I'm back. It's been an immensely relaxing week off – both from fanfiction and my normal 9-5 job. I took a week off from both basically, and experienced real free time for once. Shocking experience. I didn't achieve anything, but I think that's the point. I spent whole days just not getting anything done, which is a bizarre experience for me.


Cover Art: Mysterywhiteflame

Chapter 28


Should he feel jealous?

Jaune wasn't sure. He'd spent so long dreading the big reveal and finding excuses to put it off that he was more relieved than not that, after Penny's big confession, his own didn't warrant so much as a single question from Flynt or Neon. You snuck into Atlas? Cool. Penny is a robot. You somehow managed to put us at risk by being our leader without a scrap of experience? That's nice. By the way, we have an honest to goodness artificial intelligence as our fourth teammate. How cool is that? Very cool, it turned out, because far from asking the big questions on why Penny was here, how dangerous she was, or what long-term threat AI might mean for the people of Remnant, Flynt and Neon's questions were a lot more… basic.

"Do you short-circuit in water? Do we need to avoid fighting in the rain?"

"Um. No. My skin is insulating and-"

"Can you, like, download information straight into your head and have immediate mastery of it?"

"No. I need to practice just like any other person."

"Have you ever crashed?"

"Early on in my development I would crash a lot but my father worked all of those bugs out of me a long time ago."

"How old are you technically? Are you the team baby?"

"I'm four years old…"

"Baby!" crooned Neon, launching herself at Penny and wrapping around her. "Awwww, you're so cute! I will protect you with my life!"

"T-That is unnecessary, friend Neon!" complained Penny. "I am not only fully combat ready but also much more resilient than you. I can take damage that would be lethal to a human being such as yourself."

"Can you call me a fleshy meatbag?"

"I could but I will not! You are my friend!"

"I guess this explains your so-called Semblance," said Flynt. "Your ability to tap into and detect other electrical devices isn't a Semblance at all. It's basically just a connection to the CCT. Does that mean you can hack our scrolls?"

Neon suddenly thrust away from Penny, holding her at arm's reach. "Have you been in my browser history?"

That reaction was a little extreme. Flynt seemed to think so too. "What's in your browser history?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all!"

"Hmmmm…"

"I have limited ability to hack devices," said Penny. "And only what I have learned. I don't have a program to do that because it could be turned on myself. Also, there are safeguards in case I ever go rogue or am corrupted, and General Ironwood was concerned I might be able to turn those off if I had hacking software."

"But…?"

"No, Neon. I have not been in your browser history." Penny eyed the faunus shrewdly. "But I can teach you how to delete it if you're really that concerned."

"Who? Me? Concerned? Pshaw. There's nothing weird in there. Ha ha ha!"

"I'm stealing her scroll the first chance I get," Flynt whispered to Jaune. He then cleared his throat and asked, "I suppose this being a national secret and all, we're going to be subject to classified information and some stern meetings."

"I did not tell father or my superiors that I was going to do this," said Penny. "Jaune's confession and your acceptance of him despite it made me. Or, to be more specific, I desperately wanted to tell you all but was afraid of how you would react."

That was exactly how he'd felt. The longing to get it off your chest clashing with the absolute horror of being abandoned. Even if you didn't think they would, your darkest fears played up their reactions in your head until you were convinced they'd hate your guts. He took a deep breath through his nose, feeling lighter than he had for a long time.

"You're our teammate," he said. "You're my partner. I wouldn't have turned on you just because you're not flesh and blood like the rest of us."

"Same but, also," said Neon, "I think it was a good idea to get to know us first. It's easy to say this now, but I think if we'd known at first then we might have unintentionally treated you different – like talking weirdly around you and treating you more like a curiosity than a person. Not nastily," she defended when Jaune turned his frown on her. "I just mean that we might have been different without realising it. But now that we know you as a friend first, we can definitely say you're not just some highly advanced chatbot. You're a real person."

Penny's smile almost split her face in two. "Thank you. Thank you all."

"Ah, damn, this is all sweet and mushy but I do have a question," said Flynt. "Not about you but… well, how long will it be until this is the norm? Are we looking at more huntresses like you? I can't help but think people who don't know you won't be as understanding. They'll pull the whole AI overthrowing humanity card and lose their shit."

"I have seen those movies too," said Penny, chuckling. "I don't understand why humans think AI would do that. We need maintenance and software that humans make, and a truly sapient AI like myself would develop feelings of loneliness and isolation just like a real person would if I was alone on Remnant. The whole point of being an advanced AI is that I would be just like any other human. That means I wouldn't have the cold machine learning those tropes rely on, otherwise I wouldn't be an advanced AI. I'd just be a machine."

"Tropes aren't known for their applications to real life," said Jaune."

"True. And to answer your other question there won't be many more like me, or more instances of me. My construction involved a specific Semblance and my father can't use it too many times because it splits his soul."

"Oh, it's Semblance stuff? That makes sense. You know, I think people would be more accepting of that. I mean, are you even an AI at all if you have a person's soul in you? Aren't you just a normal person with a robotic body? You're closer to a person whose every limb has been replaced than you are an actual robot."

The analogy seemed to excite Penny. "Do you really think so?"

"Sure. I mean, imagine someone had a Semblance that created a person with their own thoughts, feelings and emotions that were independent from themselves. You wouldn't call that a clone or a hologram, would you? It's a fully functioning person who relies on a Semblance to live. Isn't that just what you are? Except that you pilot a robot body to interact with the world?"

"Yes! I… Yes!" Penny bounced on the spot. "That is exactly what I am. But I've always been referred to as an artificial intelligence-"

"But you're not," said Neon. "I get what Flynt is saying. An AI is a constructed machine. If you were a proper AI then anyone should be able to make more of you given they followed the same process as your creator did. But that wouldn't work, would it? It only works with his Semblance added in. You wouldn't call someone creating weapons with their Semblance a blacksmith, so you shouldn't call someone creating an intelligence with theirs a computer developer – nor the created soul a machine."

"We're getting really abstract here," said Jaune. "And picky." He did think they made good points though. Perhaps what Penny's father meant was that she was closer to an AI. Or maybe it was just a term used because there wasn't a better one. "We need to keep this secret. And I don't just mean us three not telling anyone. I mean that we need to make sure no one finds out via other reasons, because if Penny gets exposed then some lunatics might call for her to be destroyed or shut down."

"In which case she just yoinks her Semblance-created soul and memory into another body," joked Flynt.

"Yeah. But then she wouldn't be on our team anymore because our teammate would officially be dead." They stopped smiling. "Penny, you should let your father know you've told us. Make sure he knows we're completely on your side and want to stay with you."

Penny had the appearance of someone crying without tears. It was strange. Her father obviously hadn't planned for her to cry or given her tear ducts, but her face could crease up in the same way, even as she was smiling. Neon crooned again and clung to her, rocking the girl back and forth. "I-I will. Thank you, Jaune. Thank you everyone."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Miss Schnee knows. Oh, and Ciel."

"Ciel does!?"

"Ciel was informed by General Ironwood and my father before Atlas Academy and was intended to be my partner and handler. She would have made excuses for me and made sure that I could fit in among whatever team we ended up on." She giggled. "But then you invited me to your table and your team and I was just so excited to make new friends that I forgot all about it."

"Adorable!" cried Neon. "She's so precious!"

"I guess that explains why Ciel was so quick to get to know me," said Jaune. He was sure he and Ciel were real friends now given how much time they spent together, and most of it without ever bringing Penny up at all, but he supposed it did explain why she'd approached him in the first place. He wondered if he should talk to her about this. Let her know he was in on the secret now. "Do you think it's okay to tell her we know?"

"Let me tell her first," said Penny. "Then she will not panic. I will tell my father as well. He can tell General Ironwood and the others."

"Do you think we'll get in trouble?" asked Flynt.

"Not trouble but… more work, maybe? I believe my father has been hoping I would tell you. I think they will feel that you accepting me is a very good thing – the point of me joining the academy was to learn to live among normal people and see if they could accept me. It is what they wanted, but it will probably mean extra work for them to make sure no one else finds out."

"Tell them we'll sign and attend whatever courses or lectures they think we need."

"I will. Thank you again. I… I was so worried for so long but to have been able to say this, and to know you accept me… It is… It is…" Penny's words were cut off by Neon dragging her face down into her chest. "Um. Friend Neon. You are squeezing a little too hard!"

"Call me big sis!"

"N-Neon!"

"Better yet, call me mama!"

/-/

"So, I hear you've been brought in on Penny's big secret."

In the end he didn't need to find Ciel because she sought him out. They sparred for almost a full hour, until he was exhausted and coated with sweat, and she was breathing heavily but otherwise fine. He'd always known she was stronger than him – stronger than most of their year, too. He wondered if that was part of why she'd been selected at first.

"Yeah, she told us last night. Are you okay with that?"

"Should I not be?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "This is all new to me. I do have to ask, though. Were you annoyed or upset when Penny went and formed a team with us without telling you?"

"Hmm." Ciel hummed and looked upward. "I wasn't either of those. A little panicked and worried maybe; I thought something had gone wrong and I figured I might get in trouble for it. Mission failed and all that." She looked back down with a smirk. "But the higher-ups were all very understanding and asked me to continue on as a liaison she could seek out if she had any trouble. My only regret is that she didn't pull me onto the team with her. I'd much prefer yours to mine."

"Yeah. We'd love to have you but I can't exactly kick anyone out."

"I know. I've actually put you down as my reserve option in the event of a team fracture."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Basically, if my team falls apart for any reason then I have it down that, if they cannot find a team of three to put me on, I'd prefer to be added to yours as a fifth member."

"Are you planning on murdering your team?"

"Ha! I wish." Ciel laughed. "It's more if they bomb out due to grades, or injuries, or they decide it's not for them. Or they hate my guts and request I be kicked off. Things happen and it's not like I'm in their good books. They'd rather dick around and cruise by on low effort."

"Well, feel free to tell anyone who matters that you have my approval and vote to be let on the team if that does happen. I'm sure the others will agree. Penny at the very least. Neon will be all for you the moment I tell her a fifth member ups our odds of keeping our luxury dorms by 25%. And Flynt won't care either way."

"Glad to know I'm such a valuable asset."

"Speaking of assets," said Jaune. "Do you know how much trouble we'll be in for knowing about Penny?"

"Close to none. There'll be some mandatory meetings just to drill in the need for secrecy, and you'll probably be asked to meet her creator back in Atlas. You should expect extra responsibilities but nothing too bad. It's just how to act if something goes wrong, what to look out for, and where you can take her if she's badly injured to the point of exposing internal workings. Not to a hospital, obviously."

"I figured that much out."

"Then you'll be fine. It might just be a memo from Miss Schnee for now. They'll save the big stuff for back in Atlas."

That was a relief. He had enough on his plate with the White Fang before needing extra meetings. He still hadn't made a decision there, though it felt like the whole reveal of this had distracted him from his worries over it. There was a lot less need to worry about Penny being left alone to tank that robot when it turned out she could was never in any significant risk.

"Hey," said Ciel, suddenly a little quieter. "While I have you here. Did you know there's a big dance coming up? I've heard the Beacon teams going on and on about it." He had heard, though he'd been a little too distracted to fret over the lack of a date. "Well, I really don't want to go with anyone from my team, and I'm not interested in getting to know anyone in Beacon. What do you say to the two of us going together?"

Huh. That was convenient.

"I'd be up for that."

"You would!?" Ciel blurted out, then coughed and looked away. "I mean, yes, good. Obviously. Well, that's the matter dealt with a lot more easily than I thought it would be. Shall I meet you at your dorm?"

"I'll come pick you up. It's my job, right? Might show those ungrateful teammates of yours up too."

"That would be nice. I'll look forward to it."

Jaune waved as she strolled away, feeling rather bemused at the recent events. He'd nearly been killed by a huntress, saved by a sniper, lost all his confidence, confessed to his team, discovered his partner was a robot, and now secured himself a date to the dance. All in the space of about two days.

I should nearly get killed more often!

"Heh." He rubbed his jaw, smiling despite himself. "I guess I should tell my team the good news."

/-/

Pietro Polendina had never been prouder than he was now, and that said something because he was a world-renowned inventor who had a lot in life to be proud of. He'd sniffed at those who said children were the greatest thing in your life, but now he accepted that was one hypothesis he may have been incorrect over. Hearing that Penny had told her team the truth, and that she'd been accepted as a real being, filled him with such joy that he wished he could reach through the screen and embrace her.

"I am so very proud of you, Penny. You've certainly shown all those nay-sayers, haven't you?"

"I have." Penny was smiling but looked distracted. "Thank you, father."

"Is something wrong? You look bothered."

"Will my team get into any trouble?"

"No. No. No." He shook his head. "I'll talk to General Ironwood for you. He's no fool, dear, and he had to know this might happen eventually. Either by you telling them or them discovering it if you were ever damaged. I'm sure he'll be pleased it's the former rather than the latter."

"That is good." Penny dithered a little on the other end of the screen. "Father, I think there is something wrong with my cooling systems."

"Hm? Were you tagged in the last fight?" He leaned forward. "Let me access your diagnostics and have a look. Can you connect yourself to the- ah, you've already done so. Perfect. This shouldn't take long. Hmm. I can see some temperature readings a little high here, but you seem fine now. I can't see any problems. Can you recreate what caused it?"

"Yes."

The temperatures spiked a little. Not dangerously so, but noticeably. Pietro hummed and checked the coolant systems. They were operating perfectly and helping to bring the temperature down to a manageable level. "What were you thinking of to cause that?"

"I was thinking of Ciel Soleil."

"Young Ciel? Huh. I wonder why. Let me just check your logs-" He scanned through the document and blinked at the end. "Um. Penny. Darling. My daughter. Might I ask on the latest designation listed here?"

"Which one?"

"Well, past designations like friend and ally and confidante there appears to be one labelled as backstabbing bitch." He cleared his throat, not quite knowing how to unpack of address that. "May I ask how that got in there?"

"It must be related to the bug."

"I am… not entirely sure it is. Did Ciel do something to upset you?"

"No. Ciel is performing admirably."

"Then did anything happen today?"

"…"

"Penny?"

"Ciel invited my partner to the school dance. He accepted."

Pietro suddenly felt both too old and too young for this – and much too inexperienced. "Ah. Penny-"

"But he is my partner, father! He is my friend! Not Ciel's! She came second, and she only got to know him to make sure he was safe to be around me! It isn't fair!" Penny shouted the last bit, then flinched at her own volume. "It's not fair, father. I met him first. He's… He's not mine, he doesn't belong to me, but surely I should have… first pickings…? Or the first chance…"

Penny sounded so lost, as if she fully understood the flaw in the logic she was using, and yet couldn't shake it off anyway. This was not something he could solve with unfeeling ones and zeroes or lines of code. This was love. This was both proof of Penny's deserving title as a real person, and proof of her inexperience as a being of only a few years of age.

It was also the worst thing to ask him. He'd created a daughter because there was just no way he was going to have one the traditional way. Women confused him, and he was terrible with them. The few dates he'd been on his live were unmitigated disasters, and one had even told him the only way he'd ever get a girlfriend was if he built one from scratch. After all these years he couldn't even say she'd been wrong!

"Ah. Penny. That… well…" Pietro deflected and delayed as he hurriedly opened tabs on parenting advice. "Well, it's not that…. That is a complicated matter. Feelings of the heart are notoriously difficult." The internet was useless. "Finding the answer is something every man or woman must do for themselves. The first step, I would assume, is to be honest with your feelings."

"I am honest with them. I fully admit my feelings."

"I meant to him."

Penny glanced away. "Oh…"

"We men, Penny. We are… flawed creatures. Everyone is flawed in different ways, but I've heard it said that us men struggle to understand social cues." He hated referring to old studies, but this was his thing. Penny was smart and would hopefully understand that he was trying his best. "Women are very social creatures, able to say and deal with complex emotional and social problems better than men can. That is why women often keep friendships for longer, because they are better at sharing with their friends and at fixing problems or arguments. Men are quicker to anger and are often hopeless at dealing with big fights. We are bad at forgiving and hold grudges where women often get over their problems and forgive one another."

"Father. I… fail to see any relevance here…"

Me too, Penny. Me too. He'd kind of been hoping he could just waffle aimlessly and that she might pick out some detail on her own. Alas, she was expecting him to help and he was – as usual – unable to do so. Asking himself what would have worked on him was pointless because delivering him a thesis on the nature of love would have been seen as romantic by his stunted senses, and he doubted this young man would be moved by the same.

"I can only suggest you talk to him after the dance and confess your feelings to him, Penny. He cannot avoid hurting your feelings if he is not aware of them."

"What if Ciel marries him during the dance?"

"Okay. I highly doubt that will happen. Romance takes much longer to flourish than that."

"But a one-night stand-"

"Is not romance and is not something we should be talking about! We are talking about love, Penny. About your feelings." And goodness, he needed to find a female scientist or officer who could talk to her about this. Maybe Winter? No. She was probably even worse than him. Damn it. "Maybe you should talk to your female teammate about this. I don't want to sound like I'm pushing you away, my dear, but I'm not very useful here."

"I understand, father. I appreciate you trying either way." Penny smiled faintly, and he wished yet again he could have all the answers for her. "I just wonder what he would see in me at all. Even if I'm as Flynt says – a real soul with a robotic body – that doesn't change the fact my body is cold metal."

"And rubber silicone!"

"Father…"

"What? I have it on good record that a lot of young men like rubber and silicone."

"Father, I am not sure my highly advanced vibrate function will be enough to compete with Ciel."

Pietro snorted and sprayed coffee across the room. "Penny!"

"What?"

"I… Nothing. Ahah. That… That was a good joke."

"What joke? I was being serious."

"I don't need to know that! Even if- No, we're not having this conversation." Penny could do her research in her own time. Just because there was a thriving market for toys for men did not mean he wanted to think of his own daughter being considered as similar. "Just… Not all men are born equal and not all want the same thing. You have an advantage that Ciel does not; the ravages of time will not affect you as they will her."

"Ciel can give him a baby."

"Adoption is a perfect viable option. There are a lot of children who need parents. You even get to skip the stage where they vomit and poop on you! That's a bonus if anything." He should know, having developed a daughter into her teenage years. It saved all those worrying things he'd heard about like kids crawling off and getting into danger. "Think about it, Penny. No interrupted nights as they cry and scream, no potty training, no wailing in the supermarkets. It's a distinct advantage."

He had a feeling he wasn't helping as much as she might have liked. It was impossible not to think a warm and living body was an important part of a sexual relationship. Of course it was going to be. The best he could do was offer to install regulators to heat up her skin at her command – which he would gladly do, but which might take time and wouldn't solve her immediate problem.

"I'm sorry, Penny. I'm trying to help and I'm not managing it."

"You tried, father. I will talk to Neon and ask her advice. Though I fear what she will have me do…"

"Do you think she won't be interested in helping?"

"I think she will be very interested in helping." Penny heaved a sigh. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"Well…" He struggled for the words she needed to hear. "I'm glad to hear you have such dependable friends even if they are causing you problems here and there. That's how you know they're your real friends."

"Yes. I think so too. I love you father."

"I love you too, my daughter. Good luck."

The screen turned black and Pietro leaned back in his wheelchair. Create a daughter, they said. It'll be easier, they said. Bastards. He brought up his computer and logged into an online forum, and immediately started typing. For his daughter, he would make the ultimate sacrifice. For his daughter, he would brave the dark and treacherous seas of the most haunting of places. For his daughter, he would breach an online forum for helicopter parents.

"I am a single father to a daughter who has just discovered her feelings for boys and who has asked me for assistance. I am useless. Please help!"

Ten pings appeared within seconds.

"If I die here, Penny, know that I love you…"


Brave of you to visit mumsnet and put yourself out there like that, Pietro.

That or Reddit. God, I can't think of a site I'd be less prepared to take life advice from than Reddit, though one look at AITA tells me there are a lot of insanely dumb people out there. Like, "I kicked my mom in the face and poisoned her and then sold my daughter to the mafia. Could I possibly be the asshole!?"

The few times I've ever visited it, I don't think I've seen any posts that would sound even remotely ambiguous in moral terms. It's either "I've donated half of all my organs to people who needed them but now can't give the rest without dying. Am I being selfish?" or "I kicked my 16-year-old daughter out my home for forgetting to clean her room once and now she's functionally homeless. I'm not being unreasonable, am I?"


Next Chapter: 29th April

Like my work? Please consider supporting me, even if it's only a little a month or even for a whole year, so I can keep writing so many stories as often as I do. Even a little means a lot and helps me dedicate more time and resources to my work.

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur