AN: I have to admit, I almost did not publish this one. Maybe it was me being unsure about the current outline I laid out, maybe it was other things about this chapter. Either way, I hope this isn't too bad.

As always, thanks to Cent for going over this chapter with me!

"Salutations, Father!"

"Salutations, sunshine."

Penny dusted the snow off her as she called her father with her usual happy cadence. That red-haired girl is no longer afraid of her! Instead, she and Ruby focused on taking down Nora. The Queen of the Castle herself, after all, had to be dethroned, for she was dominating the snowball fight. No hard feelings, though! She and Nora got along well in the end, and she even got to meet her team as well! And people around her were celebrating her and Ruby as heroes of the snowball fight.

She had brought joy to the people around her instead of scaring them off.

Some progress was made.

"How's your day been?" asked Pietro.

"Great!" Penny exclaimed. "Ruby and I joined a snowball fight and defeated a so-called 'queen' together. You should'a seen it~!"

Pietro chuckled. "That sounds like an excellent time, Penny."

"Yup!"

Brief pause.

"...Huh, there's something different about you," he began. "I don't know how to describe this... but you're starting to sound like another kind of girl."

"Yang taught me well!"

As Penny continued to talk over the phone, Yang, who was observing from afar, couldn't help but to smile. Just like Taiyang, Penny had a father she could look up to and from the looks of it, he seemed nice. However, thoughts of Penny's current situation had struck again... but she shook those away. She was not here to worry; she was here only to enjoy time with her new friend.

Not to mention that for the first time ever, she was comfortable with showing Penny to her other friends.

Previously, she wasn't really sure about all that. Now that Penny had learned quite a bit and shook up her behaviors in certain ways within such little time? Now that she showed she could control herself after all?

Showtime was imminent.

She turned back to her teammates, who were recounting their snowball fight experiences with Penny's own team.

"...It was fun," Blake shrugged. "I'd do another if I were you."

"Duly considered," said Weiss with a smile. "And I'll see if Ciel here is as quick on the uptake next time."

Ciel nodded. "We'll see about that."

Just then, Yang walked up to the two, waving. "Hey guys," she started, "I don't know if you've noticed, but... I kind of wanna introduce Penny to my Signal friends."

"Are you sure about that?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. "I understand that you and Penny have been good friends for more than a month, but your friend group appears rather different from the kind of friend she is, based on what you've said. So is that a good idea?"

Shit, she might have a point.

Though in fairness, her friends were familiar with Ruby. They even met her several times back in Signal to the point where she became some of those friends' friend. Given Penny is seeming less robotic, this was less of a concern than if it were a month ago. Still, she couldn't help but to think about Weiss's words...

"Yeah! Totally!" she said, mild discomfort underlining her answer.

"I'm just saying, because the two of you have only met a couple times, not to mention the fact that you said a while ago that she's in a... less-than-ideal home situation..." She cleared her throat. "Well, that might mean she's not allowed to do certain things your friends are into." She raised a finger for a bit. "So please, try to make sure nothing goes wrong around her, okay?"

"Got it." Yang looked away, then took a deep breath. "It's... the first time I'm showing Penny to my other friends, and I don't wanna step on her red tape."

"If you think it's not worth the trouble," Blake advised, "don't. Otherwise, it shouldn't be too bad."

"Here's hoping, I guess."

Yang took a figurative step back and examined the situation.

Penny was a fast learner who quickly picked up on human behaviors and mannerisms. She was also sweet and caring, and—like Ruby—was looking to make a difference in the world. By comparison, some of her friends were rowdier—Tyron and Saphyr, for example—and others like Lunus and Fion were on the calmer side. Dove, though...

Yeah, there's a reason she doesn't talk with him anymore.

All in all? It wasn't as bad as Weiss potentially made it out to be. In fact, she saw some similarities between her new Beacon friends and her old Signal friends. Nora, for example, would get along with Tyron. Same with Jaune, Ruby and Lunus, as well as Blake, Pyrrha, and Ren with Fion and Saphyr. The list went on. She was sure Penny would get along with them just as well, especially since she met Team JNPR, which in itself was a lovely mix of personalities.

'Alright, might as well.' She made a slight smile towards Weiss and Blake. "I'll introduce her to them anyway. I mean, a little optimism can't hurt, right?"

"It shouldn't," answered Blake.

"I'm just suggesting caution," Weiss clarified.

"Don't worry, Weiss. Nothing bad will happen on my watch."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "If you say so."

"Okay, thanks!"

Yang turned to leave, but as she did, she caught Ruby standing there, looking at her with a blank, vaguely unamused expression.

Wait. What?

Did it have something to do with the p—

'NOPE. NOPE. JUST NO.'

By then, she was already leaving for Penny with a shaky wave to Weiss and Blake. She raised her Scroll to text her Signal friends to meet up at Beacon's front gates through the main group chat.

[yo] she texted, [lets meet. front gatez. you wan 2 meet a new friend?]

As she waited, she saw Penny still talking over the Scroll. She shrugged; she can wait a bit.

Just then, her Scroll beeped. Excited, she checked her messages, only to be hit with a:

[not now. about to have a snowball fight.]

So that was one member—Saphyr—out of the question. What about the rest?

[Sure] replied Lunus.

[Hell yeah!] replied Tyron.

The rest either declined, or simply didn't respond. Either way, having two Signal friends wanting to see Penny was promising. After all, Penny did like to make friends and seems always excited to meet potential new friends! How could she possibly not li—

"Alright, thanks Father! T-t-y-l!" Penny hung up on her father.

Smiling, Yang approached Penny with outstretched arms while exclaiming, "Yo!"

Penny turned around and followed suit. "Yo! What's up, Yangalang?"

"Ah, it isn't much—" Yang started, hands behind her back, "—but!" She raised a finger. "What would you say if I asked if you wanna meet some of my own friends?"

Penny's eyes brightened as she gained a big, wide smile on her face. "...I would say yes!"

She grabbed a surprised Yang by her sides and lifted her to the air. Yang's eyes widened as her head jerked forward. Suddenly, Penny blinked. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Sorry!"

Before her friend could respond, Penny let go, watching her drop back to the ground and somehow make a three-point landing with what little time she had. Then she watched her laugh, get up, and pat her shoulder.

"Never stop being you," she remarked.

A familiar giggle caught their attention. They turned to see Alyssa, who had snapped a photo of them with a wink.

"A–Alyssa!" Yang and Penny shouted, both blushing.

"What? Y'two make good friends, I guess."

Yang sighed, then asked Team PAS—

"Oh!" Penny smiled. "I'll be just with Yang and her friends at the front gates of Beacon!" Then her smile faded. "Is... Is that oka—"

"Yes," answered Ciel.

And then the smile returned. "...Seeen-sational!" She jumped to the air, pumping her fists, then she turned to walk towards the front gates. "Yang, what are we waiting for? Let's meet your friends!"

"Hold on." Yang raised her hand to signal "stop." "We still have to ask your teammates."

"Don't worry," Laurel began, "you have our permission to be with Yang."

"...Sen-sational!" Penny celebrated. "Let's go!"

. . .

As expected, Lunus and Tyron showed up. Just as always, it was predictable since those who'd say they'd show up usually did, and those who didn't, well, usually didn't.

"Heyyyyy!" "Salutations!" Yang and Penny excitedly uttered, the latter in particular waving at the small crowd of friends.

"Yo, Yang!" and "Hey," some of her friends responded.

"Lookin' cool as ever, Tyron! You too, Lunus!"

"Thank you!" and "Thanks," Tyron and Lunus said.

"No prob." Yang cleared her throat. "So, fellas, this is Penny, my new friend. Why don't you introduce yourselves?'"

Lunus stepped up first. He had platinum blonde hair that was swept to different sides, a dark-gray tunic over his dark-green stretch shirt, brown trousers, and brown boots. "Hello," Lunus said with a warm smile, "I'm Lunus Marigold."

"Name's Tyron—Tyron Strike!" another friend exclaimed. He had green hair, a gray backpack with something in it, a yellow shirt, khaki shorts, a barely-visible pair of white socks, and a pair of flashy sneakers.

"So, this is my new friend." Most of the friends turned to listen to her. "She's nice, she's cute, and dare I say she reminds me of my little sis. But don't you underestimate her; she packs a very, very mean punch." Wink. Smile. "I think she'll get along with y'all well. Don't you agree?"

"Yeah!" Tyron exclaimed. "I bet she and I will fight very well against each other!"

"And I'm sure she's a reliable friend," said Lunus, "because after all, what's worse than someone who isn't?"

"So, whaddaya do in your free time?" Tyron asked. "Any sports? Games?" Just then, Penny and Yang witnessed a lightbulb go off in his head. "Ooh! What about—"

"Gardening!" Penny answered with excitement. "I have a bonsai back at Atlas Academy. I take great care of it whenever the time's right, and it's lookin' pretty cool~!" She pulled out her Scroll. "Would you like pictures?"

"Uhhh..." Tyron scratched his head. "Sure?"

Lunus nodded.

Penny pulled up the pictures of the tiny little tree. The trunk was quite thick for its size, and the branches were not too shabby. The miniscule leaves were between a lush, deep green and a bright green, their shapes rounded like teardrops. The pot it sat in was a nice, shiny dark-brown ceramic, and the few roots that might've been exposed were covered by tiny mulch.

"Huh, alright."

"It's so sweet!" Penny exclaimed. "Isn't that right?"

"Hello," a light brown-haired man clad in armor called out, joined by another in an armored baseball uniform. "Remember me?"

Oh no, that Dove Bronzewing guy again.

Last time Yang saw him, he had fallen into the wrong crowd. She remembered when he seemed humble enough, and not too outspoken. His personality had changed here in Beacon, though, and definitively not for the better. He showed up less and less for the main friend group. Instead, he joined up with jerks. He even picked on a bunny girl—someone she now deeply regrets not stepping in to protect earlier—with that troublesome team for all to see. Of course, that also included Blake, another Faunus...

In retrospect, little could have been done without causing an incident besides anonymously reporting to the Headmaster's office.

Which someone did, thankfully, but this meant the moment she saw Team CRDL again, they were "questioning" another student by cornering them, regardless of whether they were responsible.

She had a hunch that Blake did it, but for everyone else, who could have done it?

Nevermind that. She had to ask to bring a new friend of hers around.

"Yeah, I remember alright," Yang answered, shaking her head a little. She had barely managed to not call him "bully" to his face. She saw her friends' expressions change from warm and inviting to bemusement, but Dove didn't seem too fazed by that. No idea what was going on with the batter, though.

"Oh, is that a new friend?" the batter asked.

"What's up?" Penny said. "My name is Penny!"

And so the two introduced themselves. "It's Dove Bronzewing." "Douglas Norwood, but they call me 'Dugnutt.'"

As they introduced themselves, Yang realized that Douglas had shot her and Penny a glare as the two approached the group.

That stuck to her mind.

"It's nice to meet y'all!" Penny smiled and reached out her hand for a shake. "Isn't that ri—?"

"Yup!" Douglas shook her hand first, with Dove shaking hers next. Lunus and Tyron tried to shake her hand as well, but the two couldn't get past Dove and Douglas, who stayed in front of Yang and Penny, albeit with a fair bit of distance away.

"So, a feeew questions if you don't mind, yeah?" asked Douglas.

Lunus and Tyron found themselves exchanging worried glances, but Yang remained on standby, ready to defend.

"Sure!" Penny exclaimed.

"Alright then..." He cleared his throat. "What do you do in your free time? What's your favorite kind of TV show?"

"I take care of my bonsai! It's a delicate kind of gardening that requires attention to detail, a regular schedule, and care with your tools and watering. And as for the TV shows I watch—" Penny suddenly paused, her smile quickly fading away; Douglas was now standing slightly too close for her liking. Yang could tell by the trembling in her hands, in her legs, in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Douglas leaned in slightly with a coy smile.

Uh oh.

"Uh, space, Dugnutt?" Yang said, gesturing. "Please?"

"Ahhhhh, sor-ry," Douglas apologized. Though his tone sounded a little too insincere for comfort—especially with him continuing to stand close to him.

Yang's eyes flashed red for a split second. "Is that it? With that tone—"

Suddenly, her face met with a baseball. And though she reached for it, it was too late; she was stumbling backwards, dazed, and she could hear Douglas and Dove's diabolical laughing.

Now, she was seeing red.

"Neeext question!" he exclaimed. "What're your biggest secrets, missy?"

"Ugh..." Yang's fists formed, but before she could act, Dove was already in front of her, ready to punt her to the snow (or at least try). Her guard had been up! How the hell was it not any further up?! Did she not expect those two to do something drastic that quickly, or—

"Gah!"

Douglas had been punched in the back. Tyron pounded his fists together—ready to punch him again—then charged forward, forcing Dove to abandon his place so that he could help Douglas. And as he called forth his weapon locker with his Scroll, however, Tyron stepped in front of him to give an uppercut. Lunus was helping out, trying his best to keep him from potentially escaping.

Yang gritted her teeth. She tried to shove Dove to the ground, only for him to catch her wrists. Unfortunately for him, she broke free. So she shoved him away anyway and hurried... arriving at Penny having blocked Douglas's bat with her forearm.

Penny shot him a hateful glare. It was the first one Yang ever saw out of a girl she didn't imagine would have ever done that. "Leave me. And my friend. Alone!"

Suddenly, Douglas found himself tumbling to the snow. This did not go unnoticed by Dove, who was still busy dealing Tyron, but before he could act, a familiar, intimidating female voice called out from afar:

"What is going on?"

A blonde, older-looking woman approached the group. Her green eyes were accentuated by half-rimmed glasses that cast reflections of the scene back at its people. Her black-and-purple cape flowed in the wind, and she wore a fancy white blouse and a black, high-waisted pencil skirt. Her black tights and black stiletto boots with bronze heels completed her look.

She patted her riding crop against the palm of her left hand.

"She tried to hit me!" Douglas shouted, pointing at a now-terrified Yang. "And then this one—"

"I want the whole story, from start to finish from all of you."

"D—!—Douglas threw a baseball in my face then tried to corner my friend Penny," Yang said.

"I–I-I was only trying to protect myself!" Douglas shouted. "She was gonna—"

"Bullshit!" Tyron shouted.

"All of you," interrupted Glynda, "Headmaster's office. Now."

Begrudgingly, the six all followed her there. But as they did, Dove took a moment to share one final moment with Yang...

"Such friends you are," he whispered in her ear, "leaving me out in the cold for her."

Oh, that was why.

The friend group had progressively stopped showing up around him. They removed him from the group chat. Penny, in comparison, was getting along well from the start. Dove, from what she could remember, might've felt like he faded into the background more than he'd preferred, though it wasn't necessarily his fault and he still got along just fine. But then, he got with the wrong group and it was all downhill from there.

Yang thought, 'Fucking pathetic, really; rather than look in the mirror and ask why people don't bother with you anymore, play a shitty blame game instead.'

Suddenly, it hit her: Penny had gotten into trouble again. If she only had hours per day to hang out and seemingly needed approval for, she might not even get that anymore now. This was it: after this, she might never see Penny again. What might have otherwise been a normal introduction had turned south, all because of two people she couldn't have foreseen coming.

She was certain that if she could get Penny out of her current situation, then she'd be truly free, dammit. But... even with that, she wasn't certain if future incidents like this would happen again or not.

After all, nothing was certain.