!" Ruby cooed, wishing Weiss was a bit more excited even if such sights were common for her. The young leader fished out her scroll to get a permanent memento of it. "I'm gonna take a picture!"
In her excitement, she pulled it out too fast and lost her grip on it. The scroll flew from her hand and bounced along the courtyard. It bumped into someone's feet, directing them to it as it came to a rest.
"Oh." They bent down and picked it up to hold it out towards Ruby. "You dropped this."
Ruby's eyes widened. She definitely recognized this person. "Penny!?"
The ginger-haired girl with her pink bow appeared equally startled. "Uh..."
"Where have you been?" Ruby asked, she and Weiss approaching her. "We haven't seen you since the night at the docks."
Penny didn't reply with her custom cheerfulness. Instead, she appeared a bit nervous as she looked between the two Huntresses before settling back onto Ruby. "S-sorry. I think you're confused." She suddenly hiccuped, the scroll jumping out of her grip, but Ruby managed to catch it. "Uh...I've got to go!" She quickly spun around and walked away.
"What was that about?" Weiss wondered.
"I don't know," Ruby replied, watching Penny leave. When they met in Vale, she had stuck like glue to Team RWBY, their leader in particular due to the innocent use of the word 'friend'. She had followed Ruby around during their last day of searching for Blake, asking all manner of questions that she could and enjoying her time with Ruby. So why is she pretending that she doesn't know us?
It was too weird. "But I'm going to find out." Shoving her scroll back into her pocket, Ruby went after Penny. "You go make your call. I'll meet up with you later!"
"Wait!" Weiss called but Ruby ignored her.
Penny was descending down some steps that would lead her out of the main CCT courtyard and let her disappear into the winding paths of the school grounds by the time Ruby caught up to her. Ruby jumped over a set and landed in her path. "Penny, where have you been? It's been weeks!"
Penny had stopped when Ruby got in front of her but, rather than address her, she looked off to the side as if she wasn't registering her presence. When she did face Ruby, her features were plain, green eyes staring through her rather than at her. "There seems to be a misunderstanding." She went back to walking, going down some more steps..
"What? Penny..." Ruby slid down the handrail in order to drop back in front of her again. "Is everything okay?"
But she continued to ignore her, staring and moving straight ahead without hesitation.
Now Ruby was worried and she grabbed Penny's arm. "Penny, please stop!"
It was at her touch that she stopped but it took her a second before she looked at Ruby again. When she did, her expression remained emotionless.
Ruby would have to settle with that. "Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me. Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big. Something bad. I need you to tell me what happened to you that night. Please, as a friend."
Penny visibly softened at that, her head lowering briefly. When she raised it, it was so that she could look around at their surroundings, searching for something. Whatever it was Ruby didn't know but then Penny drew closer, leaning close to Ruby so that she could whisper to her. "It isn't safe to talk here." After another look around she started walking again, leaving Ruby dumbfounded.
I...what? Unsure if she should be following her, Ruby was about to get her attention until there came a beeping within her pocket. A quick search resulted in her pulling out her scroll that indicated an incoming message and the following look revealed it to be an address signed with Penny's name.
Ruby jerked her head up to relocate Penny only to see that the girl had disappeared into the crowds. She reread the message, wondering when Penny had the chance to send it to her.
How did she do that?
Although Weiss wasn't as awestruck as Ruby when it came to the Cross Continental Transmit tower, she had to admit that it was a very impressive and valuable piece of technology. Despite the development of airships and androids, reliable long-range communication was something that eluded the inhabitants of Remnant for some time.
They went through the typical process concerning the advancement of communications. There had been the hazardous and unreliable but only valid method involving messengers sent between villages either on foot or the back of an animal with the only proper mailing system being established with the birth of the first kingdom. With better technology came land lines to create a wired comm system and, later, transmit towers.
But that was all for short-range communication. No matter how advanced they became, human and faunus kind relied on the increasingly primitive method of using their air and sea-based trade routes to carry messages as well as goods between kingdoms. During that time, there wasn't a tower powerful enough to reach outside the continent it was based on but other alternatives were attempted. An underwater line was used to connect the ruling governments of the kingdoms for important discussions but to create a public system in that way was deemed inefficient to downright impossible. The idea of seeding the oceans and islands with a network of transmitters was scrapped for the same reason and the unpredictable nature of the Grimm was also a factor as they would've sought to destroy such creations as violently as their creators.
The inability to create such a system hurt everyone during the Great War. Armies and fleets would carry portable communication sets or rely on designated ships outfitted with the right equipment to receive and issue commands to their forces. The problem with those was that, if they were ever taken out, entire armadas and divisions would be cut off from their commanding officers. And considering how everyone knew of the importance of communications, anything that looked like a tool focused on it was a priority target.
This led to some of the worst of tragedies to occur. An order for a retreat that was too late or never came could lead to suicidal attacks or last stands that could've been avoided as well as the massive amount of lives that were lost in the process. Worse yet, scouts that couldn't contact the main host to warn them of an incoming horde of Grimm that were being attracted to the negativity of soldiers or the suffering of their wounded was the perfect opportunity for a slaughter and following feeding frenzy for those monsters. When the war did come to an end, there were many who didn't know until days, weeks, to as long as months later.
It was Atlas that had the resources, technology, and personnel to create the first CCT tower. Its position at Remnant's northern pole was the perfect place for its tower to be the center piece to the network that was eventually formed with the activation of the others. It was widely believed that the development of cross-continental communications was the true bridge that led to this golden age of peace where the kingdoms and their people were able to interact and strengthen their ties with each other to the point where, optimistically, they would be reluctant to go to war if that possibility was ever to arise again. It was with a generous measure of respect that Weiss strode into such a monument of unity.
The lobby itself was rather cavernous; a round, open room with a walkway wrapping around the platform in the center where a few terminals were located for students to act as guides to the services that were available to them at the CCT. For actual calls, students had to travel up to the communications room and Weiss took one of the branching paths of the walkway to one of the elevators. If she wanted to, she could stand still and feel the gentle thrumming of the underground generators beneath her feet but, instead, she settled with the fluorescent flooring between the walkway and the platform, their healthy green illumination signaling the adequate amount of power that was being drawn from them.
Its size alluded to the crude, brute force technique that the CCT tower employed. While the system's management and flow of communication and information exchange was exceedingly complex and wondrous, the existence of the system itself had come through a simplistic strategy. In order to overcome the line-of-sight propagation problems that came with a round planet like Remnant and a ground-based transmitter, the designers had settled on creating a tower that was big and powerful enough to stretch and link up with the others to establish the network. It sounded simple and, though she was no scientist, Weiss questioned why it took humanity this long to figure out how to solve a problem with an answer that was so obvious.
One possible explanation was what Weiss had once heard from one of her company's scientific advisors. It had been in passing during a family/business dinner - a big emphasis on business - but Weiss could recollect the hypothesis that the advisor had shared of some kind of interference that was being generated by Remnant itself which had thwarted them for so long. This interference, he suggested, could possibly have a connection to the phenomenon of the crystalline material found in Remnant's soil that possessed vast quantities of mystical and elemental power that could fuel spells or serve as a power source for all facets of technology.
He was referring to none other than Dust.
If Weiss remembered correctly, the theory was that humanity's mining and usage of Dust may have led to the weakening of the planet-wide interference to the point where they've finally managed to triumph over it and establish their treasured communications. It could potentially be a reason why Atlas - currently the biggest provider of Dust - needed to have the largest tower and why the others in the rest of the kingdoms were constructed with far less complications.
Whether that theory was proven valid or not, Weiss didn't know.
The elevator doors slid open at her approach and she didn't waste any time to enter. She was quietly relieved that there was no one else in here with her as the doors sealed shut. The elevator didn't move though, and a speaker off to the side crackled on.
"Hello!" came a static-tainted echo of a voice. "Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?"
"I'd like to go to the communications room, please." Though Weiss knew the voice belonged to one of the AI attendants here instead of an actual person, she kept her voice at the peak of politeness. She needed the practice.
"Absolutely. Could you please place your scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?"
Weiss dug out her scroll and held it up towards the scanner. As could be guessed, security was rather tight in the CCT and each tower was located near each individual kingdom's combat school to provide maximum security. While ordinary citizens could connect to the network from local terminals throughout the city, remote infiltration of the network itself whether to intercept messages or potentially sabotage the tower was impossible. If anyone wanted to do that, they would have to infiltrate the CCT directly and when it wasn't heavily monitored during the day, the whole building was closed off and secured at night.
"Perfect," the AI spoke after completing the scan. "Thank you, Miss Schnee."
The elevator shuddered and Weiss felt that unique sinking feeling in her stomach that typically came with a moving elevator. She felt a different sort of internal tension when she stared ahead and forced her lips to form into what she hoped was a pleasant smile with a delighted lifting of her brows.
No. It felt way too forced. She shook her head and tried again, closing her eyes entirely and the next smile she attempted she showed off a bit more teeth. No. She sighed and hung her head back in defeat.
She's been at Beacon for too long, having experienced too many real smiles to the point where she was forgetting how to fake one.
Get it together, she ordered just as the elevator reached its destination.
The communications room was widely different from the lobby. It was still circular but you had wide windows that gave students a tranquil view of a bright blue sky and soft clouds while they made their calls on the many full-sized terminals that came accompanied with cushioned stools and dividers to offer a measure of comfort and privacy. There was a front desk that was empty until Weiss approached it and then there was a brief flickering that manifested into the proper, translucent hologram of young, uniformed woman with hair done up in a bun that was sitting and tapping at the console with the illusion that she had always been doing so before Weiss walked in. She looked up as if only noticing her presence for the first time and smiled.
"Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit Center." Her voice lacked the static but the echo of her words was more obvious. Weiss recognized it as the same one that greeted her on the elevator. "How may I help you?"
The avatar had probably been selected as the most appealing to visitors and she had been programmed to show as much courtesy as possible. To any normal person, her kind smile and polite words could distract them from her abnormal inflections and how one could look through her green-tinged form.
To Weiss, she was a fake but found that she was a suitable partner to practice with as she imitated a person well enough that the straightening of the heiress's spine and the polite smile that she copied from the hologram felt less forced. "I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas."
"Absolutely." The hologram was already tapping at the console to fulfill her request; a trick as she wasn't physically doing so but the visible show was meant to make her seem real. "If you could head over to terminal three, I'll patch you through."
"Thank you." The bow of Weiss's head, likewise, felt a bit more genuine. She tried to keep what of the facade she built with the AI's help up but found it quickly becoming difficult when she made her way to her assigned terminal. Its location made it harder as Weiss had to pass several students, some who were speaking quite adamantly during their own calls.
"Hi mom!" one Beacon student greeted, waving happily at the image on her screen as Weiss was passing her. "How are things back at Signal?"
Weiss kept it up until she took a seat at the terminal and saw for herself the lie that was on her face within the inactive screen. Her posture lost its straightened back when her shoulders receded and her eyes drooped. That smile that was meant to be the foundation caved in along with it.
She wished...she wished Ruby was here. Any of her friends would've worked but it was her partner in particular that she yearned for at this moment. If she was just sitting right next to her or standing off to the side, close enough for that contagious good nature of hers to support her just enough to get through this...
On second thought, the idea of using Ruby to help her lie...no, it was probably better that Ruby wasn't here.
The terminal beeped and the jolt it gave Weiss was enough for her to straighten. The screen lit up.
"Thank you for calling the Atlas- oh! Miss Schnee! Good afternoon!"
The comms operator who picked up was one who Weiss recognized and was more familiar with than the other staff, mostly because of how whenever Weiss wanted to contact her father, she would more often than not be directed to the auburn-haired woman who would either transfer her over to her father or inform her that he was unavailable. It was enough for her smile to be less phony when she brought it back to the forefront and she focused on maintaining eye contact with the woman's crystal blue eyes if only to keep away from the snowflake logo of the SDC that spun behind her head.
"Would you like me to patch you through to your father?" she asked. "I think your sister Winter might be here as well."
The operator must've assumed that this was another such call and Weiss struggled to keep everything from collapsing right then and there. The mentioning of her father and Winter, however, was coming too close and Weiss shook her head in negative to hide the cracks that she knew were very visible. "No, thank you. I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me." When she held up her scroll, she had filled them back up. "I've compiled a short list."
She set the scroll on the provided slot to transfer the list and she watched as the operator looked to her own console to read it. "I see..." she uttered, a brow slowly lifting. "If you don't mind...what, may I ask, is this for?"
It was too much to hope that her request would be fulfilled without an inquiry even if she was her father's daughter. Though some of what Weiss had placed on her list was innocent enough and meant to act as a camouflage, she knew that what she really needed could lift some brows as this was clearly doing. Business politics was a game where information was power and it was heavily guarded. Stocks and negotiations can hinge on as little as a word spoken out of turn and today's media would be all over any scrap that fell to them in an instant and they would be sure to broadcast it to every corner of the world. What Weiss was asking for could fuel the biggest political fires that everyone wanted to start when it came to the SDC: their conflict with the faunus and the White Fang and how their business was suffering because of it.
But Weiss passed it off without even flinching. "School project."
"Um...there are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am."
"Well then, I'll be sure to treat them with care."
"Right..." The operator remained apprehensive and Weiss prayed that she wouldn't contact her father for permission. That concern was quickly lifted as she heard the telltale sounds of data being fed into her scroll followed by the operator's, "Very well. The data is being transferred to your scroll now."
"Wonderful," Weiss said, already retrieving her device as soon as it was done. "That will be all then."
"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?"
For just a moment, Weiss hesitated. The denial was there, ready to be spoken, but she hesitated. And in that moment she entertained a thought, one that she considered with how long it's been since they last spoke or even saw each other. When taking that into account, maybe...
Maybe it would be different this time.
"...Yes," she answered once she realized the folly of that delusion. "I'm sure."
"Well then, have a nice day." The the screen dimmed, the friendly face of the operator morphing back into that false reflection.
She didn't have a reason to keep it up anymore and Weiss slumped in her seat, feeling inexplicitly drained. She hung her head, closed her eyes, and for the next few minutes she just sat there, listening to the other students around her and how happy and honest they were. And, slowly, her hand came up, eventually closing around and bunching up a section of her peacoat that was located over her heart and, with it, the only thing that was true and honest about her.
The only thing that could give her any sort of comfort when the mere mentioning of her family did the opposite.
"So here we are again," Sun mentioned as they disembarked from the elevator and wandered into the skyport's terminal. "The two of us looking to tangle with the White Fang again, and this time we're going right into their territory to crash a meeting! You sure know how to show someone a good time in Vale."
"And I'm sorry about getting you involved in this again," Blake apologized.
"Hey, I was the one who wanted to come along just like last time. And if you kept saying no, I don't know how long I could've contained myself if a professor just happened to wander on by. Goodwitch seemed like the type who would've found this very interesting."
Blake stuck him with a glare. "You wouldn't have dared."
Sun shot up his hands in defense. "I was just kidding." He motioned behind them. "Though I have no control over Neptune. That guy is quite the blabber mouth. Can't trust him with anything."
"That was one time!" Neptune interjected.
Blake held her fierce expression for a little longer before it waned. More exasperated than angry, she asked, "I'm going to regret this decision, aren't I?"
Sun liked his jokes, preferring to always keep the mood light. It was how he was; always trying to relieve the tension and keep everyone optimistic for the missions that were to come. The more serious the mission, the more he tried. But he could recognize when he needed to be serious at times to show that he understood about what they were going up against.
Seeing this to be one of them, Sun said, "Hey, trust me. As much as I would like to tangle with Torchwick again, finding out what he's up to and putting a monkey wrench in it is what we're doing this for. And you've seen me fight. If anything goes wrong, I can handle my own long enough for us to get out of there."
It seemed to work, Blake digesting his words before nodding. "I remember and I trust your abilities, Sun. I just want to make sure that we get out of there all right."
"It'll be fine. We'll watch each other's backs."
There came another, shorter nod from Blake and Sun was relieved to see a corner of her mouth quirk up in a small grin. It lifted higher and she murmured, "Monkey wrench?"
"I've been waiting a while to use that one."
Sun could swear that he almost got a laugh out of that but Blake retained her cool. She had definitely changed from when they met and teamed up to investigate the White Fang previously. Colder and gloomier and not once had she smiled. Then again, that was when she thought her friends hated her and was planning to leave Vale. Reuniting and smoothing things over with them had done wonders. And, having gotten to know them as well, Sun could say that she had a pretty cool batch of friends.
Exiting the skyport and entering the lot, Sun surveyed the line of buses, each one meant to take them to a different part of the city. "Any ideas where we should go?"
"I have a couple ideas," Blake replied. "Other than having hideouts outside the kingdoms, when inside a lot of their meetings took place in the heavier industrial areas. Plenty of old abandoned warehouses that they could use for themselves."
"A little cliche, don't you think?"
"It works." Blake frowned grimly. "Besides, it's not exactly out of the ordinary, is it?"
Sun understood what she was referring to instantly: that role which faunus typically served in industry. "No, I suppose not."
Blake said nothing else on the subject, instead pointing to one bus at the end of the lot. "That one."
A hand caught Sun's arm, keeping him in place. "Save a spot for him, Blake; there's something I want to talk to him about."
Sun was not the only one who was confused, Blake looking at Yang curiously. "Something you don't want me to hear?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Yang assured, grinning impishly. "Just want to remind him to not try any funny business or anything. You know, that kind of thing that doesn't need both of us around to be embarrassed. It'll be quick, I promise."
Sun actually didn't know what Yang meant about 'funny business' and it being embarrassing and Blake didn't appear to be convinced by her explanation either. Nonetheless, the start of the mission held enough priority that Blake let it slide. "Don't take too long, then."
Sun happened to be watching Yang when Blake left so he saw the change. That grin of hers weakened, losing its strength, but it gained a quality that Sun couldn't put a word to describe it. Whatever it was, it remained present but it gave the blonde a far-off look even as it was clear that she was visually following Blake even when she stepped onto the bus. Her hold remained on Sun but she didn't seem to be aware of him.
"You wanted to talk to me?" Sun asked, bringing her back.
"Yeah," Yang spoke, all business again. "And this is going to be quick. I want you to look after her."
Sun cocked his head questionably. "Isn't that why you wanted me to go along?"
Yang wasn't amused, her brows lowering seriously. "I'll get right down to it. You were there when Blake ran away and you'll always have my thanks for that. When she ran into Torchwick and the White Fang last time, you were there to make sure that nothing would happen to her so you know how she might react."
"You mean if we do meet Torchwick again," Sun speculated, remembering all too well what happened the last time Blake ran into the criminal. Instead of the cool and collected Huntress he quickly came to know, she had broken out from their cover at the first sign of Torchwick in order to confront him. Sun had intervened when the battle broke out, taking on the White Fang and Torchwick himself, but then Blake had dropped between them.
"He's mine!"
He didn't like thinking about that roar, angry and violent, or how Blake had thrown herself at Roman to attack him so savagely.
"It's not just her seeing Torchwick again that I'm worried about," Yang explained. "Look...she told you about how she was once a part of the White Fang, right?"
Yeah, they were way into serious territory and Sun nodded soberly to convey it. "She did."
"It's been bothering her a lot lately - Roman and the White Fang. I want to believe that she'll be okay and that she's only pushing herself this far because she wants to protect everyone but I'm still worried. If you two do find and go to a meeting...just do me a favor and keep an eye on her. If there's any sign of trouble, I want you to take care of her."
"You can count on me," Sun promised.
"I hope so."
Sun held up his hand, pressing the other over the center of his chest, and his tail stood to attention. "I solemnly swear that I'll bring her back safe and sound. I've got honesty set on to the max here."
"Good." Yang patted him hard on the shoulder, her buoyant energy coming back to her. "And make sure you come back too. I want you at the table when I challenge Neptune to a rematch."
"Set the time and I'll be there." Throwing Yang a salute, Sun was about to go and board the bus but found himself stopping and looking back over to her. "You know, I'm really glad that I was there for her too since I got to meet you guys. She's got a real cool batch of friends."
"Yeah, well..." Yang stared at the bus. "She is my partner."
She adopted that look again, Sun feeling like he was being ignored as soon as he saw it. There came that slight curving of her lips, her eyes soft and...dreamy? He wasn't sure if that was the best way to describe it but it made him curious as he couldn't help but think that partners don't usually look at each other like that.
Or at least Neptune doesn't look at me like that. Er, at least I'm pretty sure he doesn't. I know I don't look at him like that. It led him to begin asking, "So is there, like, anything I should know about you two or-?"
But Yang was waving him towards the bus. "It's rude to keep a lady waiting, Sun."
Just like he knew when to be serious, he knew when to drop a subject when it was clearly the wise thing to do. Without further ado, Sun quickly boarded the bus, taking the seat that Blake saved next to her. When it began moving, he looked to the other faunus.
She was staring out the window towards Yang with that very same expression on her face.
Yang waited until the bus was out of sight and then rejoined Neptune, the boy having remained at a distance like she told him to before she approached Sun. "Alright Neptune, let's go."
"Point the way."
Yang did, pointing away from the line of buses.
Neptune blinked in confusion. "No bus?"
"Just follow me."
He did without complaint, Yang leading him across the street of the lot and towards a garage. There was a booth with an attendant at the gated entrance and when Yang held out her scroll to the scanner to confirm her identity, he retrieved a set of keys to hand to her.
"Oh, you have your own car," Neptune guessed, impressed. "That's cool."
Yang chose not to correct him and hid a smirk as they were let in. It was a small, private garage reserved to store the personal vehicles of the staff of Beacon or the few students who were lucky enough to acquire their own. She brushed past the line of cars and had to prevent herself from turning her nose up at them. Eventually she found her pride and joy and her heart leapt at the sleek, two-wheeled, black and yellow beauty that was just waiting for her to start breaking traffic laws once she mounted up.
"...That's not a car," Neptune said unhelpfully. When Yang retrieved the yellow helmet hanging from the handlebars and threw a leg over the seat, he then asked, "You got another one of those?"
"Nope." Yang clipped her helmet in place and stuck her keys in Bumblebee's ignition. "Better hold on tight."
Ruby spent her entire journey thinking about Penny and the last time she saw her. It had been at the docks, Ruby having rushed to the scene when she heard an explosion. Penny had been with her during then but Ruby told her to go get help before leaving her. Instead of doing that, Penny had followed her with Ruby having found out right before Roman shot her in that moment of inattentiveness.
What happened to Penny afterwards Ruby had only what her friends told her. Weiss had said that Penny had carried her to safety and delivered her to Weiss so that the heiress could treat her injuries and save her life. After that, she supposedly went to join the battle.
This was later confirmed by Sun who had some rather unbelievable tales concerning Penny. Controlling multiple swords at once to fight the White Fang and displaying an astonishing expertise for combat that included firing some kind of big energy beam that sliced a pair of Bullheads into little pieces. The last Ruby wouldn't have believed if not for Blake and Yang saying that they had also seen it.
As for what happened to Penny when all was said and done, even Sun couldn't tell them. When asked, he was actually surprised as she told him that she was going to check on Ruby and the others to make sure they were okay. Neither Blake, Yang, or Weiss saw her at all and there was no mentioning from the police who came to the scene involving her. It was like Penny had vanished into thin air.
And here Ruby was now: meeting up with Penny after bumping into her at Beacon of all places.
She did say that she was here to fight in the tournament, Ruby thought and was a little disappointed in herself that that was about all she knew of Penny when she couldn't even recollect where the girl had come from. For having spent nearly the entire day with her, Ruby hadn't really learned anything about her - not that she was really given the chance. She had been focused on finding Blake and it was Penny who wanted to know everything about Ruby with question after question. Nevertheless, she had been nice and Ruby had been worried about her because, as far as she was concerned, they were friends.
So when Ruby located their meeting spot - a nondescript cafe that was less than an hour's walk away from the skyport -, she was relieved to see Penny waiting at the front. That relief waned when she saw Penny fidgeting on the sidewalk, looking left and right much like how she had done at Beacon as if she was worried about being found by someone. Ruby touched her shoulder upon reaching her, causing Penny to jerk around, scared, but the supportive smile that Ruby gave her quickly put her at ease. Although it was weaker, a smile tentatively came to her face.
Ruby decided not to ask her questions immediately and chose to walk with Penny with the idea of getting her to relax. She seemed successful, Penny sending her quizzical glances when she didn't ask anything and, after a while, chose to follow her example to enjoy what Ruby hoped she saw as a walk between friends. She was no longer as stiff and the arms that had been locked at her sides were swinging leisurely.
The success heartened Ruby, letting her enjoy their trek through the city. Like every time before, whether alone or with her friends, it was easy for Ruby to get lost in the vastness of Vale. Those same people who complained about every other aspect of the kingdom found it all to be overwhelming but for Ruby it was different. When she thought of how she may as well be a mere speck in such a grand place, trekking down one sidewalk out of hundreds that she shared with the dozens that were only a fraction of the millions that lived here, she didn't feel overwhelmed. She felt...safe and peaceful by seeing others at peace. Vale and the other kingdoms had become humanity's true safe havens from the evils of the world and it showed.
It made Ruby that much more determined to be a Huntress. A speck she may be but it was one with a high-impact sniper scythe that can make sure that whatever type of Grimm came across her path wouldn't be able to harm anyone. And since coming to Vale, there were a lot less Grimm that weren't going to be bothering people anymore thanks to the efforts of Ruby and her team. This wasn't mentioning their current mission of preventing a band of terrorists from doing something terrible to the city and its people.
"I am very relieved to see that you are well, Ruby," Penny finally said. "It seems you made a full recovery."
Ruby needed a second to realize that Penny was referring to the injury she took at the docks. "Oh, yeah, it was no sweat." She swung her left arm around in several circles to show that she could do so uninhibited. "It wasn't that bad."
Penny frowned. "But it was bad. I didn't have the time to perform a full check but judging by what I could see and the amount of blood you were losing, the impact had severely injured you. I couldn't accurately deduce if your Aura had mitigated the pressure wave that typically results from such a detonation from damaging any of your vital organs. I feared internal hemorrhaging."
Ruby couldn't help but stare at her, it being a first for her to hear such vocabulary from Penny. "Oh, uh...that bad?"
Penny nodded gravely. "Very. I was relieved when I saw Weiss nearby. You said that she was your partner and I hoped that she would be able to help you in ways that were unavailable to me. I'm happy to see that I wasn't wrong."
Ruby couldn't recollect what it had been like to be hurt that bad. She remembered a bright flash and agony but afterwards...exhaustion. A fight to remain awake, drifting in and out of consciousness. The pain was still there but she barely felt it. She had been numbed to it, not just because of the exhaustion but she had also felt...cold. She could piece together brief snippets - Yang's voice and her worry for Blake who she had found moments ago, Weiss holding her hand and the uncomfortable stinging sensation of the seal filling her chest and closing the wound - but if someone asked her what it was like she could only say that it was like being half-asleep: all her senses muddled, feeling unbelievably weak, and a desire to close her eyes and sleep to get her rest and block out the cold that had chilled her so.
Except in that instance, she wouldn't have ever woken up again.
"I'm sorry," Penny unexpectedly said when Ruby didn't say anything.
"For what?"
"It was my fault, wasn't it?" Her expression one of deep regret, Penny casted her gaze down, refusing to look at Ruby. "You told me to stay back and get help but I followed you. I thought I could be the one to help you but I got in your way, didn't I? If I did what you said, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. It was because of me that that happened to you and I wasn't able to do anything."
"That's not true!" At Penny's silent plea for an explanation, Ruby said, "You helped a lot! Sure, I got hurt, but it was because you were there that I got the help I needed. Sun and the others else told me what you did when you fought the White Fang. Because of you, everyone was able to make it out of there okay and you helped me get Blake and my team back together!"
When Penny continued to display doubt, Ruby rolled both of her arms in rapid circles and added a few hops. "See? I'm completely fine! And now I need your help again. When you were at the docks, did you see or notice anything that could tell us what the White Fang might be planning? Anything at all?"
Ruby had put everything that happened at the docks behind her. She could've died but she was alive and her friends had made it out okay which was more than enough for her. She'd much prefer to figure out what diabolical plans Torchwick and the rest were up to.
Fortunately, Penny took her words to heart, a weight being lifted off her shoulders. Unfortunately, she shook her head in negative. "I wish I could help you, Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men."
"Well what happened to you that night? Sun said you were coming to see us and then you just disappeared." A thought suddenly hit her. "Were you kidnapped?"
"Oh, no!" Penny quickly answered. "Nothing like that!"
"Well then where did you go?"
"I've never been to another kingdom before," Penny explained. "My father asked me not to venture out too far, but..."
But then she met up with us when we were looking for Blake and tagged along, Ruby finished. I hope she didn't get in trouble...
Penny must've seen some visible sign of her trouble. "You have to understand, my father loves me very much. He just worries a lot."
"Believe me, I know the feeling." Ruby couldn't keep track of how many times her dad doted on his 'little rose bud'. Even when she told him about her acceptance to Beacon, the first thing he did was start worrying about how it was such a big step, how she might not be ready, that she should finish with Signal, what about all her friends, etc. etc... "But why not let us know you were okay?"
"I...was asked not to talk to you. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Yang. Anybody, really."
Ruby inwardly grimaced. "Was your dad that upset?"
"No, it wasn't my father…"
Ruby hadn't been keeping track of their progress so when she caught sight of a large crowd, it was to see that she and Penny had wandered into a plaza. It was a big open area where people could congregate and relax amidst the patches of trees and grass that had been grown, but the big stage in the center told of its main purpose to be used for presentations or the occasional show for entertainment. For today, it was the former.
Four Atlesian soldiers guarded the steps located on each side of the stage, standing tall in their armor and black fatigues, weapons holstered at their backs and sides as they barred anyone from entering. They had blue markings at their arms and helmets but Ruby wasn't familiar enough to know what rank they signified, if any. As for the stage itself, Ruby took an interest in the six figures that stood at attention.
Those weren't soldiers or even human. They were AK-130 androids and Ruby knew a lot more about them. They were the latest combat models developed by Atlas that had been put into service several years ago. While used in the military, the main purpose of the androids was to provide an unmanned security force for the other kingdoms or big companies that were willing to purchase them.
Ruby had eaten up everything she could involving them since their release. They were far from matching a Huntsman or Huntress but in enough numbers they could prove to be a challenge. The main model was designed for close quarters with a pair of retractable blades but they were supplemented by variants with rotary guns for ranged support. They would typically be stored at the walls of the kingdoms, ready to be deployed in the case of a pack of Grimm wandering too close, but as time went on they became known to be used in private ownership to perform their security role by defending valuable cargo.
These six were stationary with a container of some sort behind each group of three and, in front of them, a holoprojector had been placed in the center of the stage with the image of General Ironwood hovering above who addressed the large group of spectators that gathered. "The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years and they have done a fine job, wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?"
While the audience clapped to show their support, Ruby shifted where she and Penny had stopped to get a better look, her curiosity piqued. Anything that involved Atlas and their androids was more than enough to grab her attention. In reaction to the clapping, the six AKs stiffly bowed.
"But," Ironwood went on, being a mere hologram not keeping him from pacing along the stage as far as the projectors would allow him with a purposeful stride, "the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation! And 'fine'? Well that's just not good enough, is it?"
The doors of the containers, each one marked with the symbol of Atlas, slid up to unveil their contents and Ruby was enthralled. They were androids, matching the number of the 130s on stage but they were different. The 130s were slightly bulkier, even menacing in appearance, but these ones were slimmer and more humanoid with their white armor and black highlights that closely resembled the armored and uniformed Atlesian soldiers. Instead of any integrated armaments, Ruby could make out a rifle mounted on each of their backs.
Ironwood gestured to the new androids. "Presenting the Atlesian Knight-200!"
In unison, the six androids kicked the bowed 130s, the simple movement proving to be faster and smoother than the stiff bowing of their now defunct brethren. The 130s toppled over, leaving the 200s to be fully presented to the spectating crowds who renewed their clapping with a significant increase in volume.
"Smarter, sleeker, and, admittedly, a little less scary," the general listed off. The 200s having adopted a heroic pose with hands on their hips after overturning the 130s, they sought to prove their more human appearance with many of them flexing confidently. "These models will become active later this year - but they won't be alone!" Ironwood fully faced the crowd with arms folded tight behind his back. "Now, the Atlesian military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that undoubtedly require a human touch."
"Ruby..." Penny chose to speak uneasily but Ruby was hardly aware of it, riveted to see what would be presented next.
Ironwood smiled confidently. "So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce: the Atlesian Paladin!"
His hologram vanished and what replaced him was no android. Towering over the assembled 200s was a machine of enormous size. Bipedal with the two legs supporting a wide body that had two arms bent and pointed ahead. To Ruby's disappointment, she couldn't see any notable weapons - the image must be solely meant for presentation with the weapons absent - but the thick center and the protrusion of what was an angular head she assumed was where the cockpit was if this was in fact a machine meant to have a pilot.
She was soon proven correct. While the Paladin slowly rotated, Ironwood was still speaking. "Now we couldn't have them here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdoms within the year!"
"Woah..." Ruby breathed out, this turning out to be another exciting day of Vale impressing her as she stared at the Paladin with awe. So coooool.
She didn't notice how Penny wasn't as enthused and was backing nervously away from the presentation. "Ruby, maybe we should go somewhere else."
Aw, but why? Pulling away from the awesome battle suit, Ruby was about to ask what was wrong until she saw Penny suddenly spin around and run. "Penny? Wait, where are you going!?" She looked back at the plaza, wondering what scared her off, and saw that one of the pairs of soldiers had broken away from the stage and were sprinting right towards them.
She wasn't going to wait and ask for an explanation. Not wasting a second, Ruby ran after Penny who disappeared into an alley and she could hear the running footsteps of the soldiers as they followed them, one of them shouting. Penny didn't so much as slow down which was enough to convince Ruby to keep running and keep her friend in her sight.
They burst out of the alley and back into streets to cross over into another. Shortly after Ruby did, she heard the sounds of tires screeching and a look over her shoulder showed her that one of the soldiers had nearly gotten run over, a car having come to a stop at the last moment. It was enough to distract him and his partner and Ruby tried to find a way to gain more distance between them.
A stilted platform with boxes stacked on top was up ahead. In one fluid motion, Ruby snatched Crescent Rose from her back, sliced through the supports, and returned it before the boxes came tumbling down to block the alleyway.
That'll slow them down. Long enough, she hoped, for her and Penny to lose them. Ruby jumped and ran along the wall, avoiding the dumpsters that she would've had to squeeze between and catching up with Penny. With a quick use of her Semblance, Ruby shot from one side of the alley and to the other, grabbing Penny in the process as they came to a branching path.
"This way!" She gathered her Aura around her with the focus being at her feet. When she pushed off the wall, she exploded forward, rose petals being left in her wake as she pushed her Semblance to rocket the two of them down the alley, all manner of debris being knocked over with the force that followed their passing.
She had never done this with two people and Penny was a lot heavier than she looked. Just before they reached the end, their momentum gave out and Ruby hastily let go of Penny while she continued forward. She hit the ground hard, bouncing and rolling enough to leave the alley and skid into the street where she came to a stop.
Never doing that again, she groaned, holding a hand against her head which throbbed dully.
What happened next was a blur. There came the sudden honk of a horn, jolting Ruby back to her senses and her feet. She spun around, spotting the front bumper of a delivery truck and she knew that it was too close, coming in too fast for her to be able to dodge in time and the driver hitting the brakes had done so too late-
And that was when Penny pushed her out of the way.
For that second when she was pushed, all Ruby could do was hear the screeching of the tires that ended with a deafening crash and the horrible shrieking of twisted metal. For that second she assumed the worst: that Penny had taken the hit that was meant for her, that when she would stand and look to the scene, she would find her friend broken and bleeding in the middle of the street.
What she least expected was to see the truck slamming back down on all four wheels, having been lifted off of them and left hanging in the air for a brief moment before it roughly came down. As for Penny, she was standing in front of it, feet burrowed within the ruined concrete of the street that had been kicked up and sent flying everywhere. Her hands were pressed against the engine compartment which was bent and warped.
"...Penny?" Ruby whispered quietly, her eyes wide.
Penny was looking up at the driver through the windshield. "Are you okay?"
Ruby could barely see the driver - a familiar, elderly man - nodding while he visibly shook and some part of her mind registered that the delivery truck was the property of Dust Till Dawn with the owner himself being behind the wheel. It paled in comparison to what Ruby understood had happened: Penny had stopped the truck with her bare hands.
She knew she was still staring in shock and when Penny's eyes met her own, that freckled face became fearful. Penny looked down at her hands before she quickly closed them and held them against her chest and both she and Ruby became aware that nearby pedestrians had become drawn to the accident and were steadily gathering around the site, already whispering to themselves. Penny looked at them, then to Ruby, and then she took off again, bumping into Ruby as she sought shelter within another alley.
The contact was enough to snap Ruby out of it. "Penny, come back!"
She didn't run as far this time. When Ruby caught up to her, it was to see Penny stuck at a crossroads, unsure of where to go next. Ruby shouted to get her attention. "Penny, please! What is going on? Why are you running? How did you do that?"
Penny shrunk away from Ruby, her expression one of panic. "I-I can't! Everything's fine- hic!" She hiccuped and then she curled up on herself, hugging herself tight and keeping her hands out of Ruby's view. "I don't...I don't want to talk about it- hic!"
There was no way that Ruby could let it go. Penny's disappearance, how weird she had been acting, the soldiers chasing her, and with what she had seen…no, something was really wrong! "Penny, if you can just tell me what's wrong, I can help you!"
Penny shook her head frantically. "No, no, no! You wouldn't understand!"
She was actually terrified. Well and truly terrified. To Ruby's surprise, she watched what had once been a happy and perky girl turn away from her, shaking as she clung tightly to herself, seemingly determined to keep her hands out of view.
The state of her friend got Ruby to control herself, lowering her voice to speak gently to her. "Let me try. You can trust me."
Penny stilled and dared to meet Ruby's concerned gaze. A war was fought within those green orbs as Penny internally deliberated with an issue that Ruby didn't know about but was frightening her. Penny all but leapt closer to Ruby, gazing and speaking to her with pure desperation. "You're my friend, right? You promise you're my friend?"
"I promise," Ruby replied, her voice still gentle.
Penny looked to her hands, closed and tight at her sides. "Ruby..." She lowered her chin, ginger locks dropping to hide her features, but she raised her hands, fingers relaxing to show her palms.
The skin had been torn from the accident but there was no blood. There were no bones, no veins, no sign of any organic material beneath them.
There was nothing but cold, hard metal; the alloy that made up the structure of her hands no different from that of the androids they had witnessed moments ago.
"I'm not a real girl," she revealed dejectedly.
Ruby stared at them for a long while and by the time she got control of her hanging jaw she could only articulate one word: "...Oh."
Author's Note: I'm glad that we don't have any Penny plushies. Cause after rewatching this moment numerous times and writing it down, I would've immediately ordered one, got the quickest shipping method possible, and then I would've slowly…carefully…
Brain: HUGGED THE HELL OUT OF THAT PLUSH!
I still remember when I first saw it. I mean, yeah, we all knew Penny was a robot but that scared and sad Penny followed by that sample of the beautifully fitting All Our Days…ugh, my heart felt that one for the rest of the night. And the night after. …I may or may not have it playing while writing this A/N.
Now, as for the episode as a whole…no real complaints about it. I was kind of worried at RWBY being broken up again and fearing a repeat of Black and White but that was a concern that fixed itself later on. As for the rest of it – the CCT, the presentation of the 200s and the Paladin, Penny's reveal – it was a bit more of a look into the universe of RWBY and certain characters – Weiss – with hints of what's to come later on. Again I added a few of my own scenes and slight deviations in conversations to reflect the AU portion of Soulbound as well as some more attempts at world building. This includes that little theory concerning Dust and a potential impact of having crystals of such power just lying around beneath the surface of Remnant.
The idea mostly sprung up from another valuable, crystal-like resource of a fictional gaming universe, this one being tiberium of the Command and Conquer franchise. For those who don't know, tiberium is a lot like Dust: it's a crystal that's harvested due to it being a very valuable resource that not only offers great wealth but can be used for utility uses which led to great technological advances for humanity in the series.
Brain: Course, the drawbacks are that raw tiberium can cause mutations if not outright kill any organic matter exposed to it – humans in particular -, it leeches valuable minerals out of the soil, and by the time of Tiberium Wars, it had spread to cover huge percentages of the Earth and rendered them uninhabitable due to the tiberium toxins in the air with the real danger being that humanity could end up extinct.
It just made me curious. We've only heard about the pros of Dust but nothing about the cons. One thing that the writers revealed was that Dust is a limited resource and that could potentially be a concern later on in RWBY. Obviously the first thing we think is that that's something that could lead to a conflict with people fighting for this resource but, you have to remember, RWBY is a franchise that delvs into fantasy as much as science fiction. Could the dwindling of Dust have some other side effects that are more mystical in nature? Perhaps something to do with the Grimm? I doubt we'll be getting answers anytime soon but there is A LOT we don't know – not just what the villains are planning but just what the true nature of Dust or the very history of Remnant is. One thing that constantly comes to mind is that shattered moon...
Anyway, that's it for this chapter. For the next, we go to Yang to see what she can learn at Junior's bar and, in this semi-AU, she may not be walking away as empty-handed as she did in the show… While waiting to see just what it is, for any Command and Conquer and novelization fans out there, I'd like to make a brief shoutout to Peptuck's glorious efforts for Tiberium Wars in his novelization fic of the same name. It's incomplete, I doubt it'll be finished as it hasn't been updated in over two years, but if you've got a hankering for a very well done piece of adult-rated violence of sci-fi military literature, I highly suggest it. It certainly beats the 'official' novel by leaps and bounds.