Hello, my lovelies! We're back with another chapter of this lovely commission. Guilt is starting to catch up to our favorite henchman, and her beloved boss is becoming less and less appealing as time goes on, and the dance draws closer.

Enjoy!

"Well, I believe the saying goes: There's…plenty of fish in the sea."

Oh. My. God, Emerald thought. This is actually painful.

When she had received a text from Pyrrha inviting her to the roof for a three-way spar, she hadn't expected to be treated to a freaking soap opera through the door. Her ear was pressed to it as she silently begged Jaune to take the hint.

Seriously, dude. Ditch the pasty ice queen and go for the literal goddess right in front of you! I mean, how can you be passing up on someone that freakishly gorgeous, kind, smart, funny… What the hell am I even thinking? Emerald shook her head. She couldn't let herself get attached to these people, especially Pyrrha!

Just that day, Mercury had informed them of Pyrrha's polarity Semblance. Cinder had been delighted and decided to include Pyrrha as a pawn, which meant that the poor girl would likely be dead before this was all over. For some reason, Emerald had never gotten around to mentioning Ren's Semblance. Maybe she was worried that Cinder would give her a scowl and pin this information as worthless. Maybe Emerald herself found the information worthless. Or, maybe, she was starting to feel a weirdly sick feeling in her stomach whenever she thought of the upcoming invasion and found herself hoping that Team JNPR would somehow survive it.

"Oh please, if you don't get a date to the dance, I'll wear a dress."

Aaand, this is officially too annoying to listen to anymore. Time to break the awkward bubble. She moved back a few steps and made a show of walking loudly to the door and tapping on it before stepping outside.

Jaune grinned at her as she approached, totally oblivious to Pyrrha, who was clearly trying to paste a smile over the disappointment she was feeling. "Hey, Emerald! Glad you could make it. What do you think?" He spread his arms out. "Perfect spot to train, huh?"

"It's nice," Emerald agreed. "But, don't the people on the top floor get annoyed?"

"Not at all," Pyrrha assured her. "The rooftop is very thick. No sound gets through. I'm pretty sure others have used this spot to spar in the past."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Emerald drew her weapons and got into a battle stance. "Whenever you're ready."

After that, everything turned into a familiar dance of metal, Dust, skin, and Aura. Emerald had a hard time keeping up with Pyrrha, who seemed to leap out of her reach every time she lunged, only to come back in with a jab that would have been fatal if used to its full potential on an actual battlefield. Jaune, on the other hand, was clearly struggling to hold a candle to both of his companions. Out of instinct, Emerald found herself focusing more on the more vulnerable target, which led to both her and Pyrrha knocking him into a wall at one point.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha gasped, hurrying to see if her partner was okay.

"Ow…" Jaune rubbed his head. "You women are vicious!"

"Not as vicious as Grimm," Emerald said. "Or actual killers. If you can't keep up, you'll get yourself killed." She wondered belatedly if that had come out too harsh.

Jaune, however, nodded. "Yeah, I know. I need to get better."

"You're improving immensely," Pyrrha assured him as she pulled him to his feet. "Much faster than the other students. By the time we graduate, I'm sure you'll surpass most of our class."

Jaune smiled. "I hope you're right."

Emerald felt a sharp pain in her chest. There would be no graduation, not for anyone at any of the academies. And no time for Jaune to get better, meaning he'll probably die with Pyrrha. That weird, sickly feeling returned and her hands trembled.

Pyrrha noticed with a concerned frown. "Do you need to rest?"

"No, I'm fine," Emerald replied quickly. The last thing she needed was to sit down and allow that guilt to wash over her. Distracting herself was the only way to keep from breaking down. "I'm ready whenever you are."

The three continued for a few more minutes before Pyrrha called for a break. "I'm sorry. Being in two fights today took more out of me than expected."

"Ruby said you kicked Cardin in the face," Jaune said with a grin. "I'm bummed that I missed that!"

"I don't like that guy," Emerald commented, sitting down against the wall. "He seems like a douche."

"Oh, he definitely is," Jaune assured her.

"I mean, I technically didn't have to kick him in the face," Pyrrha said with a shrug.

"Someone's got a devious side, huh?" Emerald raised an eyebrow at the seemingly-innocent Huntress.

"Only when someone hurts my friends," Pyrrha assured her.

Fighting her is not going to be fun… Emerald found herself hoping that Mercury would take care of Pyrrha, so she wouldn't have to. The sickly feeling reared its ugly head again.

Pyrrha took her bag from a spot near the door and withdrew three bottles of water. "How is Mercury, by the way? He gave up on our sparring match so quickly. I hope he isn't sick."

"He's fine," Emerald said, mentally grimacing at Pyrrha's concern. The irony. Asking about the health of the guy who was literally scanning your potential as a sacrifice for Cinder's plans. It was funny: Before, she, Cinder, and Mercury had chuckled at the obliviousness of the students. Now, it was seeming less and less humorous. "He has a tendency to jump into things, then back out."

"I hope that doesn't apply to the dance," Jaune commented. "He's taking you, right?"

"Yeah, but it's just casual. It doesn't really make a difference whether we go together or not." Emerald took a drink of water. "The whole school dance scene isn't really my thing, anyway. There's always so much drama involved. Who's gonna ask who? What decorations will be used? It'd just be easier if everyone in the school went to the nightclub area in Vale and just partied there."

"Ooh, that would be cool!" Jaune grinned. "Though, Yang might have some trouble. I heard she's banned from half the clubs in Vale."

"Wait, what?!" Emerald sat up. "Okay, I need to hear that story!"

"Well, Yang tells it better," Pyrrha said. "But the gist of it is that…"

"And then, we were literally stuck to the wall!" Jaune finished. "Covered in ketchup and mustard!"

Emerald was clutching her side as she laughed. Next to her, Pyrrha was also laughing. They had gone from talking about Yang's club misadventures to discussing some beginning-of-the-year antics to Jaune recounting the recent food fight between Teams RWBY and JNPR.

"I honestly thought Professor Goodwitch was going to kill us," Pyrrha admitted. "She just marched in, looking angrier than I've ever seen her. I still don't know how we didn't get detention."

"I think Ozpin thought it was funny," Jaune reasoned. "I mean, he was totally trying not to laugh."

"It's nice that he's a good sport," Emerald snickered. "Lionheart would just bluster and stammer angrily before walking off with a huff."

"That's okay too," Jaune said. "Just as long as he still forgets to give you detention."

"Amen to that!" Emerald took another drink of water.

The two chatted for a bit before Jaune finished his water and stood up. "Well, I'm gonna head in. Maybe Ren has some advice on how to ask Weiss out. Thanks again for the extra practice, guys." He waved over his shoulder as he went back inside.

Emerald stared at the closed door, then back at Pyrrha, who had that forced smile back on her face. "Wow. I've seen oblivious people before, but that's a whole new level."

"I'm…sorry?" Pyrrha asked hesitantly.

Emerald rolled her eyes. "Your partner. The one who can't see something that's staring him in the face."

Pyrrha blushed, glancing to the side. "I'm…not sure what you mean…"

"Pyrrha, the only way you could be more obvious would be if you were carrying around a giant sign saying 'I LOVE JAUNE!' in big red letters," Emerald said flatly. "Why don't you just ask him out?"

"I…I don't know how," Pyrrha admitted. "When we became partners, our friendship just evolved naturally. I'm afraid of ruining that. If he has feelings for Weiss, there isn't much I can do."

"Okay, but what if he also likes you, but is worried about making your friendship weird, so he's just settling for Weiss because he's cripplingly oblivious?" Emerald spread her hands out. "Ever consider that?"

"I suppose that's a possibility," Pyrrha allowed, though she looked doubtful.

"Come on, Pyrrha," Emerald groaned. "You're freaking amazing. He'd be lucky to have you. If you're such good friends, can't you just be honest with him? What do you have to lose?" Depending on what Cinder does, she may not be around after the Festival. Somehow, it'll be even more depressing if she dies without getting with that goof.

Pyrrha smiled a little at the praise, then nodded slowly as she thought about Emerald's words. "That's true. I wouldn't expect Jaune to not want to be my friend if I was honest. I just worry that things will become awkward."

"It'll pass. Everything does." Emerald's voice sounded a little too obviously sad when she said that.

Pyrrha tilted her head at Emerald's tone, but decided not to ask about it. "I'll think about it. Thank you for your help, Emerald." She pulled Emerald into a quick hug. "One way or another, I'm truly glad that the Vytal Festival fell on my first year. I don't think I'd be able to make so many friends otherwise."

Emerald forced a smile. "Yeah. That is the point of this whole thing, after all."

Later on, when Emerald was walking back to her room, she noticed that the sick, guilty feeling in her stomach wasn't going away. She tried to remember what Cinder had told her. Sacrifices had to be made in order to bring true equality to the world. Being complacent would only lead to a slow decay of the lower classes, and further suffering. It was always best to chop off a limb rather than letting it fester.

I can't afford to be selfish, Emerald told herself. This is about more than a few students who happen to be nice. This is about making the world a place you can survive in. Ruin things now, and there will be thousands more like you who will have to grow up on the streets like you did, and they might not have a Cinder to save them. That was finally enough to chase the sick feeling away and harden her resolve.

She found herself thinking about what she had told Pyrrha. "Be honest." Maybe, she should start taking her own advice.

Her feelings seemed to be validated when she opened the door and only Cinder was in the room. This was her chance! She took a deep breath. "Hey."

Cinder glanced up from her Scroll. "What was Pyrrha's fighting style like?"

Emerald's heart sank. She had forgotten to analyze Pyrrha's moves. "Um, she was mostly focused on training Jaune, so she didn't really do anything outside of basic defense maneuvers."

Cinder let out a disappointed tutting noise. "Why she'd put up with such a moron is beyond me."

"He's not so bad," Emerald muttered.

"Don't start getting attached, Emerald," Cinder warned, a hint of anger tinting her voice. "Remember why we're here."

"Of course." Emerald bowed her head. She steeled her nerves once more, then asked: "Cinder, would you like to go to the dance with me?"

There was a long pause. Cinder didn't look away from her Scroll. "…What?"

Emerald balked at the incredulous tone in Cinder's voice, but forced herself not to back down. "I mean, since we have to show up anyway, I was thinking that it could be nice if we went together. I'd…I'd really like it if we could."

Cinder put down her Scroll and turned to face Emerald fully, one eyebrow raised. "Emerald, when I tell you to remember why we're here, do you actually hear me?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then, you would remember that I'm going to be busy infiltrating the computer systems."

"But, afterward-"

"Emerald!" Cinder cut in. "I truly hope that you aren't starting to fall for your own ruse. Remember, you are not a Huntress. You are not a student. You are not a doe-eyed girl going off to the ball. You're a thief and a killer. Never forget that."

Emerald had to stare fixedly at the ground, so that Cinder wouldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes. "Yes, Cinder."

"Good." Satisfied, Cinder sat back down.

Emerald hesitated, unsure of what to do. As the pressure behind her eyes grew, she realized that crying was unavoidable and hurried out of the dorm. She walked down the hallways as quickly as she could, stumbling out into the thankfully-empty courtyard. She sat down on a bench, buried her face in her hands, and started to weep.

How could she have been so stupid? Cinder was right. Emerald was a thief, and, while she hadn't actually been the one to kill Tukson, she had definitely made sure there had been no escape for him. And she would kill many more by the time this was all over. She was foolish to hope for anything resembling a normal life. She was stupid to think that Cinder would ever see her as anything more than an underling. They were killers and survivors. Love and friendship had no place in their lives. The sooner Emerald could accept that, the less painful everything would become.

She wasn't sure how long she spent on that bench, but her musings were brought to an end as she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up to see Pyrrha, watched as the decidedly red-eyed Huntress sat down next to her. "Hey," she said.

"Hello, again," Pyrrha sighed. She placed a hand on Emerald's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"I asked Cinder to the dance. She…blew me off." Emerald sniffled, hating how pathetic she sounded. A few months ago, she had been fighting to put food into her stomach, and she hadn't cried then! What was happening?

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed. Ren had been talking about his suspicions concerning Cinder's abusive nature, and this all but confirmed it. Somehow, she had a feeling that Cinder blowing someone off was done in a much harsher manner than how Weiss had rejected Jaune. She wrapped an arm around Emerald's shoulder. "You're too good for her. And don't worry. I heard that teams train on a more separate basis in later years."

"I guess." Emerald felt that sick feeling returning. "What happened with Jaune?"

Pyrrha let out a humorless laugh. "He was asking for advice on how to ask Weiss out. I told him to be honest with her, and he went off to find her."

"Oh, honey." Emerald shook her head, pulling Pyrrha into a hug. You are too fucking nice for this world.

"I know…" Pyrrha muttered. "I can beat up an entire team in a brawl, but I can't speak my own mind when it comes down to it. Sad, isn't it?"

"There's a lot of sad stuff in the world," Emerald replied.

The two stayed close for a few minutes before a totally crazy, impulsive thought occurred to Emerald. "Hey, why don't we go together?

Pyrrha drew back, looking both surprised and a little hopeful. "Really?

"I mean, going alone and being sad would suck," Emerald reasoned. "Being together and sad might suck less, right?"

Pyrrha did chuckle a bit at this. "That…does sound nice. But, don't you have plans with Mercury?"

Emerald shook her head. "It doesn't matter. We were just going together for convenience. He'll probably be happy for an excuse to do his own thing."

"As long as he's okay with it..." Pyrrha smiled. "We'll have a fun time. I'm sure of it."

Emerald found herself smiling back. "Totally!"

Later on, it occurred to Emerald that this was a perfect opportunity to keep an eye on Pyrrha during the dance. Cinder would likely be pleased with that. Strangely enough, however, she felt no burning desire to inform her leader of this change. Instead, she waited until late at night and crept into bed while her teammates were sleeping in order to avoid talking to any of them.

…..

On the night of the dance, Emerald found herself surprisingly excited. She checked herself in the mirror several times and actually liked what she saw. She had decided to wear a simple, dark green dress. It was unassuming, which she liked, but also highlighted her eyes in a way that her usual outfit didn't do.

Mercury and Cinder had already left. Emerald was a little disappointed that they hadn't even stopped to talk to her or even tell her that she looked nice. Wow. Cinder was right. You really are turning into an idiot teen.

This night wasn't about fun and games, after all. It was about monitoring the students so that Cinder could plant her virus in the computer systems. Why was Emerald having such a hard time remembering what was important?

Just as she was asking herself that, there was a knock at the door. She opened it, and her mind went utterly blank for a good few seconds.

Standing on the other side of the door was Pyrrha, looking even more like a literal goddess than she usually did. Her hair and headpiece looked the same, but her normal outfit had been replaced with a long red dress that was slit on one side.

Hot damn. Emerald struggled to regain her composure. "Uh, wow. You look great."

"Thank you!" Pyrrha blushed. "You look quite nice as well."

"Thanks." Emerald stepped out into the hallway. "So, are we waiting for the others, or do we just go?"

"Ren and Nora will meet us there," Pyrrha replied. "Jaune…I'm not sure."

Emerald shook her head. "Okay, I'm gonna get you a dance with that idiot. Seriously."

"He's not an idiot!" Pyrrha shot back automatically.

"In this specific scenario, he totally is. Doesn't mean he's not a good person." The two started toward the gymnasium.

Emerald had to admit that the dorks from Team RWBY had done a pretty good job decorating the place. If she had been a regular student, she would have been totally hyped for this.

Pyrrha took Emerald's hand and led her to the dance floor, causing the latter's heart to do a weird flip.

Okay, maybe she was a bit hyped.

The two shared a few dances before meeting up with Ren and Nora, who were on a totally-not-together-together-friend-date. Emerald wasn't fooled. She saw the way they kept checking each other out when they thought no one was looking.

Everything went smoothly until Emerald and Pyrrha took a break from dancing. Emerald made her way to the punch bowl, noticing Jaune and Ruby standing there awkwardly. She hung back not sure if she was ready for a conversation with Ruby just then. As a result, she caught the end of the talk those two were already having.

"Hold my punch." Jaune handed Ruby his cup, which she calmly took a sip out of, and started toward where that one blue-haired dweeb was laughing with Blake and that monkey Faunus.

Oh no. Normally, Emerald would have loved to watch the immature teen drama play out all the way to its hilarious end. If it had been anyone but Jaune, she would have probably watched the impending fight while munching on popcorn and smirking to herself. Instead, she found herself pushing through the crowd until she managed to grab Jaune's arm when he was a few feet away from his target.

"Cool your testosterone, dummy," she growled, yanking him back. Jaune resisted for a moment, showing surprising strength, but eventually deflated and followed Emerald to the snack table. "I just stopped you from doing something you'd definitely regret. You're welcome," she said dryly.

"I know," Jaune sighed. "I just… How could he break Weiss's heart like that when she actually wanted to go with him?"

Emerald rolled her eyes. "Jaune, I doubt Weiss is that fragile. Also, the dude had a right to say no. I don't think he deserves a punch in the face." When Jaune stared at the ground, she sighed. "Are you actually mad at him?"

"No," Jaune admitted. "Just…frustrated, I guess." He managed a smile. "Pyrrha said you two were coming together. I, uh, hope she didn't see that just now."

"No, we were taking a break." Emerald noticed something over Jaune's shoulder. "But, she may be up for a dance right about now." She spun him around, pointing toward the stairs to the balcony, where Pyrrha was making her way up. "As her date, I give you permission."

"Wow, she looks great!" he commented, feeling a flush in his cheeks. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Yeah," Emerald said. "You're actually the one she wants to be here with."

"Wait, what?" Jaune gaped. "Really?"

"Yep," Emerald said calmly. "Now, why are you still standing here?"

"Uh, right!" Jaune walked toward the stairs, his anger toward Neptune utterly forgotten as he hurried to chase down his partner.

Emerald leaned against the table, feeling oddly satisfied. Behind her, she heard a giggle that made her turn around.

Ren and Nora were standing by the snack table, Nora looking ready to burst with excitement. "Oh. My. Gosh. This is happening! Emerald, if those two get together because of you, I'm totally gonna kiss you!"

Why was it suddenly so hot? Emerald smiled. "Glad I could help. Watching those two was becoming physically painful."

"Ugh, I know! Try living with them!" Nora eagerly grabbed Emerald's hand. "Come on! You can dance with us till they get back.

After just a few minutes, Emerald concluded that Ren was probably the best dancer to ever exist. The fluidity of his movements, his calm confidence… It was easy to see why Nora was all doe-eyed over him.

All was well until something caught Emerald's eye on the dance floor: Cinder.

Her presence in the gym meant that she was already done infiltrating the computer systems. Now, she was back, wearing a stunning dress that made Emerald's mouth go dry. And she was dancing with Mercury. Her eyes locked on Emerald briefly, and she took that split second to flash a look of disapproval toward her subordinate for not even paying attention to her surroundings, for acting like the stupid, innocent teen she obviously wasn't.

Emerald's heart sank. She felt her eyes welling up and she hurriedly excused herself and rushed outside.

Ren looked in the direction of Cinder and Mercury, catching the tail-end of the former's glare before the two went back to dancing. His eyes narrowed.

"Ren, what-Oh." Nora frowned when she saw where her friend was looking.

Pyrrha and Jaune returned just then, their faces flushed and their hands entwined after several dances together. Their smiles faded when they saw Ren and Nora.

"What is it?" Jaune asked.

"Cinder," Ren grumbled before going after Emerald. The rest of his team was quick to follow.

They found her outside, sitting on a bench and taking deep, steadying breaths. Ren sat on one side, activating his Semblance. Pyrrha sat on the other side, giving Emerald a hug.

Emerald's breath hitched before her emotions started to automatically calm down. So many feelings flooded her and would have overwhelmed her if not for Ren: sadness, heartbreak, guilt, confusion… She sniffed quietly, forcing a smile. "Thanks," she muttered.

Jaune nodded, placing a hand on her back. "Don't worry about it. As of right now, I say you're Team JNPR's date!"

"I second that!" Nora chirped.

Pyrrha and Ren nodded.

Emerald closed her eyes, allowing herself to draw comfort from this team of wonderful, selfless, too-kind-for-their-own-good dorks. As she did, she realized that she was no longer looking at Cinder's plan as the salvation she had once seen it as.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed those thoughts aside, opened her eyes and pasted on a practiced smile, because that was what she had to do. "Anyone want to dance?"

I'm really enjoying typing from Emerald's perspective, and it's fun making Cinder as despicable as I personally find her to be. The instant we heard that slap in the flashback episode, it was pretty clear what Cinder and Emerald's relationship was. Next time, there will be a bunch of five-way bonding as Emerald's time to decide on her loyalties runs lower and lower.

If you like what you see and want to show extra support while earning sweet rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!