Penny Polendina (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
in4apounding) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
route_10652016-02-08 08:40 pm
in4apounding) wrote in route_10652016-02-08 08:40 pm
Couldn't Stand Another Minute
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?]
in4apounding, Ruby Rose rosetotheoccasion, Weiss Schnee usedglaciate, and Yang Xiao Long yanginthereWhere: 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?]
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[... God, but that makes Ruby's stomach turn. She knew something - or someone - messed with Pyrrha's head, she knew the end result, but knowing how...
It doesn't make her angry at Pyrrha, not one bit. It just makes her angrier at Mercury, at Emerald...]
She... it was an accident, I don't blame her, but she... [If it was possible, Ruby's hold on Penny gets even tighter.] I didn't see it, I was checking out something that was wrong, but when I managed to get back, you....
[To her credit, Ruby doesn't start crying again, but she can't stop her voice from cracking.]
You were in pieces...
[She can't say it. She still can't say "you were dead".]
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[For a second, that's all Penny hears. She'd wanted to test herself in the tournament; a chance to fight the four-time Mistral Regional Champion was all she could have hoped for.]
[But Weiss and Ruby keep talking, and Penny's expression slowly falls as they do.]
Her Semblance? I don't-
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...Oh.
[For a moment, it's all she can say; her grip on Ruby slacking as her stomach drops, playing through the scenario being presented to her.]
Oh. That- ...oh.
[She suddenly stiffens, color draining from her face.]
But that means-! Everyone would have seen-
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[Weiss' voice cracks a little, despite herself.]
- she looked horrified. She looked like she would have given anything to take back what she'd done. It doesn't matter that you are - were? - an android, it matters that she didn't want to hurt you. Not like that.
I wish I could say that things got better after that, but I don't want to lie to you.
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[And then they woke up here. And the rest is history.]
I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Penny...! I knew something bad was up, I knew it, but I couldn't... I was too late...!
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[And then a wave of Grimm, drawn by fear and anger and confusion. Her fault. Or so close it didn't make a difference, someone had used her, used Pyrrha to attack Vale. Turned her into a weapon against innocent people.]
Why would-
[Penny draws a shaky breath, swallowing back tears. Ruby's crying again, and now she knows exactly why.]
Ruby, it's-
[Nothing about this is okay.]
It'll be- it's not your fault. It'll be okay! I'm- I know my father and Mister Ironwood will be able to- they can fix everything, I know it!
[And she tries, but fails, to stop the choking hiccup that follows.]
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...even though Ironwood told us we didn't have to. He said running was okay. That's ridiculous, of course. We weren't going anywhere. We wouldn't have, not for anything.
That's when it gets blurry for me.
[She's not exactly one to give hugs, but both Penny and Ruby look like they need it. Weiss puts her arms around both of them.]
I'm so sorry...
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We'll find a way to stop who did this. Mercury, Emerald too... with all the Beacon students, and all the people who came for the Vytal Festival, there's no way we won't be able to drive the Grimm back.
[At least... she hopes.]
And I promise, I'll do everything I can to fix you, Penny. I don't care what General Ironwood says. I'm gunna help.
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[She's not sure how long it is before she manages to speak again, but it feels like an eternity.]
I'm sorry, I- I'm sorry you had to see- maybe if I hadn't-
[Hadn't tried to be something she wasn't, hadn't entered the tournament, hadn't let anyone get close enough that she could hurt them like this-]
[She buries her face into Ruby's shoulder.]
...I don't want you to get hurt because of me. Either of you.
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Penny, you did absolutely nothing wrong. Don't blame yourself for a second. Nothing that you did makes you responsible for what happened. It wasn't your fault.
[She sighs, her voice becoming a bit softer.]
You don't have to worry about that, at least as far as I'm concerned.
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Weiss is right! You're like... the person least-responsible for all of this. You just... you just wanted to have fun. To get out in the world. Why would anyone blame you for wanting to do that?
[If anyone did ever try and take issue with that, they could meet the business end of Ruby's fist, hmph.]
No worries here, either. [While it's true that she's hurting a lot over what happened, the last thing she was gunna do is blame Penny for that.] You didn't hurt us. It was Mercury, Emerald, and whoever else they were working with that's the problem. You didn't do anything.
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[Ruby please do not punch the head of Atlas' military.]...Thank you.
[When she manages to say it, it comes quietly, with a sniffle.]
...who are Mercury and Emerald?
[Besides "not good people," anyway. Penny lifts her head, looking at Ruby and Weiss.]
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Then Mercury fought Yang in the singles round, and that jerk - those jerks - messed with Yang's head. She would never hit someone when they're down, not normally, but whatever they did to her pushed her to do it.
She got disqualified from the tournament. That's really when things started to get bad...
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But when things started going wrong, when I left before your match with Pyrrha... Mercury stopped me from doing anything. He stalled me.
[If anything, Ruby sounds more confused than upset. She's not used to such a personal betrayal, and for it to happen with people who she considered good friends...
It hurts. Really bad.]
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[She doesn't actually know Yang much, beyond Ruby's descriptions, but she seemed so nice...]
They let you think they were friends?
[Her grip on Ruby tightens for a second, looking angry for the first time since this conversation started.]
[That's it, she's breaking their legs.]Why would anyone do that?!
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[She shakes her head.]
...I don't know what their specific plan was, but they certainly had one. Hurting people was part of it, for whatever reason.
[Weiss' voice sounds strained. Her dealings with her family have taught her that desires for power and money make people do awful things. She knows that's a lesson both Penny and Ruby will need to learn eventually, but now doesn't seem like the right time.]
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But... she's never had friends betray her before. That's what's making this so hard to deal with.]
The woman that made the speech, after... [After Penny died.] After the match. She sounded like Cinder, didn't she? Emerald and Mercury's teammate. She said stuff... it sounded like she was trying to turn people against Atlas, and all the Huntsmen and Huntresses.
[But why...?]
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[She hadn't really understood it herself; she was hardly in the loop on top military secrets, despite being one herself. But all the talk of how she was going to have to save the world someday soon? Suddenly made a lot more sense.]
[That seems like a whole lot of irony, given that Dave's back at the Inn.]
Do you remember, Ruby? You said Remnant was in peacetime, and I got confused because Mister Ironwood had been saying otherwise. He must have known something like this was coming.
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[Weiss takes a few steps back, instinctively wrapping her arms around herself.]
Someone had to have known, whether it was Ironwood, Ozpin, someone else entirely. I know that it's entirely too much to ask for a warning before the peace of the world shatters, but if someone knew, I would have loved a hint.
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You really think the professor or General Ironwood could've known something like this would happen? That can't be right. They would've... said something...
[And she just trails off... Penny brought up a good point. It seemed like the general had told her, maybe even everyone involved in the Atlas military, that bad things were going to happen... But that still doesn't explain why nobody else knew until it was too late.]
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[It comes out angrier than she expected. Penny turns a bit red, taking a small step back and fidgeting with the hem of her sweater.]
I mean- I'm sure he must have been trying to warn Professor Ozpin, or anyone who could've helped! I don't know why he didn't want everyone knowing, but he wouldn't have just done nothing. That must have been why he brought so many soldiers to Beacon for the festival.
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[But she hugs herself a little more. Defense mechanism, go.]
That makes sense. I didn't really understand why that many soldiers were needed, but...
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... Yeah. You're right. Even if he knew something... he was still trying to protect everyone. He's not a bad person for wanting to do that.
And if everyone knew... everyone would be scared. It would ruin everything. Maybe it would've made things worse.
[But still... there had to have been something they could do...]
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[The general couldn't have known EVERYTHING, could he?]
He never would have allowed the tournament to go forward if he knew it was so- that it was being manipulated so much.
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[She nods.]
Ozpin wouldn't have let it go forward, either, if he knew what was going on behind the scenes. It makes me wonder -
[Weiss stops herself, shaking her head.]
- but wondering isn't going to solve it. We know what's going on now, and we can stop it from going further once we go back.
Once we all go back.
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