Hot damn, I hit a review high last week! I should write Penny into my fics more often!

This week's dragon spotlight goes to Haku from Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away. Haku is a young man who serves Yubaba, the ruler of a bathhouse for the spirit world. His dragon form is a gorgeous Eastern-style dragon with shimmering white scales, feline features, and a blue-green mane. I absolutely love Haku's character and design, as well as his relationship with Chihiro, the main character of the film. If you haven't seen Spirited Away, stop what you're doing and see it. It's a true masterpiece, along with all of Miyazaki's works. My top three are The Wind Rises, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. Fun fact: In the English version, Haku is voiced by Jason Marsden, who also voiced Max Goof and Kovu, among many other roles.

Anyway, enjoy!

Ruby stared blankly at Storm and at the blinking green light on her brow. Physical, Emotional, and Neurological Implant? What did that even mean? What had she led her team into? What was happening to her dragon?

Thankfully, Glynda seemed to know exactly what was going on. "Command: detach," she said in a calm voice.

The light turned yellow. "Negative. Awaiting Rider command."

Ruby blinked. "Uh, command: detach," she said, deciding it was best to just imitate Glynda for now. To her relief, the light went out, the metal withdrew until only the diamond-shaped forehead plate remained, and the plate itself loosened and fell from Storm's head with a clatter.

Immediately, Ruby drew her dragon close, kissing her and sobbing. "Thank goodness! Are you okay, Storm? That must have been so scary!"

Storm shook herself, gladly snuggling against her partner. Though, she was confused. Where was the other nice voice?

Glynda let out a sigh of relief, picking up the metal plate. "Miss Rose, follow me. I think you need to see Dragonmaster Ozpin immediately."

Ruby stood up. "But, what about Storm? Is she-?"

"The device likely didn't damage her," Glynda said. "However, we'll have to show her to Ozpin just to make sure. And there are several things that need to be explained since you've already seen this much." She paused. "Has anyone else seen this device?"

"My teammates." Ruby's eyes widened. "They're still fighting those men by the crash site!"

"Don't worry. We've sent people down there," Glynda said briskly. "We just need to let them know that the implant is safe." She took out her Scroll, squinting at the sky. The fire had faded, and there wasn't as much noise coming from the park. She still waited until she could clearly see Ragnar returning before she made the call, moving away from Ruby as she did so.

"Sir, we have a problem. Yes. No, the device is here. A student. Yes, it did activate. Miss Ruby Rose. The rest of her team saw. Yes. Very well." She lowered her Scroll. "Follow me."

Ruby nodded, eyes wide as she followed Glynda toward the main campus. She held Storm tightly in her arms, ignoring how much her muscles were starting to ache. After Storm's next growth spurt, she become completely impossible to carry. She seems weirdly calm right now, Ruby thought. Omigosh, what if that thing scrambled her brains?! No, no… Professor Goodwitch says she's probably fine… But what if she's not?!

These thoughts remained at the front of her mind, nearly driving her crazy as she was led up to Ozpin's office and seated in one of the large armchairs in front of the giant oak desk. She stroked Storm's brow, relieved when the dragonet curled up in a familiar position, head resting on her chest.

A few minutes later, the door opened again and Ozpin entered, followed closely by Yang, Weiss, Blake, and the other dragonets. He beckoned for them to sit down before kneeling in front of each dragon, carefully examining them.

When he got to Storm, he looked at her eyes and snapped his fingers in front of her face. When she blinked immediately, he nodded and stood up. "Well, it seems that you are all unharmed. That's a relief." He approached Glynda and took the silver box, now closed, and placed it on his desk. "I'm sure you have questions, but I'll have to ask you to wait until I've finished talking."

Ruby had to bite her lip to keep from asking about the metal plate. He'll get to that. Storm is fine, so you can wait. She hugged her dragon close, drawing comfort from the low purr she heard and felt in response.

Ozpin sat down on the edge of his desk, next to the box and closer to the girls than he would have been if he had sat down in his chair. He folded his hands and sighed. "What I'm about to tell you must be kept secret, at least until this year's Dragon Festival. The tech you have seen isn't supposed to be unveiled until then, mainly because I was given the task of testing it. Understand?"

The girls nodded. Weiss was staring intently at the silver box. Unable to keep from speaking, she asked: "Is my father involved?"

"No, Miss Schnee. This particular project is a commission from the Council, headed by General James Ironwood. You probably are familiar with him." He opened the box and withdrew the plate. "As you saw, this implant attached itself to Storm and commanded her. I'll ask you in detail about what happened once I'm done explaining."

Ozpin took another breath before starting to explain, his voice taking on the tone it had when he was teaching a class. "The Council has been talking about new ways to combat Grimm, ways that will minimalize the risk of human lives."

Blake noticed that he didn't mention Faunus lives. She had a feeling that that wasn't a mistake.

"Therefore, they asked General Ironwood and one of Atlas's lead scientists, Doctor Gepetto, to create a device that will allow dragons to be trained and sent into battle without Riders. What they wanted was an implant that would allow for direct control over a dragon's mind from a distance."

Ruby let out a disgusted gasp, drawing Storm closer. That's how she was able to use her wing gust like that. Mind control!

"However," Ozpin continued. "Neither Ironwood nor Gepetto liked that idea. Miss Schnee, you probably are aware of this. Before Ironwood became general of Atlas's ground army, he was part of the Flight Squad. However, his dragon was killed in a battle with some Nevermores a few years ago. He has no wish to make dragons into mental slaves. As for Doctor Gepetto, his niece is a Rider in the Flight Squad. Therefore, they made the device, but made it slightly different from what the Council wanted."

Ozpin looked toward Storm. "If the implant worked the way it was meant to, it should have molded itself to your dragon's personality, taking mental cues and reading its surroundings in order to decide what to do. It can feed advice directly into the dragon's brain, and even trigger certain elemental powers when necessary. However, it doesn't exert direct control. There was no one on the other end of that device, so Storm's actions were her own. She was simply guided." He folded his hands. "At least, that's the ideal. Since I'm currently one of the most well-known advocates for dragon rights, and am a good distance away from Atlas, Ironwood saw fit to send the device to me for testing. Ragnar agreed to it as well."

Ruby was unable to hold back. "But why have the implant at all? Dragons can already fight. If you don't want it to control them like the Council does, why even make it?"

Ozpin smiled. "Well Miss Rose, this could be an opportunity to prove without a doubt that dragons deserve more rights than they currently have, perhaps that they deserve as many as people." He tapped the metal plate. "Doctor Gepetto has detailed notes proving that this device will be able to draw right from a dragon's mind. Maybe it could be used to put a dragon's thoughts into words beyond the limited vocabulary they have now. The plating could be upgraded to provide flexible armor in battle. It could help a dragon react quickly to a situation that its Rider may not notice in time. Perhaps, it could help a dragon cope if its Rider dies."

He spread his hands. "The possibilities are endless. Besides, if Ironwood had refused to head the project, the Council simply would have found a yes-man who would do exactly as they asked. This way, we at least have a chance to make things better for our partners. I'm sure that's what you all want."

The girls looked at each other, their expressions still plagued with confusion and worry.

"Now then," Ozpin continued. "I'll have to ask you exactly what happened when the device attached itself to Storm."

Ruby quickly recounted the battle, answering Ozpin's questions. She kept one hand on Storm's back, half wondering if she would be asked to attach the plate to her brow again.

Thankfully, Ozpin didn't ask her to do that, and dismissed the team minutes later.

Blake hesitated at the door, glancing over her shoulder at the Dragonmaster. He just barely shook his head and mouthed "Later." She nodded and followed her team without uttering a word.

…..

It was close to midnight by the time Team RWBY's dragons were cleaned and fed. Despite the late hour, no one was tired. They just sat on the floor, talking quietly as their dragons sat nearby.

"I don't like it," Ruby said flatly, scratching Storm under the chin. "Even if it's not mind control, it's still doing something to the dragon. Storm shouldn't have been able to use her wing gust so early."

"He did say that the device can enhance certain abilities," Weiss muttered, looking down at Specter. "And, aren't all of our dragons experiments? Elementals were originally made as tools to fight Grimm. No one's complaining about that."

"Yeah, but it's different from using them as slaves to fight!" Ruby protested. "I mean, Riders risk their lives along with their dragons."

"But they don't ask to be born as elementals," Blake muttered. "They were made to bond to people and made to fight Grimm. They don't really have much choice at all, do they?" She rested a hand on Pit's brow, eyes narrow as she spoke. "I mean, technically, these guys shouldn't exist as they are. They should be hatching naturally in the mountains and living wild. It's people who turned them into weapons. Maybe this is the natural next step."

What if that's what Adam wants? she wondered. She hadn't recognized any White Fang members during the attack on the ship, but that didn't mean they weren't involved somehow.

Yang's stomach twisted as she looked at Fang, who was curled up next to her, his wing touching her leg. He still growled occasionally, but he wasn't snapping at her anymore. Was that because he was starting to genuinely respect her, or because his genetic altering was forcing him to develop a closer bond with her? If he had been born as a regular dragon, would he even want to be near her? Would he have a different overall personality?

Ruby noticed the dark mood descending on her teammates and cleared her throat loudly. "Well, it doesn't matter. Elemental dragons are being made, like it or not. They've helped us fight Grimm for years, so they're obviously good for our society. We just need to work to make things better for them and keep training our own dragons." She hugged Storm. "I mean, who cares if they're genetically altered? They still love us, and we love them. Isn't that enough?"

Weiss felt a smile coming to her face. As if in response to Ruby's words, Specter licked her hand. "It's enough for me." She stroked her dragonet's brow. "As for that device, since we know about it, it's our responsibility to be aware. When it's unveiled, we'll see what happens with it and whether or not we should work to get it banned or improved or whatever else needs to be done."

Yang grinned. "Sounds good to me." She patted Fang's back. "That was some fight though, huh? If our dragons could fight off those jerks at a month old, can you imagine how strong they'll be in a year? We'll be unstoppable!"

There was a pause. "I guess you could say that we're a pretty hot team, huh Fang?"

Ruby groaned loudly. "Yang, don't start."

"Start what?" Blake asked.

"I mean," Yang continued. "With saving that device, we really proved our metal out there."

"Is she serious?" Weiss muttered.

"Unfortunately," Ruby said, covering her ears.

"We weren't too bad, considering the fact that we were just winging it." A sudden barrage of pillows put a swift end to what likely would have been a very painful, multiple-hour attempt at comedy.

The team talked for a little while longer before finally putting their dragons to bed and going to sleep. Blake, however, stayed awake, cat ears twitching as she listened to her teammates' breathing. Once she was sure they were all asleep, she stood up and quietly exited the dorm.

Ozpin was still in his office, and didn't seem at all surprised to see her. "The White Fang wasn't involved with the attack on the ship," he said as she walked in. "However, there were several Dust robberies around the same time, and Faunus wearing Grimm masks were spotted."

"Do you think they're working with whoever these people are?" Blake asked.

Ozpin nodded. "I don't know what they want with the device, but I know they wanted it. The men who attacked the ship were going through the silver boxes before they fled. The one Miss Xiao Long gave to the police hasn't answered any questions so far. The rest managed to escape under the fire dragon's smokescreen."

"Do you have any idea what these people want, sir?"

Ozpin folded his hands and sighed. "I'm not sure. All I can say is that they're planning for something. This isn't just a random string of attacks to supplement a black market hatchery. Something bigger is going on, and we won't be able to combat these people until we figure it out. That's all I can tell you right now." He smiled gently. "You should get some rest, Miss Belladonna. You and your team deserve it."

Blake returned to the room, her head reeling. She glanced toward the dragons as she sat on her bed, wondering if, between the device and Pit's still-to-be-unveiled powers, she could handle any more surprises that could be thrown her way.

Now, we're really getting into some of the main themes of this story. I hope this answers most of the questions people have been having. No, Storm and Penny aren't going to be fused. Rather, Storm and Ruby will slowly influence Penny's development from a simple program to a sentient, thinking being over time. You'll be seeing more of her later on.

If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!