Chapter Text
The harsh wind is biting and the snow on the ground is hard and cold. Ruby braces herself against the storm, finding herself stumbling forward and hardly able to see a few feet in front of her clearly. Not that there was much to see, save for miles of snow and trees. She's fairly lucky to be prepared for the cold, but Ruby knows even she won't be able to survive out in the open in this weather for long, despite having a good, thick parka. She lets out a freezing breath, her gloved hands shoved into her armpits, and her face feels warm and flushed with blood. She squints as she scans the white horizon, tripping in the process. The snow in her boots melts, soaking her socks in excruciating cold as she struggles to climb back to her feet. Her eyes widen as the dark form of what seems to be a building comes into view.
"Screw you, weather, Ruby Rose is not freezing to death today!" She mutters under her breath as a victorious grin shakily stretches across her freezing face. It doesn't appear to have anyone home, as no light seems to be coming from it. If anything, it may be abandoned. As far as Ruby can remember, her mentor had never mentioned a cabin or a house out in the woods, even going so far as to say there were none so far away from town. Now, however, she seems to be about to prove that statement wrong.
Ruby crunches her way through the snow that seems to be piling higher by the minute until she reaches what appears to be a large cabin. A tarp rests over what must be a pile of firewood at the side of the house, a board from the railing of the porch lays broken on the ground, and the windows are dark. Rather than a few steps, there is a flat, gradually inclining ramp starting from one side of the porch to the other. The inside is pitch black, the shadows emphasized by the lack of evening sun thanks to the cloud coverage from the snowstorm. Realistically, it's a large enough building to possibly be a public lodging lost to time. Either way, Ruby decides to take her chances with whatever could lay inside. She is after all a huntress in training, and it's not like she left her rifle and sickle set, Crescent Rose, back with her mentor. She taps the butt of her rifle with her hand, and the firearm thumps against her back in its sling as she hikes up the slick ramp leading onto the porch.
Rather than knocking, Ruby presses the side of her head against the freezing cold wood of the door. She holds her breath, doing her best to ignore the howling wind that feels as if it's getting colder by the second. Nothing seems to be inside, or if there is, it doesn't seem to be moving. Taking her chances, Ruby burst in through the door, and it slams against the inside wall. That is definitely not up to public building code. The wind screams as it pushes its way through the doorway, and blows snow inside. Something rattles and falls to the ground with the clatter of several small objects. She gasps, quickly pushing the door shut, and once it clicks, she lets out a shaking sigh of relief. She takes a moment to regain her bearings, before standing upright, and looking around. The room is dark, which is to be expected, yet still quiet, save for the storm outside. She pats at her belt, grabbing a flashlight. Ruby curses at herself for not having thought of that earlier, when she was literally stumbling around like Qrow after a night out. Not that it would've helped, the snow falling through the air too quickly to see much anyways.
The beam of Ruby's small utility flashlight scatters around the room, landing on a large, brick fireplace. She grins. Now to find some wood. She grimaces at the idea of having to go back outside, now that she's finally in here. She leans back against the door, the temperature in her body slowly rising now that she's sheltered from the wind. Ruby shines the flashlight along the lower areas of the walls, searching for wood, until she shines it past a surprising sight. She whips the flashlight back to the spot, and slaps a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming in horror.
Slumped against a cabinet seems to be a girl her age, with short, curly orange hair. The girl is obviously unconscious. There's no way that she could have possibly survived long without the fireplace running, but given the dusty, rundown state of the large cabin, it seems that the girl may have been here a while. The lack of smell from decomposition is... Puzzling to say the least. None of this is adding up. Ruby decides to take her chances, rushing toward the girl, the beam of the flashlight trained on her carefully.
"Hey!" Ruby decides to start with. She prods the girl's shoulder, yet she doesn't move. Now that she is much nearer to the unconscious- or possibly dead- girl, she can easily make out freckles on her face, and the bizarre black and green material that is wrapped around her neck. "Hey, girl!" Ruby tries again, taking the girls shoulders gently in her hands, her gloves now laying on the floor as she shakes the mystery redhead carefully. The girl is unsettlingly cold to the touch. She hisses in frustration, grabbing the flashlight she had set down, and rapidly searching around the room. Fire. She has to make a fire. If she's alive, she needs to be warmed up. If not... well, then, Ruby will have talked to, shaken, and moved a dead person around. Great! What an excellent situation to be in.
Finally, Ruby finds (more like trips over, if the stubbed toes in her shoes have anything to say about it) a small stack of firewood stored across from the fireplace. She quickly, yet carefully brings the wood over, dropping it onto the rug resting in front of the outer hearth. Her fingers shake as she tosses the wood into the fireplace, and as she lights some broken pieces for kindling with her fire starter. Taking a short time to nurse the flicker of a flame into something more akin to a respectable fire, Ruby commends herself for being so thorough in learning her survival skills. Her mentor may have taken a ridiculous amount of preparation before taking her onto hunts, but Ruby'll be damned before she ever claims she didn't learn anything.
Ruby hops to her feet, rushing back over to where the girl remains slumped over. She taps her foot for a second, looking down at the girl, before sighing, and grabbing under her arms. She shivers at the low temperature, before starting to drag her towards the fire. Ruby groans as she pulls the girl.
"Mother of gods, this is the heaviest thing I've ever had to drag across the floor." Ruby mutters under her breath. She eyes the top of the girl's head with suspicious eyes. "If you can hear me, somehow, please do not punch me for calling you heavy." She huffs as she continues dragging her, the sound of the body on the floor is incredibly loud. "Really, if anything, eating well in these times is sort of a blessing." She finally reaches the front of the fireplace, doing her best to gently lay the girl down on the rug. Ruby nudges the girls towards the fire carefully, grabbing the lone poker at the side to prod at the fire. She throws another piece of timber into the flame, before standing up straight with a stretch.
Now that the room is lit by the fire, Ruby can finally take a look around. A wide, dark hallway lays just across from the front door. The girl seemed to have been laying in a small kitchen area, with a table and chair pushed to the side, scuff marks scarring the wooden floor as if it had been moved in a rush. She lifts her rifle from off of her back, bringing the sling over her neck before setting the gun on the table, doing the same with the sickle at her side. She brushes her hands across the dusty counter as she slowly moves along. She takes another step and something crunches slightly beneath her foot. She lifts her foot quickly, picking up the object with care. Her eyes widen. It seems to be some piece of technology, a green plate of metal with bits and lines running all over it. Her brow furrows at the sight, hoping it isn't anything important. Setting it on the dusty counter, Ruby's eyes widen at the sight of several other small, green plates nearly identical to the one she stepped on.
Ruby reaches down, picking up the small bits with care, and places them all back onto the counter. Just in case. As she sets the last piece down, something makes a sound across the room. Ruby instantly goes on edge, scanning the side of the room with the girl. Everything is still. After a moment, Ruby walks slowly and quietly over to the table. She grabs Crescent Rose, and one of the chairs, which she drags over to the fireplace.
As she settles down in the chair, watching the still unmoving girl with curiosity and listening to the fire pop and crackle, Ruby realizes that something is different. Rather than just the loud crashing sound of the wind outside and the burning fire, Ruby can make out a quiet, and steady hum. She grits her teeth, holding the rifle close to her body with her hand on the safety.
The humming continues for several minutes, generally unchanging. Ruby decides that whatever it is mustn't be something to worry about for the time being. She looks back down to the girl on the rug. Had this been any other situation, Ruby would've picked herself up and wandered down the hall to look for blankets, or something at least warmer than the dress the girl seems to be wearing. Ruby rolls her eyes at herself before standing to her feet, rifle still gripped tightly in her hands.
"Damn the Grimm, I've got all the protection I need." She says to herself as she walks towards the unlit hallway. From her belt Ruby takes her flashlight, fixing it to a clasp on the side of her rifle. She sticks her tongue out in frustration. "Ugh, Ruby you scatterbrain, why didn't you bring a bayonet, today of all days?" She asks herself. She enters the hallway, and clicks the flashlight back on. "Helloooo, hallway. You are totally not creepy at all. Not in the slightest." She takes a step down, scanning the hall. Only one door is visible, and the very end seems to branch off to both the left and the right.
Ruby slowly takes a few steps, doing her best to keep her steps quiet. If anything was in the house, it probably would've shown itself by now. Unfortunately, if Yang's biggest goal in life was to be a huntress, then her second biggest goal would be to show Ruby every horror film that they had. Sure, they didn't have many, but their neighbors were glad to bring them more if they ever found any. Ruby shivers at the memories of the things Yang made her watch while their dad was away.
Pressing her ear against the lone door, Ruby listens in on utter silence. She pushes the door open, shining the light in. She stares in wonder, eyes glittering wide at the sight of what seems to be a workshop of sorts, pieces of scrap metal, tools gathering dust, and all sorts of unfinished projects lay sitting around on several tables along the walls.
"Woah..." She can't help but say as she gingerly lifts up what seems to be a mechanical arm. It sits heavy in her hands but her touch is gentle with what could very well be a very delicate piece of machinery. Something like this piece of technology could be almost impossible to find, and finding someone capable of working with it could be even harder. To think, only a few miles from Patch was someone with this kind of technology in their house... Ruby lets out a breathy laugh. She sets the arm back down on the table. Once she makes it out of this storm, Ruby’ll have to tell her team about everything that she saw.
Something thuds from in the main room. Ruby jerks her head towards the door, grabbing her rifle from the worktable where she had set it down, and bursting into the hall. She practically runs back into the main room, social customs be damned, and her jaw drops.
“Salutations!” The voice breaks Ruby away from her stupor. The girl who had been entirely unreactive is now sitting up, and speaking to her as if everything is fine and normal. The girl tilts her head after a few moments of silence, and Ruby realizes she should probably respond.
“Um… hi?” She says. The girl just smiles. “Are you… okay?” Ruby asks with brows furrowed. This was so weird. This is absolutely in no way how she expected her training mission to go. Not even in the slightest.
“I am wonderful, thank you for asking!” The girl answers with a smile. Ruby, against all odds, grows even more confused than before.
“Are you sure? You seemed like you were dead just a few minutes ago!”
The girl hums as Ruby walks over to the table, and sets Crescent Rose back down. It seems like her worry was for nothing.
“I am absolutely certain that I am alright! You have nothing to worry about.” The girl puts her palms on the rug. “My name is Penny. It is a pleasure to meet you!”
Ruby makes her way over as the girl, Penny, pushes herself to her feet. She outstretches her hand with a confused smile. The girl’s eyes are an unnaturally bright color of green, and she stands just a few inches taller than Ruby.
“Hi, I’m Ruby.” The girl takes Ruby’s hand excitedly, shaking it up and down vigorously. “Did something… happen to you? How long were you sitting there like that? Is anyone else supposed to be here? Also, why are your hands so cold?” She suddenly blurts out. Penny hardly seems bothered, instead continuing to smile.
“I am afraid I don’t know if something happened. I can’t seem to…” she pauses. Her mouth curls downward into a frown. “I can’t seem to remember.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” Ruby says kindly. She gives Penny a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to answer.” Penny still seems bothered, yet nods anyways.
“Okay. I am not sure how long I was there, either. What is the date today?”
Ruby gives her a blank expression, and glances around. Shit, what is the date? Sometime in January? January 20 something.
“Like, January 23rd, maybe? Why?” Penny clicks her tongue.
“Oh dear, that is a rather long time. It must be next year, by this point! It is the year 2234 at this point, correct?” Penny asks with that same smile. Ruby’s eyes widen. Her jaw drops. “What is it?”
“Um… Penny… this year is 2238.” Penny’s expression instantly drops into one of disbelief, and maybe a bit of… sadness?
Penny looks away, to the floor where she had been sitting, her eyes squinted in thought, and confusion, her expression hurt.
“Penny, what’s the matter? Is something wrong?” Ruby asks, placing a hand on Penny’s shoulder.
“I… yes, Ruby. Something is very wrong.” Penny pauses for a moment, her gaze returning to Ruby’s. “I have been out since the year 2233.”
Ruby’s eyes widen once more in disbelief. How is that even possible? How is she even alive? There’s no way that any human could survive out here, unconscious, for 5 years. Not without power, with the weather, and the creatures of grimm that torment the wilds.
“To answer your other questions… I live here with my father.” She hesitates for a second, looking down at her feet. “I do not know what happened to him, or where he is. I can’t seem to remember what happened at all.” Her expression falls even further. She looks back up to meet Ruby’s eyes. “To answer the last one… the reason I am so cold is because the temperature seems to have been incredibly low the past few months.”
“Well, yeah, it is winter after all. But that still isn’t really… normal? You’re cold to the touch, there’s no way that that’s healthy.” Penny tilts her head in confusion, before smiling.
“I can personally assure you that I am a perfectly normal person!” Penny says, before hiccuping. She brings a hand to her mouth, eyes widening at herself.
“How can you possibly be normal?!” Ruby exclaims, throwing her hands up into the air in exasperation. “You were asleep for like, 5 years! There’s no way a normal person could do that!”
“I was.... Hibernating?” Penny hiccups again.
“Penny, please. People don’t hibernate. I just want to help.” Ruby says with a small frown.
Penny lets out a sigh. “Okay. Do you promise you won’t try to leave, or get upset?” Ruby nods her head. “Well…” she wrings her hands. “I’m not a real girl.” Ruby nods again, before doing a double take.
“You… what?” She asks in confusion.
“I’m not a human. My father… he made me. I’m an android.”
Ruby leans back in the chair, arms crossed over her chest. An android? Here? So close to home, and here Ruby was meeting one for herself. If a year ago, someone told her she would be meeting an android in a snow storm, she would tell them that they were shitting her. Hell, the same could be said if she was told the same just an hour ago.
“I… hope that you are not uncomfortable. My father told me that not all people may understand…” Ruby gives her a surprised expression.
“Oh, no! I just wasn’t expecting that. Well, I don’t really understand, but that doesn’t mean I’m upset or anything! This won’t stop us from being friends.” Ruby says with a beaming smile. Penny pauses, staring at Ruby. “Even if you’re an android, you’re clearly human enough, I can feel it!”
“Wait, what did you say?”
“That I’m not upset?”
“No, you said that we can be friends.” Penny says. Ruby’s eyes widen.
“Only if you want to, of course! I did kind of break into your house and all…” Ruby trails off as Penny smiles widely at her.
“I would love to be friends with you, Ruby! You will be the first friend that I’ve ever had!” Ruby grins at the red headed android, her heart swelling with affection for the girl she’s just met.
“Well I’m sure I won’t be the last!” Ruby feels a lightbulb go off in her head. “Oh! I bet I can introduce you to my team, once the snowstorm is over!”
Penny gives her a wide smile, and nods excitedly. “I cannot wait!”
The next few minutes are quiet, with Penny watching as Ruby tends to the fire, dropping a few more pieces of wood into the flame, and adjusting it with the poker. The fire is, obviously, burning hot, the heat great enough to make Ruby’s face sweat being so close to it.
The entire situation is so incredibly bizarre, Ruby can’t help but think. To imagine she would be meeting,and befriending a real, honest-to-gods android all because of a slightly disastrous hunting trip with her team and mentor. Despite the circumstances, she can’t help but feel bad that she ended up separated. If she hadn’t gotten disoriented, she would have never met Penny! She frowns to herself, thinking that her team must be worried. Yang in particular. She’s probably worried sick, being cooped up in the Vale team lodgings. Probably annoying the heck out of Weiss, too.
“Are you alright?” Penny’s voice suddenly cuts through Ruby’s thoughts. Ruby looks over at the girl, who sits primly in her chair.
“What?”
“I asked, are you alright? You seem unhappy.” Penny says with a concerned look.
“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just thinking.” Ruby chuckles awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.
Ruby stands up, stepping back from the fireplace to admire her work from a distance. She grins, deeming her work to be a success, before sitting back down in the chair. She crosses her arms over her chest, looking down at the flames.
“Is it okay if I ask why you live all the way out here? I didn’t even know this place existed!” Ruby asks the other. Penny shrugs
“I’m not really sure, honestly.”
Ruby nods. That’s that, she supposes.
“So you said you don’t know why you were deactivated?” Ruby pipes back up.
“I… I do not know why, but I can’t remember much of anything from when I was deactivated. It’s as if the memories are there, but I am simply unable to access them!” Penny says with a small groan, running her hands down her face. “It is incredibly frustrating, I simply must say. I just wish I knew what happened to my father…” Ruby’s brow furrows with concern.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sure we can find a way to get your memories back.” Ruby says. Penny looks at her in surprise, then happiness.
“Really?” Ruby nods. “Oh, Ruby, thank you so much!” The girl jumps to her feet in excitement, a smile wide on her face.
Ruby can’t do much but smile back. When she entered the house, she was half expecting a creature of grimm to jump from the shadows and eat her face off, half expecting some angry person to shoot her face off. What she was absolutely not expecting to find, was a friend, let alone a friend who is an android. What a bizarre day this has turned out to be.