Chapter XXXVII: The calm before the storm...ing of the castle.
[X] You spend the week with Penny, growing your bond as mother and Daughter. You spend part of it with her and Sable in your true form.
While you are strongly tempted to use this occasion to have some fun and explain your true nature to the Belladona, you decide that it would be better to discover what family time is like with Penny.
This is how you end up knocking on her team's door in the evening, intent to asks her if she wants to try and spend some time talking with you and Sable as your true forms. Familiarize her a little with them now that you have confirmed it is even possible.
Surprisingly, when your daughter opens the door to see who is there, you can spy Blake as well as Ruby, Weiss and Cardin behind her.
"Mother!" Penny exclaims. "That's perfect, I had a question I wanted to ask." She takes your hand and pull you inside right away.
"Hello everyone." You quickly greet the gathered students.
For some reason, you cannot help but note that Weiss and Cardin were in the same chair before you entered, but shuffled to make it look as if it wasn't the case.
Were they having a passionate debate?
You don't have time to think more about this, as Ruby appears in front of you in a flutter of petals, showing her scroll:
"You have to explain how you made this tiara work, Penny asked me if I could do one similar for her but I don't understand it and just looking at it gives me headaches." She quickly tells while gesticulating.
"It may be easier if you stopped moving so I can look at what you want to show?" You say with a smile, making Ruby blush and hold still long enough to take a look.
You recognize the tiara in that picture, it's yours, moreover, it is in the configuration it takes when you are in your true form, though it is too zoomed in for any of your more particular features to be visible.
"Penny?" You ask, your daughter answering with a quick *yes?*. "When did you take this picture?"
"Oh! I took it the last time I saw you wear it, you know, when I had to go to Ozpin's office because Dorothy asked me to come." She answers, making sure not to spill too much information given that Blake is still here.
It makes sense, this is the only time she could've, except you don't remember her getting her scroll out during that time… oh, of course, you are being an idiot, Penny is an android, her eyes can probably take pictures.
"Wait, this is yours?" Ruby exclaims. "I never saw you wear this one though. I think I would remember a design like that."
"Maybe she simply wore it when you weren't there to see it?" Blake cannot help but sarcastically remark while rolling her eyes. "It's not like you are with her 24/7."
"Except you did see me wear it?" You answer Ruby. At her confusing stare, you continue. "I am wearing it right now?"
She takes a look at your head, then at her scroll, then back at your head. Blake, Cardin and Weiss look over her shoulder to look at the picture more closely and you find yourself the target of several doubtful stare, everyone in the room making their own version.
Well, except for Penny, who is looking with an expectant air and a smile on her face instead.
"That's probably why you are having a headache looking at this picture actually." You explain to Ruby. "Just, look."
Then you take your tiara from your head and turn it a little in a higher dimension, leaving it looking like a small chain, then you turn it a little more and it is showing the same face as in the picture.
"See?" You say. "This is the same tiara." Then you realize that Penny is the only person in the room that isn't looking green for some reason.
"That was… nauseating to look at." Weiss says, Cardin alternating between rubbing his head and her back with his hands. The two of them getting closer to support each other.
"My head is pounding so much…." Blake whisper as if any sound was about to make her fall over in pain.
Oops? It seems as if they didn't like being shown that.
"Ok, what in hell did you do?" Ruby almost scream.
"Not so loud." Blake promptly tells.
"Sorry, sorry." Ruby continues at a far lower volume, pretty close to whispering in fact.
"Better…." Blake remarks, then clutch at her head at the sound of her own voice.
"I get it!" Penny exclaims at low volume, thankfully for the heads her classmates and Blake. "This Tiara is a higher dimensional object related to your…" she takes a quick glance at the very much listening Blake. "Nature. It uses the same methods you use to change bodies to change itself and has been so attuned to it you can do it without changing the rest." You are pretty sure she knows it is part of your body just as much as your clothes technically are, but isn't telling it to avoid giving away secrets to Blake.
"Could I make an object like that? Maybe if I…." Ruby begins to mumble to herself, soon taking out her scroll and beginning drawing things with it.
"Which reminds me." You tell your daughter. "I was originally coming here to ask you if you were willing to go to a picnic with me and Sable. You will be able to study my tiara's properties more closely during it."
"Can I come with?" An excited Ruby somehow manages to interject despite not having looked up from her scroll when you were speaking.
"While I would love to spend time with your, friend Ruby." Penny begins. "I am pretty sure this is a family reunion, I do not think you can come." She looks at you for confirmation.
"Yes, we are going to a place we cannot take you to, sorry." You say to a slowly deflating Ruby.
"I wasn't aware your family had some secret place." Weiss says, still using Cardin to prop herself up. "No offense, but you do not seem the kind." She frowns a little while telling that.
"I'm showing Penny where me and Sable came from." You answer, giving an aside glance to Blake to indicate to Weiss what you actually mean. She acknowledges the point with a nod. "So, Penny? Will you…."
"Of course I accept, mother." Penny exclaims at normal volume, prompting a hiss from Blake. "Sorry, friend Blake." She whispers.
"By the way, why is Cardin in your room?" You ask your daughter. "I can understand Ruby if you were discussing my tiara, and Weiss is in your team. Blake is probably here to talk with the Schnee heiress." Blake nods to confirm your speculation. "But that doesn't explain Cardin." You frown, trying to see why he would be here. "Well, I know he likes to debate with Weiss, so was he here for that?"
Ruby snickers at your remark while Weiss is bet red for some reason, Cardin himself looking at everything but you.
"I can see why you said you weren't the best to give relationship advice." Blake chuckles. "I have only met those two and I can tell you that they are together."
You look at the both of them. They still refuse to look anywhere close to you but their faces are quite red.
"Are you sure?" You ask. "I haven't seen them fight enough for that." You say matter-of-factly.
"Not everyone fights their partner like you do, miss Panoply." Cardin says, his first words since you got there. "Though," he frowns. "Don't you have a lovey dovey form? Wouldn't she understand that? I can't see her hurting a fly."
"The Damsel? Well, I did have to stab my little bird in the heart several times before he saw me as her for the first time…." You begin.
"You had to what???" Weiss exclaims, right before remembering she still has a headache and regretting her action.
"Oh, it was so romantic." Your gaze grows unfocused as you remember the scene. "He was trying to stop himself from killing me due to the Narrator taking control of his body and I had to take his Pristine blade from his hands to end his suffering. Of course, he didn't see me as a threat at the time so I had to stab him a dozen times to make sure he died, I was awful with a knife and managed to miss an unmoving target." You sigh in wonder, a blush on your cheeks judging from the heat you can feel.
Blake and Weiss are giving you incredulous looks, Cardin is doing the same gesture as Glynda whenever you get too strange, Penny is awwwwing at you and Ruby is on the floor, laughing.
"You know you sound like a serial killer right now, right?" Blake manages to get out. "I don't even want to know more, I fear it would hurt my brain too much."
"You don't know how right you are." Weiss interjects, leading to a suspicious look from the Faunus.
"Anyway, Penny, picnic, in three days, bye." You decide that you should leave and let them explain however they want and begin going for the door.
"Goodbye, mother!" Penny waves at you.
You do spend more time with Penny before the date you told, time you spend to simply ask her about her friends. You are happy everytime you see her radiate joy when talking about them, it is clear that Ironwood's original idea for her education, having her stay at Atlas and not allow her to show too much of her true nature to anyone, would have been incredibly stifling for the girl even if she had a calmer mindset than her current one. That the man was intelligent enough to let go of his pride and accept she would be better off somewhere else speaks of his character.
Now if only he did the same with his grudge towards you.
But you are not there to judge hypotheticals, the day where you show Penny new wondrous things had come, you and Sable waiting in your room for her to arrive.
"Are you sure you want me here? Penny is not related to me in the same way as you and I would not want to intrude…." A nervous Sable says for the nth time.
"She is definitely curious about you, plus, we will have a lot of time for her and me to discuss with just the two of us in the future, the sooner she meets you properly, the better we'll be. You aren't intruding, don't worry." You reassure him.
There is a knock at the door before your silly little bird can continue his ramblings and you go to open it. As expected, a smiling Penny is on the other side.
"Sa-Lu-Tation, mother and Uncle Sable!" She exclaims. "I am ready for our family reunion!"
"Come in, come in." You answer giddily, letting her go past you into your room. "Sable was just telling how much he wanted to actually talk to you." You say, grinning at him from behind her back.
Your love gives an exasperated sigh but thankfully doesn't contradict you.
"Very well, since everything is ready, let's go." Sable says. "We are going to be a little more careful than the last time, won't we, Princess?" He adds while staring at you with unblinking eyes.
You simply roll your eyes and motion to Penny to take your right hand, your other half takes the other and you both concentrate on not tearing reality apart when moving.
All in all, you think you have been pretty successful when you open your millions of eyes to see Penny smiling at you in front of your multitude and Sable's avatar simply nodding right next to her.
"Welcome back, dear." You greet her once again.
"I am home, mother." She dreamfully says. "This place really is peaceful, it seems quite strange to think that you and Sable had violent clashes here." She looks around here at her words.
"Oh, it wasn't here here exactly." Your love points out. "While we did have a final battle/debate in this space, most of our meetings before were inside the cabin." He takes a pensive pose. "I wonder how the voices are doing, Hero said he would find the others but I still miss them and fear he got too lonely."
"The voices?" Penny asks, cocking her head to the side.
"My little bird had some… incorporeal helpers in his adventures in the construct. I had the occasion to see them when I possessed him as the specter, but since the both of us didn't know the truth at the time we didn't learn much from the experience."
"Ooooohhh. Do you think I can meet them?" Your daughter wonders.
"I don't think so, I don't feel them anymore in my heart." You say. "I think they left for some new place after managing to reunite."
"Awww." Panny dejectedly says. "I would have loved to meet people who saw your past."
"Don't worry, I am sure that, wherever they are…." Your love begins.
In a completely different universe, a teenage girl is hiding from her parents to talk with her new friends.
Voice of the smitten: "I can assure you young Toga, I know the beauty of true love, and that isn't it. It lacks the depths of passion for your perfect partner."
"But I feel so giddy looking at him!" Himiko Toga protests. "He looks so good covered in blood." She hugs herself and giggle.
Voice of the Skeptic: "Have to agree with the lovestruck one on that one. You are feeling something, but that's only joy, maybe a small crush. How bad a situation is it that your brain would not even recognize it? Then again, they were quite violent with each other too…."
Voice of the Opportunist: "I say we try it her way. Just a little sip to check, after all, she's the one in charge here and she clearly has earned at least that."
Voice of the Cheated: "Rigged, the game is rigged I tell you. Random chance my ass, we had to end up with someone like them."
Voice of the Paranoid: "Shhh, what if She hears us?"
Voice of the Hero: "Calm down, everyone, I'm sure we can find a solution."
Voice of the Cold: "Just stop feeling, it will be better that way."
"NO! I won't be normal! Not anymore!" Toga screams.
Voice of the Contrarian: "Yeah! Never normal! You tell them!"
"…they're completely fine." Sable finishes. "Plus, we are here to answer, you only have to ask."
Penny gets pensive at that, hmming to herself.
"Can you… can you tell me about the time you were imprisoned?" She hesitantly asks you. "You have talked about the fact it happened several times, but you don't tend to really go in details." She turns her attention to Sable. "This would help me learn more about you too."
You and Sable look each other in the eyes, well, he looks at your central eyes and you turn your faces in his general direction, but the intent is the same.
"Of course, my dear, I think Sable should be the one to begin the story? He had more to see than a basement after all." You say, organizing a number of your bodies to take Penny so she can recline comfortably in your arms, your little bird simply sitting in the air.
"Hmm, yes, I think I can…. Yes, it always began like this:" He begins, then he let out a voice that is simultaneously different and still his in some way. "You are on a path, in the woods. And at the end of that path, is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin, is a Princess. You are here to slay her, if you don't, it will be the end of the world…."
That is how Penny ends up listening to your whole story with Sable in the construct. He plays the Narrator and his voices perfectly, not a surprise when he was shaped by the first and the second were part of him. You play your own roles, as well as give some insights that your other half cannot have seen from his perspective.
It is a tale of love, of conflicts, of change and stasis clashing without knowing.
It is all you knew until you opened your eyes.
Penny never interrupts you during the story, you feel she has questions, but she trusts you and Sable to give the answers by yourself over the course of the story, judging by her reactions, you do not disappoint.
When the tale ends several hours later, your daughter is deep in thoughts, you let the comfortable silence continue, letting her shape her thought for if she wants to share them. One of your bodies gets a comb and begins using it on her hairs while hmming.
Finally, after a minute, she lets out a breath.
"Do you think I will one day be able to open my eyes in the same way you did?" She whispers.
You and Sable think on it, silently discussing the concept with movements and gazes, until you reach a conclusion.
"We do not know." You admit. "While it is a very good surprise, your very existence is a surprise. A piece of my power crystallizing around a seed to form a soul is not something we had anticipated. It is likely it will lead to something at some point or another, but until it happens, we cannot know what."
Penny seems to accept the answer, deciding to spend the rest of the time with you discussing other, less weighty, subjects.
The week ends, the time to attack Salem's castle come.
What perspective will you wear for its beginning?
[] The Mentor, Stella Panoply. (Forged by your experiences.)
[] The Eye of the Needle. (Steel chair not included… or needed.)
[] The Spectre. (Those are strange aeons.)
[] The Thorn. (Strangle them with thoughts.)
[] The Stranger. (everywhere and nowhere.)
[] A voice among many. (You believe in them.)
A/N:
This update definitely wanted to begin in a direction I hadn't originally thought of.
Weiss and Cardin are technically not a recent development (they hit off when they began their debates, and it grew from there), but I didn't put many direct indications of it because I didn't think of it, for… reasons.
Blake was coming to see Weiss after her interesting interview, she wanted to see the Schnee heiress for herself and reasoned that someone that Stella was approving of couldn't be that bad, Cardin was there to see his girlfriend.
It feels strange to be so close to the end, next update is the (beginning of the) final fight.
Let's give it our all!
