130

Chapter 130

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"How long do you think Ruby will remain in that castle?" Penny asked quietly, three weeks after she'd awoken. She'd spent most of that time having holed up in what remained of Beacon- specifically in the little shop that Ruby and she had worked in for much of the last school year. Strangely enough, despite the four on four battle that had ensued between Team CMNE and Team CALC whilst Penny had been asleep, much of Beacon remained whole, albeit… in enough disrepair that the school decided to close early for the semester and send everyone home on winter break until the repairs were finished. 

Given the severity of the damage to the school grounds, the minor damage to the CCT Tower rendering it largely inoperable for another two weeks at best, and the amount of grimm that still had to be removed from the city and surrounding area… it was likely that the next semester would start late as well. 

At least Penny managed to get herself fully repaired and retrieve all of Floating Array's blades, though a good amount had been snapped in half or otherwise damaged from her battle against the Wyvern and the grimm it kept spawning. 

"I don't know. She took more damage than I've ever seen her take at once before," Qrow answered, sitting with Penny and patting her back gently. He seemed… distressed, despite how he seemed like he was trying to comfort her. Penny didn't begrudge him that- with the rest of Team RWBYP and most of Team CMNE stuck in Patch as they recovered from the sheer devastation of the last month and a half, he must have been wanting to get back to his family as fast as possible.

He didn't need to be here in Beacon with her, not while she did her best to try and make something of the empty shop that should have held the love of her life.

"Even with the boost she must have gotten from absorbing the Wyvern, using her Silver Eyes takes it out of her," Qrow continued, frowning as he stared off out of the window to the enormous black castle that stood in the distance. There weren't many people willing to fly out that far, but General Ironwood had lent her a Manta and as much fuel as she wanted in order to go out and see Ruby every day. She should go now, actually… but she wanted to make sure that Floating Array and Crescent Rose were back to full capacity in time for Ruby's awakening. Qrow was one of the few people that went with her, and even then only once a week at best. 

She didn't mind.

The throne room's configuration had changed in the last few weeks, and it somehow felt… more intimate to her. Like it was welcoming her with open arms- the entire castle shifting and changing as Penny pressed her Aura against the structure and letting her push through the endless thorns to the wondrous crystal rose held within. 

"I hope she awakens soon… she's already missed her birthday," Penny sighed, thinking back to the little gifts and trinkets she'd been leaving behind- having left a bouquet of roses and a basket of strawberries there for Ruby's birthday. Both had vanished the next day, so it seemed that Ruby was… at least somewhat cognizant. Just… not awake yet. "She's… I do hope she won't miss Wynterfest. Or New Year's… I miss her a lot, Professor Branwen. Even though she is right there … even when I'm right in front of her… it does not feel like she's there . She is…"

"I get it too, y'know," Qrow shook his head and raised his hand so he could ruffle Penny's hair, frowning slightly as he stood up and walked to the window so he could get a better look at the castle in the distance- so far from Vale, and yet so close… it hung in the distance like a shadow on the land. Like a bloody red cathedral, a monolith of grimm material that no one dared to go near- not criminal, not White Fang, not Huntsman, not soldier.

Honestly, only Team RWBYP and a few of the other professors were willing to approach, and even then none so much as Penny herself.

"She… It's hard. Missing someone when they're right in front of you sucks. It's different with you, but… I understand, kid. And… honestly, just call me Qrow. Or Uncle. Whatever works- you're family enough for that by now," Qrow snorted as he turned back to Penny and crossed his arms, giving her a soft, empathetic half-smile to try and cheer her up. "Least I could do for my lil Rosebud, y'know?"

"I… of course, Uncle Qrow," Penny nodded, wishing dearly that she could cry if only to try and express the aching in her core as she joined him by the window, her eyes taking in the distant castle and sighing as she twirled a rose between her fingers. How there was still an open flower shop in Vale that sold roses was beyond her, but the smell of them helped calm her down when Ruby wasn't close, when she wasn't spending hours at a time curled up against the crystal flower that kept the love of her life trapped within its depths.

She wished she could be in there with her.

She wished Ruby could be out here instead.

"I'm…" Penny shook her head, cutting herself off as she returned to her thoughts, not sure what to say after that. There were so many thoughts in her head at the moment, so many things she wanted to do or say… her father was to leave for Atlas again soon, before the winter storms brought more vicious grimm out of their hibernation. General Ironwood had approved her request for an upgraded body at some point, which would require that she managed a safe return to Atlas at some point… she didn't want to leave Ruby at all, but… if she could be more combat ready for her love… it would be worth it. 

She still needed to complete repairs on Crescent Rose. Without the grimm threads holding the battered weapon together, much of it was now inoperable- it had taken too much damage in the explosion, and she'd have to replace many, many pieces to get it functional again. The original version before Penny had come into Ruby's life had relied a lot on grimm technology to allow the internals to work as smoothly as they did, but as Ruby upgraded and stripped the parts from other weapons and used the materials in Beacon's forge, she'd managed to make it such that the only thing she needed the grimm threads for was to activate the hidden Aura switches and use the features that normally wouldn't fit on an item of Crescent Rose's size and complexity. 

Ruby would cry if she saw the state her beloved weapon was in now, but… it was okay. Penny would fix it up right as rain again, soon. Same as Floating Array. 

They'd be whole and together again, and Penny would be with Ruby again soon. That was all that mattered.

"I hope she wakes up soon," Penny sighed once more, pushing away from the window as she returned to her workbench and began assembling components once more. With the blueprint of Crescent Rose in her mind, it was easy to throw herself into a rhythm of working and working and working, pushing herself through the night, keeping a power cord plugged into her back to make sure everything ran on highest efficiency, keeping her Aura flowing constantly to feel closer to her beloved's Aura signature still present and warm in the metals within…

She wanted to properly fix everything, return Crescent Rose to its purest glory from top to bottom… but that would remove Ruby's Aura signature from the weapon. Would erase its mother's touch from the plates and blades and mechanisms within… Penny couldn't do that. Wasn't strong enough. She barely managed to make herself rebuild the ruined weapon from the pieces it had fallen into, inserting her Aura into the thing that was an extension of Ruby's soul piece by piece…

It was almost too intimate. Too… too much to do, without Ruby present to share in the construction, so that they could meld their Auras together instead of Penny replacing what was destroyed.

"She'll recover fast, I know she will. It just might take a while, y'know? She'll be a little confused and disoriented, but she'll catch on quick. Keep talking to her, though- as far as I know, she can still hear you while you talk. She could when I was keeping tabs on her the last time she exploded," Qrow answered, opening the window slowly as he started to slide out, twiddling his thumbs as he sat there on the windowsill. "Then again… last time she just spent a month in a fleshy sack that I had to throw raw meat into in order to keep her regenerating. This time… I have no idea what's going on with her."

"I don't know either… all I know is that… I have to have faith that she will return soon. That… that Ruby will be okay," Penny murmured, clenching her fists tightly as she stared down at the still battered form of Crescent Rose, face twisting into a rictus of grief as she almost collapsed into her chair. "She has to wake up soon. Please… Please wake up soon, Ruby…"

Notes:

She's uh... not gonna wake up any time soon.