It was finally over. The week-long battle against midterms was finally done for the students and, for most of them, that signaled a weekend of free time and relaxation. For some it was just the latest challenge before they had to face an even tougher one immediately after. And yet, no matter which one they were, there was one last trial to face before they could be free to do what they wanted.
One last lecture from Professor Port.
"I was facing down two Ursai with nothing between them and me save for my trusty weapon and not much else. I didn't even have a shirt on since that had been torn up earlier that fight! That wasn't very pleasant. I'll tell you what! Now, the first thing I did was-"
To preserve their sanity most students by now had either fallen asleep like Qrow and Taiyang, stared forlornly at a holographic clock on their desks like Raven and Weiss, browsed on their scrolls like Summer and Blake, or in the case of Ruby and Yang had had their brains so thoroughly fried by the tests that they had effectively shut down.
"I'm dead…" Ruby managed to groan out as she laid her head on the desk with whiffs of smoke coming out of her ears.
"Me too…" Yang replied in much the same state.
"You babies," Blake chided without looking up from her scroll and flinched when Jaune carefully scootched his way past her to sit next to Summer, not noticing the dirty look she gave him.
"Hey Summer," Jaune started and rubbed the back of his head, "Those tests were pretty tough huh? Since we're done now, I was wondering if you'd like to get a bite to eat or something." Summer didn't answer, instead choosing to focus on a music download she had started. Jaune didn't notice this and continued. "And there was this new movie that just came out I thought you'd like. It's a martial arts revenge movie or something, so maybe we can go see that?"
Thankfully the bell had mercy on them all and rang at that moment, knocking all the students out of their stupor and Port out of his story. "Huh, I guess I timed that poorly," he said as the class started getting ready to leave, like Raven giving Taiyang and Qrow a good shove to wake them up. "Well I suppose we'll just have to continue that some other day. Just remember, your troubles aren't over just because exams are. There are plenty more challenges you will have to face before the dance next week. So stay vigilant!"
"Or maybe we could just get coffee?" Jaune asked as Summer put her scroll away and stood up, by now actively having to suppress twitches in her eye. "Does that sound good, or we could-"
"JAUNE, YOU'RE BEING AN ANNOYING SHIT! STOP IT!" Summer shouted suddenly as she stuck a finger right in Jaune's face. Jaune flinched back from her in surprise and shock before it quickly turned to embarrassment since it happened in front of the entire class, Port included. It took a few seconds before Jaune properly processed what happened and curled into himself and faced the front of the room.
"Sorry," was all he could reply with as quietly as he could and watched as Summer vaulted over the desk and angrily marched out of the classroom with Qrow and Raven following behind her.
Taiyang gave Jaune a sympathetic look and said, "It doesn't get any easier," and he jogged after his teammates, the moment already gone for most of the other students as they filtered out after them. Jaune could only plant his face roughly on the desk in response.
"Well... that was… um?" Weiss started to say before stopping and rubbing her chin in thought.
"Brutal," Yang finished weakly.
"Yes, that works. Thank you Yang."
"Oh that can only mean good things." Blake blinked and looked to her right as Sun hopped onto the seat next to her with a smirk. For a second she wondered how his uniform could stand his acrobatics, but given it was also just the dress pants and the jacket left unbuttoned she decided to let that particular thought go.
"What do you mean?" she asked. Sun looked at her and flashed another smile and waved a hand in the air.
"Oh, it's nothing. I gotta go find Neptune, I'll chat you up later Blake," he replied and flipped over the desk and ran out of the classroom. Blake let out a low hum and looked over at Weiss, who shrugged at her, and nodded as she stood up and walked out and around the desk to grab Ruby's arms.
"Come on Ruby, we need to check something."
"No, I'm dead!" Ruby cried as Blake pulled her over the desk and dragged her out of the classroom, the smaller girl moaning the whole way.
"All these people jumping and dragging others over desks," Port said, shaking his head, "back when I was a student, that kind of behavior would have resulted in a blood duel with the teacher! Why, I remember one time—"
"Yang, we should get out of here before we get caught in another story," Weiss said as she shook Yang's shoulders.
"But I'm dead," Yang said.
"Oh shut up!"
Once she had gotten back to her dorm and taken a quick shower, Summer had started to cool off from earlier and started to feel bad about blowing up at Jaune. He didn't mean to annoy the hell out of her, but he had hit the point where Summer just couldn't take much more of it. 'I'll apologize to him later. Not today though, let him stew on what he did wrong.' She nodded at that plan and, once she was more or less dressed decently enough to exit the bathroom, she exited into the main dorm room and was immediately shoved aside by Raven who closed the bathroom door behind her.
"Excuse you!"
"Don't mind her," Qrow said from his bed and waved a hand in the air, "She's mad because I was teasing her about her clothing for today."
"That's… really brave of you Qrow," Summer said as she moved to her closet to get socks and her casual jacket.
"Trust me, you'll do the same when you see what she picked," Taiyang said as he finished slipping his shoes on and punched his palm, "So what's the plan for the day?"
"I was going to wait for Velvet to get here before we start on that," Summer replied as she Blinked up to her bed and started putting on her socks. She got one on before she looked up at Qrow. "And Qrow…"
"I don't want to hear it!" Qrow said, shooting a glare at Summer.
"Did you do something with your hair?"
"I…what?" Qrow looked at Taiyang, who looked back at him confused, before looking back at Summer. "I… just slicked it back I guess?"
"Huh… it looks good on you." Summer nodded and went back to her socks, not noticing that Qrow gave Taiyang a smug grin and Taiyang shook his head in response. They didn't have a chance to dwell on it as someone knocked on the door right then.
"I got it," Taiyang said and walked over to open the door and step aside to let Velvet inside.
"Hey guys!" she said with a somewhat smug smile and looked up at Summer with her hands clasped behind her back. "See, I have other clothes."
Summer looked up from her socks to look over Velvet's clothes. She had switched out her combat clothing for more casual clothing, most noticeably a brown coat that was belted at her waist with a separate shawl buttoned to the top with a hood hanging behind her head. There was a slightly darker top peeking out from under the coat and she had on an armored version of her usual leggings on, the light gray standing out against the black.
When she was finished Summer chuckled. "So you do Velvet. I like your coat."
"Thanks, Coco helped me pick it out. The hood even has holes for my ears," Velvet said and lifted the hood over her head to demonstrate as Summer hopped off her bed with her jacket under her arm.
"And the glasses?" Summer asked pointing at the glasses Velvet had on, black frames with a white under rim.
"Just for show," Velvet said as she poked a finger through the frames to show they were empty. "I figured it would help me stand out less or something. Too much?"
"You do you. It's not my place to give fashion advice." Summer slipped her jacket on and zipped it up halfway on her way to grab her boots. "So are you ready for this Vel?"
"As much as I can be," Velvet answered and lowered her hood, "And just so you know, Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi are going to be in town in case they're needed."
"Smart, but hopefully we won't need them. Before we get going let's do a quick rundown of what we'll be doing. Vel?"
"Well, like I already told you, the White Fang holds regular faction meetings to recruit members and distribute orders. The recruitment is the important part since any Faunus can get in. I should be able to sneak in and find out what they're doing."
"I still don't like the idea of you going into a Lancer nest like that," Taiyang said worriedly.
"I can take care of myself."
"We know you can, but we all would feel better if you at least had someone to at least do overwatch for you. Which is why I'm having Qrow go with you."
"What?" Qrow asked and sat up.
"I don't need it, but it would make me feel a little safer I guess," Velvet reluctantly said and looked back at Qrow.
"Are you sure that's a good idea Sum? I mean… it's me."
"It would either be you or Raven who's going with Velvet," Summer answered as she slipped on her last boot and tapped it against the floor, "and who do you trust more with her life?" Qrow thought for a moment before sighing and laying back on his bed.
"Fair enough, and if Raven went with her I'd have to take her job. No offense, but I'd rather take my odds with the Fang."
"Speaking of, where is Raven?" Velvet's question was answered when Raven walked out of the bathroom, threw her uniform into a pile of laundry in the corner, and stretched her arms over her head.
"You guys talking about me?" Raven asked, dropped her arms, and looked at everyone in the room before settling on a snickering Velvet. Raven crossed her arms and gave the Faunus a small glare. "What?"
"I'm sorry, I just… didn't expect to see you wearing something like that." Velvet was now full on giggling as she pointed at Raven's clothes. Raven looked down at the yellow sundress she had put on and glared harder at Velvet.
"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Raven said glancing at Summer, who was holding a fist to her mouth to fail at hiding a smile. This did nothing to temper Raven's growing anger as she advanced on Velvet, who stopped laughing and started backing away quickly from Raven. "What, just because I'm kind of a tomboy I can't wear dresses, is that what you're saying!?"
"Whoa, wait, hold on!" Velvet cried and fell backwards as she tripped on Taiyang's bed and looked back up at Raven still bearing down on her, "You're taking that a lot more seriously than I thought you would! I'm sorry, I meant nothing by it!" Raven got to her and Velvet flinched a little as she raised her hand only to give the lightest of slaps to her knee. When Velvet looked back up she mentally kicked herself when she saw Raven's wide grin.
"I know you are. Come on, it is me, you really think I'd be mad over something stupid like that?" she said and shook her head as Velvet sat back up.
'She's way too good at the 'angry bitch' routine,' Velvet thought with a scowl as Raven looked at Summer.
"So, what am I doing?"
"I'm sending you after Junior," Summer answered and dropped her smile to get back into business mode.
"Nice, I can't wait," Raven said and cracked her knuckles. Velvet tilted her head in confusion.
"Um… Junior?" she asked.
"Hei Xiong owns a nightclub in the entertainment district. That's just his day job though," Taiyang explained.
"He's actually one of the biggest information brokers in the Vale underworld," Raven continued, "he claims to know everything that goes on in the city and I believe him."
"You dealt with him before to know that?" Velvet asked.
"It's because of his information that we were so effective in our vigilantism last year," Summer said and hopped down to the floor. 'And it's what got us involved in the Maiden/Salem thing in the first place, but she doesn't need to know that part.' Summer shook that odd feeling away as Velvet stood up from the bed. "We also may have trashed his place pretty bad the last time we were there, so hopefully Junior would remember us. Raven should be enough to make him bend like rubber and get us anything we need."
"I hope his twin bodyguards are still there. I never got a chance to take a swing at them," Raven said and chuckled evilly.
"Info first Rae," Summer chided, "Don't start a fight unless you have to." Raven rolled her eyes, but nodded. "We'll see you all off at the airship pads and meet you in town later. Tai and I have business here."
"And what would that be?" Velvet asked, with Taiyang responding by dashing over to Summer and wrapping an arm around her.
"We're gonna make a call!" he said and threw up the horns with his free hand. Velvet looked to Summer for further explanation.
"What doofus here means," Summer started saying as she pushed Taiyang away from her, "is that we're going to make a call to the Schnee Dust Company headquarters. They are the company hurting the most from the recent robberies, so maybe they have data we can use to map out a pattern to all of this."
"And you think they'll just hand it over?" Velvet asked.
"Businesses always look out for their profits, especially if they're greedy to a fault," Qrow explained from where he lay, waving a hand in the air over him, "And rumor has it that that douchebag Jacques Schnee is one of the greediest there is and hates losing profit. They'll give us what we want if we can promise to put a stop to it as fast as possible."
'And even then a couple secret codes courtesy of a certain General ought to grease those wheels,' Summer thought to herself. "Once we're done there we'll go to town to act as backup in case either of you guys need it. Once we're all done we come back to Beacon, coalesce our information, and move forward from there. Sound good?"
"Yup!" Velvet jumped and turned to the window to stare at a smiling Sun, now in his normal clothes, hanging outside with his tail wrapped around a tree branch.
"When did you get there!?" Velvet screamed as Sun swung into the dorm, flipped neatly over the bookcase to land on his feet, and brushed his shirt off.
"Oh he's been there for a while," Summer said and pinched her nose, "I would have said something, but I doubt anything I would say would get him to leave us alone."
"And you'd be right!" Sun said happily and punched an open palm, "So you guys are finally moving against the Fang again huh? And you were planning on not inviting me?"
"That was the plan," Raven answered.
"Why, because you 'don't want friends to get involved'?"
"…For lack of a better term, yes," Summer answered. 'Was he a friend? Maybe, if a persistent hanger-on could be considered one.'
"That's dumb, especially since I'm already involved in this remember? You're not getting rid of me that easily." Sun waved a hand in the air, his smile barely dropping as he did, and added, "Besides you should always get friends involved when you do stupid stuff. That's why I brought Neptune along."
"Wait, what?" Qrow asked and got up to his feet just as Sun jerked a thumb to the window. Qrow walked over and looked outside to find Neptune sidling against the building on one of the ledges outside.
"Hi," he said as calmly as he could despite his terrified shaking.
"The fuck did you get there?" Qrow asked bemused.
"I got ways ok, now can you please let me in, we're really high up!"
"…Sure, whatever." Qrow didn't care to hear Neptune's thanks and moved back in to sit on Raven's bed while Neptune carefully moved to the widow and scrambled inside.
"Great, another piece of dead weight," Raven muttered as Neptune tripped over the window sill and crashed inside. She shook her head at him as he got up to his feet with as much grace as he could muster. "What are we going to do with them Sum?" Summer crossed her arms and looked at the newest additions to their little squad and kneaded the fabric of her jacket sleeve in thought. Soon she nodded and smiled as she came to a decision.
"We'll put them to work, since they want to help so badly," she said and glanced over at Raven, who smiled to match her own.
"Uh… what work?" Neptune asked leaning around Sun and putting his hand up questioningly, "What did I get dragged into?" Neptune's question went ignored as Summer pointed at Sun and then Velvet.
"Sun you'll be helping Velvet and Qrow with infiltrating the Fang meeting."
"Nice!" Sun grinned widely and rubbed his palms together, "Am I going to need a ninja costume or something?"
"Shut up. As for Neptune…" Summer looked at Neptune, who flashed her a smile with shining teeth, "he can go with Raven since she doesn't have a partner."
"WHAT!?" Raven and Neptune shouted at the same time with the former continuing, "Why does he have to go with me!?"
"Because you don't have a partner. And he looks… ok in a fight, I guess."
Sun wrapped an arm around Neptune's shoulder, to the latter's annoyance, and said, "He can hold his own, don't worry."
"There, see?"
"Well if that's the case, why don't you go with him and I can take Tai to Junior's," Raven said pointing at Taiyang, who held up a finger to answer when Summer interrupted.
"Because I don't want to go with him either!" Summer answered.
"You know I'm standing right-" Neptune started to say as he shifted away from Sun.
"Shut up!" both girls shouted at him. "Look Summer, I-" Raven started to say only to be interrupted by Summer.
"Vetoed, you're going with him, deal with it. Come on Tai," Summer said and moved to the dorm door, ignoring the frustrated growl from her partner. Taiyang followed with a small 'yes ma'am' just as Summer opened the door which caused a girl to give a surprised shriek from the other side. Summer blinked in confusion as she moved around the door to find Ruby and Blake on the floor of the hallway.
"Uh… we can explain," Blake said as she looked up at Summer.
"Really?" Summer asked flatly as she opened the door more so the others inside the dorm could see the hallway, "and what were you doing?"
"Well… not eavesdropping?" Ruby said while smiling guiltily.
"Oh good, then I don't have to worry about it. Just like how you won't have to worry about ending up in front of Ozpin and having your butts booted back to Haven on the off chance you decided to act on something you didn't hear, yeah?"
"Absolutely, message received!" Blake said giving a thumbs up to Summer.
"Uh… wha?" was Ruby's response.
"Just go back to your room." With that Summer lifted her hood over her head and walked down the hallway with Taiyang following behind, the blonde giving an apologetic shrug to both girls as he passed them.
"Well that was fun," Raven said as she grabbed her sword and slung it over her shoulder, "come on Ransom, we're going for a walk." Raven chuckled evilly as she walked out of the dorm room and followed after Summer and Taiyang.
"Well that's not ominous or anything," Neptune said and looked at Sun as Qrow and Velvet walked past them out as well.
"Sounds like fun to me. Good luck," Sun said and slapped Neptune on the shoulder as he dashed out and gave a quick wave to Blake as she and Ruby stood up. Blake returned it along with a second wave as Neptune came out and shut the door behind him.
She watched them until they were all gone and looked over at Ruby, who was crossing her arms and humming to herself. "So… that was suspicious right?"
"Yep," Ruby answered with a nod.
"And I suppose that means-?"
"I'm gonna call Yang."
"Figures. Guess that's why you're the leader."
Summer and Taiyang saw their teams off at the airship pads and waited for their transport to leave before making their way back to the academy and their destination of Beacon Tower. Summer slowed down as she approached the tower and looked up at it, particularly at the glowing 'beacon' near the top that lay just above Professor Ozpin's office. That alone would have made the tower a landmark for all around even without its central role as a CCT tower.
'And then there's all the other secrets it hides that Ozpin doesn't advertise,' Summer thought shaking her head. Taiyang snapped his fingers in front of her to get her attention and they stopped at the foot of the stairs leading up into the tower itself. "Sorry, I was lost in thought."
"I noticed," Taiyang said rolling his eyes, "Why are we coming here instead of the library? We can just as easily make a call there you know."
"The walls have ears Tai, along with countless more over the air. The tower itself is more centralized in the network and should be harder to trace. Even if it isn't, the smaller a footprint we can make for Beacon the better."
"I guess? I'll just take your word for it, I'm no good with this computer stuff."
"I know, you still can't change the desktop background for the PC in our room and I had to explain what cookies were to you." Summer giggled at how Taiyang blushed at that and walked up the stairs two at a time with him beside her. "Besides, I like coming here. It's got a majesty all its own along with the history."
"That at least I know. It's still weird to think that there's a tower even bigger than this one," Taiyang said tilting his head back to look at the tower.
"Atlas, Beacon, Shade, and Haven in that order of size," Summer said briefly thinking back to when she had seen the Haven CCT Tower in person nearly a year ago. 'God it has been a year now. What the hell?' "And because of those four towers we have global communications. You can call someone on the other side of Remnant, check the news whenever you want."
"And watch videos of cats in serious situations," Taiyang finished half-jokingly.
"Truly we are living in a great age," Summer agreed with a nod, "and all the more reason it needs to be protected." Summer opened the wooden doors of the tower and led the way to the elevators, passing several Atlas students milling around the large central pillar. "Now you should let me talk with the SDC. Hopefully the clearance we have with Oz and Ironwood should be enough to get us what we need."
"And improvise if we don't?" Taiyang asked and got a nod in response. The elevator doors opened and they entered as some Shade students left. "Fine with me. I think I'll call my folks while I'm here, see how they're doing."
"See if you can get your mom to send more cookies our way."
"I'll try my best boss." The doors closed and the speaker crackled to life.
"Welcome to the CCT, how may I help you?" the feminine voice of the tower's A.I. said.
Summer took out her scroll as she said, "We want to go to communications."
"Certainly. Please hold your scrolls up so we can verify your identities." Summer almost rolled her eyes at all these security steps, but they were there for a reason. She took Taiyang's scroll in the same hand as her own and held them both up to the panel, a series of short beeps filling the air until a final confirmation told Summer she could pull them away. She tossed Taiyang his scroll and he caught it as the A.I. said, "Perfect! You'll arrive shortly," and the elevator jolted as it started to rise.
The two rode in silence, Summer stretching her arms over her head before crossing them behind her head, until Taiyang sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Crap, I just remembered I have to tell them about my grades. Fucking exams."
"I thought you did pretty good this time," Summer said glancing at her blonde teammate, who sighed loudly.
"That makes one of us." The elevator dinged and the doors opened onto the communications floor. Summer and Taiyang walked out, the former looking behind her to check what time it would be in Atlas, and over to the reception desk. They only had to wait a moment before a hologram of a woman appeared and mimed typing on a keyboard before looking up at them.
"Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit tower, how may I help you?" she said in the voice of the A.I. system.
"I'd like to make a call to the Schnee Dust Company headquarters in Atlas," Summer said and put her hands into her jacket pockets.
"And I'd like to call the Xiao Long household on Patch," Taiyang said and sighed again.
"One moment please," the A.I. said and, after a moment, smiled at them, "We'll patch Ms. Rose at station 43 and Mr. Xiao Long will be at station 25."
"Thank you," Summer said and led the way into the communication floor. Along the way Summer looked around at several others using the floor for its designed purpose, such as a girl also calling her family on Patch and another blonde classmate of hers rubbing the back of his head.
"No, everything is going fine Mom. We just got done with exams and I'm kind of tired."
"Hey Jaune," Summer said, giving him a wave as she walked past him.
"Uh, hi Summer!" Jaune said and started to stand up. "Hey, about earlier-"
"Still mad, don't want to talk." Jaune stared at Summer as she continued walking, Taiyang giving him a wave as well, and he sat back down with a sad sigh.
"And who was that? A new girlfriend?"
"What!? N-no, just an upperclassman here. I kind of made her mad earlier. Enough about that, how's Dad doing?"
Taiyang separated from Summer to make his own call while Summer sat down at station 43 and took her scroll out as she waited for the connection to be established. She barely had enough time to open it when the screen came to life and showed a woman with short brown hair in a white business suit with the familiar Schnee snowflake behind her.
"Thank you for calling the Schnee Dust Company, how may I help you today?" She asked.
"Hello, my name is Summer Rose. I'm a Huntress at Beacon Academy and I was hoping you could help me with an investigation I'm doing that involves your company," Summer said and opened her scroll before putting it into a slot on the console.
"If it's within my power to help you I will."
"Perfect. I'm transmitting some information to you that will help me bring this to a swift end. Anything you can give me along these lines will be helpful." Summer hit a key on her console that transferred her list to the woman before moving to her scroll and started going through it. After a moment the woman spoke up again.
"I'm sorry, but a lot of these documents are classified."
'And there it is,' Summer thought as she pulled up the code she was looking for and tapped it to transmit that as well, 'Let's just nip that in the bud.'
"I can give you some of what you asked for, but-" she paused as her console beeped and, after a second of reading, her eyes widened and she looked back at Summer. Summer kept her face calm and composed as the woman nodded and said "One moment." True to her word Summer's scroll beeped as files were transferred onto it and Summer took it out when it was done. "Even with your clearance I still can't give you all you want. Some documents are classified only for company board members, I hope you understand ma'am."
"Of course, I'll just make do with what you have given me. Thank you for your time."
"Happy to be of assistance. And remember, the finest of them all only come from the Schnee Dust Company." With that the screen faded to black as the connection was cut off and Summer let herself smile as she spun her scroll in her hand.
'God I love having connections,' she thought as she put her scroll away and stood up, 'Let's just hope that I got what I absolutely need from that.' After a quick walk she saw Taiyang at his station and decided to make her presence known in her usual way: leaning on him and crossing her arms on his head to rest her head on. "Hey Tai, I'm done with my call."
"So I can tell," Taiyang replied flatly.
"And there's Summer!" Summer smiled and waved at Taiyang's mother on the screen, the blonde woman returning it with a smile. "You're looking healthier than the last time I saw you. Are you eating well?"
"I'd hope so since I do most of the cooking here." That got a laugh out of the woman.
"I know that feeling. And are Raven and Qrow eating well too? They were too skinny the last time they were here."
"Yes they are. I've been taking care of all of them and keeping them out of trouble."
"When you're not leading them there yourself." Summer didn't try to deny that as she scratched at her cheek. Mrs. Xiao Long didn't drop the smile at all as she gave Summer a knowing look. "You're not planning anything like that are you?"
"No ma'am, just taking care of some extracurricular projects."
"Oh really, like what happened last year? Well as long as you don't get my precious boy killed, I won't have to hunt you down across Remnant and kill you. Does that sound good?"
"Absolutely ma'am, I wouldn't have it any other way!" Summer said and gave a thumbs up while Taiyang rolled his eyes.
"Perfect! Now you said you just got done with your exams today, how did you do?"
"We won't know the results for a few days," Taiyang answered and shook his head, "but don't worry, I'm sure you'll somehow find out when I do."
"You're right about that." A bark sounded to the side and Mrs. Xiao Long turned to look for a moment. "I hear you, I'll be right there. I'm sorry but I have to go, it's time for Zwei's walk. I'll let your father know you called and are doing ok."
"Can I make a request for cookie rations?" Summer asked and held a finger up.
"We'll see how your grades look before I do that. Take care, you two and let Raven and Qrow know I'm thinking about them." Taiyang and Summer nodded and waved, which Mrs. Xiao Long returned it and leaned offscreen to hang up. When the screen went blank Taiyang shoved Summer off him and turned around to look at her.
"So did you get what you wanted?"
"We'll have to see. Let's head to the city." Taiyang nodded and got up to follow Summer back to the elevators, the two of them once again waving at Jaune as they passed him. On the way down Summer opened her scroll and started scrolling through the files she had gotten while Taiyang looked over her shoulder. "Shipping manifests, some reports on Dust robberies… hm, some of this looks interesting."
"Useful or just the boring kind?"
"We'll have to see what the others can come up with. What else do we have here?" The elevator doors opened and the pair walked out with Summer focused on her scroll. She stayed that way all the way out of the tower and down the steps. "Ah fuck biscuits, I don't think there's anything here we don't already know."
"What else would be new? Are you absolutely sure though?"
"I'll have to study a bit more, but if I wasted clearance like that for worthless shit I'm going to be very-" Summer missed a step and overcompensated for the lost balance, throwing her scroll further down the steps. Thankfully Taiyang was quick on the draw as always and grabbed the back of Summer's jacket to keep her from falling down the steps.
"You ok?" Taiyang asked as Summer got her balance back.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Taiyang let go of Summer's jacket and she looked around, "where'd my scroll go?"
"Excuse me." Summer blinked and looked behind her to find none other than Penny Polendina standing there holding her scroll out to her. "I think you dropped this when you almost fell."
"Oh hey Penny," Taiyang said with a wave, which caused Penny to stiffen up as her eyes widened. "Small world, you're staying here now?"
"I… don't know what you mean," she answered stiffly while looking around.
"Forget that, where have you been? It's been weeks since I last saw you! I was starting to think those guys in that car kidnapped you!"
"You're mistaken. We've never met before," Penny flat out lied and hiccupped right after. She looked at Summer, then at Taiyang, and shoved Summer's scroll into her hands and quickly walked away with a quick "I have to go."
"Well, that was weird," Taiyang said, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, even for her that was weird," Summer agreed and put her scroll away before pointing at Taiyang, "head to the city and wait to see if the others need you. I'll be there in a bit."
Without waiting for a response Summer chased after Penny, leaving Taiyang to shrug and wander off to the air pads while muttering things like "Sure, not like I have anything important to do." It didn't take long for Summer to catch up as she jumped down a set of stairs to land next to Penny.
"Now hold up!" Summer shouted. Penny slowed down for a moment and looked back at Summer, "the least you could do is tell me where you've been the last few weeks Penny."
"I'm afraid you're mistaken. We've never met," Penny said and hiccupped again before continuing down the stairs. Summer scowled at the red head and walked a little so she had a clear line to Blink down the next flight of stairs and face Penny again.
"Come on, at least try and come up with better bullshit! You're still wearing my cloak on your arm!" Penny stopped with her eyes wide and grabbed at the piece of white cloth tied around her arm that Summer pointed at with a guilty look. "Look Penny, I don't know if you really don't want to talk to me or if you were told not to talk to me, but I really don't care about that. What happened at the docks that night is so much bigger than you can imagine. If I'm going to nail the guys behind it I'm going to need your help, even if it's just you telling your side of the story." Penny bit her lip while Summer was talking and started looking around the plaza warily before leaning in close to Summer.
"It's not safe to talk here," Penny whispered quickly, "meet me in one hour at Vale Promenade. We can talk then." Penny pulled away and started walking even faster, leaving Summer to stare after her with a quirked eyebrow.
"First Vel with her glasses and now Penny. Why is everybody acting like we're in a fucking spy movie?" Summer wondered and crossed her arms. "Well whatever, it's not like I have much to do for the next few hours. Better get my stuff from my room."
Penny arrived at the promenade an hour later to meet with Summer. She had managed to lose her escorts again like always and looked up and down the street she was waiting on while tapping her fingers against the can in her hands. 'Is she going to come or did I chase her off with how I acted earlier? I hope not,' were just some of the thoughts going through Penny's head, at least until a ringing shattered them. Penny looked around in a panic as she realized it was her scroll and she quickly pulled it out and answered it. "H-hello, Penny speaking!"
"Hi Penny," Summer said on the other end, which caused Penny to relax, "I hope you realize the Promenade is about 10 blocks. I'm going to need a little more to go on if I want to find you." Penny stared into blank space for a second before pressing the back of her hand against her forehead because of course Summer would need to know that.
"I'm sorry Summer. I'm…" Penny drifted off as she looked at a nearby street sign, "at the corner of 42nd and Argent."
"I'll be there soon." The line went dead and Penny put her scroll away to go back to awkwardly waiting for Summer to arrive. She only waited a few more minutes before she was tapped on the shoulder and she turned around startled to see Summer standing there, her sword behind her waist and her dagger on her belt.
"Easy there Penny, it's just me," Summer said, putting her hand back in her jacket pocket. Penny nodded and turned to face Summer as she looked around and added, "and I have to thank you again for taking the time to meet me."
"Anything for a friend," Penny said with a bright smile before she held the can out to Summer, "Oh, and I got a drink for you too!" Summer blinked and took the can from her, looking over the black can with a red 'G' in claw marks on it, and looked back at Penny.
"Well, thanks Penny, but I don't really drink Grimm all that much."
"O-oh," Penny said deflating a little, "I'm sorry, I-" Penny was interrupted by the hiss of Summer opening the can and taking a quick drink. Summer noticed the way Penny was staring at her and shrugged.
"What? You did go through the trouble of getting it for me. Let's talk and walk." Summer pointed down the road and started walking, stopping for a moment before looking back in time to see Penny smile and dash next to her with a smile before they both started walking. "So why don't we start with what you know about the dock fight. How'd you end up there?"
"I was completely honest about how I got there. I saw an explosion and went to help. The fact that you and the others were there is just coincidence."
"Weirder things have happened. What about Torchwick and the Fang?"
"Other than what's publicly known about the White Fang, I don't know anything about them. I've never even heard of Torchwick before the docks."
"That's quite the coincidence, all things considered," Summer said as she took another drink and shook her head. "And the black car and your complete absence for the past few weeks?"
"Well… you were right. I was told not to talk to you or Coco… anyone really. Oh, but I'm not in trouble with anyone, that's how it was even before I met you all."
"Fuck, really? I heard Atlas Academy was a lot more strict than Beacon, but to flat out keep a student from interacting with anyone during the Vytal Festival? That seems excessive even for Ironwood, or is that more your dad doing that?"
"Oh no! Don't get the wrong idea, my father is really sweet." The pair stopped at an intersection and Summer took a moment to shake her half empty can, "He just worries about me, especially when I… get hurt." Penny punctuated that by rubbing the white cloth around her arm.
"That makes sense. That's the primary job for dads: worrying about their little girls."
"He says that a lot too. Is your father like that too?" Summer barely kept the hurt in her heart hidden. Penny didn't mean to drag up those kinds of memories so innocently and certainly wouldn't if she did know.
"He… was. He passed away ten years ago," Summer answered truthfully, sorrow just barely on her voice. Times like this made it feel like she was carrying a ton on her shoulders, especially with the look Penny gave her.
"O-oh, he's… oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to… I'm sorry," she said before looking away and crossing her arms.
"It's fine, you didn't know," Summer assured Penny and put a hand on her shoulder, causing the red head to look back at Summer as she gave her a sad smile. "It's been long enough that the pain… well, it's not gone, but it's certainly dulled." Summer took her hand off Penny and finished the rest of her drink in one swig. She threw the empty can into a nearby trash can and resumed their walk toward a plaza with a reasonably sized crowd. "So that black car was your handlers, I take it?"
"Something like that. They work for Mr. Ironwood."
"Why is Ironwood so interested in you?" Summer's question was met only with Penny biting her lip before a round of applause distracted the both of them. They looked at the plaza where a hologram of none other than General Ironwood was giving a presentation on Atlas Mechs. "Well speak of the devil."
"Now everyone, you all know the Atlesian Knights 130, our line of humanoid combatant mechs," Ironwood said as he gestured at the line-up of black mechs behind him, which all bowed slightly. The black transport boxes behind them started to open as Ironwood continued. "And they have performed their duties well. But for Atlas, well isn't good enough. So today, I would like to introduce the latest in our line of personal defense mechs: the Atlesian Knight 200!"
By then the boxes had fully opened and the new model of Knight, a smooth body of metal painted white with a head similar to the current armor of Atlesian combat troops with a black face, stepped out and onto the 130s before making a triumphant pose. The crowd oohed and applauded while Summer gave a small hum of appreciation and crossed her arms.
"Stronger, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary." Summer rolled her eyes as the mechs started performing 'friendly' gestures: flexing muscles, finger guns, and other gestures that reminded Summer too much of early Taiyang. "These models will become active and ready later this year."
"Why does everything have to be white nowadays?" Summer wondered idly and looked at Penny, "I actually like the older model of scrolls which were black. The new ones are more powerful, but you can't even ask for them in a different color anymore!"
"I… wouldn't know about that," Penny answered quietly and pressed her index fingers together as she stared at the AKs.
"Now that's not all we have to show today," Ironwood continued, "It's been a long standing goal for Atlas to remove people from the dangers of the battlefield, but we know that there are still jobs that require a human touch. So, with the cooperation of the Schnee Dust Company, today I'm proud to introduce the Atlesian Paladin!" The crowd oohed again as Ironwood was replaced with a much larger hologram of said Paladin, with Summer herself giving a low whistle of appreciation. The Paladin looked clunky and the hologram was probably a bit smaller than the real life version, but it still gave off the awe that Ironwood probably wanted to instill.
"Now unfortunately these are still in the prototype stages, so we don't have any to show you today, but you can expect these fine machines to be ready to protect Remnant in the coming years," Ironwood finished amid another round of applause.
"That's a shame," Summer said with a shake of her head, "I'd like to have seen what the pilot seat looks like."
"Summer, we should go," Penny said, unnerved for some reason.
"Sure, I don't want to hear Ironwood go off about…" Summer trailed off when she saw two Atlas soldiers looking at them with their fingers on their helmet before they started walking to them. She looked at Penny as she started to slowly back away, they're eyes meeting quickly, and nodded. "Run."
The two girls did just that with Penny leading the way into a nearby alley. She took the corner tightly while Summer ran along the walls and jumped further in, taking a moment to look back and see the soldier's running after them. She stumbled a little on landing and waved at Penny to keep going when she slowed just a little. Penny nodded and kept running while Summer Blinked to close the distance, looking to see the soldiers just now turn the corner of the alley.
'Damn, we won't get far like this!' Summer thought and looked at Penny still up ahead, 'I don't know why she's running from them, but I'm sure she'll explain when she gets away.' Summer took a breath and started focusing, flower petals coming off her jacket as she ran. "Penny, hold up!" she shouted as she picked up speed. Penny looked back confused, but slowed down nonetheless.
"What is it?" she asked as Summer caught up and wrapped her arms around her, "If we don't hurry, they'll catch up and-" Penny's sentence turned to a scream and then joyful laughter when she suddenly went flying through the air with Summer in a burst of flower petals. They flew over a few buildings before they started to descend and saw they wouldn't quite clear the last one.
"Oh shit!" Summer shouted and tried to maneuver her body to shield Penny, but only partly succeeded as both of their legs clipped the edge of the roof, both of their Auras flaring up in response, and sent the two of them spinning down and crashing into the road. Summer slammed against the asphalt, thankful that her Aura held up against the impact, and heard loud honking of a truck's horn rapidly approaching. She was still dazed and hoped it would stop in time or maybe Penny would recover faster and pull her out of the way.
Instead, she saw something damn near impossible when Penny stood up and held her hands out to the truck, caught it, and held it back successfully. Her feet dug into the road, only pushing her back a few inches toward Summer, and the truck itself was lifted a few feet off the ground before crashing back onto the ground. Summer looked at Old Man Shopkeep in the driver's seat and his surprise almost matched her own.
"Are you ok?" Penny asked backing away from the truck slightly to look at Shopkeep, who nodded while shaking from the shock.
"What in the fuck?" Penny looked back at Summer staring wide-eyed at her and noticed a crowd starting to form in the streets around her. She clenched her hands tightly as she watched them talk among themselves and take pictures with their scrolls, every single one of them weighing heavily on Penny. Then she felt a hand grab her wrist and looked at Summer, looking very serious. "This way."
Penny hardly resisted as Summer pulled her away from the scene and down another alley. They ran only far enough for Summer to charge another Blink up to the rooftop, where she grabbed the ledge and flipped onto the roof while tossing Penny on as well. Penny barely moved to land on her feet, her mind still on what happened on the street and especially her hands that she was now desperately trying to hide against her body.
"Penny, what was that?" Penny looked back at Summer's question and tensed at how she looked. This wasn't the girl who would straight face lie and send her on a fool's errand for her safety or gently comfort her when she was worried. She was all business, her eyes almost as sharp as General Ironwood's and more than likely just as intolerant of disobedience right now.
"That was nothing," Penny answered and hiccupped, "everything is fine! *hic* I don't need help! *hic*"
"Wrong, no it's not, and yes you do," Summer answered and tried to move to see Penny's face only for the girl to turn away from her. "Listen Penny, what you did back there is beyond anything I've seen. Taiyang is one of the strongest guys I know. I've seen him lift a Goliath Tusk like it was nothing, but even he would buckle under getting hit by a truck. I told you that any secrets you have are your own and whether or not you share them is your choice and I meant that, but I can't ignore that." Penny fidgeted with her hand and took the smallest steps possible as she paced before turning back to Summer, worry and fear etched into her face.
"We're… friends, right? And if I say keep it a secret, will you?"
"Of course, I'm good at keeping secrets. More than any one person should if I'm being perfectly frank." That seemed to do its job since Penny closed her eyes, took a breath, and turned to face Summer before reaching out to show her hands. Penny didn't come out of her encounter with the truck unscathed as her palms were torn to shreds and, much like how her arm looked at the docks, showed a silvery metal underneath artificial skin. She moved her fingers slightly which caused bits of her metal palms to move along with them. "Penny, what-?"
"I'm not a normal girl, and my arms aren't prosthetic," Penny clarified and grabbed her arm covered by Summer's cloak scrap. "My arms-my whole body-have always been metal because I was created, not born." Summer blinked and, out of curiosity, leaned closer to Penny. The proximity let Summer focus better on Penny's pupils as they narrowed like a camera's lens and jerked back in surprise.
"Holy shit! That… would certainly explain a lot."
"Indeed. I am the world's first synthetic being capable of projecting Aura." Penny gripped her arm tightly and clenched her free hand into a fist as she looked down sadly. "I'm not real, not like you." Summer tilted her head as she stared at Penny. The girl was really taking that little bit hard, and Summer didn't even have to really think about her next course of action.
"Well I disagree." Penny blinked and looked up at Summer, still very serious but less tense in how she stood. "You proved yourself wrong just now after all."
"I… did?"
"What is Aura? I'm sure you know the answer to that right?"
"But... I don't-"
"Answer the question."
"Well, Aura is the outward manifestation of the soul, primarily used to defend against harm."
"My point exactly. Aura is a part of the soul; no soul, no Aura. You're not like those AKs." Penny stared at Summer as she grabbed one of Penny's hands, running one of her thumbs over the metal of Penny's palms before moving it up and pressing it against her cheek. "Honestly, that's all I need. Metal or flesh, circuits or blood, if you have a soul then you're real, no matter what others may say. Hell, I'd say you're more human than most actual humans I know."
Penny was surprised, stunned even, at just how fast Summer accepted everything she had told her. "I… but… you're taking this revelation remarkably well Summer." Penny was surprised again when Summer simply laughed and let go of her.
"Like I said Penny, I'm good at keeping secrets. You would be shocked at just how many 'big revelations' I know. You're practically nothing compared to any number of other things." Summer crossed her arms and looked up at the distant silhouette of Beacon Academy, her thoughts drifting off for all of a second before Penny pulled her into another crushing hug against her chest.
"Oh Summer! You're such a good friend! I should have known better than to think you'd think less of me because of what I am! If I could cry tears of joy, I would!" Penny shouted and swung Summer back and forth while grinning from ear to ear. After a moment Summer started rapidly poking Penny in the side and she looked down to see Summer turning blue again. She quickly let go and backed away as Summer coughed roughly.
"I'm so sorry!" She said before quietly adding to herself, "I really have to stop doing that."
"It's fine," Summer said as she coughed again and waved her hand. After a moment she straightened, took a deep breath, and nodded. "I almost feel sorry for you dad if you hug him like that too."
"Only once!" Summer blinked at Penny's rather sudden answer and deflated a little under Summer's stare. "Twice…"
"Penny-"
"Ok, three times, but that's it!"
"Penny, I was joking. I'm sure your father doesn't mind your hugs." 'My god this girl.'
"Oh, he doesn't. He's really sweet." Penny bounced on her feet and smiled as she put her hands together, "he's the one who built me after all. You'd love him!"
"I'm sure I would. He must be a genius if he built you all by himself."
"Well, not just by himself. He had some help from Mr. Ironwood."
"General Ironwood?" Summer's face fell flat as she came to a realization and rubbed her eyes, "Wait, then does that mean those soldiers we've been dodging…"
"They like to protect me too. And they keep me from wandering off to places I shouldn't go."
"They're really bad at their jobs if you manage to get away from them chasing cats."
"…Yes, I suppose so." Penny scratched her cheek looking guilty before shaking her head, "but that's not their fault. I was told that, one day, I'd have to save the world. But I still have a lot to learn, which is why I've come here to participate in the Vytal Tournament: to learn all I can."
"Pfft, what is it with old men thrusting the fate of the world onto the shoulders of teenage girls?" Summer muttered and crossed her arms. Despite her misgivings it did make sense and seemed like a very 'Ironwood' way to do things. 'And it's not like she's being mistreated or anything. Restricted and overly protected maybe, but not mistreated.' Still as Summer looked Penny over once again, silently happy that she was happy again, there was still one more thing she had to make sure about. 'The uninvited guest…'
"Well Penny, since you're being open and honest about all this, there's one last thing I need to ask you about." Penny tilted her head, but said nothing as Summer rubbed her chin. "That Creature of Grimm that attacked us at the docks, you seemed to recognize it." Penny's eyes widened and she stiffened up. 'Nailed it.'
"I… it was just a Creature of Grimm. A tough one, but nothing more," Penny answered and hiccupped, which only further Summer's suspicions.
"Then why was it a 'primary target'? And why would you expect it to be tough to fight and still have it exceed them?" Summer narrowed her gaze, which Penny tried to desperately avoid. "You're hiding something."
"…I'm sorry Summer, but that's classified. I really can't tell you."
'Bullseye. Well Penny, let's make sure I'm right. Nothing wrong with the occasional shot in the dark.' With that Summer closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 'And if I'm wrong, I'm in for a total shit storm back home.'
"Death, Moon, Hierophant, and Strength. Four Creatures of Grimm that came into being during the Great War and have been a threat to humanity ever since." Summer opened her eyes to see Penny staring back at her in shock and continued. "They're fast, strong, and most dangerously of all intelligent and able to command other Grimm like soldiers. They all look like young women and are collectively known as-"
"The Generals of Grimm," Penny finished and then shouted, "You know about the Generals!?" Summer quickly clamped her hand on Penny's mouth and held a finger to her own lips.
"Quiet! Don't just shout that kind of thing out loud!" Even if she was sure there was no one listening, it was better to be safe than sorry. Penny nodded and Summer took her hand away and crossed her arms again. "And yeah, I know about them. My whole team has known about them since the beginning of the school year."
"But if you know… then that means you're working with Mr. Ironwood to stop them?"
"Something like that, but I get my orders from Professor Ozpin, not Ironwood. How do you fit into all of this then?"
"The elimination of the Generals of Grimm are one of my primary directives." Penny looked down as she clasped her hands together, her gaze focused and serious. "It's just as you said, the Generals are a threat to our way of life as we know it, and if they aren't stopped they'll lead us all into an even worse war than what we've left behind." Then she looked up at Summer and smiled as she moved her hands behind her back. "But thanks to you and everyone else the Hierophant has fallen! And it shouldn't be longer before the rest have too right?"
"We can only hope." Summer uncrossed her arms and held a hand up to her mouth as she chuckled, "I gotta say, it's reassuring to know I have you as an ally in the fight against Queen."
"Queen? What's a Queen?" Penny asked, which stopped Summer's laughter and had her eyes widen a little.
'She knows about the Generals but not Salem? Ironwood must be playing his cards a little closer to his chest than Ozpin.' Stowing that line of thought away, Summer shook her head and said, "Never mind that Penny, I was just rambling."
"You were? But it sounded-"
"Penny, if you don't know what I'm talking about, then it's not worth knowing. Got it?" The two girls stared at each other for a moment until Penny nodded.
"Yes, I understand. It's probably nothing right?" Summer nodded in response and was silently glad to have put out that fire without incident.
"Where the hell did she go!?" Summer and Penny looked to the side of the building they were on and Summer held a finger to her lips. Penny nodded and they snuck to the edge of the rooftop and looked down into the alley to see the two soldiers standing and looking around.
"Looks like your escorts are here. You better go with them."
"Yes I should," Penny nodded and showed her palms again, "I need to get the damage fixed too." They stood up and Penny pulled Summer into a quick hug before pulling away. "Thanks for helping me Summer, but I feel a little bad. If you need my help with anything, don't hesitate to ask. Would that be sufficient repayment?"
"Friendship isn't about give and take Penny. Besides I don't think there's anything you could do to help me right now, unless you can somehow get Vale's Dust Shipment data from the SDC."
"Done." Summer was taken aback by Penny's abrupt statement and even more so when she gave a curt salute before rushing to the opposite side of the rooftop.
"Wait Penny, I was being sarcastic!" Summer tried to shout after her to no avail as Penny jumped off the roof. Summer huffed to herself before going back to spying on the soldiers in the alley.
"Ah shit, the General is going to kill us if we can't find her!" the one with blue clothing said grabbing at his helmet.
"I can't take another demotion," the other in red added. They were so overcome with their despair that they didn't notice Penny casually walk around the corner at the far end of the alley until she called out to them.
"Salutations Officers!" The two immediately perked up and dashed over to Penny and started looking her over.
"Penny! What were you thinking running from us like that!?" Red asked with all the angry concern of a grade school teacher.
"What happened to that girl you were with?" Blue asked.
"What girl? I've been alone all day."
'Thank you for not snitching,' Summer thought with a quick eye roll when Penny hiccupped without outwardly showing it.
"And what did we say about causing a scene out in the city?" Red added putting his hands on his hips, "It's pure luck that no one was hurt in that truck accident. Were you?"
"No, just a scratch," Penny answered and showed the palms of her hands.
'Just a scratch she says. That kind of injury would cause irreversible muscle damage if she actually had them.' Summer's assessment proved to be thinking a bit further ahead than the two soldiers, who simply lamented that Penny's father 'wouldn't be happy' to hear about this. Soon enough they were walking away with Penny, Blue tapping the side of his helmet to make a call, and were out of Summer's line of sight.
Summer sighed and turned to sit with her back against the roof. "That girl's going to be the death of me. I hope she doesn't do something stupid." With not much else to do at the moment, Summer opened her jacket a little and reached into one of the inner pockets to pull out a small white box and a metal flick lighter, shaking the former to gauge its contents. "Now do I really want to waste my monthly smoke on Penny's welfare?" she wondered to herself before just as quickly nodding. "Yes, yes I do. I should find a smoking room first."