Previously, on The Defenders of Remnant...
"I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends, however, the small fleet outside my window has me somewhat concerned," Ozpin replied as he returned to his seat in his chair and poured his own cup of tea.
"Well, concern is what brought me here."
"I understand travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult-"
"Oz," Ironwood interrupted, "You and I both know why I brought those men."
Ozpin sighed and set his tea aside. "We're in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression."
"But if what Qrow said is true, then-"
"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully," Ozpin said.
"But ask yourself this, do you honestly believe your children and your vigilantes can win a war?" Ironwood asked grimly before making for the elevator.
"I'm Neptune."
"So Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asked.
"Haven," Neptune answered
"These guys are political terrorists, not soldiers. They didn't stand a chance against Frank. This wasn't a fight. It was a massacre."
"Hello, Frank."
"Hello, Marc. You still crazy?" The Punisher replied.
"Little bit. You still murdering people?" Marc asked.
"Little bit. How's your imaginary god?"
"He's good. How's your dead family?"
"Still dead. Just like Fisk and this Torchwick guy will be when I get to 'em." Punisher stated.
"You're still thinking about Taskmaster?" Peter asked.
"Taskmaster, Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it!" Blake exclaimed. "Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!"
Weiss broke the silence. "Okay, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells…"
"We're not ready," Weiss stopped her.
"We may never be ready!" Blake exclaimed. "Our enemies aren't going to just sit around and wait for graduation day! They're out there somewhere planning their next move, and we have no idea what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not."
"Okay," Ruby said, "All in favor of becoming the youngest huntresses to single handedly take down a corrupt organization conspiring against the kingdom of Vale, say aye!"
"So," Peter said, "What's the plan?"
The Defenders of Remnant
Chapter 17: A Minor Hiccup
The White Fang member sprinted from alley to alley, trying to run and hide from his pursuer. He had been running for what felt like an eternity, his lungs aching and his legs feeling as heavy as iron. But still he ran, taking fatigue over being killed. But it didn't matter once a bullet went through his leg and he toppled to the ground. He screamed out in pain and held his bullet wound, crumpling up from how much it hurt. Momentarily, a silhouette stood over him, and he quivered as he looked up at a man with a gun pointed downwards at him and a white skull plastered on his torso. "P-Please, no-!" The Faunus cried, but it fell on deaf ears. His pleas were cut short when Frank Castle put a bullet in his skull. Then the side streets fell silent as Punisher blew the smoke emanating from the barrel of his handgun and started to holster it.
"A clean kill," a voice said. Punisher quickly drew his gun again and aimed towards the source of the voice. "Easy, sir. I'm not here for a confrontation."
"Then what are you here for? Cause you got about five seconds to give me a real good reason not to drop you too," Castle replied.
"Because I don't think killing a kingdom's de-facto military leader would paint you in a good light," Ironwood said as he stepped into Castle's view.
"Yeah, you're that big shot general from one of those other big cities. What does that have to do with me?"
"I've been watching your work carefully. You cross a line that the other masked men in this kingdom do not, which in this world is becoming even rarer during this time of peace," Ironwood replied.
"I don't know if you've noticed, General, but it doesn't seem like a 'time of peace' to me."
"No, it doesn't," Ironwood agreed, shaking his head. "Which is something the other kingdoms are failing to see. But not me, not Atlas. War is just on the horizon, and Remnant has to be ready."
"No offense, but I'm not interested in your problems. I just want to get back home," Castle said.
"Then why have you opted to stay in Vale?" Ironwood asked.
"Plenty of scum to kill here in the meantime."
"Mr. Castle, I recognize the way you hold yourself, the way you fight. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were a soldier once," Ironwood said.
"What's it to you?" Castle questioned.
"This world could use more good soldiers. I want you to join the Atlas military and help me protect the four kingdoms from those who would see them destroyed."
"I'm not interested in joining the armed forces again. I've had enough of that shit," Castle waved him off and finally holstered his handgun.
"Please, if you would hear me out; I won't be asking you to do much different than you are now," Ironwood said.
"'Cept I'll be taking orders then, right?" Castle raised an eyebrow, still not convinced.
"From me and me alone, and not in the sense you're thinking. You see, what I'd be offering you is the position of one of my specialists. You'd work alone if you wished it so, and you'd only report directly to me. As a specialist, you'd have authority over my troops outclassed only by my own, and possess access to any item in the Atlesian armory. Most importantly of all, instead of scurrying from local law enforcement like a common criminal, you'll have the authority to hunt down your own prey at your leisure with little to no repercussions, and certainly none by my hand."
"Yeah? So who would be punishing the Punisher?" Castle inquired.
"As much power as Atlas has, Vale isn't our kingdom, so we must follow the regulations set in place here as well. Ozpin is an old friend, and I'd rather not give him reason to interfere with our duties."
"So I'd answer to the headmaster too, now? This list of people who get to push me around is getting awfully long, General," Castle sneered.
"I understand your hesitance, Mr. Castle. Here," Ironwood pulls a small card out of his suit jacket and holds it out to Castle, "Contact me with that information if you are willing to consider the position, and we can negotiate more details if you're on board." Castle hesitantly took the card and read the number on it. "In the meantime, have a good night, Mr. Castle." Ironwood saluted the Punisher and turned around, leaving the anti-hero behind in the dark of night with a dead faunus still at his feet.
Weiss stared at the clock as Professor Port droned on with another one of his Huntsman stories, boring the entire class half-to-death with the uninteresting and boastful recollection. And the heiress's short temper was only growing shorter as the clock seemed to refuse to change from three fifty-nine to four o'clock. Her patience was tested further as Jaune leaned in and quietly started talking to her.
"So, Weiss, y'know uh, I was thinking after this, maybe we could go grab a bite to eat?" Weiss said nothing, her attention remaining affixed to the time. "And uh, yknow, I-I've got two tickets to that new Spruce Willis movie if you want to make the trip to Vale! I hear it's awesome!" Still nothing, as Weiss kept quiet in the interaction, as if there was no interaction at all. "And then maybe after that we could… study together? I mean, you're smart and I'm a… y'know…" Then the alarm sounded that signaled the end of class, interrupting Port mid story.
"And then I-... Oh! Uh, timed that one wrong, I guess. Well, the stunning conclusion to the story will have to wait! Until next time!" Port said.
"Weiss? Did ya hear me?" Jaune asked as the heiress got up and left her seat.
"No, no, no, yes," Weiss answered as she walked right by him for the exit to the classroom. Jaune groaned and dropped his head to the table. Everyone else began to walk by, and as Peter passed his fellow Huntsman, he gave him a quick pat on the back.
"One day, buddy," He assured Jaune.
As team RWBY and Peter returned to RWBY's dorm, they all got changed into different outfits for their mission. Instead of her usual black outfit, Ruby now wore a long sleeve, light gray shirt with black belted cuffs, a black pinafore over the shirt with two vertical red stitched lines like the lacing of a corset, and a red skirt with a black version of her emblem on the side. A few pieces of metal arranged in the shape of a rose were attached to the shoulder of her left sleeve, and her cloak's hood was wrapped around her neck in a scarf-like fashion. Weiss now wore a double-breasted pea coat with black piping, cuffs and buttons over a white, pleated full skirt with black lace trim. She also now wore a pair of white thigh-high boots with black heels and lace topped black stockings. Blake's outfit was changed to a white, v-neck, zip up crop shirt with a black hem and three quarter sleeves, with her emblem printed off-white on the left side, and black pants that had a vertical gray stripe on the outer side of each leg. She also had black belt, and attached to the rear of the belt was a black fabric that covered her from hip to hip, and underneath was a longer, translucent purple piece of fabric. She wore black high-heel boots with two straps and buckles and purple underolls reaching to mid-calf.
Finally was Yang's new outfit; her outfit consisted of a deep-collared cream vest worn over a low cut black shirt; both are covered by a dark gray shrug with a raised collar, three-quarter sleeves adorned with a single black stripe down the outside of each sleeve and gold cuffs, also with a black mini-skirt under the vest. A pair of crooked black belts with gold accents were slung around her hip, with a purple piece of fabric attached to the left-rear section of the lower belt. She had thigh-high stockings attached to her mini skirt by garter belts on the front and back of each leg decorated with four golden studs above her knee, and her emblem in gold on the outside of each thigh. Finally was her black ankle boots with multiple buckles and white ribbons on the back tied in a bow, and a purple pendant set in silver wrapped around her neck.
Peter himself didn't have an extravagant change in clothes. He wore the red collared jacket that Ozpin had given him on initiation day over a white t-shirt, a black scarf wrapped snugly around his neck, dark purple fingerless gloves with metal plates on the backhands, black pants and steel-tipped blue sneakers.
Ruby and Weiss sat in their bunks, Yang was atop hers, and Blake and Peter were finishing up their outfits, meaning they were about ready to move out.
"I thought that class would never end," Blake remarked.
"Alright, guys, today's the day! The investigation begins!" Ruby cried as she leapt off her top bunk, nearly hitting Weiss on her way down, the Heiress only avoiding the blow by backing up further onto her bunk.
"I'm glad we're taking this so seriously," She sarcastically commented.
"Hey, we got a plan!" Yang said. "That's… moderately serious."
"Right. Everyone remember their roles?" Ruby asked.
"You and I will head to the CCT to check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies," Weiss answered. "Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem."
Next was Blake. "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."
Then Yang continued. "I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard for Pete and I."
"Great!" Ruby exclaimed. "We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found. Let's do this!"
"Yeah!" Sun exclaimed. They all suddenly turned to Sun hanging upside down from a tree branch by his tail right outside the window.
"Sun!" Yang yelled out of surprise. "How did you get up there?"
"I do it all the time!" Sun replied.
"You what?" Weiss added.
"I climb trees all the time!" Sun said. Weiss just narrowed her eyes at him. Sun leapt off the branch and into the dorm. "So, are we finally getting back at that Taskmaster guy?"
"We are going to investigate the situation," Blake answered. "As a team."
"Sorry, Sun," Ruby added, "We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to."
"But Peter's here!" Sun said while pointing to Peter. "Besides, you should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune!" Sun jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. The team poked out the windowsill to see Neptune standing on the small ledge on the side of the building, pushing himself against the wall to keep from falling. The blue-haired huntsman turned and looked at them with a smirk.
"Sup."
"How did you even get up here?" Peter asked.
"I have my ways," Neptune shrugged. "Seriously though, can I come in? We're like, really high up right now…"
After letting Neptune into the dorm, they all reconvened to cover the plan one more time. "Alright, I'll go with Weiss, Sun, you can go with Blake. And Neptune, you can go with Peter and Yang since they're going to the bad side of town and could use the help," Ruby said.
"It never hurts to have another helping hand," Peter remarked.
"Ok then. Everyone good?" Ruby asked.
"Actually, Ruby," Weiss interjected, "Why don't you go with Yang? After all, she is your sister!"
"But, Weiss, who would go with you then?" Ruby asked.
"Well, I guess Neptune could come with me?" Weiss suggested. Peter snorted and leaned in close to Yang.
"Ice Queen has got it down bad," he muttered, causing Yang to also snort as she held a full laugh back.
"What was that, Parker?!" Weiss exclaimed.
"Oh, uh, nothing!" Peter replied, trying to play it off.
"Fine, you can accompany us then!" Weiss replied before pulling Peter by his ear out the door, with Ruby following. "Maybe we can teach you manners along the way!"
"Ow, ow! Okay! I get it, easy on the ear! Ow! I'm sorry!"
Weiss, Ruby and Peter made their way to Vale and to the CCT tower, a cylindrical monolith of a building that rose far above any other structure in the city, with a massive plaza outside Peter thought was three times bigger than Times Square back home. "Wow!" Ruby cried. "I forgot how big the transmit tower looks up close!"
"You should see the one in Atlas," Weiss said.
"Yeah, that was the first one they made, right?" Peter asked.
"Correct. Atlas developed the Cross-Continental Transmit system to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."
"'Oh, look at me! I'm Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!'" Ruby mocked with a snicker.
"Don't be a pest like Peter," Weiss said.
Peter rubbed his ear that Weiss had dragged him by all the way through the dorm building. "Yeah, pretty sure my ear's still numb…"
"Besides," Weiss continued, "The only reason we're here is because you liked the tower so much. We could've just as easily made a call from the library."
"I know, but it's so cool! Oh, I'm gonna take a picture!" Ruby replied before excitedly grabbing her scroll out of her pocket and fumbling it, causing it to fall to the ground and bounce along until it hit someone's feet.
"Oh!" Penny said before leaning down, picking it up and holding it out towards Ruby. "You dropped this."
"Penny?!" Ruby said.
"Uh…" Penny replied in a slight panic, realizing who she was now talking to.
"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since the night at the docks!"
"S-Sorry, I think you're confused!" Penny stuttered, before hiccuping and tossing Ruby's scroll back to her. "Uh, I've got to go!" She quickly turned around and rushed down the steps out of the plaza.
"What was that about?" Peter asked.
"I don't know… but I'm going to find out. You guys go make your call, I'll meet up with you later!" Ruby said before running after Penny.
"Wait!" Weiss called after her, but her leader was already gone."Ugh…" Weiss sighed.
"It's fine. This wasn't really a three person job anyway," Peter said. "Let's go get that information."
"Fine," Weiss replied before she and Peter continued to the CCT tower.
Ruby caught up to and stopped in front of Penny, keeping her from walking any further. "Penny, where have you been?! It's been weeks!"
"There seems to be a… misunderstanding," Penny answered before continuing to try and walk away.
"What?! Penny," Ruby slid down the railing to once again get ahead of Penny at the end of the stairs. "Is everything okay?" Penny didn't pause, so Ruby grabbed the red head by her arm and begged her, "Penny, please stop!" Finally, Penny did stop but didn't meet Ruby's eyes. "Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have to listen to me. Those guys we fought at the docks, we think they're up to something big, something bad! I need you to tell me what happened to you that night. Please! As a friend…"
Penny sighed and looked around the entire plaza, as if making sure they weren't being watched. She then stepped close to Ruby and whispered to her, "It isn't safe to talk here."
Weiss and Peter entered the elevator to take them to the communication center on one of the higher floors of the CCT tower in silence, else Peter risk invoking the heiress's wrath again. His ear was still ringing from being yanked around by it. As the doors closed behind them, a computerized voice came from the elevator panel. "Hello! Welcome to the CCT! How may I help you?"
"We'd like to go to the communications room, please," Weiss replied.
"Absolutely! Could you please place your scrolls on the panel to verify your identities?" Peter and Weiss both did so, and a digital chime sounded from the panel. "Perfect! Thank you, Miss Schnee and Mister Parker!" The elevator then began to smoothly ascend up the height of the tower, with nary a bump on the way. The elevator once again fell silent, and Peter noticed Weiss put up a small smile, before dropping it as if she failed at something, then try again only to then sag her shoulders and quietly sigh and shake her head at yourself.
"You alright?" Peter asked.
"I'm fine," Weiss replied sternly.
"Weiss, you know personally I'm kinda the expert at saying I'm fine and not being fine."
"I said, I'm fine," Weiss repeated.
Peter rolled his eyes. "Alright. Don't tell me."
"Alright. I won't," Weiss replied.
"Oh, so you aren't fine?"
"Shut up."
Peter sighed. "Weiss, I know we don't always get along, but we're still friends. So you can talk to me if something's wrong."
Weiss started to raise her voice, but then also sighed and softened her voice a bit before speaking. "Yes, we're friends, which befuddles me every day. But I promise, Peter, I'm alright. And if I'm not, I will always have the team and you to lean on. Right now, we have to deal with the task at hand, so let's finish our investigation first."
"Right. Of course, Miss Schnee," Peter replied with a smile. Weiss said nothing further, but a small smirk crept up on her face. After a few more moments, the elevator came to a smooth stop, and the doors opened to reveal a massive circular room with several dozen monitors around the curve and sat upon desks in the center of the room. Peter and Weiss stepped out of the elevator and approached a semi-circle desk with none sitting behind it. As they came closer, a hologram of a woman in a suit and her hair put up in a bun appeared in the empty chair.
"Welcome to the Beacon Cross-Continental Transmit Center. How may I help you?" She asked.
"I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas," Weiss answered while Peter stood behind her.
"Absolutely. If you could head over to terminal three, I'll patch you through!" The holographic woman replied with a wide smile.
"Thank you," Weiss replied with a smile of her own before leading Peter to the designated terminal. While Weiss took the seat before the screen, Peter took the one to her right. "Just stay out of view and stay quiet. It'll be suspicious if they see anyone else with me looking for this information."
"Yes, ma'am," Peter replied, sitting comfortably on the other stool. Weiss then took a deep breath and initiated the call. One the screen before her appeared a woman with dirty-blond hair and sky blue eyes against a white snowflake on a green background.
"Thank you for calling the Atlas-" The woman started, then stopped when she recognized Weiss. "Oh! Miss Schnee! Good afternoon! Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well."
"No thank you," Weiss replied. "I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list." Weiss then took out her scroll and clicked it into a slot in the terminal. The terminal gave off a series of digital chimes, and Peter watched as the woman turned to the side and raised an eyebrow.
"I see…" She said, "If you don't mind, what may I ask is this for?"
"School project," Weiss lied.
"Um, there are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am," The attendant added nervously.
"Well, then I'll be sure to treat them with care," Weiss assured her.
"Right… very well," The attendant said. "The data's being transferred to your scroll now."
"Wonderful! That will be all then."
"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?" The attendant asked.
"Yes, I'm sure," Weiss answered with a strained positive look.
"Well then, have a nice day!" The attendant said before the screen faded to black. Weiss then dropped her smile, letting a more sad look takeover her face, and let out a sigh.
"So your dad, then," Peter finally spoke. "You said before you had a rough childhood. That hasn't been patched up?" Weiss looked at him with a furrowed brow. "Right. Sorry. Investigation first." Weiss's look then softened and she looked away.
"I… apologize," Weiss said softly.
"No, no, I get it. Family can be rough sometimes. Okay, more than rough. I've seen good dads, and…" He paused, thinking of him, and what he had done, then shook it off. "... and some really bad ones. But hey, you didn't let him define who you were, and that's already a victory in my book. And the fact that you're here trying to be even better proves you're ten times the man he is, at least."
Weiss scoffed a bit. "You certainly have a way with words, don't you?"
"I try," Peter replied.
Weiss's smile started to return. "Thank you, Pete…"
"Aww, you called me Pete," Peter teased. Weiss then scowled at him with a slight blush on her face. "Okay, shutting up now."
Ruby and Penny had put much distance between themselves and the CCT tower, and were now walking along the sidewalk together in downtown Vale. "I wish I could help you, Ruby," Penny said, "But I don't know anything about those men."
"Well, what happened to you that night?" Ruby asked. "We were all together, and then you just disappeared! Were you kidnapped?"
"Oh, no! Nothing like that!" Penny quickly answered.
"Well then where did you go?"
"I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but… you have to understand, my father loves me very much, he just worries a lot," Penny said while slightly looking away.
"Believe me, I know the feeling," Ruby sympathized with her. Ruby and Yang's own father had become very overprotective and worrisome over the years. Ruby's sympathy put a small smile on Penny's face. "But why not let us know you were okay?"
"I… was asked… not to talk to you. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Yang. Or Peter. Or Cardin. Anybody really…"
"Was your dad that upset?" Ruby asked.
"No, it wasn't my father," Penny said, but before she continued, the two stopped as they heard another, booming voice.
"The AK-130 has been the standard security model of Remnant for several years…" The two stopped and looked down the street into a small plaza where a display was put up with three robots each, and a hologram of General Ironwood stationed dead-center. "And they've done a fine job, wouldn't you agree, wouldn't you agree?" The bystanders watching gave a round of applause and the six robots bowed to their viewing audience. "But, the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation. And 'fine'? Well that's just not good enough, is it?" The closed displays behind the two groups of three robots opened to reveal six more of a different model, with white plating and a dark blue viewscreen in place of a face, and white rifles attached to their backs."Presenting: The Atlesian Knight 200!" This summoned another round of applause from the audience. "Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary," The Atlesian Knights began flexing for the audience behind the hologram of Ironwood, "These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone! Now, the Atlesian Military's always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield! However, there are still many situations that undoubtedly require… a human touch."
"Ruby…" Penny said cautiously, but the rose colored Huntress was too enraptured at the showcase to hear her.
"So, our kingdom's greatest minds in combination with the Schnee Dust Company are proud to introduce, the Atlesian Paladin!" The hologram of Ironwood was replaced with a much larger one of a weaponized creation that looked far less human, and more like a tank mech. "Now we couldn't have them here for you today, but these mechanized battlesuits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!"
"Woah…" Ruby muttered in awe.
"Ruby…?" Penny repeated. "Maybe we should go somewhere else." Ruby turned to see where Penny was looking, and saw two human Atlas guards pointing in their direction. Penny then ran down the closest alley ahead of Ruby.
"Penny?" Ruby turned quickly to look at her. "Where are you going?!" She turned back to see the two guards sprinting in their direction, then Ruby got the message and followed her friend, narrowly missing being hit by a car. Frank Castle was towards the back of the audience, and watched the Atlas guards follow them across the street.
"Hm…" He growled.
Ruby and Penny sprinted and turned sharply around a corner, trying to lose the Atlas guards, to no avail. One was close behind and skidded to a stop at the corner. "Down here! She went this way!" The two guards continued to give chase as they crossed another street, just as a car skidded to a stop just before running one of them down. This gave them pause, but not for long, as after a few moments, both continued to give chase. Penny was much further ahead than Ruby, turning a corner where a large stack of crates were on a wooden scaffolding. As Ruby turned the corner, she withdrew Crescent Rose and cut the scaffolding, creating a barrier with the tumbling crates. As she saw Penny get further and further away, she activated her semblance and became a blur as she ran along a wall and boosted towards Penny. She grabbed Penny and held her close.
"Hold on!" She said before looking forward and putting all her power into her speed, blasting forward like a rocket down several more streets, blasting through anything in their way. She quickly lost her energy, though, and slowly came to a stop and tumbled, dropping Penny and rolling into the street. She slowly got to her feet, her head spinning and balance off. She thought she was in the clear until a truck blasted it's horn, and Ruby realized where she was. She quickly turned around to see a delivery truck bearing down on her, too close for her to move out of the way. She braced herself before Penny pushed her out of the way and put her hands out. The truck ran into her and came to a dead stop, the grill bending inwards and the back starting to flip over. The force went past Penny and obliterated the street behind her, turning it into nothing but rocks and debris.
"Penny…?" Ruby asked in shock, unsure of what had just occurred.
"Are you okay?" Penny asked the driver, who gave a terrified and shiver-filled nod. Penny then backed away and looked at her hands, her skin torn and damaged. "Um…" She looked at Ruby, who was still in shock, and quickly scanned her surroundings. Bystanders quickly began to gather at the scene, whispers and mutters echoing between them all. Penny then sprinted past Ruby and out of sight of the bystanders, and of the guards who had finally caught up, but lost her amongst the chaos.
"Penny, come back!" Ruby called, once again chasing after the other girl. Penny came to a stop at the end of another alley, clearly in a panic. Ruby eventually caught up with her. "Penny!" Ruby panted, feeling exhausted as she tried to refill her empty lungs with air. "Please! What is going on?! Why are you running?! How did you do that?!" Ruby knew few to no people were capable of that kind of strength. Peter could, maybe Yang or Cardin with Venom, but it was still surreal to her to see Penny do so.
"I.. I can't! Everything's fine!" Penny denied, then hiccuped after saying so. "I don't want to talk about it!" Another hiccup followed as Penny crossed her arms and looked down.
"Penny, if you just tell me what's wrong, I can help you!" Ruby insisted.
"No! No, No! You wouldn't understand!"
"Let me try! You can trust me!" Ruby promised.
Penny clenched her fists tightly before turning around back to Ruby. "You're my friend, right? Promise you're my friend?"
"I promise…" Ruby said softly.
Penny took a moment and slowly opened her palms. "Ruby… I'm not a real girl…" The torn skin revealed not blood and muscle, but metal plating and screws constructed into the shape of her hands. Ruby was at a loss for words, the revelation more serious than she would have thought.
"Oh…" She simply said. "Penny, I… I don't understand…"
"Most girls are born, but I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an aura." Penny looked down with a saddened look. "I'm not real…"
Ruby slowly approached and unclenched Penny's hands with her own, and gently rolled them back up. "Of course you are… You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?"
"I don't… um…" Penny stuttered, now confused by Ruby's reaction. "You're taking this extraordinarily well…"
"You're not like those things we saw back there. You've got a heart," Ruby tapped her chest, creating a small metallic ding. "You have a soul, I can feel it."
"Oh… Ruby!" Penny pulled Ruby in and gave an extremely tight and emotional embrace. "You're the best friend anyone can have!"
"I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower!" Ruby groaned, her voice muffled by Penny's sleeves. Penny let go of RWBY's leader, giving her a chance to breathe.
"Oh, he is very sweet! My father's the one that built me! I'm sure you would just love him!" Penny proclaimed.
"Wow," Ruby chuckled, "He built you all by himself?"
"Well, almost," Penny answered. "He had some help from Mr. Ironwood."
"The General?" Ruby asked in disbelief. "Wait, is that why those soldiers were after you?"
"They like to protect me too!"
Ruby snorted. "They don't think you can protect yourself?"
"They're not sure if I'm ready yet. One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the tournament," Penny stated.
"Penny, what are you talking about? Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace!"
Penny raised an eyebrow in confusion. "That's not what Mr. Ironwood said…"
"Check down here!" One of the guard's voices said at the other end of the alley, causing Penny and Ruby to worryingly glance at one another.
"You have to hide!" Penny exclaimed, quickly picking up Ruby and carrying her over to an open dumpster in the corner.
"Penny! What are you doing?! You don't have to go with them, I can help you!" Ruby cried before Penny dropped her in the dumpster, causing the lid to slam shut.
"Don't worry, Ruby," Penny assured her as she peeked into the dumpster. "They're not bad people. I just don't want you to get in trouble. Just promise me you won't tell anyone about my secret. Okay?"
Ruby nodded. "I promise." Penny nodded back and closed the dumpster on Ruby just before the guards came around the corner.
"Salutations, officers!" Penny greeted.
"Why were you running?" The first guard asked. "What happened to the other girl?"
"What other girl? I've been by myself all day," Penny answered, punctuated by a quick hiccup, which she quickly covered up. The two guards traded glances.
"You shouldn't cause such a scene," The second guard said. "Are you okay?"
"Just a scratch," Penny replied as she showed them the damage to her synthetic skin.
"Penny, your father isn't going to be happy about this," The first guard stated.
"Please, just come with us," The second added.
"Yes sir!" Penny said as she followed the two Atlas guards out of the alley. As they exited the alley back onto the main street, Castle leaned against the corner, watching as they went the opposite way, his attention more on Penny than the guards.
You have some explaining to do, General, he thought.