(Author's Note: Hello! BleachCadelina here with an update before Finals officially start destroying my writing mind. Just wanted to step in and say thank you to all of you for reading, fave-ing and following this story! It makes me feel really happy to see this story doing so well. I'm no Coeur, Lefou, SSCyndaquil, etc, so I'm eternally grateful that you're following this story when there are so many better-written fics under RWBY.

Please, leave a review/comment below on your thoughts so far, and I'll try to respond to them in the next update!)

"Looking good, Ross!" Yang wolf-whistled. She, along with the men of Team JNPR had joined me in my room. Seeing as the latter two didn't have any other close male friends, I decided that we got ready together in my room so that the girls could prepare with ease. Yang was just here because we needed a girl's opinion. "All black, and a little bit of velvet on the trim? Even a bit of gold for accents? Your date must be really lucky to have you."

I shrugged at her enthusiasm; I knew how to dance, but I never really went to any school dances. What's the point of being an introverted wallflower if I actually tried to experience things I knew I wouldn't enjoy?

"You're looking rather spiffy yourself, Jaune." Yang looked over the other blonde in the room. "The Dark blue really works with you. And the red for Ren, too!"

"Thanks, Yang." JNPR's leader said, sounding unsure. Before Yang could say anything further, her Scroll buzzed with a notification.

"Sorry, boys." She apologized. "Duty calls. See you tonight, 'kay?" She left the rhetorical question to hang as she left my room.

"You have a date?" Jaune asked. "You've literally been here for only two, three weeks tops!"

"I didn't ask anyone from Beacon, if that's what you're wondering." I clarified. "What about you? Did Weiss turn you down? Or Pyrrha?"

"Nah." Jaune's face turned expectedly sour at my question. I remember how the events heading up to the dance went. "She'd much rather go for Neptune, which is perfectly fine. And I'm sure Pyrrha, being a famous champion from Mistral, will have someone much more… impressive to go to the dance with.

I wanna hit him.

As do I. As much as I did as well, I had to contain a laugh as Ren rolled his eyes and silently face-palmed behind his leader.

"And, of course, you'll be with Nora, right?" I asked the normally green clad ninja. "As if you two were to be separable."

"I mean, you guys are already so close," Jaune joked. "You should definitely be dating by now!" Ren and I took Jaune's hysterical laughing as our chance to look at each other with a mutual understanding and shared a look that would often be found in "The Office."

"Yes, I'll be accompanying Nora to the dance." Ren said as Jaune recovered. "And you, Ross?"

"Her name's Cinder," I answered. "She's from Haven."

"Well, I wish you both the best for tonight then." His subtle undertone wasn't lost on me, especially since he was now wearing a small smirk. He departed with a wave and politely closed the door behind him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jaune asked. "You're the one with a date, Ross."

"Just a thought," I tried to subtly suggest something that should happen no matter what. "You should talk to Pyrrha during the dance. You never know what might happen."

"As in?" The dense, dense as the core of a neutron star, blonde asked.

"You come to an understanding that strengthens your bond." I stated as plainly as possible. Jaune simply shrugged.

"If you say so, Ross." Jaune said, looking himself over and firmly nodding to himself in satisfaction. "I think I'm ready for tonight. See ya later, Ross!"

With that, I was left alone with my thoughts. And Shift and Stoic.

So, do you mind on going over the plan again?

"Well, Cinder never really started out in the dance, did she?" I asked.

No, she officially entered after her infiltration at the CCT. Stoic reminded. Ruby followed after for some reason, I think Ironwood had been leaving.

Then, she sees that there's trouble over at the CCT.

"My best bet is that Cinder is 'unavailable' when we're to meet her at the dance, which is our cue."

Tell Mercury to make sure Cinder calls us when she gets there. Stoic said. Establish the alibi that I had forgotten something in my room, then we hope to get up to the infiltration place before she does.

I hope this works, guys. I turned to Isolator, and decided to try out a trick of mine that we've been working on; switching weapons without switching personas. I focused my Aura into my hands as I held my rifle. It took a while, and I was sweating lightly afterward and suffering from a mild headache, but it was done. I had somehow made it so that I had tricked the weapon into thinking it would be used by Shift, and not me. Ire Fangs felt light in my hands.

Why did you have to go through hours and hours of migraines and aspirin for this part? Shift asked. Why not just switch to one of us?

"Calling for our locker out of nowhere may alert Mercury and Emerald to what I might be doing, and cause Cinder to be more wary of me in the future." I said. I thought about any other reasons. "How did my clothes feel on you when we first changed Shift?" I asked.

A little baggy, but manageable.

"Stoic?" I ask the serious counterpart.

Tighter, but not too restraining.

"Exactly." I said. "While these aren't too bad, the problem is the minute detail of having tight or baggy clothing can cost us. After this plan, we need to find something flexible and comfortable for all three of us."

Please, no Spandex. Shift pleaded. I agreed with that statement.

I turned to the empty television screen to check that my tie was straight and tweaked the rest of my suit jacket a bit. I never received a dress-suit ensemble from Beacon like Jaune and Ren, which is why I had to buy one anyway. I looked at the clock: about fifteen minutes to 8 o'clock. I pushed Twin Ire up my sleeves, where I had the shop's tailor fashion some secret sheathes so I didn't cut into my own aura before any confrontation with Cinder. Checking that my weapons were indeed hidden and not obvious from the outside, I did a quick Princess-twirl in the mirror and promptly left to pick up my date. However, before I left, I remembered to grab my recently purchased tool and stash it in my pocket.

It was quite a walk to the visiting students' dorm, as there were many of them already heading down with their own dates. Several students from Beacon that passed my way look at me weirdly as I walked to the other wing, as if I was doing something absolutely foreign to them. I checked my Scroll upon reaching the section of the foreign students, as Cinder had sent me her room number earlier today.

Fifty bucks says she isn't there. Shift said.

Wasn't the major idea that she wasn't going to be there? Stoic asked.

It's just a phrase, Stoic. Shift sighed. Buzzkill, gotta slay the fun every time. This time it was before the fun even started.

"Shift." I rolled my eyes, but smiled as I walked up to the designated door. "Relax. We're here." After knocking on the door, I did my best to act surprised to see Mercury open the door instead of Cinder.

"Oh, hey Ross." Mercury looked back into the room with a glance, possibly to Emerald. "Uh, bad luck buddy, Cinder had to make an emergency stop in the city. The dress ended up being a size too long, or something like that."

"'Something like that?" I repeated. Mercury may have been a good liar, but he wasn't exactly a good actor.

"She used a bunch of fashion terms I didn't understand." He said. "Girl stuff. She said she'd join you at the dance, though."

"Ah well," I said, acting disappointed. "I was hoping to walk her down and be all romantic and shit."

"As all smooth romantics do," Mercury nodded.

"If she finishes early, let her know that she can meet me by the punch or whatever." I lied. "Have fun with Emerald down there. And down there." I added, which prompted something hard to be flung at Mercury's head from out of my view.

Sorry, not sorry.

I walked away from the visitors' wing and made my way out of Beacon proper and over to the grand hall in which the dance was being held. It was still somewhat light out, so I felt hat Cinder wouldn't have made her plan go on for a while; a black dress leaving the dance would be a little too obvious in the remaining daylight. I kept watching by the punch bowl as I had promised, until I saw the familiar two teams approach me.

"Where's your date, Ross?" Yang asked with a sad smile. "Got stood up?"

"Nah," I shook my head. "She had to get to the city and get some last-second fixes to her outfit. She'll be coming in later tonight."

"Aw, alright." Yang said, as she returned to her post at the welcoming podium. Weiss, unsurprisingly went to a seat along, as Neptune never really did accept her accompaniment. Blake stood by Yang, which would most likely lead to the time where she starts dancing with both her blonde partner and then Sun. Jaune and Ruby stood together at the other side of the punch bowl, while Pyrrha disappeared. Ren and Nora went to sit down somewhere else.

"Cheers to the anti-social club!" I heard the two team leaders laugh and clink glasses. I smirked because I'd normally join them, but seeing as I did have a date, I wouldn't be tonight. The night came quickly after that, and I found Emerald and Mercury walking in arm-in-arm. Though the former was doing her best to look like she wasn't hating her position. I walked up to them.

"Sorry, Ross." Emerald said. "She said the repair's taking a lot longer than necessary. She might not come until much later."

"Aw, that's… unfortunate." I did my best to look truly downtrodden. "I'm just gonna head back into the dorms. Forgot some stuff in my room."

"Alright, man." Mercury nodded. "See ya."

"Have fun, you two!" I waved back at them as I jogged back into Beacon, but took a sharp turn once I saw that the two underlings weren't watching me as I departed from the party hall.

They'll be too focused on watching for any authorities, like Ironwood leaving the party. As if on cue, I saw a familiar figure standing on a balcony on the second floor, their red ensemble a dead giveaway. Then, a second figure approached them.

Hey, Jaune's finally approaching Pyrrha! Shift cheered. Enjoy it while you can, Arkos!

So, that means we're really experiencing what happens in the show. Stoic noted. No wonder you're so confident in this plan.

Making sure that I still had my tool in my pocket, I approached the CCT tower on the side of the tower opposite of the entrance. I could just make out the form of Cinder bounding over buildings to get to the entrance. Looking back at the party, I saw that Ruby had indeed exited was just noticing the older woman sneaking around.

We need to be quick about this plan, guys. Shift hissed.

With that, I took out my new tool and pointed it upwards. A thin cable was launched from a small hole and flew at a high speed until it met a certain target with a soft clang! I tugged on the tool once and I began to steadily ascend. A few thwacks and an elevator ringing alerted me to Cinder making her way into and up the CCT. I tugged on my tool once again, prompting it to ascend faster. It wasn't long until I was face to face with a vent I easily unscrewed with Shift's daggers and let myself into the computer room Cinder would enter. Taking a second to breath, I sat down in one of the swivel chairs at the desk, putting my feet up.

Speaking of the bitch…

Shift's prediction was spot on, as the elevator doors opened to reveal the black skinsuit wearing villainess entering the room. I could only imagine her surprise to see me sitting there, with a small smile on my face.

"Wow, Cinder." I faux-complimented her. "Those are some interesting changes to your supposed dress."

"What… are you doing here?" Her voice held some hesitation, but was nonetheless smooth in its delivery.

"You know, I could ask you the same thing, Cinder." I said. I rose from my seat and stared pacing. "Maybe because I got lost and found myself here when I was looking for extra restrooms." She began pacing the opposite way; we were circling each other now. "Maybe… I'm not actually here. Someone may have placed a custom hologram instead of the normal receptionist." Her golden eyes narrowed. I took a breath before adding the last option. "Or, I'm here to make sure you don't plug in your Scroll and infiltrate the CCT, along with Atlas Military's systems, and bring an entire invasion of Grimm during the Vytal Festival as per your orders."

Cinder froze. I could just see her eyes behind her mask. She was unsure how to proceed from here. That thought was immediately banished once she summoned her black blades out of seemingly nowhere.

"How do you know this?" She asked. I, alone, stood between her and the main computer. "Who are you, Ross Ramsey?"

"I'm just…" I took a moment to think of a good way to describe myself without giving anything away. "An observer with rather shifty tendencies."

Ooh, audience! He did the thing! He did the thing! Shift cheered. I, to this day, have no clue what he was talking about.

Then, she lunged at me, blades swinging and moving at speeds I couldn't match. I could only go so long as to deflect her strikes. At one point, our blades kept each other in check, though she was beginning to win the stalemate. I kicked her in the side, causing her to move back when ding! Ruby stepped into the fray, Crescent Rose drawn in its fully reaper-splendor.

"Ross?" Her call-out caught me off guard, as I didn't notice the arrow shot at my feet until it exploded, causing me to be blasted back. "Ross, no!"

I could barely hear steel clashing against steel past the ringing in my head from the explosion. Ruby was basically a prodigy, but she wouldn't be able to "defeat" Cinder for another Volume!

Where's Ironwood? Stoic asked. This wasn't going the way I remembered it, either. It shouldn't be long until –

BOOM! Three arrows exploded in Ruby's face sending her flying in the completely opposite direction of her weapon. Cinder seemed to forget I was even there, as she sauntered over to the main computer and pulled out her Scroll, ready to infiltrate and steal date: big mistake. She flinched hard as I threw on of Twin Ire right on the mark and knocked the Scroll out of her hand, sending it skidding off somewhere else. Before either of us could act, the youngest of the combatants flew out of nowhere in a charge… was caught by the neck with a harsh "Guack!" which was followed by being thrown to the ground in front of her.

"Ruby!" I shouted, rising to my feet, but it felt like time was slowing down for me; the cold feeling was growing and growing within. Ruby wasn't ready for this kind of fight yet. This fight should have been over already!

We can't let this happen! The two voices inside my head yelled together.

Then… something snapped as I watched one of Cinder's arrows fly into Ruby's shoulder, shattering her Aura immediately. Time slowed down even more as Cinder notched another arrow.

"NO!" I willed myself to move, was suddenly sent flying back… back into a familiar couch between both Shift and Stoic.

Ross? Shift asked, bewildered. How?

If we're all in here… Stoic began, staring at the perspective, which was even taller than Stoic's. Who's out there?

We watched as Cinder was pushed back greatly by some dark force. I could just barely notice a slight red tint to the edge of this persona's perspective; that's not a good sign. I watched both in awe and horror as black energies seemed to slam into Cinder repeatedly. I couldn't describe what I felt at the moment other than… cold. It wasn't long until Cinder finally found some room for herself and bailed by diving out of the window. Then, the new persona's vision shifted to the injured Ruby, who was looking at me in fear.

Whoa… Shift said, mouth agape. What the fuck is this?

"R-Ross?" She asked, sheepishly. Her silver eyes widened in fear. "Shift? Stoic? Is that you?"

Finally, at the worst timing possible, the elevator doors opened to reveal Ironwood. I couldn't even try to take control of the body again. The General saw me standing by the downed Ruby and pulled out his trademark pistol and lunged at me.

I could feel a tugging from this new persona, as if it were asking me for permission.

"No." I said. "Don't move. Just… take it."

True to its word, the new perspective simply roared in pain as the Atlesian general shot round after round at him. My eyes began to fall heavy as more shots pounded, getting louder with each shot. My last conscious thought was Ruby's yell for Ironwood to stop shooting as I felt my body fall into darkness.