Couldn't Stand Another Minute

[in4apounding]

Who: Penny Polendina in4apounding, Ruby Rose rosetotheoccasion, Weiss Schnee usedglaciate, and Yang Xiao Long yanginthere
Where: Violet City
When: Sunday 2/7, Evening
and Tuesday 2/9, Afternoon
Summary: A reunion of canonmates and discussion of some terrible things to come.
Rating: PG
Log:

[Penny bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, waiting outside the Violet City Pokémon Center, her Vulpix anxiously threading his way around her ankles. She hadn't realized quite how long three months without seeing anyone from home could be, but now Ruby and Weiss had both arrived at once. She almost felt guilty being as happy as she was, it sounded like they had been taken from some serious trouble.]

[But, they were both here now. And as long as no one knew how to get back, there was no harm in trying to make the best of things, right?]

Comments

[usedglaciate]

[Weiss isn't usually off-balance at all, but Teleport has a way of doing that if one isn't used to it. She falls squarely into that category. She takes a minute to catch her breath and steady herself before looking up and waving.]

Hi, Penny!

[rosetotheoccasion]

[Well, it's a good thing Weiss got their greeting out of the way, because Ruby doesn't even bother with words. The moment she gets a good look around when Teleport's light finally fades, she's just sort of... frozen. It was one thing talking to Penny over the gear, but seeing her here, in person, a hundred percent absolutely real.... well.

Ruby takes a step forward, pauses, then she's off like a shot; she doesn't need her Semblance to be fast, and in the blink of an eye, she's practically slamming into Penny so hard they both topple over, arms wrapped tight around the robot-turned human in a hug she's definitely not going to be easing up on anytime soon.]

Penny!

[in4apounding]

Salutations, Weiss! Was the trip all-

[And then- on the ground. Hug.exe has been activated and cannot stop. Tables have turned, etc.]

[Some people might be a little upset at getting tackled to the ground, but Penny just laughs and returns the hug.]

Ruby! I've missed you too.

[Yeah, not getting up.]

It's so good to see both of you!

[usedglaciate]

You might want to get up. That's a little awkward looking.

[But Weiss is slightly smiling, if sheepishly, and she manages a small laugh.]

It's good to see you, too.

[rosetotheoccasion]

Don't care. [It comes out as a bit of a whine, and a bit muffled too, between Ruby's tears and the fact that her face is smooshed against poor Penny's shoulder.] I'm just gunna live on the floor from now on.

[Sorry girls, just bear with her for a bit. This isn't the first time Ruby's lost someone very dear to her, but it is the first time someone came back to her. She's probably not letting go anytime soon.]

[in4apounding]

Is it?

[The ground wasn't exactly comfortable, she had to admit. But if Ruby didn't want to let go-]

It's okay, I can stand for both of us! Hup-

[It's a little awkward, but she manages to get upright without letting go of Ruby. She's not sure what's wrong, exactly, but she's not going to question a BFF hug after three months.]

So- um. Before. You said there was a Grimm attack.

[She gives Ruby an extra squeeze.]

What happened?

[usedglaciate]

No, Ruby, you are not going to live on the ground forever, and yes, that's a little awkward.

[Good, at least everyone is standing, for values of it. Weiss is about to say something else, but takes a moment to pause and collect her thoughts.]

Before we get into that, what's the last thing you remember, Penny?

[rosetotheoccasion]

Watch me- wah!

[Bluuuh, fine. Ruby at least untangles herself enough so that she can actually put her feet on the ground, but she's not letting go of Penny. Part of her is terrified that this is all just... some dream. Maybe it's Emerald messing with them again.

She wants to make sure this is all real. Because if it all disappears now... she's not sure if she'd be able to pick herself up again.]

It was... when we met outside the CCT, right?

[She doesn't mention what happened after. Even if the tournament's broadcast means that Weiss knows Penny is a robot... she still doesn't want to blab. She needs it to be brought up on Penny's terms.]

[in4apounding]

Right. We met outside the CCT, and talked about. Things.

[The best at keeping secrets, clearly.]

It wasn't long after I had to leave that I woke up in that woman's house.

[usedglaciate]

So that's what happened when Ruby ditched me at the CCT.

[She shrugs.]

I see. It's been a lot longer for me. The tournament had started, and then things went downhill fast.

[rosetotheoccasion]

I'm still really sorry about that!!

[Well. She's not sorry about going after Penny. But she does feel bad for leaving Weiss all on her own!]

Same here. Things... got really bad. [If she wasn't already hugging Penny, she'd be moving in to cling right about now.] Are you sure you want to know? I don't.... the last thing I wanna do is scare you, Penny.

[Ruby... will admit, she wants to know too. Sort of. She knows the end result, and that's all that matters, but she still doesn't know what happened out in the arena.]

[in4apounding]

You were there all the way to the singles matches, right?

[Really kind of wants to ask for details on the tournament. Like a lot.]

[But there are more important things happening. Friend is upset again. Or still.]

...Honestly, the only thing that's scaring me right now is how you're acting, Ruby. I don't like seeing you hurt like this and not being able to help. What happened?

[usedglaciate]

That's right. Yang and I were in the doubles round, and she went on to the singles round. Things went downhill fast at that point.

[Weiss takes a deep breath, folding her arms in front of her chest.]

I don't think anyone thought twice about it when you were paired with Pyrrha Nikos in the singles round. I wasn't in the stadium myself, but I watched it on television, and...things went very, very badly.

Something - I don't know what it was - spooked Pyrrha enough that she used her Semblance at an incredibly high level...

Tuesday 2/9

[in4apounding]

[Once again, waiting to meet someone outside the Violet Pokémon Center. If this was going to turn into a routine, it was one Penny could definitely get used to. Selfish as it might have been given the apparent developments at Beacon since her departure, she couldn't help but wish a bit that more people from home would arrive, if only for a little while.]

[yanginthere]

[ There wasn't much to this town, but it was all new, so Yang ended up distracted by taking in her surroundings as much as she was watching where she was going. When she saw the logo of the building she figured that must be the place, and a quick look around showed her that she was correct.

That's definitely her crew; minus Blake, and plus-one other friend. Yang shifted her pack behind herself and waved as she jogged closer. ] Hey guys! Over here!

[rosetotheoccasion]

[Yang won't have to run for too much longer, because there's a red blur zooming in fast, and in teh blink of an eye, Ruby is latching hard onto her sister.]

Yaaaang~!

[It's one thing to see her over the gear, but in person...! The relief is a huge weight off her shoulders, and she can't help but nuzzle her cheek against Yang's arm.]

See, I told you that teleport thing would be okay!

[usedglaciate]

[Weiss laughs a bit. It's good to see both sisters looking as happy as they do, and she's not going to be the one to break that.]

It's good to see you, Yang. How was the trip?

[in4apounding]

Salutations, Yang!

[She's hanging back just a bit for this reunion. Yang is Ruby's sister and Weiss' teammate, she can't help but feel like a bit of an outsider here.]

[Even aside from the inevitable bad news and her own part in it, unwitting pawn or not.]

Did you have any trouble finding the Center?

[yanginthere]

[ From one shoulder to another, Yang staggers back slightly from the weight. Though it's not unwelcome; it just makes it hard to get both hands on her sister for a hug. ] H-hey!

Yeah. You were right. [ With her free hand she reached back to check her hair for what was probably the fifth time since the teleport in. Then she gives Weiss a smile. ]

I'm all here, far as I can tell.

[ And then she looks past the others to Penny and she's... well, still smiling. Penny might have always struck her as a quirky girl but that was just because she didn't know her too well. This would be a good chance to catch up and maybe get a handle on why Ruby was so attached to her. (Or was it the other way around?)

This was the face and attitude of someone that had 100% no idea what news awaited her. ] Oh, hey Penny! Glad you could make it, too. Looks like the gang's all here.

[rosetotheoccasion]

... Almost.

[Sorry, Yang. Even as Ruby's smile fades a bit, she refuses to let go.]

We're still missing Blake. But... I don't think she's even here. She would've said something by now, right?

[usedglaciate]

I don't think she's here, either. She would have answered at least one of the messages the three of us sent out if she were.

[In a way, that's almost better, but she's not going to be the one to say that out loud first.]

...I didn't ask this over the network, and don't love the idea of bringing it up now, but better not to put it off. We should get up to speed on what our last memories are.

[in4apounding]

[Penny shuffled her feet a bit as the topic turned to their other, slightly-more-pressing reason for being there.]

["Congratulations on your win!"
"She would never hit someone when they're down-"]

[How much had Weiss and Ruby already told her? She'd been so caught up in welcoming Yang to Johto the thought of their futures had almost entirely slipped her mind.]

Like I said earlier, it was a few weeks before the Tournament for me, even though I've been here for months. But. Um. A lot happened after that I didn't know about, apparently.

[Another slightly uncomfortable shuffle.]

...I'm sorry for not mentioning it. I thought Ruby and Weiss would like to tell you themselves.

[yanginthere]

[ At the mention of Blake, Yang nodded in agreement with Weiss. She had complete confidence that for as sneaky as her partner could be, she would have reached out to one of them by now. ] Mm. Right!

[ When Weiss put forth her suggestion, she could tell there was a shift in the mood of the others. Yang was still bouncing back from her initial feelings of disorientation and frustration with their fates, having talked to others and found some more reasons to hope that things will work out.

What really throws her off is Penny, though. That girl has been nothing but pure concentrated vim and vigor since the moment they (literally) ran into her. What could have all of them so nervous...? ]

Hmm, it's no big deal, Penny. I mean, like you and others have said, time seems to work different here. It's a solid plan. [ Then her eyes light up with excitement. ] Ahh, it's too bad you haven't seen the Tournament yet. You kicked some serious butt out there. We all did!

[ She turned her head to Weiss, grinning knowingly as she thought back to their doubles match. Yang thought teasing Weiss a bit would bring some levity to the discussion. ] Though some of us were better about using "proper form" than others.

[rosetotheoccasion]

[In contrast to her excitement Yang might notice that Ruby doesn't look excited at all. In fact, it... almost looks like she's gunna be sick. Because she doesn't want to talk about this again. She can't keep talking about it, it's too much...

But. But Yang deserves to know.]

Yang... y'know how I said what you remember last wasn't what I remember last? What I remember... [Her grip on her sister's arm tightens, a desperate attempt to find some sort of anchor so she doesn't start tearing up again.] Everything... it all got messed up...

[usedglaciate]

[It's better to rip the bandage off, Weiss knows this, even if it's harder in the moment. That doesn't make it any easier in the short term.]

Proper form was the last thing I was worried about in that fight, but that's neither here nor there. It's what happened after that when things went from good to absolutely horrible.

The last thing you remember is that doubles match, right, Yang?

[Deep breath, and...]

You fought Mercury, but you remember his doubles partner, Emerald, right? Well...the theory Ruby and I are working from is that Emerald may have used her Semblance to make you see something that wasn't there. Because of that, it looked like you broke Mercury's leg when he was down. That got you disqualified.

...and that's the tip of the iceberg. After that, there was -

[Weiss looks at Penny, and tries to keep herself calm.]

- are you okay if I tell this next part, Penny?