RWBY: Penny and the Tin Man

Round 1 Part 1

The bright morning sun hung high in the sky bathing the forest below it in dazzling light. The forest itself was like an endless sea of red. Each tree in the forest was bearing the same dark red leaves that at first glance would appear to have been stained by blood. And the trees seemed to be in a constant state of fall, continuously shedding their crimson foliage as fast as it could grow back in an endless cycle. These process left large gabs in the tree canopy allowing the suns rays to pour in and reveal a set of ancient ruins hidden within. The ruins in question seemed to have been long since abandoned and have since been ravaged by natures grasp. The ruins were covered in vines and had started to crumble under their own weight. And at first glance the area around the ruins would've seemed like it hadn't been touched by man in decades if it weren't for one exception. Among the ruins stud a single structure that appeared completely untouched by both nature and time alike. Even though the building had the same architecture as the other ruins around it, it was clear that it didn't belong. The structure was made up of a large dome that was supported by massive stone pillars and it was decorated with bright red banners on all sides. While in the center of the structure stud a single bright red flag depicting the same design as the banners.

For the most part all was still in the ruins and the surrounding forest but a low humming sound soon filled the air as the wind picked up around them. In the center of the structure the red flag began to blow violently in the wind that was being funneled in between the stone pillars. And for several minutes the wing and humming continued to intensify until it finally reached an apex and began to die back down. As soon as the wind began to die down four figures appear at the threshold of the stone building and made their way towards the center flag chamber. Each of the figures was dressed in heavy combat gear with weapons at their side, backpacks on their backs, and grins wide across their faces.

Once inside the flag chamber one of the four figures, a young girl sporting a red hood ran into the center of the structure in front of the flag and spun in place to face the rest of the group before addressing them. "Well then, this is it you guys! We have about five minutes or so before the signal to start the first round will be fired, that gives us some time to talk strategy."

"Ready and waiting, what are your orders Ruby?" Penny announced while giving a salute.

Ruby gave the synthetic girl a bright smile before motioning to one of the other two members of their team. "Alright, Russel you seem like you are light on your feet. I was thinking you and I could be on the away team. We will be taking the fight to their door step." Then she motioned to Penny and the last member of their team. "Meanwhile I will have Sky Lark and Penny remain here to sure up are defenses."

Sky Lark and Russel exchange a glance before Sky Lark decided to speak up. "Hey wait a minute. Why should I get stuck here babysitting freckles while you guys have all the fun?" He asked while pointing a finger in Penny's direction. "I have a personal score to settle with that George fellow and there's no way I'm missing this change!" He complained.

"Oh, you know George Mister Lark?" Penny inquired.

Sky glanced over at the inquisitive red head and grunted an affirmative. "Yeah we had a..." He paused for a moment trying to think of what to call it. "We had a little chat with him yesterday. Isn't that right Russel?" He said while motioning to his teammate to collaborate with his story.

With missing a beat Russel picked up with Sky left off. "Yeah, you could say we really 'hit it off'. Unfortunately we had to cut the conversation short just when it was starting to get interesting. So we wanted to pick it up from where we left off." Russel explained while rubbing his jaw and grimacing, almost as if he was remembering something unpleasant.