The crisp sounds of a military footstep sounded through the hallway as Winter made her way down, her icy stare forcing everyone on her path to give way and hiding her feelings of disorder. There was a frenzy around her, people moving up and down trying to create a semblance of order but instead increased the pandemonium.

Who could blame them though?

What they had seen was the very definition of chaos.

A certain private ran into the former Schnee heiress in their haste and she brushed off the sincere yet distracted apology as she was distracted herself.

It had been a few hours since the Grimm had appeared in the skies.

According to the latest information, they still had made no moves; the Scheolan beasts simply stayed in their terror-inducing formation, the black queen chess piece making whatever sword Damocles had been scared of seem trivial.

Reaching her destination, she stood in front of a door, frowning as though unsure how to open it or of whether she should walk in or not.

Finally though, she made to knock but the door opened before she could.

Standing before her with a jolly smile, was her father and majority shareholder of the Schnee Dust Company, Jacques Schnee.

His face was as airy as usual, without a care in the world although it could hardly hide the awkwardness and carefulness with which he regarded his daughter, unsure – like she had been a few moments past- of what to do.

His arms moved jerkily as though he were looking for a hug, then a handshake before giving her a small salute and inviting her in for some tea.

She said she wouldn't be staying long, but still followed him into the room, all the while asking herself why she didn't just say what she had to say at the door.

"How's mom?"

The question was simple, taking a single breath to rattle off but it was loaded with layers of meanings, and accusations, and even answers.

"You know how she gets sometimes about leaving the house," he said as he led her to a seat, "She hardly let me leave, but I was insistent since it was Weiss' first Vytal Tournament. Whitley tried to get her to come too but... you know how she is about leaving the house."

There was no small measure of strain in his voice as he spoke, each word being measured as he feared to upset the Atlesian warrior that was, sometimes, his daughter.

"Yeah, how's Whitley enjoying the city?"

"He's not having a bad time of it at all. He went out with Weiss and her friends today, although that may have been spoiled by the... events today."

She looked at the timepiece at the corner of the cozy room, it hadn't been two minutes since she walked in but she was already exhausted from talking to him.

She had expected something more.

"I came simply to thank you for saving me and my crew earlier, there's probably a medal or some other award waiting for you at the end of... all this."

"Thank you."

Despite having finished what she came for, she still stared at her father's face.

She was expecting something more, she wasn't sure what.

Maybe her intense stare would reveal it to her.

Despite being middle-aged, the signs of age were almost undetectable, his face was smooth, like a baby's.

It would be more accurate to say it was doll-like.

Yes, that was it, doll-like. It reminded her of those porcelain models that outshone the Grimm figurines and Huntsman action figures on the shelves.

The same ones she wasn't allowed to have because "they're fragile, if you play with them they'll crack".

She used to think the same thing of her father; that if she played, treated him like other girls treated their fathers, he would crack. She felt that he wasn't made of the same soft, plush materials that a dad was supposed to consist of.

Inuwa or some other god had messed up his ingredients and made him this perpetually smiling manikin instead.

She used to think that until a few hours ago.

That scene of the Grimm was the single most terrifying episode of her life, she still felt the chill in her bones with every remembrance of it- although you can't exactly remember something that never stopped replaying in your head.

And in that her darkest moment, she had done something she never would have guessed; she reached out for her father.
And he wasn't like those dolls, not in every way at least, he was cool to the touch yes, but underneath that cold layer of skin, she felt his warmth. And when she squeezed, there weren't any cracks, just him squeezing back.

That had deceived her into expecting more from this man.

Something about their interaction made her realize her mistake though; he wasn't human. Not in any important way at least. She must have imagined that warmth, because if she didn't then where did it go?

She had just faced the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced and she wanted to see in his eyes that he felt in some way like she did. That he was scared like her.

Fragile like her.

Human like her.

...But there was nothing there.

No kinship.

No emotion.

No humanity.

She wasn't looking for explicit comfort.

Just the assurance that he was there and that he felt the same as she did.

Instead, he was calm.

Instead, he was smiling.

Instead...

He was here drinking tea!

Her vision went black for a second and when it returned, she saw that everywhere from the walls to the ceiling was covered in dark liquid that she later identified to be tea.

Partially because of the sweet smell but also because the ornate teapot that had been on the table was now shattered, its pieces in almost as many different spots as the tea stains.

The culprit was her blade, she knew because it was stained in the liquid but also because she had very much wanted to do it.

She stomped out of the room, bumping into a man with a pristine uniform who seemed to be making his way to the room himself and neglecting to apologise.

"The Council has called for the weaponisation of Penny Polendina."

The statement was made by General Ironwood as he strode into Ozpin's office, the latter's Vice being conspicuously missing from his side.

"I assumed they would," was Ozpin's cool reply, his fingers steepled and eyes closed behind his tinted spectacles.

"We're at least two years from that," James protested, "Her education isn't nearly complete."

His voice was firm and insistent, he knew she wasn't ready.

"And yet here we are, without any alternatives."

The statement General was aware of this, painfully so. Once more he had to come to Ozpin for an answer and he was sent away with what he knew to be true from the beginning.

Why couldn't the old bastard make it any easier?

"I'll prep her," he virtually sighed out, making his way to the exit.

"She's not enough though," the grey wizard declared while taking a sip from his mug, "Not for what's coming."

"I'm working on something," he continued, seeing that James had restrained any questions because he knew there was more, "I just need to make sure."

"We're relying on you as usual."

The night sky was very dark.

Sure, the moon was out and the stars twinkled in their constellations, but anyone present at the time would declare that it was dark.

Their expressions said it, hundreds and more gathered around the CCTS, their faces saying precisely that the night was dark, communicating it en masse without a single word needing to be uttered.

Penny watched the scene from inside one of the tower's rooms.

This was it. The Defender of Mantle was going to be revealed to her charge.

She was nervous, she was scared.

Her humanity could be debated endlessly, but the numerous and contradictory emotions that raged in her were her own confirmation that although she may not be human, she was still something, someone, that was more than gears and bolts and programming.

She wouldn't blame anyone who didn't believe this though; she hadn't been so sure of herself either, not until...

"A double date?" the question came from the mouth of the Atlesian Android with a little bit of shock.

"Yes," Ciel said, trying to hold back her devious smile, "You kept saying that you wanted to be involved in more interactions, so I went ahead and scored us some dates."

"Oh, you're right'" Penny acknowledged with a smile, "But..."

"You don't plan to cancel do you?" she pressed, knowing that she did, as she had been finding excuses to go out on her own for weeks now.

"Not at all," Penny said evasively, "I've just never been on a date before so I'm hesitant."

Ciel looked at her partner and wondered when she had learned to lie so well. She had been spending more and more time with Colonel Russo, maybe that was part of it.

"Don't worry, I'll be there with you the whole time, now put this on."

The pair sat at a cafe table across their dates, who turned out to be Russell and Dove from Team LDR.

Their exchanges had been awkward, with the boys trying their best to entertain and intrigue their dates and the girls being clearly distracted but at least Penny trying to give the occasional false laugh and Ciel just staring intently at Dove, although she tried to hide it.

Suddenly though, Penny rose to her feet, whispering into her partner's ear before bowing to their dates with some mumblings about how she was sorry and fleeing the awkward scene.

"She was lying," Dove said, leaning back as he took a bite from his scone, "What did she say?"

"That the General needed her," Ciel said back to him, frowning in contemplation of what the girl was up to.

Her pondering brought forth nothing and once again, she stared intently but with the intention to look aloof about it.

He was dangerous.

That was the conclusion she had come to after studying him.

The whole date was a scheme, she had gotten these two together on the pretence, in order find out once and for all where the red robot had been sneaking off to.

She had at first tried to sell it as a real date when she met them, they were the best candidate because they went stag (involuntarily) at the last dance and it was rumoured that Russell had a teleportation semblance, something that would be very useful.

Dove saw through her though, and she came clean and was instead paying them for this charade.

He was able to do exactly that with Penny even though he hadn't even heard what she said.

"So, are we going to follow her or are you just going to keep checking me out?"

He had noticed, was it from body language?

"Yeah, we'll follow her now," she said turning to Russell who held onto her and his partner, "She'll be in Steoul."

With that, the trio disappeared leaving the bills on the table.

Arriving in Steoul, the trio walked the streets looking for the red-haired robot.

"That's her," Dove said, pointing at a woman donning an Atlesian Army Uniform holding up a picture and asking some civilians questions farther down the street.

Ciel was slightly worried that he was off, but still pulled out her scroll and texted Penny.
Surely enough, the soldier took out her scroll and turned around to look at them.

Ciel's text read: We're directly behind you, so let's just talk about what you're doing now.
Ciel received a text back and saw her move towards an alley. The text read for them to meet there to talk.

"Who's this?" the Atlessian operative asked as she looked at the hideous visage in the photo she had been showing people.
Penny had now removed her disguise, and was staring down at the floor like a chastised child.

"Permit me to say something," Dove interjected, stepping between Penny and her partner.

"I'm going to tell you what my semblance is despite the author wanting to keep it somewhat mysterious so that someone else can use the same ability if need be. My Map of the Soul ability allows me to see- among other things- what you're feeling now. I feel guilt from you, shame, you feel as though you've failed somebody, as though you can't measure up to the responsibilities that are have been laid on your shoulders."

Penny looked at him imperceptibly as he spoke surprised and almost alarmed at how he saw through her, but at the same time relieved.

She hadn't known exactly what she'd been feeling; whether the knot in her stomach was guilt or a result of her programming, whether her lack of sleep meant remorse or was simply punishment for failing her mission to protect.

There was something humanising about his words that made it less terrifying that he was laying her bare to everyone present. There was something that made his piercing gaze a relief.

Dove smiled subtly as he saw the changes within her and decided to press on.

"Penny," he continued, holding Ciel's hand and pulling her closer to her partner, "She's your friend, and she's here because she's worried about you. She deserves to know what's going on."

Penny looked straight into her partner's eyes.

Despite their harshness, somewhere in those blue orbs was genuine concern, of course Penny was simply her charge to take care of, but she wasn't just that, her eyes said as much.

Emboldened by the gaze of the two people and Russell who was standing there uselessly, she gathered the courage to spill out her darkest secret.

"It happened during the Black Wave that hit Vale."

"Your ring is beautiful sir," she said as she moved through the air towards the city's western area,
"I'm honoured to meet someone who once served Atlas too. Um, I never did get your name sir,mine's Penny."
"My name is Ar-"
THUD!
Before he could finish his sentence, a Cauldron emerged, seemingly from nowhere, and struck the redhead defender from behind causing her to let go of the man she was holding.
"WAA-" he exclaimed as he fell down towards the pavement.
Penny followed after him as fast as she could, but before she could reach him, a cloud of Cauldrons emerged between them.
That was the last she had seen of him.

"I've been looking for him ever since," she confessed, her voice lowering in some sort of shame or regret, "I've tried everything, it's all been futile. He was supposed to live in this part of the city, so I've been searching, hoping that I'd find at least someone who knew him."

Turning to her partner, she said: "I'm supposed to be a defender, I couldn't even save one person."

The redhead fell to her knees, everything was at 100% but she felt inexplicably exhausted, unable to even move a limb.

What was the point of all this?

What had she been made for?

She hadn't been able to defend anything.

Her very first attempt had nearly killed a student.

Someone like her, something like her was a mistake.

Ciel was at a loss, she was a little happy that her behaviour hadn't been something nefarious liked she had feared, like mind control or something (she had an active imagination), but still, this was... difficult.

She turned to Dove as though she expected him to give her some kind of "right" answer.
He shook his head slowly instead, not even turning towards her. It seemed she was the only person who could do anything about this.

"Look," she began, some annoyance apparent in her voice, "I don't think I've made it a secret that I don't like you very much. It's nothing personal, I just don't care for this sort of work."

After saying this, she sat on the floor next to Remnant's Pinocchio, making sure their faces were close to level.

"However, from the time we've spent together I've learned a couple things:

"Firstly, you're an airhead. Even the simplest things fly over your head sometimes and it's annoying to be honest."

"Secondly," she was using her gloved fingers to count the points sort of like she was talking to a toddler, although that wasn't her intention, "You're determined, after all you've been searching for this guy for weeks. You're genuinely committed to making amends for your mistake and that's because you- more than anything else- are a genuinely good person."

"And I don't know if these are the most important things in a defender, but they're things that are part of you, and like it or not you're our defender. You don't have a choice so be airheaded, be determined, be good. That's all we're asking from you. That's all you need to ask of yourself."

Ciel doubted that she'd ever spoken for so long in her life before, the words poured out of her with an earnestness she hadn't known she could exhibit outside feelings towards the Atlesian Army.

"I'm not sure if any of what I said made sense, despite revising it over and over, but you should know..."

She rose to her feet, taking her partner up with her.

"...That you have to step up no matter what."
"Um, we're going now," Ciel said after a few moments, referring to their "dates", "Thanks for your help."

"Sure thing," the pair returned with a smile. The pair had understood very little of most of what had been said but they understood that good had been done one way or another so they were satisfied.

Not to mention that Ciel paid them to play fake dates.

She had to step up, no matter what.

"People of Vale!" The General began, his voice having a slightly soothing effect.

"This is a terrifying situation, one that we've never encountered and that I honestly can't wrap my head around."

His words reflected the precise sentiment of the people.

What was this?

What did it mean?

What should they do?

"However," he continued, his voice full of bravery and defiance, "The people of Remnant are not a people that wait for the unknown and unexpected to blindside them!"

"We are a people who look forward regardless of the darkness before us and find the light. We are a people who value victory above all else, and we won't be deterred by this!"

With every line, his voice rose in tempo and volume, sending a trill through the crowd, their negativity slinking back into a corner of their hearts.

He was right; the people of Remnant were born into a world of chaos, this was just a new kind, and they'd adapt.

"That is why I, on behalf of the Council and the heads of all four schools and of course the Atlesian Military, present to you, the first of its kind; the Defender of Mantle, Penny Polendina."

The General's speech just now had been comparable to a fire starting, the tinder giving off smoke as it was slowly consumed by the infant flame that was growing by the second.

The appearance of an average-looking schoolgirl was like someone unceremoniously pissing on that flame and putting it out with a coarse grin.

What was this?

A joke?

Was this supposed to be their saviour?

The spirits of the denizens that had been rising were instantly quelled with despair.

Penny stood before them, wow that crowd was big.

She closed her eyes for a second, collecting herself before looking to the General who nodded at her in affirmation.

She lifted off from the balcony, gently hovering over the crowd with a determined expression.

Flying wasn't a particularly rare sight in Remnant, it was impressive but certainly nothing extraordinary. Despite that fact though, the people were still in awe of this defender.

There was something about her aura that was not only firm, but comforting.
Suddenly, she zoomed into the sky, and towards the Black Wave in the distance followed by the Atlesian airships, with the General appearing at the helm of one of them all of a sudden.

Clap, clap.

It was unsure where the applause started from, but it spread throughout the crowd like a wave, the fire ignited once more.

Amity Coliseum burst with excitement as the collision was broadcast to them.

The battle that followed was beyond words.
Penny took the helm, a bright green light proceeding from her and making the darkness of the scene bearable.

The battle had barely begun, but they had won, the people knew it.