General James Ironwood sat alone upon one of the hospital beds down in the Academy infirmary, his jacket and undershirt removed. Half of the man's chest was mechanical, his flesh and bone replaced by interlocking steel plates, tubing, and high-impact plastics. The artificial skin and bone fused neatly into what remained of his natural body in ways even he didn't quite understand… though he had never dared to question the surgeons responsible for fear of not liking the answers. Even after living with the prosthetics for well over a decade, James still didn't like looking at his mechanical parts or leaving them exposed for others to gawk at. They were a grim reminder of several things that the military man tried to keep out of his mind at all costs. Things that could distract him from doing his job or remaining resolute in the war against Salem.

Impermanence. Fragility. The fact that he, too, could be replaced if he became ineffective in his role as a leader.

The idea of losing his humanity, bit by bit, until he was something or someone else.

James found himself looking down at the palm of his mechanical hand as he waited. He flexed his fingers a few times, watching them curl and straighten before closing his eyes and refocusing on his breathing. For whatever reason, it was quicker than normal, as though he was nervous or expecting a fight. It would be easy to command Marrow to simply leave him be or cease whatever examination or conversation the faunus intended to pursue. There were more important things at stake than his health, and more urgent matters to deal with. In truth, the only reason he had even agreed to meeting was to try to placate his subordinate and get him on board for what was coming. Losing Harriet after Operation Snowfall was a significant blow to his ability to enforce his will on the city of Atlas. If he lost Marrow, too, he would lose Weiss, Winter, and likely, others…

The sound of the door to the small hospital room opening didn't come as a surprise, but James found himself sitting up a bit straighter and tensing up all the same. There was likely only going to be one shot at deescalating the situation, and the results of failing to do so could be catastrophic not just for Atlas… but for his own mental well-being.

"I took the anti-rejection medication," James announced. "My on-board monitoring software says my vitals are all normal and stable, with no spikes outside of expected range in the past several weeks. Let's skip the needless formalities and get to whatever it is you're concerned about. I'm open to hearing it."

"…I was instructed to take your vitals manually, regardless of your personal monitoring efforts…"

The voice was too feminine to belong to Marrow… and too forceful, as well. It was certainly familiar, though just distant enough in his mind that he didn't realize immediately who had entered the room to check up on him. James opened his eyes and immediately felt his jaw clench. He had to willfully force it open to speak once again, keeping his tone as neutral as he could manage. Dealing with her had the potential to be more disastrous than Marrow.

"…Penny? Where is Marrow?"

"Marrow Amin decided to quickly check in on Fox Alistair and Cardin Winchester before coming to see you," the android explained as she closed the door behind herself and moved to approach the bed. "I was instructed to analyze your vital signs and complete your basic preparatory work before his arrival in the interest of saving time."

James let out a sigh and shook his head, knowing that trying to dissuade the artificial girl would be more trouble than it was worth. Though playing along would waste time rather than save it, there was really no other option to keep things peaceful… and keep Penny occupied.

"Have at it, then. Just follow your orders, and I'll comply. It's good to see you up and about so soon after the string of recent… challenges."

" It is, yes… but I think it would be a more efficient use of time to forgo needless repetition, if your personal monitoring software has already analyzed you," Penny corrected. Her voice was still colder and more distant than James had remembered, and he couldn't help but arch a brow as she leaned in to put only about a foot of space between them. "Instead… I would like to speak to you about a private matter before Marrow Amin's arrival."

"You… would?" James asked. Suddenly, he found himself wishing Penny had merely wanted to check his vitals, though he had only a vague idea as to where the conversation could be going. "What about…?"

Penny's gaze was unblinking and intense, her eyes locked on James'. The man could see odd, tiny dots of color within her pupils flickering and disappearing, as though some sort of process was being run in the background as she looked him over. If he didn't know any better, he would have assumed that she was thinking about how best to phrase whatever was on her mind.

"I wish to know why you ordered Pietro Polendina to keep me locked in to the 'Hope' persona without access to any of the data I collected while operating as 'Penny' at Beacon Academy. Please explain your thought process in a clear and concise manner, as I currently fail to see how such a thing was at-all beneficial to either of us or the cause."

James let out a small noise of frustration and broke the eye contact by closing his own. Slowly, he brought a thumb and forefinger up to pinch the bridge of his nose and rub at the length.

"…Penny, this isn't a good time…"

"I do not care!" Penny spat, moving herself back slightly to block the path to the door. "I deserve an answer, and you must know that I am correct in saying so. I am a construct, yes, but I had friends. A purpose beyond simply being a weapon for the Atlesian military. One of those friends is now deceased, and my current purpose for existing is unclear. I am directionless… yet I am also no longer willing to blindly follow direction without reason, after witnessing recent events and retrieving my previously collected data. If I am merely meant to blindly follow your orders without understanding the logic behind them, then… I will find a new purpose for myself. I am asking to try to understand, out of the desire to see that all of my time spent under the designation of 'Hope' was not wasted. It would be in your best interest to answer me, if you wish for me to continue serving Atlas."

James slowly let his hand drop from in front of his face as he returned his attention to Penny. It felt almost as though he was seeing her for the first time… or as though she was someone else entirely in comparison to the automaton he was used to interacting with.

"How do you know all of this?" James asked, partially to stall as he collected his thoughts. "What makes you think that repressing your identity of 'Penny' was ordered by me?"

"I have remotely combed my father's databases while tending to the wounded here," Penny answered as she folded her arms across her chest. The gesture wasn't quite perfect, her forearms not aligning properly as she held them in an awkward embrace. "His writings indicate that he created a failsafe against your orders, through which my current personality was reinstalled after Arthur Watts' attempted commandeering of me. I know, and have seen, everything that was meant to be hidden from me. I need to understand why."

"To avoid lines of questioning like this," James let on as he stood up from the bed. "Knowledge- memories like the ones you're now sifting through cause trauma to living beings, and I have no way of knowing if they would do the same to you. In a situation like the one we're in with Salem, I can't risk you just… shutting down, literally or otherwise. You were locked in as 'Hope' for your own protection, and for the protection of Mantle, and now, Atlas. I don't understand your capacity to 'feel' things, and your potential… theoretical feelings about the knowledge that you died were likely to get in the way of your duties. Here and now, it seems clear to me that you do have some measure of feeling and emotion, and… I don't know how to process or approach that. This, now, is exactly what I didn't want, and something that we can't afford to grapple with while Salem is preparing to make what could be her final move. I need you at your peak, functioning as a guardian. Not stuck in an existential crisis."

Penny continued to stare, her expression unchanging and unreadable. A long silence passed, the gentle ticking of the wall clock the only noise filling the space as the android worked to determine what to say.

"I… can feel," Penny said slowly. "I have always had… what I believe to be 'feelings' like your human subordinates. All of my systems right now are overwhelmed with what matches my internal database descriptions of anger and sadness, though I do not know where they are directed toward. Your decision to isolate… me- Penny- only exacerbated these feelings within my core. I do not believe I am out of line or wrong to feel these things… and I do not believe you should have the authority to decide whether or not I am allowed to do so. My assembly within a lab is not so dissimilar from your assembly before birth… or after your battlefield wounds. I do not desire to be treated differently."

"I understand where you're coming from," James said in the most diplomatic tone he could manage. "But… you weren't designed to be able to handle a situation like this. Nothing about the way you're wired accounts for what's needed to process and accept things l-"

"Neither were you," Penny interrupted, raising her voice. "Was anyone designed or given the equipment necessary to live through a situation like the one Remnant now finds itself in? I am aware of all that is going on. I have observed how it is affecting people here in the Academy. It is affecting people I know and care about. It is affecting you. I still have access to my experiences as Hope, and our interactions from that time period. You have changed, General, over a period of mere months. It is not in a positive way, and I believe it to be influenced by your own inability to process your experiences. Perhaps it is not an inability. It is an… unwillingness. You say that you need me to be at my peak and optimally functional, yet you are choosing not to operate at your own peak efficiency for fear of being unable to deal with your own trauma. Recognizing hypocrisy is not beyond my capabilities."

The sound of gentle footsteps approaching was the only warning for Penny to step out of the way of the door to the hospital room. Marrow entered shortly thereafter, looking utterly exhausted but offering a forced smile and nod all the same as he looked between Penny and James.

"Sorry for taking so long, I wanted to check on the others first, and Fox is finally awake. He seems to be aware of his surroundings and the events leading up to his hospitalization, so that's a good sign."

"Yes, that is… good…" James echoed, sounding distant as he focused more on the wall beside Marrow than the faunus himself.

"So, how is he?" Marrow asked as he looked toward Penny. "His vitals, I mean?"

"Normal," Penny said, her voice once again monotone and factual. "Physically, The General appears to be doing well according to my cursory initial examination. If anything else is troubling him, he will need to inform you himself."

"Thanks, Penny," Marrow offered as he moved to the nearby counter and took out a pair of gloves from within a drawer. "I'll take it from here."

"Take care to examine the situation thoroughly," Penny advised as she lingered in the doorway. "Determine what is most important to address first, for maintaining the overall health of everything. Failure to do so could be disastrous for all of us in ways you do not expect."

"…a little dramatic, but I'll see what I can do," Marrow answered.

Penny was gone by the time the faunus looked back with a raised brow and amused smirk. James looked anything but amused, knowing that the statement wasn't meant for Marrow at all.


Author's Note:

Penny's about to get a much, much bigger role in all this.

-RD