The humidity hung in the air as Ruby and her sister were standing on the beach, looking eastward with the next island only a few degrees off of the cardinal direction. The waves of the water hit the shore gently, the further waters splashing against one another or hitting rocks. The smell of salt hung close by, the misty wind hitting their faces as they stood there. The trees rustled behind them in the breeze, signifying the wind was coming their direction. The next island was across this spill of water, easily several dozen meters long and maybe even coming close to a mile. But both huntresses were more than capable and ready to tackle this leap. In fact, they seemed to be so energized about it that they settled on a competition moments before moving.

"Last one there's a rotten egg!" Ruby called out childishly as she sprinted for the edge of the water, loading a cartridge into her weapon.

"Oh, you're on!" Yang would immediately chase after her younger sibling, clicking her gauntlets into place with a flick of her wrist. She proceeded to divert a part of her aura into her legs to get a large leap as she shot down at the sandy ground she stood on. This chained with her boosted jump allowed to go at a much faster speed, using the rest of her blasts to keep herself elevated above the water. Each blast disturbed the water and made large splashes, making the waves below become far more chaotic.

For Ruby, she was using her weapon's rifle and a gravity dust cartridge to launch herself at blazing speeds. Normally, using Crescent Rose's rifle fire would allow her to pogo-jump slowly- but with gravity dust, the kick-back was far more severe and allowed her to move much farther distances in the opposite direction of the blast. Her semblance was also used in tandem to give herself some more speed. She couldn't keep it up for very long, having to park on a rock or two to regain her composure before launching herself out again.

But even with that blinding speed that the rose scattering huntress achieved, the recoil she had slowed her down enough to take second place. Yang had made it to the shores of the island over three seconds earlier than her sister. And Ruby groaned once she made it to the beach, reorienting herself against after another burst. She felt like throwing up…

" Looks like I won, sis." The golden-haired brawler said as she knelt down to pat her sister on the back and try to keep her from vomiting.

"No fair…" The ravenette responded weakly, letting out a phlegmy cough or two. She managed to get her composure back once the blonde let her drink some water from a sack pouch she had, able to wash down any of the rising vomit and let her brain reset back to normal. Once she was able to grasp a solid one-image reality, Ruby stood up and let out a huff. "So. Where do we go from here?"

This prompted Yang to pull out her scroll and look at the map they had for this island. "It says there's an entrance to a mine close to the town that was here. We'll have to get some photos around and inside the cave."

Ruby let out an entranced "ooh" as she leaned over her sister's shoulder to look at the map. The map showed the remains of the town from above, burned down with plenty of greenery having spread onto the piles of decaying wood. "Should we split up and get some photos of the town AND the cave at the same time?"

"Might just be better for us to stick together, Ruby," Yang responded. "If the cave collapses, you have your semblance to get you out. As for me…actually, you might be better going in on your own. Good thinking, sis."

"See? I know what I'm doing!" Ruby would then gloat, walking off into the forest line with a cock-sure spring to her step. Yang followed close behind as they moved amongst the trees, seeping deeper within the island's natural forest. As they walked, birds accompanied the sounds of the trees whispering to one another. Non hom-sapian avians seemed to have survived the purge that happened on the island. And as the sisters walked together, something began to eat at Ruby's mind. And her older sibling took notice quickly.

"You got something on your mind, Ruby?" Yang would ask as she caught up and walked side-by-side.

"Is it weird that Lance gave his hoodie to Pyrrha last night?" She would ask, hesitant to get the first few words.

The blonde appeared subtly bewildered by the question, attempting to find the right way to answer. "…well, what do you think?"

"I mean- isn't it weird that he just impulsively did that? Even when Pyrrha said no, he still did it."

"Think about it this way: how many times has Weiss or Blake rejected help from us or others, and yet we still were there to offer it despite that?" This made Ruby pause, actually contemplating how the parallels were similar. "And you should know more than any of us how that feels! He's looking out for his teammates, getting everyone involved and to be in their best shape." That was when Yang's hand found itself on her sister's shoulder, causing the younger sibling to look up into those lilac hues. "He wants Pyrrha to be comfortable, he wants Penny to stay safe and out of combat…for the most part. And I'm sure he has tasks for us, too."

Ruby's silver eyes became teary before she grabbed at her sister, giving her a nice tight hug as a way to thank her. Yang hugged right back, letting the ravenette calm herself down. It took about half a minute, but the young huntress pulled away with a much happier and upbeat smile on her face again. Us team leaders gotta stick together.

And gotta keep up the standard of being goofballs. This got Ruby to laugh as they continued walking. Within the next few paces, a small clearing formed around them. There was a stone adit that sat in the front of a hill, a long tunnel going diagonally into the world. Wooden support beams held up the surrounding dirt and rock, rot setting into some of them. Spiderwebs grew in the corners, large vines hanging over the entrance as well. It really did look like it was about to collapse.

"…huh. Guess it was a good idea to split up," Ruby said to herself, both proud and nervous about her decision. Two pats to her back came as reassurance from Yang.

"I'll be right there to dig you out if necessary," the blonde joked as she pulled out her scroll again. She initiated a call with her sister's scroll, making Ruby squeak before pulling it out. "We'll have to stay on call so we can communicate. If one of us starts getting feedback, we tell each other that."

"You got it," Ruby remarked as she sped onward towards the mouth of the cave and cautiously tip-toed inside. Her strides became much faster as she became more comfortable with the more structurally stable insides, her scroll providing a flashlight function that let her see. The older sibling took a path around the hill to keep on the same path in terms of horizontal movement. Ruby's camera worked as a viewscreen for Yang, able to bear witness to the rails that were damaged and rusted beyond repair. Small critters and insects scurried away from the light, a possible arachnid-type Grimm hiding amongst them. Weirdly enough, ooze that seemed like Grimm ichor lined parts of the walls and floor- the young rose-tinted huntress having to step around the veiny lengths.

"Ruby?" Yang asked with a concerned tone. Her sister hadn't spoken in a spell and it scared the older sibling.

"Oh- sorry," Ruby replied feverishly. "I was concentrating on taking in everything here. To think these people dug into an island for deep deposits of dust." As she spoke, she came across a toppled minecart. Ruby stopped, prompting her half-sister to half her movement too. Yang watched her scroll as the camera got closer to inspect the contraption. It was layered with settled dust, the powerful crystals having spilled out and sunken into the dirt and stone beneath it. When Ruby dragged a hand across the side, they were met with a label they were familiar with. One that was the branding of one of their teammates. A stylized snowflake with the letters SDC written in its center.

"Schnee Dust Company…" Ruby said softly, in shock from the realization that came across them.

"Atlas really was here, mining dust right under the people's homes." Yang would add as she, too, began to think of all the things Weiss must have gone through during the operations disaster that must have happened here.

Both sisters were more than shocked by this revelation, completely appalled by their new understanding of what might have gone down here. The avian Faunus might have been used as laborers- slaves- on their own hometurf to mine minerals they then owned…and given to people who had control over them. This wasn't history repeating itself. This WAS the history: an example of the forced labor Faunus were subjected to due to their physical differences. And now they could see it with their own eyes…the effects it had on the islands…

In what seemed like a panic, Ruby started to run deeper down into the mines, following the winding tunnel that only went deeper or sectioned off into branching paths. Yang reflexively called to her sister over the scroll, now running in the same direction in an attempt to keep up with her on a vertical level. "Ruby, wait! Where are you going?"

The cloaked huntress didn't respond, the audio feedback was getting stronger now. She kept up a steady pace as she ran, arthropods and other bugs darting out of the way as she zoomed past. But before she could go any further, she slowed down as the ground turned into structured wood- as if she was standing on a platform. The rails had ended and workstations were littered around her. She stepped forward cautiously, watching and listening carefully as to know if the floorboards she walked across could be weak. Ruby then found herself next to a wooden fence, blocking off an expanse of darkness in front of her.

From Yang's side, she couldn't hear anything other than bursts of static. But when she did stop in time with her sister, she found herself just inside the town perimeter. "Ruby, talk to me! What is-"

She cut herself off as she looked into her viewscreen. The camera was glitching out, not properly sending the video to her. But from what she saw…it was enough to make her understand.

"Oh…"

A clash of metal blades rang out from inside the clearing, the sound making birds within the trees. Another clang made them fly off, having rung out much louder than the previous. Several clashes came again, the sound of dirt being ripped up from the ground along with a small whir. A cycle of five blades spun and weaved back towards their original destination. A cluster of eight were being thrown outwards towards someone. A slash with another set of five came, scraping against a metal shield. More and more dirt was tilled upward as the blades reconveined with its pairs. The shield user transitioned their weapon into a rifle and fired upon the adversary. The bullets traveled fast at the opponent, lined up perfectly to hit their target's chest dead on. But the floating blades would sweep inwards, ricocheting the bullets away from their intended target. The array once again swooped in like daggers to a dart board, spaced out evenly. The ranged weaponry quickly converted to a spear form as the wielder darted forward, diving into a roll as a way to outmaneuver the incoming weapons. Said spear was launched forward, causing the swords user to leap backward to avoid it. More of the array came sliding in horizontally, making the other jump over them as the spear leapt to her hand. The spear quickly turned into a two-sided sword as the warrior came down to strike the opponent again. Two of the array stayed behind and blocked the blade, able to keep themselves in a standoff.

Pyrrha and Penny were sparring together in the clearing. They had finished putting out the fire after a little bit of discussion about their weapons. Penny, more specifically, had shown off her floating array earlier as a test demonstration. She was able to present that she remotely controlled with her backpack, linked to her neural system as to move them around. While that was partways true, she did have near-invisible strings that kept them more easily connected to the ginger. They would sometimes be noticeable due to the lighting around them, but most humans wouldn't see them with the naked eye. Even with that, they were still connected to Penny using a digital network.

Just because Ruby was the only one who knew the truth didn't mean the redhead couldn't find a work-around to explain it.

As they dueled, it was obvious to Pyrrha her new friend was very intune with her weaponry. Each time they clashed it felt like these blades were truly an extra set of arms. Each swing they clashed with seemed to only set the crimson-haired warrior back more, the other blades coming in and making her change tactics to focus on keeping them away. Penny was focused on testing her new friend's reflexes and stamina, routing multiple attack patterns for Pyrrha to find and influence to change the tides.

Like now- she would use her blades to strike near her legs. Pyrrha would swipe at the ground with Miló to deflect the swords, using Akoúo to block and reroute the others coming her way. Even when she did manage to get one or more of them, the others would come to replace them moments later. There was no clear way to get rid of them besides attacking the user herself. Once she got an opening, the shield was quickly thrown towards the ginger. Penny caught it just in time, her swords slowing down as her normal reflexes kicked in. Pyrrha jumped in close and began to slash at the android girl now with no intent to harm her- just to test her ability to dodge. Suffice to say: it seemed like Penny was a natural.

But before Pyrrha could fully convert her rifle and shoot at the redhead, she put up her hand. She didn't look fatigued nor stressed, rather kept that gentle and genuine smile on her face. Her display of blades collapsed themselves into a smaller form as they flew around the dark-red woman, folding into each other as they maneuvered into her backpack.

"That was a wonderful fight," Penny would say as she smiled at her former opponent.

Pyrrha, slightly embarrassed, quickly collapsed her sword and put away her shield. "S- sorry," she instinctively apologized- "I didn't think we were going to stop so abruptly."

"Oh," Penny would explain softly, appearing very minimally concerned and conflicted. "Did I end our engagement too early?"

"No no no, it's- I'm so used to my opponents giving it their all. Maybe I'm just too used to training with Jaune…"

"He is your team leader for team JNPR, if I am not mistaken."

"He is. And he's been becoming quite the leader ever since we met."

As Pyrrha would ramble on about their training and how well she appreciated her dorky blonde companion, Penny was running a few logic problems in her head. She had pieced together- or made a rather good hypothesis- on what her friend's semblance does and involves. Using that as a base, she correlated that her friendship with Ruby was strong. That bond meant that could approach one another with questions or problems either one needed input on. Ruby, herself, was her first ever friend- and because of that, she was able to reveal the truth about her existence or moreso a part of it. So it was best to assume that Pyrrha could be considered someone who would be trustworthy with a version of her truth.

"May I ask something of you, miss Pyrrha?" The ginger would say, interrupting Pyrrha's next sentence that would have continued to run on.

"Oh? Sorry, I must have lost track of what I was saying. What is it?" Once again, another apology.

Penny wordlessly stepped to stand within a foot or so in front of her acquaintance, taking her gloved hands into her bare ones. "Activate your semblance on my hands."

This question caught Pyrrha incredibly off-guard! Pyrrha rarely used her semblance outside of fights, if at all. So to be asked to use it on Penny's hands seemed…strange, to say the very least. Nevertheless, she did as she was prompted and it revealed something completely unexpected to the Mistralian. Her semblance worked on Penny's hands. She could feel the metal underneath the shallow skin of the girl in front of her, sensing how it moved on its own accord.

Living metal…

Pyrrha looked up into Penny's eyes, those similar green gems staring back with happiness and delight. "You…you have metal prosthetics."

While it wasn't the whole truth, it was considered correct. "Affirmative. Atlas technology has come a long way. I am one of a kind in terms of creating human-like appendages."

"...Penny, that's…that's wonderful."

"I appreciate it, miss Pyrrha."

Pyrrha let out a short giggle, a blush coming over her face. "Please…just call me Pyrrha."

Pyrrha's semblance had faded by this point, the two redheads simply staring into one another's with pure joy in both. Something about seeing Penny as a strong disabled girl made her feel so much better about their friendship. Even if she had these robotic parts, Penny was still human. She had a heart, and a soul. Just because she had limbs made of metal and synthetic tissue didn't mean that she was any less human- she was still somebody.

But as luck would have it, the moment didn't last long. Pyrrha's scroll began to ring, which prompted the two women to finally break eye contact. She pulled out her scroll and saw it was Yang calling her- she answered rather quickly after that.

"Hello?"

"Pyrrha, Penny, where are you guys right now?"

The taller redhead would look to the other before answering, almost making sure they were together in the right place. "We're still at the clearing where we set up camp. Where are you?"

"We're on the other island- listen. We found something in the mines on this island."

"You did? What is it?"

A ding came from Pyrrha's scroll again, making her retract her device from her ear and look at its viewscreen. Then they saw a video playing. It was short and partially corrupted in terms of visuals, but they saw what their friends did.

Deep below the surface…