CHAPTER XIII
Everything Will Be All Right
Penny stood up after Xanthus and Hillphire finished attaching her new leg. She moved it around, hopping on it a few times before taking a deep breath and letting it out all at once.
"I think everything's working right," she said.
"Balance is good?" Hillphire said.
"Yup."
"Sensory feedback is optimal?"
"I can feel the cold, the heat, pressure, every little thing."
"Wiggle your toes for me?"
She did exactly that as Hillphire took her foot in his hands, making sure everything was working perfectly. She giggled as he handled her foot.
"Wait," Xanthus said. "Does that tickle?"
"Yeah," she chuckled.
"Everything about her body might be manmade," Hillphire began, "but one hundred percent mimics human flesh. Hence why she bleeds when cut."
"It's white blood, though," she said.
"Eventually, we'll find a way to increase the oxygenation of red colored blood. For now, however, we're forced to continue using this extremely oxygen-rich blood, particularly because her musculoskeletal system is far more taxing than any normal person's. She does use combat-grade synthetic muscle and bone structure, after all. Even with her aura gone, she would still be capable of withstanding a lot more damage than you or I ever could."
"Right," Xanthus said.
"Could you check the sutures for me?" Hillphire said as he took notes.
"S-Sure."
The youngster could scarcely control the redness on his face as he closely examined the attachment point around her thigh.
"Th-The scars are healing well."
"Good," Hillphire said. "Your aura isn't rejecting the new leg."
"The scar on my upper arm is already gone, too," Penny said.
"I did notice that before," Xanthus said, pushing up his eyeglasses. "I've been meaning to ask. How were you able to get her aura to interact with the rest of her body? We know that aura, as an outward manifestation of our souls, also facilitates healing and all that, but how does this work with what is essentially artificial flesh?"
"That's the thing," Hillphire said. "This is artificial flesh, but flesh nonetheless. It is what I call hyper-organic matter. The biology behind it is quite simple, really. You take the fundamental building blocks of organic matter and engineer it to the degree that it is much tougher than normal flesh and bone, yet still retains all organic properties, such as healing factor, immunity, and even its susceptibility to bacterial infection, though that's a bit less of a concern given the high immune factor afforded by Penny's white blood."
"And that's why the white blood is necessary."
"Precisely. Hyper-organic matter requires hyper blood, so to speak."
"How many calories do you have to consume daily?"
"Well," Penny began, "I can run exclusively off of the Dust reactors behind my heart and in my lower abdomen, but if I wanted to decrease their output and run off of organic nutrients instead, maybe about...twenty thousand calories a day?"
"I believe that's correct," Hillphire said.
Meanwhile, Xanthus's jaw dropped. "T-Twenty thousand calories?" he all but yelled. "Daily?"
"That's assuming her physical activity is not overly strenuous. If she's in combat mode for an extended period, that could rise as high as fifty thousand daily, but there are much greater concerns if she's in long-term combat mode. Like any human, really."
"That's why I usually run off the reactors," Penny said. "Cuz it gets really expensive having to eat all that food."
"R-Right," Xanthus said, imagining the massive banquet that such a daily caloric intake would have to necessitate.
Penny went over to another service bay, which would run automatic system checks on her entire chassis and the overlaying artificial muscle and other tissues. Hillphire silently gestured to Xanthus to follow him.
"I have something to show you," he said in a near-whisper.
Xanthus's eyes opened wide as he looked at the blueprint of a new heart, one whose schematics showed impressive pumping power along with high durability and efficiency, perfect for keeping up with an intense musculoskeletal system.
"This is!" Xanthus began.
"Keep it down!" Hillphire shushed. "She doesn't know about this yet."
"This is for her?"
He nodded. "So far, out of everything she's got, her heart is still one of the less-human things in her body. After all, I couldn't come up with any organic hearts that could keep up with the demands of the rest of her body, but I just recently made a breakthrough and I think this is it."
"This is amazing. It looks like you've got the muscle fiber patterns perfect and the structure is close enough to the real thing, although it seems you had to make adjustments to the geometry of the actual heart."
"Yes, the ventricles are much more powerful compared to normal human hearts given what it has to do for her."
"You're a genius, Dr. Hillphire."
He smiled sheepishly.
"What are you two boys whispering about?" Penny said, walking toward them.
"Um!" Hillphire said, quickly shutting down the monitor and turning around to face her along with Xanthus.
"Nothing!" Xanthus said.
"Yes! Nothing! We were just, uh, sharing ideas about..."
"About our next science experiment!"
"Yes! That!"
"You two are being very suspicious," Penny said, squinting at them. "And also very vague. Uncharacteristically vague. Which makes you even more suspicious."
"I-It's," Xanthus began.
"We're," Hillphire also failed to continue.
"I get it, I get it," Penny sighed. "It's a guy thing."
"Yes!" both men said at once. "I mean, no!"
"I mean!" Hillphire said.
"We weren't being lewd!" Xanthus said.
"Why would you bring that up?" Hillphire demanded.
"B-Because! We were already accused of being lewd not too long ago when the guys decided to overstay our hot springs session and—"
"Wait, what? Y-You all bathed together?"
Penny chuckled. "We did. Actually, it was all Ivory's idea to go to the resort in the first place and her idea to stay overnight and also she was the one to agree with the whole unisex thing since it would be pretty lame for the group to be split in half because of some arbitrary policy."
The two boys didn't answer.
"Why are the both of you so red?" Penny laughed.
"Oh, wait a minute," Hillphire began, putting a hand to his chin. "This was the day you were still running off of your temp leg, wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
He smiled. "Well. I'm glad you're no longer ashamed of your body."
She smiled back. "It's funny. I'm supposed to be their instructor, and yet I'm the one learning from them."
"Isn't that how it always works?"
—
It was midday when Leon went for a walk around Haven Academy's dorm. It had been a few days since their last incursion into the Labyrinth. The two team leaders had agreed with the adults that the break was necessary, particularly because of Yuan's Wraith-Knight being overworked to the point of going dormant while they were still in the other world. They hadn't thought anything of it then, but in retrospect, that could have been disastrous.
He eventually left the dorms and began wandering the main campus. Leon looked around at the students milling about, some of them studying for exams while others did some light practice with their weapons. The culture here in Mistral was so different from back in Vale, which was always so bustling. Here, there was a stillness that he couldn't quite get used to, though it was certainly refreshing. There was a group of students in one corner of the courtyard, three teams if he counted correctly, all of them meditating in unison, perfectly frozen like statues. He scratched his head, wondering if it was even possible for him to sit so still and so quiet for longer than five seconds.
He continued his adventure, eventually coming upon the enormous cherry blossom garden, which served as the main promenade that led to the academy's administrative building. He noticed a familiar figure standing atop the middle of an arching wooden bridge over a small stream off the stone path. She leaned over the guardrails, looking down into the artificial pond below. He sauntered over to her with his hands in his pockets, taking note of the contrast between her pale blue dress and the pink cherry blossoms overhead.
"Enjoying the koi fish?" he said, leaning against the guard rail directly behind her.
Ivory looked at him over her shoulder before turning back to the pond. "We don't have anything like this at Atlas Academy," she began, "as you saw during your invasion."
He chuckled. "Invasion?"
"Yes."
He tilted his head to the other side. She was in spring clothing today, a powder blue dress which bared her shoulders and fell just past her knees. Her snow-white hair fell freely across her back except for two locks, which were tied together in the middle before continuing down in a single braid. A small blue flower sat in her hair just above her ear.
"Are you going to continue checking me out?" she said without turning to him.
"Maybe."
She faced him with a sour look.
"Sorry, I just," he began, getting up off his guard rail and joining her at her side. "I never thought you would ever dress like this of your own free will."
Her demeanor softened as she turned back to the pond to watch the koi fish swim around.
"You're even wearing a flower in your hair. Since when did this happen?"
She didn't answer.
"Not that you have to justify anything you do or anything. I just noticed the change, that's all."
She caught the smile that wanted to form on her face, denying it access. There was no way she would allow Leon any satisfaction just yet.
"Honestly," he began, leaning over and looking down at the koi fish swimming all around, some of them peeking through the surface of the water, maybe out of curiosity or perhaps hunger. "I forgot what I was gonna say. Oh, I remember. You should wear more outfits like that."
"Why?" Ivory began, "because it reminds you of Lilly?"
He shook his head. "Lilly's Lilly and you're you. I just think this brings out another side of you the rest of us don't get to see very often. And, like, you're our team leader right now. I think you should...I dunno, open up to us a little more? I don't have to tell you this, but you're not very expressive and, I guess, it's kinda refreshing to see you crack a smile every now and then or laugh or dress in things other than military uniforms and tactical gear."
She rested her forearms on top of the guard rail, leaning forward until her chin touched her arms.
"See? Like that. I don't think I ever get to see you so relaxed, like, at all. I just think it's nice to see a side of you that isn't trying to wear a mask every moment of the day."
"A mask, huh?"
"Yeah. And besides, masks are for shy people. Honestly, there's no need for you be so...koi."
She sighed, closing her eyes momentarily before looking back out over the pond. She wasn't looking at him directly, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see that irritating grin he so frequently wore.
"I'm going to throw you into the water," she said flatly, still looking out over the pond.
"With cement shoes? Eh? Eh?"
She sighed again.
"Just make sure you leave the gun and take the cannoli, eh?"
She looked over at him. His grin looked more stupid now than ever before. She reached for Elfenbein and he slowly backed away.
"Hey! No violence in the garden!"
"Hmph. I don't even need my weapon to deal with you." She held up a hand, forming a glyph.
"Uhh!"
"The hell are you two up to?" Athena said, her hands on her hips.
"Athena!" Leon said before teleporting behind her.
"What the?" She swatted away the falling rose petals before looking over at Ivory, who had the deadpan look down to an art form. "Oh. I see. Want me to move?"
"Please," Ivory said.
"Ahh!" Leon yelled before teleporting up to a tree.
"Dude, I swear," Athena said, looking up at her brother. "You deserve every single thing she throws at you."
"You don't even know what I did!" he said.
"I don't have to know what you did to know you're annoying."
"That's not fair! You make the same puns Aunt Yang makes just like me!"
"Puns?"
"Yeah! There's koi fish swimming in the pond so I told Ivory she doesn't need to be so koi around us cuz we're her team and her friends!"
A smirk slowly grew on Athena's face. She turned to Ivory, who immediately sighed before putting a palm to her forehead.
"I think I can understand why Ingrid is always so exasperated with you two," she said. "It's a terribly fortunate thing that you're not on the same team."
"You think that's bad," Ingrid's voice sounded from up in the trees, "try growing up with those two and Astor."
"I wouldn't mind that," Echo said, her voice also coming from the trees.
"Well, duh, you're in love with Athena."
"Am I hearing voices?" Perseus said as he, Yuan, and Astor joined the gathering.
"Is the pretty kitty gonna need us to rescue her from the trees?" Astor said with a huge grin.
Ingrid sighed before hopping out of her tree and landing beside Ivory. Echo also joined them on the ground, touching down next to Athena.
"Where's Leon?" Yuan said.
"Somewhere safe!" he yelled from his perch.
Ivory sighed before projecting a glyph behind him that knocked him from his branch. He yelled before teleporting behind Ingrid and playing with her ears. The only Faunus on the team shrieked before drawing Shadow Blitz and attempting to strike him with it, but he quickly teleported to the guys.
"Why are you involving us in your battle?" Astor yelled as he, Perseus, and Leon scattered in the wake of Ingrid's onslaught.
"I'm gonna kill all of you!" Ingrid screamed.
"I didn't even do anything!" Perseus whined.
"I do apologize for the boys' behavior," Yuan said, standing next to Ivory.
"I'm glad you have some maturity, Yuan Ren," she said, watching Ingrid chase after the other three. "Where's Xanthus, by the way? I thought he might be with you when you joined us."
"I think he said he would be at the Forge," Athena said, her scroll out. "Oh, he just replied."
Xanthus: I apologize for the late text Athena, but I will be joining you shortly.
Xanthus: I just needed to assist Dr. Hillphire with a few things.
Echo: r u with penny?
There was some time before he replied.
Xanthus: Yes, I am with her.
Echo: (͡ ͡° ͜ つ ͡͡°)
Leon: dude wtf is that?
Perseus: how are u typing those?
Echo: (ᵔᴥᵔ)
"No, seriously," Ingrid said, "how the heck are you typing that?"
"I don't even have that shit on my keyboard!" Leon said.
Xanthus: (ง'̀-'́)ง
Echo: ( ▀ ͜͞ʖ▀)
Leon: SRSLY HOW THE FCK ARE U GUYS DOING THAT
Perseus: WAT HE SAID
Echo couldn't help but giggle, dodging both Leon and Perseus as they tried to peek at her scroll.
"Are you using Lenny faces?" Athena asked Echo, who nodded quickly as she continued to evade the two boys. "Oh, that's why all I see are squares. I need to update my stupid firmware."
"Lenny faces?" Ingrid said.
"Oh, I think that's them," Yuan said, looking down the promenade.
Penny: what are u guys doing
Penny: ?
Echo: haviin fun
Echo: i guess
Echo: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"Dude," Leon said, looking at his scroll again.
"Maybe we need to download something," Yuan said.
"I do not appreciate your implications, Echo Atalante!" Xanthus said as he and Penny joined the group.
Echo hid behind her scroll as she continued to gleefully text her own group, which consisted only of Athena and Ingrid.
Echo: guys do u think theyre going out?
Athena: probs
Ingrid: yeah
Echo: \ (•◡•) /
Ingrid: srsly tho
Ingrid: wtf is that
Athena: lenny face
Ingrid: wtf is a lenny face
Athena: just search it up lol
"So," Penny said. "What's everybody doing?"
"We haven't really decided on anything," Ivory said. "Mostly I was just here enjoying the koi fish when Leon invaded my space and started to annoy me."
"Psh!" he scoffed.
"He does that," Penny said.
"Yeah, he does," Ingrid said.
Echo nodded silently, still texting away.
"How 'bout a run through the woods?" Penny said. "And then some ramen for dinner afterwards."
"That sounds like fun," Astor said. "There's this spot my team and I used to go to before they ditched me to join the rest of our kind back at Menagerie."
"I forget that you're a Faunus," Ivory said.
"Yup. Mom's got the ears, but I got a thing that's a lot easier to hide so I can pass as human."
"What would that be?"
He balled his fists before opening them back up, revealing lion-like claws that extended from where his fingernails should have been.
"I see."
"Yeah, I'm one of the lucky ones since my genes don't show on the outside."
There was a distant explosion and the group looked around, scattering to see where it came from.
"Echo!" Athena yelled.
The group's archer hopped up to a tree before climbing up the CCTS tower to get the highest vantage point she could find. She looked off to the distance. Smoke rose from several buildings at the edge of the city.
"Are you seeing it, too, Echo?" Ingrid's voice sounded in her headset.
"Yeah," she replied. "I think that's...Hillphire Innovations?"
"Liam!" Penny yelled before breaking into a dash.
