I know it's been a while since I uploaded stories on this site, but I've been looking for beta readers to look over them, which has been taking longer than intended. I'm still looking for committed beta readers who won't ghost me so I can have that second pair of eyes for my stories. If anyone would like to do it, please PM me. I'm trying to be more productive in my writing and really need someone who can give me critique on how to improve.
Also, I do not own RWBY.
Deviation
I stumbled through the portal and fell face first in the sand. Yang's shoves really hurt, something I had not felt when I was a machine.
I also had not realized how unappetizing sand tasted as I spit out what little there was in my mouth. I looked up to see I had landed in a desert. Sandstorms batted at my face in an attempt to obstruct my newly-human vision. I had to shield my eyes with my arm to repel as much of the sand as possible.
Was this Vacuo? I climbed to my now-organic feet.
I was able to make out Emerald, Oscar, Ren, and some of the refugees. Weiss' mother and brother stood among them. Both were watching the portal, presumably waiting for Weiss. Unfortunately, they would have to wait a little longer…provided she survived with the rest of Team RWBY. Was this what anticipation and "pins and needles" felt like? Was that the feeling that began as soon as Yang shoved me through the doorway with the staff?
Weiss had not wasted any time shoving the staff in my hands. Before I could even part my lips to object, Yang had sent me flying through the portal. I had wanted to fight Cinder in the pathway world; they could have strongly used the assistance. And I made that perfectly clear to Team RWBY, but Ruby had insisted that I carried the Relic and the Maiden powers to safety. For once, I wanted to make my own decisions after being treated like a machine for my entire life.
Because that was what I had previously been. A machine. A tool. A weapon, even. All for the good of Mantle. A virus had only worsened my turmoil, forcing me to open the Vault holding this Relic before self-terminating. I did not even choose to become a human, but enjoying the warmth of a hug made me want to experience more human things.
Regrettably, it had to wait; top priority was arriving at the safety of Shade Academy without delay. I turned back to the portal, the thought of returning to aid Team RWBY still remaining in my newly-organic mind. It was not too late to help them; they required the Maiden powers. Emerald, Ren, and Oscar could aid the refugees. Besides, I was tired of being told what to do.
"Grimm!" Emerald's shout halted my attempt.
I glanced back to the desert to see a flock of Grimm flying over the dunes. They were hard to see through the sandstorm – another price for human eyes – but the refugees' distress was enough to indicate the threat level. And it increased when they pivoted toward us.
"I can't reach Shade Academy," said Ren, holding up his Scroll displaying "no service." "The sandstorms are too strong."
"And we have just attracted some unwanted attention." Oscar pointed at the incoming Grimm.
I heard the tension-induced chatter among the refugees and saw Weiss' mother holding her son to her chest. The fear enticed the creatures even more.
Help lay on the other end of the portal behind me. Additional assistance was crucial to optimize refugee protection. I was aware of my status as a Maiden, but would it suffice? Especially lacking my robotic assets?
I turned around to dash back through the portal. I had to get Team RWBY, Jaune, or Nora to come assist us. The danger levels here matched theirs now.
However, the moment my human hand made contact with the light of the portal, I flew backward into the sand, my rear now processing the pain from the impact. I stared up at the doorway, wondering why I had been denied when Yang had pushed me through not long ago.
Pushed me through…to Vacuo. I hung my head. Oh...
"Penny, what's wrong?" Oscar rushed to my side.
"I cannot go back…" I said.
"Why were you trying to go back, anyway?" Oscar asked.
"What's going on?" Emerald jogged toward us.
"Penny was saying she couldn't go back through the portal." Oscar gestured to the doorway,
The green-haired woman glared at me. "Why were you trying to go back, especially after what we've been through for you?"
"I…" I held the Relic tightly, Emerald's sharp words adding to the pins and needles throughout my human body. I had felt the sharp daggers of scoldings before, but they hadn't cut so deeply like they did now. Was it another price of my new humanity?
"Is everything okay?"
I looked up to see Ren approaching us, waving his Scroll. "I still can't get through."
"So what now?" Emerald snapped. "We need to be ready to get these people to safety when the others come out!"
"Emerald! This isn't helping!" said Oscar. "We'll just attract more Grimm!"
Shrieks from the Grimm cut into our discussion, increasing everyone's fear levels to critical. One swooped over us and knocked several refugees and us off of our feet. There had to have been around ten in the group. Combat would be suicide, and we could not go back for help.
"I can mask everyone's emotions," Ren offered, climbing to a standing position. "At least until the Grimm pass. Then we can try to get through to Shade."
Emerald, Oscar, and I nodded, and Ren knelt on the sand to activate his Semblance.
As soon as he did, I felt calmer, even more than when I had been a machine. Distress retreated to the rear of my mind. The Schnees and the other escapees appeared relaxed as well, watching as the other Grimm paused short of our group. The creatures' crimson eyes cut in all directions. After a few final growls, they flew past. One danger averted, albeit temporarily.
The second situation remained in front of us. We could not go back to the pathway world for help, and sandstorms and Grimm halted any progress toward Shade Academy.
An idea generated in my organic mind, one that involved my personally traveling to the school for help. I was the Winter Maiden, after all.
Unfortunately, another problem stood in front of me. Without any sensors for navigation, the sandstorms would send me in circles. It also meant leaving the stability field of Ren's Semblance, but what other options did we have? I sighed, being human had just as many limitations as being a machine. Not to mention the objection I would face along with the familiar insistence on keeping me safe. Team RWBY had done it, General Ironwood had done it, Winter had done it, and Father had done it.
Father… An image of the one who created and loved me flashed in my mind. Where are you? Have you made it out? Will I see you again? How will you react to me as a human now?
"I can't get through to Shade Academy, either," said Emerald, closing her Scroll.
"I can go there," I spoke up, and as predicted, wide-eyed gazes from Emerald, Oscar, and even the Schnees, traveled in my direction. The only sounds were the winds.
"No way." The green-haired woman broke the silence. "We don't know what's out there."
"I know," I admitted. "But I have Maiden powers, which I believe will make a difference."
"Look, Emerald is right," Oscar said, but I held up my fleshy hand before he could say more.
"I want to do this." I added more firmness to my decision. "I must. Decisions have been made for me throughout my entire life. Nobody has asked me how I felt; they only commanded me. Even Father has tried to stop me, but I am going to change that, regardless of what you say."
"But Penny…" Oscar started another objection that sounded more like a plea.
"I am going." I left no room for further arguments, then noticed Ren's grimacing and faltering in the corner of my eye. "Besides, I do not think I have much time." I gestured to the Schnees and other refugees. "These people must be taken to safety."
Emerald stared at me for what felt like a human lifetime.
"She's not wrong," Oscar said to Emerald and looked over her shoulder at a struggling Ren. "And Ren's not looking too good with all of these people here."
"It is also clear you cannot get a signal out here," I added. "How else are we going to be able to reach Shade?"
Emerald sighed, rubbing her temples. "Okay, Penny." She turned to Oscar. "Oscar, you go with her. I'll keep trying to reach Shade and hopefully get through."
I smiled. "Thank you." I pulled Emerald into a hug, the fifth one in my new life, although this one did not give me that inner warmth like Team RWBY. Nonetheless, I wanted to convey my gratitude.
"Uh, you're welcome…" The woman wrapped her arms around me, though I felt the uneasiness in the embrace. "Come back, okay?"
We parted, me gripping her shoulders and holding her gaze. "We will, I promise."
But I knew better; that was one thing becoming human did not change. The Grimm flying in the waiting dunes beyond Ren's Semblance boundary justified the danger conflicting with my promise. However, it was my decision. My first step out of the bounds of my previous life.
"We must not delay, Oscar." I released Emerald and walked through the crowd of refugees, Oscar's footsteps shuffling not far behind me.
The second we stepped out of the wavering bounds of the Semblance, my human body felt a slight chill, the way a human felt facing turmoil.
That fear turned the heads of the nearest Grimm patrolling the area. The creature shrieked as it made a nosedive toward us.
I called upon the frigid temperature of the winds that were my Maiden powers, this time actually feeling it. I could make out the sound of Oscar unsheathing his sword through the howling breeze. Hovering a few inches off the sand, I stared down the approaching Grimm – the risk that came with making my own decision. A decision that determined the fate of innumerable lives.