Let's how the groups' investigation goes over.
Chapter cover- Penny in the foreground with Issia and Ruby, shocked about something in the background.
Ch.12- A robot can not lie.
"Woooow! I forget how big the Transmit tower looks up close!" Ruby exclaims, in her usually energetic personality even though we came here to gather information.
"You should see the one in Atlas!" Weiss states.
"That was the first one, right?" Ruby notes.
"Correct. Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War," Weiss states the history of the tower.
"Oooh, look at me! My name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!" Ruby jokes, imitating Weiss's voice as I watch this unfold.
Weiss scolds Ruby, "Don't be a pest! Besides, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call from the library," Weiss points out.
"Let her have her fun Weiss, it's best we make it a point to have as much fun as we can," I tell Weiss.
"I know, but so coool! Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!" Ruby goes to pull out her scroll but fumbles it where it lands in front of Penny.
"Oh. You dropped this," Penny says handing Ruby her scroll back.
"Penny?!" Ruby gasp in surprise of her friend sudden reappears.
"Uhhhh," Penny stutters.
"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks!" Ruby ask.
"Yes, it's been a while since I last saw you," I tell Penny.
"S-Sorry. I think you're confused. Penny suddenly hiccups, throwing the Scroll into Ruby's hands, "Uh... I've got to go!" And she quickly walks away.
"What was that about?" Weiss asks I shrug it off at that girl's weirdness. I look around to see where Medi is and don't find her, she wondered off, ugh, not worth the effort to find her.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Ruby starts walking in Penny's direction as she shouting back to us, "You go make your call! I'll meet up with you later!"
"I'm going with her, I trust you can do this alone?" I ask Weiss.
"Alone, what do you mean?" Weiss looks around and can't locate Medi.
"That girl is like a bird at times, she'll reappear," I inform Weiss and Ruby about Medi's little habit.
"Yes, but don't." Weiss cuts herself off realizing she can't stop either of us.
We run off to catch up to Penny as she's walking down some stairs.
"Penny! Where have you been? It's been weeks!" Ruby asks.
"You disappeared without saying a word, you had us worried," I add.
"There seems to be a... misunderstanding." Penny lies.
"What?!... Penny," Ruby says as Penny tries to walk away again, but I walk ahead of her and Ruby slides down the rail bar in the center of the steps. "Is everything okay?" Ruby asks when she reaches the bottom, but Penny keeps walking away.
"Penny," I plant a hand on Penny's shoulder to stop her from running away.
"Penny, please stop!" Ruby stops her too, which makes Penny stop, look at her, then hang her head. "Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to us. Those guys we fought at the docks; we think they're up to something big, something BAD. I need you to tell me what happened to you that night. Please, as a friend," Ruby pleads with her.
"Just tell us what's going, please...as a friend," I add.
Penny sighs before looking around at the people around us. She then walks up close to me and Ruby.
"It isn't safe to talk here," she whispers.
Penny is waiting out in front of a local café, looking worried until a hand taps on her right shoulder and she looks over to see Ruby with a bit smile and me behind her. This causes Penny to smile a little and the three of us begin walking through the city.
"I wish I could help you Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men," Penny says.
"Well, what happened to you that night? We were all together, and then you just disappeared. Were you kidnapped?" Ruby worriedly asks her.
"Oh, no! Nothing like that," Penny quickly replies.
"I highly doubt you would've been kidnapped by them. Not after seeing you wipe the floor with them with your skills," I note.
"Well, then where did you go?" Ruby asks again.
"I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but-Oh, you have to understand, my father loves me very much. He just worries a lot," Penny explains.
"Heh, believe me, I know the feeling," Ruby says, rolling her eyes.
"I know how you feel," I say, making Penny smile.
"But, why not let us know you were okay?" Ruby asks.
"I…was asked…not to talk to you. Or Issia, or Weiss, or Blake, or Yang, Deandra. Anybody really," Penny explains.
"You mean 'ordered' not to speak to us," I note in my head seeing what Penny really means.
"Was your dad that upset?" Ruby questions.
"No, it wasn't my father," Penny begins until she hears a broadcast and they look over to the town square.
The town square has steps surrounding a square center, and on that center is a hologram of General Ironwood in front of two large crates behind six Atlesian Knight-130s.
"The AK-130 has been the standard security line of Remnant for several years. And they have done a fine job, wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?" the Ironwood hologram says, with the robots taking a bow to the clapping audience of people gathered in the square. "But, the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and fine? Well, that's just not good enough, is it? Ironwood says as the two crates open up behind the AK-130s, revealing six new robot soldiers with more slender, humanoid looking bodies, and with white armor over the black inner workings still visible underneath.
"Presenting the Atlesian Knight…200," Ironwood introduces the new machines, which kick over the older robots, standing on them, and making the crowd clap again. "Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary," Ironwood continues as the new machines do poses for the crowd. "These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone. Now, the Atlesian military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that undoubtedly require…a human touch," Ironwood continues.
"Ruby…" Penny motions to Ruby, who continues to look on in awe, while I look on with some interest.
"So…Our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce…The Atlesian Paladin!" the Ironwood hologram explains and disappears as a larger machine takes his place. The Paladin is an enormous gray-colored mechanized battle suit, able to house one pilot in the body, and has two energy guns on the sides, two rocket launchers mounted onto its back, and double-barreled guns on the side of the other energy guns. The body is a little funky on the arms and legs. The crowd claps again at the site of the new weapon. "Now, we can't have them here for you today. But these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!" Ironwood exclaims, making the crows applaud again.
"Technology being used to protect the weak, you guys have thought for everyone." I voice my thoughts on what's going on.
"Woah," Ruby says, jaw dropped in sheer awe at the site.
"…Ruby, maybe we should go somewhere else," Penny says, stepping back a bit.
Just then two Atlas human soldiers wearing gray-and-blue body armor, black pants, silver helmets covering most of their faces, and guns strapped to their backs, notice us. Penny turns and starts running away across the street and down a back alley.
"Penny? Wait! Where are you going?!" Ruby calls out but turns back to see the two soldiers running towards us.
"Time to move!" I say as we run after Penny, and away from the soldiers.
As Penny turns right down the alley, me and Ruby run to catch up to her, with the two soldiers not too far behind. Penny, with me and Ruby not far behind her, crossing one street into another alley. The soldiers keep chase until the first one almost gets run over by a car, but the vehicle stops just as it hits the soldier, who remains on his feet, while the other continues the chase. I look back at this before looking ahead at Ruby and then Penny who turns left down the alley. I notice some wooden boxes held up on a wooden platform, and thinking quickly, knock the support off the boxes. That makes the wooden platform fall to the ground with the wooden crates blocking the alleyway from the soldiers, and then continues my run with Ruby and Penny. As they keep running, Ruby sees Penny ahead of them, and then jumps and starts running along a wall on her right, I copy them and make sure I don't lose sight of them. Ruby then uses her semblance to shoot over to Penny and grabs her around her waist.
"This way!" Ruby says, and then winches as she uses her semblance again to shoot them down another alleyway like a rocket, while I try to keep up with her speed.
At one point, Ruby loses her energy and they drop onto the ground, with Penny stopping while Ruby rolls out onto another street. She slowly sits up and rubs her head until she hears a truck horn behind her and stands up, turning around to see a cargo truck coming at her.
Suddenly, Penny pushes Ruby out of the way, and then holds her hands out, stopping the truck, causing a crater to form in the ground under her and the truck to lift off the ground for a moment. I help Ruby up to her feet and we stare on in shock.
"Penny?" Ruby asks, her face filled with worry, and maybe a little fear.
"Are you okay?!" Penny asks the driver, who nods in confirmation.
Penny looks at Ruby and Khazhak and sees Ruby's scared expression, "Um, uh…" she stutters, looking at her hands.
She looks at other people converging on the scene, looking at her, and then she runs away, pushing past Ruby.
"Penny, come back!" Ruby calls out and we run after her again, leaving the scene as the two soldiers from before arrive on the scene.
Penny stops at one point in the alley, and we catch up to her.
"Penny! Please, what is going on?! Why are you running?! How did you do THAT?!" Ruby asks, trying to figure out what's going on.
"Come on, you have to tell us what's going on. You're acting a lot weirder than usual," I add.
"I-I can't. Everything's fine (Hiccup). I-I don't want to talk about it (Hiccup)!" Penny says, hiccupping as she speaks, crossing her arms and turning her head away.
"Penny, if you can just tell me what's wrong, I can help you!" Ruby pleads with her.
"No. No, no. You wouldn't understand," Penny says.
"I do understand. I trusted my secret with Ruby and her friends so they understand." I tell Penny to have her reveal her secret.
"You guys are my friends, right? You promise you're my friends?" Penny pleads, walking up to them.
"I promise," Ruby promises.
"You have my word," I swear.
Penny looks down at her hands, "Ruby…Issia…I'm NOT a real girl," she admits, showing her palms…to reveal METAL parts from underneath the damaged skin.
"…Oh," Ruby utters, completely in shock.
"I knew it," I sensed that Penny was not normal, I knew she had to be a robot of some kind.
"Penny, I-I don't understand," Ruby says, trying to cope with she just found out.
"She' saying that she's an android, Ruby," I try to simplify things for Ruby.
"Most girls are born, but I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an aura…I'm not real," Penny says, hanging her head.
Ruby reaches out, holding Penny's hands open first, but then closes them while still holding them.
"Of course you're are. You think just because you got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me or Issia?" Ruby comforts her.
"How you were BORN makes no difference to me. While you may be a little awkward at it, you're just as alive as any other normal person," I say, placing a hand on her right shoulder.
"I don't, um…You two are taking this extraordinarily well," Penny notes, confused.
"Yeah. Besides, you're not like those things we saw back there. You've got a heart, and a soul, I can feel it," Ruby says, pointing at Penny's chest where her heart would be.
"I mean I'm able to understand Issia and her sisters are monster girls, so you're no different," Ruby says accidentally revealing my secret.
"Wait, Issia a what?" Penny asks, to which I turn my sight to Ruby and stare directly at her soul.
"I tell you later, don't mention that to no one, because you were programmed without the ability to lie," I tell Penny about her hiccups.
Ruby groans, "I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower," Ruby painfully says.
Penny then releases them, "Oh, he's VERY sweet. My father's the one that built me. I'm sure you would just love him," Penny says.
"Wow, heh-heh. He built you all by himself?" Ruby asks.
"Well almost. He had some help from Mr. Ironwood," Penny explains.
"The general?... Wait, is that why those soldiers were after you?" Ruby asks.
"They like to protect me too," Penny says.
"Heh, I highly doubt YOU need protection," I note.
"Yeah, they don't think you can protect yourself?" Ruby questions her.
"They're not sure if I'm ready yet. One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the tournament," Penny says.
"Penny, what are you talking about? Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace," Ruby says, getting confused.
"That's not what Mr. Ironwood said," Penny replies.
"Check down here!" We hear the voice of one of the soldiers from earlier nearby.
"You have to hide!" Penny says, grabbing Ruby and picking her up over her head.
"Penny, Gah! What are you doing?! You don't have to go with them, I can help YOU!" Ruby shrieks, flailing around as Penny carries her to a nearby dumpster.
Penny throws her into the dumpster and the lid falls shut. Penny turns around to do the same to me, but I quickly jump to the rooftops.
"It's okay Ruby. They're not bad people, I just don't want you to get in trouble. Just promise me you won't tell anyone about my secret, okay?" she whispers to her.
"I promise. And don't worry about Issia. She won't tell anyone. She keeps her promises," Ruby replies before Penny closes the lid, but Ruby cracks it open a bit.
"There she is!" she hears the soldiers say as they catch up to Penny.
"Sal-u-tations, officers," Penny plays dumb.
"Why were you running? And what happened to the other two that were with you?" One of them asks her.
"What other two people? I've been by myself all day (Hiccup)," Penny lies, making herself hiccup from it and covering her mouth before placing her hands behind her back.
"You shouldn't cause such a scene," one soldier says.
"Are you okay?" the second asks her.
Penny shows them her hands, "Just a scratch," she says, but they get a little worried.
"Penny, your father isn't going to be happy about this," one soldier says.
"Please, just come with us," the other asks her.
"Yes sir," Penny replies, and they then walk away.
I jump off the roof and land in front of Ruby, "Well, at least that has been dealt with for now. Although truth be told, I suspected she was an android when we first met her," I point out.
"I guess not much gets by you, huh?" Ruby says.
"Nope. By the way, you have a rat on your shoe," I say, pointing at her shoe.
Ruby hears a squeak, looks down, and then freaks out from the rat, falling back as the lid closes on her again. I take this opportunity to scold Ruby for telling my secret to Penny by resting my arm on the lid and lean against the dumpster, preventing Ruby from escaping as she bangs on the lid.
"Issia! Let me out! There's more than one rat in here! LET ME OUT!" Ruby screams, banging on the lid both in fear and in anger.
Writer: Wow, this was a very quick chapter it only took a day finish, and no this is not an April Fools joke, this is an actual chapter.