Emerald brushed her rumpled clothes as covertly as she could, stepping aside from the door with a short bow to the Queen of the Grimm (and her roommate's ex?). "Ma'am, I am at your command—"

"Cricket," Salem said quickly, the word (once again) shifting Penny into a more rigid, robotic demeanor as stark red light overtook the pale green in its eyes. "Quit groveling, girl. I will make this brief."

Shit. The witch was pissed. Did Cinder say something to her? Emerald's knees shook as the possibilities swirled in her mind, no matter Ozpin's attempts at quelling them from within.

"As of this moment, you are relieved of your caretaking duties concerning Cinder's wellbeing," Salem said briskly. "She shouldn't need any more coddling at this stage, anyway."

Emerald blinked. That was… unexpected. Also (technically) nobody assigned her towards Cinder's recovery. She just kinda… started doing it. But that felt like an arbitrary detail to point out to Salem of all people (Emerald preferred not being murdered), so she didn't mention it.

"Understood, ma'am."

"Instead, from now on, you will be overseeing Penny as she acclimates herself to the castle."

Wait, what?

"I expect you to maintain Arthur's thinly veiled charade, regardless of how little effort he's put into it himself."

"Understood, ma'am," Emerald replied carefully, not understanding her logic whatsoever. "How long will I be watching over her?"

Salem's lips curled. "Indefinitely," she replied flatly.

Whelp… fuck. "Understood."

"I hope you do, Emerald. Aside from liberating the relics and securing the maidens, Penny's wellbeing is our top priority. I have big plans for her."

"Interesting," Ozpin said quietly. "She sounds… excited."

That didn't sound like a good thing to either of them, but it was difficult for Emerald to focus on Oz's commentary while Salem's red eyes glared holes into her own.

"So treat her well, keep her complacent. I'm trusting you with this." She loomed over Emerald, as stark and inevitable as night overtaking the day. "You won't disappoint me, will you?"

Emerald swallowed a breath, responding quickly, "N-no, ma'am."

"Good." She turned to Penny. "Cricket?"

Its red eyes didn't move to acknowledge Salem, nor its lips. Neither limitation prevented its monotone voice from buzzing, "Yes, User Salem?"

"I grant Emerald user privileges to deactivate you."

"Permissions updated for User: Emerald Sustrai." It spoke Emerald's name with Watts' voice, his Atlesian accent clipping over Emerald's name like he was tasting something rancid.

Annoying prick.

Salem turned back to Emerald with a glare. "When I leave, turn Cricket off, and tell her that 'Winter' had to leave for something urgent. Personally, I don't like using this feature much, but Arthur will use it frequently unless you drop by for visits. If he takes away your ability to deactivate Cricket, let me know and I will… correct such behavior."

So Salem and Watts disagreed over Penny? That was interesting information. Information that Cinder could find useful…

Maybe later, though, when Emerald was sure Cinder would be in a better mood… and the mere thought of her didn't make Emerald's chest ache.

Salem was halfway out the door before she spoke again, almost absently. "Oh, and Emerald? I gave you your own room for a reason. Use it," Salem said sharply. "The next time I have need of you, I suggest you are more convenient to find. Am I understood?"

"Y-yes, ma'am."

She merely hummed, not acknowledging whether she believed Emerald's reply one way or another, then disappeared down the hall.

Emerald exhaled a deep sigh of relief, and closed the door. She slumped against it for a moment, before glancing at the rigid robot still staring at her.

It didn't blink.

Okay, enough of that. How to turn Cricket off? "Um… Cricket?"

Again, its lips didn't move, but the sound reverberated through its entire face, rippling under its skin like a muffled speaker. "Yes, User Emerald?"

Gods, that was creepy. "Right. Uh… deactivate?"

"Acknowledged. Cricket shutting down."

The red eyes faded to a grey, flickering mess, akin to the static of an old TV screen, before the dimming light flared to a bright, verdant green. The contrast between Cricket and Penny was immediate, as Penny's face actually moved like a real person's. Fluidly and dynamically, it broke into a wide smile the moment it locked eyes with Emerald…

But then immediately frowned, body posture shrinking slightly.

"Hi, Ruby," it said meekly. "I… I had another episode, huh?"

"Yeah, you did." Seeing Penny's downcast expression (and remembering Salem's thinly veiled threat), Emerald quickly continued, "It's no problem, though. I'm just glad you're okay."

"Are you really?" Penny pressed.

"Of course I am." Emerald fell back into her Beacon habits. Painfully wide smiles and a happy-go-lucky attitude. That's all Ruby was, right? Just a bundle of good vibes, not a single nuanced thought in that naïve brain of hers.

Penny titled its head, reaching out with a gloved hand towards Emerald's chin, before flinching at the very last second. "Ruby…"

"Yes, Penny?" Emerald encouraged, quickly trying to mix her Beacon persona with what she remembered of Ruby's antics. "What is it… bestie?"

"You're faking it," Penny said bluntly.

Emerald froze. "Um… no?" Emerald was fucking blowing it. No? With a question mark? What kind of save was that? Idiot.

"Yes, you are," Penny answered for her, taking Emerald's question at face value. "My sensors have been… fuzzy, since I woke up, but that doesn't mean my expression interpreter is broken. And right now it's indicating that your smile is very forced, Ruby."

Gods, Emerald was out of practice. This being so sudden (and feeling utterly emotionally drained) probably didn't help either. It was a time for a new angle:

The truth.

"Yeah, you're right." Emerald's plastered smile fell away, letting some of her real emotions spill through. "Sorry, I'm just not feeling… rosy today. Get it? Haha."

Emerald cringed at the shitty pun off of Ruby's surname, but hopefully that would sell off her own awkwardness as something more akin to whatever Ruby was like when she was sad. She liked deprecating puns, right?

Or, wait, was that her bimbo sister?

Fuck it, you're in too deep now, just roll with it.

Penny smiled, but the warmth didn't reach its eyes. A shallow smile, but not empty like Cricket's expression. Just… lacking the energy to reach its dimples. "I do. I remember when Yang told me the same one. I found it quite humorous… the first couple times." It giggled and fuck did that sweet sound give Emerald whiplash. It really was so… lifelike.

"Yeah, she certainly loved her puns, my… big sis." The word felt strange to say: sister. Oh, and Emerald had confirmation: Yang was the punny one, not Ruby. Thank the gods, she did not want to commit to such a low brow sense of humor.

Penny clasped its gloved hands together, picking lightly at the worn, patched up material anxiously. "And… how is Yang? Is she around, too?"

Fuck, it was really putting Em on the spot, huh? What had Watts said about his narrative? Weiss was in Atlas fighting for Ironwood's make believe evil army, and somehow Ruby was here (with Emerald as the actor). That left the remaining BY of RWBY… where?

Watts, you lazy prick. You didn't make anything up for them, did you?

Emerald decided to improvise the easiest answer. "Um, she… she didn't make it."

Penny blinked. Its eye color blurred as an image of a spinning pinwheel popped up and whirred over its pupils. "What?" it said dumbly.

"Sis' didn't make it out of Beacon," Emerald reinforced. "She's dead. Like… super dead." Smooth, Emerald. Smooth.

Penny closed its eyes, clutched both hands to its chest, and squeezed. After a few moments of a strange, clanking sound reverberating through its throat, its arms fell limply to its sides. "Oh."

"Yeah, so—"

Penny's eyes sprung open as it aimed both hands at Emerald and lunged. Emerald instinctively tried to dodge, but Penny's hug was deceptively quick. Despite the brief experience Emerald gained a couple days ago when Penny trapped her in a hug the first time, Emerald's street-honed reaction time was nothing compared to whatever supercomputer enhanced Penny's reflexes.

"I'm so sorry, Ruby," Penny said, nestling its face into the crook of Emerald's neck. "No wonder you're not okay. I… I should have been there." Its voice broke, synthetic static warbling its words. "I'm so sorry."

Emerald had no power to resist Penny's grip, but she also had no reason to try. Unlike before, Penny's hug felt less… constricting. It was still tight and inescapable, yes, but no longer aura breaking. She couldn't even feel Penny's arms brush against her bruised ribs, despite the close placement.

It felt… comforting, almost. Like the pleasant pressure of a weighted blanket.

It took a few moments for Emerald to speak up again, caught so off guard by how safe she felt trapped in Penny's arms. "It's fine, Penny. It's been hard, but I'm handling it."

Despite her assurances, Penny did not let her go. "I don't think you're being honest, Ruby."

Fuck, where'd Emerald go wrong now? "What do you mean?"

"Your heart rate is all over the place, there are traces of tears on your shirt and your bed, and…" Penny trailed off. "Is that… blood?"

Okay, Penny's bullshit all-in-one robot senses were going to be the bane of Emerald's new job. "Yeah, I… uh…" What would a good excuse be in this situation?

Fortunately, Penny theorized for her. "Your aura is awfully low, and I detect several recent injuries." It gingerly loosened its hug, gently repositioning its hands to crest over Emerald's bruises. Emerald winced, but sighed contently as Penny's hands became refreshingly cold. "Were they from your mission?"

"Uh… yep. Totally," Emerald replied quickly, too distracted by Penny's hands pressing cool comfort into her bruised skin to craft a better response.

"How… how bad is it out there?" Penny asked, holding Emerald even more delicately than before. "Is Ironwood hurting a lot of people?"

That snatched Emerald's attention back to the present objective: lie.

"He is, yeah." Because the best deceptions always had a little bit of truth behind them, Emerald envisioned the bloody remains she stumbled upon during Beacon's Fall, using the visceral memory to summon real pain in her voice. "It's really bad, Penny. It—"

It was all my fault, was what she thought. But what she actually said was, "It hurts to talk about." And she wasn't even lying. Not about that, at least.

Penny's surprisingly soft touch shifted to a gentle squeeze around Emerald's waist. "You're gonna be okay," Penny said softly, and the sheer sincerity of it made Emerald's breath hitch.

Emerald was not prepared to hear those words from anyone, much less Penny. Her voice cracked as she asked, "You promise?"

She couldn't believe the fragility in her own voice. Where the fuck did that come from? Whichever part of herself she tapped into for that bit of improv, she needed to learn to call on command. It was clearly the right angle to use on Penny, because what little vestiges of suspicion the android had left vanished from its face instantly.

"Of course," Penny replied softly. It—her smile was blindingly bright. "I'll always be here for you, Ruby. No matter what."

Emerald stared blankly at Penny for a few moments, slowly realizing that she needed to say anything in response. She collected herself and replied with the most articulate words she could muster:

"That's… cool." Gods fucking damnit—anything better than that!

"I must say I am astounded at your lack of eloquence," Ozpin piped in (without request). "How did you manage to infiltrate my school again?"

Oz could fuck right off with that. Regardless of her oratorical skill—or lack thereof, as Ozpin thought to himself—Emerald still managed to pull off the Beacon job. And judging by the robot's warm reaction, Emerald was managing to pull off the Penny job just as well.

Barely managing it, sure—but that counted, Oz!

"I suppose it does," he chuckled.

"Ruby," Penny interjected. "Is there something interesting on that wall?"

Fuck, Emerald was doing that thing she started to do ever since Ozpin started crashing in her head—drift off and stare dumbly at random shit when she focused too much on talking to him. "Uh, no, just being an airhead like usual."

Penny narrowed her eyes, giving her an analytical once over. Her eyes traced over every part of Emerald, and she involuntarily squirmed at how little Penny hesitated at ogling her body. She knew it was stupid (Penny was just a robot , after all), but she still self consciously crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's not stupid at all," Ozpin interjected. "It's a rather natural reaction considering the circumstances."

But (again) she's just a robot, Oz.

"And yet… you're still using she instead of it."

Emerald blinked. She… she had switched at some point, hadn't she?

It's just because it's more convenient that way, Emerald thought. It doesn't stop her from being an overpriced tin can.

Oz merely hummed neutrally, a low rumbling sound that echoed behind Emerald's eyes like distant rain. "Whatever you say—"

"You're tired," Penny said abruptly, pulling Emerald from drifting off again. From the tone of her voice, it wasn't meant to be a question. Just a fact she was stating, one Emerald couldn't deny even if she desired to.

"Yeah," Emerald agreed, suddenly aware of how heavy her body could be. "I am."

A pause. "Would you like to go to bed?"

"Yeah, I think I would." Emerald tried to pull away, but Penny pulled her closer. "Uh…"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Despite her sputtering apology, Penny still didn't loosen her grip. "You know… Winter said I could be out of the workshop as long as I wanted, as long as I stayed with you."

"Did she?" Salem wasn't too specific with her new babysitting gig, but that made some sense. Emerald doubted Salem wanted Penny wandering around, potentially overhearing any conversations that could break Watts' narrative.

"She did, yes. I have it on recording, if you'd like to verify it."

Emerald laughed, but noticed the adamant expression on Penny's face. She was serious.

"That's okay, Penny. I trust you." Not to lie, at least. Apparently, Penny had been programmed to hiccup every time she lied, a built in mannerism that had been hidden in her body's software (and not even mentioned in the notes Penny gave Watts). Whether that meant Penny's father lied to her about it, or even he didn't know about it, was unclear.

All that matters is that no matter how insightful she might be, at least reading her will be even easier.

"Good," Penny said quickly. "That's good. So… on that note…" She rocked back and forth, taking Emerald for a ride as she shook through some excited (or perhaps anxious) jitters. "Can I stay with you? When you go to sleep, I mean."

That was an odd ask. A little creepy, even. "Um… no," Emerald replied carefully, hoping the rejection wouldn't set the (admittedly timid) murder-bot off. "I… I don't think I'd be comfortable with that."

"Oh." Penny's eyes dulled to a hard grey, like someone dimmed her brightness settings with a TV remote. She (finally) pulled her arms off from around Emerald's waist, instead hugging herself tightly. "I understand."

Seeing that reaction—and not liking it at all—Emerald quickly appended, "I don't think I'd be comfortable right now. Maybe… maybe some other time?"

That one addition rose the saturation in Penny's eyes back to a bright, neon green. "Really?"

"Sure, why not." That seemed a little too flippant for Ruby's vernacular, so Emerald tried quickly to pass it off better. "Whenever I do feel in the mood for a…" She trailed off, almost choking on the word. "Sleepover, I'll let you know."

"A sleepover?" Penny echoed.

"Uh, yeah, isn't that what you were going for—"

"No!" Penny squeaked, hand covering her mouth as she visibly regretted her word choice. "Wait, yes! Not actually my original intention, but that idea is so much better!"

"Then what were you thinking before?"

She twiddled her fingers together shyly, struggling to make eye contact. "I was just going to… maybe stand in a corner, and keep watch? Maybe monitor your biometrics for any late night anomalies."

Ah. So… Penny's idea was to watch her sleep. Again, creepy. Emerald wasn't going to tell her that, though (and it seemed like the robo-girl figured that out on her own considering her anxious fidgeting).

So, instead, Emerald decided to lean away from lying, and more towards the other part of Salem's request:

Being nice.

Even just a few months ago, she had far more experience lying than she did with being kind. But caring for Cinder forced her to polish up one of those skills, and leave the other to rust from less deliberate use. Hopefully, the practice she had in both would be enough for Penny, even if neither had ever felt enough for Cinder.

"Well," Emerald began, giving Penny an out from her awkward admission. "Then it's good we're waiting anyway. Gives us more time to plan it out."

Penny tilted her head. "Plan? As in… prepare activities and games?" Her smile returned with unbridled energy, electric and buzzing through her lips.

Emerald resisted rolling her eyes at how quickly Penny's mood flipped. The girl was a pinball machine of feelings, bouncing all over the place. "Yeah, classic sleepover stuff. From that look in your eyes, I'm assuming you already have a few ideas for it?"

"I could ask Winter if she has any makeup, or we could have pillow fights—ooh! Or we could even have a girl talk!"

Emerald put aside the chilling image of Salem lending her some blush to use, focusing on humoring Penny's rambling. "And what does girl talk sound like to you?"

"Hmm… I don't know. My research indicates it's mostly talking about cute boys, the latest clothing trends, and our favorite gun calibers." Ah, yes—stereotypical girl stuff. "But I can't wait to find out with you, Ruby!"

"Replace cute boys with cute girls, and I might just be interested." She didn't have to second guess herself on that one. No way Ruby was 100% straight, not with how much she blushed at Emerald when they crossed paths on campus.

Penny's response was delayed and quietly reverent. "...I can do that."

Nonplussed by Penny's more muted (yet still so visibly excited) demeanor, Emerald segued into the next matter of discussion, one that they had been originally talking about in the first place:

That she wanted to sleep. Badly.

"It's pretty late," Emerald said, gesturing back towards the door. "I remember you said W—your dad was okay with you out of the workshop only when you were with someone, so I'll walk you back. Don't want you to have another episode when you're all alone, haha."

"Do you think laughing at the end of a sentence magically makes it funny?" Ozpin asked her rather seriously.

She ignored him, preparing to deal with the fallout of Penny's clipped mood, now that she wouldn't be hanging out with "Ruby" anymore.

As expected, the light in Penny's eyes dipped considerably, but some color still remained in her irises as she nodded and followed behind Emerald.

However, after barely a few steps into the hallway, Penny slowed down. "Wait," she said.

Annoyed (but hiding that fact) Emerald turned towards her as patiently as she could. "Yes, bestie?"

"Can… can we hold hands?" Both gloves covered her face as she hid her expression, glancing around the dark, drab interior of Evernight's sparsely lit halls. "It… it would mean a lot for me, right now."

Emerald couldn't help it; she snorted. She was practically a little kid. What had Emerald been so worried about before? She held out her hand without a thought. "Of course! What are friends for?"

She mildly regretted that decision as (in her excitement) Penny forgot to gauge her strength and gripped Emerald's wrist with enough force to crack concrete (thank the gods for aura).

Right, that's why she was worried about Penny: the death machine stuff. It was scary how quickly Emerald could forget how potentially dangerous the robot was. Maybe that was what was most dangerous about her, and why Ironwood made her that way:

To catch people like Emerald off guard.

And she almost fell for it again, with how quickly Penny was apologizing for the slipup, clinging tightly to her side as they held hands. "Are you okay? I didn't break anything, right?"

Emerald waved away her apologies, a little impatient to get to bed. "Come on, cutie. Let's get you back to your dad."

Emerald thought she'd have to make up more small talk on the short way back to Watts' workshop, maybe even improvise more bullshit about what little she knew of Ruby's friends and family history. But after accepting her hand and saying those last words to her—

Penny was surprisingly silent the whole way back.