Chapter 27

Penny Polendina shook my hand ten times a second as I tried to sit down. Ozpin had a mug of coffee and some scones, and General Ironwood had a plate of cinnamon buns in front of him. Harriet stood close to the door, and Clover was behind the counter at the cafe so it was just the six of us inside. The windows were closed as well, and I could tell that whatever was going on, was likely classified and important to keep out of anyone else's field of hearing.

Apparently, General Ironwood and Clover had taken a faster express route back to Vale hours earlier, which I didn't even know was a thing. But it was clear how seriously they were taking things if they needed to get back to Vale as fast as they could. "Nice to meet you," I said for the sixth time in a row, before Penny finally let go of me. It was odd, knowing her to be an artificial person, but given her eccentric behavior and wholesome smile, I couldn't help but smile back at her. Even if my arm was about to fall apart by the muscle fibers. "So, what's up with the robot?"

"R-robot?" Penny asked, hiccupping in clear and amusing surprise. Clearing her throat, she quickly smiled in an attempt to seem more normal, which in fact had the opposite effect. "I am a normal human being like you." She hiccuped once again.

"It's alright," General Ironwood said as he pushed the plate of cinnamon buns towards me. "I trust Markus. Plus, I have a feeling he already knew." I shrugged meekly and I helped myself to one of the buns - still warm and smelling great - as I looked to Penny's direction, who grinned a bit more easily. It was surprising how human she could act when she wasn't trying.

"Miss Polendina here has also been told of some of the basics of this attack," General Ironwood continued as I began to eat what was basically an impromptu dessert. "And she has been upgraded with additional cyberwarfare defenses in anticipation of a hacking attack."

"We also wanted to discuss our plans for the festival," Ozpin said as he clasped his hands together. "You mentioned the attack, of course. How did it start? Tell us everything, every detail possible to share."

I frowned before rubbing my eyes and sighing, finishing the bun as I recalled what happened. "They...killed Penny," I said, looking at Penny, who simply tilted her head at me in confusion at the mention of her death. "They use an illusion to get Pyrrha and her semblance to rip her apart with her own swords. Negativity goes at an all time high, and the Grimm are released then."

I continued to explain the entire event, every detail I didn't tell them before, not sugarcoating a single statement - no, a single word - as I went on. Ironwood and Ozpin nodded as they listened, clearly taking my words seriously. I wondered if Ozpin still had any reservations with trusting me, even a little bit. The general seemed to openly consider my words, however.

I even mentioned Adam Taurus and his history with Blake, as well as some plans and ideas I had with dealing with him. However, I had no real good plan for it as Blake and Adam's issues at Beacon were likely to be avoided with the measures we took to prevent the attack. "I see," Ironwood said as he scratched his chin. "So the greatest threat as of now is of the Grimm and the White Fang. And you say most of them go straight for the city?"

"Yeah," I said, as I took a napkin and wiped my face. "Bullheads loaded with Grimm and White Fang troops swarming the school. Civilians and some students are evacuated, and most of the tournament participants start protecting the school. Authorities and your troops start protecting the city, but then the androids just turned around and began gunning down civilians and soldiers alike."

Ironwood winced, clearly seeing the implications as well as the consequences. "So her plan is to plant seeds of doubt in the biggest event on Remnant to split the kingdoms. I imagine she has complex plans for that?" Ironwood said.

"Yeah...Mistral falls because of an inside job," I said. "I'll text Ironwood about it, it's way too big to be said. And I don't feel comfortable talking about this..." The words "in front of Ozpin" went unsaid. I wondered if Ozpin or Ironwood picked up on that. Ozpin seemed distracted, however. He had been ever since I mentioned Pyrrha dying.

"Very well," General Ironwood said. "Meanwhile, I wish to ask you a favor."

"Favor? Sure," I said. "What's up?"

"As Ozpin has told me, your quarters are only equipped with two beds. I was hoping you and Miss Eyla could accommodate Miss Polendina," General Ironwood said.

"Does she not have a team?" I asked somewhat awkwardly.

"Miss Ciel has gone down with an unfortunate sickness recently, and there's no one else around who won't question Penny's...questionable behavior. So I trust you to take care of her," the general explained, Ozpin looking rather amused all the while.

"I'll be in your hands, Mister Onissa!" Penny said happily, saluting with a happy grin.

"Plus, I have a feeling a certain cookie-loving rose would be pleased to be around Penny more often," Ozpin said. I coughed before looking at Penny with a small smile. I knew this was likely not the only reason why Penny was being put under my watch, but I wasn't about to pry.

"Guess...I guess we're roommates now," I said, before being tackled in a hug by the orange haired android with the bubbly personality. Luckily, I managed to stay in my seat. "This is sensational! We can stay up late and talk about the festival and all the future plans we have, then we can play games like Spin the Bottle and Never Have I Ever and talk about crushes and fornicate like in the movies-"

Ozpin and I choked on coffee and air respectively, Ironwood sighed in embarrassment, and Clover and Harriet snorted and tried to hide their amusement. "Penny, no," Ironwood said as he buried his eyes in his hand, groaning.

"What do you mean, general?" Penny asked. General Ironwood then got into an awkward explanation that M-rated activities were unbecoming of students training to be huntsmen and huntresses, especially if not in a relationship.

Penny took it all in stride, understanding and promising not to bring up the topic of baby making in the future. We spent a few more minutes going over more planning and potential improvisations that the enemy may go over. When Ozpin asked me why I couldn't reveal the name of the enemies that infiltrated, I had to explain that any significant change that could be avoided had to stay avoided, in fear of changing events in ways we couldn't predict.

Ironwood was all about that plan, being in the military meant prioritizing known information over unknown variables. After that, we were escorted to the landing pads and taken back to Beacon a few minutes after the curfew deadline. Professor Goodwitch took us to the dorms, all while instructing Penny on what not to do and what should be expected in the dorms.

"Oh, Mister Onissa, can we please see Ruby before bedtime?" Penny asked as she hopped alongside me.

"Sure," I said, smiling. "And call me Markus. I'm your age. Well, I look your age."

"Okay!" Penny said happily as we stopped outside team RWBY's room. Knocking on their door, I stepped back and waited for someone to open it.

When Yang opened the door, she grinned. "Heya," she said before pulling me inside. "Glad to see you still in one piece." She looked over at Penny. "Hey, you're Ruby's friend, right?"

"Salutations!" Penny said ever so loudly, and I heard Ruby gasp from her fort of plushies and cookies on her bed. After tripping and flopping to the floor with a Leviathan plushie stuck with static to her back, she tackled Penny in a hug, the two of them laughing and giggling as they began to chat. Zwei jumped to where Ruby and Penny were spinning around, barking enthusiastically.

"Ugh..." Blake moaned as she covered her head with her book. "Please tell me Penny isn't staying with us, I really wanna get some sleep..."

"Yes, I'd rather not deal with Ruby and Penny chatting about Gods know what for all night. We have practice tomorrow," Weiss said, ever so proper even when tired.

"Don't worry, James asked me to look after her for the time being. Something about a bug," I said as I crossed my arms. "It's all good, I promise."

"James? You mean General Ironwood?" Weiss asked, clearly surprised. "Wait, are you on a first name basis with one of the most powerful people on Remnant?"

"You mean ol' Jimmy?" Yang asked, earning a dirty look from Weiss. "That's what I heard Qrow call him from time to time. But why are you calling him James?"

I hadn't even realized how I said James instead of the general. I wasn't even sure if I had called him that before. "Uhh..." I said. "Classified?"

"The general and Markus are close friends!" Penny chimed in, and I felt all color and blood leave my body as I looked at her in a panicked expression. "They talk about important things with Headmaster Ozpin."

"Like what?" Ruby asked, obliviously curious to the topic at hand.

"The festival!" I said, quickly interrupting Penny's next statement. "We were going over some stuff over the festival. Tournament ideas, stuff to make the fights more interesting..."

"Why you?" Blake asked.

"Well, I'm not fighting in the tournament so I'm not biased...and Ozpin said I was less likely to be distracted from my training than Liya," I said as I leaned on the wall and yawned, stretching my arms. "So...here I am."

"As well as discussing the attack!" Penny said. Once again, I went pale.

"Ugh, the Breach happened almost a month ago," Yang groaned. "Why do you keep grilling him on it, he was there, we all get it!"

"Well, they just wanna be thorough," I said before making the "zip it" gesture to Penny frantically. "I'd rather not talk about it. Or any attack. Or anything important that the general and the headmaster say."

Penny nodded and I sighed in relief. "Anyways, we have a busy day tomorrow so I just wanna say good night."

"Actually..." Yang said. "Mind if I sleep with you in your room tonight? Uncle Qrow kind of ruined things and I want my night's worth of cuddles."

"Y-Yang!" Weiss protested to my girlfriend before turning around to quickly complain to the team leader. "Ruby, tell your sister not to break the rules and get us all in trouble!"

"You get all my plushies for the night," Yang said without missing a single beat before Ruby could even agree with Weiss. "And the cookies. And Penny takes my spot tonight."

"Deal," Ruby said, leaving Weiss to squawk in horror and Blake to start crying as thoughts of peace and quiet for the night vanished before her eyes. Ruby waved as Yang dragged me out of their room. "See you tomorrow!"

"Good night, friend Markus!" Penny said, waving her hand quickly.

"G'night team!" Yang said before she shut the door, the sounds of barking, gossiping, and despair being muffled behind closed doors. "Nice girl."

"Yeah, Penny's a unique one," I said, smiling. Despite everything that happened, all I knew was that I had the chance to save Pyrrha and Penny with what I told Ironwood and Ozpin. We walked over to my room, and saw that it was dark when we opened it. Liya was sleeping peacefully as Yang took me to my own bed, sitting my butt on the mattress before she pushed me down.

I looked up to see Yang crawling on me before sitting down on my lap straddling me. "We barely get time to ourselves now," she said with a smooth tone. "I intend to change that." I couldn't say anything. It was times like this that reminded me how unbelievable it was to actually be dating someone. Yang Xiao Long, for God's sake! Or Gods in this case. As she pulled me into a kiss, her body pressed against mine, and arms wrapped around my neck.

"You know, it's still hard to believe you agreed to go out with me of all people," I said between kisses. "I know I'm not the most...built."

"Ugh, believe it or not, being completely jacked isn't my thing," Yang whispered. "Muscles are overrated. I love slim and sexy body types like yours." She lowered her hands to my sides before pulling up my shirt. "You have abs, but you also have the softest tummy ever."

I blushed. Is this what pampering felt like? My thoughts were interrupted when Yang leaned down and began kissing me down there, jolting as I gained a warm and fuzzy feeling in my stomach. "Y-you think so?" I meekly whispered.

"Seriously, I could use you as a pillow..." Yang said before she kissed me there again. Squeaking, I clamped a hand over my mouth as she teased me down there. I knew we weren't going to do anything...seriously M-rated or inappropriate, but I was still beet red in the face from Yang's actions.

It didn't help that she'd slid off my lap so she could grab my hips as well. I lay back on my bed, stifling my noises as she...played...with me. Gods, that sounded incredibly wrong. Even if it was romantic and not at all lewd, it was still very...stimulating. My face didn't lose any redness.

Finally, she stopped and went back on top of me. "What do you think of my tummy?" Yang asked. She pulled up her tank top a bit, revealing a stomach a bit more muscular than mine. I'd never noticed it before but she had incredible abs, as well as being more properly built than me in general. And despite all that, she was still slim, soft, and the most attractive person on Remnant.

"Y-you're gorgeous," I said with a tinge of confidence in my voice, grasping her hips as she grinned. "The prettiest in all of Remnant."

"Pretty, huh?" Yang asked, even if I could see the red tint on her face. "You really think so?"

"Yeah..." I said, and I felt a surge of courage. Gulping, I lowered my head, lips aimed right for her exposed midriff. But I stopped. "We...were getting a bit into it, huh?" I said awkwardly.

"No sex," Yang said, coughing nervously at the thought of such a leap in intimacy. I didn't blame her - even if she was gorgeous, I never assumed that she slept around before meeting me. "Not...exactly ready for that."

"Neither am I," I admitted, somewhat awkwardly with the gorgeous girl in front of me. "But...I'm alright with kissing."

Yang grinned before lowering herself to my level, kissing me softly on the cheek and then kissing me on the lips right after. I eagerly returned the kiss, tilting my head as Yang's free hand began to stroke my cat ears. She let out a quiet moan as I felt her mouth open, her tongue slithering out to meet mine-

"Boo."

I screamed. Yang screamed. Liya screamed and flailed out of bed in a tangle of blankets. Yang and I ended up tangled in a heap as we also flailed out of bed onto the floor. We screamed for a minute straight as we hit our desks and bed in raw panic.

Qrow Branwen cackled from the windowsill as he watched us freak out. When we eventually calmed down, Yang looked up to see Qrow. "Seriously?!" she cried in anger and embarrassment.

"That's for calling me Drunkle Qrow you little brat!" Qrow laughed before he leapt off the windowsill, vanishing without a trace. I knew he turned into a bird and left, but I was still too mortified to think about that.

"What in the HELL are you doing?!" Liya roared. Sleepy Liya was angry Liya, I learned that night. She seemed as angry as the time she tore Blake and me a new one before the docks incident a while back. In the end, the mood was ruined, and Liya just went back to sleep. Yang and I just cuddled silently, trembling at an angry Liya before we finally fell asleep.

- the next day -

Yang and I woke up extra early around four in the morning so we could slip out before anyone else realized she was in someone else's room. While Yang got ready, I took the time to text Ironwood to warn him about Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart and his betrayal. I always knew I'd have to address this topic sooner or later, so I made sure to add in as much detail as possible, about how he had been secretly killing off huntsmen and huntresses in Mistral under Salem's threats, how Ozpin was fooled by blind trust he had for the headmaster, and how this incident led to him being more secretive than he already was. I also added the fact that he was the one who allowed the enemy to slip into Beacon under the guise of Mistral students.

Ironwood responded with thanks and a promise to deal with this as soon as he was able. I shouldn't have been worried, but for some reason I was. Ironwood was always straightforward, so I knew subtlety was out of the question. And with that Mettle of his, I wondered if his actions on the matter would downright shatter relations between Mistral and Atlas.

"You alright?" Yang asked. I pocketed my scroll and turned to face my girlfriend - it still made me beam to think about her as my girlfriend. She was dressed in her combat attire, and her hair showed signs of just being washed and tended to. "Ready to train?"

I smiled. "Sure," I said. The two of us went down to the training gym and sparred for several hours. After the debacle that was Qrow last night, the two of us needed some time together in an attempt to cool off. For now, the two of us were doing hand to hand combat practice, no weapons and no aura involved.

And unsurprisingly, Yang was winning with no issue. "I mean, seriously! He's obnoxious and I love him but ugh!" she ducked from an uppercut I attempted and slammed a leg into my side, sending me toppling.

"He's your uncle. I'm pretty sure your dad would be the same way," I said, somewhat amused.

"I know, but my dad would just tease half the time too! Qrow's just embarrassing me!" Yang said. "What about you, what if your parents decided to just go and do that?"

I froze. My parents were a topic that I hadn't thought of in a long time. Would I ever see them again? Did my family miss me back home? Questions like that flooded my mind ovr the days of me first coming here. I thought I'd accepted the reality that I may never go back home, but the lingering thoughts of "what if this" or "what if that" stayed around.

"Markus?" Yang asked. Her fiery rants had stopped, and a look of dousing concern took over her facial expression. "Is everything alright?"

I let out a shuddering sigh. "I...I haven't been completely honest about my past," I admitted as I flopped down on the training mats. "I...haven't seen my family in forever. I can't get in touch with them..."

"You said they're from Menagerie, right?" Yang asked as she sat down next to me.

"That was a lie. I don't know where they live. I don't know where I used to live. I'm not even from around any of the kingdoms. Some backwater village without a name. I remember waking up in a hospital in the city," I said. I didn't want to admit too much, to give away information that would endanger everyone. "I don't think I could go back if I wanted to."

Yang hugged me, suddenly silent. "Sorry...I shouldn't be complaining about family when you don't even have yours anymore," she whispered.

"Don't worry about it. I was hoping I would be able to travel and look for them once I graduate or something, locate my home. Ozpin and Godowitch know. Ironwood too," I said.

"Is that the reason why you're close with them? Because they're willing to help you?" Yang asked.

"Yeah..." I whispered. "Sorry, I hate keeping secrets but-"

"Don't worry about it. I get it," Yang said as she brushed my hair aside, using my own words on me. "What's important is that you told me. Even if you didn't have to."

I smiled, and my heart clenched in guilt. Would I have to tell Yang the truth? Who am I kidding, they'll know. They'll all know. I'll lose everyone, especially Yang's love. Liya's trust. And the deaths of the impending attack to come will be on me. Would I have helped? Or will I have made things worse?

"Yo."

I looked to see Liya entering with her combat outfit on. "Hey," I said, Yang waving casually with me.

"Just wanted to get some training in," my team - duo - partner said. "I got a meeting to get to soon."

"Meeting?" Yang asked as she got up, holding out a hand for me to take.

"Yeah, Ozpin asked to talk to me. Pretty vague too," Liya said as I got up. "Wonder what it's for."

I paled. I had an idea on what the topic of this meeting was. "Really?" I said, glad my voice didn't get shaky or weird. "Sounds kind of odd."

Was Ozpin really going to switch gears and force Liya into the role of the Fall Maiden? I immediately felt like punching myself over what I said last night.

"Yeah, it was. But you know the headmaster, cryptic as hell," Liya said. "Honestly, I'm kinda nervous about it now that I think about it. What if it's something bad?"

"Why doesn't Markus come with you? Convince Ozpin that whatever he wants to talk about, you can talk about it with you too. Partners and whatnot," Yang said.

"I dunno," Liya said. "It did seem important."

"Liya, I'm here to help," I said, hopping on the idea at once. "If Ozpin needs to talk to you, he can talk to me too. When's the meeting?"

"Tonight," Liya said, which did confuse me for a bit. "Before dinner."

I remembered Ozpin waiting till the end of the festival to talk to Pyrrha over the subject of the Fall Maiden. Then again, Liya wouldn't be participating in the Vytal Festival Tournament. Dammit, Ozpin.

"Salutations!" Penny's voice chimed as she popped into the training room, Ruby arriving moments later. "I wish to spar!"

"Oh, uhh, we would but we didn't bring our weapons," I said awkwardly.

"Oh!" Penny said before reaching in her dress pocket and pulling out my belt and all my gear, Ember Celica, and Kābā, tossing them towards me. "Can we spar now?" she asked.

"Did you...did you break into our lockers for these?" Yang asked, incredulously.

"How'd you fit all that stuff in your dress?" I asked.

"I tried to tell her stealing is bad, but she just said it's not stealing if she's bringing it to you guys, Ruby said, blushing as Penny just beamed. I just rolled my eyes and put on my weapon.

"I don't mind a spar. Penny and Ruby versus the rest of us?" I asked. Yang and Liya grinned, and Ruby giggled nervously. The resulting spar was incredibly destructive and the most fun we've had in a long time. The rest of the day was a normal school day, with all of us getting cleaned up and ready for class before it started.

The day passed by with a blur, and I did poorly for that day. I barely got my assignments down, and I was too worried over Liya and the issue of the Fall Maiden, even during Goodwitch's class, and she was terrifying enough that most issues would be nothing compared to her own anger.

Most issues.

Class ended with Jaune noticing something wrong. I hadn't spoken to Jaune or Pyrrha in a while, now that I think about it. He went over to me after the last class. "Hey man, you alright?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm doing alright," I said. "Just...thinking."

"About what?" Jaune asked. "Anything important?"

"Yeah..." I said. "What if you could protect someone in a situation...but at the cost of taking their choice in that situation away?"

Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Well...obviously I'd wanna protect them. But I really don't have the choice to decide for someone," he said. "Guess it depends."

"Which is more important to you?" I asked.

"Obviously, I'd wanna keep them safe. But then again...as someone who's had overbearing parents and siblings all my life...I know how hard it is to handle having your choice taken away from you," Jaune said. "Why?"

"Oh just...distracted..." I mumbled.

Jaune patted me on the back. "Well, I'm sure you can come up with the right choice. As long as it's something that you feel is right," he said. As he walked away, I thought hard on the blonde's words. Did I really have the right to change the current events?

Even if I could convince Ozpin to avoid picking Pyrrha or Liya, what good would that do? I'd create even more variables and destroy everything I had planned. I had no idea if my every action, even the littlest one, would do anything bad. Was this how Ironwood felt near the end of Volume 7?

I sighed. I shouldn't be trying to manipulate anything or anyone. I should be trusting my friend to make the right call, and I should respect that decision. Pulling out my scroll, I took a deep breath and called Liya.

A ring. Two rings. Then a ping. "Hello?" Liya's voice said.

"Hey...I can't make it to that meeting...no. No, it's nothing bad. Just remembered I had to look after Penny," I said between her responses. "No, I'll be fine. Just...be careful, OK? OK. Goodbye."

I had to trust Liya. That was all I could think as I slipped my scroll back in my pocket.