Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY
AN/ I'm back! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is having a good start to the new year! Mech fight anyone? Penny feels? Yes, to both! So, class starts this week, and I have a 2-hour chunk of time I can hopefully use to write, so expect more updates this semester. Unless that whole plan folds itself up nice and tight and yeets itself into a fire, in which case, I will let all of you know. Anyways, on to the next chapter!
"Penny, what is going on?! Why were they chasing you?!" Ruby asked, adrenaline pumping through her after her close call.
"Everything is *hic* Fine Ruby!" Penny shouted back defensively.
"Penny, you can trust me!"
"Ruby, you're my friend, right?" Penny asked, calming down, if only slightly.
"Of course, Penny, please, tell me what's wrong." Ruby asked.
"Ruby, I'm not a real girl." Penny said, holding Ruby's hands so she could feel the metal.
"I knew you were unique from the day I met you Penny. Do you know how my sight works Penny?" Ruby asked.
"The Third Eye Program paved the way for alternative sight. Subjects of the program, through the use of their aura, are able to see aura, dust, and grimm." Penny recited.
"Exactly, and do you know what I see in you Penny? First and foremost, I see you, your aura. Not any dust running through you. You're real Penny, your aura is physical proof of that." Ruby reassured.
"Oh, thank you Ruby!" Penny shouted as she wrapped Ruby in a tight hug.
"Still incredibly strong!" Ruby struggled as Penny crushed her in the hug.
"Oh, sorry friend Ruby." Penny apologized as she let go.
"So, were those Atlas soldiers guarding you or something?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, my father wanted me to come to Vale for the tournament, so I could learn. Ironwood doesn't think I'm ready though." Penny explained.
"Why would Ironwood need to think you're ready, we're in a time of peace. The Atlesian Knights have gone through so many improvements since they were created." Ruby reasoned.
"That's not what Ironwood said. He said that-" Penny was cut off as two soldiers came running through the alleys. "You need to hide." Was all Penny said before lifting Ruby and dropping her into a dumpster.
"Where is the other girl Penny?" One of the soldiers asked.
"What other girl? I've been alone all day." Penny lied.
"You need to be more careful, now let me see your hands." The other one ordered. After seeing the damage, he continued. "Your father won't be happy about this."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause a scene." Penny apologized.
"Come on, Ironwood needs to hear about this." The first soldier ordered as he started walking out of the alley.
Ruby waited for the sound of footsteps to disappear before she picked herself out of the dumpster. Opening her scroll to check the time, Ruby was surprised by a call.
"HEEEEELLLLLLPPP!" Sun screamed into the scroll.
"Torchwick has an Atlesian mech! He's chasing us through Vale!" Blake further explained.
"We're leading him towards the elevated roads! Hurry!" Sun shouted over the scroll before he cut the line.
"Learning Penny is a robot, Roman in a mech, today is getting more and more fun!" Ruby pumped her fist before running for the roads.
*Yang and Neptune*
"Are you going to shoot or not?" Yang asked as she weaved through traffic.
"I'm trying to! But it's hard to get a stable shot!" Neptune defended as he held on for dear life. Eventually Yang was able to provide a stable ride for Neptune. Sun watched as Neptune fired shot after shot, trying to slow down the mech. Blake and Yang watched as the two guys leapt for the mech, intent on stopping it. Their victory was short lived as they were both thrown through the safety barriers.
"Well now what?" Blake asked as she leapt onto Yang's bike. As if to answer question, Weiss dropped onto the road, freezing it. With no time to avoid the sheet of ice, the mech tumbled off the road. The three members of team RWBY followed the mech down, weapons drawn. Suddenly, a red blur flew from behind the mech towards them.
"Sorry I'm late, I tripped over a bench." Ruby apologized sheepishly.
"Better late than never, now come on, we have a mech to fight!" Yang shouted, itching for a fight.
"Right, Weiss, Yang, freezerburn! Blake, ladybug!" Ruby ordered. As her and Blake dropped back, Weiss created a sheet of ice, as Yang dropped a flaming fist onto it, creating a thick haze. As Roman searched the makeshift battlefield with the sensor arrays, the mech rocked back and forth as Ruby and Blake slashed at the legs. A swipe from the mech's arm sent Ruby back. With the students away from him, Roman launched a volley of missiles.
"Weiss, checkmate!" Ruby shouted. At the order, Weiss set a time dilation glyph underneath Blake. With the glyph under her, Blake immediately slashed the missiles out of the air, with a final slash aimed at the mechs shoulder joint.
"Yang, now!" Ruby ordered. Yang jumped at the mech, intent on tearing Roman out of the cockpit. Smashing her fist into the armor, Yang was caught off guard as Roman suddenly backed the mech into a concrete support. Before anyone could help Yang, Roman turned around, driving a robotic fist into Yang, destroying the pillar.
"Yang!" Blake shouted in worry.
"Don't worry, with every hit she takes, she get's stronger, and then uses that to fight back, that's her semblance." Ruby explained as Yang slowly stood, eyes blood red and hair glowing. They watched as Roman attempted to drive the mech's fist into Yang, only for it to stop in Yang's hand. Before Roman could pull back, Yang shot her fist forward, destroying the mech's last arm.
"Persistent little shits." Roman muttered to himself. Kicking Yang away from himself, Roman readied guard against whatever team RWBY threw at him.
"Bumblebee!" Ruby shouted. Throwing her sword, Blake caught Yang and began to swing her around. Each pass missed as Roman dodged, the mech surprisingly nimble.
"It's too fast, we need to slow it down!" Weiss observed. Ruby's reaction was instant.
"Ice flower!" Ruby ordered. Opening her scythe to its full form, Ruby planted the tip of the blade as a glyph appeared in front of her. Firing shot after shot, Ruby smiled as the dust exploded into ice. With a final swing, Yang smashed into the side of the mech, destroying it completely. Roman tumbled as the mech fell apart around him.
"I just had the coat dry cleaned." He complained as he stood up. Before he could say anything else, a shot from Ember Celica was streaking towards him. Right before it would have hit him, a small form dropped in front of him.
"Well Neo, you took your time. Ladies, Ice Queen, it has been a fun night." Roman spoke as the ice cream themed girl bowed. Charging the pair, Yang was ready to pummel them both into the ground, however the moment she made contact with the ice cream themed girl, the criminal duo shattered like glass. Soon after, the sound of a bullhead taking off drew their attention to the sky, revealing the duo escaping.
"I guess she made our plans, fall apart?" Weiss asked, trying to make the situation seem less severe.
"No. Just, no." Was all she was met with from Yang.
"Was it not a good time?" Weiss asked.
"No, it just wasn't very good." Blake shot her down.
"At least I'm trying!" Weiss defended.
"Come on, let's get back to Beacon before the authorities show up, we can't exactly explain this one." Ruby said as sirens filled the quiet night.
*Beacon*
With Ruby being their guide, team RWBY managed to avoid anyone who would possibly question them about their activities. With their door shut and locked for the night, they all sighed in relief.
"If I told my father that I was led around campus by a blind woman, he would have me checked for brain damage." Weiss commented.
"Yeah, but I got us home undetected, didn't I?" Ruby asked.
"Now I'm starting to reconsider just how innocent you were when we were younger." Yang started.
"You have no proof of anything sis." Ruby defended.
"Weiss, do you want any help going through the reports?" Blake asked, turning the conversation back to the issue at hand.
"That would be helpful Blake, we'll start tomorrow, I for one, am incredibly tired." Weiss excused herself before shutting herself in the bathroom.
"You two can go before me, I'm going to have a listen to some messages on my scroll." Ruby dismissed her last two teammates. Pulling out her headphones as she sat at a desk, she waited for the chime signifying the headphones connected. Swiping through her scroll and listening to what the different apps were. Landing on her messenger, Ruby opened it.
"Three new messages from a new contact, playing oldest message now." The robotic voice explained before playing the message.
"Hello Ruby, it's me, Arslan. I was wondering if you would be available to show me around, to the best of your ability of course." Her scroll read to her.
'Tomorrow would probably work. Next one.' Ruby tapped her screen.
"Hey, Arslan again, I heard you have entire lectures recorded. I was wondering if I could borrow some of them at some point, I would be incredibly grateful." The second message ended.
'I could probably loan one or two to her, depends on what happens in classes.' Ruby continued on to the last message.
"Hey, this is Bolin, Arslan's partner. I wanted to apologize for my poor choice of words when we met. Anyways, I'm hoping you're not the type to hold a grudge, see you in class." Ruby let out a small chuckle at the unintentional joke. Adding the two members of team ABRN to her contacts, Ruby noticed that the bathroom was now free. Quickly getting changed, Ruby hopped into her bed, ready for the next day.
AN/ And that's a chapter! I'm hoping my combat is getting better, any tips would be appreciated. So, as I said, class starts this week, specifically tomorrow. I'm starting on C.A.D. programs, so my degree is closing in, and hopefully while I'm doing that, I'll have the needed time to write. Anyways, until next time, have a great day!