Chapter 21: Fight Club
In which a long held belief is proven false, and shelter may not be so safe.
Penny was weird. She kept repeating herself and using words or phrases that seemed like they were found in the bottom of the thesaurus. At times, her eyes would glaze over as though she wasn't hearing or seeing the world around her. That was, of course, when she wasn't gushing about how 'sensational' it was to have Weiss as a friend.
Weiss' new companion wore the oddest attire. Strange green pads with gold outlines ran up and down her sides to form a network over her outfit. Her dress would've looked old fashioned given its plain colors, frilled sleeves, and frontal apron if not for the strange black and green collar that rose up the length of her neck. A pink bow seemed to be stuffed into her tangerine hair from the back of her head. Her legs were covered by long black stockings that stopped just short of her dress, leaving just a pale line of thighs exposed. Of course, Weiss kept her eyes off of Penny's legs; she was saving herself for Blake.
The thought of her partner made Weiss' face contort into a anguished scowl. She'd wasted probably an hour wallowing in self-pity as Penny chattered on, and she was still no closer to a resolution. So far, Penny did not seem to notice her distant-ness.
"–can walk to the bathroom together, and we can purchase hygiene products, and we can discuss cute boys, and we can–"
"Actually, Penny, I'm not really interested in cute boys."
"Then, we can discuss cute pigeons! Oh, never mind; the dog got the last one…we can discuss cute girls! I'll start. Cute girls include: a) Ciel Soleil, b) Harriet Bree, c) Fria, d) Winter Schnee, e)–"
"Actually, I'm trying my best not to think about cute girls. One in particular."
"Who, Friend Weiss?"
"My partner. I don't want to talk about it."
"What would you like to talk about?"
"Penny, do you…what do you know about the Faunus?"
"I do. The Faunus are members of the human species with animal characteristics that vary from individual to individual. Statistically, Faunus represent 15% of the population of Remnant, though that figure is inflated by the population of Menagerie when compared to the average percent throughout the four kingdoms. The Faunus emerged victorious during–"
"Wait, wait, wait." Weiss closed her eyes, shook her head, and reopened them. "Did you say members of the human species?"
"Yes. As Faunus and humans can mate and produce fertile offspring, they can be considered the same species in a taxonomical sense. While many humans have historically opposed this notion in favor of disproven speciation theories, it is a scientific fact that both humans and Faunus are subspecies of the same organism, Homo Reliquiae. No consistent differences in intelligence, genetics, or physical capability have ever been documented."
Faunus are…humans? Huh. But that can't be right. Because…because…
Come to think of it, Weiss could not for the life of her think of a real reason why Faunus were less intelligent than humans. Father's word and the lessons of several private tutors were the only things that came to mind.
And I know he can lie.
Weiss had accepted the old biology lessons at face value when she'd received them. Just as she'd accepted the geography lessons that taught her Remnant was spherical, the mathematics lessons that taught that the square root of 9 was 3, and the spelling lessons that taught her Ruby was spelled with the letter U. Was all of that a lie? How would she tell where the truth began in everything in her education was up for grabs?
Proof. Proof was the difference. She'd seem satellite footage of Remnant, she'd counted three sets of three and got nine, and every dictionary in the universe showed that Ruby had a U in it and no other extra letters that weren't supposed to be there.
"Penny, I need evidence. Can you show me proof that Faunus are intelligent? That they are humans?"
"Absolutely, Friend Weiss!"
Penny's eyes glazed over for another moment, and then she pulled out her scroll. Using her CCT browser, Penny navigated to an online scientific publication repository that Weiss recognized. It was odd; Penny typed and clicked links without even reading the webpages. It was like she knew what was on the site before it appeared on the scroll.
"Here you go, Friend Weiss! A peer reviewed study on human and Faunus intelligence conducted by the Atlesian Academy of Anthropological Sciences in cooperation with the University of Vale's Department of Modern Biology. The abstract indicates that no statistically significant difference was noted in a focus group of human and Faunus children."
Penny patiently waited as a hungry Weiss absorbed in every word in the article. When Weiss finished reading, she followed the references at the bottom of the page to several other research papers. Each one led her to more and more. It seemed like every mainstream scientific organization concurred that the Faunus were just as capable as humans when it came to critical thinking, long and short term memory, intelligence quotients, and even standardized tests.
"This is… Penny, I never knew…"
How did Father ever managed to hide all of this from me? Am I really so sheltered that I didn't even think to ask?
Weiss looked over to Penny to find her lost in another blank stare off into the distance. When the orange hair girl's brain came back from whatever dimension it had visited, she took back the scroll and navigated to a different site.
"Furthermore, here is a website that many praise for its high definition videographic recordings of humans and Faunus mating. That should prove to you that humans and Faunus can successfully reproduce and therefore must be the same species."
Weiss leaned over to look at the video and turned bright red. Penny noticed her reaction and tapped a few times on the scroll.
"Worry not. I have adjusted the search parameters to reflect your lack of interest in cute boys. It should exclusively consist of human and Faunus females, though I am not entirely sure how they will produce offspring. Anyways, please enjoy, Friend Weiss."
Weiss did enjoy.
"I'm so glad you finally finished, Friend Weiss. Now we can purchase our hair products."
"Penny, please don't say 'finished' like that. And I think it's a little late for buying anything. The store will probably be closed this late at night."
Penny's internal chronometer indicated it was only 2337 hours. Such a shame. At least she'd completed her objectives for enjoying Vale to the fullest extent possible before the end of the day.
Friend Weiss scoffed. "Hah. Talking Grimm, sapient Faunus – what's next, living robots?"
A bead of sweat rolled down Penny's forehead.
Actually, it did not. She was incapable of perspiration. Then why was Penny wet?
"Friend Weiss, it appears to be raining!"
Friend Weiss looked skyward. "So it is. I'd offer to host you in my dorms, but I'm not even sure where we are, Penny. I lost track of where I was when I got Ruby off my tail."
"You have a tail, Friend Weiss? I did not believe you to be a Faunus. Was that the origin of your interest in them, Friend Weiss?"
"No, Penny. I was curious because of…my partner, Blake. We're training to be huntresses at Beacon, and it turns out she's a Faunus. Truth is, I didn't even know Faunus were more than animals until today. Oh Dust, the things I said to her! When we meet up, the first thing I'm going to do is get down on my knees and apologize."
"Like the video where that human got on her knees for the ferret Faunus and–"
"H-Hey, look over there! There's some shelter. We can wait out the rain in there."
Friend Weiss was correct. Weak light flickered out of the windows of a warehouse. That was atypical. Why were the lights on at night? Had the workers not returned home by now? Well, only one way to find out.
Penny marched over to the building and opened the roll up door. There were people within. Penny could not see anyone, but her microphones picked up voices from throughout the building, all of which immediately ceased when she and Friend Weiss entered.
"Friend Weiss. We are not alone."
"Penny, there's no one here."
"I can hear voices from within."
"It's probably a night crew of employees. We can ask them if they'll let us stay until the weather improves."
That made sense. Weiss was a local and also a real person, so she probably had a better understanding of Valean customs.
"Don't worry, Penny. If things do end up getting…dicey, then I'll take care of you. Like I said, I'm a huntress in training, and I never come alone."
Weiss unclipped a small, curved piece of metal and pushed a button on it. A wooden handle popped out.
"Meet Schachmatt.
"I see. You can dig a hole for us to escape."
"Wh– no, it's my weapon."
"But it's a piece of mining equipment."
"It's a fully loaded, Dust cycling combat pickaxe-boomerang. I can fight with it."
Ah. Friend Weiss was delusional. Fortunately, she had Penny to keep her grounded and safe.
"Don't worry, Friend Weiss. If your sanity continues to deteriorate, I can defend your vegetative, braindead body using the actual weapons that I carry. I'm combat ready!"
Friend Weiss opened her mouth to speak, but the logic of Penny's argument proved impossible for her to counter.
"L-Let's just find the workers."
The two stepped through the aisles of shelves loaded with cases of Dust crystals. Some were packed away and secured, but others appeared to be partially opened or scattered on the floor. It appeared as though the Dust was in the process of being collected for transport but was then abandoned halfway.
In a hurry.
Penny stopped walking and connected to the CCT network.
Vale Police Department Emergency Hotline, what is the nature of your emergency?
"Hello? Anyone here? We were hoping to– Penny, are you okay? You've got that distracted look in your eyes."
"Hold it right there."
"Who are you?"
"Well, looky here boys. We've managed to snag ourselves a Schnee. Why don't you drop the shovel and–"
THUD!
"Now, I don't know who you people are, but I don't take kindly to having a gun pointed in my face, so if you would please lower your–"
"SHOOT HER!"
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
"Penny!"
Penny snapped back to reality. While her father had designed her with few flaws, the time it took to connect to the CCT system and her inability to use her optical sensors while remotely interfacing had proven to be the most restrictive. At least the authorities were on their way.
"We need to get out of here!"
The corpses – no, biometric scans indicated that were alive – the unconscious bodies of several White Fang members lay on the floor. Friend Weiss had her pickaxe raised.
"Friend Weiss, they are all still alive. It is too soon to dig them graves."
Two more White Fang members ran toward the commotion with their guns raised. Penny's swords exited from her dorsal hatch and split apart. Penny assembled them into a circular formation and intercepted the gunfire of both assailants. Flipping towards them, she raised both arms into the air. The swords broke formation and knocked one enemy to the ground. The other turned to run, but two blades snagged his shirt on both sides and pinned him to the wall.
Penny scanned the entire facility. Six hostiles approached directly from the front while two had attempted to climb the rear shelving to flank them. Penny raised both hands in opposite direct and split her ten swords. Each set of five began to revolve around Penny's outstretched arms in unison. The six soldiers charged forward from the front, and the remaining two tried to use the distraction for a sneak attack. Gleaming emerald beams of light erupted from both sides of Penny and plowed through the soldiers' ranks.
All six from the main attack were sent flying, as was one from the other side. The final eighth soldier did not join the skyward bound adversaries, but instead shattered into a burst of glass. Penny looked around her, but there was no one in sight.
A click sounded from behind her. Penny couldn't turn around in time to stop it. All ten mechanical swords fell out of their air, their control strings severed at the base by an unknown pointed instrument. Two miscolored eyes followed the blades as they clattered on the ground, then looked back up to meet Penny's. The owner of the mismatched eyes grinned at Penny, opened up her weapon (which strongly resembled an umbrella, furthering Penny's hypothesis that Valean combatants had all accidentally obtained their weapons from a common household objects factory), and attacked.
Omake
Penny: Unidentified assailant, I approximate you to be 4' 10" in height. As a dwarf, would you be interested in being employed by Friend Weiss?
Mysterious Enemy: …
Penny: Also, do you by any chance have 6 sisters?
Mysterious Enemy: …
Next Chapter: Resolve – When things get rough, you can't back down.