Proof of Humanity (RWBY - Lies of P)

Fable of Pinocchio II: The Puppet's Forge

P's understanding of it's world didn't change all that much when it met it's creator. Giussepe Geppetto was far from an ordinary man, despite what his appearance would suggest.

"It's good to see you, son." He said after P murdered the Mad Donkey. "I want to hear all about your journey, but work needs to be done. Clear out Krat City Hall and come to me at the hotel."

P wanted to object. Everybody had been praising this man as some saint that could help reverse the puppet frenzy. Instead, he was throwing more sticks for P to fetch. It was frustrating, but as a puppet, P nodded and walked past it's father.

"It's truly wonderful to see you again..." Geppetto trailer off. It seemed as though he wanted to say more, but stopped himself.

P didn't stop walking. And it wouldn't even consider stopping unless an order was given out.

Fortunately, while Geppetto lacked the ability to give information or insight, he did give a few neat toys. A tool that dismantles weapons from blade to handle, and allows one to fuse different types of weapons. The Mad Donkey's greatsaw was powerful without a shadow of a doubt, but the handle was crude. Sloppy. Carried by the weight behind the blade. P's creation would be different.

Using the weapon assembly tool, it took the wild power of the Mad Donkey's greatsaw and attached it to the refined Greatsword of Fate handle. P reminded itself to thank that merchant if they ever crossed paths again. The new weapon wasn't perfect, but it was an improvement.

The City Hall wasn't a large area. In fact, it was only a minute long walk between the next large foe. But, while the space was small, it was still crawling with puppets. They were dispatched of.

On the way there, P noticed a large puppet that was missing a head standing in front of a tree. It wasn't aggressive, which was odd. Oh well, it would die.

After killing the headless puppet, P noticed what it was guarding.

A small, wooden baby puppet surrounded by corpses piled behind the tree.

"No survivors here." Gemini mumbled. "What do we do? Give her the baby puppet?"

P, without elaborating, picked up the baby and continued forward. Gemini didn't mention it, as he had already guessed what the plan was.

At the end of the City Hall, a large courtyard was spread out. P was already starting to get a feel for these encounters. On top of the rooftops, a hulking mass of steel was crawling around. It was a large puppet that was hunched over with a policeman like design.

It let out a piercing screech as it jumped down. P readied it's greatsaw, and jumped into battle.

---

The weeping woman didn't have long left. Ever since her family took her baby, it had been hard. The slow petrification didn't help at all. All that was left in life was the fear of her disease and the hope that it wouldn't hurt that much when she died.

Then a nice young man had showed up. He was very polite and even accepted her request to find her baby. It was a miniscule hope, but it was all she had left now.

When the boy showed up again, she was absolutely elated.

"Oh, thank you so much! My baby..." The woman cried.

The boy handed her the child. Surprisingly, her daughter made no sound. When the woman held the girl, she realized that the petrification disease had hindered her sense of feel. The girl's skin felt horrifyingly dull, like it was nothing more than roughly sanded wood.