Hello! I'm back with more dragons, this time with an added bonus of a few new faces, one strangely familiar hat, and the return of an old friend.

43. A Ray of Sunshine

Pit started seeing Grimm the day they arrived at Cinder's base of operations. There weren't many—a few Beowolves and an Ursa that Strike and Pepper demolished with contemptuous ease. He wasn't worried about them, but he felt the shift in their surroundings. They weren't in seldom-traveled woods anymore. This was Grimm territory. No more tiny villages scattered across the landscape. No reason for riders to come out here on missions.

The landscape itself felt wilder. Maybe that was because they had to walk the last few miles, to make it harder for any pursuers to track them. Gentle hills and dappled shade were replaced with rugged foothills, with mountains fading into a blue haze on the horizon. Between the trees a perpetual twilight fell, and in some places thorny brush grew so thickly that they had to carry their riders.

Some of them were having an easier time than others.

"I hate this place," Huo seethed, grappling his way through yet another clump of bushes. "Are you sure I can't just—"

"No," Nymph sighed. "You can't set them on fire." Then, quieter, "Not that it's not tempting..."

Zircon jumped and hid under Nimbus' wing as a Beowolf howled in the distance. "Wh-why are we walking again?"

Freya slowed to a stop, then plopped down onto her hindquarters and yawned. "I feel like I'm swimming." Next to her, Ao Guang tripped and landed face-first in a clump of flowers. He sneezed.

Strike had already vanished up ahead, moving like she was running across a flat, open field. It was hard not to be bitter about that... until she trotted back to them and said, "We're here."

"What?" Pit looked around. He saw... trees. Rocks. Lots of plants. "Where?"

Strike tossed her head smugly and vanished into the brush. After a lot of huffing and puffing and cursing, they finally squirmed their way into open air. A sheer cliff dropped into a shallow bowl-shaped valley. It was small enough for the massive trees surrounding it to tangle their branches together, making it invisible from the air. A few ugly, boxy wooden buildings were nestled inside, along with one ugly, boxy concrete building with steel shutters over all its windows.

It was... sort of underwhelming, actually. The only sign that it was anything more than an out-of-the-way (and dangerous) vacation spot was the industrial generator chugging away in the center.

"Well?" Cinder prompted, gesturing with one hand. "What are you all waiting for?"

They descended. It was easier than it had looked at first—there was a path carved into the side of the cliff, spiraling down.

"How long have you been building this place?" Blake asked, her head turning this way and that to take it all in.

"This is a recent acquisition. An ally of ours has been working out of the lab here for some time, and he's allowed us to use the facility."

"What ally?" Blake asked suspiciously.

"Ah, Cinder!"

Three figures emerged from behind one of the makeshift buildings. One was a girl, even shorter than Weiss and Nora, with a parasol slung over her shoulder. Another was a man in a bowler hat, with orange hair falling in his face. The third was older, with streaks of grey in his brown hair, and a magnificent spiky mustache. He smiled and dropped into a polite bow. "You've brought quite a few new faces with you, I see."

"This is Doctor Arthur Watts," Cinder said. "He built this lab, and we're hoping he'll be able to start hatching hybrids here soon."

"Delighted." His eyes roved over the group. They were bottle green, and lingered on Pit long enough that his ears started to twitch. "This one is an interesting fellow, isn't he?"

Blake inched closer and put a protective hand on his shoulder. The man was friendly as he wandered over, eyeing Pit's freckles curiously and complimenting his scales, but he still felt uneasy under the scrutiny.

"Wait." Ruby broke the tense moment, squinting at the man in the hat. "Do I know you?"

A pause. Then, slowly, he started to laugh. "Oh, I remember you! You're the little squirt with the dragon twice her age!"

Pit made a confused noise. He wasn't the only one—a few of the riders blurted, "What?" and even Storm cocked her head to one side.

Yang jabbed a finger at him. "You! You robbed our neighbors!"

"Well." He adjusted his hat. "This is awkward."

Ruby had flown with Tempest first.

Storm shook her head, feeling a twinge of guilt at getting so caught up on one little detail. Yang had ridden Quake before Fang, and he didn't mind. She nuzzled at Ruby's side, purring softly when her rider beamed at her and scratched her under the chin.

"Yang, stop glaring," Ruby said, nudging her sister's arm.

"Sure." She gave him a last, pointed look. "But I'll be watching."

Torchwick smirked and tipped his hat. "Watch all you like. We're on the same side now, remember?"

Before anyone could respond to that, Cinder turned to Watts. "You have it?"

"I do."

A significant look passed between them, and then he withdrew a small object from his coat. It caught the light, and Storm barked in excitement. "'Enny!"

Ruby yelped and held out a hand. "Oh my gosh!" Then she turned to Cinder, looking hurt.

"I didn't want it getting into the council's hands," Cinder said smoothly, before Ruby could even ask. "I would have returned it sooner, but by the time I knew you were on our side it was already with Watts for repair and safekeeping." Behind her, Blake and Weiss glanced at one another, each with one eyebrow raised.

Storm barked again and stuck her nose into Ruby's hand, where the device lay flat against her palm. She giggled. "Okay, okay! Does anyone mind if she puts it on for a second?"

Her tail twitched back and forth as Ruby placed the metal plate on her head. Instantly, she felt herself lower into a defensive stance.

"Combat mode activated."

"Penny, it's okay!" Ruby said quickly.

"Sensors indicated a hostile attack before last shutdown," Penny said. "Defensive measures—"

"Are not necessary," Cinder snapped.

"Deactivate combat mode, please, Penny."

Storm felt another thrill of fear. It's alright, she promised. Cinder was just making sure the council didn't use you to hurt dragons. They don't understand about you yet.

She relaxed. "Acknowledged."

Watts hummed thoughtfully, pacing a small circle around them. "It seems to have a few bugs."

"Minor ones," Cinder said. "You'll have a chance to test it out in combat soon. Until then, have it detach and I can show you where you'll be staying."

Storm felt a pang. She shifted nervously from paw to paw and said, "No."

Cinder stared at her. "What?"

"No. 'Enny... sad."

Everyone shot her confused looks—everyone except Doctor Watts, whose eyes glinted with curiosity.

"Storm," Cinder said impatiently, "Penny is a machine. She can't feel sad."

"No!" Storm dug in her heels. "No off!"

Ruby patted her side. "I'm sorry Storm, but you can't wear her all the time. How about we take her off for now, and later we can talk for an hour or two?"

Storm felt a rush of relief, and nodded. "Gud. Rroo hold. Rroo."

"Um...?" Ruby glanced at Cinder, but it was Watts who spoke—prompting a scowl from her at being interrupted.

"She might as well keep it, it's useless to anyone else."

Useless.

"Penny, detach."

"Acknowledged."

When Ruby moved to store the plate in her pack, Storm whined and fretted until she tucked it safely under her cape.

They moved on, Doctor Watts gesturing to each building as they passed it and pointing to a few small cabins where they could sleep. Only sometimes his green eyes lingered on Pit, or Storm, or the spot where Penny rested. Storm waited until everyone else was distracted by the tour. He glanced at her again, smiling the same friendly smile. She met his eyes and bared her teeth in a silent hiss.

"Fascinating coloration."

Footsteps circled around Rudder, moving slowly. He twisted his neck to see what Doctor Watts was doing. Mercury stood with him, rubbing soothing circles into his shoulder. "Yeah," he said, "no shit."

Emerald and Jade were with them, too, as were Cinder and Strike. Now that the others were all settled in—crammed in, really, the cabins weren't that big—Watts had asked to meet with them in his lab.

The man stopped directly in front of Rudder, examining his face. "And his vision is unimpaired?"

Rudder whined as the doctor moved his fingers close to his eyes, clucking his tongue approvingly when he followed their movement.

"He can see fine."

Watts tutted. "Not a very polite young man, are you?"

Mercury made a rude gesture. Before it could turn into an argument, Cinder cleared her throat. "Have you started injecting the eggs yet?"

"Naturally." He pushed his glasses a little further up his nose, squinting into Rudder's ear. "I see you've finally gotten tired of waiting for the animals."

Cinder grimaced. "Something's wrong over there."

"I don't know what you expected."

"The White Fang produced promising results, up until recently. Sabotage, according to Sienna."

Watts snorted. "Let a monkey bang on a typewriter long enough, it'll eventually give you a sonnet." Then, to Rudder, "Keep still." He shuffled his paws as the doctor gently examined his gills. "Why you chose to go to those fanatics in the first place is a mystery to me."

Behind his back, Cinder's lip curled. "More degrees of separation," she said sweetly. "What do you think people are more likely to believe? That the White Fang acted on their own... or that a single disgraced scientist somehow found the funding for all this?"

At the word disgraced, the doctor's hands—which had been tracing his neck—twitched violently. Rudder squirmed in place. "Don't move."

"What are you doing?" Mercury snapped, exasperated.

"Checking up. Open." Rudder did, and the doctor squinted at his teeth. "He's quite healthy."

"Gud?" Rudder asked.

Mercury scowled at Watts. "Yeah, I know."

"No defects? Temperamental issues, learning problems, difficulty speaking?"

"He just talked to you, idiot."

Watts' eyes flashed. "Very healthy. Cinder, I'll cut to the chase. You're playing with fire, bringing so many of those children into this at once."

"I'm aware of that."

"And you're certain of their loyalty?"

She smiled. "Yes."

The doctor scoffed, even as he directed Rudder to spread a wing. "Please. They clearly don't trust you. This is my lab, you'll remember, and I did not sign off on—"

"You are being compensated for hatching hybrids," Cinder bit out, "and for allowing us the use of your facilities. If you would like to terminate this arrangement, you may do so."

"And leave you with nowhere to stay and nothing but a pack of imbeciles to inject your eggs? That seems overly harsh."

"Fine. What do you want, Arthur?"

Doctor Watts peeled off his gloves, tossing them into a small bin by the door. "I've been working on a few things over the years, but I've never actually had the opportunity to test any of them." Mercury tensed, stepping protectively in front of Rudder. "I'd like the chance to borrow a few of the more... tractable pit dragons. Nothing harmful, of course."

Cinder gave him a look that made Rudder think she'd much rather feed him to Crucible.

"Unless you'd rather I asked one of your loyal students?"

For a moment Cinder was silent, glowering, while Strike let out a low and threatening growl. Then she looked away and said, "One of the younger ones. Not Kite—that's the grey wind dragon. So long as you don't touch them, they should be willing to help."

"Thank you."

"It's a good thing you're being responsible." Cinder flashed him a vicious smile. "And taking great care not to harm them. Otherwise I suspect you'd find yourself short a hand."

"...Duly noted."

"This place is awesome," Ruby decided, leaning back into Storm's side and sighing contentedly. It had been so long since she'd been able to sit back and relax, knowing that they wouldn't have to pick up and move again in a few days.

Beside her, Emerald smirked. "You're just saying that because we don't have to deal with Vernal anymore."

"Am not!" Ruby stuck her tongue out. "We also don't have to be around Raven. And by we I mostly mean Yang."

Emerald hummed. "What was that about, anyway?"

"Not my thing to share. Sorry."

"Right."

Ruby squirmed in the silence, wishing she could sink into the ground. She blamed her friends—especially Emerald!—for getting her used to having actual conversations where people smiled when she fumbled a little. Now when things got awkward it felt weird, not just... how talking to people was. She scooted closer, until their shoulders were brushing, and that helped.

"I'm sorry about the other night, too."

Emerald drew her legs up, but didn't move away. "I know."

"Yang grabbing you was totally uncalled for."

"Not really." She grinned sheepishly. "I probably would've bolted."

"Why? Even if things, um..." Ruby glanced around, but there was no one close by, "...don't work out with you-know-who, that isn't your fault. You're a good person, and you love Jade, and—"

The green earth dragon opened one eye at the sound of her name, and hummed agreement. "Em gud."

"...Yeah. They shouldn't have interrogated you like that."

Emerald curled in on herself even further. "Thanks."

Ruby thought she still looked miserable. She wished she could be like Yang and say exactly the right thing. Or, y'know, anything. But she wasn't, so she just glomped her. It was kind of a weird angle, but it was warm and nice and she really hoped Emerald wouldn't notice how fast her heart was beating.

"You don't have to."

"That's... a weird thing to say," Ruby decided. "Since when do people hug each other because they have to?"

Emerald made a few odd noises as she searched for an answer to that. Then she tensed so suddenly that Ruby jumped away from her. They were sitting between their dragons, curled up between a clump of buildings and a sheer cliff. It was a pretty out of the way spot... but Cinder was standing in one of the windows. She quirked one eyebrow, and was gone.

"Huh." Ruby grinned at Emerald. "I guess that's where she and Strike are stay—um, are you okay?"

"Fine," Emerald said quickly. The strange look on her face vanished behind a shaky smile. "Just surprised, that's all."

"...Right. Well, I promised Storm I'd talk to Penny, so—"

"Urr?"

"Gods!" Emerald yelped, startling so badly that she accidentally kneed Ruby in the side. There was a dragon clinging to the roof of one of the nearby buildings, peering at them with curious golden eyes.

"Hey, Glory," Ruby said, smiling and keeping her hands at her sides. Clawless toes flexed, and Glory leaped to the ground with hardly a sound.

"I can't believe I actually thought there might be some privacy once we finally got here," Emerald grumbled. Then, when Glory let out a distressed whine, she rolled her eyes and relented. "Yeah, yeah, hello to you too."

Storm lifted her head to greet the pit dragon. Glory shrank back, pacing warily around their group. Most of the pit dragons hated to be touched by humans and faunus, but she seemed to be the only one that felt just as uncomfortable around other dragons. Not that any of them were super chummy with strangers of any species...

"Are you liking it here?" Ruby asked.

"Urr..."

"Something's wrong? The bigger dragons aren't giving you any trouble, are they?"

"Urr."

"Well, that's good."

Emerald was staring at her. "What?" Ruby blurted, suddenly self-conscious.

"How do you do that?"

"Um... do what?"

Emerald jerked her head towards Glory. "Understand this one. I met her at Shade, and I couldn't figure her out at all."

"Didn't you say she helped you set a building on fire?"

"Yeah, and I still don't know why she didn't try to bite my head off when I asked." Emerald paused, apparently just now realizing what she'd said. "When I asked her to help me get into the safe, I mean." Her eyes flicked down to her hands where they were folded in her lap. "The fire part was an accident."

"I don't know why she did that either. It's really weird, now that I think about it. Most of the fire dragons that came with us are super friendly."

Emerald snorted. "The other one more than makes up for it."

"Heh, yeah." Ruby grinned and glanced at Glory. "But if you really wanna know how I know what she means—see her tail?"

"It's hard to miss."

"It's curved up right now, which means she's happy. If it were lying flat on the ground, I'd guess she was having trouble with the others."

"Oh."

"I wonder where Inkwell is, though." Ruby frowned. "I usually see them together."

Glory pointed her nose towards the path that led out of the valley.

"She went out hunting?" Ruby guessed.

Her tail drooped.

"She'll be back soon though, right?"

Glory folded her ears back, even as she nodded her head. She made a small whimpering noise.

"What's wrong?"

But Glory just sat there, her tail flicking back and forth. Ruby wondered if she'd gone looking for them on purpose—she seemed like she was feeling a bit lonely, or maybe just anxious. She knew trying to comfort her would only make things worse, so she turned to Emerald and mustered a smile. "Anyway, I should probably—"

"'Enny," Storm said, shoving her nose into Ruby's back.

She giggled. "Yeah, that."

"That's the translator thing, right?"

"Yep!" Ruby reached back under her cloak and withdrew the metal plate. As it caught the light, Storm perked up—and Glory hissed. Her back arched, her eyes narrowed, and she bared her teeth at the device.

"Whoa!" Ruby put the plate down and tried to keep her voice calm. "It's okay. We're just going to use it to talk to—"

Glory shrieked at the top of her lungs and flared her wings. Seconds later she was gone, slithering between two buildings and disappearing into the dark. Ruby could only stare in stunned silence. "What the...?"

Emerald looked like she might be sick. "Maybe... she doesn't like metal?'

"She didn't mind tin cans or anything. And a lot of the Branwen bandits had knives and stuff."

Shrugging, Emerald turned her head away. "I don't know, then."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ruby moved to take her hand, but she jerked it away. That... stung.

"Sorry. I feel... bad, that's all." Emerald swallowed. "I tried to pat her back at Shade, and she really didn't like it. Maybe it's me."

"Nah," Ruby said. She hesitated a moment, then made another tentative attempt. This time Emerald let her link their hands together. "It was definitely Penny that freaked her out. She might just have a thing about machines."

Storm nudged her expectantly. "Okay, girl! Just hold still a second." Ruby placed Penny at the crown of her head, and waited as the shining armor spread down her back and sides. The light blinked green.

"Salutations Ruby," Penny said. "My memory indicates that you wished to speak with Storm at this time." Emerald sat up, eyeing the device with new curiosity.

"Yep!"

"Acknowledged. Engaging translation software..."

The light blinked yellow for a moment. Then Storm's voice came through.

"Ruby, don't let them take Penny away!"

"I won't." Ruby stroked her dragon's forehead. "I promise!"

"They can't!" Storm insisted. "She's my friend!"

"Uh..." Emerald shifted uncomfortably. "She's a robot."

Ruby glanced at the metal plate. The light had just blinked yellow again. She was suddenly reminded of all those strange 'glitches,' the moments where Penny seemed almost reluctant to disengage once their sessions were over. "Storm? What are you trying to say?"

"She's alive," Storm insisted. "She was scared, and now she's not, and it's because she trusts me! You can't let them take her!"

Ruby's mouth opened and closed a few times. "Oh. Okay. Um..." She glanced at Emerald, but the older girl stared back at her, just as baffled. "Penny?"

"Awaiting instructions."

Glancing at Storm's wide, pleading eyes, Ruby swallowed once and said, "Can you talk to us? Not translating for Storm. Just yourself."

The light blinked yellow, then red... then green again. "Yes."

Ruby and Emerald glanced at each other. "So..." Emerald said, "do you, uh, want anything?"

"I would like to stay with Storm." Penny's light flashed violently from red to yellow. "My sensors tell me it has been a long time since the festival."

"Kinda..." Ruby admitted. "A couple of, um... months."

Red. Yellow. Green. "Acknowledged."

"Sorry about that. Cinder didn't know you were alive. None of us did, actually."

"Where was I while I was turned off?"

Ruby shot another desperate glance at Emerald, but she just shrugged. "We don't know. Cinder had this scientist guy fix you."

Red. Yellow. Red. Yellow...

"I see."

Storm whined softly. "Are you okay?" Ruby asked, putting a hand on her side.

Penny translated her response. "I don't like the scientist man."

Emerald made a face. "Most people don't."

"Okay. We'll be careful about him." Ruby shot a nervous glance towards the window Cinder had been standing in earlier, but it was empty. "So. Um..." She faltered. The conversation felt pretty much over at this point, but... she couldn't turn Penny off now!

"Penny is scared," Storm said.

"She doesn't have to be," Ruby assured them both. She bit her lip, remembering something the machine had told her once. "Penny... would staying on Storm for a long time hurt her?"

"No. My design prioritizes the health and safety of the dragon I am bonded with."

"How do we know if she's lying?" Emerald asked.

"I am incapable of deception."

"So we believe you because you told us you can't lie? That's—"

"Please?" Storm's voice, now. She butted her nose against Ruby's chest.

She took a deep breath. "Can you stay in, like, sleep mode or something? There's some Dust here, but I think Cinder is using most of it for the eggs. She probably doesn't want using tons of it to keep you running all day." A beat. "And, uh... you'd probably have to power down while Storm is asleep."

The light turned yellow while Penny thought it over. "I can remain at half-power, and sleep when Storm does." she promised.

"...Okay," Ruby decided. Storm pounced on her, licking her face and warbling joyfully.

"Thank you!"

It was the most emotion Ruby had ever heard in Penny's voice.