It's not technically Friday in my neck of the woods, I haven't gone to bed yet, so it still counts as getting the chapter done on time. And it only took about 2500 words in a single day. Ugh, I'm feeling burnt out.

Right, reviews. Xfel, Cardin did the whole rescue Weiss thing to stay on her daddy's good side. I didn't mention it because, uh…

To Heartmachine782, I've been waiting a long time to break Weiss' heart. Also, just beat Deus Ex HR yesterday, it did not disappoint. That's probably why I was able to get this chapter done.

Chapter Forty-Eight: The Heart of a Machine

When Cardin opened the door to Ironwood's office aboard the Defender, he wasn't surprised to see Headmaster Ozpin in a chair opposite the General, not after he had gotten notified by Beacon's Bullhead pilot of technical difficulties, during which time the pilot sat in the cockpit while Cardin waited at one of the terminals' benches, sitting in awkward silence as Penny, so close to him that he could feel the warmth radiating from her synthetic body, talked about everything she did with Ruby on some day they had gone out. After about thirty minutes, the pilot received a message, and all the sudden, they could fly up to the Defender. Coupled with the fact that Winter personally greeted him the moment the Bullhead touched down and escorted him to Ironwood's office suggested that someone, most likely Ozpin, was taking care to make sure he didn't have any alone time with Ironwood or anyone else on the ship.

Ozpin sipped coffee as he moved his rook behind Ironwood's line of pawns. With nowhere to move his king, which was trapped behind the very pawns protecting it, Ironwood was forced to move his knight to the back row, plugging the hole, but leaving the wall of pawns vulnerable. A bishop crashed into their ranks, and the knight, pinned to the king's side, could do nothing to stop the checkmate.

"Ah, Cardin, what a surprise to see you here," Ozpin said. "I brought a thermos with me. Would you care for some real coffee?"

Ironwood sighed and raised his own mug. "You really won't let that go, will you?"

"How you could even stomach that sludge is beyond me. Enough about that, I'm sure Cardin has much to discuss with you." The Headmaster rose and went towards the door.

It was an obvious bait, one Cardin resolved not to take. "I'm glad you're here as well. It saves me the trouble of finding you later." Turning to Winter, he asked, "Is there another chair I could have?"

Penny went to go fetch them and brought back two chairs. Winter sat next to the General, while Cardin sat to Ozpin's left. Penny stood outside, leaving the four of them alone and promising not to let anyone through. Ironwood rearranged the pieces, giving Ozpin the white. Ozpin gestured to the board and said, "Why don't you give it a try, Cardin? I think I've had enough chess for today."

Ironwood snorted. "What, you play a twenty-minute game and you're done? I didn't even have time to finish my coffee."

"Drink it before it gets cold, or I won't be bringing more. I despise wasting coffee."

The General grinned and said, "You never finished the cup I gave you."

"Ah, then allow me to correct myself. I despise wasting drinkable coffee."

Ironwood shrugged and drank his whole mug in one gulp. He blinked and looked down at the mug. "That was pretty good. How much cream did you put in?"

"None," Ozpin said with a smug air. "Good coffee needs nothing to make it an enjoyable experience." He poured anther mug for Cardin and passed it over. "So, Cardin, what brings you to Ironwood's office the day before the final round?"

Cardin stared at the chess board, wondering how to make the first move. Part of him wanted to make a direct attack, go straight down the chess board, lay out his arguments and requests plainly in front of the General. If they were alone, he would've done exactly that, trusting that the General would see him as someone of like mind. With Ozpin looking over his shoulder, it would look deceitful.

He played pawn to C4, going for a flanking strategy, and said, "There's been a lot of resentment towards having a robot in the Vytal Festival"

Ironwood sighed and pushed a pawn towards center board. "Tell me about it. Calls are coming in non-stop to request that we withdraw Penny and have one of her teammates finish the competition instead."

"The rules are quite clear," Ozpin said. "No participant in the Vytal Festival singles matchups may swap out unless some extenuating medical condition prohibits them from combat." Stroking his chin, the Headmaster noted, "I find it quite odd that the Dukes hadn't pointed out this caveat during the delays over Cardin's injury."

Which meant, first, the Dukes still wanted Cardin in the festival, and second, that they wanted Penny to remain, against all public outcry and sullied foreign relations, none of which boded well for his longevity.

"I fear it will only get worse if Penny wins the competition." Cardin pushed a bishop to the side, sighting a vulnerable pawn in Ironwood's ranks. Ironwood pushed a different pawn forward to cover the exposed position.

"A sentiment that both James and I share." Ozpin poured himself another mug from the thermos and savored the steam wafting towards him. "For now, people cling to the hope that you will defeat Penny and prove man superior to machine."

As Ironwood's central attack marched forward, Cardin was forced to divert pieces from the flanks to cover his king. "Then perhaps it would be in everyone's best interest if we made sure I will win tomorrow."

Neither Ironwood nor Ozpin demonstrated any surprise at his suggestion. Ironwood ran his fingers over the tops of his pieces, mulling over which one to move, but his eyes were on the Headmaster.

Ozpin said, "That may not be as wise as it first appears. Rumors are already being circulated regarding your visits aboard the Defender. In the streets, people say that Penny will take a fall, letting you have an easy victory."

"The Dukes are trying to make sure I lose. If we can make the fight look convincing enough…"

"True, but how can we?" Ironwood asked. "Penny wasn't simply meant to support Huntsmen, like the Knights and Paladins, she was meant to make them obsolete. Our standardized testing results put her in the top ten percent of professional Huntsmen, and that's saying nothing about the vast array of weapons, Dust reservoirs, and defensive systems at her disposal."

"Nobody knows how powerful Penny is. If she uses only what people have seen so far, maybe something new so no one gets suspicious, then it'll be enough."

"A valid assumption," Ozpin said, "But it still leaves us with one question. Will you be able to defeat Penny even at this level? Most people believe it is possible, but privately, they express their doubts. Rumors are being circulated about how formidable Penny actually is, and it doesn't help that Penny's basic design schematics were leaked to the public." He folded his hands and added, "Many cite your victory over Pyrrha as reason to hope you'll win against the odds again. Perhaps we could play on that."

Cardin pulled out the Gravity Dust Mr. Schnee had given him. "Penny isn't the only one with a hidden weapon. I haven't shown any of you a fraction of what I can do with the ball and chain."

Ozpin stared at the Dust without twitching a muscle, but Ironwood leaned close, examining him with open curiosity. "So that's why you wanted Gravity. I bet there's plenty of maneuvers you could do with a weightless chain."

"Especially when you have eighty feet to work with."

"How much time will you have?" Ozpin asked.

Cardin's grin faltered as he answered, "About four minutes."

"Not long enough," Ironwood said. "As you saw from yesterday's fight, Penny has the stamina to outlast short bursts of Dust usage. You'll need a more sustainable offense to defeat her."

The General nodded at Winter, who took a suitcase, gray steel emblazoned with the SDC logo, and opened it on her lap. Two purple Dust crystals, flawlessly cut, glittered from inside the foam padding that surrounded them. After getting a silent go-ahead from Ironwood, Cardin picked one out from the pile and held it in his hand. The Crystal thrummed with internal power, and his skin prickled as bits of it rubbed off on him.

"Be very careful, handling a crystal like that with bare hands," Ozpin said. "It's much more potent in that form, and the Dust is drawn to Semblances with similar effects. It can cause… unfortunate accidents."

Whether the weightless sensation running up his arm was from nerves or the Dust, Cardin decided not to tempt fate and quickly set the crystal back in place. He rubbed his hand off on his pants, leaving a glittering purple smear that faded away within a few seconds.

Ironwood took a piece, triggering a chain of captures that left the center thinned out. Cardin tried to move in his flanks, but Ironwood took advantage of the open space to deploy his rooks. "Speaking of Dust Crystal," Ironwood said, "Do you happen to know what happened to the Life Dust crystal I showed you?"

Ozpin tensed and looked at him, but Cardin shrugged his shoudlers and said, "Not a thing. Was it stolen?"

"We presume so," Ozpin said, "But since James has always carried it on his person, its absence is… troubling."

The General lazily trailed a finger over his pieces. "Like I've said, there isn't nearly enough of it in that crystal for them to make another Penny, or even to improve a Knight or Paladin. I can't imagine what they wanted it for."

"Which makes it that much more worrying."

Cardin shared the Headmaster's apprehension, but without anything to add, he simply waited for Ironwood to move another piece.

"Jacques sends his regards," Ironwood said as he pushed a pawn forward, "And hopes that you will continue to look after his daughter."

Cardin's heart sank as he remembered what he had said to her the previous day, but he kept up a smile as he took the case from Winter.

"Anything else that might help me win?"

"That's all the help we can afford to give you," Ozpin said. "Any more will likely cause suspicion. As it is, you should have the crystal loaded before the match begins. It would be unwise to let people see you have received such a valuable gift from the largest corporation in Atlas."

Not simply a warning against earning the ire of the common people but also a warning against exposing his connections to the Dukes, Ozpin's multilayered comment made Cardin nod respectfully.

"In short," Cardin said, "We need to have a spectacular final round that results in me winning without anyone questioning the results. If I'm given too much help or if Penny holds back too much, people will believe the competition was rigged in my favor. We also have to make sure Cinder doesn't get to tamper with this match like she did with Yang's."

Ironwood captured one of Cardin's pieces and said, "I have Winter working on that. Cinder and her teammates will be closely watched, and at the final moments of the match, they'll be distracted by the guards.

"A spilled drink, perhaps?" Cardin asked. "I think that would work very well for Emerald."

Ironwood made a note of it on his Scroll. "Beyond that, we will have to hope that both of you can recognize the influence of their Semblance. If for any reason, you feel that things are not as they appear, throw down your weapon and we will pause the match. I'll have a platoon of Knights and two Paladins on standby in case anything unexpected happens."

"Out of sight of the spectators, I trust?" Ozpin asked coldly.

"I know, I know, we don't want the crowd getting tense," Ironwood answered in an exasperated tone, "But we can't just leave ourselves defenseless, Oz."

"Surrounding ourselves with military equipment doesn't make us any safer, James. It only makes people uneasy."

"The people will feel just as uneasy if they don't believe that we are doing everything we can to protect them."

"They shouldn't feel as though they need protection in the first place."

The General's hand tightened around the grip of his mug until the ceramic cracked. "Then maybe you should have stamped out the White Fang before they blew a hole in the city streets."

As tempted as he was to let the argument play out and perhaps learn something of value, Cardin wanted to leave the Defender as soon as possible, before anyone notices he's missing. "Perhaps we should focus on the task at hand."

Ironwood flinche, while Ozpin gave him a silent look. "Was there something else you wished to say?" Ozpin asked.

As the Headmaster stared at him, swirling his mug of coffee without looking down at it or taking a sip, Cardin realized that he had already gotten what he had wanted, or at least, as much as they could give him. He had their blessing to win the fight, and no doubt, they had already conveyed their wishes to Penny, and they also had safeguards in place to minimize Cinder's influence. Struggling for a way to fill the silence, Cardin asked Ironwood, "Will you be withdrawing your troops after the Festival?"

Both headmasters exchanged an uneasy look. After a nod from Ozpin, Ironwood said, "A partial withdrawal will occur, yes."

Cardin's hackles rose. "Did the Council ask you to stay?"

"Unfortunately," Ozpin said. "Having so many people in Vale, with conditions as they are alongside anger towards Atlas and the Festival, has caused a rise in the negativity in the area. Grimm are appearing in record numbers across the country."

"Many towns and villages owe their lives to the automated defenses we have set up," Ironwood said, directing his words at Ozpin. "At least they have shown themselves grateful for our support."

Ozpin deflected the General's barbed comment. "Withdrawing Atlas troops now would leave Vale's Huntsmen and military overwhelmed. We don't have the means to defend the farmlands."

"I offered to sell Vale the Knights and Paladins already stationed in those areas," Ironwood said, "But the Council refused, claiming to not have the funds despite offering to sell them at a loss."

"They want those troops to belong to Atlas," Cardin said absently as he thought over what they were saying. "That way, if the border gets pushed back and Vale loses farmland, Atlas is to blame."

"And if Atlas withdraws them anyways," Ozpin added, "Then it makes Ironwood look as though he's abandoning Vale. It's quite the Catch-22."

"The only way to win this is to take control of the news." Cardin moved his queen to a flank, putting Ironwood's king in check. It retreated behind a wall of pawns, but the center was too well guarded for his pieces to take advantage of the gain in tempo.

"That will be easier said than done." Ozpin nodded at the board and said, "Checkmate in three, once Ironwood brings out his other rook."

As the Headmaster predicted, though Cardin tried to block the rook's progress, Ironwood's knight stormed past his pawns and pinned the king in place for the rook's finishing blow. They shook hands and exchanged compliments, and Cardin rose from his seat.

"I'll prepare for tomorrow."

"And we will prepare for the future," Ozpin returned. "Good luck."

To Winter's annoyance, Ironwood signaled for her to escort Cardin out. Penny followed them from the door. While they were walking, Winter asked, "Is Weiss doing alright? I haven't had a chance to speak with her since, well, you know."

Cardin swallowed the lump in his throat and answered, "She seems to be doing well."

"Good. I know you're already doing this for my father, but I would still appreciate it if you could keep an eye on her." With a dark look back from the way they had come, she said, "I get the feeling Beacon isn't as safe as it should be."

Cardin and Penny clambered aboard a waiting Bullhead. Once they flew off towards Beacon, Penny asked, "Beacon is not safe? Should I commence lockdown and quarantine of the premises once we land? I could have every human on campus immobilized and prepared for judicial processing within oh-six-hundred hours."

To punctuate her statement, her swords flashed out of her backpack. Cardin backed away and said, "That won't be necessary. Everything's under control."

The swords slipped back in their hiding spot. Penny frowned and looked at him. "You are not laughing. What did I do wrong?"

"Wait, what?"

"I was attempting to make a joke, Cardin. You did not laugh, which means the joke did not meet the specifications required for it to be humorous. Therefore, the joke had a critical flaw that compromised its ability to reduce tension in social situations and endear the user to those around them. If I am to successfully integrate into social situations, I must be able to implement humor to its fullest potential, requiring feedback so I may–"

"Alright, I get it," Cardin said, cutting Penny off. "Just didn't realize you could tell jokes."

"Could you tell me what I did wrong? I thought that the over-exaggerated response to Winter's claim would illicit some verbal irony, thus generating the humor required for laughter. Did I misinterpret the irony of my words, or was it insufficient to generate the desired response?"

"I don't know. I don't really tell jokes."

"But surely you can offer some input on what went wrong."

Cardin sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Well, I guess it wasn't funny because I believed you would actually do it."

Penny's face brightened. "I see. You lacked the knowledge required to understand that the statement I had just made was untrue. It would, in fact, be impossible for me to incapacitate the students and teachers within the time frame I had given." Her face tilted at an odd angle as she performed computations in her head. "It would take at best eight hours, given that the Bullhead docks have been taken out of commission first and Professor Goodwitch was captured before she could organize a defense."

The matter-of-fact statement had Cardin laughing softly into his hand. Penny examined him with a puzzled smile. "Have I sufficiently explained myself so you have now understood the irony?"

"Not really. More like it was funny how clueless you are about making a joke."

"Oh." Her smile dipped a moment before it returned. "But I still made you laugh, and that counts as making a joke."

"Sure, Penny. Good job."

As they approached the campus, Penny tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Cardin shrugged and said, "Go ahead."

"Why do so many people object to my presence here?"

He debated between telling her in a blunt and straightforward manner or trying a gentler approach.

"It's a complicated issue," Cardin said in hopes of scoping out Penny more effectively and make sure she didn't have any ideas about being popular by winning the Festival. "I'm not sure where to begin."

"Nobody had any objection to my presence in the Vytal Festival before people found out I was… not like everyone else. I considered that it might be because I have substantial morphological differences from the standard human, much like the Faunus, but nobody objected to Sun Wukong's participation. What are the parameters of social acceptance?"

"People feel threatened, I think," Cardin said, picking his words with as much care as a man stranded on a frozen lake might walk towards the shore. "You're made of technology far beyond what anyone thought possible, and Ironwood wasn't exactly wise in how he chose to show you to the world."

"I made an erroneous first impression."

"Yes, I suppose that's a good way to put it."

"I see. Then how can I correct this first impression?"

As tempting as it was to tell her that everything would work out if she lost, he knew it wouldn't fix anything, and she wouldn't trust him afterwards once he was proven wrong. Still, he could nudge her towards the desired outcome.

"If you won the Vytal Festival, people would fear that they would be made obsolete by machines like you."

"In other words," Penny said, taking up Cardin's logic, "Losing the Festival would make people less afraid of me."

"It won't change things right away," Cardin hastily added, "But it would be a good start."

"That lines up with what General Ironwood told me," Penny said. "Thank you, friend Cardin. I wished to gain additional perspective on the matter, and you have done an admirable job of it. I look forward to losing to you tomorrow."

"Don't say that too loudly," Cardin said, glancing towards the pilot. Between the roaring of the engines and the headphones strapped over their ears, he was confident they hadn't heard anything, but the wrong words spoken on campus would put all their plans to ruin. "If people hear you say that, they'll think you're holding back during the fight, trying to trick them into thinking you're not a threat. It would make them more afraid of them."

Penny's eyes widened, and her voice dipped to a nearly inaudible whisper. "Thanks. I'll be careful."

No sooner had he gotten off the Bullhead, his Scroll started ringing. A quick glance showed him his father's number. Cardin darted off, followed closely by Penny, and took the call in the first quiet corner he found, holding a finger up to keep Penny quiet.

"Hello father," Cardin said. With a glance at Penny, he gave signs that he was being listened in on.

"You realize that winning the Festival won't stop Cinder's plans."

The preamble, made in a flat, matter-of-fact tone without any of their accustomed signs, chilled Cardin to the bone.

"No, but it will slow her down at least."

"It will annoy her into crushing us once and for all."

Cardin shivered and pressed the Scroll closer to his ear, trying to keep Penny from overhearing him. "What, then, do you recommend?"

"You have two choices. First, you may forfeit, saying you refuse to fight a machine. This would be the greatest show of loyalty you could make, but it doesn't suit Cinder's plans as well as she would like. Second, you may lose, preferably suffering an injury. The public outcry would be greater, but it lets you preserve ties Cinder doesn't want you to have."

"Wouldn't she want me to remain with them as a spy?"

"That no longer matters. Cinder already has all she requires, and they are powerless to stop her."

Cardin looked up at the titanic battlecruiser soaring overhead. "That's it, then? You're giving up? You realize that, even if we play along, our house will be ruined."

"It already is ruined. I've fought tooth and nail to keep our estate afloat for the past couple months. I've lost almost every man in the Commons, I'm down to a handful of contacts in the Committees, and they've been passing law after law raising lumber taxes and limiting logging." Accentuating key words with care, the Duke of Winchester said, "The accounts have been drained, not a drop remains."

Cardin's breath caught. His father had a hidden account, the details of which would be hidden in a vase in the parlor.

"Can we sell some of the businesses?"

"I can't even sell the liquor in the cellars."

Yet another code word, pointing him towards Junior. His heart soared. Junior's men would be little better than cannon fodder, but they were the only crime syndicate left in town, and their help might be enough to protect them from Cinder or strike an unexpected blow.

"So, we have no choice but to follow her then?"

"None." His father's voice was firm, certain, brooked no argument. Cardin's spirits fell. Of course it would be too much to hope to assassinate her, or sabotage the Dukes under her control, even with the Red Axe Gang in their employ. Taking Cinder down would take time and resources, neither of which they would have if she decided to crush them like a cockroach at the first offense.

"I will consider carefully what choice to make."

"I look forward to watching your fight." There was a short pause before he said, "Good job making it to the finals."

The line abruptly went dead. Letting out a sigh, Cardin put away his Scroll. Penny was a respectful distance away, for once not trying to overhear his conversation.

"I think we're done for today," Cardin said. "You should head back to your room."

"If you are sure, then I will do so."

As Cardin turned to head up the stairs to his room, a flash of red caught his attention. Ruby came towards him with a sour expression on her face.

"Do you have any idea how upset you made Weiss?" she asked as she stomped towards him. "She's been in our bathroom all day!"

Glancing left and right, Cardin's eyes settled on Penny. He slipped behind her and pushed her towards Ruby, grunting from her deceptively heavy weight. "Hey Penny, why don't you try your jokes on Ruby? I'm sure she would love to hear them."

Penny's eyes lit up. "That is an excellent idea! She would make a great test subject."

Penny stood squarely in front of Ruby, ignoring the girl's protests and attempts to run around her. Using the distraction to his advantage, Cardin slipped upstairs and locked the door to his dorm room before sliding down to the floor and letting gout a sigh of relief.

Russell peered at him from behind the cover of a comic. "You okay, man?"

"Close call," he said. "Nothing important."