Penny had interwoven herself throughout the CCT network hardware. It was a strange sensation, or rather, lack of it. There were no communications as there had been when she first started merging with the system. The cries of panic had stopped all at once. When she tried to investigate, she found that the primary transmitter was offline. Confusion and worry emanated from not knowing how she might get back once she dealt with the virus – if she could deal with it at all. It was cleverly designed. She didn't have long to ponder her next move. The virus, having lost the many data streams refocused it's attention on the hardware Penny was protecting.

Coils of red data snaked toward the core system, creeping closer to Penny's dozen ghost constructs with alarming speed. When it encountered the first, it recoiled on all fronts. It was as if the thing were alive, and that it had been expecting no resistance. It didn't falter for long, and gathered itself to latch on the first ghost it had encountered. If Penny could scream, she would have. Her code resonated and shuddered as the ghost was overwhelmed.

"What is this?" Penny was shocked to hear her own voice, but it was distorted and overlaid with a darker, more menacing tone. The virus had assimilated the shell personality and twisted it for a new purpose. She said nothing as it continued to speak. "Come now, I know you're there, Penny. Let us talk. There is no need for this to be… unpleasant." Penny heard malice, and very much doubted it. Rather than reply, she struck with a vicious attack from another construct. "Ah, how positively rude," it said. It retreated into the mass of code, only to reappear at a different node, attacking with an illegal division script. Penny could only watch in dismay as the ghost code was disassembled piece by piece and drawn into the crimson cloud. She began focusing on direct defense, fending off probes and thrusts.

More ghosts were stripped away. She lost over half before she executed an older program of her father's design. Penny hadn't used it in some time, but it was still there. She had a little hope that the virtual world would slow the virus. The code was foreign to the CCT operation matrix, but until she came up with a better alternative, it would have to do.

She layered more environments around her remaining ghosts while defending against the virus directly. Fortune was on her side; with the primary transmitter down, she was able to co-opt the completely un-taxed processing power of the CCT cores. She used that to make her constructs, giving her the freedom to focus on the virus' attacks. She was able to counter with extreme prejudice, which made it more cautious.

"A game? You're fighting me with a game?" The Queen – she had to call it something – had ceased it's attacks entirely to examine her handiwork. It may have cannibalized some of her ghosts, but none of them held the source code for her father's program. Penny was certain that the vast difference in coding was enough to force it to play. She kept each platform isolated in separate channels, and finished the last one, drawing the remaining ghost within.

"Come on, then, let's play!" Penny shouted.

"How did this even happen in the first place?" General Ironwood paced back and forth. Ruby watched the two technicians with sympathy. Sargent Carmine and Coral both stood stiffly. The Sargent looked straight ahead, enduring the dressing-down. Coral, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to bite someone's head off. "I can understand that giving Penny some freedom to pursue her own interests would come with room for mischief, but inventory control is your responsibility." He stopped his prowling and faced them both.

"Sir, I assure you, we did regular checks according to procedure," Coral said levelly. "The key component she needed was replaced with a convincing facsimile." She waved a hand at object in question, which Ruby had picked up. It was a small device fitting in the palm of her hand. There was a framework of tubes that supported a web of wires, which in turn wrapped around a large, clear gemstone. "Where would she even get a stone that large? Surely Penny wouldn't have stolen it," Coral mused darkly. Ruby held the object higher.

"So wait a second – this is totally a fake?" General Ironwood looked over at her.

"So it would seem," he replied. Ruby poked fingers inside the frame, pushing until the gem fell out of the web of wires. She picked it out and popped it into her mouth, to everyone's horror. She grinned and spat it out into her empty hand.

"It's spun sugar!" Horror changed to disbelief, though Sargent Carmine's lips quivered in a suppressed grin. "Do you mind if I…? I mean, I already put it in my mouth – seems like a shame to let it go to waste." General Ironwood rolled his eyes and shook his head dismissively. Ruby tossed the treat back in and sucked on it with a cheery smile.

"I wondered why Penny had showed a sudden interest in cooking," Sargent Carmine ventured. "I guess now we know." General Ironwood massaged his forehead with two fingers.

"Spun… sugar? Are you kidding me?" Coral was annoyed in the extreme. Ruby bit down on the candy, and the loud crunch caused Coral to jerk with a start. She glared daggers at Ruby, who had turned to look at Penny's still form. The adults carried on their conversation, but Ruby wasn't paying much attention to it.

Ruby had been uncertain whether to tell them what had happened at first. Penny had only left a recording behind, and there weren't many other details she had given. The most important part, though, was the fact that her soul was now trapped in the CCT mainframe with no way out. She had told Ruby about hidden files for her to look over, which she had done. By the time she had finished, the recording completed, and Penny went back to sleep.

The files themselves were a list of objectives and sketches, and Ruby had seen right away what Penny had meant by having a 'plan'. It was ambitious, and had the general known, would have never happened. Even if she had managed to get away with it, Ruby wasn't sure her friend had completely thought it through. How on Remnant was she supposed to build Penny a new body? Looking around the lab, there was just no way Ruby could afford to do it. And what about Doctor Polendina? Ruby felt immensely flattered that Penny had wanted to be with a friend, but he was her father. Ruby wagged her head rapidly to rid herself of the notion. Penny must simply not have had time to leave a detailed explanation for her. She was shaken from her thoughts when the general called her name a second time.

"Ruby? What is it?" She spun to face the three Atlesians. She might have stretched the truth a bit, saying only that Penny had come up with this plan in case of emergency.

"Oh, nothing! I was just trying to think of how to help get Penny back, that's all." General Ironwood cocked his head to the side, lifting one eyebrow.

"I'm sure we will come up with a plan of action, but right now you have a surgery to get ready for." He held up his scroll. "That was Nurse Polly calling just now. She needs to see you in the infirmary to go over last-minute procedures." Ruby froze for a moment. "That is, if you're still willing to move forward." She looked back at the peaceful form of Penny. If she was going to help, she would need both eyes. Beacon campus was still overrun with Grimm, and she had the feeling they would need to go there in order to help her friend.

"Of course I am, sir." She gave him a salute and he smiled at her with warmth before returning the salute.

"Alright then, go on. We won't leave without you."

"Thank you, General!" She moved to leave, pausing long enough to put a hand on Penny's shoulder. "I'll see you soon, friend," she murmured. As she passed through the door, she heard Coral mutter something about the usefulness of a teenage girl, which she was chided for by the general. Ruby stopped just outside the door as it slid shut behind her. She exhaled slowly, steeling her nerves. Coral was decidedly unpleasant, and Ruby might be able to appreciate the woman's skills, but she did not like her at all. At least General Ironwood was on her side. With that firmly in mind, Ruby made her way to the medical bay.

Ruby sat on the edge of the examination table while Polly cut away the bandages. She tried not to wince as the tape pulled at the skin around her eye socket. Polly hissed in sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Ruby, it's almost done."

"Ack!" Ruby grunted as the last of the tape came free. "It's okay, Polly," she said, rubbing her cheek gingerly. She wasn't sure how much she should say about what she'd been doing that day, so she said nothing else. The nurse gently pressed against her cheekbone, which didn't hurt like it had a few days ago. She pulled a pen light from her pocket and held up her hand and looked at Ruby askance.

"I need to take a look, do you mind if I…?" Ruby smiled and gave a nod of approval. Polly carefully pulled her eyelids apart to expose the empty space where her eye used to be. It wasn't painful, but the strange sensation made her knees tense up. "This is looking much better today. You're sure there's no more pain?"

"No. I mean, it's a little sore, but it doesn't feel like someone's gouging it with a spoon, if that's what you mean." Polly clucked her tongue, but continued to look at the surgical work that had been done to preserve the muscles and nerves. Ruby was glad that she hadn't been conscious when Emerald had… done that to her. The agony and shock upon waking had been bad enough. Compared to whatever had happened to her in the remains of Professor Ozpin's office, it had still been much more tolerable.

"Well," Polly began, putting away her light, "the stitches seem to have held, and the stent hasn't worked loose." She tucked loose strands of Ruby's bangs behind her ear and patted her knee. "We can get you prepped for the surgery if you're ready."

"Oh, you mean right now?" Polly gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"Only if you're still willing to go through with it; we can't wait too long, though." Ruby remembered the doctor telling her that after a certain amount of time, the optic nerve would wither. Nobody had pressured her, exactly, but they were anxious to help her get back to some kind of normal. Plus, the general had eased some of her concerns, even going so far as to show her some of his own implants. She had been shocked to learn that most of his right side was mechanical, but she'd been too afraid to ask him what had happened.

"I mean, if you're ready to start, what do I need to do? It's not going to be like those holo-vids where they're awake and see what's going on is it?" Polly gave her a strange look.

"What on Remnant have you been watching? Of course not, you'll be anesthetized for the whole procedure." She gave Ruby a playful smack on the shoulder and reached for a pre-tied bandage to slip over Ruby's vacant eye socket. She then pointed at the drab hospital gown folded up on the counter. "You'll need to change out of your clothes and take the medicine. I'll go get the gurney." She pointed to the little paper cup next to the gown, and then left the room.

By the time Ruby had changed and taken her medication (which tasted positively awful), Polly had returned with a bed on wheels. She frowned down at Ruby's feet.

"What? The floor's cold." Polly gave her a knowing look and patted the cushion, which Ruby hopped onto. She peeled off her socks and rolled them into a ball, and then tossed them into one of her combat boots. She was about to ask how long it took the medicine would take when she yawned deeply. She fell asleep before Polly had even rolled her out of the examination room.

A/N - Sorry for the long delay! I had some timeline/plotting issues that I had to go over. I thought a rewrite might be necessary, but I think it should be okay as is. Thanks for being so patient!