…
"Do not fall," Ambrosius warned them, so serious in tone that it bordered on menacing. Then, as if nothing had happened, his usual demeanour returned, "Okaaay, and with that dire warning–"
"Wait, why did you say it like that?" Blake asked uneasily, her cat ears lowered and pointing out to the sides of her head.
"Yeah, what happens if you fall? What's down there?" pressed Yang.
"Just... don't fall. You won't like what's down there, probably."
"Probably? What is that supposed to mean?" Weiss joined in.
"Do you want us to fall? Because we wouldn't be thinking about it if you hadn't said anything," Blake pointed out.
"I forgot to tell you earlier, okay!" said Ambrosius, suddenly on the defensive against the irate young women.
"How could you forget? You created the doorways, and I assume bridges or pathways or something to connect them – there's literally nothing else there apart from the ominous fall you keep mentioning," stated Weiss.
"Guys, this isn't getting us anywhere!" Ruby shouted, bringing quiet back to the vault entrance once again. "Ambrosius, sir, can you make exactly the same location you made before, but with a huge safety net suspended underneath it, and handrails around whatever connects the doorways–"
"Wait, don't do it yet," Penny said suddenly, making herself the centre of attention as everyone waited to hear what she had to say. "I've been thinking: when Weiss presented the reference schematics she said it would be a 'one way ticket to Vacuo', so anyone who goes through that door will have no way of getting back. Vacuo is an entire continent, and we never said which part of it we wanted the main doorway to lead to. What if our current door leads to somewhere unsafe, or remote, or generally inconvenient?"
"Aha-hahahaha! Now this, this is the kind of thinking that makes getting summoned so rewarding!" Ambrosius commended. He turned in the air to lie on his front and drifted closer to the girls. "Please, don't stop on my account!" he said when he realised they weren't asking him anything yet, "I wanna see how this one plays out."
"Well spotted, Penny," Weiss told her with a relieved smile. "Oh my gosh, can you imagine if I'd gotten everyone stuck in the middle of the desert? I can't believe I made such an amateurish mistake."
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. It's a thing people say all the time," Yang reassured her.
"Yeah, and now we can change it," Ruby agreed.
"If we're changing things, then is Vacuo even the best place to go?" asked Blake. "I know it's what we planned, but Vacuans aren't known for being welcoming to outsiders, and life in the capital is already hard and dangerous."
"Not to mention that Mantle and Vacuo aren't on the best terms anyway," said Weiss.
"So if we don't send them there, where do we send them?" asked Yang.
"We could send them to Mistral," said Ruby, before pausing to think for a moment. "There's nothing for Salem over there, it isn't in the desert and it has a better history with Mantle. Going there won't be as much of a shock for the refugees, and that means less Grimm."
"Haven Academy's been closed since Professor Lionheart died, if we send everyone there then at least there'll be some free rooms to get people started: they'll have shelter, a place to cook, bathrooms, basic stuff," said Yang.
"What about Huntsmen? The people's emotions and the staff are going to attract Grimm… Will we be enough to protect everyone, after what Salem did to Mistral's Huntsmen?" Blake asked nervously.
"We'll have to be," Ruby said firmly. "People are depending on us, we can't let them down. We won't let them down; not when we've got the staff and the Winter Maiden on our side," she said, smiling at Penny and Blake in turn. "Mr. Ambrosius, instead of making the main doorway open in Vacuo, make it a two-way ticket to Haven Academy."
"Haha! Sure, kid. My pleasure," Ambrosius agreed. He got to work immediately, performing a number of complex hand gestures over the course of a few seconds, and brought the process to an end with a clap of his hands. "There! The same setup as before but with none of the excitement, just as you requested."
"Okay now that we've got that out of the way; seriously, what happens if we fall into Vault space?" Weiss asked, beginning the interrogation anew.
"I could tell you that, but wouldn't you rather hear about the time this one king asked me to–"
"Cut the crap, Ambro! We don't have time for this!" Yang cut in.
"Actually, I think we do. Doesn't he freeze time when we summon him?" Weiss pointed out.
"We have time for this! Now tell us what's down there!" demanded Yang.
"Ah. Wielders of the staff are usually interested in my cautionary tales... Okay here's the thing, I don't actually want to tell you about Ever After."
His admission didn't go down well at all, earning him five different flavours of complaint, each neatly summarised by Yang's "What!? Why?!"
"To cut a very long and fascinating story short, there are some things that mortals aren't supposed to know. Anyway, Jinn's the spirit of knowledge, why don't you ask her about it?" Ambrosius said dismissively.
"Gee, what a great idea! Why didn't I think of asking her about something that you literally just told us about?!"
"Yang!" Weiss, Blake and Penny exclaimed in unison.
"Sorry, we've been having a pretty rough time recently," said Ruby. "Come to think of it, where is the lamp? I haven't seen it for ages."
"It was kinda still inside Salem's whale when Oscar vaporised her," Yang admitted apologetically. A faint blush coloured her cheeks when she saw the group's dismay, "Sorry guys."
"…Then we have to assume that she still has the lamp," said Ruby.
"And that she'll use it to find out what we're doing with the staff," Blake added.
"That means Cinder will be coming. She won't give up until she possesses the Winter Maiden's power," Penny warned.
"Then we have to get you and the staff to Mistral as soon as we can. Salem can't get her hands on another relic," Ruby told her.
Penny nodded in agreement.
"When you get there, find Emerald. You're the only one who can fight Cinder on her own, and if she already knows what we're trying to do you'll need some help protecting the staff, and yourself," said Weiss.
"Go through to portal, protect the staff, find Emerald. Understood!" confirmed Penny.
Yang sighed, loudly and tiredly. "These relics are a real pain in the ass."
"Excuse me, hey! I'm right here you know! I have feelings too," Ambrosius said in protest.
"Personal feelings! I have those as well, aren't they wonderful?!" Penny piped up.
"Yes, when they're not being hurt…"
"Then now is an excellent time for me to console you with my gratitude! Thank you for giving me a new body of squishy guts and warm hugs, and natural hair, and breathing! It's sensational! You're quite the artist."
"Why thank you, Penny, it's nice to be appreciated for my work," Ambrosius replied, smiling once again.
"Oh I know, my father– Dad! I hope he and Miss Calavera are okay…"
"Penny, your dad is easily the smartest person I know. If anyone can find a way off of Amity, it's him," Weiss said in an attempt to reassure her.
"He is good at solving problems…" Penny said worriedly.
"I'll call to let them know what's going on. He'll be okay," said Yang.
"You will? Thank you! And please, let him know I'm safe. But don't tell him about my new body! I want it to be a surprise," Penny said, back to her cheerful self.
"Trust me, he's gonna be surprised no matter what I tell him."
When the girls had stopped laughing, Penny spoke to Ambrosius again.
"The two of you – you and my father, that is – just have to meet! He's a creator too: he made my old body," she explained to the spirit.
"Hahaha! I said the same thing to your friends earlier. The schematics of your previous form really were exquisite; with a mind like his, I can tell that your father and I will have a lot to talk about."
"Guys, this is such a sweet thing to think about, but we should get going," Blake said.
"We should, but before that I'd like to ask Mr. Ambrosius for one more thing," said Penny.
"Penny?" Ruby questioned.
"You weren't in the loop when we did this last time, but as soon as I create something new for you, my previous creation will disappear. It's a 'one at a time' deal I'm afraid," Ambrosius explained.
"But… you could make something for me, then create the new version of the central location?" Penny asked.
"I could, but you do realise that would be a waste of your time?"
"It could be, but… it could also not be, depending on what I ask for, and how I ask for it," Penny said, the merest hint of a smile on her face.
"Interesting, go on," the spirit said, sporting a grin of his own.
"Well, first I need to know what you asked to make me human, and how I'm still here when I saw my old body disappear," Penny said to the others.
"We asked him to make a new version of you, using your exact same robot parts," Ruby told her.
"…And you allowed that?" Penny asked Ambrosius incredulously.
"They believed that you'd be okay, and that their instruction for me to 'get creative', would work out for you," Ambrosius clarified with a nonchalant shrug. "You're here, so somehow they were right."
Penny smiled brightly at her saviours:
"Thank you," she told them, before facing Ambrosius with a more serious expression on her face. "Then could you please make a new version of me using my exact same human parts, but with some shoes too?"
The other girls turned to stare at her in disbelief.
"The ground is hard and rough, and I only just got my feet. I'd prefer not to ruin them," Penny explained, as though it was the most natural idea in the world.
"Awww!" cried Ruby and Weiss.
"Wait, you're not actually going to transfer your soul again for some shoes, are you? Aren't you–" Blake started saying.
"I think we're drifting off-topic here," Ambrosius interrupted gently. To Penny he said, "I've seen a few different styles of footwear in my time, so if you've got something in mind, lay it on me! I've probably seen it. If not, a description will do. A detailed description."
"Hey! How come you weren't this nice to us?" Yang complained.
"I was. Anyway, Penny and I now share an artist-creation connection, and honestly who wouldn't want to be commissioned by someone so cheery and respectful? Some of you could learn something from her... Now! Penny, what'll it be?"
"...I have no preference, feel free to 'get creative'," she told him happily.
"As you wish," he replied with a grin.
He paused for several moments, looking at Penny and stroking his chin in thought. When he'd decided on what to make he clapped his hands above his head, creating an explosion of golden sparks and cyan smoke – the latter of which formed two small clouds that followed his palms when he pointed them in Penny's direction. Ruby and Weiss quickly moved away from her, closer to the edge of the platform – not really looking to get caught up in Ambrosius's magic. With his path clear, the spirit sent the twin streams of smoke towards Penny – the magical gas swirled around her, making her glow as it drifted around her body. Then, just as before, the girls lost sight of their friend in burst of light; when they looked back the portal was gone and there were two Pennies instead of one, identical save for the requested footwear.
"Penny?" Weiss asked quietly.
"I'm back!" Penny announced.
Not a second later, her first human body slumped lifelessly to the floor, making Blake flinch and Yang wince.
"Cute shoes," Blake complimented once she'd noticed them.
"Thank you," replied Penny. Her focus quickly shifted from Blake to her new shoes, a pair of white Mary Janes with small bows at the front edge, and short heels at the back. She lifted a leg and rolled her ankle this way and that, admiring her new accessories, wondering if the weight she could feel at the toe was usual among shoes.
"Steel toecaps," Ambrosius told her with a grin when he saw what she was doing. "Pretty and practical. I know what you warrior types get up to."
"Practical?" Blake repeated with a laugh, "That's like putting armour plates in a dress so you can fight in it."
"My combat skirt is armour plated! Well, it's more accurate to say the armour is woven into the fabric – but either way, combat skirts are extremely versatile," Penny informed her.
"Yeah!" agreed Weiss and Ruby.
"Thank you too," Penny said to Ambrosius. "They're simple, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and complementary to my current attire. I love them!"
The spirit smiled and winked at her by way of a response.
"Okay, so, Ambrosius," Weiss began, "we need to you make the new version of the central location: almost the same as the one you did before, but with the handrails, the net underneath, and–"
"A two way door to Haven Academy, as additions and a minor change to everything you specified before. I heard you the first time," Ambrosius said.
"Great! So, you do that, and we'll be on our way," she said pleasantly.
Reclining lazily in the air, Ambrosius closed his eyes and twirled a hand through the air a few times, the light of magic trailing from his fingertips. He then snapped his fingers and 'stood up' again:
"It's done. Ladies!" He boomed, quickly looking at each member of the audience, "Until we meet again!"
And with that, the cyan spirit bowed and vanished once more. Like it had never left, the glowing portal reappeared behind the girls.
"We did it," said Weiss as she handed Penny the staff, sounding like she could scarcely believe it.
Motion from Penny's old body grabbed their attention: blue smoke and black flakes began rising off of the corpse, as though it was being incinerated before their eyes. Ruby shuddered at the sight.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to watching you… you know… die," she said.
"Mortality feels very different in an organic body..." Penny answered after a moment. "It feels so… imminent now, but it adds so much to the personal feelings I have… about all of you."
She could feel a strange new sensation growing in intensity around her eyes, an odd, immediate tingling… like a damage notification, but with weight. She sniffed loudly, and then laughed when she saw the concern on her friends' faces, before sniffing again. The tingling was reaching its peak, and something was definitely gathering at the edges of her eyes… she had to blink, or else–
She blinked once, and several more times after that, taken aback by the water falling from her eyes. She brought the back of her hand to her left eye and gently swiped it underneath, staring at her glistening skin afterwards, and marvelling at how the fluid cooled it.
"But… I'm happy. Why am I crying?" she asked softly.
Ruby threw her arms around the tearful girl, followed by Weiss and Yang, and finally Blake. They held each other for a long time, comforting their friend and savouring the rare moment of tranquillity. When the time came, Penny addressed her friends:
"As much as I'd like this hug to continue forever, the staff pressing against my chest has become quite uncomfortable," she admitted, prompting everyone to let go.
"Sorry! I forgot you were holding that!" said Ruby.
"It's okay. So… shall we make our way to Mistral?" she suggested.
"Yeah, let's get moving. …I just hope we've thought of everything," Ruby said, to herself as much as the others.
With nothing else left to do she stepped through the shining doorway, leading the others back into the struggle.