Chapter 36
Ghosts in the Machine
(A/N: Apologies for the delay, friends, but after posting Chapter 35 of "The Patchwork Prodigy" I decided to take a short break and work on a RWBY/Pokémon crossover from my backlog titled "The Road You Choose". The story takes place in the Johto region where Ruby is a Pokémon trainer on a quest to collect eight gym badges before the start of the Silver Conference in a couple of months. Along the way she meets an heiress from Kalos named Weiss Schnee, and after getting off on the wrong foot Ruby challenges her to a high stakes Pokémon battle, and afterward challenges the Ecruteak City Gym for her sixth badge. An entire story arc of five chapters has been posted and it's something very near and dear to my heart as a long time Pokémon fan. If you decide to give it a read I hope you enjoy, just as I hope you enjoy Ruby's long awaited reunion with Penny. Thank you for your patience, as well as all the love and support. God bless)
With a startled yelp and agonized groan Ruby's legs buckled underneath her and she plopped down in the middle of an abandoned corridor, making sounds reminiscent of an injured animal sucking air through a straw.
Despite the airship being cold enough to hang raw meat, sweat poured from her face, and her already tight formal huntress attire threatened to choke what little life she had remaining, not that she would've minded.
Neon's directions had sounded simple enough, but even a single department of the dreadnought class airship was like a maze and there were many more Specialists in-training than Ruby had been expecting. Their luxurious residence hall seemed to be larger than Beacon Academy's entire student campus, and because Ruby didn't know Penny's room number she'd had to knock on the most amiable-looking doors and ask for directions. Whether or not any of the residents were actually the most neighborly was yet to be seen, but it wasn't until her third attempt that a door wasn't immediately slammed in her face.
Having superspeed and the ability to talk at two hundred miles an hour it was a testament to their Specialist training, but even after finally getting the answer she desired, Ruby was still told that she sounded like a backwoods hick and that it was past her bedtime. Only then after their nasally, snobbish laughter was the door slammed in her face.
Unfortunately their directions had led Ruby clear across the airship, and they'd mistakenly given her the wrong room number as well. Even worse was that the young woman whose door she had knocked on had allowed Ruby to stammer and fumble through her words for several minutes until she finally ran out of breath. Then after several long agonizing seconds with her embarrassment having reached its peak did the door slam in her face, again...
Ruby felt she deserved at least some of the blame as this wasn't unusual behavior or all that uncommon occurrence. Most people seemed to just want to get rid of her as quickly as possible, which normally suited Ruby just fine, but she also got the feeling that her formal attire and mention of Penny might have struck a nerve or two. She was obviously dressed for General Ironwood's banquet while they were not, and there was also the chance they already knew her as Weiss Schnee's partner, or the prodigious leader of Beacon's top freshman team.
In spite of everything working against her however and Atlesians being notoriously hostile toward foreigners, Ruby had long since accepted the fact she just had that sort of effect on people.
Her sister on the other hand could've gotten herself invited into their rooms and had them spill their darkest secrets just by turning on the patented Xiao Long charm that seemed to come naturally to everyone in the family except Ruby. She'd actually had a rather awkward encounter with her sister earlier during her search, but Yang had been too preoccupied with the boy she was with to notice Ruby even when they nearly trampled over her in their hurry.
Despite the circumstances and Yang's intentions clearly on display in her aura, Ruby was happy that her big sis was happy, especially at a time like this. She didn't necessarily approve of her sister's actions and hoped they were fueled by something other than boredom or the need for comfort, but although it was an additional concern added to Ruby's already considerable list, the most immediate was whether or not she was ever going to be able to stand back up again...
Yang would be fine, and the boy presumably as well, eventually.
Ruby couldn't blame being lost entirely on the labyrinth-like corridors or her unhelpful northern neighbors. While she didn't have nearly the poor sense of direction that her sister had, Ruby was just as easily distracted if not more so. All it had taken was a directory pointing toward the armory for Ruby to sprint straight there, or briskly shuffle her feet more accurately. She was even able to talk the guards out of not arresting her by casually mentioning her partner's name, but they had still confiscated the rocket launcher and everything else she had procured that would've made fine additions to her arsenal back home.
Well, almost everything. Apparently Ruby did have some Xiao Long genes hidden away because the guards had stopped short of a strip search.
Any closed door with a keypad lock instead of a rental scanner or keycard slot was also fair game as far as Ruby was concerned. A locked door was much like a Christmas present with its pesky wrapping paper still on, and Ruby couldn't help sneaking a peek. No matter how many digits a number lock might have, her minuscule amount of aura was more than enough to guess the correct combination in a matter of minutes. Few things in life were as satisfying as pressing buttons until something inevitably happened, but besides her new favorite playroom she hadn't discovered anything even remotely resembling Christmas morning.
If Ruby hadn't forgotten why she'd come aboard The Arcadia or the dire situation she was in she might've thought to ask one of the soldiers for Penny's room number, but she hadn't and considered herself lucky they hadn't kicked her out or gotten on the intercom and asked for who the lost teenage girl with chocolate smeared on her hands and face belonged to. That was always super embarrassing whenever Yang or Weiss took her shopping...
Deciding she'd rather die anywhere but on a clean tile floor and having run out of self-pity, she crawled to the nearest door frame and with a great deal of effort stood back up on her aching feet, only crying out once or twice which went ignored by the nearest residents. She made the conscious decision that there could be no more distractions but that was easier said than done. If given the choice between seeing a close friend and reuniting with her mom, and possibly reversing a painful death, or shooting off the world's largest dust cannon at a sizable target Ruby wasn't entirely sure which she'd choose, and so for the sake of her own self-preservation decided to take temptation out of the equation.
"Ruby..."
"Huh?" She turned around staring down an empty corridor. "H-hello?"
Using the wall for support she limped toward the sleepy, sing-song voice of a young woman but quickly found herself at a four way juncture with nobody to be seen. "Great. Now I'm hearing voices..."
She checked all the nearby doors to see if someone was playing a prank or watching her through the peephole but couldn't find any evidence to support her suspicion. Taking a deep breath and pushing the Mimic out of her mind, she tried channeling Weiss' lingering aura once more in hopes that her partner might know the way around but either their bond wasn't yet strong enough or Ruby too weak to properly focus. Or perhaps Weiss simply didn't know her grandfather's airship quite as well as she pretended.
"Uh, Weiss?" she asked after a furious response. "D-did you just call my name a minute ago?"
"..."
"Right, you usually just call me dummy, dolt, and dunce. And occasionally worse. But don't worry, I know you're only teasing and that deep down you really love me."
"!"
"Sorry, I'll shut up now..."
Once the admonishing subsided Ruby sighed and studied the nearby doors taking note of how two were always closer together and assumed they must belong to partners. As someone who had shared a bedroom practically her entire life, it was a rather disturbing concept sleeping in a bedroom all by yourself without anyone to keep you company, and was glad she'd still be sharing a room next year when her team moved into the apartment style dorm rooms even if it was with two bedrooms instead of just one.
While she thought about how lonely it must be to be a Specialist in-training, Ruby's nose twitched catching a familiar scent that she had almost forgotten. Fresh roses...
Her own rose scented aura hadn't smelled fresh in nearly a month, and following the scent she stopped at an ordinary-looking door that she must've passed half a dozen times already. Hesitantly she reached out to knock expecting the worst, but her hand froze when something on the door handle caught her eye. Chocolate fingerprints, a sight she was all too familiar with and caused her to reflexively apologize to her partner.
Ruby beamed, knowing somehow she had come to the right door. "This is it," she told herself, taking a deep breath and preparing for whatever came next.
*knock, knock*
Heavy footsteps from within immediately came running, and the door flew open revealing a pale girl several inches taller than Ruby with bright green eyes and curly orange hair almost touching her shoulders. Being late into the evening she had already changed into her pajamas which consisted of green sweatpants and an orange tank top, which besides the color combination and her personal emblem being proudly displayed was another eerily familiar sight.
"RUBY!?" a bubbly voice with a faint Atlesian accent cried. "What are you doing here!?"
"Hi, Penny," she said accompanied by an awkward wave. "I-I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd say hi and-"
Before she could say another word, Ruby found herself being smothered much like she did with her sister, and was glad she had remembered to brace herself for the affectionate girl who neither knew her own strength nor her ability to suffocate a person nearly half a foot shorter than herself.
"It's so good to see you, Ruby!"
"Ootoo," came a halfhearted, muffled reply.
"Oh my goodness!" Penny released her but maintained a strong grip around her shoulders, so much so that Ruby's feet dangled in the air. "Ruby, you're not supposed to be here! Quick! Inside before someone sees you!"
Just as she was beginning to breathe normally again, Ruby was yanked into the room with the door slamming shut and bolted behind her. Afterward the embrace resumed until Ruby began making squeaking sounds like a balloon about to pop, leaving scars on her tongue rivaling those of her stomach.
After being nearly broken in two and having her tongue bitten off, Penny finally gave her enough room to breathe, but only just.
"Ruby, what are you doing here!?" Penny cried again. Glancing back at the door she fervently began barricading it with whatever furniture was nearby, causing Ruby to wonder if it was so nobody interrupted or so that she couldn't escape.
'Probably both,' said an unhelpful voice. 'Quick, hit her in the back of the head with the lamp when she's not looking, then make a run for it. Make two lefts then a right and you'll be back at the elevators. Or was that two rights and a left?'
Instead of answering or trying to escape like a normal person might've, Ruby distracted herself by examining the lavish bedroom, marveling at how it blended classical Atlesian décor with state of the art electronics, but mostly just the latter. A queen sized bed with an immaculate white bedspread sat in the left hand corner of a room nearly twice the size of her team's. Beside the bed was a window projection showing a beautiful view of the lake and Beacon Academy atop the cliffs, and while Ruby stood gawking at everything including the high-tech-looking light switches, Penny went around gathering laundry and her swords from off the floor.
"Sorry about the mess," she breathed, her freckled face slightly pinkish. "I'm normally much tidier and more organized than this. I don't know what's gotten into me lately."
Ruby smiled. "That's alright," she said, taking note of Penny's uncharacteristically emotive mannerisms and facial expressions. "It kinda reminds me of home actually."
With the room now secure Penny took a step toward her, nervously wiping her hands on her sweatpants. "Ruby," she said, "you're not supposed to be here! Students from other academies are strictly forbidden from entering the bedrooms of Specialists in-training, and I don't know how Father or General Ironwood would feel about you in particular coming to see me. Besides, you have to have special permission to come aboard The Arcadia. We have to get you out of here before someone sees you! What if you get expelled from Beacon! For all we know this could cause an international incident between the kingdoms! What if Atlas and Vale go to war with each other!"
She grabbed Ruby by the wrist and with one hand effortlessly began moving furniture away from the door. "Hurry, I know a shortcut! Keep running straight until you reach the spa. Then take a left. If you keep running straight you'll run into main hanger elevators!"
'I suppose that would've work too...'
"It's alright, Penny." Although difficult she managed to pry her hand free of Penny's vice grip, but her momentum caused her to stumble backward and nearly trip over an overlooked sword. "If I was gonna sneak aboard a military airship would I really be wearing makeup or clothes as silly as these?"
She gestured down at her formal huntress attire which had been exclusively picked out by her sister and partner, which was probably why none of the other Atlesians had insulted them. Penny stopped and studied her for a moment. "I don't think you look silly, Ruby. Actually I think you look rather beautiful and dignified."
Ruby couldn't help but blush at the rare compliment that was normally only ever said out of politeness. "Thanks. I, uh, like your pajamas."
"Thank you!" She twirled much like Ruby had been forced to do back in the room, and grabbed her hands in fear that she might never stop.
"I didn't sneak aboard, and most of the ship probably knows I'm here anyway. Weiss was invited to General Ironwood's dinner tonight but she asked me and my sister to come along. Blake of course decided she'd rather stay home and read, but while Weiss plays heiress and Yang does, well, Yang things, I thought I'd come and see you. Actually, you're the reason I came aboard in the first place."
"And I'm so glad you did!" Without warning Penny wrapped her arms around Ruby again, and without any time to brace herself Ruby let out a yelp, causing Penny to immediately release her. Studying the girl just inches from her face, she seemed to note Ruby's paler than usual complexion as well as the way she hunched over holding her stomach.
"Ruby! Why didn't you tell me that you were hungry! Here, lie down while I order you something to eat!"
Scooping Ruby into her arms Penny carried her over to the bed, setting her down on the side before retrieving a scroll from atop the nightstand. "I've never actually ordered room service before but I've seen Ciel do it precisely fifty-seven times. Let's see, the number is-"
"Penny stop." With some effort Ruby sat up and laid a hand atop hers, lowering the holographic device. "I'm not hungry. Well, okay maybe a little but that can wait. I-I got injured during the breach, a-and it's taking a while to heal..."
"A while to heal?" Penny's eyes widened. "Ruby, the breach was over a month ago!"
"That long, huh?" she chuckled humorlessly. "Feels longer..."
Ruby groaned as she leaned forward, holding her stomach as though her insides might spill out at any moment. Penny stared at her intently, the scroll trembling slightly. "Ruby, if your aura hasn't healed your injuries by now you should see a doctor immediately. Atlas has the best in the world, and once you've rested I'm going to take you to the medical center on deck two. Don't worry, they're very discrete and won't ask why we're together or where we're coming from."
The cape-less girl smiled weakly, humored by Penny's concern over her getting in trouble which was the least of her worries. "Doctors can't help me now, and Yang would have a fit if she knew I let strangers do tests on my aura. Now I know why only the head doctors at Signal and Beacon have ever been the ones to run tests on me or see my aura records. The only person that can help me now is you, Penny. That's why I came here tonight. One of the reasons anyway."
She smiled again as the other girl stared blankly back at her. "Penny, do you remember when I transferred some of my aura to you? You skinned your hands saving me from getting run over by a truck, and a little while later I healed them for you."
"Of course I remember!" she cried, grinning ear to ear. "How could I forget? It was the best day of my life, and look what I can do!" She waved her hand and a trail of rose petals followed behind, tickling Ruby's nose and causing her eyes to sting.
It was an odd sensation seeing someone else with your aura, and also having it literally thrown in your face. Smiling kindly, Ruby motioned for Penny to sit beside her, but instead she merrily leaped atop the bed, landing face first in the middle before situating herself in a cross-legged position. Ruby groaned inwardly as she turned and did her best to keep her shoes off the otherwise immaculate bed.
"It was one of the best days of my life too," she said honestly, "and if I hadn't shared my aura with you, I wouldn't have been able to go on my team's mission to Mt. Glenn, and the White Fang would've had another month to prepare the attack on Vale. You might've saved The City of Vale, Penny, maybe even the entire kingdom. And I've been meaning to thank you not only for that, but also for sneaking into the hospital and transferring some of my aura back to me."
Penny's toes wiggled as she blushed again. "I'm just sorry that woman attacked and that you got hurt again during the breach. When I heard about what happened atop the CCT I tried to get permission to come see you, but since we were under lockdown I had to wait until I was on perimeter duty so I could sneak off. I think someone may have learned I abandoned my post however because I haven't had any security details since, and I'm not allowed to leave the ship without an escort. But don't worry! I don't mind, and it was worth it! I wanted it to be a surprise when you woke up. When did you figure out it was me?"
Ruby bit her lip thoughtfully for a moment. "I think a part of me always knew, and I'm sorry you got in trouble. There really wasn't another explanation for how I was able to walk the next day, but I was just so happy to be out of the hospital and go on an official mission that I didn't really stop to think how I got better. I just accepted it, and it turns out that's been a recurring problem with me..."
"Is that why you wanted to come see me?" she asked excitedly. "My scans show that you currently have less than one percent of your aura remaining and that it's recharging at an estimated rate of 0.02% per hour. Do you want me to transfer more of your aura back to you? Just like my own aura I'm capable of replicating it now, which means I can make you all better!"
She reached out with hands glowing a peculiar blend of red and green but Ruby leaned backward, nearly falling off the bed as she narrowly avoided her deceivingly dangerous touch.
"It's not my aura I need back," she said when Penny came to a halt, confused and visibly hurt by Ruby's extreme and uncharacteristic behavior. Once the familiar scent of roses subsided Ruby cautiously grabbed the other girl's hands and squeezed. "My aura might be able to cover up my injuries for a week or two but it'll be like recharging a battery that's already gone bad. Eventually the battery's going to die and whatever it's connected to is going to is going to die too. Besides, the aura I gave you and the aura I had in the hospital didn't really agree with each other last time, and I think something really bad would happen if we tried again."
Penny stared at her curiously, shaking her head. "Ruby, I-I don't understand what you're saying. Is the aura you transferred to me somehow not your aura?"
Ruby took a deep breath and sighed. "I think it would be better if I just showed you, but first I want to say that I'm sorry for ever getting you involved in this, and for getting my aura mixed with your own. Because of me you'll never be quite yourself ever again..."
As her hands started to pull away Penny squeezed them, confused but still smiling. "Don't be sorry, Ruby. You gave me the greatest gift I could've ever asked for." She scooted closer until their noses were practically touching. "I'm starting to finally feel like a real girl because of you! And it's like you're always here keeping me company. Before our aura transfer I didn't know what it meant to be lonely, not really, but now that I do I don't ever have to worry about being lonely ever again!"
She wrapped her arms around Ruby, more gently this time and flared her aura which along with smelling like roses, was electrical in nature, though not nearly as wild or erratic like Nora's. This was refined and concentrated energy in its purest form, and while it was mostly foreign to Ruby, it was also without the instinctual barriers and inhibitions that even her sister and partner had when sharing theirs. It made her entire body tingle inside and out, and the aura that was familiar to her was like being wrapped in a childhood blanket she had somehow forgotten about.
Ruby wondered if this was the sensation her teammates felt when she shared her aura with them, and if so vowed to share more often. She was lost in the mixture of auras for quite some time, a reprieve from the constant worry and agony that had been plaguing, but reluctantly she began coming to her senses again and Penny slowed the flow of aura down to a trickle.
"I don't know if anyone has ever told you this, Ruby, but you really are an incredible person. I may not have been able to relive memories through your aura but I have been able to experience certain feelings and emotions that were previously unknown to me, and they all paint a very beautiful picture of you."
Ruby sat speechless, her eyes twinkling when Penny suddenly hugged her again, even gentler this time and flaring her aura to try and convey her feelings through more than just words which she had always been less than adequate at.
"Uh, t-thanks, Penny," she said at last, not being the best with words either. "It's still not fair to you as a person, but I'm glad that you're happy. Now I can honestly say that I don't have any regrets transferring my aura to you. Other than maybe it turning you into a slob like me and causing you to leave chocolate fingerprints everywhere."
Penny quickly examined her fingers to make sure her fair skin was spotless. "Since I'm capable of eating in order to better blend in with humans I had tried chocolate before but found it difficult to clean and hadn't touched it again until after our transfer. One night I strangely found myself wanting to try it again, along with strawberries, and while I still can't actually taste anything it's as though I remember enjoying them. I can't explain why but they make me happy for some reason, perhaps because I remember you carrying a plastic baggy full of cookies while we were searching for Blake. I particularly enjoy them around midnight with a glass of milk."
Ruby laughed. "They're called chocolate cravings, and I may know a thing or two about them."
"They're wonderful!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Ciel's actually been getting onto me about it, that and laundry. It's as though every time I turn around there are more clothes on the floor, and I don't understand how that's possible."
Ruby winced and suddenly found herself having difficulty looking Penny in the eye. "Ciel's your partner isn't she?" Penny nodded enthusiastically. "Oh... I'm sorry, Penny. I really am. It's not fair to either of you for you to have my aura instead of hers. I-I hope it hasn't caused any problems between you two..."
Penny tilted her head inquisitively, and Ruby pointed at the nightstand where beside photos of a middle aged man and woman that vaguely resembled Penny, was a dark skinned girl with navy blue hair and bright blue eyes. She appeared to be busy checking the time on her wrist scroll, and Ruby couldn't help noting the gold markings that resembled a sun on her forehead, as well as the blue combat skirt and MADR at her side which was standard issue to all Specialists in-training and seemed to be more for ceremonial purposes than actual combat.
"In her own words, Ciel is more like my chaperone than actual partner," Penny explained matter-of-factly. "Since her mother is on my maintenance team, Ciel was entrusted with my secret and wellbeing, and it benefits us both since she's more interested in being an officer in the military than an actual huntress. I think she views me more as a means to an end than her actual partner, but-"
As the words escaped her mouth Penny immediately began waving her hands. "Don't get me wrong! Ciel is very nice and has never said or done anything my programming has ever considered overtly rude or mean, but I think she only tolerates me because she's ordered to and because it's in her best interest..."
A quiet moment passed between them with Penny twiddling her thumbs and smiling impossibly wide.
"So she's basically your Weiss then?" Ruby asked, a smile spreading across her face.
Penny covered her mouth but very quickly began giggling. "I think that may be a very accurate comparison. Ciel doesn't have as short a temper however, and like I said she's never said anything particularly rude or mean to me, at least not intentionally."
"Oh, so nothing like Weiss," she laughed.
Penny giggled again and gave her a playful nudge that rivaled Yang's in strength and nearly sent her flying off the bed. "Ciel can be impatient with me sometimes but I've learned to accept that all humans have their quirks and imperfections. I suppose you're all just programmed that way the same as me, which means I'm inherently imperfect!" She smiled and clapped her hands together, proud of her little joke. "Ciel and I have actually been getting along better since you transferred your aura to me. I'm capable of having more complex emotions now and I'm better at understanding subtlety and human intentions when they're otherwise left unsaid, meaning I'm not quite as 'oblivious' as I used to be. I'm even using contractions regularly now!"
She hugged her again and Ruby patted her on the back, grinning ear to ear but the smile faltering when she was finally released.
"I'm happy for you, Penny. Really I am, but when you say it's my aura that's not entirely true..." Penny gave her a puzzled look while Ruby took a deep breath. "The aura I gave you wasn't actually mine, or at least not all of it was. Have you noticed anything weird or unusual about my aura? Like some of it being different somehow?"
"Different?" Penny shook her head. "Your aura signature is consistent throughout and not unlike yours now. As for weird or unusual, I'm afraid I only have my own aura to compare it to, which is what you would probably describe as 'weird' and 'unusual'."
Ruby closed her eyes and braced herself as the wind was physically knocked out of her. Had her mother's aura somehow been lost during the transfer? Had Penny during combat expended it before it could fully recharge? After so much time had her mother's aura simply become so watered down in her own that even Penny couldn't detect the anomalies? What if her mother's aura keeping her alive had been nothing more than the delusions of a silly girl who missed her mom and didn't want to face the reality that she was going to die?
It didn't matter. Hundreds of theories flooded her mind, each one more unlikely or disheartening than the last. In a way it was a peaceful sensation. Rather than the uncertainty that had tormented for the past month Ruby now knew for certain that she was going to die, and wouldn't have long to wait. In her mind Ruby imagined herself in the machine shop sitting both on her stool and lying on the bench, a stubborn engineer and a broken weapon.
In the past she had sometimes agonized for days if not weeks over a weapon trying to fix it, but once she came to the realization it couldn't be fixed she'd immediately begin salvaging it and making the most out of a bad situation. In the end she'd always remake or reforge the weapon better than it'd been previously, but she suspected that wouldn't be the case this time.
Her sister's words from atop the dorm rang in her ears, remembering how Raven's death had led to Ruby being born, and how in Yang's own opinion some good had come from her mother's death. She had even gone so far as to say she wouldn't trade Ruby for her mother or even the world...
Dying now felt unfair somehow, not necessarily to herself but to Yang who had already lost so much. Ruby tried not to think about how her sister was going to react to her death as imagining everyone else's was painful enough. Dying had always been a possibility as a huntress in-training, a likelihood once she graduated, and while Ruby didn't often think about how she might die, this was without a doubt the most boring way she could imagine. Worst of all however she'd be giving her life without saving someone else's in return, something she had promised herself she wouldn't do.
As Ruby made peace with herself and the situation, deciding that for her final acts she wanted to make her loved ones happy and leave the world a better place than when she entered it, Penny in those precious few seconds was moving her eyes as though reading something there in front of her.
"Ruby!" she exclaimed. "You were right!"
"I-what-huh?" Ruby's eyes slowly came back into focus. "Right about what?"
"There was something strange and unusual about your aura! Looking into my archives it turns out I have an entire folder dedicated to anomalies I found while scanning it!"
"W-wait, so you're saying you still have my mom's aura!"
Penny looked at her, suddenly taken aback. "Your mother's aura? Well yes, I suppose so. Unfortunately I'm not sure what anomalies I may have found or where her aura is currently located due to deleting all memory files pertaining to her aura prior to my last time going in for maintenance."
"D-deleted?" she stuttered, with Penny nodding proudly.
"You're welcome!"
A tidal wave of emotions overcame Ruby, and she tried valiantly to keep her eyes from leaking. Her final vestige of hope had been stripped from her only to be returned and ripped away once more, and she suddenly found herself feeling incredibly frustrated, losing that sense of peace she had just had a moment ago, not helped by Penny's cheerful smile and attitude.
"Oh, there's no need to worry," she insisted. "I always backup my memories before deleting them, as well as encrypt a message to myself so I know to recover them later. It's my only way of keeping secrets from Father and my maintenance team. I must've hid your mother's aura in one of my reserve aura containers, which is also how I've been hiding yours during my regular checkups, though Father did eventually find out. Instead of being upset however he told me how proud he was, and that me being able to transfer aura back and forth means I've fulfilled my primary function! Strange, there must be a reason why I've kept your aura separated from hers and my own, and why I haven't retrieved the files specific to her aura."
Despite experiencing a fresh wave of relief, Ruby's stomach sank. The roller coaster ride of the last several minutes had left her feeling empty inside, not unlike an actual roller coaster, but something about Penny's words didn't quite sit right and made her uneasy.
'You're the one who wanted answers,' Weiss chided. 'Next time be careful what you ask for, and please don't involve either me or info brokers...'
"My mom's aura is all that I need. Could you restore your memories, Penny, and give me another aura transfer. This time with just her aura?"
Penny nodded. "I don't see why not, and anything for you, Ruby! I'm very curious as to why I would encrypt a message to myself but keep the actual files unrestored. I check for deleted files every sleep cycle, and the only ones I ever leave unrestored is information that could be harmful to either my programming or development."
There was something reminiscent of concern in her voice that Ruby was quick to identify, as well as a moment of hesitation before Penny's eyes began to glow and lose focus, almost as if in a trance. Her body stiffened and the façade of her breathing came to a halt, and Ruby waited for what felt like an eternity for Penny's eyes to return to normal and her breathing resume.
"Hmm, now that's very peculiar," she said thoughtfully.
"W-what is?"
Penny blinked, startled as if forgetting she wasn't alone. "Although I am a Series 12 combat android comparable to that of a third year Specialist in-training, my primary function is transferring and storing massive quantities of aura, specifically powerful aura signatures my creators have designated as the Winter, Spring, Autumn, and Summer Maidens."
"The what!?" Ruby nearly screamed.
"I'm sorry I can't be more specific than that." Penny brought her knees up to her chest and folded her arms over them as if suddenly cold. "I don't know what that means and Father's never told me, but some of my earliest non-essential coding involves the Maidens. And within your mother's aura is the signature of what I have labeled as 'The Spring Maiden of Rebirth and Rejuvenation'."
Penny shivered as a moment of silence passed. "The Spring Maiden..." Ruby repeated, shaking her head. "Why would your dad or General Ironwood be interested in an old fairy tale? Even if the part about them being princesses and future queens is true, my mom wasn't related to the Lionhearts. Yang and I are because of our dad, but lots of people have Lionheart blood in them."
"It's very fragmented," Penny continued, "and roughly only eight percent of the Spring Maiden's full aura signature. I also appear to have unsuccessfully tried duplicating it at some point. Your mother's aura specifically however is much more intact and bears a strong resemblance to your own, which are very similar to a file I have labeled as 'The Summer Maiden of Life and Death', though not exact.
Ruby's breath caught and her heart skipped a beat. "M-mom was from Vacuo," she whispered, "and the S-Summer Maiden from the story was her favorite..."
Penny clapped her hands together in delight but after a moment bit her lip thoughtfully. "You know, despite my primary function and objective having to do with the Maidens I don't actually know what they are or what this all means. I just thought it best to keep it a secret from Father and General Ironwood. You kept my secret, and I thought it was only fair to keep yours as well. If you don't mind me asking however, do you know what the Maidens are?"
She leaned in close so their noses were almost touching again, and Ruby couldn't help but lean back. "M-maybe. Have you ever heard of a bedtime story called 'The Tale of Four Maidens'?"
"Of course, but General Ironwood has given me strict orders not to research the subject, and Father asked me very nicely as well. I know the premise of the story, but I believe something may have been written into my programming because even now I'm more interested in your relation to them than the Maidens themselves." She smiled but it quickly faded. "I-I suppose I have to thank you, Ruby. You helped me achieve both my primary function and objective, or what a human might call my 'life's purpose'. Still, I don't know why my creators would build me when such transference machines already exist, or why they would give a robot synthetic aura in the first place..."
Penny glanced down at her hands which trembled slightly. "I'm a prototype, Ruby, and I've accomplished what I was created to do. I-I should be happy, but I think I may know why I left my memories unrestored..."
Her bright green eyes began to twinkle but no tears ran down her cheeks. Her sniffling was reminiscent of having the hiccups, and Ruby reached out and squeezed her hands. "Penny, I don't think the question is, 'Why would Atlas give a robot aura?'" she said. "I think the real question is, 'Why would Atlas put a human soul inside a robot's body?'"
Penny blinked at her. "Ruby, what are you saying?"
"Somebody may have created your body, Penny, but they didn't create you. Souls can't just be created, and I don't believe for a second they can be synthetic either. And when you really think about it, your body isn't all that different from someone with cybernetics. Growing up around huntsmen I know lots of people with artificial limbs and organs, some more than others. You just happen to have the most is all."
Her eyes lit up a smile spread across her face, but before Penny could tackle her off the bed Ruby held up a hand signaling that she wasn't quite finished. "And who cares if your dad or General Ironwood tried living your life for you? Lots of parents do that for their kids. If my mom had it her way I would be going to a regular high school right now, and probably become a teacher or vet someday. Instead I'm attending Beacon Academy training to be a huntress, probably the last thing she wanted me to become."
Penny covered her mouth and lowered her voice to a whisper. "Are you saying that you disobeyed your mother's wishes?"
Ruby sighed. "Yeah, I guess I am. Just because she's my mom and I love her doesn't mean she gets to run my life. And just because you completed their goals for you doesn't mean you can't come up with ones for yourself. My dream ever since I can remember was to become a registered huntress, but once I graduate I'll have to think of something else. So, Penny, now that you've proven you can transfer aura back and forth, and apparently found a Maiden or the descendant of one anyway, what's your dream? What's one thing you wanna do more than anything?"
Penny's eyes continued to sparkle and she looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling. "I want to be a real girl someday, or as close as I can be. I want to taste chocolate and know what holding your hand feels like, not just have everything told to me by my logic processors. I also wish to get to know my best friend Ruby better, and help her in any way I can!"
Ruby smiled, blushing slightly. "I think you can help me right now actually..."
With some effort she was able to release herself from Penny's grasp, and although her legs were already threatening to buckle, she stood up using both the bed and nightstand for support. After several deep breaths she began undoing her tighter than usual waist cincher, and afterward unbuttoned her black blouse and tossed it onto the floor. Penny stared at her curiously, unsure what she was doing or why she was undressing when she suddenly covered her mouth and jumped to her feet.
"Ruby!" she exclaimed. "You're bleeding!"
She pointed at the black undershirt that was damp with crimson. "Yeah, I've been doing that a lot lately," Ruby said humorlessly, grimacing as she was unable to get her arms or head through their proper holes. "Help me get this shirt off, and my bandages. Weiss tied them too tight and I can't get them off without scissors." Thinking about it, she thought it might've been possible this was Weiss' way of making sure she didn't take them off, but due to the voice in her head being oddly silent she couldn't be sure.
Penny helped remove her shirt but cautiously touched the bloodstained bandages, noting several open wounds. "I don't know, Ruby," she said apprehensively. "I don't think taking your bandages off is a good idea. It appears you've already lost a considerable amount of blood..."
"Please, Penny" her voice cracked. "They're just going to keep getting worse the longer we wait, and if you're going to transfer aura to me, we can't risk the bandages melding with my skin. Besides, my wounds need to be cleaned and my bandages changed anyway. Here, start with this piece of tape."
Carefully and somewhat reluctantly they began unwrapping her, occasionally pausing when the lack of pressure caused her to become dizzy. After a while Ruby began having to hold onto Penny just to keep herself from falling over, and gritted her teeth as the agony flared up once more, possibly worse than ever.
"That's enough," she said before the bandages could be completely removed and leave her topless. Penny stopped and stared at the absorbent gauze soaked in crimson, already beginning to drip onto the floor which Ruby had covered with her already soiled undershirt. "You might want to grab a trash can, and maybe a damp towel and washcloth."
Penny nodded but paused to make sure Ruby was capable of standing on her own, which she barely managed to accomplish by keeping a hand on the nightstand. Afterward she ran into the bathroom with rose petals trailing behind her, and returned a moment later with the requested items.
Bending down she examined the gauze more closely before lifting a corner. "Ruby," she whispered, "this is a lot of blood..."
Ruby nodded well aware of the fact. "Some of it's from the aura shield Weiss made for me melting and mixing with the blood." She winced as the pressure was removed completely, only to be quickly replaced by Penny's aura coated hands.
"Ruby, please don't take this the wrong way, but right now my logic processors are telling me that you can't be alive right now, especially not if you've had these injuries for over a month. You're beginning to bleed internally, a-and the probability of surviving surgery as you currently are is, well..."
Although she was doing her best to sound unemotional like the robot she claimed to be, fear and sorrow threatened to overwhelm her voice. "Doctors can't do anything for me now," Ruby said, doing her best to sound unconcerned. "That's why I came to see you. I didn't get these injuries last month, Penny, or even during the mission. I got them eight years ago when Beowolves attacked my home."
Penny's eyes widened. "I-I don't understand. Ruby, you should be dead." She made an unintelligible sound, a sob mixed with the whirling of an overheated computer usually made shortly before shutting down. Her head and neck twitched unnaturally, and Ruby quickly grabbed her hands as if to prove she was still there.
"Penny!" she shouted, causing the girl's eyes to refocus. "I know, and that's the problem. Before I started remembering everything that happened that day I didn't even know I'd been a part of the attack. Then scars started showing up and I thought maybe my mom had just healed a couple of shallow bites or claw marks, but I don't think anyone could live through wounds like these, or heal them for that matter. I-I died, Penny, and my mom brought me back to life by using the last of her aura and every transference glyph she knew. She traded her life for mine..."
Her voice cracked and she took a deep breath, waiting until she had regained control of herself before continuing. "When I transferred my aura to you, I accidently gave you the aura she transferred to me that day, and it's the only thing that's been keeping me alive all these years. Not long after our transfer, just a couple of days, my body began reverting back to the way it was, the way it's supposed to be. I ignored it for as long as I could because I've spent most of my life trying not to remember, but I can't ignore it anymore and I remember everything anyway..."
She stood there sniffling, tears falling onto the floor the same as droplets of blood. "You died?" Penny murmured, tilting her head to the side.
Ruby nodded. "I'd make a joke about getting better, b-but I'm really scared right now. Please, Penny, activate my mom's aura and push your soul into mine. Normally a soul dive would kill me right now, but since my aura's intertwined with yours that should make things easier, and something tells me that my mom's aura is wanting to come back to me. And if what you said about her being the Spring Maiden is true, or us related to the Summer Maiden, then I think this might just be our lucky day. I-I hope..."
Hiccupping, Penny flared her aura but instead of the raw energy from before it was now gentle like lying on a bed of flowers. Ruby closed her eyes and lowered her head, prompting Penny to do the same so that their foreheads touched. She grimaced as aura began pulsating from Penny's hands through her open wounds, but very quickly Ruby felt a familiar presence she had previously never acknowledged or even recognized.
'Ruby...' said a warm, sleepy voice. 'I've missed you, Sweetie...'
"I've missed you too, Mommy..." she nearly sobbed.
Three very distinct souls entered her own, threatening to overwhelm her, but the only pushback came in the form of another soul already dwelling within Ruby. This soul didn't take kindly to the intruders, but after some coaxing the icy aura allowed the others to enter but only if they promised to behave themselves and not bother her.
Images flashed of Ruby baking cookies with her mom but always from two different perspectives. In one she wasn't even tall enough to see over the countertop, but in another she was looking down at a cookie sheet while a little girl in a red cape impatiently waited down below, her hands and lips already smeared with chocolate.
In others they were sharing a bed together while a thunderstorm raged overhead, the woman holding the little girl tightly even long after it had passed.
Countless images of them together played all at once, but before long they began being replaced by others, such as the girl playing at the beach with her big sis, or staying up all night playing video games with her and her uncle. Countless others involved a crowded dorm room shared by four girls and a corgi, but the majority were of a girl in white as gentle as a snowflake, who never yelled or ever lost her patience, and who had been her best friend since either could remember.
Included in these happy memories was her first encounter with a girl almost as peculiar as herself. Ruby had never been more amazed than when she witnessed a bullhead being cut in two just from her aura, and had never felt more encouraged than when she saw it streak across the sky and leave a trail of rose petals in its wake. She was without a doubt the most incredible person Ruby had ever met.
'You have a heart and a soul,' she said, watching herself from someone else's perspective. 'I can feel it...'
The scene played in perpetuity, the happiest moment of their life followed only by receiving the gift of a real girl's aura shortly thereafter. Life had never been the same since, possibly because that had been where her life had truly begun. Not the moment her AI first became self-aware, and not even when she experienced her first emotion could compare.
Not even when she woke up and saw her father's face again. She shouldn't have been capable of emotion at that time, and yet the memory elicited the strangest sense of deja vu, a sensation she still didn't quite understand.
'Again?' she wondered. 'Had I met Father before?'
The soul and mind shuddered, threatening to rip each other asunder until a kindhearted soul quelled their inner turmoil and loathing for one another. The soul didn't belong to this world, and the analytic mind couldn't make sense of the other, but the honest soul was quick to remind them that they needed each other and were one and the same.
A sudden pain in their chest caused the images to transition again, and very nearly tore the intertwined souls apart. One moment Ruby was lying on the snow, covered in blood with her insides spilling out, and in the next she was being swaddled in a red blanket and held in the arms of her mother for the very first time, a lullaby being hummed as she slept.
She was the most beautiful little girl in the whole entire world. She was her little girl, and her name was Ruby Rose. Images flashed of her smiling up at the woman, telling her how much she loved her, but they all came to a screeching halt underneath the old tire tree. Her little girl's eyes were open but the lights were gone, and on her lips frozen in time were her final words.
'Mommy...'
Terrible wails followed by incoherent sobs escaped the woman as she fell to her knees, screaming her baby's name and cradling her the same way she had as a premature infant. Despite screaming and shaking her daughter's body however Ruby remained silent and still, her body already growing cold.
Beowolves howled in the distance but the woman paid them little mind. Perhaps they would sense her grief and come for her first, then she could die protecting her daughter, just as she should've, and then they could be together again, forever.
'There's still time, Summer,' said a familiar woman's voice in her mind. 'You can still save her, but you know the price...'
With great reluctance she set her daughter down on the ground, blinded by tears as she placed her hands atop the worst of Ruby's wounds, of which there were several to choose from. Dozens of white glyphs appeared between them, each one more complicated than the last, and she began speaking in a commanding voice as if speaking to Remnant itself, demanding that it obey.
"My name is Marian Calavera. I am a daughter of life and death. The Transient Princess and the rightful heir of the Summer Kingdom. I am the successor of rebirth and regeneration, and I freely forfeit all of my authority, all the gifts of Ozma, and my life for one final request. Bring my daughter back to life and allow me to watch over her. Please, Lord, save my baby girl. Do what I couldn't..."
She began muttering prayers under her breath, the glyphs changing and reordering themselves until a light blinded her already blurry vision and her broken heart felt as though it had been violently ripped out of her chest, and she half expected to see it lying on the ground next to her daughter.
Her vision grew dark, but just as she began to fall forward with the intention of protecting her daughter's body for as long as possible, Ruby's chest began to rise and fall again, her grisly wounds already beginning to close when her eyes fluttered.
"M-mommy?" she rasped.
Summer wrapped her arms around her, kissing her and sobbing over her. "I'm here, Sweetie. I'm right here. Mommy's not going anywhere"
The memory began to fade just like her vision, and she was only vaguely aware of herself wrapping Ruby in a bloodstained cloak and carrying her back to the cottage, nearly collapsing several times along the way. She hid her daughter underneath the bed, saying that her father and uncle would be there soon and to not come out until then, but her body hardly knew what it was saying or doing anymore.
After a final kiss goodbye she walked through her grandmother's cottage one last time, remembering when she first arrived on the doorstep on a cold rainy evening as a malnourished fourteen-year-old girl. She had been barefoot and suffering from hypothermia, and unknowingly fulfilled the prophecy of The Transient Princess. Until the day her daughter was born it had been the happiest day of her life, and it was with that memory that the inevitable darkness swallowed her.
Her spirit had long since departed her body however, and what remained of her soul now resided within her daughter underneath the bed.
"I love you, Sweetie..." had been the final words of her imperfect body, but the remnants of her aura had said much more beautiful things that words simply couldn't convey.
'Remember what I told you,' the sleepy voice said. 'I'll always be here for you, and I will always keep you safe. I came back just like I told you. Mommies always keep their promises...'
Ruby's eyes shot open and she cried out as a hot knife was ripped from her stomach. Her lungs were on fire and the world became darkness as she fell forward into her mother's awaiting arms. Despite not knowing where she was Ruby smiled and rocked back and forth with her, almost like they were dancing, but something wasn't quite right. With great difficulty she opened her eyes and instead of the woman she missed more than anything, she found Penny, stiff as a board with her eyes dark and pupils doubled in size.
"Error, error," she said in a distorted, robotic sounding voice, her lips remaining motionless.
"Penny!?" Ruby cried, shaking the other girl as she continued repeating herself. "PENNY!?"
"Error, err-" Her body spasmed and a discharge of aura coursed through Ruby. She screamed and groped at her stomach, but with the other hand continued shaking Penny as if attempting to rouse her from a deep sleep.
"Penny!" she sobbed. "I'm sorry. It should've been me. I-I didn't mean for this to happen. Please don't go. Please..."
She laid her head on Penny's shoulder and began to cry, the agony of her body having already become an afterthought. "Thank you, Penny. Now please wake up. I love you and I don't want to lose you too..."
*sniff*
Ruby stood there in silence rocking back and forth with Penny when finally a garbled voice said her name. She looked up through tearful eyes and saw Penny's own were glowing again, but otherwise her face remained impassive. "M-my processors were o-overloaded and are-are-are having difficulty understanding w-what just transpired-transpired."
As she spoke her voice slowly returned to normal, and Ruby wiped her eyes on the girl's tank top, stopping just short of blowing her nose. "A-are you going to be alright?"
There was a pause as the eyes went into a trance again. "I believe so yes," she said finally. "I've never experienced pain before, at least not how a human would interpret it, and it nearly shorted out all of my logic and emotional processors. I'm sorry, Ruby, but I'm going to have to archive much of our soul dive until I'm capable of coping with such emotion, otherwise I will develop a fault which could cause irreparable damage."
"Do whatever you have to. Just please be alright!"
Gradually Penny's pupils returned to their regular size, her face occasionally twitching as if forgetting how the muscles worked, but eventually these too returned to normal and she looked down at the sobbing girl with a bright but concerned smile. "Please don't cry, Ruby. I'm alright, and I'm sorry to have frightened you like that. I've already written an encrypted message explaining what I experienced and everything that happened here, and while I don't actually remember what happened during our soul dive, I'm very sorry for what happened in Patchwork. The report alone of what I saw is awful..."
Ruby shook her head. "I'm the one who's sorry, Penny. I was so scared that I'd lost you just like I lost my m-" her voice cracked and she quickly wiped her face. "Doesn't matter. You're alright, and because of you, I am too."
She gestured down at Penny's hands which had continued covering the worst of Ruby's wounds even when the rest of her body had been rigid like a statue. Ruby held her breath as Penny cautiously moved her fingers out of the way expecting blood to begin gushing at any moment, but instead they found a thin veil of white aura covering her injuries, the blood having coagulated and the skin already beginning to mend.
"You did it, Penny," Ruby whispered. With a trembling hand she snapped her fingers and a light breeze filled the room smelling of fresh rose petals which scattered instead of wilting. "I have my mom's aura back thanks to you..."
She collapsed against Penny who caught her and helped keep her steady. "Penny," she said sleepily. "I need you to keep tonight a secret. From everyone, including Yang and Weiss, and from your father and General Ironwood if you can."
"Don't worry! I'm great at keeping secrets!"
*hic*
"Well, maybe not 'great', but I don't believe you have anything to worry about. At the moment much of our soul dive is a secret even from me, and later I'll encrypt a message warning myself not to unarchive the memory. I'll also edit my error log, otherwise Father may get curious and look to see what tripped it. I'm sorry, Ruby, but I honestly can't even begin to understand how awful losing your mother must have been for you, or what it's been like having those scars."
"It's okay," she murmured, steading herself so she could support at least some of her own weight. "To be honest after how both you and Weiss reacted I'm glad you don't remember, and I wish I didn't remember either. Actually I'm a little jealous." She laughed, a combination of dark irony and the adrenaline wearing off. "It's alright. I didn't get through it on my own the first time, and this time won't be any different. I had my sister and my dad and my uncle, and Zwei, and I also had my mom."
She pointed at the white rose petals beginning to form on her stomach. "Even though she was gone, Mom was still there for me, and I don't mean just her aura. Just because people are gone doesn't mean they're not still a part of your life. Even though I transferred her aura to you over a month ago she hasn't been gone, not really, and I'm glad you got to meet her. I'm sure the next couple days aren't going to be easy, but I've got Weiss and Blake now to help me through it, and I also have you, Penny..."
The taller girl's face brightened and her aura instinctually flared, causing Ruby to sigh as it pulsed through her body, the smell of machinery and the faint scent of roses tickling her nose. "I think I know exactly what you mean," Penny said, bouncing on the tips of her toes. "And while I'm currently unable to retain your more negative experiences, I am able to recall some of your happier memories. I'm very thankful that you shared them with me, and I'm glad to have found Weiss' aura within your own. That means just like me, neither of you ever have to be lonely! She's very protective of you, you know."
Ruby chuckled and smiled sheepishly. "I know, and I'm sorry if she was mean to you. She doesn't mean it. Well, okay maybe she does but she doesn't really mean it. She acts that way to everyone, even me. Especially me..."
"It's alright. I understand. You're her partner, and it's very rare for first year students to be able to perform soul dives. You two must be very close."
Blushing slightly Ruby nodded. "Growing up all I ever wanted was to have a huntress partner, and I couldn't have asked for a better one."
"I'm glad to hear, and it's ironic that you and I only met because she ran into me that day at the docks. Interestingly, my programming states that I'm only supposed to address her as 'Miss Schnee', and everyone including Father and General Ironwood insist I do as well, but since she introduced herself to me as simply Weiss, I'm now obligated to refer to her as such. Unfortunately humans have no such oversights in their programming. All of Atlas' military including my personal guards continue to refer to me as 'Miss Penny' even though I've asked them not to."
Ruby couldn't help but laugh, and as the pain in her stomach subsided she began feeling very tired all of a sudden. It was all she could do just to stare up at Penny and half-listen. "You have really pretty eyes, Penny..."
"Thank you! They're actually an older model but were custom built just for me. You know, I've been meaning to compliment Weiss on her eye. It really is quite remarkable, and it's even capable of tears! Even mine aren't that advanced, and they're constantly malfunctioning or needing to be cleaned. Thankfully I have additional sensors as well as remote cameras I can use so I can see even when my eyes have been removed or are malfunctioning."
"That's really cool," Ruby gushed, a million questions already coming to mind despite her superspeed still not being a hundred percent. "But, um, well, if you wouldn't mind, please don't say anything about Weiss' eye in front of her."
"Why not? Is she ashamed of having a cybernetic?"
"No!" she said fervently, afraid of offending the girl made almost if not entirely of cybernetics. "Well, okay maybe a little. It's just a sore spot is all, and she doesn't like talking about it with anyone, including me."
"I see. I shall put that information in my file of things not to discuss in front of Weiss."
Ruby snorted. "You already have a file, huh? Wish I'd thought of that. If you'd like, sometime I could tell you a few hundred more I know off the top of my head."
"That would be splendid, but I suppose it'll have to wait until the tournament. I'm under strict orders not to leave The Arcadia again unless it's with Ciel or my escort. Remember the red and blue soldiers that came to retrieve me after our aura transfer?"
"I must've missed them when you threw me into a dumpster..."
"Oh, well they're both very sweet but they don't like it when I wander off. It gets them in trouble with General Ironwood and Major- I mean, Lieutenant Colonel Schnee. I'm also unable to communicate with unauthorized personnel on my scroll, and the hologram in the communications center won't let me use the facilities. Holly's not very nice, and after not seeing you for a month, another two weeks sounds like an awfully long time, especially when I have an internal clock that's always active."
A tremor went through both her body and aura, and just as Ruby was about to ask what was wrong, Penny's lips connected with her own. They moved as if not quite knowing what they were doing, or how exactly the muscles were supposed to work, but before Ruby could respond, Penny pulled away and stared at her with a forlorn expression as if already missing her.
Ruby on the other hand could only stare blankly, unsure of what had just happened when her knees buckled and she fell into Penny's awaiting arms. Blushing vivid shades of red, Ruby quickly glanced down at the towel underneath them now spotted with blood.
"Uh, Penny?" she asked awkwardly. "Would you mind helping me get cleaned up and dressed? I don't want to get blood on your carpet or anymore on the clothes Yang and Weiss got for me, and it's a little chilly in here..."
Penny dutifully nodded and retrieved the damp washcloth and towel from off the floor, but as she began wiping away the blood she couldn't help pausing occasionally to examine the girl's flesh. At first Ruby assumed she was just checking to make sure all her wounds were covered by aura and healing correctly, but she soon realized it was her supple, non-artificial skin that had her so entranced, particularly her goosebumps.
"I've never seen anyone up close like this before," she said, running her fingertips over the tiny bumps. Ruby shifted her weight, self-conscious of being on display but also more than a little ticklish.
Still blushing, she asked Penny for help removing the last of her bandages before buttoning her blouse, and afterward sighed deeply. This was the first time in weeks she didn't need bandages or gauze to keep from ruining her clothes, or to keep her insides from spilling out, and savoring the moment of finally being able to breathe normally again she was reluctant to ask for help with her waist cincher.
Once she was fully dressed again and reasonably presentable, Ruby continued adjusting her attire while Penny gathered the bandages and gauze and ruined undershirt, saying that she'd dispose of them later in the training room where blood soaked articles of clothing wouldn't raise suspicion even if they were found.
Afterward Penny stood in front of Ruby, making sure she was alright one last time before pulling her tank top over her head.
Ruby made an unintelligible sound and quickly looked away. "P-Penny," she stuttered, "I-I-"
"It's alright," she reassured, her voice now coming from the dresser as a pair of sweatpants landed in Ruby's field of view. "Some of your blood got on my pajamas, and since I don't bleed it would be very difficult for me to explain to Ciel. Don't worry, I'll dispose of them in the training room as well."
"Oh, that's not what I was, uh..."
Penny reappeared a moment later, and peeking out the corner of her eye Ruby saw she was wearing another tank top and pair of sweatpants. After affirming for a second and third time she was indeed wearing clothes, she found that Penny was grinning as though finding something about her humorous.
"Please don't take this the wrong way, Ruby, but you're the first and only person that actually makes me feel normal."
Ruby couldn't help but chuckle and found herself nodding in agreement. They continued smiling at one another, their auras occasionally flaring due to their close proximity after having just merged, and standing up on her tiptoes Ruby's lips reunited with Penny's. This time it was Penny who was caught off guard, but coming to her senses she quickly began kissing her back, her eyes wide and lips puckered like a fish. Having been properly taught by her sister however as though it were an essential survival skill, Ruby took the lead and found herself leaning more and more into Penny's arms until her feet no longer touched the ground.
Electrical aura flared causing Ruby's entire body to tingle and for her hair to stand up. Dizzy and with her lungs threatening to explode she unwrapped her legs and tried to pull away only for Penny to continue exploring her lips and her own newfound range of motion. With some effort Ruby finally broke free, gasping for air while Penny watched on, concerned as if not understanding why Ruby was having such difficulty breathing or why her face was a spectacular shade of violet.
"Are you okay, Ruby?"
"Fine," she wheezed, coughing into her sleeve. Ruby wasn't sure if the heat emanating from her cheeks was entirely due to the lack of oxygen, but she found herself enjoying Penny's close proximity more and more. Even to Ruby there was something incredibly naïve and innocent about her, and had felt as much in her aura. Neither Penny nor her thoughts were simple by any means, but they were straight forward in a way Ruby had never experienced before. Penny didn't have secrets from Ruby nor did she have any reason to keep them, which was strangely comforting after finding out her entire life was built on lies no matter how well-meaning.
More than just truthful however, Penny was sincere and never pretended to be someone she wasn't, not really anyway. She had never yelled at or gotten angry with anyone her entire life, which she spent almost exclusively trying to please those around her. And despite not fully understanding herself or the strange world around her, Penny was living her happily-ever-after every day of her life.
Perhaps Ruby had been able to glean more from the girl's peculiar aura than she previously thought, or perhaps her and her mother's aura had been so intertwined with Penny's that a part of her had found residence somewhere adjacent to Weiss. Or maybe they just understood each other, and had even from the very beginning.
A girl with a robot's body and a dead girl with a body held together by happy thoughts and a mother's love. Perhaps the two of them weren't so different...
She giggled softly to herself as the last of the adrenaline wore off, and laid her head on Penny's shoulder. Taking a quick shower briefly entered her mind, as did a curt warning from Weiss reminding her that she could hardly stand right now. She hated the idea of having to sit in a chair back at the dorm one last time after having looked so forward to her first real shower in weeks, without the need of waterproof bandages, and in the back of her mind she heard her sister suggesting she hold onto Penny while she showered.
Ruby ignored the loud, boisterous voice as best she could before defaulting to screaming over her for fear of Penny hearing the blonde devil on her shoulder, which wasn't to be confused with the white haired devil on the other.
As expected it wasn't long before the two devils got into an argument and Weiss found herself very nearly being expelled.
'Getting a bit crowded in here...' Ruby thought to herself, thereby getting their attention and changing the direction of their affection.
"Ruby," she said. "Ever since you transferred your aura to me something strange has been occurring. Lately there have been times where my thoughts and feelings are contradictory to not only each other, but also to my programming. Do you think that I'm developing a fault, or is this something all humans experience?"
Ruby grinned and rolled her head so it was practically buried in Penny's neck. "When I'm fighting Grimm there's no place I'd rather be than hiding underneath my bed. Whenever I'm happy there's also a part of me that's also sad that my mom can't be happy with me. I cry whenever I visit her memorial or her grave, but all these years later she still finds ways of making me laugh. It's okay to laugh at a funeral, Penny, and it's okay to cry at a wedding."
She raised her head slightly to give her a peck on the cheek. "And I think you might be the most human person I've ever met, Penny..."
*sniff*
Ruby buried her face again as Penny let out little hiccups and slowly rocked them back and forth. She could feel herself losing consciousness, and embraced it rather than allowing her overactive imagination to speculate why Penny had kissed her, or the reasons she had kissed her back. Penny loved her, that much she knew, but she also suspected that Penny didn't know the difference between love and in love. Ruby wasn't sure if she knew the difference either, and perhaps it didn't matter. They were both happy, and for the first time in a long time, Ruby could honestly say that everything was going to be alright.
"Penny," she murmured, "would you mind if I laid down on your bed? Not for long, just until I catch my breath."
"Of course not! I hardly even use it except for when I get curious what dreaming is like."
"You don't dream?" With some effort she raised her head, concerned and perhaps even a little disturbed, but also envious after a month of never ending nightmares.
"Not exactly. Some time within thirty-six hours I have to enter a low power sleep mode and run a self-diagnostic or else risk acquiring a fault. During that time I review my memories, as well as reports that I've downloaded, and from what I understand it's not too dissimilar to dreaming."
"That sounds really nice actually," Ruby said, feeling gravity winning the battle with her eyelids.
Penny nodded but appeared thoughtful for a moment. "I suppose so, but when I first became operational I didn't have very many memories and they'd repeat hundreds if not thousands of times every cycle. It wasn't a very pleasant sensation, and I'd quickly become what you would call 'bored'. Analyzing combat footage as well as huntsman tactics and maneuvers certainly helped in that regard, and the longer I've been operational the easier it's been to fill each cycle with pleasant memories. Although they're only a few hours in length total, my personal favorite are the ones of us together!"
She looked at her so earnestly that Ruby couldn't help but blush. "I dream a lot about you too, Penny..."
"Really? That makes me so glad to hear! I intend on analyzing tonight in great detail. If you don't mind that is."
Ruby shook her head. "Those memories belong to you now, including the ones from our soul dive. I'm just sorry it caused so much trouble for you."
"I'm the one who should be sorry, Ruby. If you hadn't transferred your aura to me none of this would've happened in the first place."
"Well in that case, I wouldn't have done anything any differently." She laid her head down once more.
"I don't know what I would do if I were to lose my father, Ruby, or you. I've seen soldiers die on the battlefield and it's absolutely horrible every time, but truth be told I still don't fully understand death. I'm not even sure what would happen to me if my aura or AI became separated from each other. I know I'm not very good at this sort of thing, but would you like to talk about what happened in Patchwork?"
Ruby shook her head. "I'm not really good at that kind of thing either, and I'm too tired right now. But I promise you, Penny, if you die you'll go where my mom is, and where I'll end up sooner or later..."
Penny made a sound reminiscent of sniffling and buried her face in the girl's hair. Ruby smiled and tightened the embrace, a part of her wanting to talk about her mom and what she did but another already wanting to forget again. When it came to her problems Ruby preferred tackling what was directly in front of her, such as when something needed to be fixed or killed, but in this instance there wasn't anything Penny or anyone else could do for her, and she'd caused enough problems tonight. Instead she focused on what was in front of her at that very moment. "Penny, I'll have to be going soon..."
"I know-" she squeezed," but not just yet, right?"
No, not yet. My sister might think it's funny if I spent the night here but she'd come check on me eventually, and so will Weiss."
"That's great! The more the merrier!"
Ruby raised her head. "A-actually, Penny, I'd rather if they didn't know about us, I mean what we did here tonight. If they see your aura right now they'll know something happened, and a Team RWBY interrogation would probably kill me right now. I just need to lie down for a little while. I have an alarm on my scroll that'll wake me when the banquet's supposed to be over but Weiss will probably text me anyway. Just make sure I wake up, okay?"
"Will do!" She saluted dutifully before scooping Ruby up in her arms, causing her to yelp and for her eyes to widen.
"Uh, Penny?"
Answering her question and still cradling her, Penny crawled onto the center of her bed and laid down, propped up by several pillows. Recovering from her surprise Ruby grinned and proceeded to get comfortable and use the other girl as a pillow. She had been in some unintentionally awkward positions sharing a bed with her sister and more recently Weiss, but while this felt different somehow it was also just as pleasant, if not more so.
As their auras flared and overlapped the two began humming a soft lullaby, neither sure who had started, and warm memories flooded Ruby's mind as Penny wrapped her arms around her. She held her as if afraid to let go or perhaps protect her from some unseen terror, but as Ruby squirmed to get more comfortable she eventually just draped her arms over her like blankets. Every time Ruby breathed she'd smile, and finding the sensation enjoyable Penny increased her air intake so her chest would rise and fall rhythmically underneath Ruby's head.
Shifting her body slightly she gave Ruby a lingering kiss atop the head, a single tear falling from her face before scattering into rose petals.
"I love you, Ruby," she whispered. "I love you so much."
"I love you too, Penny. Sweet dreams..."
(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. This chapter has been a long time coming, and I hope it lived up to expectations. While I don't "ship" Ruby and Penny, I think they have a very unique relationship and bring out the best in each other. Penny in my opinion is the perfect supporting character for Ruby, and helps bring to light what makes Ruby so special. Whether or not their relationship is or could ever be TRULY romantic is up to you, but I think "unconventional" is probably the word I'd describe any relationship Ruby could potentially be in. Sometimes in life you find what you weren't even looking for, but in Ruby and Penny's case I think it's a bit more complicated than that. Or perhaps it's just straightforward love in it's purest form.
The close relationship between Ruby and Penny is partially brought on what happened in Volume 3. I do have an outline for a pseudo-novelization that I would like to write someday and even have certain parts written, and while some things would change others will stay the same (just with a fresh coat of paint). If I were to write a Penny death scene and continue Ruby's story without her, I want their friendship/relationship to mean as much as possible to both them and the reader. I don't want it to simply be for shock value or to move the plot forward, or for Penny's inevitable return to merely be that. Inevitable, to the point even Ruby wasn't hugely impacted by her return. I wrote this chapter with Penny's "death" and how it would impact Ruby in my mind, and I hope that gives a bit of insight to what I was going for. Seeing them so happy here breaks my heart, but I also smile because I know how Ruby and Penny's stories ultimately end, as well as everyone else's.
"And they all lived happily-ever-after, together forever."
I also want to preface that I originally wrote this chapter prior to Penny's return in Volume 7 (May of 2019 as a matter of fact, though it was a shadow of what it is now), and actually this chapter resembles my original outline for Chapter 40 of "The Petals Scatter Now" before I scrapped it in favor of continuing the narrative. Back in late 2015 early 2016, Summer/Ruby were just descendants of the Vacuoan royal family, but when the Maidens were introduced I decided to incorporate them as well (and eventually I sorta combined them with the Relics). I don't like having too many magic systems in a story, and this in my opinion was the simplest, most elegant solution without completely changing the landscape of RWBY (though I did technically remove magic altogether). I want to thank everyone who's followed me on this near six year journey and watched me grow as a writer/storyteller. I hope that I haven't disappointed you, and while there may have been some bumps in the road I hope "The Petals Scatter Now" and "The Patchwork Prodigy" feels like a cohesive story, and Team RWBY a loving, dysfunctional family.
Back to Volume 7, I wasn't much a fan of the volume or of Penny's portrayal, and I feel that instead of Ruby being close friends with Penny it often felt like she was "tolerating" her or didn't know what to make of her. All of the affection just seemed very one sided to me, and as someone who's been greatly influenced by Ruby's line of "You have a heart and a soul. I can feel it..." it just felt very wrong to me, and that helped motivate me while writing and editing this chapter.
If Ruby represents an "honest soul" then I like to think Penny represents a "sincere soul". The main difference being that Ruby has been through hell emotionally and mentally but remains the childlike soul we know her to be. Penny on the other hand has been completely untouched as far as trauma goes, and has never experienced true anger or sadness, and until recently true love and happiness. She is for all intents and purposes the best of humanity, and in my opinion it's hard to argue with Ruby being second.
Also, "Marian" for those curious is a Latin name meaning "Rose Petal", and is possibly where Maria gets her color association from (Marian Blue). I've always liked the idea of Summer and Ruby being related to Maria, and with her name possibly being derived from a word that literally means "Rose Petal", I personally think this was a lost opportunity by the writers. That's just my opinion, and funny enough prior to Volume 6 I wrote a hypothetical on the RWBY subreddit about Summer's disappearance that was VERY close to Maria's backstory, as in almost exactly the same.
All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with this story and with all of you wonderful readers. God bless)
