This is for all the annoying Ironwood stans who keep popping up in my reviews and comments, whining about how Ruby lied to him at the start of V7. This is set at the beginning of V7, and is not Ironwood friendly. Obviously. Enjoy!
"General Ironwood," Ruby begins, before hesitating. She glances back at the rest of the group. Sure, they were all supposed to be on the same side, working together against Salem, but she still feels uneasy. Especially what they'd encountered when trying to get into Atlas, and what they'd seen down in Mantle—they'd been arrested for trying to stop a group of Grimm that had been attacking the city!
But, even though things don't feel quite right, they're supposed to be allies. And they'd already almost fallen apart over the secrets that Ozpin had been keeping. It seems wrong to turn around and do the same thing here. Ruby takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders, making her decision. Hopefully a show of trust will bring them all closer together.
"There's some things we need to tell you."
Well, that could have gone better.
The walls of the cells that they're contained in are transparent, but that doesn't mean that they'll be easy to get through. Ruby can't spot a single weakness or opening in them, and the controls that would unlock them are on the other side of the room—well out of reach. And they confiscated Crescent Rose. She sighs heavily.
Across from her, Weiss is pacing back and forth in her cell. "I can't believe that Ironwood would do something like this!"
"I can," Nora mutters bitterly.
"Yeah, Weiss, did you not see everything since we got here?" Blake says tiredly. "Ironwood was already a paranoid mess. Learning the truth about Salem was enough to send him over the edge."
"I'm sorry, guys." Ruby feels another stab of guilt. If she'd just kept her mouth shut, none of this would have happened. "I shouldn't have told Ironwood. I should have known better than to trust him with everything. If I hadn't, maybe we'd still be—"
"Don't beat yourself up over this," Qrow cuts her off. He sounds sad, and tired, but to Ruby's relief, her uncle doesn't sound mad at her. "I've known Ironwood for a long time—or at least, I thought I knew him. I was the one who trusted him enough to suggest bringing the lamp to Atlas to keep it safe."
"This isn't your fault, either, Uncle Qrow," Ruby insists.
"Ironwood's the only one to blame here," Yang says with a scowl. "So quit beating yourselves up already, and let's focus on getting out of here already."
"Yeah, we need to warn the people of Mantle," Nora agrees.
"Nora's right," Oscar finally chimes in. He's been pretty quiet since they were tossed into their cells.. "If Ironwood gets the staff and is able to use it to raise Atlas into the atmosphere, he'll be abandoning the people of Mantle for when Salem comes for them. We have to stop him." He turns to Ruby. "And after what happened on our way here, Ruby, I don't blame you for not wanting to keep more secrets. Yang is right, this is Ironwood's fault, not any of ours."
"Some people just can't handle the truth," mutters Ren.
"But how do we get out of these cells?" Jaune asks. "The Ace Ops took our weapons, remember?"
His words are punctuated by a series of loud crashes from outside the room. The door swings open, and they all tense, expecting to see one of the guards coming in to check on the prisoners.
Instead, they see Penny Polendina, her array of swords floating behind her and at the ready. "Penny?" Ruby exclaims. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry I took so long to get here," Penny says, sounding almost breathless even though as far as Ruby knows, her body is still mechanical. "General Ironwood sent me with Winter to assist her in claiming the power of the Winter Maiden so that he can retrieve the Staff of Creation from the vault. I had to find a way to slip away without causing suspicion."
"So he's really going through with it," Weiss murmurs to herself, eyes wide. "Is Winter okay?"
"She was when I left her," Penny replies. "But as much as I am worried about her, we need to get out of here. General Ironwood must be stopped before it is too late." She sighs, hitting a couple of buttons on the control panel in the corner. Immediately, the transparent walls keeping them separated and boxed in vanish. "He tried to convince me that this was the right thing to do, but I was appointed the protector of Mantle. I will not abandon them like this."
"What about the guards?" Blake asks.
"And our weapons?" Ruby can't help but add.
"The guards are—taken care of. ' A dark look passes over Penny's face. "And your weapons are in a room not far from here. I can show you the way. But we need to hurry."
"Thanks for coming to get us, Penny," Ruby says, smiling brightly at her friend. She wants to tackle her in another hug, but there's no time right now. Later, she tells herself. Once they've stopped Ironwood.
It still feels like a miracle that Penny is standing in front of her, alive and well—and on top of that, that she'd disobeyed orders to come back and free them. Because she'd known that it was the right thing to do. Ruby couldn't be more proud of her friend.
"Lead the way, Penny."
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