Arriving at the Polendina home in Mantle…
Jaune, while walking to the Polendina house saw the state of the people of Mantle. Their entire lives revolve around working for the people of Atlas. Yet, they are unappreciated. It was surreal to see.
Willow saw the look in Jaune's eyes and knew that he wanted to help the people of Mantle. That was not an issue, but how to help them is. They do not know where to start.
"Jaune," called Willow. She was thinking of a way to help the people to help Jaune. "I can tell that you want to help the people of Mantle. I will do what I can to support you".
Jaune smiled at Willow. She was a great person. She may have lost her way once, but she was back on track.
"Thanks, Willow," said Jaune. He brought Willow for a hug. "Come on. We can think of a way to help the people of Mantle later when I finish fulfilling my promise to Penny".
Willow knew how important promises are to Jaune. It is ingrained into him that fulfilling a promise is a must unless the promise was created from a lie.
Jaune knocked on the door.
A moment later, Penny opened the door.
"Jaune!" shouted Penny. She was happy to see Jaune. She has not seen him since the Vytal Festival. "I missed you! Friend Jaune!".
Penny hugged Jaune with immense strength. If it were anyone else, they would have been fighting to get out of her hug to breathe. That was not an issue with Jaune. He was more than capable of withstanding Penny's hugs.
"Penny," shouted a man inside the house. "Who's at the door?".
"Father, it is a friend from Beacon," replied Penny. "He is the man that I spoke to you about. The one that upgraded my system".
Pietro looked at Jaune. He saw the man is around 17-18 years old. Quite young, yet, extremely capable.
"So, you're Jaune Arc, Noah's little boy," said Pietro. Noah spoke to him about Jaune when he showed interest in Robotics. "Noah told me that you are capable in Robotics. He also said that you lost interest in it after some time".
Jaune shook his head. He did not lose interest in Robotics, but the Robotics of Remnant. They were behind worlds such as Marvel. He remembered the Iron Man suit. It was phenomenal.
"That is not entirely accurate," said Jaune. "I love robotics, I find it fascinating. But when I look at the Atlesian Knights and Paladin, all I see is wasted potential. The Atlesian Knights are designed to be human-like but to not give them integrated weapons are stupid. The Paladin is big and bulky. It has speed but it is inflexible. It has weapons but it has atrocious durability".
Willow watched Jaune speak with Pietro. She didn't know how long it has been, but more than a few hours have gone by.
Penny listened to Jaune and did as her father told her. Record everything Jaune explained.
Jaune didn't mind them recording him since they can try and make the upgrades to the Atlesian Knights and Paladin, but it would fail since they don't have the proper power source to power them.
"Hmm…I see now why you are no longer interested in the robotics of Atlas," said Pietro. He laughed. Everyone in Atlas thought that he was the smartest person, but that was not accurate. Jaune was the smartest. "You are leaps and bounds ahead of Atlas. I understand why Penny finds you intriguing, and why she is infatuated with you".
"Father!" said Penny. Her cheeks were at critical levels. They started turning red. "You don't have to say such things to Jaune! Besides, last I heard; he already has a significant other. Also, I…I am not exactly relationship ready…".
When Penny said those words, she was dejected.
"Come now, Penny," said Pietro. He wanted to comfort his daughter. "Relationships are not all about physical intimacy. There is more to a relationship than you can imagine. Also, when it comes to him having a significant other, I heard that he has a Harem. Normally, I would never allow you to be close to such a person, but I don't know. Meeting him in person has changed my mind. Now, it is up to you to capture his heart".
"Father," said Penny. She had felt great love for her father. "Be that as it may, I am still not relationship ready. I know you said it is not all about the physical intimacy, but I want to feel it".
Pietro looked at his daughter with a sorrowful expression. He couldn't give her what she wanted the most. It was one of his regrets.
Jaune giggled. It was nice to see a close family.
"If that's what you're worried about, Penny, then you don't have to," said Jaune. He came close to Penny and patted her head. "I came here to fulfill the promise I made that time".
Penny was…she was…she couldn't process what Jaune was saying. Could it truly be possible? To be human?
Penny looked at Jaune. She wanted to believe. Jaune has never lied to her, even that time he increased the security of her system.
Penny nodded at Jaune, telling him that she was ready to become human.
…
Vale, Patch, Xiao Long Household…
Blake was still shell-shocked at what happened.
Ruby and Yang were ecstatic, while Weiss was shocked.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but that was the best night out ever!" said Yang. She was feeling the high of the night. Let's do that again!".
"No, you will certainly not do something like that again, young lady," said an angry Summer. Beside her was Tai. She had her arms crossed. "I can't believe that you set the town on fire! How did you even do that?!".
Yang gulped at the sight. She remembered when she was younger that she feared this side of Summer.
"I said to do an activity to get your mind out of training magic, not to set the town on fire," said Summer. She sighed.
Yang and Ruby were hugging each other. They knew that they were going to be punished, but it was worth it.
"To be fair, I did not do anything illegal," said Yang. She did nothing wrong, sort of. "I merely figured out the phobia of the bouncer of the club and the owner. It was not even really, I just told them that it was theirs and things escalated too quickly. Although, I still find it hilarious".
The reason why Weiss was shocked is due to how quickly things went wrong. She was taking the drinks one minute, and the next, things were on fire and people were scattering.
As for Blake, due to the screams of everyone, her senses were overloaded inside a cramped space. Plus, the DJ accidentally pushed the volume to the maximum limit. It was hell for Blake.
For Ruby, she was excited since she was never been part of something like it before. It was quite fun letting loose for the first time. To make it blunt, she was drunk off her ass.
As it turns out, no matter how old you are, the moment you have a Beacon ID, you are good for a drink. Being Ruby, she did not know how to moderate her drinking and Yang was not there to stop her. Blake and Weiss were elsewhere as well.
…
It has been an hour since Jaune made Penny human…
The former Robot girl was quite affectionate. She refuses to let go of Jaune. She was hugging him as she liked the warmth, he gave her.
Jaune didn't mind, he was even patting her head as she enjoyed the hug.
Willow was smiling, she knew what it was like to hug Jaune. She could not blame the girl for liking it.
"Friend Jaune," said Penny. She was rubbing her face on Jaune's chest. "Is this what it feels like to finally feel free?".
Penny no longer felt the restriction on her that was caused by being a synthetic human.
"I wouldn't know Penny," said Jaune. He was being truthful. He would not know since he has always been free. "But I guess it may be if it is causing you to give show such a lovely smile".
Penny blushed at Jaune's words. He found her smile lovely! Hearing Jaune's compliment made her feel wonderful!
"T-Thank you friend Jaune," said Penny. She wanted to say more but she couldn't. She has never asked anyone out before.
"How about we go out and you can feel the world for the first time," said Jaune. Penny blushed. It was as if he was asking her out. "And yes, Penny. I am asking you out on a date".
Knowing that Jaune was asking her out on a date, Penny froze. It was another of her dream come true. Oh, she has dreamed of this day since she was at Beacon for the Vytal Festival. Yes, even as a synthetic human she was able to dream.