Jaune stood there for a moment longer than he probably should have, mind stumbling slightly.
Daughter.
He tried to square the word with what he was seeing. Penny was clearly an artificial construct of some sort. A projection which was... admittedly quite a remarkably advanced one. Sure, AI's were a thing, but most were holographic avatars with no visible physical form. The way Pietro had said it though had not sounded metaphorical or casual. There had been warmth there, in addition to familiarity and pride.
Jaune's thoughts took an unfortunate detour.
Was Pietro calling her his daughter because he had created her? That would make sense, sort of. Engineers did that sometimes, especially with complex AI. Or was this something stranger? Something personal in a way Jaune very much did not want to think about? Like a... kink thing...
He shifted his weight, throat suddenly dry.
Before he could decide whether to ask or keep his mouth shut, Pietro's brow furrowed.
"Hm," Pietro said, peering at him. "You are thinking something odd."
Jaune coughed lightly. "N-no. I mean, I was just confused."
Pietro's eyes narrowed further. "Confused huh?"
Jaune rubbed the back of his neck. "You said she's your daughter. I just don't understand how that works when she's an... AI projection?"
Pietro stared at him for a long second.
Then he sighed.
"Ah," he said, tone shifting from playful curiosity to something heavier. "That kind of confusion."
Penny, who had been hovering patiently near the console, suddenly moved. Instead of remaining suspended in the air, she stepped forward and floated over onto Pietro's shoulder, sitting there comfortably with her legs swinging idly.
Jaune blinked.
His senses flared, sweeping across the lab in a silent wave. This room, while it had simulation tech, similar to combat rooms, didn't have them activated.
"How," Jaune said slowly, "Um... how are you doing that?"
Penny smiled brightly. "I am not an AI."
"You're not?"
"Not entirely, no."
Pietro snorted. "Hmm, in a way you could say that Penny is a creation that created herself."
Jaune's gaze flicked back to Pietro. "Sir, I don't uh... understand."
"That would be because you are not meant to, also, you can just call me Pietro. None of that sir nonsense." Pietro replied calmly.
Jaune frowned. "I... alright. But, I'm afraid I don't follow."
Pietro rested one hand lightly against the arm of his wheelchair while Penny leaned against his head, humming softly to herself.
"Strictly speaking, calling Penny an AI is untrue." Pietro said. "She's, alive, so to speak. Not entirely, but relatively speaking. Despite her appearance, this being you see before you has both a soul and a conscious mind that mimics an AI. Interesting is it not?"
Jaune's eyes widened a fraction. "Wow. I guess that's amazing? What type of rune was able to do something like this?"
Pietro's lips twitched. "Truth be told, it was the combination of multiple runes. However, the main rune involved was called Bionic."
"Bionic... that's pretty cool. But it kind of sounds like the centurions." Jaune said slowly, the pieces beginning to slide together.
Pietro's gaze sharpened.
"Yes," he said. "The centurions."
Penny swung her legs. "Hmm. You are very close to the answer, Jaune Arc."
Jaune swallowed. "Ah... am I? Are you... tied to them, somehow?"
"She is indeed tied to their existence," Pietro confirmed, looking amused, as if spoon-feeding Jaune information was fun. Perhaps he was curious how much Jaune would be able to understand from the clues.
Jaune absorbed that in silence. He had so many questions that it felt like his thoughts were tripping over each other.
"So," he began, then stopped himself. "Penny is an AI construct that isn't really an AI, and the Centurions are... tied to her existence."
Pieces in his mind seemed to click. He'd seen many movies and consumed a lot of media. The answer was probably quite simple.
"Is she... the progenitor of the centurions?"
"Congratulations. Among non researchers, you are the first to actually realize this information." Pietro said with a sharp glint in his eye. "Yet, you are also incorrect."
There was almost a visible question mark appearing above his head.
"I'm afraid that's all I'm willing to reveal." Pietro said gently. "You are curious, Mr. Arc, I respect that. You're deductive skills are also decent. But there are limits, to the questions you are allowed to ask."
Jaune nodded immediately. "Of course, sorry, I did not mean to pry."
Pietro studied him for a moment, Insight rune clearly still active. Jaune felt that strange sense of exposure again, as if his internal structure was being skimmed and catalogued.
"I can tell that you aren't an Atlesian," Pietro said at last.
Jaune smiled sheepishly. "Vale."
"I thought so," Pietro replied. "While it is true that the centurions are going to be distributed across the kingdoms, there are aspects that regular operatives are not allowed to know. I hope you can accept this as the truth."
Jaune exhaled slowly. "I figured as much." Jaune himself had once been put under a silence order for Ozpin regarding many of the things revolving around the Sleeper. Sure, much of it has been appended. But the chant that could summon her and how his father was tied to Sleepless, those were things that he couldn't simply reveal to regular operatives. So yes, Jaune understood secrets.
Pietro leaned back slightly. "I understand that you probably came here because you are concerned. Rumors?"
Jaune nodded. "That the centurions used to be operatives."
"That is true," Pietro said without hesitation. "And that much is public knowledge."
Penny tilted her head. "People argue a lot about that topic. Especially the ones who are in the know."
"Yes, they do," Pietro agreed fondly.
"But," Pietro continued, eyes returning to Jaune, "the deeper truths are not for everyone. Some information is restricted by rank and some by clearance. Some... by trust."
"I understand. I apologize," Jaune said sincerely. "I did not mean to overstep. I was just… curious."
Pietro smiled, the tension easing from his expression. "Curiosity is not a flaw. It simply needs direction."
He gestured vaguely toward Jaune. "And it is rare to see someone with two meta runes, especially one that has already reached the refined level."
Jaune blinked. "You mentioned that earlier. Refined? What does that mean?"
"Yes," Pietro said casually. "Ah. That." Pietro waved a hand dismissively. "Do not worry about it. That is merely my own internal classification."
"Internal?"
"As a researcher, I catalogue things in ways that make sense to me," Pietro explained. "What you call comprehension level, I call refined. It indicates that the rune has been fully understood and integrated but not yet elevated to its next state."
"I see. Do you also have another classification for the mastery level?" Jaune asked.
Pietro smiled. "Clarity."
Jaune stared at him.
"Clarity," Pietro repeated, nodding. "When a rune ceases to feel like an ability and instead becomes a truth."
Jaune nodded. "That… actually makes sense."
"Of course it does," Pietro said smugly. "I have thought about this extensively."
He muttered to himself, "It might be amusing to revise the official terminology someday."
Jaune's eyes widened. "You can do that?"
Pietro shrugged. "Influence has its privileges."
Jaune shrugged softly, shaking his head. "Those names aren't bad."
"I know," Pietro said, clearly pleased.
Penny leaned closer to Jaune, studying him with an intensity that did not quite match her cheerful demeanor.
"Jaune Arc, what type of food do you like?" she said again.
Jaune felt a bit odd talking to her and glanced at Pietro who simply shrugged. "Food? Uh... bread maybe?"
"What does bread taste like, Jaune Arc?"
Jaune was speechless, and Pietro simply looked amused.
"It's... slightly sour, I guess, and sometimes it can taste a little sweet. It's because of the starch, I think. I'm not really sure how to explain it."
"That is alright, Jaune Arc. It was interesting to get to know you."
"You as well. Also, my full name sounds kind of odd, when said in a conversation, so you can just call me Jaune, Penny. My friends do, at least."
Penny looked a little happy at that.
"I am your friend, Jaune?"
"Uh... yeah. I mean, I guess?"
"Then I shall endeavor to do so, Jaune. May I ask one more question?"
"...Sure Penny."
"Your meta runes. What are their names? And what can they do?"
Those were clearly two question, but Jaune was amused. He thought for a moment and asked Penny why she wanted to know that. She replied that it was because she had never met someone who had a meta rune.
Jaune looked at Pietro for answers. The man explained that since Penny was currently confined to LUCID, she wasn't allowed to go out of the base, which means she didn't have much first-hand access to runes beside the ones in the labs.
And meta runes were rare among operatives. For one, they were very hard to reach comprehension in. Another reason was due to how hard it was to create them. Jaune just happened to be an exception.
Once Jaune understood, he endeavored his best to explain to Penny.
"My first rune that I created was called Weakness. It is also the current rune which is at comprehension level. There are a couple things that I can do with it, first is weakening the molecular bonds between objects. I can also weaken stats of people. Besides that, there is also this passive weakness sense which allows me to sort of see the weakness of all things."
"How curious. Does this weakness sense apply to everything or is there some type of limitation?" Penny asked.
Jaune was more so curious about why Pietro didn't simply tell her what his rune did. Wasn't insight supposed to be able to detect his runes?
Pietro smiled, seemingly sensing his question.
"There are limitations to my insight rune, Mr. Arc. It is only at the refined level after all."
"Oh. I see."
Jaune did his best to explain to Penny after that. She had a bit more questions regarding his Plunder ability as well and he explained as best he could.
"Well," he added, turning back to Pietro, "I should probably get going. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me."
Pietro inclined his head. "The pleasure was mine, Mr. Arc. Do try not to dismantle anything important with that weakness rune of yours."
"No promises," Jaune replied lightly.
He turned and began to walk away, footsteps echoing softly against the polished floor.
Behind him, Penny watched.
Her smile did not fade, but something behind her eyes shifted. A quiet calculation and curiosity that mirrored Pietro's, yet carried something else beneath it.
Something neither man noticed as Jaune disappeared back into the corridor.
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AN: Advanced chapters are available on patreon