ATUHOR'S NOSE: If you're a returning reader, here's a little something to know: While I was finalizing the outline for the fic, I had decided on some fairly heavy stuff towards the end of the fic. I don't want to go into too much detail and spoil some stuff, but I hope you can understand this decision.

By the way, thanks to my new proofreader, Cent, for going over this chapter, and don't forget Merion, who previously went over the first four chapters and the outline!

Anyways, enjoy the chapter and rest of the fic.

Saturday.

Someone else—a cat Faunus named Alyssa—was now chaperoning Penny. Laurel had originally volunteered, but had been reassigned to other duties for reasons totally unrelated to Alyssa causing a diversion, or so Penny was told.

"Since we only got an hour-a-half'o'freedom—for some stupid reason—" Alyssa said, "make it quick."

Penny saluted. "Yes, Alyssa!"

Yang, who had arrived a minute ago, remembered the moment Penny first saw Beacon. Even at night, she had marveled at the CCT Tower's glowing lights shining at the top against the dark twilight. Yang could hardly blame her; it was a striking sight; Beacon was named Beacon after all. She'd wanted to take her there so she could see it for herself before her return to Atlas and... all that red tape she feared her friend was going to face.

Which brought about another reason: to plant the seeds of independence.

She knew that not everything could be fixed; the lopsided power dynamics and red tape would remain, especially after the pier incident. Plus, she thought, transferring to Beacon was a big ask, even for Penny. But if Penny were to make a decision that big, wouldn't that inspire her superiors to maaaybe take it easier and let her live the life she wanted? Not to mention that the Vytal Tournament was to take place in Vale within a year.

Regardless, all she can do is to try.

"So Pen-Pen, we're going to Beacon," Yang said. "Wanna go there now?"

"Yes! I would love to visit the Beacon Academy campus!" exclaimed Penny. "It was beautiful miles away at night!"

'Oh, Penny.'

"Sweet. What do you feel like taking: airship, boat, or train?" Yang asked.

"I want to go on a boat!" Penny smiled. "We don't get to ride boats back at Atlas much..." She frowned, then a moment later, her smile returned. "So I would like to travel with you on one!"

Yang nodded in agreement. "Let's ride."

"Sensational!"

Thus, the three of them made their round trip to the docks, passing by Bumblebee on the way. Yang had thought of introducing Alyssa to that motorcycle, but now was not the time.

One student ID showing later, they were off to Beacon on a ferry.

Yang looked at Alyssa and noted her appearance: she had long, straight white hair with long bangs obscuring her right eye. Her eyes were a reddish-orange; vertical scars ran across them on the skin. Round brown-tinted sunglasses likewise decorated her eyes. For clothes, she wore a black turtleneck under a long gray coat and gold jewelry on her hands, one of which was in a brace. A white cat tail peeked out from between her coat and knee-length pencil skirt, the latter accompanied by black stockings and gray flats.

"Yo," Yang said, "you look kinda nice."

"Thanks, I guess," Alyssa replied.

Yang surveyed the ferry for Penny when she saw her standing at the front with her hands on the railing, basking in the wind blowing in her face. She watched on, wondering what was captivating her on this boat ride.

Stepping up, she asked, "How are you liking the trip so far?"

Penny turned her head towards her with a wide smile. "It's very fun!" she exclaimed. "And I cannot wait for more boat rides like this!"

Yang chuckled; the sheer excitement of her friend was almost infectious. "Oh, Penny."

. . .

"Wow..."

Penny set foot on the grounds of Beacon Academy and watched as various students passed by. She had expected the usual assortment of unique and strange weapons, but she hadn't expected Beacon to look even more magnificent than the pictures of the campus and her boundless imagination.

"This is Beacon," Yang began. "Today's the last day of Fall Break, so—"

"Also referred to as Treaty Week," Penny interjected, "the annual commemoration of the Vytal Peace Accord signing that brought the Great War to an official end 79 years ago, seven months after the last shot was fired at 11:18 URT-5." She raised a finger. "And the last week of the Vytal Festival!"

"Well, yeah," Alyssa said, standing between Penny and Yang, "Atlas–er, Mantle and Mistral stopped shootin' and stabbin' us Vacuans in the front so that they can shoot and stab us in the back during this"—She gritted her teeth—"'peace time.' Yeah, about that." Her fists tightened.

At first, Penny was confused by her bitter words. Then she remembered the controversial mining of Vacuo, of which she'd read about three months, six days, and an hour ago. In fact, she had encountered Weiss, Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company—one of the companies behind said mining. However, she understood that she was not directly behind Vacuo's ecological devastation, as heirs to the CEO chair had little power over the company's operations.

But they could talk history later; right now, they were visiting Beacon.

"Sooo I was saying," Yang continued, "here's the courtyard. Good for relaxing and lazing around, right, guys?"

As Yang explained, Penny saw a statue and rushed to get a better look at it. The sculpture depicted a pair of hunters, looking ahead atop a rock as a Beowolf "roared." According to the podium, it represented the formal beginnings of the Hunter profession following the Great War. Rumor had it that the Beowolf "sculpture" was an actual petrified Beowolf, brought to Beacon by one of the oft-mythicized Silver-Eyed Warriors as a trophy. She fantasized over meeting the Huntress who petrified the Beowolf... then she remembered that it was decades ago when the statue was erected.

Still, none of that took away from the grand sight before her. So grand, she just had to take photos with her Scroll.

"Oh, that's the statue," Yang said, "but there's not much to say about it other than, well, 'looks nice.'"

"Are you sure? This statue, or From Above Came the Hunt, is a symbol of the early beginnings of hunting as a profession," Penny replied excitedly. "That Beowolf might even be an actual, petrified Beowolf if the legend is true!"

"Really?" Yang squinted at the statue. Apparently, she had missed the writing on the podium that echoed Penny's words in greater detail. In fact, a quote from the Huntress was even inscribed at the very end:

"'Thus begins a great feast for the rest of time.' - Leona Collins"

"Huh, alright..."

Penny giggled. "I like a good story after all."

"Yeah, I can tell."

Penny smiled, then walked around the statue to head for the gigantic doorway. She couldn't wait any longer; a couple more steps and she'll enter Beacon's main building for the first time. Even from what little she could see through the open door, she saw a grand amphitheater awaiting her and her two friends.

What she saw next was a visual treat like no other.

Neo-Victorian style with a modernist edge. The vast campus space. The open field doubling as a park, where students were reenacting the Great War for Treaty Week. The numerous rooms for lectures, various activities, etc., all designed with purpose on levels even beyond that of Atlas Academy's own. The Beacon Tower, standing in its full glory, its green, bright lights at the top shining in the sun rays. Even the sporting center bustled with students of many varieties playing and watching every sport it supported.

And finally, the dorms.

Penny asked if she could visit Team RWBY's living quarters and Yang said yes, pointing her to the dorms. When they got there, she saw several apartments around them with similar architectural stylings to the campus itself, as well as a more modern-looking sporting center surrounded by a scenic park. There were spots for casual sporting within the park, but the center was where people really played sports.

"There's a place for every sport?" Penny gasped, excited. "Even Pennyball?!"

"Yeah!"

"That's fantastic! We can go there to play!"

"But you don't go to Beacon."

"I understand what I said!"

After that, Yang, Penny, and Alyssa went over to one of the dorms and entered through the front door. The receptionist waved with a simple, friendly "Hello!" Maps on the walls allowed quicker navigation, although Yang already knew where to go. Already, first impressions were strong due to the classically spacious and elegant lobby. That was expected.

The hallways were elegant as well, and so was the staircase. Of course, there was an elevator, but it was down for maintenance, much to Alyssa's annoyance.

But when they reached Team RWBY's dormitory, Yang hesitated. This was the same Penny who had decimated the docks with her and her team there. Ruby and Weiss had calmed down, but what was the chance they'd stand her presence? 'Blake's a go, but what about the rest?' she thought. 'Well, one: they're still recovering, and two: it's barely been that long since then. And I'm not sure—'

"Are you okay, Yang?"

Penny's voice snapped her out of thoughts. She turned to see her new friend looking at her, worried. "Y–Yeah." Yang half-heartedly chuckled.

"It's okay if we cannot see your dorm today. Are you sure you can show us?"

"I..." Yang took a deep breath. 'I guess it won't hurt if I show them?'

"Yes."

"Okay!"

Yang took her Scroll to the door handle. The door detected the Scroll and automatically unlocked, then she turned the handle and walked in.

To her, it was the same old dorm she was used to, but to Penny, it was something novel. Two sets of beds, crudely held up by books or rope depending on which members of Team RWBY would sleep where—ropes for Weiss and Ruby, books for Blake and Yang. Separate study quarters in two corners. A small bookshelf at the middle of the four beds underneath the red (sliced and stitched) curtain-shrouded window. This starkly contrasted Atlas Academy's own dorms, which had proper bunk beds in addition to an entirely different, more modern architectural style.

"Cozy, huh?" asked Yang.

Cozy. There was plenty of space to move around in. The aforementioned makeshift bunk beds were put together with what Team RWBY had. Really, she meant the aesthetic of the room itself.

It was cozy alright.

Before Penny could say anything, she saw Ruby emerging from the common room, stretching. She was dressed in her usual clothes; a red cloak, blouse, waist clincher, skirt, tights, and boots. Ruby saw Yang and was about to say her usual greeting when she saw Penny.

She gasped. She jumped back, ready to hide behind a door.

Penny's mood quickly soured. She knew she'd not only scared Yang and her team but also almost killed them, and she figured that Yang had tried to talk with her team about that, but to see someone like Ruby actually being scared of her?

That only meant one thing.

"It's okay, Ruby," reassured Yang, "she's my friend."

"Um..." Ruby gulped, then slowly raised her hand to wave at Penny, who similarly slid behind Yang. "H–Hi."

Penny waved back, but Ruby was having none of it. The redhead then whispered in Yang's ear, "I think she's scared of me."

"You think?" she whispered back.

"Aaaanyways," Ruby said, inching towards the front door, "I'm going to eat lunch right now—Be right back!"

"Okay, have a good lunch, sis~" Yang said, straining a smile against the tense awkwardness.

It wasn't long before Ruby ran out.

. . .

The rest of the living quarters weren't too shabby; the common room had a kitchen for students to cook in and a communal bathroom. Penny was about to wonder where students do laundry, but Yang mentioned the dorm building having a separate laundry room.

In fact, she corrected even that by saying that each floor had two laundry rooms each, with washers and dryers for every two teams.

She thought the laundry arrangement was decently efficient, even if she questioned the logistics of it. Then again, she wondered: wouldn't students want to focus on homework and not have to ask other teams to keep the machine noises down?

"It appears this is a good place to study," Penny said, her enthusiasm muted from her flawed, awful, and totally uncomfortable chance meeting. "Do you agree?"

"Yep." Yang walked up beside her and Alyssa, smiling. "It's our place after all."

Penny however, went over to one of the beds and laid there, pensive.

She had tried taking her mind off from that incident with the tour of the dorms. She couldn't. How was she supposed to know that those shipping containers had such volatile Dust in them, anyways? And even if she did, would that have even made a difference?

Penny was about to say something when she remembered: she only had 25 minutes and 46 seconds (and ticking) before she'd have to go back.

"We have 25 minutes, Yang," she alerted.

This alarmed Yang, but at least now Penny had something else to focus on. The way humans perceive time was another fascinating facet of human nature, she observed: what feels like a few minutes could actually be an hour, and what feels like an hour could actually be a few minutes. As humans tended to rely more on feel and intuition, it was reasonable, then, that Yang wouldn't have felt an hour fly by until this inevitable rude awakening.

Of course, she laughed that off, followed by...

"So, you wanna come to the gym?" Yang asked. "Lift weights, practice fighting, whatever?"

"...Sure!" Penny answered, enthusiastic.

"Okay, come with me."

. . .

Penny watched Yang punch a bag in Beacon's gym.

She took great care to study what Yang was doing; left foot forward, slightly bent, thumb tips under the middle phalanx. Fist after fist was reeled back as a setup for the next jab. Those shotgun-gauntlets were still inactive, meaning her punches were the rawest they could be with fingerless gloves on.

"Wow..." Penny turned to Alyssa, who was drinking from an apple juice box. "Yang's a very good kickboxer! Her form is precise, and her punches... pack a punch! Do you agree?"

Alyssa nodded.

Looking back at Yang, she witnessed an uppercut, then an elbow jab and a high kick sent the bag flying, bouncing against the ceiling, then the wall, before tumbling across the floor. By then, Yang had already turned on her shot-gauntlets, ready to unleash further hell. Thus, as she approached the bag, she broke into a sprint before leaping into the air.

She flipped. She stuck her leg out. She slammed the bag to the floor.

Then, nothing.

Her blonde friend let out a relieved sigh, then went to her water bottle to pick it up and drink. Penny noticed sweat building up across her face, knowing it was time to rest up.

"Your kickboxing is as practiced as ever!" Penny exclaimed.

Yang held up a finger as she continued to drink before capping the bottle, left hand on hip afterwards. "Yup!"—She walked up to her—"I have Signal to thank for that. Dad, too..." As she looked off to the side, her smile faded. "...after he recovered, that is..."

Penny was understandably perturbed. Did something bad happen in the past?

"But hey, we all have to start from somewhere," she continued, her smile returning.

What was that, anyway?

Well, she'll have to ask about it later. Even with her limited time with Yang, she knew it wouldn't be wise to ask her that soon.

Fow now, she wanted to try her own hand at hand-to-hand combat. She was satisfied with her arsenal, but she always wanted to know how humans and Faunus alike can get by without a sword, axe, scythe, etc. in a world full of Grimm that can reach the size of skyscrapers. A gym where she can practice with her friends was the perfect time to learn and apply.

It would be a shame to pass on that.

"Yang," she began, "I want to learn how to fight, just like how you did!"

Her blonde friend seemed pleasantly surprised—well, more shocked, but pleasantly surprised nonetheless.

Yang got into a defensive position, hands raised. "Okay, you try."

Penny nodded, then assumed position. She leaned in with her body turned to her right and her left foot forward. She raised her fists to shoulder level—left ahead of right—eyes looking back at Yang's.

"Ooh," Yang remarked, "strong start!"

"Thank you!"

Penny smiled, then stepped forth and jabbed once with her left hand. Yang sidestepped, retalia—

"GAH!"

Yang suddenly flew, then tumbled across the floor before skidding to a stop mere inches away from forming a Yang-shaped hole in the walls.

"Yang!"

She rushed to where her friend had landed. Once again, the strength she didn't know the fullest depths of had reared its ugly head, this time without even drawing the swords. Sooner or later, she would have to be put on a tighter leash than she was already on, perhaps to the point where she'd never be allowed near anyone other than her team again. Or maybe she'd be decommissioned, or worse.

Which would mean...

Penny panicked, picking up Yang bridal-style. She checked every area for any sign of hurt. "Are you okay? Any emergency treatments I should perform? Will I—"

Yang burst into joyous laughter, then ruffled Penny's hair as she asked, "Did you forget that I had Aura?!"

"Yang, there is a time and a place to laugh! You could've died!"

"It'll take much more before that!" Yang winked.

Embarrassed, a now-blushing Penny dropped her to the floor before she walked away, covering her face. Chuckling, Yang got up and cut up with her friend, but as she did so, she had a few thoughts...

'Okay, maybe trying to teach her kickboxing wasn't the best idea,' she thought, looking back at where she'd landed. She shook her head, sighing, then followed Penny. 'So what next? Baseball, dancing, gardening...'

Yang's eyes widened at the realization. 'Wait. Gardening?' She stopped in the middle of the arena, looking at Penny. 'If Penny accidentally uses great strength she doesn't know she has, then taking care of plants and bushes would need her to be careful...' A lightbulb shone brightly in her head. '...That's it!'

"Hey." She walked up to Penny, who was just beginning to calm down. "Time's almost up, but I just want to show you one last thing before you and Alyssa go."

Penny took a few more deep breaths, unwinding from earlier, and smiled, although not as brightly as usual. "Yes, Yang."

. . .

Penny walked out of the sporting center back into the park, which rested squarely in the center of Beacon's dorm district. She had almost forgotten how beautiful and scenic the park was; the lush green grass and trees, the rocks and ridges, everything else that made it feel like a national park. Of course, there were the outdoor sporting areas for either casual players or those finding spots outside of a full sporting center.

Yet, that wasn't the focus. That honor went to the garden, which Yang pointed them towards.

Indeed, first impressions were strong: an unpaved smooth path led to a fancy fountain placed in front of the bushy walls that surrounded the garden. Even from afar, she and her friends could see numerous exotic-looking plants and trees, as well as bush patterns that she could tell formed a pretty picture for those looking at the maps app's satellite photos.

"Wow..."

Penny was starry-eyed; how could people create such magnificent things out of nature? She had to find out.

Right as Penny stepped around the fountain towards the garden's gates, she saw a woman tending to a bush with hedge shears.

She rushed to her with a big, toothy grin as she waved at her, exclaiming, "Sal-u-tations!"

The woman stopped trimming the bush to turn towards her, waving back. She had avocado-green hair to go with tan skin and her eyes were a vivid brown that bordered on orange. She wore a green-tinted labcoat over her dark red turtleneck and brown pencil skirt, as well as a chartreuse scarf and a pair of forearm-long chartreuse gloves. Knee-high dark brown socks and bright leather derby shoes completed her look.

"Why, hello."

Penny stopped in front of her, hands behind her back. "My name is Penny! What's your name?"

"Professor Peach. I teach Plant Sciences."

She looked around at the bushes, trees, and plants that had been planted long before her arrival. One plant had seven clovers and a pink-and-white flower at the top. Another was an unusual sunflower with white disc florets and dark-blue petals that she immediately dubbed a "moonflower." Then there were koa trees with whitish-pink flowers for leaves, which she called "Eternal Spring" in contrast to the Forever Fall forest that she had learned of in her reading time.

And the list went on. More exotic vegetation throughout the garden would make sure she'd never get bored looking around, even with all the time in the world to explore.

Now, she had nothing but questions to be asked with the most curious attitude she could muster.

"You and your students grew these?"

Professor Peach chuckled. "Yes, they did. Most of the plants and trees you see today are the result of the many Plant Sciences projects I have assigned to my lovely students. And I'm over here taking good care of them, as you can see."

"Yo, Professor Peach!" Yang exclaimed from behind.

"Hello, Yang." She waved at her and Alyssa. "Are you having a nice Treaty Week break?"

"Yup!"

"Then how was it?"

"Well..." Yang scratched her chin. "It's been a ride..."

As the two talked, Penny looked around again, this time focusing on the toolbox full of gardening tools. She peeked in, noticing the shovels, rakes, weeders, gardening hoes, and a watering can packed inside... and couldn't help but to wonder how Peach used all these. It didn't take long for the professor to notice.

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

Penny's eyes met Peach's. "Your tools." She pointed towards them. "You use them to take care of the plants."

"Correct." She presented her the shears. "Would you like to try one?"

"Yes!"

Penny carefully took the shears and approached the bush Professor Peach was tending to. Where work was done, the bush was smooth, but not too smooth. A firm rectangular shape was the theme that the professor was going for, judging from the look. Where work wasn't done, however, the bush's growth was uneven, muddying its future form.

The only conclusion, then, was to continue her work with the same apparent philosophy.

"Shears work like scissors," Peach began, "but you use both hands to cut the growth. And only cut small portions; you don't want to over-shear your shrub."

Penny saluted her—"Understood, Professor," she said, affirmative—then went to work with a smile.

As Yang watched, she noted how confident Penny was in her first time gardening; the way she quickly sheared the bush and the precision she so effortlessly achieved, even at that speed. She was worried that she would break the shears, but nope. The moment Penny was done, she presented Peach the tool with no visible damage to them, just plant sap where the thick blades cut the shrub.

"Done!"

Peach, the professor, was shocked. Penny was not even a student in her class, yet she sheared like a seasoned professional. If Penny wanted, she could get a stable job as a gardener from that demonstration alone. "Wow..." She cleared her throat while grabbing the shears. "I don't think I've seen anyone work so well before, Penny."

"Well how did I do?"

"...You did great, young girl!" she exclaimed, amazed.

"Thank you, Professor Peach!"

"You're welcome."

Yang checked her Scroll; barely seven minutes had passed between leaving the gym and now. 'Is that right?' she thought, looking at the bush Penny and Peach sheared. Another case of Penny being a fast learner, but this time, all the professor did was shear and tell her a few things. At that point, it was normal. The initial surprise had worn off, and now she expected similar feats somewhere in the near future.

Which only made her wonder more about Penny as a whole.

. . .

Alyssa would have lied had she said she had much to comment about Beacon.

Being a White Fang spy from Vacuo meant infiltrating places like the Huntsman Academies to carry out assassination, sabotage, heists, or other espionage work as needed—sometimes with Johans, her fox Faunus-in-crime. After all, her Kingdom had been pillaged of its resources by two of the most racist Kingdoms on Remnant within the past several decades.

But being a spy came with a downside.

If someone out of the dynamic duo screwed up, they screwed up badly. She learned that the hard way when she and Johans were caught and separated from each other. It was a miracle she's chaperoning a robot with synthetic skin and dealing with a formerly-upper class woman who was most likely a murderer, instead of facing the death penalty.

Then again, things could always be worse.

She and Penny were on a boat ride back to the city of Vale, a place where she and Johan once assassinated a racist storeowner and spied on an infamous politician. It was just the two of them on a propeller-powered boat.

"Penny," she said from behind the steering wheel.

Her team leader turned. "Yes, Alyssa?"

She took a deep breath. "My old partner Johan once told me, 'There's only one cure to being a nervous wreck: a vacation.' Guess this wasn't it."

Penny now had to be accompanied by a team member she was supposed to lead. Sure, even Alyssa recognized that the pier's destruction was unnecessary, but she couldn't help but to feel that it was an accident. Penny didn't even know how deadly she could be until then, for crying out loud!

Alas, they had to live with what they were given.

"As much as I enjoy my time here and with Yang, I can't say I disagree." Penny frowned. Yeah, expected.

"'Disagree,'" Alyssa repeated. "You know that thing where you're promised the world, yet when you're there, it's anything but? Well, here we are."

"This was supposed to be your second chance, Alyssa?"

She nodded. "And yet, I 'ave to be one of the so-called 'good ones' now, even though I should be nailed to a proverbial cross. That's why I don't like Laurel; her family killed our brothers and sisters. She's probably out to hunt us like sport, and I'm supposed to stand there and take it all, with sunshine and rainbows to boot? So that Atlas can say they're not racist anymore?" She sighed. "Fuck knows at this point."

Penny didn't comment.

'Figures,' Alyssa thought. 'Well she'll have to choose later down the line, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel bad for her.'

And so the two fell silent. The rest of the ride went on as Penny continued to look around, then back at her team member.

For a while, the silence between them was deafening.

Eventually the boat arrived at the Valan docks. Alyssa parked their boat in the most appropriate spot she could find. The two disembarked and made their way to where their driver would park. As they did, however, a thought occurred to Alyssa.

"By the way," she asked, "have you appealed to your creator yet, Pine?"

"No."

"Why?"

She watched her swallow, then gaze to the horizon. "If I'd tried, they wouldn't listen," she began. "Mr. Ironwood means well, but I'm not sure he wants me to explore the world at all. My father can say I'm allowed to, but he hasn't yet."

She shook her head. "If only I was a real girl."

Alyssa stopped, then turned to face Penny with her hands held out for a hug. Penny saw and knew what had to be done.

They hugged.