54

Chapter 54: Of Bots and Birds

Saturday, Beacon Training Hall

"C'mon, Penny, that all ya got?"

Penny leapt forward again, eyes glowing bright green as she threw her fist out. Yang quickly brought up her right arm, her hair illuminating as her eyes turned red. She groaned as she felt the brief pain turn to strength, new energy burning through her like wildfire. She was about to shove Penny back, only to hear Nora's excited cackling coming from her other side. Her other arm flew up, just in time to block the heavy swing of Magnhild.

The three were still for a brief second as Yang felt the pain flow through her. Pain turned to warmth, warmth turned to power, and that power wanted out.

Her eyes blazing, Yang pushed her arms out with a yell, effortlessly sending Penny and Nora flying back. The two skidded to a halt, regaining their footing, before leaping forward once again.

This was the pattern they'd been following all morning. Ever since waking up (and untangling herself from the clingy limbs of her overly-affectionate housecat of a girlfriend), Yang had been down in the training hall sparring with Nora, then Penny when the latter eventually arrived. The whole time, she never turned off her Semblance, memorizing every touch, every feeling, every bit of pain and power she received from her Semblance, trying to work out exactly how it worked.

And how to keep her Mates from hurting themselves with it.

Yang grinned at the thought of her Mates. While she was busy sparring, Ruby had decided that she would take Weiss and Blake back out into the Emerald Forest, to train them some more with her Semblance. The resulting Joy and Excitement left a pleasant buzzing feeling in the back of Yang's skull, helping her stay calm and focused as she repeatedly wailed on Nora and Penny.

After blocking a few more swings from Nora, Yang turned her attention to Penny. Fighting her was a bit of a trip, in all honesty. She had no real experience with fisticuffs (something she'd made a point to tell Yang about six times before they started), but she hit like a truck, her small fists packing enough power to send Yang skidding back with every blow.

Although… something seemed a little off. Yang had watched Penny spar with her teammates all week, long enough to at least get a general feel for how she fought. Usually, even in just a minor spar, Penny had laser focus on whatever she was doing. Every duck, dodge, and sword swipe came out perfectly, like she was in a choreographed fight that the rest of them hadn't practiced for.

Now though, Penny seemed… slower. Still blazing fast by most standards, but compared to what Yang had seen? Penny almost seemed distracted, like she actually had to think before moving. Maybe it was due to the change in fighting style, but still…

Yang blocked a few more of Penny's heavy hits until the burning in her arms suddenly grew hotter. Her red eyes widened in surprise and pain. "Time out!"

Penny froze mid punch, while Nora nearly toppled as Magnhild tried to rip itself out of her hands from an aborted swing. The two watched curiously as Yang's eyes slid closed.

She tensed, focusing on her Semblance. The power was like a boiling river, flowing through her body as it hissed and bubbled. As the seconds ticked by, she could feel the slight trembling beneath her skin, a vibration that went all the way down to her bones. Already, she could feel it building, the shaking growing stronger.

Her eyes flew open, her arm pulling back. She grit her teeth and punched downward.

All the heat, the power, surged forward, the river breaking its banks. It tore through her, practically ripping itself from her body as it rushed towards a single point: her fist.

A sickening crack echoed throughout the training hall, causing the other spars going on to pause and look. Most everyone gawked at Yang, now kneeling at the center of a six-foot spiderweb crack in the marble floor.

The power now gone, Yang gasped for breath, exhaustion flooding her as the glow left her eyes and hair. She let out a chuckle. It was a good kind of exhaustion, the kind she usually got after a satisfying workout.

Nora let out a low whistle as she walked up to her, Magnhild casually hanging off her shoulder. She eyed the broken floor in amusement. "Yeesh. Either I'm tougher than I thought, or you were holding out on us."

Yang breathed a laugh, taking her hand when she offered it. "Eh. Let everything out in one punch. Awesome, but I'm kind of tapped now." Back on her feet, she stretched out her sore arm, only to wince slightly.

Penny quickly strode over, brow pinched in concern. "Yang? Are you injured?"

Yang waved her off. "Think I fractured a couple of fingers. Aura's already taking care of it." She flexed her hand, pain receding with every movement. She flashed them both a grin. "I think that's all I got for today. Thanks. I owe ya both."

Nora scoffed, bringing Magnhild's head down to the broken floor with a loud bang. She leaned on its handle, treating the massive hammer like a cane. "C'mon, you don't owe me nothin'. Any excuse to get my blood pumping like that is all I need." Penny gave a small nod in agreement, smiling.

Yang just shook her head, grinning. "Whatever. I'll figure something out later."

Nora rolled her eyes but returned the grin. "Well, if we're done, I gotta run. I finally convinced the guys to come with me to this cool noodle place across town." Her grin widened. "They've got an awesome curry dish there. Super spicy. Might finally get a reaction out of Ren."

Yang cocked her head, a little perplexed. "Didn't peg Ren as the type to take that kind of challenge."

Nora smiled wider, a wicked gleam in her eye. "I might not have mentioned it to him yet."

Yang blinked, then started snickering. "Girl, you are evil."

Nora gave her a mocking bow, swinging Magnhild back onto her shoulder. "I aim to please. That reminds me, though. Jaune said something about our teams maybe hanging out together, palling around the city a bit. Think you could ask Ruby what she thinks about it?"

"I'll pass along the message. Could be a fun time!"

"Awesome! I'll let Jaune know. Later!" She turned to leave, but not before giving Penny a wide smile. "It was nice to meet you, Penny. Maybe next time, me and you can try to figure out who's stronger." She held out her free arm towards the android, fist closed.

Penny blinked at her fist for a moment, surprised, before her face broke out in a wide grin. She slammed her fist into Nora's, saying, "That sounds like fun! Happy to meet you too, Nora!"

If Nora felt any pain from Penny's hand shattering fistbump, she didn't show it. If anything, she just seemed more excited, giving the two a wide wave goodbye before jogging out of the room.

"She seems very nice," Penny said as they watched Nora go.

Yang chuckled. "Yeah. Just don't make her mad. Nora gets a little swing happy when she's ticked off."

Penny cocked her head, thinking. "I will keep that in mind." She then looked back down at Yang's hand, concern plain on her face. "Are you sure you are alright?"

Yang just brushed her off. "I'm fine, Pen. Give me five minutes and I'll be as right as rain." She started walking out of the hall, ignoring all the stunned students gawking at her. Penny was right on her heels, probably about to go back to the Atlassian headquarters where Winter was. Yang hesitated as they left the hall, curiosity now burning within her. She contemplated only a moment, then turned back to Penny. "Are you doing okay?"

Penny's head jerked up slightly as she met Yang's eyes as if she'd been startled from her thoughts. "I am fully functional, Yang. Why do you ask?"

Yang shrugged. "I dunno. Just seemed like you were a little distracted when we were sparring. Thought something might be wrong."

Penny blinked in surprise. She opened her mouth to respond, only to hesitate. Her eyes darted from Yang to the floor and back again. "It's, um… not something I can really talk about."

Yang frowned at how Penny refused to make eye contact. "Why not? Is it classified or something?"

She'd meant it as a joke, but Penny nodded her head, biting her lower lip nervously. "Yes, actually."

"Oh." Yang suddenly felt rather awkward, looking off to the side as she thought about what to say. Looking back to Penny out of the corner of her eye, she simply asked, "Robot stuff?"

That at least startled Penny into looking back at Yang. Seeing the amused grin on Yang's lips eased her nerves a little, a tentative smile of her own forming. "Basically… yeah. Robot stuff."

Yang gave a brief laugh under her breath, happy to have coaxed a smile out of the android. "Well, I don't want to get you in trouble." Even as she said that, though, she could still feel her curiosity burning just as hot as her Semblance had earlier. "But… you could tell me a little. Not specifics!" she added when she saw Penny's smile start to dip, her hands going up defensively. "You don't have to get specific. You can keep it vague if you want, but I'm willing to listen if you want to talk."

Penny stared at Yang as the two slowed to a stop. Their walk had brought them out into the courtyard, Yang having led them to the base of a large tree not too far from the school entrance. The courtyard was remarkably empty, most of the student body having wandered into the city to enjoy their weekend.

Penny still looked back and forth across the grounds, her hands fisting in trepidation. Her green eyes met Yang's lavender, shining with apprehension. "Yang… you're my friend… right?"

Now Yang blinked in surprise, letting out an incredulous laugh. "Well, I hope so! You helped us fight off a crazy guy in an oversized mech, and kept me from becoming street pizza. I'd say that makes us friends in my book."

Penny's lips pulled up into a small smile at her words. Then she frowned, looking down at the ground. After a few moments, she muttered quietly to herself, "'Trust your friends.'" She thought for a moment, then nodded. Nervously, she met Yang's eyes. "There's a… job, that General Ironwood wants me to do. It's extremely important, but… the person who currently has the job can't do it anymore. He thinks I'm the only one who can replace her."

Yang frowned, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the tree. "Okay… why's he think you're the only one for the job?"

Penny ducked her head, her shoulders hunching. "Because… it's the entire reason I was built?"

It took Yang a moment to absorb that statement, her mouth popped open, murmuring, "O-oh.."

Penny nodded, her lips quivering into a rueful smile before she looked back down at the ground. "I've always known I was going to become- to take the job," Her cheeks tinted green at her slip up, but Yang made no comment outside of a raised eyebrow. "I have since I was made. But now…"

"Now…?" Yang prompted.

Penny heaved another sigh, her shoulders slumping slightly. "After our debriefing… um, our meeting with the Headmasters about our fight against Roman Torchwick, Professor Ozpin asked to talk to me alone. He…"

When she trailed off, Yang held back a sigh. "Take your time, Penny," she said, only slightly sarcastic. She wanted to help Penny if she could, but it would help if the synthetic girl would give her a straight answer.

After a few more moments of silence, Penny continued. "Professor Ozpin is the one who will ultimately decide if I get the job or not. He asked me a few minor questions. Just small things, like 'what do I enjoy doing' and 'what do I think of Beacon?'. But then… then he asked me, 'why do you want to… take the job?'" She looked down, frowning at something. "I don't think he liked my answer."

Yang frowned with her. "What did you say?"

"The only thing I could." Penny gave a tiny shrug. "Because it's what I was made for." Her frown deepened, confusion in her eyes. "He gave me this look. I don't think he was angry, but… he looked almost… sad." Quietly, she muttered to herself, "Why was he sad?"

"What happened next?"

"He told me he'd think about it. Apparently, he already had someone else in mind for the job before he found out about me. He said he was going to consider which of us would be better suited as a replacement, and for me to… 'figure out why I want to do it, rather than why I should do it." Her eyes narrowed slightly as she gave her head a little shake. "I've been thinking about it all week, and I'm still not sure I even know what the distinction is."

Yang hummed, not quite sure what to make of Ozpin's words herself. Trying to understand their cryptic Headmaster was a losing effort to begin with. Instead, she asked Penny, "What brought this on all of a sudden? You didn't seem all that distracted back at the warehouse."

Penny crossed her arms as she sighed (making Yang wonder if robots needed to breathe). "General Ironwood told me my placement in the Vytal tournament today. You see, I'm not part of an official team back at Atlas Academy, so he… assigned me a partner. We'll be the only two-man team at the tournament."

"Okay," Yang said. "What's wrong with that?"

"Because it's never happened before!" Penny's lips fell into a frustrated pout, one Yang instantly recognized from seeing Ruby's over the years. "I checked the records. There's never been a team with less than four people in the tournament since its inception! They've never made exceptions before, but now… the General is making it happen."

Yang hummed to herself, piecing Penny's plight together. "So… you're ticked because you're getting special treatment?"

Penny bit her lip, hesitating, then gave a tiny nod. "General Ironwood and Professor Ozpin have been arguing about whether or not I should… get the job. Ozpin was against my creation in the first place, but the General had me created anyway. I think… I think the General is hoping that if I beat Ozpin's candidate in the tournament, that it'll prove that he was right."

Yang's head pulled back a little, her eyes blinking in surprise. She was silent for a moment. Then she let out a hollow laugh, absent of humor. "So the bigwigs are trying to one-up each other, and you're caught in the middle. Penny, that's…" She shook her head, huffing in disbelief. "That is beyond stupid."

Penny just hung her head sadly, her shoulders slumping. "I just don't know what to do."

Yang frowned, absently digging her heel into the dirt. "I wish I had an answer for you, Pen." After a moment of just watching Penny stew, her lips slowly formed a half-smile. "Hey." She waited until Penny lifted her head to speak. "Y'know we got your back if anything happens, right?"

Surprise spread over Penny's face, followed by a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I know, Yang. But I don't wish for any of you to get in trouble helping me." She pouted in annoyance. "I don't even know what help I need right now."

Feeling a small pang in her chest, Yang reached out and grasped Penny by the shoulder. She gave the android a soft smile. "We went after a master criminal in a war machine to try and help Blake. I think we've established we're not worried about getting in trouble. When you figure out what you need, tell us. You've got us RWBYs, Sun Neptune, and probably Nora and her team now; you ever need some backup, you've got it."

Penny stared at her, her green eyes gaining a glassy sheen. A large grin broke out over her face. "I'll remember that, Yang."

"You better," Yang said jokingly, giving the robot girl a light punch to the shoulder.

The sound of a ringing scroll suddenly filled the air, making both girls reach for their pockets. It was Penny's making noise, and the android pulled it apart and read off the screen. She let out a small sigh.

Yang frowned. "What's up?"

Penny shook her head. "Specialist Winter is calling me back to base. She just received the information on my partner."

Yang pursed her lips but quickly hid it behind a smirk. "Well, you better not keep her waiting. Make sure to get all the juicy details. Maybe if your partner's cool, you can bring them around here to meet everybody."

Penny blinked in surprise but smiled again. "That would be nice."

Yang chuckled a little. "Just keep it in mind. And remember: you need someone that'll get your back, we're all here waiting."

Penny grinned, giving a thankful nod. "I will. See you soon, friend!"

Yang waved as Penny took off down the courtyard, smiling fondly as she watched her go. She leaned back against the tree, looking up in thought. There was something about Penny that just made her enjoyable to be around, like a more timid Ruby.

Of course, with that in mind, Yang made a note to keep track of this whole Ozpin vs. Ironwood thing. The way Penny described it… well, it was sending up a few red flags that made Yang want to start asking questions. Forceful questions. That involved hitting stupid people.

"Well look at you. Guess Ruby's not the only one you give big sister talks to."

Yang jolted as a rough voice cut through her thoughts. Her eyes shot wide as her head snapped to the side, her mouth popping open in shock.

Leaning up against a nearby light pole stood a tall man with smoky red eyes and messy black hair. He wore a grey and white dress shirt, and a tattered red cape that hung around his neck, partially hiding the massive sword hanging off his back.

A beaming smile broke out over Yang's face at the sight of the man. She launched herself away from the tree, letting out a laugh of disbelief. "Uncle Qrow!"

Qrow Branwen smirked at her, pushing away from the light pole. As Yang drew closer, he threw his arms out to catch her in a hug. "Long time no see, kiddo." He then grunted when Yang squeezed him extra hard, his eyes bulging slightly. "Yeah…" he wheezed. "Shoulda seen that coming."

Yang laughed as she pulled away, noting that the scent of alcohol that usually hovered around Qrow seemed a bit fainter than usual. "What?" she asked with a grin. "Afraid for your brittle bones, old man?"

Qrow narrowed his eyes at her, his smile shrinking in faux disdain. "I can still kick your butt, little girl."

Yang rolled her eyes, the grin growing wider. "What the heck are you doing here? I figured you'd be out slicing up Grimm right now." A thought then struck her, morphing her smile into a suspicious scowl. "Hey, you're not here just to check up on us, are you? I told Dad he had nothing to worry about!"

Qrow lazily put his hands up in defense, still smirking. "Ease up on the fire, little dragon. I know you can handle things." He then paused, shrugging in disinterest. "Well, mostly."

Yang crossed her arms, lifting her chin in defiance. "What's that supposed to mean?"

To her annoyance, Qrow's smirk grew. "Nothing much. Just, uh…" He bobbed his head towards Yang, his eyes dropping lower. "I'm pretty sure Taiyang had a thing about 'no tattoos'."

In an instant, Yang's whole body went rigid, her hand slapping up over her neck. The humor and happiness of reuniting with her uncle washed away in seconds, replaced by cold realization and rapidly building panic.

My Mark! He saw my Mark! Does… does he know what it is? Ohhh, crap! Ruby! Sis, mayday! Mayday! I need backup here!

Her silent plea received no reply other than a sense of Confusion from Ruby. Yang wanted to scream in frustration. Thanks to the Link, all Ruby would sense was that Yang was panicking, not scared of any danger.

"So!" Yang loudly said, plastering on a wide smile that showed just how aware she was of her blatant subject change. "What brings you to Beacon?"

Qrow merely arched an eyebrow at her, thoroughly unimpressed. His eyes turned up in a minor roll as he decided to play along. "A few things. Thought I'd pop in with Oz and compare notes before anything else. And…" He paused, his head wavering slightly like he was mulling over his next words. "Something… different came up. Nothing bad… I think. I was kind of hoping to get you and Ruby's input."

Yang's chin lifted in surprise. "Oh. What's up?"

Qrow let out a brief chuckle, his eyes drifting up to look at the Academy spires high above. "Let's track down your sister first. Y'know I hate repeating myself. Any idea where she is?"

"She went out for a run… uh, a trial run, with our other teammates," Yang swapped words mid-sentence, her mind jumbling as she tried to figure out what she should and shouldn't say. "Y'know, testing out some new strategies and… stuff."

"Huh." Qrow nodded slowly. "Sounds cool. So, they out practicing somewhere?"

"Um…" Yang acted like she was looking around the grounds, trying to find the rest of her team. Instead, once she turned around so she was facing away from Qrow, her eyes slammed shut and she reached out for the Link. She breathed a silent sigh of relief when she looked up at the first-year dorms, seeing the wispy aura of Ruby and her Mates huddled together as they moved forward. Opening her eyes, she grinned when she saw what part of the building she was facing. "Actually," she said confidently, "they should be back at the dorm by now."

"Ah, perfect! Let's head up then." Without another word, Qrow started towards the first-year dorms. Yang looked after him, a little startled. She quickly followed, asking, "Uh, don't you need to know where my dorm is, Unc?"

Qrow waved her off… well, flippantly waved his arm at her. "Eh, I already know. Dropped off Zwei there about an hour ago."

"You brought Zwei?" Yang asked in surprise, a grin quickly forming.

Qrow chuckled at the sight of her smile. "Yeah, Taiyang asked me to bring him with. Apparently, the little guy has been in a bit of a funk since his playmates ran off to fight giant monsters."

Yang laughed, a bit more spring in her step as they entered the building. "I bet. I miss him, too. Man, Ruby's going to flip when she sees… wait."

Qrow paused mid-step, raising an eyebrow as he turned back to Yang, who had stopped in the middle of the hall. She looked up at him in quickly building panic. "What?" he asked.

RWBY Dorm

"Uhh… everything hurts…"

"You can feel things again? I'm still numb all over."

Ruby had to hold back giggles as she, Blake, and Weiss slowly trudged into their dorm, the original speedster supporting her Mates as their legs wobbled. "C'mon, guys, it's not that bad."

Weiss let out what she meant to be a scoff, but all her tired lungs could offer was a light huff. "Ruby, I feel like my legs got turned inside out and back again." She groaned as she pulled away from Ruby's grasp, stumbling a few steps until she reached her bed's banister. She leaned against it, sliding until she was sitting on her bed. "Why did we agree to run ten laps through the forest?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, shuffling awkwardly between Weiss' bed and her own, which now sat haphazardly in the middle of the room, removed from its precarious suspension in preparation for both it and Weiss's being replaced. She carefully laid Blake down across her bed, the cat Faunus letting out a tired groan of her own, before saying, "Because you two said you wanted to test your limits."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Blake mumbled, huffing at the ceiling as her cat ears wilted. Weiss muttered in agreement, something about cursing her own 'stupid pride'.

"Well…" Ruby said, trying to lighten the mood. "You both lasted longer than before."

"I still lost myself at the end there," Weiss grumbled dejectedly.

Ruby was quick to reassure her. "But it took longer to happen than before! You both are way ahead of where I was after just a week."

Blake thought on her words for a moment, then pushed herself up on her elbows and asked, "So how old were you when you were where we're at?"

Ruby paused, scratching her cheek as she looked up at the ceiling. "Um…"

"Ruby…" Weiss droned warningly. "How old?"

"I don't know," Ruby replied, in a tone that clearly said she did know. "Maybe… uh…" She looked between the two, shrugging with a sheepish smile. "Eleven?"

Weiss' eyes widened and Blake's cat ears shot up. The two shot each other a look, then flopped down on their beds with a groan.

Ruby looked between the two exhausted girls, part in concern, and part in humor. "Are you two gonna be okay to go out later?"

Both girls let out a slight huff at the reminder. They'd decided earlier that morning that, after their run was done and they'd reunited with Yang, the four would go out into the city simply to relax and have fun, something they hadn't done since the lockdown two weeks ago. Of course, when Weiss and Blake agreed to that, they hadn't expected to be so dead tired.

With a sigh and a grunt, Weiss pushed herself fully, preparing to stand. "We're fine, Ruby. Just… let me take a shower first?" she almost pleaded, pulling at her sweat-soaked collar in clear discomfort.

"Dibs on the next," Blake said, weakly raising her arm up as she kept still across the bed.

As Weiss shuffled around the room, collecting clean clothes, Blake tried to push herself up. Her sore arms protested, making her fall back again, her head hanging limply over the edge. It wasn't a particularly uncomfortable position, so she just laid back and listened as Ruby and Weiss discussed their plans for the rest of the day.

After a minute or so, her eyes started to drift around the room. It only took a moment to notice something out of place, even from her upside-down perspective.

She groaned inwardly. Damn it, Yang. I asked you to make my bed before you left. With a grunt, she managed to roll and swing her body around, pulling herself up. She looked down in annoyance at the disheveled sheets. Rolling her eyes, she leaned over and started pulling at the top corners of her bed.

The moment she leaned over, she froze. Her ears pulled back against her head as an unfamiliar scent hit her nose. Well, mostly unfamiliar. But that couldn't be right. There was no way in hell that…

Her eyes trailed down the disturbed sheets of her bed. A particularly large lump in the middle quickly drew her attention.

Behind her, Ruby and Weiss looked up from their conversation, catching on to the Confusion and Dread coming from their girlfriend.

In a quick motion, Blake ripped the covers off her bed.

Furred, pointed ears twitched in the sudden air. A small head unfurled itself from the ball of fur curled up at the center of her bed, looking around in confusion. Sharp, white teeth gleamed as their owner let out a yawn, awakened from their nap.

Beady brown eyes looked up at Blake, meeting her terrified amber. A pink tongue lolled out as its owner panted happily.

"Arf!"

"Mrrrow!"

"You left Zwei in our dorm alone?!"

"Yeah?" Qrow said, confused by Yang's outburst.

"Ruby's heading to our dorm with our other teammates!"

"...so?" Qrow asked, not seeing the problem. "Glynda didn't want him running all over the place when I was talking to Oz. What, one of them allergic to dogs or something?"

Yang glared at her uncle, throwing her hands over her head. "Qrow, my partner is a cat Faunus!"

Qrow blinked at her. "Oh." A few seconds passed in silence before the realization sank in. Qrow's head lifted a little… then gave a small shrug. "Whoops?"

Yang gawked incredulously at him, then quickly took off at a run. "Ohcrap,ohcrap,ohcrap…" she kept chanting as she made a beeline for the stairs. She made a mental note to chew the hell out of Qrow later, but first, she had to get to Blake. If the Faunus stumbled across Zwei without warning…

Oh, I hope Blake is one of those cats that likes dogs.

Just then, a slew of emotion bombarded her across the Link from each of her Mates. Panic and Terror from Blake. Joy and Excitement from Ruby. And utter Confusion from Weiss.

Yang groaned loudly to herself in frustration. Of course. When am I ever that lucky?

Yang took off so quickly, she didn't even notice that she was starting to trail yellow rose petals as she ran. Nor did she see the amused smirk on Qrow's lips, that slowly morphed into a small frown as he looked around the old first-year hallways.

He took a deep breath, his eyes closing. He let the breath out slowly, opening his eyes to look skyward. "Okay…" he muttered to himself, glancing out a nearby window. Even from across the courtyard, Qrow could make out the small blotch of black hiding in the upper branches of a far-off tree. He gave a slight nod, and the large raven took flight, soaring off in the direction of the city.

Qrow watched the raven disappear off into the sky, then turned to follow Yang, who was already long gone. Face set in determination, he took off after his niece.

"Well…" he said aloud. "Here goes nothing."