I do not own RWBY

It was a nice day in Vale. The birds were out doing bird things, while the people were happily walking around ignorant of the fact they would be in danger in a few months. Even Raven might have given her tribe a day off while she stalked the daughter of her dead best friend, but no one could prove it; here weren't any identity tests for birds after all. The temperature was nice too with just a hint of an autumn breeze. It was the perfect day to go out and eat ice cream alone or with a friend as evidenced by the suspicious black-haired girl watching the streets with an amused expression.

Any other day Ruby would be happy to relax away from Beacon, but today was the day of the White Fang rally. Something that Blake had told them about last night at the last minute. So, in order to keep their feline teammate from getting herself killed, they'd all signed up to hover around Vale just in case. Knowing that Roman had a giant mech hidden in the warehouse, Ruby was really just killing time until the moment Blake called for backup.

Once she'd abandoned Pyrrha and Jaune in a café together, by running off to the bathroom and never returning, she'd decided to wander over to the CCT tower to see Penny. Maybe by pushing them to have a date the two would actually stop dancing around each other and actually get together. She wanted her ship to sail. Plus, she really was getting annoyed with the half-hearted glances they'd been giving each other.

Seeing someone familiar up ahead she smirked; at least she'd completed one of her objectives. Catching note of the discomfort on the android's face, she threw a contemplative look at the two soldiers guarding Penny. She hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Penny since meeting her a few days ago. Deciding that messing with Atlas soldiers and saving Penny was one and the same she took off in the girl's direction.

"Penny," she shouted catching the girl off guard. Stumbling Penny caught the reaper easily when she leaped forward. The two soldiers guarding Penny blinked and shared a confused glance. What were they supposed to do in this situation?

"Ruby!"

Penny excited cry echoing in the air as she gave the girl a bone-crushing hug. Spinning the redhead around the android felt nothing but happiness at having her friend around. Groaning Ruby tapped the girl on the shoulder as a sign to put her down. Blushing in slight embarrassment Penny put Ruby down gently before asked, "how did you find me?"

"I've literally just been wandering around, what are you doing anyway," Ruby asked barely sparing a glance at the curious soldiers.

"Watching General Ironwood's presentation," she said. Glancing at the holographic presentation she tried to hide the slowly forming frown on her face at the sight. It was hard to remind herself that she was different from the machines being displayed. Narrowing her eyes Ruby noticed the expression her friend was trying to hide while the two soldiers shifted nervously.

"Oh, want to go for ice cream," Ruby asked using the first excuse she thought of. Watching Penny hesitantly looked at the two soldiers behind her Ruby twitched and sent them a mild glare that silently ordered them to agree. When they stood there with uncertain expressions, Ruby took matters into her own hands. Reaching out she grabbed Penny's hand saying, "you two just wait here I'll bring her back safe."

Before they could reject the idea and she knew they were going to. Ruby activated her semblance sending both girls rushing away in a tornado of red and green petals. Stumbling out of the vortex of rose petals Ruby looked over at the ginger girl who stared at the ground with a dazed expression. At least she didn't vomit like most people did when they encountered her semblance. They were several feet away from the soldiers who were still looking around in confusion; Ironwood needed better men.

Keeping a gentle grip on Penny's hand Ruby led the other girl away from the presentation. She didn't know why the girl seemed so down, but she wanted to make her feel better, not worse. What if the android didn't like ice cream? Having a mild internal panic, Ruby twitched causing Penny to glance at her. It was easy for her to notice the signs of barely concealed panic written across the other girl's face.

"Friend Ruby?"

Hearing Penny say her name in a concerned tone, Ruby pushed down her panic. It could go into the box in the back of her mind with all the other problem emotions; yes, she knew that wasn't healthy. Looking at the innocent green-eyed girl beside her, Ruby decided that clearing the air might be the best course of action. Rounding the corner toward one of her favorite ice cream shops Ruby smirked.

"You're not human," she said softly causing Penny to look up in a panic. The expression on the girl's face screamed that she was ready to run away and never look back. Ruby was more amused at the reaction than anything else.

"How do you know that," she asked in a rush. What would Ironwood and her father do when they discovered that Ruby knew about her being an android? Worse what if Ruby hated her? Catching sight of the amused expression on Ruby's face she stilled.

"Your heavier than a normal human and your skin feels like that used to disguise a prosthetic," Ruby explained. She'd had a teacher back at Signal who used an expensive prosthetic leg. Penny simply stared at the other girl too stunned to move until Ruby reached up to poke her on the cheek. Flushing at the action Penny shifted away from her.

"My father built me to look human, and I'm the first robot to have aura or emotions," Penny defended while crossing her arms. It was a human defensive measure that she thought might help. In truth, she did have a few doubts about if she was a real person or not. She didn't want to be like those emotionless things up on display.

Well, he'd definitely got the human part right. Penny was adorable if Ruby hadn't already known the girl was an android she might never have guessed. The cute flush on her face was completely natural and her defensive actions were human enough they would fool anyone else. Grinning Ruby couldn't resist poking the girl in the ribs just to hear her squeak. Now she knew why it was so much fun for Cardin to tease her.

"Having aura means you have a soul so your human to me," Ruby said simply once Penny had put two feet of space between them. The cute pout on her face was something that Ruby took great joy in causing.

"What," Penny asked thoroughly confused by the girl who seemed amused by her confusion. She'd expected to be hated or feared but not this; the easy acceptance went against human nature.

"Having aura makes you human, it makes you different than those robots we saw," Ruby explained her expression turning serious. Meeting Penny's eyes she said, "if anyone ever tries to tell you otherwise let me know and I'll take care of it."

By using them as a chew toy. Watching the expression of relief and shock flow across the other girl's face she smirked. Penny was hers, if anyone insulted her then they would have to deal with both her and Pyrrha. She was sure the older girl would attack someone if she asked her too. Feeling the android come crashing into her arms she returned the fierce hug with one of her own. It was obvious that the girl would be crying if she could.

Hearing the thundering of footsteps behind them Ruby pulled away from the other girl with just a little annoyance on her face. Looking at the two soldiers they'd left behind she wondered if Ironwood would be annoyed if she beat up his soldiers. Both were out of breath but holding their guns steady as they aimed at her as if she was a threat. Hearing Penny move to defend her she allowed a wicked grin to form on her face.

"Finally caught up did you," she teased causing them to flush beneath their helmets. Seeing a certain General behind them she wasn't at all worried. Ironwood might be a bit paranoid but even he wouldn't shoot her for taking Penny away to talk. The second one of them went to speak only for Ironwood to cut him off.

"That's enough," he said looking down at Ruby. She knew that he was sizing her up and she tried to channel as much of her father as she could. From the amused expression, it might not be working. Glancing at Penny he tensed before saying, "I would hope you don't kidnap people very often Miss Rose."

"Penny's a special case," she said brazenly. Ironwood smiled seeing at once the reason why a headstrong boy like Cardin would be fond of her. She also reminded him of Qrow for some reason; he shuddered at the thought of Qrow having a child.

"Well Miss Polendina and I will be heading back to Beacon if you wish to join us," he said motioning for Penny to follow him. The girl went to his side slowly still afraid of being reprimanded for leaving her guards. When he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder she relaxed slightly.

Watching the exchange closely, Ruby hummed softly. It seemed the General did have a soft spot for Penny. Finally dropping her guard once she knew the android wasn't in trouble, Ruby allowed a small smile to appear on her face. Maybe Ironwood was a good man. She hoped that she could grow to trust him, but at the same time it was enough for her that Penny did trust him.

Ruby shook her head in response to the offer. While she would love to take the time to pick apart Ironwood's metal brain, she had a job to do here in Vale. Maybe next time they met she could have a little fun. With a carefree expression, she said, "I'm going to check on my teammates. See you at the dance Penny!"

Rushing away from the two Atlas natives, she pretended not to see the disappointed expression on Penny's face. She would spend plenty of time with Penny at the dance, it wasn't as if she had a date to occupy her time. Heading toward the café where she left her teammates, she felt the bitter feeling return for a moment but ignored it. Confronting Cinder at the CCT was far more important than a dance; also, she doubted that anyone would want to take her to the dance in the first place.

Finding her teammates was easy not that she'd thought it would be hard. They were standing right outside the cafe she'd left them in although the kiss they were engaged in was new. Smirking Ruby leaned against a light pole and waited as she mentally did a victory dance. It was about time that they realized they both liked each other. Now instead of watching Pyrrha pace and mutter about how oblivious Jaune was she got to listen to them say gushy couple talk. It was important to focus on the small victories, not the new hardships she would have to face.

Jaune was the first to see her and the one to have the most interesting reaction. Stumbling back and breaking their lip lock he fell over his own feet like a newborn deer; Ruby wasn't ashamed to say she broke into laughter the second he hit the pavement. Pyrrha's whole face turned as red as her hair while her hands came up to hide her face. Listening to her partner laugh, she barely noticed when Jaune pulled himself up.

"So, I guess you're having fun," Ruby teased. It was nice when a plan finally came together. She just hoped that nothing happened to make them crash and burn. When neither said anything, she hugged Pyrrha trying to assure the girl that she didn't mind their new relationship. Feeling the older girl hug, her back, she closed her eyes taking a moment to cling to her partner. She needed someone to cling to when Cardin left her behind. Pulling away before she started crying, she said, "I'm so happy for you both, but I'm so telling Blake."

At the mention of their faunus teammate, Jaune winced. He really didn't want to deal with two sets of amused expressions aimed at him. It was already bad enough that Cardin was going to tease him relentlessly, he didn't need a preview of what his sisters were going to do when they found out.

"Ruby," Jaune whined at the same time all their scrolls began to ring. For once he was grateful for an emergency happening.

He knew that there would be no stopping the teasing however when Ruby sent him a taunting smirk before pulling out her scroll. Seeing Blake's name, she frowned a bit but didn't allow worry to show on her face. As the team leader she couldn't allow them to see just how concerned she was. Answering the call she put it on speaker before deciding to tease her teammate.

"Ruby Rose greatest leader in Beacon speaking." Ruby said causing Jaune to grumble from beside her.

"Help!" Sun screamed without acknowledging her words; his voice sounded panicked. Humming slightly Ruby laid a hand on her folded scythe as she heard the sound of rampaging footsteps. Glancing upward, she pouted a bit at the fact neither had reacted to her teasing.

"Torchwick's in a giant robot," Blake said at the same time both ran past being chased by an Atlassian paladin. Staring after it for a moment she wondered if they knew how dangerous that was before shrugging. Ending the call and sliding her scroll into her pocket she felt the excitement of battle rush through her veins.

"Pyrrha can you-" Ruby started to ask only to be cut off when Pyrrha raised her hand and used her semblance to yank the paladin back slightly. Throwing a bright grin at her partner Ruby rushed forward drawing Crescent Rose as she did. Looking back over her shoulder she ordered, "Jaune get civilians away from here!"

As the weakest member of the team, she needed him to be out of the way. Her scythe glinted in the light as she closed the distance between her and the paladin. Swinging the weapon in a motion backed by her momentum realized it was a mistake almost instant. Her scythe bounced off the legs of the paladin and she stumbled back with her arms aching. Cursing herself for such an amateur mistake she made a mental note to aim for the joints next time.

Roman raised the leg of the robot to crush the girl only for her to be snatched out of the way by a blur of yellow. Sun held the reaper tightly as he moved away from the mech. Slightly surprised, she did nothing but grip her scythe as the boy carried her away from the fight, she hadn't expected him to save her. The moment he skidded to a stop beside Blake, she wiped the shock from her face.

"How do you want to do this," Blake asked as Ruby was placed on the ground gently. The monkey faunus took a moment to unhook his weapon from his belt as silver eyes looked up at the paladin for a second. Studying the mech, she briefly glanced up at glass separating them from Roman before she smirked.

"We need to take out the legs," she said. If she aimed for the joints while having enough momentum, then she could probably cut one off. Resting her scythe on her shoulders she waited for Pyrrha to join them before saying, "or find some way to get Roman out of the paladin. Blake, Sun you guys are the vanguard, get his attention and keep it. Pyrrha you run interference that things made of metal use your semblance to slow it down. I'm going to get a vantage point."

Jaune looked over at his team as they split to do their tasks and felt annoyed that all he could do was crowd control. He wanted to help them fight too, he wanted to be useful, yet here he was useless. Wasn't the hero supposed to be rushing off to protect people? He didn't feel like a hero, he barely felt like a knight. Why was it that he was improving so slowly?

Unaware of her teammate's thoughts Ruby used the recoil from her scythe to reach the top of a building nearby before digging the blade into the roof. It was likely that Beacon would pay for any damages. Switching her normal bullets to ice dust rounds she aimed through her scope. Slowing him down was necessary right now. Keeping completely still she waited until she had a clear shot.

Blake wrapped her ribbon around one of the arms and used it to swing herself up. Unsheathing both her blades she swung them at the paladin's arms, only to get punched away. Landing roughly the faunus rolled to a stop as ice exploded off one of the paladin's legs. Chancing a glance at her leader, Blake noticed the firm frown on Ruby's face.

Sun slammed his staff into the frozen metal at the same time Pyrrha used her semblance to yank the metal away. The expression of rage on his face was so out of character that Blake had to take a double-take. The mech stumbled back but didn't fall as Roman let out a cry of shock. Seeing that the wires in the leg were exposed and Blake took the opportunity to shoot at the wiring.

Growling in anger Roman aimed at the faunus and pressed the button to release the missiles. Ruby reacted abandoning Crescent Rose on the roof she used her semblance to snatch the girl out of the way seconds before the street under her exploded. Losing control over her semblance Ruby turned so that she took most of the impact as the landed with her head hitting the pavement hard. Tightening her grip on Blake for just a moment she tried to push the pain to the back of her mind. Maybe using most of her aura to get Penny away from her escort wasn't the best idea.

"Ruby," Blake hissed with concern as the younger girl groaned in pain. Head wounds were very serious.

Helping her leader sit up she touched the back of the girl's head gently only to feel shocked as she touched something wet. Pulling her fingers away she was horrified to see blood coating them. Ruby blinked feeling dizzy, she looked up at the ongoing fight; it was more important than her injury. Sun was barely holding his own against the mech and Pyrrha looked exhausted from the continued use of her semblance. Neither would last much longer if the fight continued.

"Incoming!"

Jaune's warning caught both their attention as Roman launched another round of missiles at the two girls. It was obvious that he wanted them both out of the fight or he was just getting annoyed; Ruby couldn't really tell. Blake moved quickly gathering her leader in her arms before dashing away, while she wasn't as fast as Ruby or Weiss, she was fast enough to keep Ruby safe.

With an expression of pure anger, Pyrrha used her semblance to catch one of the missiles and send it back at the mech as vindictively as she could. It hit dead center causing the mech to stumble back where Sun waited. Slamming both hands together he used his clones to hit both arms at once. Blake gently set Ruby down on her feet as they watched the mech fall to pieces. Unsheathing her dagger, the reaper kept an eye on their opponent even when her teammates and sun slumped in relief.

Roman landed roughly rolling as he came to a stop. Chancing a glance at his suit he frowned seeing the dirt on his clothing. He'd literally just gotten his clothing cleaned. Standing he wiped off his coat and turned toward the brats. Seeing the opening Ruby dashed forward ignoring the pain in her head as she did so. Roman dodged the attack before a pink boot kicked her away. Neo landed easily in front of her partner while Ruby kneeled a few feet away.

"Well it's been fun Red," Roman mocked tilting his hat to the girl; he ignored his worry at the pained expression on her face. She'd be fine, she was a huntress after all. Nodding to Neo he smirked causing the other kids to bristle. Angered at the treatment of her partner Pyrrha launched herself forward slamming her spear into the multi-colored girl who shattered like glass along with Roman.

It was good that they got away; not just for the sake of the timeline, but also because Ruby wasn't sure what Pyrrha would do to the thief. Knowing that they had to return to Beacon Ruby pushed herself up but stumbled. Feeling herself fall toward the ground she dropped her weapon as firm arms caught her. Glancing up at Sun, she could admit that she saw the reason that Blake liked him.

"You okay there little demon," he asked as Jaune ran to her side.

"Honestly Ruby can you try not to get hurt," the blonde scolded his leader while he used his aura to amplify hers so she would heal. The answering chuckle was all he needed to hear. She would continue to be reckless even if they all got grey hairs. Glancing up at the roof where she'd left her scythe, Ruby pouted. She doubted she'd be able to make it back up to the roof.

"Can someone get my scythe?"

Hi guys. So the next chapter is more dance prep, along with Tyrian talking to Cora. What did you guys think of Ruby and Penny (I absolutely loved writing their interactions and I tried to go more in-depth in Penny's character)?

anyway stay safe and have a good day!

- Shyla