A/N: After being sick for a week, dealing with family matters and getting distracted with Volume 5, The full version of chapter 3 is finally here.
Let's not waste any more time and jump right in it.
It's time to see how Ruby and Weiss' day out goes.
"Come on Ruby, we're going to be late!" Weiss angrily barked as she dragged a sleep-deprived Ruby by the arm through the empty corridors of the building.
"Urgh, Weiss, what's the big hurry?" She groaned, trying to keep herself from tripping over her own feet. "We have all the time in the world for our outing today. Couldn't we have come over a little bit later?"
"I promised Winter that we would meet her at Schnee Tower first thing this morning, and I will not disappoint her all because of your sheer laziness!"
Ruby didn't have the energy to give a suitable retort back at her friend; her body still stuck in sleep mode. Weiss had come over to the Rose/Xiao Long household earlier than expected - 9:30 exactly - to meet up with her before they headed out for Vale. The heiress was more than a little annoyed when she entered Ruby's room only to find her sprawled across her bed, tangled in its sheets and fast asleep. She wasted no time in pulling the sheets right off the bed, sending a screaming Ruby straight to the floor. After she had recovered from her fall, Ruby was forced to rush through her morning routine at Weiss' request. This meant she had to quickly hop in the shower for a quick wash, eat a plain breakfast of cereal and toast, and miss out on her mother's cookies, which when she found out, made her look like a kicked puppy. When they left the house, She was still tired; constantly falling asleep on the bus on the journey to Schnee Tower. She wished that Weiss had come over a little later in the day, just so she could get a little bit more shuteye before today's plan.
And yet, here she was, being dragged by a grouchy heiress through the halls of the biggest building within the city at 10:05 in the morning. Whatever her big sister wanted to show them, it better be worth it.
The two came to a stop as they stood in front of a massive, heavily locked, steel door. It was three times bigger than either of girls and was heavily guarded by several security cameras and two robotic guards holding rifles in their arms. Schnee Tech was very protective of its products, keeping them locked away during testing to stop them from being stolen by competing companies. If just one of their secret projects was leaked to another tech firm, it could mean a huge financial loss for the company. Both Ruby and Weiss flinched when they heard a strict, monotone, robotic voice.
"HALT. HIGH-LEVEL PERSONNEL ONLY. PLEASE PROVIDE IDENTIFICATION."
After she had realised where the voice had come from, Weiss let out a sigh and pulled a card out of her handbag and raised it to a blue panel on the door. A small blue flash happened, the screen changed to a bright green and made a 'ding' sound as the robot voice spoke again.
"IDENTITY CONFIRMED. WELCOME MISS SCHNEE."
The door began to make several odd noises for a few seconds before it slowly began to open up from different directions. Ruby stared at it in awe, most of her grogginess from this morning now gone. This was the first time she was allowed into a highly restricted area and she couldn't wait to see what kind of tech was the company was working on, mostly the weapons. She couldn't touch them or talk about them once she was out of the building. If she did, she would be taken away by the military and sent to prison for life. She believed that Weiss was joking when she said that, but the girl simply stayed quiet; not even saying a 'Just kidding' or anything. Just silence.
The crimson-clad girl was brought out of her ogling stare by the sound of Weiss snapping her fingers right in her face. "Hello! Remnant to dolt!"
She looked at Weiss, only to see a scowl looking right back at her. It was clear to the young girl that she was trying to talk to her when she was zoning out over the door a minute ago, which had finally fully opened.
"Huh? What were you saying, Weiss?" She asked cluelessly
Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head slowly. "I was warning you that you're about to enter the most highly guarded and technologically advanced sector of the whole building, so here's a word of advice," Weiss inched a little bit closer to Ruby, glaring daggers at her. The look made her seem that she was issuing a death threat or something. "Do. Not. Touch. Anything."
With a quick shake of the head and some time to process the warning, Ruby took a step back, giving the ivory-haired girl an old fashion salute. "No need to worry, Weiss. As long as I still have two thumbs, nothing in that lab will be broken, shattered, damaged or incinerated by the time we leave."
"We shall see." Weiss scoffs as she and Ruby walk through the space where the giant steel door once was and into the experimentation area.
As Ruby was walking down the path, the doors she just came through closed behind her, She noticed just how enormous the lab was. The entire room was all white from top to bottom; the only other colours being the black and yellow of warning lines across the floor to signify hazardous areas, and the light blue of a snowflake; the emblem of Schnee Tech, plastered on some products and the walls. There was a bunch of different scientist and engineers wearing lab coats scattered across the lab, huddled around several different projects. One group was handling multi-coloured crystals and powders, another was working on what seemed to be the bare skeleton of a jet engine. All of it was highly fascinating to Ruby while Weiss didn't bat an eye to her surroundings. She had been in this place more times than she can count.
The two continued through the lab before they spotted Winter standing not far from the entrance to the robotics section of the lab. She was scanning the entire lab from where she was, either to keep an eye on her employees or to look out for them.
"Winter!" Weiss shouted as she made her way to her sister with Ruby not far behind. The sharply dressed businesswoman turned to face her oncoming sister, a smile subtly appearing on her face. Both girls came to stop in front of the CEO and waited for her to speak.
"Good morning, sister. I apologise for not being home when you woke up, I had to handle some classified business before your arrival." Winter exclaimed. She turned to face Ruby, noticing the look of pure amazement across her face. "And Miss Rose, you seem to be… very entranced by our productions."
"You don't even know the half of it." Ruby was too busy gawking over the tech around her to acknowledge the elder Schnee properly. When Weiss loudly coughed, she slung her head in Winter's direction. Her eyes widened when she realised how rude her response sounded. "Oh! Um… sorry. You wanted us for something important?"
"Yes, come with me." Winter turned and walked into the robotics area of the lab. Ruby and Weiss exchange a look between one another before following Winter through the robotics lab. As they caught up with her, she looked back at them and asked them a question. "Did the two of you notice our security droids at the entrance when you came in?"
"You mean the scary looking robots out front?" Ruby confusedly asked, pointing her thumb over her shoulder.
"They're not scary, you dunce." Weiss huffed out in annoyance; arms crossed.
"Yes they are, they have no face for crying out loud!"
"They're military robots. They are not supposed to look all cute and cuddly!"
"Yes, our knights are definitely "scary", Miss Rose," Winter assured, causing Ruby to smugly grin and Weiss to be left dumbstruck that her sister had taken Ruby's side in the argument. "Which is why we are updating the latest models with brand new designs and technology to make them less "scary". But that's not the reason why I asked you two to come here today."
"Then what are we here for?"
Winter didn't answer her sister as she came to a sudden stop; soon followed by the two girls. Confused as to why they stopped, Ruby and Weiss looked in front of them and found their answer. Resting right before them was a cylindrical metal container that was hooked up to several computers with screens clogged with numerous lines of code. Stationed at every computer were more scientists, their fingers clacking against the keyboards, and several more working on the pod itself.
"That is what you're here for." Winter said, gesturing her hand to the metal container.
The strange metal object brought a look of bewilderment on both girls faces. Neither could wrap their brain around exactly what they were looking at; especially Ruby. She had never before seen something so mysterious or so primitive looking in the hands of the most brilliant minds in the whole of Remnant. She didn't know if she was supposed to be amazed or frightened by it.
"What in the name of dust is that?" Weiss asked.
"This, my dear sister, is the next step for technology." The younger Schnee raised her eyebrows in interest. "Ever since it's founding by our grandfather, Schnee Tech has always strived to create a stronger and safer tomorrow with every leap in technology we make. But our more recent developments have been solely focused on military causes which have helped protect the citizens of multiple cities around the world, but not with the public directly. So we decided to take a different path to our goal, a path that will rebuild our reputation as the most dependable and efficient tech firm across the globe. A path that will lead to a brighter future."
The mind of Ruby Rose was clogged with all sorts of questions, some she would probably never get an answer to if she asked them, but one was able to pass through her lips. "The future of Schnee Tech Industries... is a big metal chamber?"
A small chuckle was heard from Winter, amused over the silver-eyed girl's obliviousness. "Oh no, Miss Rose, the future of our company is inside the chamber."
"Oh... I knew that." Ruby smiled awkwardly. She looked past Winter to see an extremely irritated Weiss glaring at her like she was about walk over to her and strangle the life out of her. The stare was broken when Ruby noticed the older Schnee had turned slightly to face directly toward her.
"And you are going to be the first person to interact with it."
Both girls were taken aback by the businesswoman's follow up. Weiss was the most shocked between them; the angry glare from before now replaced with a puzzled look directed towards her Sister. "You want her to do what?!"
"I want Miss Rose here, to be the first person outside the company to test our latest invention." She replied, her voice still calm and stern.
"I don't think that's such a good idea, Winter." Ruby began to poke her two fingers together sheepishly. "I am not what you would call a tech wiz."
"Nonsense, Miss Rose. I have full faith that you will be able to comfortably handle the situation. Now would you kindly stand over by the chamber and wait there please?" The small redhead hesitated for a second, but ultimately followed the CEO's instructions. She wasn't afraid of Winter getting angry with her, as she would never have shouted at her for denying a request. No, she was more afraid of how Weiss would react to her decision. Most likely she would scold the young girl for disobeying her sister's orders, even if she was completely against them.
Speaking of Weiss, she was currently following Winter to a row of computer consoles where several scientists were working away with whatever they were working on. One of the scientists - presumably the head of the department - swivelled round in his chair to face the approaching Schnee sisters. "Is everything prepared?"
The man nodded. "Yes, Ma'am. All systems are online and fully operational."
"Good. Bring her online."
With no hesitation, the chief turned back to his console and hacked away at his keyboard before hitting the enter key. The sudden sounds of fans whirling and metal clanking together caused Ruby to seriously consider why she came here. Multiple parts of the chamber began to glow in a bright neon green along with some wires running from it to the computers. All of the other workers that were working on the pod when she first saw it was now standing far back from it, making Ruby the closest person to the metal monstrosity standing before her.
*THUNK*
The front panel of the chamber suddenly popped out with no warning and slowly began to separate from the centre. As it was opening, a cold, eerie fog crept out of the chamber, obscuring the inside of it, rendering whatever was resting inside unseeable. If Ruby wasn't terrified before, she definitely was now. She felt like she was right in the middle of a horror movie, and she felt like she was the character who was always the first to be killed off.
'Oh no oh no oh no oh no! What's happening?!' She panicked in her head, slamming her eyes shut out of pure fear. 'Is it supposed to do that?! Am I going to die?! What are they keeping in there?! A four-headed Human eating monster?! A gateway to another dimension?! Or… or… or..."
"Salutations, fellow human!"
All of the chaos running through her brain just seemed to stop when a loud and cheerful greeting ran straight through her ears. With a bit of hesitation, Ruby slowly opened her eyes and was met with something that caught her off guard.
There, standing a few feet in front of her, was what looked to be a Human girl with short, curly, bright orange hair, gazing directly at her with bright green eyes and an unintentionally creepy smile across her face. Her clothes looked a bit old-fashioned, consisting of a beige long-sleeved blouse, a dungaree dress that was a slightly faded green, black stockings with a single green line running up the side and black schoolgirl shoes that blend in with her stockings. The thing that stood out the most from her was the bright pink bow that rested at the back of her head, contrasting with the colour of her hair. Ruby just stared at the out-of-place girl with shock and confusion. '...Or it could be a teenage girl?'
"Excuse me miss, are you ok?" The girl in green asked politely, her smile still not disappearing as spoke. "My sensors indicate that you are troubled by something."
"Ummm…?" Ruby turned away from the weird girl to look at the two Schnee's behind her. Weiss' expression was the exact same as Ruby's, if not even more surprised than her while Winter's was still the same as when they first arrived. She nodded her head to Ruby, suggesting that she speak to her. Ruby turned back to the still smiling guest in front of her. "Y-y-yes. I'm fine, just having trouble taking all of this in." She paused, to rub the back of her head. "Hey, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but who or what are you?"
"Oh. I'm sorry. Allow me to introduce myself." The girl took a step back and holding her hands together in front of her. "I am your Personal Emergency Nursing & Nurturing Youth, but you may call me P.E.N.N.Y." The girl called Penny didn't change the tone in her voice once. It was starting to bring back the creepiness from earlier. Ruby did always thought it was a good thing to be incredibly happy occasionally, but this constant high from the girl was too much, even for her.
"Well Penny, I'm Ruby. It's nice to meet you." She moved her right and offered to shake hands with her newly introduced friend. A decision that she would regret making.
In an instant, Penny's right arm slung forward, grabbed Ruby's hand and proceeded to violently shake the poor girl. Her grip on her hand was as tight as a knot, and the rapid up and down motions she was doing made it feel as though she was going to rip her arm off. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Ruby!"
When she finally ended her handshake, Ruby immediately pulled her arm back to her side and proceeded to rub her sore shoulder with her free hand. The girl had some seriously strong muscles, or more accurately, motors. Every time she moved or touched her right shoulder, she could feel the pain stinging through her bones. Today was supposed to be a relaxing trip into town with Weiss, and now they're going to have to make a slight detour to the hospital before they could do anything. Ruby sighed. Just her luck.
"I see that you are getting along quite well with our Healthcare Droid, Miss Rose." She turned around to see both Winter and Weiss approaching them, with the latter showing curiosity, shock and disbelief over her face.
"Healthcare Droid? She almost ripped Ruby's arm off by the look of things!" Weiss said, her face taking the form of a grimace, her mind most likely playing out the scene in her head.
Winter let out a timid laugh before continuing. "Fortunately for Miss Rose, Penny here is unable to inflict serious harm to any living creature. The closest she can do is incapacitate them for a short period."
"S-serious harm?" Ruby put heavy emphasis on 'serious'. She was genuinely curious as to how dangerous this Penny person was. If dislocating her shoulder wasn't considered a major injury, then what was?
"You see, our goal when creating Penny was to engineer a robot that not only could be considered the perfect companion to any citizen, but also a guardian to them as well. So we designed her to look and act like an ordinary human girl. She has a lightweight titanium skeleton, making her strong and durable against any type of attack that would wound a normal human, and this is covered in a layer of synthetic skin to make her appear more friendly and "less scary" than our other robots. But most importantly, Penny's head holds a supercomputer brain that can hold hundreds of years worth of medical research data along with some combat manoeuvres and personality data. She is the very first robotic life form to think, feel and act of her own accord."
Ruby tilted her head in confusion. Once again, she wasn't paying attention to anything that was being said. Although almost having your entire arm ripped off by a handshake from a robot would do something like that to a person. Normally, this would be the moment where Weiss would scold her for getting distracted for the second time today, but she was too busy being just as confused as she was. Thankfully, Winter noticed both of their looks and directed her attention to Penny.
"Hmm… perhaps a demonstration is in order." She took her hands from behind her back and brought them in front of her, clapping them together twice. "Penny?"
The android leans to her side to get the businesswoman in her view. "Yes, Miss Schnee?"
"Would you please scan Miss Rose for us?"
"Certainly." Penny saluted. She straightened herself out and her eyes began to glow a bright green as she stared directly at Ruby, her head pivoting up and down the girl's body for a few seconds. Soon, the glowing from Penny's eyes ceased and sighted on Ruby's face, pointing a finger at her right shoulder. "It would appear that you are suffering from a minor dislocated joint in your left shoulder."
"Yeah, I wonder how that happened." Ruby muttered sarcastically.
"I believe the cause of your dislocation was my rather vigorous handshake. I sincerely apologise for any harm I may have inflicted on you. Allow me to mend your shoulder." Penny closed the gap between her and Ruby. She then proceeds to place both hands on her patient's shoulder, one on top of it and another to the side.
"No, Penny it's fine you don't have to do thaAAAAAAAT!" The crimson-haired girl's sentence turned into a slightly painful yet satisfying scream. She returned her arm back to her sore shoulder to discover that it was no longer hurting, in fact, it felt really good. It seemed that Penny had popped her shoulder back into place and she didn't even use any surgical tools to do it, just her two bare metallic, skin covered hands. She looks back to her doctor and smiles. "T-thank you, Penny."
"Just doing my job, Ruby." Penny gave out another salute. Ruby was starting to like this girl. She was almost like her in some ways. Happy, energetic, the need to help others, it was all there. But there was also a difference between them. Penny seemed to be a very curious robot, with the way she scanned her. She would be happy to call Penny her friend. There was one thing that was bothering her more than anything else, however.
That smile. It was still the same one that had greeted her when she first laid eyes on her. It hadn't changed at all and it was getting way too uncomfortable to look directly at looked like a serial killer, which isn't a very good image for a robot whose main purpose is to protect and heal the sick and innocent. With uneasiness in her throat, Ruby let her thoughts be heard."Um, Penny? Can you stop smiling like that? It's really starting to creep me out."
Before Penny could give an answer, Winter took a step forward, gaining Ruby's attention. "Unfortunately, that is one problem that none of our top scientists or engineers are able to fix."
"How is it a problem?" Weiss asked her sister who was walking past Ruby to stand right next to the medical droid.
"For some inexplicable reason, our scientists are unable to program any emotions into Penny's personality chip. As a result, she only knows how to express one single emotion, that being joy. And while it is important for Penny to be able to express happiness when attending to her companion, she needs to know how to express all types of emotion so that she can be more human than robot. The only solution to fixing this flaw is for Penny to learn these emotions manually." She glances down at Penny who remained looking straight at the teenagers in front of her. After a moment, Winter returned her gaze to them. "That is second reason why I asked the two of you to come here today."
Both girls were now confused more than ever. They shared a glance between each other, looking for signs of understanding what Winter meant, of which they got no indication. Weiss lifted her eyebrows in curiosity. "And that would be?"
"I want the two of you to take Penny into town and help her learn how to act like a normal human being."
"You want us to take a highly top secret robot into a highly populated city and let it experience human life out in the open?" Weiss asked in disbelief. Her sister only replied with a nod, which only raised more questions. "Why us? Why not get one of the scientists to do it?"
"They are needed here, to help continue progress on our other projects and developments. Also, I believe that it would help if Penny was with people who were around her apparent age, and it may help her understand emotions faster. Also, I trust you to teach her how to have fun as well." Winter said the last part with a small smile, making Ruby's eyes to sparkle with ideas and wonder. But Weiss just stared. Stared at her and Penny with a hard working, concentrating face.
She began to think about the whole thing. This was a big ask from her sister, something that would be difficult to complete. She hadn't gotten involved with any of the projects at her company before due to them being too advanced for a young girl to understand, but this was just too big a leap for her to take. Her stupor broke when she felt someone pulling on her arm. She looked to she Ruby who pulled her arm again, telling her that she wanted to tell her something. She leaned her head closer to Ruby so she could hear her quiet mumbles.
"I think we should let her tag along." She whispered into her ear.
"But Ruby, I thought you said it was just going to be the two of us going out?"
"I know and I would actually prefer it if it were just us today," Ruby paused and looked down to the floor, a small hint of sadness on her face. It was soon replaced with a smile as she looked back up and continued. "But this could be another chance for us to make a new friend. You told me yesterday that you didn't want to be alone ever again, well I think the best way to prevent that is to make as many friends as you can. Besides, you don't want to disappoint your big sister, now do you?"
Weiss' brow furrowed in annoyance at her, but Ruby just smirked right back, knowing that she had gotten under the heiress' skin. It was a technique that she had learned from Yang; back when Weiss was less agreeable on the activities they did together. She didn't use it much anymore since the Ice Queen warmed up to them over the years, but she would use occasionally whenever she was unsure of a decision. She knew that her tactic had worked when Weiss' frown blossoms into an assuring smile.
With a sigh, Weiss turned to faced Winter directly and gave her a small bow. "We will happily help with Penny's development, Winter."
Winter smiled subtly once again, relaxing her shoulders. "Thank you, Weiss." She motioned her hand out to them while looking at Penny, who upon noticing Winter expression, gave a bigger smile and happily skipped over to the two teens. Ruby and Weiss had their sights on the overly optimistic girl who only stared back at them - smiling.
"One more thing before you go." All three girls looked at Winter and saw that her smile was gone; in its place was a stern frown. "You must not let anyone else know what Penny really is. If the outside world found out that there is a robot disguised as a young girl walking around Vale, who knows what kind of problems that would cause."
"Got it! As far as we know, Penny is just an ordinary girl like me." Ruby smiled, placing her hands on her hips and puffing her chest out proudly with a smile. Penny examined the crimson-haired girl and copied her exact pose, smile and all. This caused Weiss to look away while pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head. Ruby then turned to face her new friend who did the same. "Okay Penny, you ready to experience the real world for the first time?"
"I'm fully prepared for whatever lies ahead. I have so many questions about you humans and what you do for 'fun'." Penny said as she moved closer to Ruby's face until they were practically nose to nose.
"Well, we're not going to answer them if we just stand here all day." Weiss stepped in between the two, pushing them apart to break the awkward moment.
"Right. We better get going then." Ruby said, rubbing the back of her neck. She then grabs Penny by her arm and begins to pull her gently to the exit, leaving the two Schnee's alone with each other.
The younger of the two turned to her sister. "You're sure you want us to handle it? This is Ruby we're talking about."
"I understand your concern, Weiss, but there's nothing to worry about." Weiss' eyebrows raised in a manner that signalled for Winter to elaborate. "Miss Rose is a kind and optimistic young girl who brings out the best in others. If she can do it to someone as cold and stiff as you were, then she can do the same to Penny too."
The answer she was given was a surprise to Weiss, but she knew that Winter was right. She looked back to where Ruby had gone for a moment before turning back to her sister. "Goodbye Winter, see you at home tonight."
"Have a great day out, sister."
With one last bow, Weiss turned on her heel and went to catch up with Ruby and Penny. As she walked past the machines she had seen before, she began to take in what her sister said. Ruby truly did bring out the best in people. She could make anyone's frown turn upside down with her own cheerfulness and energy. Heck, Weiss herself was an example of Ruby's handy work. Before meeting Ruby, she used to be lonely, cold, harsh and downright rude to anyone she met, but always wearing a fake smile across her face. Just like her father. But now, she was an entirely different person. Sure, she was still a bit cold and bossy to others, but she was more open to making friends and she could let loose her fun side without someone criticising her for not behaving like the high-class rich girl that everyone in Atlas expects her to be, a lifestyle that Weiss hated to a tee. Needless to say, whenever Ruby did something, whether it was incredibly funny or incredibly stupid, it made Weiss smile. A genuine smile.
She arrived at the entrance/exit to the lab and saw that Ruby and Penny were waiting for her. She noticed that Penny still had her overly happy smile on her face, but Ruby had a look of pure smugness that reminded Weiss of her brute of a sister, which was never a good sign for her.
"What?" She asked, crossing her arms.
The giggling girl brought up her hands and started wriggling her two thumbs. "I still got my thumbs and nothing's broken."
"Dolt." Weiss rolled her eyes as she and her associates strolled out of the giant metal doors they had come through earlier and made their way to the exit of the building.
Next stop: Vale City Centre.
"So this is what humans call 'Fashion'?" Penny asks curiously, glancing at a clothes rack that had designer dresses hanging off from it.
"Yes, Penny." Ruby stated, her voice sounding embarrassed and her face turning tomato red. "They help you portray your own style and personality."
"Sensational."
This was pretty much how Ruby and Weiss' day out with Penny played out. Whenever they went into a shop, She would ask the two girls questions about whatever her curiosity had landed on. Both of them would take turns in answering the robot's questions, giving them a chance to actually look around the stores they wanted to browse and purchasing anything they found. Penny didn't buy anything due to her not fully understanding the concept of money and not knowing what she actually likes or dislikes. Now they were in Weiss' favourite clothing store, looking at the expensive clothes while Weiss went off on her own to find the clothes that she personally liked.
Unfortunately, this left Ruby with babysitting duties over Penny and the embarrassment that came with it. They were able to fix Penny's smiling problem - granted, they only taught her how to keep a straight face, but it was still an improvement. That didn't stop them from getting weird looks from any passersby that noticed the girl's strange behaviour. It was difficult to come up with a reason to explain Penny's weirdness without making it sound offensive. Ruby had to admit: keeping Penny's secret was harder than she first thought.
'Keep your calm, Ruby. She's your friend.' She said to herself mentally. Taking a deep breath, she looked across the shop for a second before tapping Penny's shoulder. "Come on. We need to meet back up with Weiss at the changing rooms."
"Right behind you, friend Ruby!" Penny stated with joy. Ruby awkwardly laughed and walked down the aisle of the store with Penny trailing behind her. The loud exclamation caused another selection of eyes to stare at the two. Although not as long as before, it still was uncomfortable to cope with. Hopefully, as the weeks go by there will be less awkward moments around Penny once she understands more. It would take a while, but it would be worth it in the long run.
When they arrived at the store's changing rooms, they found Weiss standing nearby, tapping her foot impatiently and holding a basket filled with a variety of clothing. "There you two are! Where were you all this time?"
"Yeah, sorry we took so long. Penny was eyeing up some clothes and asking about our fashion trends." Ruby replied, looking back at Penny who was staring at another set of clothes nearby.
"How surprising." Weiss said; the sarcasm present in her voice. "Anyway, I need your help with something, Ruby."
"Sure. What do you need?"
"I need you to help me decide which of these clothes suit me the most." The heiress said, lifting the bag she was holding. "I'm going try some of these on and want a second opinion from someone. You think you can help me with that?"
This was the moment that Ruby was expecting to happen today. Weiss asking her for fashion advice. It was one of the reasons that she decided on going out with her. Maybe this would help her settle these weird feelings she's been having since yesterday. She nodded her head as quick as she could without straining it. "S-sure. I can do that."
"Good." Weiss pointed to a set of chairs; sitting opposite to one of the changing stalls. "Both of you sit over there and wait for me come out."
The two girls followed Weiss' command and watched her enter the stall ahead of them with her clothes in hand. Penny turned to face Ruby in hopes to start up a conversation with her and ask more questions. But Ruby was still focused on the stall that Weiss had entered with a strange look in her eyes, an emotion that Penny hadn't seen much of, but knew the symptoms of by heart. She needed to know what triggered this feeling in her friend.
"Ruby, are you feeling alright? You've been staring at the stalls in a weird way." She asked politely. The emotion on the brunette disappeared as she turned to the bright-eyed girl.
"Y-y-yeah Penny, I'm fine." Ruby said quickly, before return her gaze back to the stalls.
She became aware of a weird presence near her and looked back at Penny to see her leaning awfully close and staring at her with her big, green eyes. "Strange," The android said, her stare becoming more concentrated. "Your hormone levels are rising and your face appears to be blushing."
"What? No! No, I'm not!" Ruby waved away Penny's assumptions and backed away in her seat as far as she could. "You must have a faulty sensor or something."
"Nope. All my systems are running at full capacity." Penny corrected, causing Ruby to sweat nervously. "From the current state you are in and with the information I have gathered so far, I believe that you're experiencing affection towards something, more commonly know as love."
All of the colour drained from Ruby's face in no time flat. Her body sat deathly still on the chair. It took her a moment to acknowledge that Penny was showing a brand new expression: Worry. "Ruby, I would like to know what is the cause of your affection. Can you please explain that to me?"
This was it. She was caught, she couldn't hide it now, not from Penny. She had to spill the beans or else Penny would mention this to Weiss and her secret would be blown right open. She checks the stalls again before looking back at her curious friend with seriousness in her silver eyes. "Penny, you gotta promise me that you will not tell anyone this. No one else hears of this until I say something about it, okay?"
Penny gave a nod and smiled. "I promise you that your secret is safe with me, Ruby."
Ruby didn't respond for a moment, staying completely silent until she made her choice. She checked the stalls one last time and faces Penny with a sigh.
"I think that I may have a small crush on Weiss." She muttered so quietly that it was barely heard.
She saw that Penny was showing surprise on her face. Cross another emotion off the bucket list. "This is very interesting." She said, her computer brain still processing this new information. "What is it about Weiss that makes you attracted to her?"
"Well, I'm not 100% sure that it is a crush yet." Ruby said awkwardly, scratching the top of her head.
"How so?" The question made Ruby hesitate before straightening herself out and clearing her throat.
"I have only known about these feelings since yesterday after my sister pointed it out to me. All of last night, I have been thinking whether or not she was right. I have known Weiss for about 10 years now, and not once have these feelings ever shown themselves until now. I don't know why it took so long for them to surface, but I need to know if they are genuine; that if I truly love Weiss. That's why I planned this whole day out with Weiss, to see if our friendship can be something more. But so far, I haven't found any evidence to prove it."
Penny watched as Ruby got more and more doubtful as she spoke; her body slumping over with her head resting on her hands. She starts to put the pieces together in her robot brain until a realisation came to her. A possible answer to what was the fluke in Ruby's plan… and it was her.
She placed her hand on her bummed-out friend's shoulder which made her look to her in surprise. "I'm so sorry if I may have ruined your plans for today, Ruby. It was not my intention to do so."
"No, It's not your fault, Penny. I'm just glad that I have someone to talk to about all this." Ruby reassured, forcing out a small smile to her companion. Penny could tell that it wasn't a whole smile, but it was enough for her to give back a smile of her very own.
Suddenly, Ruby's eyes widen in discovery as she looks at the green-clad girl once again. "In fact, do you have any advice that could help me out?"
The Medical Droid processed the question she was given through her brain to come up with a definitive answer. This wasn't her field of expertise, but she did have an idea that could work. "I'm no major love expert, but as your friend, I suggest you talk to someone who has more experience in love than you do. Maybe they can help you find the truth."
"How am I going to explain to someone that I maybe have a thing for the heiress of Schnee Tech?"
"Perhaps you can say it isn't you that's in love with Weiss."
That last response shocked Ruby more than anything else. Lying to someone about who loves who was not a thing that she would do; spreading false rumours was not her thing. But the fact that this idea came from Penny made her wonder if her personality was starting to rub off on to the innocent robot. She had only known this robot girl for 3 hours and she was suggesting crazy ideas to her. Still, Penny was right, she needed to find help that would make this whole concept of love easier for her to understand. The bigger question being who should she ask for help?
She couldn't think about it any longer as she heard a high pitched voice shouting from the stalls.
"I'm ready to come out!" Weiss shouted.
With a quick fix of her hair and a crack from her knuckles, Ruby mentally prepared herself for what was about to come. "Okay, we're ready!"
The two girls looked directly at the stall that Weiss had entered and watch as the curtain concealing it was pulled back. What Ruby saw made her eyes widen and her heart pump rapidly.
Coming out of the stall was Weiss wearing a pale-blue, knee-length sundress that had little snowflakes decorating the hem of the dress, along with a matching pair of sandals that had snowflake emblems on the plastic in between her toes. The outfit complemented the girls brilliant blue eyes and snow white hair and strangely gave off a warm and a cold feeling about her. Ruby just found her absolutely stunning.
"So? What do you think?"
"Y-you look absolutely beautiful in that, Weiss." Ruby said unknowingly, her mouth literally drooling at the sight of the white angel. With no warning, she covered her face with her hands, her face burning red from what she just said.
"Oh, thank you, Ruby." Weiss' face became a slight shade of pink, indicating that she was sharing her friend's embarrassment in a way. Not as bright as Ruby's, but still easily visible. "Um… Penny, what about you?"
"I agree with Ruby. That dress makes you look beautiful." Penny replied. In the corner of her optics, she could swear that she saw Ruby digging her head deeper into her arms in an attempt to hide her blushing face.
"Yeah, I'll have to agree with you on that." Weiss followed up as she looked down at her dress and did a little twirl. "Let me try another one on."
She retreated back to her stall and closed the curtain behind her. As soon as the curtains closed, Ruby let out a muffled groan from her mouth.
"Why did I just say that?! What was I thinking?! I made a complete fool of myself in front of Weiss!" The silver-eyed girl panicked, rubbing her hands against her head to massage her brain.
"It wasn't that bad, Ruby." Penny tried to comfort the over exaggerating girl, but her state of mind didn't change.
"It was Penny. You don't know what it's like to feel embarrassed."
It was true. She couldn't truly feel emotions; only express them via facial expressions or body language, but that doesn't mean she couldn't understand what her friend was feeling. "Well, I'm pretty sure that it won't happen again."
-Several Outfit Changes Later-
Ruby had never felt more embarrassed in her entire life. Every time Weiss stepped out of the changing rooms in a new outfit, All she could do was stare at her, comment on how pretty she looked and let the burning feeling in her face get stronger. It didn't help that the last thing that Weiss tried on was a blue swimsuit that clung to her body tightly, showing off her curves more than any other outfit. She did notice that Weiss was also blushing during the whole facade, but it wasn't as much as what she was suffering from.
After some time had passed and Ruby's face returned to its normal pale tone, Weiss came back out, dressed in the clothes she had worn this morning.
"Well, I got what I needed." She said, adjusting her jacket as she approached her friends. "Thank you, both for giving out such very… encouraging opinions."
"D-don't mention it." Ruby complimented back, although her voice sounded a tad nervous and shaky.
"Well then, just let me pay for these and then we can be on our way." Weiss stated as she made her way out of the changing rooms towards the tills with Penny and Ruby right beside her.
"What should we do now? What other stores would you two like to go to next?" Penny asked.
"I think we should get something to eat, and I know the perfect little cafe that sells the most delicious sandwiches in town." Weiss said with a proud, confident smile.
"Can we go and get some fast food for lunch instead? I need something more filling than a pile of white bread, ham and cheese." Ruby suggested, visibly rubbing her stomach in hunger.
A scoff could be heard coming from Weiss' mouth as she stopped on the spot and turned to face Ruby with a look of disgust. "Ruby, you know I find fast food repulsive."
"Come ooooonnnnn. You said you found it enjoyable last time." Ruby moaned, making Weiss roll her eyes. It was clear that she had an argument coming her way.
"Yes, I know I said that before, but I prefer a light, healthy lunch that won't give me food poisoning."
"But Weiss…"
She was interrupted when Weiss pressed a finger against her lips. "No buts, Ruby Rose. We are not eating at one of your greasy hotspots and that's final."
Ruby looked down at the floor in defeat. She really didn't want to eat plain boring old sandwiches. She wanted to have a nice filling cheeseburger to wash away all the embarrassment she had experienced, but there was no way she was going to win an argument against Weiss. Unless... 'That's it. Time to break out my secret weapon.'
Both Penny and Weiss looked curiously at Ruby when she lifted her her head back up with a devious smirk on her face. With all her might, she made her eyes as big as she could, stuck out her bottom lip and began to make the saddest face she could muster. Penny was all too confused as to what exactly Ruby was doing, but Weiss instantly recognised the stunt she was trying to pull.
"Oh no. No no no no no! You are not giving me the puppy dog treatment!." She yelled in anger but realised it was too late to stop her now. "Well too bad. This time it's not going to work."
She proceeded to cross her arms and stare right back into Ruby's eyes with her cold, hard eyes. Ruby just continued to make her face as adorable as possible.
"Nope. Not working."
Ruby's stare intensifies, her lip starting to quiver. Weiss did not move a muscle.
"Still not working."
Penny looked back and forth between the two, seeing both of their stares getting stronger and stronger by the second, neither of them giving up their little staring contest. Then, she spotted a difference. Weiss' face was starting to strain.
"Still. Not. Working."
She said through her gritting teeth. An audible whine started to emit from Ruby, her face looking like she was actually going to shed a tear.
Eventually, Weiss couldn't take it any longer. She flung her arms up in frustration and screamed at the top of her lungs. "Urgh! Fine! You win! We'll go where you want to go for lunch, just stop with the puppy eyes already!"
With victory in her hands, Ruby broke her adorable stare and literally jumped with joy. "Yeeeeessssss! Fast food it is." She shouted as she pumped her fist. Weiss angrily storms off, abandoning her friends to themselves while she goes to pay for her clothes.
Penny tapped Ruby on her shoulder to get the girl's attention. "Ruby, What emotion was that you just used?"
"Oh, it's not an emotion Penny. What you just witnessed is a personal technique of mines." Ruby explained, peeking Penny's interest. "I call it 'The Puppy Pound Stare'. The ultimate tool in turning any argument in your favour."
"Is it effective?" Penny inquired, her smiling suggesting that she wanted to use this move in the future.
Ruby proudly smiles and looks over to the currently fuming heiress.
"Works every time."
A/N: So we can all agree that their day went off smoothly.
First, let's talk about Penny. Penny is one of my favourite characters in the show, so there was no doubt that I was going to include her in this story, but I also decided to change her from an Atlas built combat droid to a Schnee Tech protection/medical droid just to keep things interesting. I based Penny mostly off of Baymax from Big Hero 6 since the two robots share a few similarities. Both were built to protect and help the innocent, were giving weapons to fight evil bad guys and they even died during their series finales (Whether for good or evil intentions). Also, how ironic is it that the one chapter I get sick is the one where I introduce the Medical Bot. Maybe I should have Penny cure my illness I had 2 weeks ago.
Next on the agenda is Ruby's 'friendship' with Weiss. This fanfic will contain some romance, mostly on Whiterose with a little bit of Bumblebee, but it is not a heavy focus. There will be no smut of any kind in this story, the closest I'll ever get to that is passionate kissing. It will still be important to the story in a way, but this a Superhero story and romance usually doesn't have a major focus in those stories.
Finally, here is this chapter's Fun Fact: There was supposed to be a third scene where we see Ruby, Weiss and Penny discussing how their day went and leave to go back home. I decided to remove it because I felt it didn't add much in terms of story and character building, and I thought it made the chapter way too long. That's the thing story writing; sometimes you got to make sacrifices to make an enjoyable story.
That's it for this chapter. Hopefully, you guys won't be waiting for a month for the next one to come out, keep your eyes peeled for it when it comes.
As for what will happen next chapter? All I can say is it's going to be a real Buzz of a chapter.
See you next time!