Chapter 18 - CHAPTER XVII =∆

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Androids don't cry. Sometimes Penny envied the ability to create tears, partake in that cathartic action of simply weeping. Her eyes remained dry but the odd heavy feeling in her chest remained.

Ironwood has ordered her confined to her quarters for the next day or so. The beginning of her punishment for disobeying his orders to remain with her father during the intruder, likely he wanted time to think up some more fitting form of discipline. So far being confined to her room was proving a very effective punishment in her opinion.

She had read every book, memorized them as she would everything. Her positronic brain never forgot anything, unlike regular humans she remembered everything with perfect clarity. Her mind recorded everything, and could even be downloaded and viewed by others. And within her involuntary solitude she found herself only thinking about Jaune and replaying his last words to her in her mind.

Despite spending the last week confined in Atlas Academy she'd rather enjoyed herself. Enjoyed her days with Jaune, walking the academy, watching movies and talking about small meaningless things that didn't have any real consequence to their lives, about movies and comic books and anything else they thought of.

But it seemed he hadn't been feeling the same way about her and their time together. Go bother someone else! Those words he'd yelled at her echoed through her mind. She felt weighed down by them as she sat here alone in her room. Jaune was probably out running missions or huntsman contracts now that he was cleared again for duty. But right now she was stuck here alone to think about his last words.

Penny had considered trying to take her mind off the knight. She had tried rereading the book series she'd borrowed from Blake. Even though she remembered the novel perfectly word by word she'd hoped for a small distraction by trying to read it again. Sadly it proved to be a fruitless attempt, Jaune wouldn't leave her thoughts and the story didn't grip her interest half as much now. As Blake had told her the book left her with a cliffhanger, with the romantic triangle between the princess, the knight and the spy left in a rather awkward scenero. The more explicit scenes that Blake had warned her about didn't interest her as much as they first did the first time she'd read through the novel. And the moments of tender kisses, romantic words just made her feel sad.

She'd thought about watching the movies she'd downloaded but it only made her think about the number of movies she'd watched with Jaune in the past week.

She also considered simple letting herself enter into sleep mode. To limit her cognitive functions for the duration of her time confined to her quarters until they were done. But she dismissed the idea, it wasn't real sleep, not like humans experience, her functions would only be limited but not halted, it felt like being suspended in a dark void with only her thoughts and limited as they'd be she knew the knight would be there in her mind.

A knock came at the door, surprising her. No one had ever actually knocked on the door to her room before, usually they just called if they had any actual need for her. "Who is it?" She asked not really sure if she should let anyone in considering she was being punished currently.

"It's me," Winter's voice informed her. "I have the General's order for you."

"Come in," Penny said hoping that the General was about to release her from this solitary confinement.

The door opened and Winter stepped in giving a casual glance of her room. She'd never been inside her room before, few people had really. The door closed behind her and she fixed Penny with her usual icy stare. "Starting tomorrow you are to spend a week of patrol duty in Mantle."

Penny nodded. Patrol duty wasn't particularly excited most of the time, she usually just flew around the city and listened into the police scanner dealing with whatever happened. Usually petty crimes and normal accidents, nothing challenging or interesting. "Alright, beginning tomorrow. Is that all?"

"How are you?" Winter asked, taking her by surprise.

"I am well," Penny answered only to immediately hiccup and expose her lie. She envied the ability to tell a lie, to simply fib like most humans did every day, but even the smallest white lie was impossible for her to give without a hiccup.

Winter raised an eyebrow at her. "So something is wrong." It wasn't a question and it only made Penny feel bitter being called out so easily.

"It is… Jaune," she confessed knowing that she'd get the information out of her sooner or later. The look on Winter's face didn't betray any surprise that she'd mentioned the blonde knight, but the eldest Schnee sister rarely expressed much emotion in her facial features.

"What about Mr. Arc?" Winter asked her.

"I do not think we are friends anymore," Penny explained, she felt a tightness in her chest from saying the words aloud, "last night, after the attempt on the General's life… I was trying to be helpful but he yelled at me, he told me to go bother someone else and he did not need a robot babying him."

"Babying him?" Winter asked.

Penny nodded, "I wanted to help him. I've been trying to help him after what happened, but it seems I only made him angry."

Winter nodded, "I do not know the details of your situation myself, but yesterday just before the incident I happened to speak with Mr. Arc myself, I asked him about the time you two were spending together."

Penny was quiet for a long moment dreading to think what he could have possibly said to Winter. "What did he say?" She asked as her curiosity finally won over.

"He said that the two of you had become good friends, and I saw no reason to doubt the sincerity of his claim," Winter told her.

"But that was before he said that to me," Penny argued.

"Penny, sometimes friends fight," Winter told her, her expression softened, "and sometimes when people are frustrated they say things they don't really mean."

Penny looked to the floor, "then why say it at all?"

"Because when we're angry or frustrated we don't think clearly," she explained to her. "When I left home to join the military my own sister said she hated me, I knew she didn't mean it but it wasn't easy to hear, I felt guilty about leaving her, about leaving her in that house with our father. But the very first day I received a letter from her, and she apologized for everything, she said she was happy for me and she knew I needed to pursue my own path and she needed to pursue hers. I am sure whatever disagreement has come between the two of you can be mended."

Penny considered her words in silent contemplation. "You really think so?" She asked hopefully.

Winter nodded, "I do," she said simply, "but I am afraid I was not intending to ask about your fight with Mr. Arc, I wanted to inquire about yesterday's actions."

Penny frowned again, "you mean about why I disobeyed the order?"

"I do, I am afraid it has the General and I concerned," Winter explained.

"I will not do it again," Penny assured her.

"But why did you do it?" Winter asked her.

"I already explained," Penny said, "I was concerned."

"Concerned about the General? Or Mr. Arc?" Winter pressed.

Penny averted her eyes from her once more. "I would have protected them both," she assured her.

"But it was about Mr. Arc," Winter said.

Penny reluctantly nodded unable to deny that Jaune had been the focus of her concern, "I did not want him to get hurt," she confessed, "not again."

"He's a huntsman, he doesn't need your protection Penny. In fact Mr. Arc handled the threat quite admirably." Winter explained.

"I know he can fight, but that is not always enough," Penny told her, "it was not enough against Vasily and I was afraid it would not be enough again."

"You are not responsible for what happened to him," Winter told her firmly.

"But I am! Vasily was trying to kill me! Not Jaune, he was just caught in the crossfire. And I was not able to protect him, he almost died and it's my fault." He told her.

"Have you spoken to Mr. Arc about this?" Winter asked, "does he feel that you are responsible for what happened to him?"

Penny shook her head. Jaune hadn't shown any desire to speak about what had happened and Penny was comfortable with that. She didn't want to admit to her failure, not to his face.

"I think you should," Winter told her, "I understand that confronting what happened might be difficult for the both of you, but you endured that hardship together, remember that."

Three knocks rapped at the door interrupting their conversation. Penny looked to the closed door in surprise. Winter acted first, taking a step to the door and opening it.

Jaune stood in the hall outside, he flinched at the sight of Winter standing in the doorway instead of Penny. He stammered for a moment but Winter was the first to speak. "Mr. Arc, are you aware that Penny is currently being disciplined and not allowed visitors?"

"Uh… yeah," Jaune said scratching the back of his head and averting his gaze from Winter. He looked past the endear Schnee sister and locked eyes with Penny looking guilt ridden.

"So you deliberately came here anyways? In defiance of the General's orders?" Winter pressed on.

"Yeah," Jaune admitted guiltily.

"What do you have there?" Winter asked.

Jaune looked at a brown cardboard tube he clutched in his hand. "A gift," he answered, "for Penny… I uh… I just needed to talk to her."

"So you came here in defiance of General Ironwood's orders to give Penny a gift and talk? And this couldn't wait?" Winter continued on questioning pointedly.

Jaune looked at her, "no it couldn't wait."

"I see," Winter said stiffly, "you have fifteen minutes."

Jaune was silent for a long moment, confusion coloring his expression. "Fifteen-?"

"Minutes Mr. Arc, you have fifteen minutes, I would not waste them if I were you," Winter stepped out the door and past him, urging Jaune inside and closing the door behind him.

Jaune stood there with his back against the door alone with her. Silence hung between them and the blonde knight looked around the small room before looking again at Penny sitting on her bed.

"Hello Jaune," Penny greeted him, breaking the silence.

"Hey Penny," Jaune said scratching the back of his head nervously again.

Penny looked at the cardboard tube in his other hand. "You brought me a gift?" She asked.

"Yeah," Jaune nodded and stepped close, handing the tube to her.

Penny popped the plastic cap off one end and let the contents spill out. Several glossy paper posters rolled together slid out and Penny looked at the images. Various movie covers revealed themselves to her, every one she'd watched with Jaune in the last week.

"I know it isn't much," Jaune admitted a little guiltily. "I was shopping around Mantle all day and honestly this was the best I could do. Nothing else really felt right to me."

"I love them!" Penny assured gazing at each of them and wondered where they should go on her empty walls.

Jaune gave her a weak smile, "Penny… I am so very sorry for what I said to you!" He said to her, "I was agitated and frustrated and I know you were just trying to help me, I should not have lost my cool and just asked for some space. I hope you can forg-."

Penny stood up in a flash and pulled the young knight into a hug. "Jaune, I was afraid we were not friends anymore." She told him.

"I'm sorry," Jaune wheezed as her arms clutched him tightly. Penny ease her hold on him, sometimes she forgot her own strength.

"I thought that you hated me." Penny told him.

"I don't," Jaune assured her, bringing his own arms up to embrace her. "This last week… it's been nice, but I guess I felt a little smothered."

"I guess I took it too far," Penny admitted.

"I still should not have lost my cool," Jaune told her, releasing his embrace to look into her eyes. "Can you forgive me?"

Penny pulled him into another bone crushing embrace squeezing him against her. "Yes, of course."

"I feel like I'm getting off a little too easy," Jaune admitted awkwardly.

Penny released her embrace and looked at him curiously, "should we make this more difficult than necessary?" Penny asked him, "I do not want to be angry with you Jaune, I do not desire to hold a grudge against you."

"That's… really kind of you," Jaune said scratching the back of his head again. "I wish I'd at least thought of a better gift. I think if I knew you a little better I'd have gotten you something better than a couple of posters."

"I love the posters," Penny assured him, "and I'd like for you to get to know me Jaune, that is what friends do. Is it not?"

Jaune smiled and gave her a nod. "Yeah," he said, turning to look at the door a little nervously.

"We still have eight minutes and forty three seconds," Penny told him, "we still have some time."

Jaune nodded, "I wish I'd thought of more to say," he admitted to her.

Penny looked at her hands folded in her lap. "Winter told me that it would be good if we talked about what happened with Vasily."

"What's there to talk about?" Jaune asked, deflating at the mention of the assassins and the events that'd led them here.

"Jaune," Penny began, "I failed to protect you, I-."

"Stop!" Jaune commanded cutting her off. "Penny, it wasn't your job to protect me! Is that why you were trying to do everything for me? Guilt?"

Penny continued to stare at her hands in her lap. "Maybe," she admitted, "but you were roped into that situation because Vasily was after me."

Jaune stepped forward and lowered himself onto the bed, sitting next to her. "Penny," he said firmly looking into her eyes, "I don't regret being there to fight by your side."

"You do not understand Jaune, I am a protector." Penny explained. "I am programmed to protect others, it is what I was made for. You almost died, and it would have been because of my failure."

Jaune frowned and shook his head, "I was the one that kept throwing myself against him," Jaune told her, "and I was the idiot that pulled the knife out so I could bleed everywhere, what happened to me was my fault Penny."

"You saved me," Penny told him, "if you hadn't faced that assassin I would be gone."

"I protect my friends," Jaune said.

"But you should not protect me!" Penny told him. Jaune's eyes widened at her and he opened his mouth to protect only for Penny to cut him off. "Jaune your life is more valuable than mine, it is irreplaceable, I have died before Jaune, it is different for me."

Jaune's expression hardened. "So what? I should have just stood back and let that psycho kill you?" He asked her pointedly.

"It would have been better than you dying for me," Penny explained.

"It's not that simple and you know it," Jaune said, "that assassin wouldn't have simply left you to be fixed later, your life was just as much on the line as mine was!"

"Still though," Penny said, "even if my life was permanently terminated it is simply more favorable that I perish instead of you."

"I don't believe that!" Jaune said firmly.

"It is what I was made for, to protect humanity."

"I don't care!" Jaune said.

"Jaune," Penny pleaded, "I would have never forgiven myself if you had died on my behalf!"

"I know that feeling Penny, I have lost someone," Jaune said, he gazed into her eyes and set his hands upon her shoulders.

Penny gazed back at the knight as he held both her shoulders gazing sternly into her eyes. "You are talking about Pyrrha Nikos?" She asked him tentatively.

Jaune nodded, "yeah, she died facing Cinder," he said with a mournful sigh. "I know what it feels like to lose a partner Penny, I know how it feels to be powerless to save a friend. That's why I don't care why you were built, I will never sit by and let my friends die, not if I can help it."

Penny was silent for a long time as she gazed into his blue eyes. She'd only met Pyrrha once, at the Vital Tournament where she had been killed. Logically Penny knew she hadn't intended to kill her, but everytime she thought about the champion she couldn't help but feel a bit of fear for the woman. She'd killed her by accident, a mere trick orchestrated by the terrorist Cinder had been enough to snuff out her life. The memory of made her feel weak and fragile, an unfamiliar sensation to her.

"I do not want to ever feel like that either Jaune," Penny told him breaking her gaze away. "After you fought Vasily and freed me from his trap, I used my laser to cauterize your wound closed. I felt so guilty hearing you scream in pain, it was horrible. But then you went quiet and for an instant I thought you might have died, and I cannot describe how awful I felt, or how relieved I was when I felt your pulse. I was feeling your freeze to death in my arms and I tried to tell you everything would be alright, but it was a lie."

Jaune's hands tightened comfortingly on her shoulders and Penny found her being pulled back into his gaze. "I'm sorry you went through that," he said. "I can hardly even remember you closing my wound or passing out, but can you see why I cannot stand by and let a friend get hurt, why I can't let you get hurt?"

Penny nodded, "I understand," she assured him. "And I am afraid we are out of time."

Sure enough he heard Winter's knuckles rap on Penny's door, perfectly punctiona. "Mr. Arc I am afraid your fifteen minutes are up," she said opening the door.

Jaune sighed and released his hold on Penny's shoulder. "That's alright," he said standing up from her bed, "we can talk more later."

Penny gave the blonde knight a smile and nodded. "Goodbye Jaune, I am glad we talked."

"I'll see you later Penny," he waved goodbye and stepped out the door.

"Goodbye Penny, you start patrols tomorrow morning at zero four hundred hours," Winter said sternly, her hand on the doorknob.

Penny grinned and nodded to her, "thank you Winter."

The door closed and once again Penny was left alone in her room. She looked around at the empty walls considering where best to display Jaune's gift to her. Again she was left with her thoughts and still they lingered on the blonde knight.

Jaune took a breath of Mantle's crisp morning air as he listened to the rhythmic march of schoolchildren following him. He held up his stop sign as they approached a crosswalk and gave a blast of his whistle for emphasis. The long line of children behind him stopped obediently as he waited for traffic to clear. Stepping out into the crosswalk he held his stop signal up for any passing cars. He signaled for the children to walk with two blasts of his whistle and they did remaining in their single file line awaiting him to take the lead once more. He performed a quick head count on the kids seeing that indeed everyone was accounted for.

Simple and uneventful as this job was Jaune could hardly complain now that he was back to working as a huntsman. He took another breath of the crisp air and savored it. It tasted like freedom.

"Looking sharp Mr. huntsman!" One of the moms teased from behind him crossing the street after their kids. They gave him teasing smirks and grins as they passed by him carrying tupperware containers of home cooked meals they gifted him. He'd gotten pretty sick of all the casseroles and meatloaf dishes they'd been giving him, but after the last week of Atlas caffetteria food he was salivating for the opportunity to eat a real home cooked meal, even if it did need to be reheated. Pulse he was able to save plenty of lien from meals thanks to all the home cooking, even if it did mean a lot of casseroles.

He had even missed their teasing and overly friendly nature. Jaune lowered the stop sign and walked back out in front of the line giving a blast of his whistle signaling them to follow.

"So where have you been hiding?" One of the moms asked him, the blonde, she usually wore the same red coat, Cassandra Jaune thought her name was. "It's been over a week since you last helped us, were you off on a dangerous mission?" She asked.

Jaune grinned awkwardly at her friendly teasing. "No I was in the hospital," he explained, a little embarrassed that he'd been hurt enough to keep him from this little daily mission of seeing that these kids safely got across town and to school.

"The hospital? You were hurt?" She asked with a touch of concern.

"Yeah, I got beat up pretty bad," he explained.

"So you were on a dangerous mission," she observed.

"Well yeah," Jaune admitted, "but it wasn't for a week." The words dangerous mission didn't really feel right to him. It made it sound like one of his favorite Spruce Willis action movies when the reality felt the opposite to him.

"Well we're all glad to have our big strong huntsman back protecting our kids," the mother explained teasing him as she and the rest always did.

Jaune smiled at that, "glad to be back ma'am," he said with a nod.

"Ma'am? There's no need to be so formal Jaune, you can just call me Cassandra, or Cassie if you want," she chided playfully, giving him a wink.

"Uh… yes ma'am," Jaune blushed and turned away focusing on the sidewalks as he readied to lead his platoon of children safely across the street. Sometimes with their overly familiar and friendly demeanor it almost felt like some of the mothers were actually flirting with him. It certainly made things awkward sometimes.

He was back in the saddle so to speak. Escorting these kids to school under the watchful eye of their mothers wasn't challenging or dangerous and he was happy with that, it was nice to have something certain and safe in his life to contrast with his more chaotic and dangerous work. This was the perfect way for him to get back up to speed.

He blew his whistle to stop the line of kids as he readied to once again help them stop. The school was just in sight now so he'd be able to call it mission accomplished soon enough and return to Atlas with a paycheck and an arm full of home cooked meals for himself and the rest of his team. As the kids all stopped on the sidewalk with a blast of his whistle they turned their heads to the sky as the faint rumbling roar of engines echoed through the streets below.

Jaune looked to see the green jets trailing behind as Penny soared through the air. He heard a few of the kids and pedestrians mumble "the Protector of Mantle" or simple point as she flew above them. Jaune smirked, a good start to his first day back.

Soaring above the busy streets of Mantle Penny scanned the streets diligently watching everything as she kept herself tuned into the police scanner for any trouble requiring her attention. While her duties on patrol weren't exactly exciting they certainly could be interesting. Watching everyone go about their daily lives could be interesting and occasionally she found herself helping the community in small but satisfying ways. Clearing a traffic jam or helping a cat out of a tree just like in one of Jaune's comic books.

It was certainly preferable to being forced to stay in her room for hours upon hours. She passed over a school watching the line of vehicles slowly move as parents dropped their children off while others walked them. Children, loud and boisterous ran around the school yard playing around as they awaited the first bell to signal the start of their school day.

A screech of a whistle caught her attention and she shifted her view downward as a familiar looking crossing guard signaled an orderly line of children across the street. Her vision magnified and confirmed that indeed it was the blonde knight overseeing a group of children safely to school with their mothers apparently in tow.

She swooped down into a dive and touched down on a clear patch of concrete. She heard a few of the parents and their kids take notice and stare at her. She was accustomed to the stares and attention of civilians and easily ignored them as she turned to her friend. Jaune was already looking at her as she approached. "Hello Jaune!" She greeted, walking up to him.

"Hey Penny," Jaune greeted her, cracking a smile at her. She couldn't help but feel a flutter of happiness when he smiled at her. "I wasn't expecting to see you here of all places."

"It was on my patrol route," she explained to him, "and I thought I would say hello since I spotted you."

"Well it's good to see you out of your room, I was worried I might have accidentally gotten you in trouble when Winter caught me trying to talk to you," he explained scratching the back of his head.

"As far as I know Winter has not informed anyone of what has happened as I have received no new punishments since," she explained to him a little touched at his concern. "I too am pleased to be back, it is nice to once again resume my role as the protector of Mantle."

"Back to being a superhero huh?" Jaune teased.

"No giant monsters or supervillains yet!" Penny informed him playing along with his well natured teasing.

"Well the citizens of Mantle are lucky to have you," he praised earning a giggle from her.

"So uh… Jaune… I know it is a bit soon but I was wondering if maybe we could get together again," she suggested to him, "maybe have another movie night or something… whenever you are ready and have free time naturally."

"Sure," he said scratching the back of his head, "it'd be nice to hang out again… especially after everything that happened, a fifteen minute talk doesn't feel like enough."

"Yes, it would be nice to have more time to talk," Penny agreed, feeling a flush of elation that he'd agreed.

Jaune nodded, "yeah, I look forward to it," he said, taking a glance back to the group of children obediently remaining in their line together. "Here can you wait a minute, I need to give the kids their stickers for being so good and dismiss them."

Penny nodded to him letting him go to reward the small army of children. It seemed strange that something as simple as a small picture with an adhesive had value to these children but it seemed enough to influence them into obedience.

"And to think, no girlfriend!" Penny heard a voice say through the loud uproar of children playing around them. She turned to see the various mothers speaking together a distance from Jaune and their children, giggling together, her enhanced hearing able to discern their conversation despite the noise.

"I know!" One of the other mothers exclaimed. "I would think a boy like him would have a line of girls asking him out."

They were talking about Jaune. Penny turned looking at the women huddled together as they watched Jaune give their children stickers and words of praise addressing each one individually before releasing them to run and play before the first bell.

"Well I'll line up if those huntresses won't," another said.

"Hmmm I'd fight you for a spot in that line," another of the women commented, "I was missing my daily eye candy."

"He was apparently in the hospital," a blonde in a red jacket explained to her fellow mothers, "he was hurt on a mission."

"Hmm poor boy, my lasagna should help him feel better," another mused.

The blonde mother giggled, "Well I'd certainly volunteer to be his nurse," she giggled slyly, "I would give him a physical he'd never forget."

All the moms giggled and Penny felt a flash of rage surge through her. Anger, a rare emotion for her. She clenched her fist on instinct as he turned away from the moms trying not to stare heatedly at them. How could they talk about Jaune like that? Their lewd comments infuriating her as she listened to them joke about wanting to get their hands all over him.

Her internal scroll activated and pulled her attention away from the lustful women and their disrespectful comments about her friend. "Penny," a voice came over the line addressing her. Police Captain Mcallan addressed her, "we got a report of a grimm incursion on the southeast quarter along Elmwood street. We got a couple squads on the way but you could get there faster."

"I'll be there soon," Penny assured him, she ended the call to see Jaune approach.

"Sorry that took so long," Jaune apologized, "the kids really missed me… are you alright?" He looked at her oddly and Penny realized her fists were still clenched in anger. Penny released it.

"Duty calls," Penny told him, dodging his question and the need to lie. "I need to go fight some monsters," she explained, forcing a smile she didn't feel.

Jaune nodded, "well I won't keep ya!" He said cracking another grin at her. She felt a bit of fury dissolve at his smile. "Good luck superhero!"

Penny nodded to him, "good luck Jaune." She turned away from him and knelt, she leapt up and activated her jet boots rocketing into the air. She skimmed low over the heads of the lustful mothers. A few of them squeaked in surprise as something so fast moving directly overhead.

Penny gazed back at the women and saw that a couple had dropped the containers of food, spilling their contents all over the concrete.

A bloom of smug satisfaction welled within Penny at the sight of the lasagne staining the concrete to the frustration of the mother that cooked it. She climbed higher into the sky flying above the buildings towards her objective. What pleasure she had at causing the mother's to drop their home cooked meals rapidly faded as she soared away from the school, now it seemed petty and small instead of just and satisfying.

Why had she done that? To punish the mothers for their coarse comments about Jaune? To defend his honor? Like something a noble knight in one of Blake's books would do, fighting for the good name of a lady. She did not feel noble examining her actions.

She descended as she spotted the target neighborhood. She tried to banish the questions in her mind as she spotted a beowolf chasing a car that sped away evading the rampaging grimm.

Her back compartment opened and deployed Floating Array, the many blades separating and fanning out as they morphed into their laser gun forms. A single green shot fired and seared a hole through the beowolf's skull killing it quick and clean easy. The body of the grimm lay lifeless in the street dissolving into black smoke.

Penny circled around and scanned the neighborhood for more grimm or anybody potentially hurt or in danger. All the while she couldn't help but ponder Jaune and her recent actions.

Vasily tapped on the arm of his chair as he touched the dial button on his scroll once more. To his annoyance and lack of surprise Bonnie did not answer his call. It'd been almost two days now.

"Damned woman," he grumbled to himself, watching as the Atliesian knight stepped into the living room with a steaming cup of tea for him. "I'll have her pay for this," he told the automated drone. Silly as it was to speak to the lifeless automaton it was certainly an improvement to speaking to himself. Bonnie had reprogrammed it for simple and minor tasks around the household, including but not limited to making his tea, black with some dark rum.

He hit the control of the television again and idly watched the screen light up showing the morning news. Little of it interested him and only served to bill the silence of the safe house. There was still pain whenever he moved but it was fading. Vasily was sure he had that butcher who called himself a surgeon to thank for the lingering pain and the simple fact that his aura hadn't completely healed yet.

Soon though, he'd be fit enough to to fight soon. If he wasn't he'd find that so called doctor and practice surgery himself, with a dull rusty blade. Vasily sipped his hot tea and pondered the pleasant fantasy of brutalizing that man in retribution.

The news droned on and on to his disinterest. He had little use for whatever truths Ironwood and the rest of the council handpicked for public consumption. The intrusion in Atlas Academy being the latest of current events to be pulled beneath the veil, Vasily suspected that his employer had a hand in whatever happened there. Curiously enough it was around the same time he'd noticed that Bonnie was gone.

His mind turned back to the matter at hand. His missing assistant. He didn't know why she left the safe house, he honestly didn't care at first but now that his employer's operations were moving again he needed her here.

He pressed the button on his scroll to call her again, only to hear the prerecorded message telling him to leave a message, it infuriated him. He sipped his tea to calm his nerves, there'd be time enough to exert his anger on her once she came back. If she came back. Perhaps she'd simply left on a simple errand too small for his notice and was apprehended by Atlas authorities. Perhaps General Ironwood was holding her in some black site for interrogation trying to discern his location. That would be troublesome to say the least.

He checked the table to his side seeing the howdah pistol within easy reach. If Ironwood was coming for him he'd greet his men with a fight. Thought knowing the types of automated defenses Bonnie had doubtlessly fortified this safe house with he doubted they'd even reach the front door before he escaped.

A muted rumble cut through the relative quiet. The garage doors were being opened. He lifted himself up and out of the chair with the aid of his cane. Pain bloomed in his abdomen but he did not let it deter him. He pocketed his pistol in his robe and strode for the garage, his cane thumping on the floor. Each painful step he channeled into his anger.

The door to the garage opened before he could reach it and the face of his assistant greeted him. She smiled brightly at him and he felt his hot anger turn bitterly cold. Did she think a smile would protect her from his wrath?

"Where have you been?" He asked her pointedly, "It's been days, and you ignored my calls."

"I was out," she answered him without a hint of fear of concern. "I had to ditch my scroll I'm afraid, they might have been tracking it."

Vasily raised an eyebrow at that, "you had trouble with the authorities?" He asked, staying his anger for the moment."

"I was at Atlas Academy two nights ago," she explained to him.

"What!" He barked. "You were responsible for that? What in the name of hell were you doing there?" He tightened his grip on his cane, he was ready to snap it over her. "What if you were caught? What possible reason did you have for going there of all places!"

Bonnie held her hand up and Vasily felt his fury dull. Her hand clutched the polished wood grip of his express rifle. He dropped his cane to clatter on the hardwood floor and stepped closer to inspect it.

Every mark every scratch, every gold engraving just as he remembered. His finest weapon built to his exact specifications and design for his semblance and for maximum killing potential. "You stole back my weapons!" He said looking away from his beloved double rifle to her.

"I got all of them," Bonnie told him, "your whip, you knife, your revolver, I got it all my love."

Vasily felt the last of anger towards her melt away at the simple knowledge that his beloved trophies had been returned. "How did you get into Atlas Academy?" He asked her.

"Flex wanted to take a shot at Ironwood," Bonnie explained. "I agreed to get a hold of the layout of the buildings ventilation systems and hack the security, I simply needed him to slip into their servers and give me direct control. The rest was easy, though they've doubtlessly caught onto their mistakes."

Vasily nodded as he inspected his rifle, he checked the empty chambers and peered down the sights familiarizing himself with his old friend. "Obviously Flex failed to kill the General," Vasily mused cracking a grin, "at least I could benefit from his failure."

"Flex is dead," Bonnie explained to him, "he died attacking Ironwood, I do not know the full details but it seems Jaune Arc was with him."

"Arc?!" Vasily asked her, "Arc was there?!"

Bonnie nodded, "The intercom feed I intercepted mentioned that Jaune Arc was with General Ironwood in his office just moments before the attack."

Vasily laughed. A boisterous cackle shaking him and making his pain bloom. Naturally Arc had killed an amateur like Flex. He was a talentless hack who was only good for crawling through small spaces, always using air vents like it was a Spruce Willis movie. He wasn't good enough to face Jaune Arc, he wasn't good enough to fight the boy who had bested him.

"Most interesting," Vasily said, looking to his assistant. He damned the pain that still dwelled within him as his libido stirred. If he wasn't still wounded he'd take her to the bedroom to show her his gratitude. "Mr. Arc's blade will make a fine trophy indeed," he mused aloud banishing thoughts on his carnal needs.

"There's some else my love," Bonnie said tentatively, "when I raided the lab I found something quite interesting."

"Interesting you say?" Vasily asked, unable to mask his pleasure.

"I'll show you," Bonnie said, turning back into the garage. Vasily followed her as she moved out to the back of his truck and pulled away a tarp. A white coffin-like container rested in the truck bed and she pulled it down leaning it against the tailgate.

With a press of a button the container hissed and opened to reveal its contents. A body lay before him, naked and still. Pale freckled skin, copper red hair. He stared at the lifeless face of Penny Polendina.

Vasily grinned, "of course Ironwood would make more," he chuckled, scanning the android's body for any indications marking it different from the original, he found none.

"It's not just a copy," Bonnie told him, "it's a new model, a more advanced prototype they were developing."

"Can we use it?" Vasily asked her, "can it generate its own aura?"

"Not yet," Bonnie explained, "but I copied whatever secrets I could get on it," she explained to him, "I think I can get it online and generating an aura with enough time."

Vasily grinned, "tell me, what do we need."

Penny's knuckles rapped on the dorm room door and she stopped waiting for an answer. She heard light footsteps on the other side watched as the knob turned and it opened a crack. Silver eyes met hers.

"Oh, hey Penny," Ruby chirped, stepping back to open the door for her, "how's it going?" She asked as Penny stepped into the dormitory.

"Where is the rest of your team?" Penny asked her when she saw that indeed the rest of the room was vacant. A bit of relief passed through her helping to calm her nerves.

"Blake and Yang took a contract together and are still out," Ruby explained to her taking a seat on one of the bunks, "Weiss is currently training with her sister so I found myself with a bit of alone time."

That was good, Penny thought. "Uh Ruby… can we talk?" She asked her tentatively, turning her gaze towards the window showing the academy grounds, she idly wondered why her room didn't have a window and found herself wishing it did.

Ruby's brow furrowed with concern. "Yeah Penny of course we can talk," she assured her, "what do you want to talk about?" She asked cautiously.

Penny tried to meet Ruby's eyes but found herself too embarrassed to manage holding her gaze. She instead looked at the floor by Ruby's feed and crossed her arms sheepishly over her chest. "Boys," Penny quietly confessed.

Ruby was quiet for a long moment and Penny wondered if perhaps her friend had heard her. "Boys?" She finally answered, "you want to talk about boys?"

Penny nodded. She looked up to Ruby to find that her face was slightly pink from embarrassment. That helped ease a little more of Penny's tension.

"What about… boys?" Ruby asked her.

Penny steeled herself and looked up into her friend's silver eyes. She couldn't dance around this, and Ruby was her friend, her best friend, if she could talk to anyone about this it would be her. "How do you know if you like a boy?" She asked her.

Ruby's eyes widened at her, "Penny… Do you like someone? Like, like like?" She asked flabbergasted.

"I do not know," Penny answered her, "but I keep thinking about him and I want to see him more and every time he smiles at me I feel very happy."

Ruby nodded and released a sigh, "yeah that sounds like a crush to me," she agreed motioning to a chair for Penny to sit down in. She took her seat and folded her hands in her lap.

"How long has this been going on?" Ruby asked her.

"Not very long," Penny admitted, "I only started to suspect it last night when I was charging my power cells, I was reading one of Blake's books she leant me and I noticed a similarity to how the heroine was acting towards the hero and it made me think."

"I see," Ruby said, seeming to relax, "are you going to tell him how you feel?" She asked her.

The very idea sent a flood of embarrassment and apprehension though her. "I have not considered it," she explained to her. "I do not know if he feels the same way or what would happen if he did not share my feelings. Do crushes fade?"

Ruby sighed, "Some do, mine certainly have. But it can grow into something more if you let it, wouldn't you like to see if it does?"

The thought certainly had an undeniable appeal to it. Penny could only imagine being held and kissed like she was in one of Blake's books. Those experiences, along with others, had yet to come. "It sounds…. nice," Penny admitted, "but I do not want to risk changing how things are between us."

Ruby nodded, "who is this guy?" She asked her, "if you don't mind telling me."

Penny looked down at her hands in her lap embarrassed to confess his name. "You will not tell him right?" Penny asked her, voicing her fear, "you will not tell anyone?"

Ruby nodded assuringly, "your secret is safe with me Penny, what are friends for after all?"

Penny took a long moment of silence to gather her courage and speak his name. "Jaune," she muttered quietly, feeling bashful at even speaking his name.

"Jaune!" Ruby exclaimed.

The door opened just as Ruby said his name and Penny turned to see the rest of Team RWBY stepping in.

"Oh hey Penny!" Yang greeted her with a smile before looking over to her little sister, "what's this about Jaune?"

"Nothing! Goodnight Ruby!" Penny stammered as she stood straight up and made for the door only for Ruby to catch her by the arm.

"Wait Penny, stay with us. We can all talk about this, just us girls." Ruby offered her looking at the confused looks on her teammate's faces. "Right? They're probably more qualified to talk about this sort of thing than me?"

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked them with a confused look on her face.

Penny looked to the face of every girl. "This will all stay between us right?" She asked them, shaking with nervousness.

"Yeah sure," Yang agreed instantly.

"We can keep a secret," Weiss added in assuringly.

Blake simply gave a silent nod.

"Alright," Penny admitted sheepishly as she moved back into her chair and sat down. Everyone else took seats of their own. Penny felt weighed down by their gazes transfixed on her.

"So what is this about?" Blake asked, turning to Ruby.

"Uh you see, Penny and I were talking about… boys." Ruby explained to her teammates.

"Boys!" Weiss exclaimed in surprise. "You mean like… boys?"

"Ooh!" Yang said excitedly. She pulled her legs up on the bunk sitting criss cross and leaning forward, "one of my favorite things to discuss."

"A… boy," Penny clarified, not sure if she found Yang's exuberance to be encouraging or not.

"A boy?" Blake said her brow furrowing, "so you mean… Jaune?" She asked, putting the rest of the pieces together.

"You like vomit boy?!" Yang asked excitedly, wearing a huge grin on her face.

"Do not call him that!" Penny said, "he does not like it!"

Yang threw her hands up in mock surrender but the gleeful expression on her face shone brighter. "Woah I'm sorry! I didn't mean to insult your boyfriend!"

Penny opened her mouth to retort only to witness a pillow smash into Yang's face silencing her. To her surprise she saw that the feather stuffed missile had been thrown by Weiss who quickly donned the air of a calm and dignified lady once more.

The youngest Schnee sibling cleared her throat as if she'd done something rather inconsequential. "So you like Jaune?" Weiss asked her, remaining calm and dignified as she spoke. "As in… romantically?"

"I think I might," Penny explained to her, "I have never felt this way about anyone before, especially not a boy."

"You have been spending quite a bit of time together," Blake commented.

Ruby nodded in agreement, "and the two of you have gone through a lot together recently."

Yang shrugged facetiously, "seems like this was enviable to me," she said, "what are a couple of kids to do am I right?"

"Yang you're not helping!" Weiss argued, "Penny is dealing with some serious feelings right now!"

"I'm serious too!" Yang said looking at Penny, "I'm just happy is all, Vomit Boy's been needing to catch a break with the ladies."

"Do not call him vomit boy!" Penny insisted.

"Nora said he's actually become quite popular with some of those single moms he's been helping," Weiss interjected, "though I doubt he's even noticed."

"Exactly!" Yang said, "Jaune never notices, or he crushes hard on the wrong girl."

Weiss cleared her throat pointedly and stared dangerously at the blonde brawler. "Case and point!" Yang said, earning another thrown pillow from the girl.

"Jaune likes you?" Penny asked looking at the younger Schnee sister.

"Liked! Past tense! That was a long time ago," Weiss clarified. "It was back at Beacon, he asked me out like a dozen times and kept using cheesy pick up lines. One time he even sang a song asking me to the dance, it was so annoying!"

"I see," Penny said quietly, "I did not know about that, it sounds like it was difficult."

"It was… but," Weiss said as her features softened, "he apparently encouraged another boy I happened to fancy to spend the dance with me." Weiss took a breath. "Jaune is a bit… much for my tastes," she explained, "but since all of that I've come to see that he is quite kind and considerate."

"I never thought I'd hear such a ringing endorsement of Jaune from Weiss of all people," Ruby said, "it's kind of weird."

"Just because we didn't get off on the right foot doesn't mean I haven't come to recognize his more positive qualities," Weiss said looking back at Penny. "I suppose what I am saying is you could do a lot worse than Jaune."

"Yep definitely weird," Yang said, "Penny might have some competition."

Weiss's cheeks went pink and she reached for another pillow to toss at the blonde only to find that she had none left. "Looks like you're out of ammo Ice Queen."

Penny couldn't help but smile as she watched Weiss cross her arms in a huff. She glared icy daggers at Yang who turned her attention to Penny. "There's a smile!" The blonde proclaimed proudly, "I knew I could loosen her up! You looked like you were on your way to a funeral, not a girl with a crush. You should be excited!"

"It is just very overwhelming," Penny answered her, "and I still do not know if I have a crush on Jaune or not."

"I'll make this easy," Yang proclaimed. "Do you feel happy when a Jaune is happy?"

Penny nodded, "yes… but I feel like that whenever my friends are happy."

Yang nodded, "ok… but have you been thinking about Jaune a lot lately and ways to make him happy?"

Penny nodded again a little apprehensively this time, "I have been thinking about him a lot lately," she admitted.

"Have you thought about Jaune holding your hand? Hugging you, kissing you?" She asked her. "Do you like the thought of that?"

Penny was only able to respond with a silent nod. She had thought about it more than once. And even now thinking about doing those things she'd seen in those romance movies or more embarrassingly in the books Blake had been lending her the idea of Jaune kept invading those fantasies.

"Well there we have it! That's a check for all three. Congratulations Penny you have a bonafide crush on Jaune, we're very happy for you." Yang smugly crossed her arms over her chest beaming proudly.

Penny nodded, "Alright, I have a crush on Jaune. But it is just a crush, right? It shall fade as Ruby said right?"

"That kind of depends," Blake answered speaking up, "crushes can fade Penny but they can also grow into something more, something serious."

Penny looked to the cat faunus, "so what should I do?"

"Tell him how you feel," Blake told her. "Just be honest with him, I may not know Jaune very well but I'm sure he'll hear you out."

Weiss nodded at that, "I agree with Blake, even if Jaune doesn't reciprocate your feelings I have no doubts he'll be a gentleman to you."

"That sounds… scary," Penny admitted, "Ruby already suggested telling him, but being rejected just sounds… painful." She shook her head unable to bear the thought. Even if Jaune was kind and understanding in his rejection the pain of it seemed unbearable.

"You're gonna have to face that sooner or later Penny," Yang said, "Or you're never going to get a hot date!"

"I've never seen you with a date Yang," Weiss said only to be quieted as Yang tossed one of the pillows at her.

"That's besides the point," the blonde explained looking back over to Penny. "My point is that if you want things to progress with Jaune you're going to have to find your courage and be honest."

Penny nodded to show she understood. Of course she'd have to tell Jaune, it wasn't like she expected him to suddenly confess to her. "I understand that, I just… I keep thinking that he might reject me because… because I am not a real girl."

"Penny," Ruby said seriously. "You are a real girl, your thoughts and feelings are just as real as the rest of ours. And Jaune is my friend too, I know he won't reject you because of something so… shallow."

"Yeah," Yang agreed with a nod, "and if he does then just say the word and we'll teach him a lesson."

"I do not want you to hurt him!" Penny protested.

"Come on! Just a black eye?" Yang asked her, "I mean he'll have earned more than just that."

"Do not hurt him," Penny insisted, making her feelings on the matter clear.

"Ok ok, I was just joking, well half joking." Yang said with a shrug. "My offer stands in case you ever change your mind and he acts like a jerk."

"Uh…" Weiss paused, looking a little flushed as the eyes in the room.

"What is it Weiss?" Ruby asked her partner.

Weiss's usually pale white face was as crimson as Ruby's cloak. "Well um… I do not want to be insensitive Penny, but since we have addressed that you're… different than most girls I cannot help but wonder if certain things might be… different in a relationship."

"What are you talking about Weiss?" Ruby asked, fixing her partner with an odd look. "What things would be different for Jaune and Penny if they started dating?"

Penny didn't think it was possible for Weiss's face to turn redder but under the stares of her teammates it did. "What I am saying is uh," Weiss cleared her throat, "could you and Jaune have a… physical relationship?"

If Penny had blood it would have all rushed through her face in embarrassment.

"That's uh… I did not think about that," Yang said, breaking the silence that preceded Weiss's inquiry.

Weiss looked like she was devastated from embarrassment, it was felt by everyone it seemed and Penny wished she had a clear answer. It had been something she herself had wondered the other night while recharging her power cells while reading a copy of Ninjas of Love Blake had leant her.

"I am built to resemble a real girl anatomically… but I do not know. I might have to discuss this with my father." She told them feeling their gazes upon her.

Yang released a heavy sigh, "I do not envy you, I still got nightmares from when Dad gave me the talk."

Ruby shuddered alongside her sister at the mention of this talk. And Penny felt her own embrace rise. How could she ask her father about this?

"That is something you might want to figure out," Blake told her, "Jaune might want a physical relationship so it'd be good to know if he could have one with you."

Penny nodded silently. "Until I speak with my father I have no idea if… that is even a possibility. Can we discuss something else?"

"Yes please," Weiss begged, her face was still crimson from embarrassment.

"You're the one that brought it up," Ruby told her, looking rather flushed herself.

"And I regret it!" Weiss snapped at her partner.

"Cool off Weisscream we're dropping it," Yang affirmed and looked back to Penny.

"Who else has liked Jaune?" Penny asked looking at Yang. "Earlier you said he never noticed when someone else liked him. I would not want to interfere with someone else that has feelings for him."

Everyone frowned and looked down at the floor sorrowfully. Penny wondered if she had crossed a line with her question.

"You don't need to worry about that Penny," Ruby told her quietly.

"Pyrrha, Jaune's former teammate, she used to have a crush on him," Blake explained to her. "I don't know if Jaune ever knew about her feelings towards him though."

"Jaune hasn't talked very much about it," Ruby said, "not to me at least… but I think he learned of her feelings, before she died."

Penny thought about how Jaune had mentioned Pyrrha when they had spoken about what happened. How he spoke of the pain to lose a friend and his determination to never let that happen again. About his drive to protect her against all odds. She couldn't begin to decipher the emotions that flooded in through her. Jaune had spoken about losing a friend and partner, but he had lost more than a friend. He'd lost someone very special indeed. Did Jaune wonder what it would be like if Pyrrha was still with him? Did he think about what a relationship with her would be like?

"I see," Penny said tentatively. "I did not know about that."

Weiss sighed, "We didn't know for awhile ourselves, it felt kind of strange to have him asking me out when I knew she harbored feelings for him."

"Do you think that he misses her?" Penny asked them all.

"We all miss Pyrrha Penny," Ruby told her. "She was our friend, I don't know if Jaune misses her as more than just a friend or not. I don't know if Jaune would have returned Pyrrha's feelings or not but it's sad that they never got that chance. And I think Jaune has been regretting how things happened for some time."

Penny looked up to the team of huntresses gathered around her. "When we were being hunted by that assassin Jaune tried restoring my aura, I told him not to and we had a bit of an argument. He was weakening himself to help me and at the moment I did not understand why he was doing it. But several days ago we talked a bit about what had happened, he said he knew what it felt like to lose a friend and refused to let it happen. I thought I understood then but now… I see that he lost what could have been."

Ruby nodded, "yeah… it sucks," she said, "but I know Pyrrha would have wanted Jaune to be happy, and I don't know if you can make him happy like that but… but maybe."

A stifled yawn cut the tension and they all looked over to Weiss as she covered her mouth. "Sorry," she apologized, "it's getting late and it's been a long day."

Yang opened her mouth and delivered a loud yawn of her own. "Damnit Weiss that's infectious." She said bitterly.

"We do need to get up early in the morning," Blake interjected.

Penny nodded and stood up, "you should all sleep then," Penny told them, "thank you… all of you."

Yang gave her a thumbs up, "anytime girl," she said, "now go get yourself a man!"

"If you ever need to talk to someone Penny we're here for you," Ruby assured her. "Just send us a text or something."

Penny stepped forward and pulled Ruby into a tight hug. "Thank you Ruby, I really needed to talk to someone about this."

"No problem," Ruby said as Penny released her.

"Goodnight Ruby," Penny said.

"Goodnight Penny," Ruby answered.

Penny stepped out into the hall. Her mind was flooded with a million thoughts and emotions as she considered their words. She thought about Weiss's experience being the target of Jaune's affection, about Ruby's assurances that Jaune would not reject her for being a machine. And the question of if she could have a physical relationship with Jaune, or anyone for that matter. She was not eager to approach her father with that question, she wondered if she could avoid telling him about Jaune specifically.

"Hey Penny, wait up!" She heard his voice and froze for a moment to compose herself. She turned to face him.

He was smiling and if Penny had a heart in her chest she was sure it'd be fluttering just like in Blake's novels. "Hello Jaune," she greeted. Behind him his dorm room was open and she could see Ren and Nora behind him observing. "How are you?"

"I'm good been working harder than ever with missions and contracts," he said with a grin, "I won't keep you long but you know that movie night we talked about?"

Penny nodded silently.

"I was thinking Ren and Nora should join us," he said pointing his thumb over his shoulder at his teammates. "I haven't exactly been hanging out with them a lot of late and you haven't really hung out with them either."

"Sure," Penny answered him, "they're more than welcome to join us." No she had no idea how to feel about Lie Ren or Nora Valkyrie joining in on the movie night. The idea of being alone with him was as intimidating as it was exciting. Others being there with her seemed safer at least.

"Great," Jaune said, "I'll text you the movies we're thinking of watching, we'll put it to a vote."

Penny nodded, "I look forward to it," she said.

"Great, see you then," Jaune said turning with a wave goodbye, "goodnight Penny."

Penny watched as he moved to enter his dorm with his teammates. "Goodnight Jaune."

Jaune had just been through one of the most awkward conversations of his life. Explaining to Nora and Ren why he had been given his own dorm room was agonizing. He was genuinely happy for them, and in most any other situation, telling them that he was moving because of a sock would have been something that they'd laugh about. But in this instance, he just wanted the conversation to be over.

He set down the last of his things, which wasn't much since travelling across half of Anima with just a single pack. The room was practically the exact same size as the one he had just left behind, but the crucial difference was that this was for just one person, not four, so he had plenty of room. He had his own desk, a much larger bunk, coffee table, couch, and most pleasing was his own bathroom. For the first time since leaving home, he could shower in peace.

He was about to do just that when his scroll started buzzing.

Here are the relevant files for the investigation. Look them over before we head out tomorrow.

-Winter

"I guess a nice long soothing shower will have to wait." Jaune said feeling very much defeated in that moment. He sighed and plugged his scroll into the desk and started going over the attached files. "11 Murders, no witnesses, no security footage, all with the exact same slash marks. Autopsy suggest a curved blade, approximately 7 to 10 inches in length."

Jaune hated this part of the job. He had always been squeamish during his First Aid classes at Beacon, but now he wished he had paid more attention. "All victims were specifically outspoken Anti-Atlas, Anti-Ironwood. That's not a good look for him." Jaune said thumbing his chin. "If I wanted to hurt Ironwood, violently taking out his opposition is a decent way of doing it. Puts Mantle on edge, makes him look like a tyrant that's silencing them."

There was something else, something he was missing. The crime scene photos, there was something about them. Jaune brought up all the images and placed them in front of their locations on the map. "These are all alleys. Dimly lite, with next to no foot traffic. But then, why would..." Jaune stopped at a realization. "Wait, all of these individuals had records, specifically arrest records. But where were they dropped off?" Jaune combed through the files and found that information missing. No arrests, no detainment, no release. They just disappeared for a day or two, then ended up dead in an alley.

Not overlooked, or omitted. It was gone. As if it had been removed, or perhaps redacted. "But who would want that information gone?" Jaune asked. He continued going over all the files but kept finding blanks in the reports. Anything that could have pointed him in the right direction was gone. "This feels wrong." He needed to know if this was something or not. Winter likely would know.

Hey, so stupid question but how often does Atlas redact arrest reports in Mantle?

Not at all to my knowledge. Why?

Well I started going over everything you sent me and I just keep hitting dead ends and redacted portions of reports and entire files gone. Sending you highlights and blank spots.

Looking these over now. Will check in when I have something.

Jaune nodded and stretched out his back. He had been at this for hours now. He knew that his role as the "strategist" had been one of convenience back in the day, less direct combat orientation let him be more mindful of what was happening, a more polite way of getting him out of danger and still being useful, but now he was entirely glad he was the smart one of the team. "I'm gonna need coffee."

A quick trip to the cafeteria and an entire pot of coffee later Jaune returned to his room to find Winter standing at his door. Jaune stopped dead in his tracks. He had never, not once seen her in anything other then her Atlas uniform. So 'surprised' was a little lacking when her saw her waiting in an Atlas hoodie with her hair down. "I finished reviewing your findings and came to some troubling conclusions. I did not want to discuss them over messages if my theories are correct." Winter said, cold and confident as ever.

Jaune just stood in shocked silence. Eventually Winter responded to his silence with her own confusion, looking around the empty hallway as he was observing something else. Jaune shook his head and brought himself back to reality. "Yeah, sorry. Lost in thought." Jaune said approaching and finally opening the door. "Make yourself comfortable."

Jaune set down the pot of coffee at the desk and looked at all work he had done, slowly coming to a sense of inadequacy when Winter standing next to him, started reviewing his work. "I know its nothing much. I wasn't really sure what I was looking for, or if anything at first." Jaune said, preemptively demeaning his work to lessen the blow when, predictably Winter also chastised him for coming up short.

"This is exceptional work." Winter said looking at his mishmash of connected notes, reports and digital twine connecting information. She gave his work a more in-depth review, adding her own notes to certain elements. She eventually turned back to Jaune. "I looked into the redactions you mentioned earlier and someone in a considerable position in the military is using the authorizations that even I don't have the authority to look into."

Jaune looked at the additions Winter had made to his notes. Things he would have never been able to come up. Knowledge that only came with growing up in Atlas. "Even still, there should be a few local copies right? Autopsies? We could talk to the Mantle cops that first investigated right?" Jaune insisted doing his best to sound optimistic.

Winter smirked at his attitude. "Well, there may be a few places we could look into."She said returning his optimism.

They spent the next few hours going through every detail of the reports, Jaune looking for more connections that weren't obvious, what each victim might have had in common. Winter meanwhile was putting together any and all information on the redactions and who might have been implementing them.

Turned out that every victim had had their Anti-Ironwood sentiments reported by their local Mantle Police Department and had quite a following. These were somewhat well known people. Not quite leaders or public figures, but people that others would listen to, or know what happened to them. Each one fit a profile. These were targeted victims. Accessible enough, but would make a large enough impact.

Meanwhile Winter had been looking into the redactions specifically and the authorization needed for just such a thing. Every time she tried something, a record of authorization, any mention of who would have gotten these reports, anything it always ended in a dead end. Someone had cleared their tracks perfectly.

Jaune sighed and flopped down onto the couch. "We've been at this for hours. I need a break." He said kicking his shoes off. "I swear I'm going cross-eyed." Jaune rubbed his temple and decompressed. "Any luck on your end?"

Winter sighed in anger. "None what so ever." She said bitterly before raking her fingers through her hair. "You were absolutely right before. It doesn't make any sense. This level of purging isn't something Atlas would do to protect itself from bad press." She drained the last bit of coffee from her cup and started fanning herself with her hand. She gave up on cooling herself with her hand and grabbed the hem of her hoodie and in a single fluid motion pulled it overhead and removed it revealing a simple tank top overtop of a sports bra.

Jaune froze. He had been around Team RWBY, Nora and Pyrrha for a long time. He had seen them in less then entirely modest get ups. Ruby and Yang's pyjamas were basically the same thing, but seeing Winter Schnee, Weiss' big sister, like this made him very uncomfortable. She was stunning. Her perfect white hair resting against her shoulders. Pale skin brightening up the room.

"This is malicious. I'm starting to suspect whomever did this is either a genius or -". Winter said completely unaware of his rapturous gaze. But her comment snapped him out of it and he sprang to his feet."

"One of our own." Jaune said putting the pieces together. "Take everything you have. I mean everything. Putting all of our research on your scroll only. No Atlas network or shared folders then delete everything we've done. I hope I'm wrong, but I think I have an idea." Jaune said quickly putting on his armor. "I can't fly an airship and we need to get to Mantle now. I'll meet you at the hanger." With that Jaune ran out of his room leaving a befuddled Winter there standing in his wake.

Before long Jaune sat in the passenger seat while Winter piloted the shuttle down to Mantle. It was late, very late. Almost everything was closed and there was next to no one in the streets. Winter put down the airship, in an authorized landing zone she pointed out to him, and watched as Jaune in a run disembarked the shuttle and took off into Mantle. "Come on!" Jaune shouted over his shoulder to her.

Jaune remembered exactly where he was going, it was kind of hard to forget. He rounded a corner and started knocking on a door, almost hammering away at it. There was a shuffling on the other side and the door slide open. "Doctor Polendina. I'm sorry its so late, but this was kind of an emergency." Jaune said, panting a little. The doctor, to his credit, ushered Jaune and Winter inside. "You said when we first met that someone had dismantled Atlas security codes and made it their plaything. Could you recognize that work if you saw it somewhere else?"

Pietro mumbled to himself for just a moment. "Well, I suppose I might. The work didn't exactly leave footprints in the sand mind you, but I suppose its possible. It would require a set of skills that is just unthinkable." He said as he took his hat off and with a handkerchief wiped his brow. "You think you have something?"

Jaune explained his investigation into the Anti-Ironwood Murders and Winter's probing into the redacted information. It was when Winter said that same words Pietro had said about the culprit that Jaune considered the dangerous connection. Without needing to be asked Winter handed Pietro her scroll, which at Jaune's insistence had been disabled from connecting to any other device or network.

Jaune and Winter sat in silence as Pietro examined the information they had brought him. He meticulously cross-examined it against the Amity breaches and the files pertain to the Fall of Beacon. "My boy, I dare say you were right." Pietro said, finally breaking a tense silence. "I haven't had the chance to go over this fully, but there's enough similarities that I'd make my case in front of the general and the rest of the council."

Jaune nodded. He was right, but then that meant that the murders in Mantle and the cover-up was the work of Salem and her agents. "So, then the enemy is here, in Mantle." Jaune said in a grim tone. "Ironwood needs to know. Doctor I hate to inconvenience you any further, but you're out best bet at convincing him with the proof we have."

Pietro dismissed Jaune's worries with a simple "Pish-posh" Then collected his things and made copies of their findings. "I'll keep my scroll off any and all networks. Until we can establish a proper measure of quarantine for our findings you two should do the same." Pietro said before pulling on a lever which activated all the shutters to unroll and cover the windows. He quickly attached a sign to the door.

'Days since last nonsense: 0

Back as soon as possible'

"I'll head to my facilities in Atlas right away. I can make quicker work of these findings there." Pietro says as he locks up his clinic. "I'll report to the general and the council as soon as I have a legitimate case." Pietro cleans his glasses. "You two should get some rest. When was the last time you ate?"

At the mention of food Jaune's energy came crashing down. He had been so focused on the goal, he had completely ignored, or forgotten, how hungry and tired he was. His shoulders drooped and his head hung a little. He saw Winter reacting much the same. "You're right Doctor. We need our rest. We have to investigate the actual murders tomorrow here in Mantle." Jaune said before clenching his jaw and fighting back a yawn. "We should probably get some food and turn in. Yeah?" Jaune looked to Winter who simply nodded.

Pietro smiled. There was a warmth to his smile, Jaune saw the father that made Penny for a moment. "Well, make sure that you do. A warm meal then straight to bed, and none of that Atlas Cafeteria food either. Get some real food down her in Mantle." Pietro said gesturing to the city around them. "If any other sleep reducing emergencies happen you'll find me in my lab. Goodnight and good luck."

Jaune and Winter were left standing in the empty streets of Mantle as Pietro's chair sauntered off. "Well, I know a pretty good place nearby. After I finish with the kids I usually grab a bite." Jaune said gesturing with his thumb over his shoulder. "Come on, just the two of us, my treat. You owe me, right?" Jaune was referring to the so called debt Winter claimed to be in for saving her life.

Winter froze for a brief moment. Jaune thought he saw a bit of color on her checks but dismissed it as the shine of some nearby neon. She seemed to be starring at the ground looking back and forth, collecting her thoughts. "Very well, if this is how you wish to, as they say, cash in your chips. Lead the way."

Jaune lead them through some of the more illuminated streets before turning down a less then inviting alley. "Are you certain with your directions? This does not seem to be the place one would find an eating establishment." Winter expressed her concerns looking at the filthy conditions and abundance of graffiti. 'Show your Teeth' adorning several walls.

"Yeah, I know this neighbourhood pretty well know." Jaune said looking around. "I'm down here most of the week. Though I've been away more then I'd like lately. You know, doing stuff we're not supposed to talk about." He smiled at her. A sort of goofy, guilty smile.

They turned down one more alley and Jaune pointed out a small neon sign. "Right there. See?" He asked enthusiastically. The sign read 'Benny's Haven' and occasionally flickered out. It was little more then a sign and a door with a single window, seemingly all stuffed between two larger buildings.

Winter was, for lack of a better word, depressed by this 'Benny's Haven' Jaune had brought her to. "You are certain this is how you wish to spend the remainder of our evening?" Winter said gesturing to the entrance. "This, 'restaurant'?"

Jaune broke out into a big smile. "Yeah! Trust me, you'll love it!" He said before taking her by the hand and almost dragging down the alley and into Benny's Haven.

Immediately Winter was flooded with multiple smells of confectioneries, coffees, and freshly baked bread. First impressions aside, the inside was indeed winning her over. The inside was surprisingly clean and well put together. Extremely narrow, it only had room for a bar which doubled as the kitchen and a few tables and chair further in, all lined up in a single row, the space not permitting otherwise.

"Hey there Gallant!" called out a rather muscular woman with no sleeves and an eye patch. Her large arms were covered in scars and she was sporting a prosthetic hand. "And you brought a friend. Come on in! I was about to close up, but for you the kitchens open."

Jaune smiled sheepishly and lead Winter inside to one of the tables further in. She froze for a split second when he pulled a chair for her. She accepted the offer, only a little unsure of the gesture. He sat down with a grin. "You're gonna love this place. Benny here makes the best coffee in town. Though I think we're past coffee at this hour." Jaune said looking at one of the menus on the table.

Winter looked around at the rest of the establishment. She was marginally surprised. The outside seemed to indicate a less then hospitable place of business with no regard for comfort or cleanliness, but the inside was a different story. The floor were clean, the furniture while mismatched was cozy, and the decor was humble. Many candles lighting the area with paintings of the Solitas landscape, several catching her eye.

"So what are your preferences?" Jaune asked from behind a menu. "I really enjoy the frosted pumpkin cheesecake. You seem like a bitter chocolate type of person. There's a dark chocolate mint swirl."

Winter recoiled slightly in offence, but realized that he was exactly correct. She didn't much care for sweets, but a bitter dark chocolate was something she remembered enjoying as a child. One of the few childhood memories that her entire family was happy. It was the first snowfall in Atlas after Whitley was born. It was one of the special days in Atlas where the city wide heating grid was reduce allowing for the precipitation to form as snow.

The entire family sat out on the vista in many bundled layers watching the snow fall across Atlas. Klein brought her a Hot Chocolate made specifically from dark chocolate, with mint sticks on the side. She remembers sitting on her fathers lap cheering Its one of the few memories she has of her father that doesn't make her scowl.

"If you insist. I will accept a dark chocolate mint swirl and anything else you would suggest."

Winter sat in the pilot chair of the Manta that herself and Team JNPR would be descending to Mantle for their continued investigation. She had been reviewing more reports of the construction of Amity. Mostly items that require approval to proceed or dilemmas that need more resources or workers. She would normally make quick work of such things. Prioritize that which could impede other aspects of the project and placate requisitions that were not as fundamental as others. Any other day she would have had these finished hours ago, but her mind was elsewhere.

The night before, at Benny's Haven with Jaune. It had been, for lack of a better term, disarming. She mourned a fallen comrade, she enjoyed his company, she actually relaxed and let her guard down. Normally she'd internally reprimand herself and tighten up, but now she wasn't sure if she wanted to. She hadn't felt so stress-less in years. Certainly not since the general had brought her into the fold and explained the true fight to her.

She was alarmed when she woke up the following morning, without her back complaining about the ever present knotted muscle. A sort of reminder of her duty. She had simply added working it out every morning to her daily routine. But today she had no such need. How fortuitous.

She sat in the pilot chair reviewing more and more of Amity's construction, but her thought continued to drift. 'What was last night?'

Eventually she gave up on reports and sent a message to her sister.

Weiss, if you are free later this evening I would like us to have tea in my quarters. We have not had time to speak in a non-official capacity since your arrival. While your company is always something I look forward to, I would enjoy an evening that wasn't spent in the training facility or in the field.

-Winter

She considered waiting for a reply when she heard team JNPR approaching. "Nora, not now. I'll gladly explain after the mission today." Jaune said, sounding a bit testy. He pinched he temple before looking up. "Oh, you're already here. Sorry for making you wait. Are we good to go?" He settled into the co-pilot seat and began checking his scroll.

"Affirmative. Flight path laid in." Winter said as she grabbed the controls. "This is Special Operative Schnee, leaving docking bay Beta 14-F."

It was a short trip to Mantle. They set down on a landing zone as close as they could. Their first stop was the Mantle PD Precinct that reported the latest murder. The walk was brief, but tense. There was no shortage of glares and watchful eyes from the locals as they exited the Manta. Jaune led the way smiling at anyone familiar. A few occasionally stopped to talk with him, but Jaune very quickly explained that he didn't have the time at the moment.

Jaune entered the Precinct with Ren, Nora, and Winter behind him. He found it rather quiet. Eerily so. A portly man behind a desk and glass looked up at them. "Can I 'elp you wit somefin?" he said before picking up and sipping his coffee. The man barely fit into the police uniform he had on. A few medal on his chest, and a pair of brass stars on his shoulder. One of the medals on his chest wasn't a Mantle Police Force medal though. Jaune couldn't place it though, he had seen it before though. "You here dere kiddo?"

Jaune rolled his eyes at the 'kiddo' remark but did his best to ignore it. "Were here investigating the string of murders here in Atlas. Victims found in alley just a few blocks from their homes. All the cameras in the area, suspiciously deactivated." Jaune said not attempting to charm or be friendly with this man. He was here trying to solve a murder in a rough part of town as a licensed Huntsman. Being a doormat wouldn't work.

The man behind the glass leaned back in his chair. "Oh, yeah. Dos ones. I mean its not really a mystery." He said tapping his nose. "Its all Ironwood's doing. Keeping us down 'ere in Mantle under 'is boot."

Jaune didn't even have to look around but he could feel Winter glaring at this man. "You ain't gonna disappear me for saying dat now are you? You Atlas lot are all the same." said the man leaning back in his chair. "First you attack Beacon, then you start squeezing Mantle dry. What, now you're gotta killing us to?"

Jaune recognized that odd medal now. "I'm not from Atlas. I'm from Beacon." Jaune said standing up straight. "I fought at the Fall of Beacon. I only just got my license here in Atlas, but I'm from Beacon." Jaune remembered in the weeks after the Fall, people wearing medals to signify that they had lost something that night. He never needed or wanted another reminder of what had happened or who he had lost. "Who did you lose?"

The man slowly sat up right. There was a silence between them for a moment. "My oldest, Lily. She sent me a message the day it 'appened. How she didy'nay make it passed the doubles round. She was just 'appy to be there." He sniffled at the memory. "Did you, lose someone as well?"

Jaune nodded. "My partner. Pyrrha. She fought til the very end. I don't care what anyone says. That night they were all Huntresses." Jaune said remembering his conversation with the mysterious woman in Argus. "They fought to protect as they had been trained to. We won't ever forget them."

There was a somber moment between the two. It was eventually broken when the man behind the desk pressed a button and buzzed them in. "Go on in. I'll have the Lieutenant in charge of dat case come see you. Name?" he asked pulling out a pen and note pad.

"Jaune Arc."

The man nodded. "Jaune Arc. Huntsman from Beacon." he said with a smile. "I'll pass that on. Now in you lot."

Jaune and the others quickly entered the facilities of the precinct and found a small waiting area. Several passing officers gave them passing glances, but nothing more. It was clear that Jaune and his team were a curiosity, but they had more pressing matters to attend to. There was a pair of Atlas MPs in the precinct as well. Winter briefly explained that since the border closures, Atlas had been attempting to make the city more secure and have official Atlas personal stationed throughout Mantle. It was obvious the MPs were not wanted there any more so then they desired to be there.

The building itself seemed to have seen better days. Missing ceiling tiles, flickering lights, several pieces of furniture held together with tape. "This place has seen better days." Jaune whispered to his team. He made a mental note to look into the Mantle police budget when they got back. He knew that the general was almost entirely focused on the Amity Project, but keeping Mantle from revolting would be necessary. So if he could solve that problem with a simple suggestion of allocating funds. Then it was worth it.

"Jaune Arc, from Beacon?" Said a voice down the hall. They all stood up as the owner of that voice walked in. She was just under 6 foot tall, curly red hair held back in a tie. Standard issue pistol on her waist, but with several additional pockets and pouches on her waist and thigh straps. "Front desk says you're looking into the murder of one Forrest Bao. I'm the officer assigned that case. Lieutenant..." She froze when she saw them all.

"Abigail Towse." Winter said coldly.

"Winter Schnee." Abigail said, venom dripping off her words. "Been a long time."

The tension was the only thing that could be felt in that moment. Ren and Nora shared a concerned look. Jaune was sparred the confusion due only to the fact that Abigail Towse was someone he was aware of and how she pertained to Winter. He closed his eyes firmly and took a deep breath before he committed to a possibly dumb idea.

Jaune stepped between Abigail and Winter.

He sighed before turning to Winter. "Perhaps it would be best if you waited outside." Jaune said sounding like someone had just kicked his puppy. Winter's glare slowly crawled upon him.

"I beg your pardon?" Winter said in a very low voice, which bordered on threatening.

Jaune silently prayed that he wasn't actually quivering in his boots under her gaze and steeled himself. "Winter, the general put me in charge of this mission. I am, suggesting that you wait outside." Jaune said sternly. He closed the gap between them, placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned in closed "I know what happened between you. Tell me, honestly, that this won't compromised the situation and you can stay."

Jaune was careful in his words. He made certain not to cast blame on her for what was happening. "Report in to the general if you truly think I'm over stepping my bounds here." Jaune said more loudly for the others to hear. "Remember the circumstances of my command of this mission though, and your place in it." He gave her a smirk and a wink before his faced turned back to professional.

Winter quickly snapped to attention but did not salute. "I will, wait outside then." She said through clenched teeth. She spun in place and marched out the way they came, slamming the door behind her.

Jaune sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Nora, go after her and make sure she doesn't do something stupid." Jaune said glaring at the ceiling. Nora unsure of the situation did as Jaune had said. "Towse, right? Okay, what can you tell me about these murders?"

Winter paced outside the precinct. She knew that Jaune was right and she knew what he was doing. Her presence would only further alienate Abigail to them and worsen the results of their investigation. It had been seven years since she had last seen Abigail Towse. Since Abigail attempted to disfigure her and was expelled for it.

"Hey, are you okay?" Nora said approaching from the precinct. Her concern was clear as day. Winter wasn't sure if she had ever exchanged words with Nora outside of a passing sentence, and even then it was most certainly relating to their missions. But here she was, reaching out in just general empathy. It was just so foreign to Winter.

"And these are copies of the hand written reports from the officers first on the scene." Towse said handing Jaune a small stake of paper. "I'll see to it that all of our reports are moved off of a networked device and stored somewhere safe. To think that the Mantle security grid could be compromised so."

Jaune nodded as he briefly looked through the files. "What can you tell me that I can't read in these?" Jaune said before handing them to Ren. "I was given the impression that you're in charge of this investigation."

Towse nodded. "Yeah, something I noticed going over them all. Something that wouldn't be in those reports." Towse said gesturing for them to follow her. "The wounds were consistent with each other, so on a hunch I had the doctor in the morgue make a cast of the wounds and put together a 3D model of what ever made them. It was all the same weapon."

Towse led them into her office and sat down behind her desk. "So it leads me to believe we have a single culprit. Highly skilled and very well informed." Towse said leaning back in her chair. "So, what the hell are you doing with Schnee?"

Jaune frowned and crossed his arms. "Wasn't by choice. We lost a teammate at the Fall, so we were a man short." Jaune said, toneless and dispassionate. "Ironwood himself put her on this assignment. We weren't going to be allowed to investigate without a fourth." Jaune gave Ren a knowing look.

Jaune was careful with his words. Everything he said was technically the truth. Towse was someone that Jaune didn't have a reason to trust, but he only had Ironwood's account of her. Years ago she was dismissive of the rules and violently arrogant. But she was in a position to help them, so he needed her to at the very least not have reason to distrust them.

"That tracks. Using her name to get what she wants out of Ironwood." Towse said pulling out a cigar from her jacket pocket. She patted herself down before pulling out a small glass bottle of very dust shards. She took out a shard between her fingers and then activated the fire property of the dust, lighting her cigar.

"I haven't known her all that long. Only a few weeks." Jaune said checking out a wanted board in Mantle. "We've work one job before. It, didn't go well." Dozens of names and mug shots, some with apprehended written on them, some with deceased written on them. Jaune scowled at the realization that a large majority were faunus.

"So, the victims, did they have anything in common beyond being publicly outspoken against Ironwood?" Jaune asked taking a seat across from Towse. "I know that they were local public heroes. They each had public records of their arrests. Each were dropped off here in Mantle, only for those records to be mysterious disappeared and the cameras nearby all went dead."

Towse nodded. "Yeah, and they all knew each other. Won't find that in those reports." She said taking a long drag of her cigar. "One of the first victims made contacts with the others soon after the Fall of Beacon, once Ironwood's action started veering off the preserve and into crazy town." She blew out several rings above her. "They were attempting to form a sort of network that could undermine Ironwood's regime from down here in Mantle. We knew of their existence, but they never amounted to anything, nothing they could learn down here in the slums would have ever hurt Ironwood's power."

Jaune realized she had put it together. "But in death, they'd achieve their goal." Towse said with a frown. "This was too blatant for an Atlas scheme. If Ironwood wanted to make these people disappear, we never would have found the bodies. Somebody wanted these deaths to be public. To turn Mantle against Atlas even more."

"Exactly. From what I know about Ironwood, he'd have the means to be a lot more discrete." Jaune said throwing a leg over the other. "So, obviously this isn't an Atlas scheme, this is a Mantle one. So what can you tell me about this weapon you figured out from the wounds?" The cigar smell was started to get on Jaune's nerves.

There was a silence and mutual scowls between Jaune and Towse. "Yeah. Hold on." Towse said pulling out her scroll. "I had the morgue guys put this together. Whatever the weapon is, these are the blades and how the curve." She pressed a button and projected a holographic image.

Jaune stood up with a jolt...his chair thrown back and clattered to the floor. "Jaune ?" As ren asked stepping forward. "What's wron..." Ren saw as what jaune saw and froze. "Jaune, we have to tell the others." There's was a tense silence.... "What ?!" Towse asked angrily smashing out her cigar.....As Jaune collected himself "We've seen those blades before." Jaune said glaring at the very projection now "Tyrian is here in Mantle so then that would mean so is cinder." As he finished as then jaune started to alarm with the rest as they here.