92

Black Rose Blooms SilverCyberQueen_Jolyne

Chapter 92

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"General Ironwood," Ruby murmured, posture stiff and uncomfortable as she greeted the General as he stood there with his arms held behind his back in perfect posture. She kept her eyes on the man's face, her grimm matter trembling and writhing internally as she held onto Penny's hand for comfort. 

"General Ironwood! It is… good to see you again!" Penny smiled, very much feeling just as awkward as Ruby as she subtly pressed herself against Ruby's shoulder, both of their Auras pulsing against each other as they tried not to show any sort of fear or panic- what was the General doing here? In Pietro's temporary home? How could he have even known- did the driver tell him while they were on the way? "Why are you here, sir?"

"At ease, girls. I'm just here to check in," Ironwood stated, trying to put on a comforting smile but mostly just coming across as awkward- Ruby's emotion senses detailing how… muted and somewhat delayed they were. He also seemed to be feeling some kind of social awkwardness at the current situation, even as he nodded towards Pietro as Penny's father slowly made his way into the building with the aid of a wheelchair instead of his much more mechanized walking chair- probably because it was a little too bulky for the somewhat more narrow doors inside the building. "Pietro. You're doing well, I hope?"

"Oh you know, same old, same old. It's wonderful to be reunited with my daughter again, though, General," Pietro nodded, rolling to the side of the apartment (which had been, thankfully, retrofitted with a full suite of accessibility aids for the man) and putting the kettle on the stove. "What brings you here?"

"As I was explaining- I'm just here to do a wellness check. It's been several months since Penny had a full repair and workup done," Ironwood stated, nodding at Penny and looking her over with a keen eye. "You changed your outfit. It suits you- though… the mask. It's hardly befitting of-"

"It is a gift from my girlfriend, I will not be removing it," Penny shot back instantly, her expression closing off slightly as she clutched the kitty mask clasping her cloak in place with one hand, frowning ever so slightly as she almost took a half step back- until her proximity sensors reminded her of the driver- no, soldier- standing behind them, blocking the door while standing in a parade rest- though, said soldier did leave the moment Ironwood nodded at him. "I apologize if the markings are insensitive and not military approved, sir, but this is my personal self expression and I will not be removing it!"

"I- of course. I didn't mean to offend," Ironwood sighed, his own smile fading into a neutral, slight frown as he strode forward and held out his hand, now focused on Ruby instead. "Miss Rose, it's good to finally meet you- your uncle has told me a lot about you although-"

He paused, blinking slowly as he stared at her, then withdrew his hand and furrowed his brow. "..."

Why… were his prosthetics registering a massive grimm presence right in front of him?

"Although?" Ruby asked innocently, still trying not to make any sudden moves as the General took a step back and a seed of suspicion started to grow within his Aura. "Is… is something wrong, sir? Um- I'm… not in trouble for… being Penny's girlfriend… am I?"

"No- no. You're… it's… good to see that she's… getting out into the world and making friends," he answered haltingly, then seemed to regain composure as he drew himself up and cleared his throat. "That said, I can't say that I approve of how Penny has been, effectively, AWOL for nearly six months without reporting through her chain of command. While I am aware of her general status thanks to Pietro, this is unacceptable behavior for a soldier, let alone Atlas' current most valuable experimental military asset-"

"Penny is not an asset! She's a person and a girl like me!" Ruby immediately interjected, taking a step forward as her eyes shifted slightly, the glow within becoming more prominent as she held an arm out in front of Penny, as if protecting her girlfriend from the General- would he attempt to take her away? Would he force her to leave if she didn't want to? She didn't know, but whatever it was, she couldn't let him hurt her firefly in any way! "I don't regret keeping her away from you for so long if you're just going to treat her like a disposable thing instead of the living being that she is!"

"Miss Rose please calm down, I wasn't saying that Penny isn't a person I was merely trying to explain to you how important she is for both Atlas and the sake of the world- she needs proper training and guidance, and without regular updates on her condition I can't adequately keep track of her progress," Ironwood stated, attempting to project calm but still feeling agitation within- Ruby could feel his mounting suspicion and agitation and could tell that he felt like he wanted to do something rash, but what? Why did he seem so agitated and- did he know about her? What was going on? "Please, tone it down and we can have this conversation as allies, not as adversaries. All I'm saying is that Penny needs to come back to Atlas, she can't possibly be receiving adequate maintenance here without a full tech team- especially when she sent most of them back in the wake of her returning to Patch."

"She is and you'd know it if you actually read her maintenance logs and diagnostic reports!" Ruby snapped, shifting from protective anger to sarcastic defiance, still maintaining a protective position in front of Penny, who was now narrowing her eyes at the General in open distrust. 

"I am fine! Better than fine! And, all due respect General, I do not need to be stuck in Atlas where I do not want to be just because you want me to be kept safe from the world until I am ready to perform my duty!" Penny spoke up then, grabbing Ruby's hand and gritting her teeth while Pietro simply said nothing, folding his hands in his chair and shaking his head at the general. "I was made to protect the people, and I choose to do so while living among them!"

"Penny that's not-" Ironwood hissed, pinching his brow as he took a step forward, using his height to loom over the two girls for a moment before grumbling quietly. "Look, I only want what's best for you, and the fact of the matter is that your training and your experience aren't enough yet- you need to be more, you need more discipline, and you need to follow orders when they're given instead of abandoning Atlas a month into the school year just so you can gallivant around in an entirely different kingdom for half a year!"

He paused, then pinched the bridge of his nose again, the frustration evident in his voice and Aura as he pulled himself back and reigned in his more explosive impulses in favor of trying to be diplomatic. "I understand that you want to live a life of freedom, and I wish I could have given you a normal childhood, but the fact of the matter is that not only is your gallivanting a massive security risk to multiple branches of the Atlesian Military, but if anyone in Vale's council found out about your true nature outside of very controlled circumstances could result in a PR and diplomatic disaster of untold proportions that could potentially lead to another war."

"I- I had not thought about that," Penny acquiesced, wincing slightly as she lost some of her indignance and annoyance in favor of the cold realization that of the many people that lived in Vale… Team RWBY and the rest of the people that knew of her true nature were likely to be exceptions in how they reacted, rather than the rule. Who knew how the public would react to the knowledge that she was made to be a combat machine? The General was… he was right about that at least. "I apologize, General. But… I do not want to return to Atlas. I want to transfer to Beacon, and my father has already started the paperwork with Professor Ozpin."

"That's… something I've had to talk with Ozpin about. I understand, and… as long as you promise to send regular updates from now on informing me of your progress, then I'll allow it on a provisional basis as long as you have a minder," Ironwood sighed, returning to his parade rest and calming down now that the tension was out of the air- Ruby settling back and hugging Penny protectively with an almost feral growl of distrust. "Miss Rose… I know that you take Penny's personhood extremely seriously, and I don't blame you for that- it's just that you both need to be aware that Penny's status, legally, is as of a student of Atlas Academy, a special asset of the Atlesian Military, and as a protected project whose data absolutely cannot be released as a matter of public safety and reassurance. Please understand that I'm just trying to look out for her."

"I… sure. I guess. But she doesn't need a minder to keep her out of trouble- she has Team RWBY, and JNPR, and CMNE! And Professor Ozpin! She's fine as she is and she doesn't need a soldier invading her privacy all of the time just to keep her safe!" Ruby responded with rather more hostility than she'd have really liked considering her usual efforts at trying to get people to work together and be friends, but something about the General rubbed her the wrong way- especially since he still had that undercurrent of tension and suspicion levied towards her that made her hackles rise and made her fingers itch towards Augury- not Crescent Rose, not for this. 

"I wasn't suggesting a soldier- the minder would be someone her age, as a peer. There are a few first year students at Atlas who've expressed a distaste for the… admittedly a little overly regimented and militarized structure of the Academy, and don't have teams to currently rely on. I can assign you to a team on paper, and at most you'll need to compile a weekly report for one of them to send back," Ironwood explained, raising his hands slightly as if trying to calm Ruby down more- though, his tension spiked the moment Ruby's eyes seemed to ripple and glow slightly brighter. "She won't be dragged back, I can promise you that."

"Fine… okay."

"Thank you, General."

Ironwood nodded. "Thank you for listening- and… before you head back to Beacon… Miss Rose- I'd like the both of us to speak again on how Penny's been progressing lately. If you could make an appointment to see Ozpin this week, that'd be wonderful."

Ruby blinked. "Um… okay?"

"Good. Now- run along you two, I'm sure you have better things to do all day than talk to a pair of old men like me and Pietro."

And with that clear dismissal, Penny and Ruby both left, a sour taste left in their mouths as they left the General's presence.

Notes:

Ironwood hasn't gone off the deep end yet, but... he's still thinking in terms of military assets and pure utilitarianism