Strings

***Strings*** is the eleventh episode of *The RWBYA Adventures*.

## Plot

*[The sounds of things going up pneumatic tubes were heard clanging, until the sound of decompressed air filled the room. Ruby was heard gasping for breath. She was helped out of the tube by May and Penny. Weiss was angrily pulling Nora by her ear.]*

Nora: Ow, ow, ow! C’mon that was a once in a lifetime experience!

*[Weiss let Nora go, a snap noise heard. Nora's right ear turned red.]*

Nora: Ow.

*[Blake then stepped out of another tube, her hair messy from the unorthodox method of travel.]*

Blake: Good. Because I *never* wanna do that again.

*[Blake fixed her unkempt hair while stumbling out. Banging was heard in another tube, and the group looked over to see it open. Alan was flung from his tube, having accidentally transformed on the way up, and currently was in a yellow ball form with red, rock-like protrusions. The form retracted to a hemisphere, worn on the back of the green-skinned, beetle-like Portaball.]*

Portaball: I've done a *lot* of travel in odd ways. That's probably my least favorite. *[notices Weiss]* Oh, hey, your back *didn't* snap on the way up here.

Weiss: Quiet, you!

*[Portaball snickered before becoming human, cracking his neck. The group then continued forward.]*

May: Alright robo-girl, you’re up. Which way?

*[Penny used her eyes to view the area ahead in a wireframe view. Doing so gave her the ability to see through all of the solid walls and other objects in her way, to some extent, that is.]*

Penny: *[points in the various directions as she says them]* We’ll cross the bridge, then go left, straight, right, straight, left, up, up, right, straight, right, right, straight, left, left.

*[Everyone looked stunned at Penny's direction given how quick and easy they were given.]*

Penny: *[slightly annoyed at May]* And my *name*... is Penny.

Ruby: *[crossing her arms and smiling slyly at May]* Heh.

May: Tsk...

*[May activated her Semblance, hiding everyone from view. They were later seen in an elevator. They heard the elevator door open, and backed away cautiously when they saw a pair of Atlas Soldiers enter. The soldiers were oblivious to the group's presence due to May's Semblance, though she gave them the shushing motion by putting her finger to her mouth, just to be on the safe side.]*

Soldier 1: I don’t think even the squad captain knows what’s going on up there. They can’t get close to that storm without getting shocked right out of the air.

Soldier 2: It’s creepy, all those Grimm just… waiting. Worse than if they’d attacked-

Soldier 1: Hey, don’t say that! You’ll jinx us.

*[Penny motioned for the group to follow her, and they discreetly squeezed past the soldiers, headed for the elevator door.]*

Soldier 2: I just hope the C.O. can get us some answers soon, or-

*[On the way out, Nora flashed a mischievous grin and swiped her hand over the elevator controls, tapping the button for every floor. The pair of soldiers were now alone in the elevator. Soldier 1 glanced at the elevator controls, then did a double take.]*

Soldier 1: Huh?!

*[The doors to the elevator closed again. The group made their way down a wide corridor to a large locked door with "03" in large print on it. Penny stopped by a nearby control panel and extended her index finger. The tip swiveled out to reveal a connector plug colored green and gold, and Ruby's eyes grew wide.]*

Ruby: Cool.

*[Penny interfaced with the control panel, and the attached handprint scanner flashed green. A hologram display popped up, showing Dr. Pietro Polendina's credentials.]*

Computer: Welcome back, Doctor Polendina.

*[The door slid open with a whoosh, and the group steps through.]*

May: Alright, where to next, Penny?

Penny: Right through Central Command!

*[A door to the right opened to reveal a bustling workplace filled with digital workstations, holographic maps, and Atlesian officials and clerks. Penny's upbeat demeanor given the situation was not particularly fitting.]*

Weiss: *[facetiously]* Of course.

May: I can’t maneuver us through all that.

Alan: I don't have anything that can do it, either.

Penny: Do not worry, Ruby is capable of traveling at an extreme velocity from one point to another by breaking herself down to her molecular components, thus negating her mass and then reassembling them at the destination, theoretically making it possible for her to transport all of us in the same way, as mass no longer matters.

*[A cartoonish series of animated infographics popped up next to Penny as she talked, illustrating the effects of Ruby's Semblance,and how she could use it on th group. However, Ruby looked dumbfounded.]*

Ruby: I, uh, what?

Penny: You can use your Semblance on all of us.

*[The infographic disappeared in a burst of stars. Ruby still looked stunned, speechless in fact.]*

Blake: *[gestures at Ruby, amused]* Did... Penny just figure that out before you did?

Ruby: *[trying to avoid the fact Penny figured it out first]* Blake, she knew you were a Faunus before I did!

Alan: Perks of being robotic, I suppose.

*[Penny gave a slight, affirmative nod to Alan's comment. The high pitched noise of the broadcast system activating was heard, startling the group.]*

Ironwood *(voice)*: A security threat has been detected in the compound, status alert Level 3: Red. Lockdown initiated. Authorization granted to handle *ANY* threats with lethal force.

*[Red emergency lighting activated and sirens started to blare as the infiltrating group listened in dismay.]*

Alan: That fucking prick.

Weiss: You've got to be joking!

*[Penny's eyes glowed as she inspected the system.]*

Penny: The pneumatic tubes have all been closed off.

Blake: We’re trapped.

May: We passed a hangar, I can hijack an airship and get us off this floating rock.

Alan: If we're going down anyway, then that's the justification to make a scene.

*[Alan scrolled through the available holograms, stopping on a humanoid figure with three claws on either hand. Just as he was about to activate it, however, Penny grabbed his wrist, prompting him to look up at her.]*

Penny: Wait! We can still succeed. We are so close.

Nora: Hmm…

*[Nora looked thoughtful, then snapped her fingers upon getting an idea. The door to Central Command opened as an office worker carrying a cup of coffee walked by. The invisibility field followed, showing all but May left behind outside the room just before the door closed again. May stuck out her foot and tripped him. He lost his grip on his #1 Dad (marked out to say #1 Dud) mug, which then flew through through the air, and once it landed, the coffee spilled all over a workstation, causing it to spit sparks of electricity. Its operator's lap was also drenched, and he cries out in pain from that area being suddenly covered in hot coffee. A different operator then began berating him.]*

Operator: Read the sign, Bill! Read the sign!

*[The camera panned over to a hand-drawn poster depicting a burger, fries, and drink suspended in the water over a large shark-esque Grimm. The sign read "No Food or Drink in Central Command. A majority of the room's occupants turn to stare and shake their heads at Bill.]*

Operator: Why don’t you ever just pay attention?! You’re in here late all the time, your coworkers-

*[The scalded operator burst out of the room, bellowing in pain, and left the door open behind him. As the workers continue to complain to Bill, Ruby used her Semblance, taking Weiss, Blake, Nora, Alan, and Penny with her, going passed the complaining workers undetected.]*

Operator: *[still complaining to Bill]* You put salmon in the microwave!

*[As his complaints were drowned out in the noise, Ruby released her Semblance, striking a pose, her hand to her forehead doing a peace sign. Nora and Penny looked at her in awe, Weiss smiled, while Blake held onto the wall with a terrified look on her face, and her knees shaking. Alan held his head with both hands, as if he had gotten a headache.]*

Blake: *Another* thing I don’t wanna do ever again.

*[The group made their way along a raised walkway in a cavernous and deserted chamber. At the end of the walkway was a heavily electrified door.]*

Penny: Stand back, please.

*[Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Nora got ready to draw their weapons, with Alan holding his hand over the Simplicitrix core, as Penny interfaces with a control panel, deactivating the electricity and opening the door. As the overhead lights came on, a secluded room filled with terminals was revealed. Ironwood's terminal sat at the back wall. ...And no one was there.]*

Ruby: Uh, where is everyone?

Penny: This is a highly classified area.

*[They went inside, and the door closed and electrifies itself again. Nora briefly stopped to regard it with a thoughtful noise before moving on. Penny sat in the office chair by Ironwood's terminal and braced herself, taking a deep breath before contacting her father.]*

Penny: Hey dad? I’m ready.

*[Penny's eyes turned yellow. She started speaking in Pietro's voice, and her movements are considerably more stiff and jerky, akin to a janky puppet. This, reasonably, startled Ruby.]*

Pietro *(voice)*: Ahem. This process is a… little complicated. So I’m remoting into Penny from Amity Colosseum.

Ruby: I…. see.

*[Penny began her work on the terminal as Ruby watches on. The other three idled by. Blake swiveled around a few times in an office chair.]*

Blake: I hope the others are okay. I’ve never seen Yang and Ruby fight like this.

Weiss: Don’t worry, they’re sisters. Sometimes sisters just have very different ideas about what’s right.

Alan: *[lamenting on his actions with Richard]* ...I can attest to that. *[his emotion changes to a soft smile when he feels Weiss comfortingly rub his shoulder]*

Nora: Yeah, they’ll be fine. Jaune’s a great leader, Oscar’s grown a ton, and Yang is more than capable of protecting them all in a fight. Plus, they've got their own Alan clone! ...Or do we have the clone? I'm confused.

Alan: It's complicated. But... A-Aren't you forgetting someone?

*[Upon Alan pointing this out, Blake and Weiss tilted their heads at Nora, puzzled at her lack of mentioning a certain person.]*

Nora: *[reluctantly]* Oh, and of course Ren is... Um... *[averts her eyes, her happy-go-lucky demeanor falling]* I don’t know what he is. Every time I think the two of us are making progress, he… *[sighs]* We’ve been together our whole lives but I feel like I understand him less now than ever. And I don’t know if that’s his fault or mine.

Blake: When you’ve been at someone’s side for so long, after a while they become a part of you. But that’s just it, they’re only a part of you. *Don’t* forget about the rest.

Nora: *[chuckles a bit]* I don’t actually know who I am… without Ren. Pretty sad, huh?

Weiss: Well, maybe take this opportunity to find out? Do something only Nora can do.

Nora: *[disheartened]* Like what? Be strong and hit stuff?

*[Weiss stepped forward to comfort Nora, but some loud keystrokes distracted them, and the four joined Ruby and Penny at Ironwood's terminal. As Pietro spoke through Penny, Weiss turned to Ruby for an explanation, but she just shrugged in response. Blake, Alan, and Nora shared in inquisitive looks at Penny.]*

Pietro *(voice)*: I just have to… There. Downloading the cloned imprint now. When Penny gets to Amity, we’ll run the launch sequence. Amity’s computer will try to connect to the general’s terminal but get Penny instead.

*[Penny's eyes went back to green as she spoke.]*

Penny: And after the launch, I’ll return to help you all with the evacuation!

Pietro *(voice)*: *[coughs, speaking through the comms]* About that, Penny. When Amity goes up, I think you should be on it with Maria and I.

*[Penny's cheerful expression was replaced by an anxious one. The rest of the group traded conflicted looks.]*

Penny: But they need me here. Right?

Ruby: Well, if you stay far out of Salem’s reach, then she can’t open the vault. She can’t get to the relic. So...

Weiss: Maybe it *is* for the best?

Blake: Um, we should probably head to the hangar.

*[Penny glumly deactivated the electrified door again as they reached the entrance.]*

Penny: I guess... We all have to do some things we would rather not.

*[Blake looked to Alan, who had taken on a disgruntled look in the previous moment.]*

Blake: Are you... okay?

Alan: I'm just... Not a particularly huge fan of us-

*[Alan stopped talking when the door opened, as the group gasped at who was on the other side.]*

Hello, kids.

*[Harriet, Marrow, Elm, and Vine stood in the hallway beyond the door, with them having been waiting on them. The infiltration team drew their weapons, and Alan quickly changed into Chromastone.]*

Weiss: So your first time losing to us wasn’t enough?

Chromastone: I've been wanting some expendable people I could take my frustrations out on.

Marrow: We were holding back!

Vine: We have all said some things we regret, but-

Chromastone: You.... *You* talk?

Vine: *[slightly annoyed, but continues]* ...Please, hear me out. *[turns his attention to Penny]* I know you thought you were doing the right thing when you left with the Maiden power, but Salem is here now. Things have changed.

Penny: If General Ironwood plans to leave Mantle behind nothing has changed.

Vine: *[activates guilt tripping and gaslighting]* I thought you were supposed to protect the people, not hurt them.

Penny: I would never hurt anyone.

Elm: Well Winter’s in critical condition, because of you.

Harriet: And you repaid her by stealing the power that should have been hers.

Penny: But taking the Maiden power was the only way to stop--

Harriet: If you keep refusing to do the right thing, people in Atlas *and* Mantle are going to die.

Chromastone: Bold of you to assume that what that cyborg neckbeard says is the "right thing."

Harriet: You're one to talk, "lion mane.".

Marrow: You could stop all of this, Penny. Just open the vault, hand over the Relic, and you’ll save Atlas.

Ruby: But it won’t save Atlas. Salem will find her way to the Relic no matter where you go. Once Ironwood opens the vault, the Relic is-

Harriet: *[tired of listening to any ounce of logic]* One more word, and I’m throwing you in jail right next to your uncle, runt.

*[Ruby went to move forward, incensed, but Penny held her back, balling up her fists.]*

Penny: Leave. Her. Alone.

Harriet: And what are you gonna do about it, tin can?

*[Penny stepped forward beyond the room's threshold, and Harriet remotely activated the electrified door. Penny only had time to turn around before she was separated from her friends.]*

Ruby: Penny, no!

*[Now alone, Penny turned back to face the Ace Ops, green Maiden-flames rising by her eyes.]*

*[The other five remained surprised at the sudden door closing, with the electricity being activated once again. Chromastone punched his fists together.]*

Chromastone: I've got this.

Ruby: What?

Chromastone: Chromastone can absorb different kinds of energy and redirect it as ultraviolet light. It's just a matter of-

*[Chromastone had placed his hands to the electrified door as he talked, but his speech eventually turned into a tremendous fit of screaming in agony. His body convulsed, as much as a thinned out rock monster could, and his Aura flashed over his body. He painstakingly ripped his hands away from the door, falling to the ground. His hands had turned completely black from the electricity burning him. Falling to the ground in pain, he became human again, the burns going away via the Simplicitrix. Ruby knelt to his side and Weiss looked at the door before summoning her Arma Gigas. The Arma Gigas began slashing at the door, attempting to break it. It wasn't long, however, before the Gigas then dissipated.]*

Weiss: Four against one? Cowards!

Ruby: *[helping Alan up]* Penny's the Winter Maiden, I'm sure she can hold her own for a while.

Nora: *[growing frustrated]* We have to get out there! *[confidently looks at the door]* Be strong... *[extends Magnhild into its hammer form]* Hit stuff...

Weiss: Nora, wait!

*[Nora jammed her hammer into the door's power supply, siphoning off the electricity. She began screaming from the strain of channeling so much power. Pink, lightning-shaped streaks appeared on her arms, chest, and neck, and her hair started to stand on end. Still bellowing, she let loose on the door with her hammer, disappearing in the ensuing explosion of black smoke.]*

*[Meanwhile, Marrow was paralyzing Penny with his Semblance. Elm had her lying prone, and was about to clamp a pair of Gravity Bolas around her wrists.]*

Marrow: Hurry up, Elm! I can't-

*[The door exploded outwards from Nora's attack, sending everyone off their feet in a blast of black smoke. As the Ace Ops recovered, Nora was seen in the doorway, clutching her hammer and breathing heavily, still crackling with pink electricity.]*

Nora: That was pretty awesome.

*[Nora's Aura shimmered and broke. She fainted, her upper body covered with electrical scars, and her hair returning to normal.]*

Penny: Nora!

*[Penny ran forward to check on her fallen ally as Ruby, Weiss, and Blake stepped forward to face the Ace Ops, their weapons at the ready. A red flash appeared from behind them, with Alan emerging as the blue and orange, robotic alien Triple Drill, brandishing his permanent drill arm. Penny then floated above them, generating a storm with her Maiden powers.]*

Triple Drill: I believe we've some unfinished business, Harriet.

*[Harriet growled, then her expression changed to confusion as she got a message through her ear piece.]*

Harriet: But general, we-

Marrow: We understand, sir.

*[Harriet turned to look at Marrow. Penny dashed towards the Ace Ops, her foot being grabbed by Vine as he attempted to ground her. She then deployed Floating Array. Harriet rushed over with her Semblance, surprising Penny as she ran around her, grabbing hold of one of the blades. As she yanked at the weapon, her eyes opened and changed to shock, only for her to be bashed away from Penny by Triple Drill using the blunt end of his drill. She flew across the platform, her Aura shimmering on the brink of breaking, and the Floating Array blade fell next to her. Triple Drill began making his way towards her, changing his normal arm into a drill matching the permanent one.]*

***STAY!***

*[Triple Drill came to a stop due to Marrow's Semblance. Elm then ran up to him, using her Semblance to root herself to the ground before hammering Triple Drill with her weapon. The knockback sent Triple Drill back, breaking part of the suspended platform, and causing himself, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake to fall. Penny turned about, looking down into the pit below.]*

Penny: NO!

*[Red petals shot up back onto the platform, Ruby using her Semblance to save the four from falling. Harriet stands, albeit struggling, picking up Penny's blade.]*

Elm: *[scoffs]* Let's go.

*[The Ace Ops took their leave, jumping off the walkway on their own terms one by one. Marrow paused to look back at the group, his expression becoming one of doubt, before vaulting over the railing himself.]*

Weiss: Uh, that was-

Blake: Very suspicious?

*[Penny stowed her weapons and hurried over to Nora, hauling her upper body into her lap. Nora briefly opened her eyes and groaned before falling unconscious again. Penny reached for Nora's hammer, but a spark of pink electricity arced off it, preventing her from touching it immediately.]*

*[Ruby and the others, Alan human again, entered the hangar with Penny carrying Nora in her arms and Magnhild strapped to her back. Even while unconscious, Nora's brow was furrowed. They looked around the empty chamber until they hear a whistle.]*

May: You coming or what?

*[The group moved forward, entering May's invisibility field.]*

May: All ready to- *[gasps upon seeing Nora's condition]*

Blake: She’s in bad shape. We need to get her somewhere safe.

*[Penny looked at Nora with a worried expression, but it soon turned resolute. Her Maiden's eye-flames lit up.]*

*[Outside, minor explosion blasted a hole in the wall of the military compound, and May's Manta soon came flying through it into the open sky. Inside, Penny gently laid Nora down on the ground face-up.]*

Penny: I’m so, so sorry.

*[In the backseat, Ruby tried to comfort Penny with a smile, and Alan doing something similar on the other side by putting his hand to her shoulder, but the Winter Maiden was inconsolable.]*

Penny: It is time for me to go, isn’t it?

*[Ruby pulled Penny into a hug.]*

Ruby: We’ll see each other again really soon, I promise.

*[Behind Ruby's back, Penny caught Weiss and Blake's reassuring gazes. Finishing the hug, she turned to Alan, seeing him having a similar, albeit somewhat more worried, expression. May pressed a button on the console, retracting the windshield. Penny climbed onto her seat, and with one last salute, flew off, headed for Amity Colosseum. The Manta's windshield returned as it took its leave in a different direction.]*

## Major Events

* Oops I guess Weiss is alive after all well Ice Wall is back on the menu sorry Blacklist
* Team RWBNN successfully gets the greenlight from General Ironwood's military terminal to launch Amity.
* Nora is critically injured, and obtains lightning-shaped scars all over her body.
* The Ace-Ops escape with one of Penny's Floating Array blades.
* Portaball and Triple Drill debut.

### Simplicitrix Debuts

* Portaball
* Triple Drill

## Characters

* Alan Nomaly
* Ruby Rose
* Weiss Schnee
* Blake Belladonna
* Nora Valkyrie
* Penny Polendina
* Pietro Polendina *(voice)*

### Ironwood's Group

* Harriet Bree
* Marrow Amin
* Elm Ederne
* Vine Zeki

## Aliens Used

* Portaball *(debut, unintentional)*
* Chromastone
* Triple Drill *(debut)*

## Allusions

* The pose Ruby does after going through Central Command is a nod to *Sailor Moon*.

## Trivia

* The overpowered nature of the Lightning Dust inside the military compound's security was the cause of both Chromastone and Nora being overwhelmed.

## Credit Scene

*[Ironwood inspected the fruits of the Ace Ops' work, holding Penny's sword in his hands. The group stood in Pietro's lab in the military compound.]*

Ironwood: Good work.

Harriet: Tch, good work would have been capturing Penny.

*[Harriet rubbed her arm in pain, still injured from the fight with Alan, and Marrow and Elm give her a concerned look.]*

Well, you know what they say.

*[The scene panned over to show Watts sitting at Pietro's desk. Ironwood handed him the sword.]*

Watts: If you can’t beat them, then make them join you. *[smirks]*