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"PENNY!"
Excitedly hugging her not-so-human friend, Ruby couldn't stop grinning that Penny Polendina had finally dropped by to say hello. Penny returned Rose's hug tenfold, forgetting that her grip was leagues stronger than hers. Only when Ruby started tapping out from pain did Penny realize her own strength.
"Are you okay, friend Ruby?" Penny asked, bending down to check on the now twitching girl. Ruby gave her a shaky thumbs up in response.
"Just… peachy…"
While Ruby was elated to see Penny, pretty much everyone else was trying to figure out why she was here, let alone how she had even arrived in the first place. A few in particular hoped her visit wouldn't last very long, as the house was crowded enough already. Letting someone crash on the couch would only take up more of the limited space they had.
"Remind me to never let that girl hug me," Yang muttered to Blake and Weiss, who nodded in agreement.
"So, quick question," Ren asked the newcomer, "Who are you exactly?"
Penny stared at him for a moment, examining his face to determine if she had ever met this boy before. "…Salutations! My name is Penny Polendina. What is your name?"
"Uh… Lie Ren?"
"Sensational! I hope we can become the best of friends!"
"Gha?!" A nerve snapped in Nora's head. She wasn't one to act jealous, but she was Ren's best friend. Of all time. She gripped Ren's arm tightly and started pulling him away, asserting her dominance as the only quirky and awesome ginger haired girl in Ren's life.
"Nora? What are you doing?"
"Let's go play some video games, Ren," Nora said, narrowing her eyes at an oblivious Penny, "It's only what best friends who've known each other for years do together! But not together-together. It'd be hard to hold the controller while-
"I think she gets it, Nora!" Ren covered the girl's mouth before she could continue rambling, "It was nice meeting you, Penny."
"Enjoy playing video games, Lie Ren and friend of Ren!" Penny waved as the two left the lounge and went upstairs. She brought her attention to the rest of the gang, smiling just a bit too happily at them.
"Isn't that the girl with the big laser thing?" Sun quietly asked Blake.
"Yup. The one and only."
"Like I said before," Roman said, "You kids just keep getting weirder and weirder."
Having just chugged down one of Roman's special cocktails in one gulp, Qrow made his way to the front of the crowd to confront the newcomer. No one else had asked the obvious question yet, and figured he might as well get it out of the way himself. "So kid, what made you come and visit this little piece of hell on Earth?"
"That is a good question!"
A moment or two passed before Qrow realized she wasn't going to elaborate any further.
"Do you wanna answer the question, or…?"
"Oh! Yes, I would!" Popping open her backpack, Penny reached around and dug inside until she pulled out a shiny CD and handed it out to Qrow. "I was told by General James Ironwood to give this compact disc to a Mr. Qrow Branwen and Headmaster Ozpin. Do you know where I can find those two gentleman?"
"Yer lookin' at one of 'em," Qrow sighed, taking the disc from her and shoving it in his pocket.
"Sensational! That compact disc contains all the information you will need to know prior to me taking residence in this house."
"You're moving in!" Ruby leaped to her feet, all traces of crushed bones practically gone, "That's awesome! Isn't that awesome!?"
Ruby's smile was not shared by everyone else, most wearing a look of worry on their face. Only Pyrrha did her best to put on an enthusiastic grin so Ruby wouldn't feel left out. "I think that sounds… wonderful! Don't you think so, Jaune?"
"Huh?" Jaune snapped out of his daze, and nodded slightly. Qrow's words had been ringing in his head ever since his interview ended, and being around Pyrrha made the thought of confessing just a bit more daunting. "Yeah, sure. I guess we can make room somewhere."
"She can stay in my room!" Ruby spat out, soon remembering she had roommates. She looked at Weiss and Cinder for permission. "I mean, if that's okay with you two!"
Before Cinder could respond with a flat out no, Weiss sighed and shrugged. "I guess we could pull out the cot from inside the closet for her to sleep on."
"Sensational!" Penny shouted, clenching her fists happily, "I've always wanted to sleep!"
"You have fun with that," Qrow said, already halfway out the door, "I'll see you kids later. Gotta deliver the news to Ozpin. He's gonna love this…"
Once the dusty drunk was gone, the gang soon split apart as Ruby and Weiss took Penny up to their room. Only Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury were left in the lounge, the former telling them to stay behind to discuss things only known between the three of them.
"Isn't she the robot girl we have blueprints for?" Emerald asked Cinder.
"Yes, she is," Cinder said, resting her chin on her hands in contemplation. "This is quite the strange turn of events, though an unwelcome one."
"You gonna do something about it?" Mercury yawned, clearly not interested in whatever Cinder had to say, "Because I'm not."
Cinder's eyes widened for a moment at his defiance, before glaring at the disobedient assassin. "If I give you an order, you will follow it. Don't forget your place, Mercury."
"My place?" Merc laughed, "Yeah, I don't think so anymore."
"…What did you say?"
"I've been thinking lately, Cinder, and there are a hell of a lot of other things I'd rather do with my life after this that stay as your little errand boy. I'd rather be making movies and smut than killing for you. At least I'll get some tail from the latter. I'm a 5-star man, and I'm gonna prove to the world that I am one. And once the world sees how great I am, I'll finally get the recognition I deserve. So you can act out your schemes for that witch you worship, while I'm gonna be swimming in cash and bangin' bitches."
"You…!" Cinder stood up to slap the assassin across the face, but he grabbed hold of her hand just before she reached him. "Let go of me this instant!"
"Just so you remember," Black said darkly, "My legs are made of steel. Keep that in mind, or the next time you try that I'll kick more than just your teeth in."
Mercury didn't look back after letting go of Cinder. The furious woman sat back down beside Emerald, in disbelief that one of her most trusted associates would just abandon her so easily. Mercury had always been a prick, but he had never outright turned on her before. And now, Cinder knew why.
She was just a powerless woman now.
He didn't fear her anymore.
"I can't believe him!" Cinder snarled, gritting her teeth, "How dare he speak out of tongue! He has to pay! Emerald, go and… Emerald?"
"Ma'am…" Emerald said quietly, having kept silent during the confrontation, "I think… I think he might have a point."
"…What did you say?" This time, Cinder uttered that not out of anger, but out of shock. Surely, Emerald wouldn't…
"I mean, there is so much we can do once we win this whole thing. We won't need to get back at the world for how it's wronged us. We'll have the money to make our lives good again! People watching don't think we're criminals or scum! They'll accept us! We don't need to kill anymore! We can enjoy ourselves for once!"
For once Cinder had no answer. She sat staring at the floor as Emerald slowly went to put her hand on her shoulder. "We don't have to be alone anymore…"
"Go."
Emerald pulled her hand back at Cinder's stern order. Biting her lip, she stood and walked the same way Merc had went, turning back unlike him. "Look… If you want to talk, you'll know where to find me."
The room felt much bigger now that everyone was gone. Adam and the Lieutenant were a lost cause from the start. Roman and Neo had broken away from their alliance after the diary incident. And now that Mercury had left her… and Emerald, who she thought would never even dream of leaving her…
Cinder stared at her reflection in the TV, an image of the weak, young girl she once was years ago staring back at her. Bruised, dirty, wearing that little maid outfit her step-sisters always put her in. She was worthless back then. No one gave a damn about her existence or about her words. So young, so broken…
So alone.
Cinder never wanted to feel that way again. But now, she was living it once more.