AN:
Hello again, sorry for the long wait many things are happening for me in the summer.
I can't thank you readers enough for reading and supporting my story.
You readers are the reason why I keep on writing.
That and re-watching the Heart of the Swarm cinematic trailer also plays a part in it too.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure to read the bottom Author's Note. It's something important.
Now without further ado here's the chapter you all been waiting for.
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or the StarCraft franchise, both are owned by their own respective owners, Rooster Teeth and Blizzard.
"Normal talk"
'Thoughts'
"SHOUTING"
"Telepathic communication"
Chapter 8: Dancing with Fire
Location: Beacon Academy, Combat Arena
"And that's the match!" Glynda said as she approached both Pyrrha Nikos and the defeated form of Cardin Winchester.
Like all those in the audience, Ceres just watched the recent duel between the entirety of team CRDL and the lone champion of JNPR from his seat between Blake and Yang.
Suffice to say it was a one sided fight from the beginning, as Pyrrha used her skills (and discreet use of her semblance) to win the duel with being hit once.
She wasn't called "The Invincible Girl" for nothing.
It had been four days since Ceres came back to Beacon and had the discussion with his team. After the discussion, Ceres has been helping his team find the whereabouts of both the White Fang and their leader Roman Torchwick, secretly through the use of his spies within the Atlas military.
So far they have a general idea where the master criminal and the terrorist organization might be, however, this wasn't enough for a certain Faunus in their team.
Ceres looked over to Blake and saw that instead of watching the previous duel, she was instead reading over her notes about their teams' recent findings. For the past four days, Blake has been driving herself up the wall in order to any type of information about the White Fang and their plans. While the rest of team RWBY is worried about her health and mental state, Ceres simply chose to let her be.
Like he believes, team RWBY can look after one another. He will only intervene if needed.
Other than looking for the White Fang with his team, Ceres has been also overlooking the steady growth of his new hive cluster deep within the Emerald Forest.
He kept the Lair as it is, for a Hive is massive and can be easily seen above the tree line no matter how tall the trees were within that forest. His sizable force of Zerg grew, doubling its size in the past three days thanks to the constant reinforcements from the main hive clusters.
Ceres was pondering over the events of the past four days until Miss Goodwitch interrupted his thoughts.
"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow but we have time for another sparring match. Any volunteers?" Glynda asked as she gazed over the audience for any volunteers.
Her eyes landed on Blake. "Miss Belladonna?"
Blake jumped and closed her book in surprise as she stared at the teacher with wide eyes.
Glynda continued. "You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you-"
"I'll do it!" someone interrupted. Ceres turned to see the person who volunteered in Blake's stead.
The person was an adolescent male with messy gray hair, gray eyes and pale skin. He is currently wearing a black and gray partial zip jacket with rerebraces, vembraces, and black/gray fingerless gloves protecting both his arms and hands. He is also wearing black pants with a single gray strip going down the leg with a pair of equally colored shoes and a modified gray and black stash hanging from his hip.
"Mercury is it? Very well. Let's find you an opponent." Glynda states as she started searching through her scroll tablet.
However, Mercury had other ideas.
"Actually. I wanna fight… her." Mercury stated as he points to Pyrrha.
"Me?!" Pyrrha said in a surprised tone.
"I'm afraid miss Nikos has just finished a match. I'd recommend you choose another partner." Glynda suggested in a stern tone. However, Pyrrha quickly turned towards the professor.
"No! It's fine." She then turned back towards Mercury. "I'll be happy to oblige."
Mercury simply smirked and calmly walked towards the locker rooms.
After a brief moment he exited the locker rooms. From what Ceres can see Mercury is now wearing armored boots, each with a belt of bullets.
Mercury's weapons are similar to Yang's, but for his feet rather than his fists.
'So he fights more with his legs rather than anything else. Interesting…' Ceres deduced.
Ceres watched as Mercury and Pyrrha stood a good couple of feet away from one another, taking up their basic combat stances.
After a brief standoff, Mercury ran towards Pyrrha and threw a round house kick towards her.
However, Pyrrha blocked the kick with her shield and immediately swiped her weapon at Mercury's standing leg, tripping him.
As soon as he fell, he immediately flipped back up and back flipped two times, distancing himself away from Pyrrha and stood there staring.
After a brief moment Pyrrha charged, blocking kick after kick from Mercury. On the final left kick Pyrrha bashed Mercury with her shield sending him sliding back.
After regaining his posture, Mercury just gave an impressed nod.
"Hey your friend's doing pretty good." Ruby complimented Mercury's partner.
Mercury's partner is a thin female with medium-brown skin and dark red eyes. Her hair is colored light mint green, cut with a straight fringe and bangs with two long locks at the back. She is wearing an exotic white top and olive undershirt as well as white pants and brown chaps with high-heeled shoes.
This girl gave a fake smile towards Ruby. Once Ruby turned around she immediately adopted a blank look.
Ceres saw this and chose to ignore it as he brought his attention back towards the ensuing fight.
Right now he saw Mercury gave a series of quick round house kicks, which Pyrrha blocked and dodged as she was slowly being pushed back on the defensive.
Mercury didn't let up as he bicycle kicked Pyrrha's shield followed by a series of side kicks. Pyrrha blocked all these kicks, even going so far as to flip her weapon out of her right hand in order to block a left kick.
However, as soon as she grabbed her weapon from the air, Mercury kicked it out of her hand as it embedded itself into the floor just a few feet beside Pyrrha.
As both combatants stared at one another, Mercury gave a smirk of victory as he threw a round-house kick towards Pyrrha's head and seemly missed.
To most of the audience it looked as if Mercury simply missed his kick.
But to Ceres, he saw how Pyrrha subtly used her semblance to move Mercury's foot just a few centimeters away from her before releasing it.
Ceres gave a small smirk. This is the secret of Pyrrha's fighting style and all of her victories. Using her semblance to make it seem that she is untouchable and invincible to all.
Mercury stumbled a bit from his missed kick as he was now down on one knee. Pyrrha immediately grabbed her weapon and charged shield first towards Mercury.
Mercury simply jumped onto her shield…
BANG!
…and launch off of it with his gun boots, standing a good distance away from his opponent.
Pyrrha soon charged, ready to end the fight once and for all.
"I forfeit."
Only to gasp in surprise as she ran past Mercury and stopped in disbelief as she turned towards him.
"You, don't even want to try?" Pyrrha asked in disbelief. Mercury simply raised his hands and shrugged in a carefree manner. "What's the point? You're a world renowned fighter, we're obviously leagues apart."
Pyrrha gave an annoyed expression to the gray haired teen as Glynda came forward.
"In that case, Pyrrha Nikos is the victor of the match, again." Glynda states as she looked towards Mercury with a frown. "Next time you may want to think a little harder before choosing an opponent." Glynda said in a calm but stern tone.
However, said boy wasn't fazed by her stern tone as he waved it off.
"I'll be sure to do that." Mercury said in a carefree tone as he walked towards the exit.
As Pyrrha was also leaving Glynda brought her attention back towards the audience.
"Alright, we have time for one more sparring match. Miss Belladonna would you like to participate this time?" Glynda asked as Blake jolted in surprise once again.
"Well I-"
"I'll volunteer in her stead."
Blake looked beside her in surprise as Ceres stood from his seat.
"Blake here didn't get enough sleep last night. Been up all night studying for Professor Port's test." Ceres explained. This was a half-truth; Blake was awake for most of the night but not studying for a test, instead she has been doing her usual research on a certain criminal group.
Glynda nodded. "Very well. Miss Belladonna, make sure you get enough sleep from now on. I know academic achievement is important, but your team needs you to be in the best shape at all times. Am I understood." Glynda said in a strict tone.
Blake nodded in reply.
"Good. Now as for you Mr. Kerrigan, let's find you an opponent." Glynda said as she started searching through her scroll tablet.
At this point both Pyrrha and Mercury returned and sat with their respective partners.
After a brief moment the professor turned her attention back towards Ceres. "Here we go Mr. Kerrigan, your opponent will Emerald Sustrai. Will both combatants please make their way down towards the arena."
As Ceres was making his way towards the locker rooms, he then saw the same mint-haired girl Ruby complimented earlier angrily stormed her way towards the locker rooms, leaving her partner Mercury laughing up a storm with what seems to be a comically large bump on his head.
Ceres simply turned back around and made his way to the locker rooms in order to prepare for the upcoming duel.
10 minutes later.
Ceres now finds himself standing in the arena, wearing his usual attire and signature lab coat.
Across from him stands his opponent, the mint-haired girl named Emerald.
Both combatants to the untrained eye seemed calm and ignorant of anything around them.
However, to the trained eye both combatants were more than ready to fight at a moment's notice.
Glynda saw this as she gave one final warning to Ceres.
"Mr. Kerrigan, if you can try to fight in a less brutal manner and use your weapon more often. Remember, Professor Ozpin gave you those weapons as a gift." Glynda reminded in a strict tone.
Ever since Ceres was enrolled into her course, the professor always had a slight dislike of how he fought his opponents, saying either he could've finish his opponents in a cleaner fashion or use his weapon more often.
The reasoning for this criticism is because every time Ceres had to fight in her class, he chooses not to use his weapons but rather to use his fists for combat.
Compared to fighting against the martial skill of the Protoss's warriors, the vicious savagery of the numberless Zerg, and the mass firepower of the Terrans, only few students within the academy can force him to use his weapons in a one on one situation.
As for his fighting style, his style is part heightened fighting instincts and taking his opponent down and making sure they STAY down by any means necessary. Something that most people don't necessarily enjoy watching or like fighting against.
Thus he soon gained a fearsome reputation among the students of Beacon as being a merciless and brutal fighter.
However, unlike his usual opponents who are usually either eager or scared to fight him, he could sense that Emerald is calm but tense, ready to fight.
Ceres saw it in her eyes. He recognizes the look in her eyes, the eyes of someone who fights in order to survive and dominate.
Ceres gave a slight smirk as he simply nodded his head in reply towards Glynda.
The professor sighed. "Very well. Both of you may begin when ready."
For a brief moment both Ceres and Emerald simply stared at one another, waiting for the other to make the first move.
Suddenly Emerald pulled out both her weapons and started firing them at Ceres in quick succession. Ceres nimbly dodged left and right as he quickly closed the gap between him and Emerald.
Emerald, realizing that shooting him won't work, flicked out blades that were underneath both of her weapons, turning them into kamas.
As Ceres approached he jumped and went for a spinning round-house kick aiming for her head. Emerald simply ducked underneath the kick and immediately swung a kama at Ceres back. Her blade detached as it was now attached to a long chain and descended on Ceres.
As soon as Ceres landed he spun to the left dodging the blade, then immediately grabbed the extended chain and gave it a hard yank.
Emerald gasped as she suddenly found herself flying towards Ceres. As she was rapidly approaching Ceres slammed his right elbow into her face as she greatly recoiled from the strike and rolled a few feet behind him.
In a show of rare mercy, Ceres waited as Emerald slowly stood up, still shaken by Ceres's pervious attack.
As soon as Emerald gathered her bearings Ceres threw her chain sickle at her feet.
Emerald in return immediately retracted her blade back into kama form and took up a combat stance, eyes now steeled.
Ceres merely stood stock straight with both hands behind his back, waiting.
After a brief moment Emerald swung both of her kamas in a wide arc as both blades detached and chains extended, sending both blades towards Ceres's head.
Ceres simply bent backwards as the blades flew mere centimeters above his face.
As the blades past he stood stock straight once again as Emerald spun her chains and blades around her.
She then started to rapidly send strike after strike of chain and blades towards Ceres, each time in different directions. However, Ceres dodged each strike with what seemed to be practiced ease as his hands were still behind his back.
With each strike Ceres dodges, Emerald became increasingly more and more annoyed.
What broke the camel's back was when Ceres dodged another one of her strikes she saw him, for a brief moment, give her a smug smile.
This greatly angered the green haired teen as she had enough and activated her trump card. Her semblance.
Ceres soon saw Emerald disappeared from sight, right in front of him. However, he did not panic, he can still sense where she is as she is silently walking around him like a predator cornering her prey.
'This must be her semblance. It's not the ability to turn invisible, there were no initial hints of surprise among the audience when she used it. So it must be an ability that affects me specifically. Let us check shall we.' Ceres pondered as he used his psionics at a subtle level in order to analyze this phenomenon. A second later a ghost of a smile spread across his face.
'I see… it's a direct illusion. Well… why don't we play along for just a moment.' Ceres decided as he then started to look around with a concerned expression.
Emerald took the bait and rushed him, she then sliced the back of Ceres's legs then immediately followed it up with slicing his back, shoulders, and chest in a flourish of blades, each strike cutting deep and drawing blood, and each time Ceres could see her visually for a brief moment before disappearing.
As Emerald kept striking a seemly confused and defenseless Ceres, the audience was murmuring in concern and confusion. For them it looks as if Ceres suddenly lost his ability to fight back, however, for a certain gray haired teen he merely smiled, knowing what's really happening.
"CERES! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? SHE'S RIGHT THERE!" Yang exclaimed shooting up from her seat in frustration, however, Glynda gave her a stern glare and Yang immediately sat back down. Everyone in the audience can see from the overhead screen that Ceres's aura was slowly being whittled down to the yellow bordering on red.
Ceres, still standing but bloody from the numerous cuts, could feel the smug grin coming from Emerald as she believed she had won.
Ceres could sense Emerald behind him as she slowly raised one of her weapons, wanting to draw out his imminent defeat. All of team RWBY (sans Blake) were holding their breaths in worry as they see no way for Ceres to win.
However, just before Emerald could deal the final blow, faster than the eye could see Ceres spun around and grabbed Emerald by the throat with his left hand, slowly choking her.
"Gotcha."
Emerald eyes went wide with surprise and shock as did Mercury. All of team RWBY (sans Blake) and the rest of the audience were greatly surprised by this sudden turn of events.
Emerald tried to shoot him but Ceres merely slapped both of her weapons away before she could.
He then forced her down to her knees, hand slowly crushing her windpipe.
"H-h-how?" Emerald choked out as she stared with both shock and fear, desperately clawing at his hands for release. Ceres just gave her an apathetic expression and brought back his right hand forming it into a fist.
Smack!
He brought back his fist again…
Smack!
And again…
Smack!
And again…
Smack!
And again…
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
SMACK!
SMACK!
SMACK!
"That is enough Mr. Kerrigan!"
Ceres immediately stopped mid swing as he was still holding the now unconscious form of Emerald. He looked towards the combat professor holding her riding crop at the ready, then without a word he dropped Emerald unceremonially onto the floor and stepped a few feet away from the unconscious body.
Glynda then brought down her weapon but still held it in case Ceres did anything.
"Mr. Kerrigan is the winner of the match." Glynda stated as she gave Ceres a stern glare. She continued. "How many times do I have to ask for you to at LEAST refrain from brutally beating your opponent?" Glynda asked in an annoyed tone as she rubbed her temples.
Ceres chuckled. "As many times as you place me in this arena." Ceres replied. Glynda sighed once more.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The class bell rung, soon everyone in the audience made their way towards the exit.
"That's all for today. And remember the dance is this weekend, but you all have your first missions on Monday. I will not except any excuses. Also can Emerald's team come and take her to the infirmary to check if she is alright." Glynda ordered as Ceres walked towards the locker rooms.
On his way he came face to face with Emerald's partner, Mercury.
They stared at one another for a brief moment until Mercury gave a carefree smile and walked around Ceres.
Ceres watched as Mercury made his way towards his unconscious partner before resuming back towards his destination.
Something tells him that he will see those two again.
Location: Beacon Academy, Dormitories
After combat class Ceres met up with the rest of his team outside of the building in order to go to their next class.
When they were about to leave Blake was soon stopped by Sun Wukong as he then proceeded to ask Blake to be his date to the upcoming dance.
However, Blake viciously declined the date and soon left the poor monkey Faunus heartbroken as he trudged away in depression.
The rest of team RWBY gave each other worried looks, Ceres didn't need to read their minds to know who they're worried about.
Soon Ceres and team RWBY arrived to their next class, history, led by the course professor Bartholomew Oobleck. Suffice to say Ceres was interested in the lessons pertaining to Remnants past history, especially the war history.
He also wondered how a man like Bartholomew moves/speaks as fast as he does just from consuming a caffeinated drink.
He will look into that later.
After History class, Ceres told his team that he'll be at the library doing the weekly readings for their classes. Blake also wanted to go to the library for her own reasons, but the rest of her team dragged her back to their dorm room in order to have a "talk."
Ceres simply ignored the tired, angry, and flailing cat Faunus as he made his way towards his destination.
Once he arrived at the library, he simply found an empty table and started reading his textbooks. However, he was actually overseeing the conditions of the entirety of his Zerg Brood and used the excuse of studying as a cover to do so.
First he checked the conditions of his new hive within the Emerald Forest. Overall his new hive is growing at a steady pace as his forces at the hive had almost tripled their numbers and started spawning the more advance Zerg units. His scouts also had numerous skirmishes with the indigenous Grimm, but unlike the Grimm within the Dragon Continent, these Grimm never met anything like the Zerg and thus were easily taken care of.
After reviewing the new hive, he then contacted Galash for a daily report on his Brood. Galash reported that all was well and that Violet's education is coming along fine.
Then lastly, and most importantly, Ceres contacted his other Broodmother, Lysandra. So far Lysandra didn't find any signs of Terran, Protoss, or Zerg civilizations, just a few planets each with their own different type of ecosystem.
Ceres ordered the Broodmother to continue her search and to contact him when she finds anything. As he cut communications with the Broodmother he realized he had been in the library for more than two hours, thus he soon left.
Now Ceres is making his way back towards his dorm room, he was almost there he just needed to take the turn around the approaching corner.
As he turned the corner he then saw Blake exiting their dorm room, she soon stopped in her tacks when she came face to face with Ceres.
After a brief moment of silence, Blake shook her head and walked past the still standing Ceres.
"Where are you going Blake?" Ceres asked without turning around. Blake once again stopped in her tracks.
"I'm going to the library."
"What are you going to be doing?"
"What I've been doing for the past four days."
Another brief moment of silence past between the two.
Blake sighed. "Ceres I know what you're trying to do, but I'm not going to stop or slow down until the White Fang and Roman are stopped. So until then, don't try to stop me." Blake said as she then continued down the hall at a faster paced.
"Who said I'm trying to stop you." Blake froze in surprise as she turned towards Ceres, who still has his back towards her.
"What did you say?" Blake asked in a confused tone. Ceres then finally turned around to face her.
"I said that I'm not going to stop you or tell you to slow down." Ceres replied for confirmation as Blake pondered on what he just said.
He continued. "I believe that everyone is entitled to their own decisions on how they want to live out their own lives. The people around you Blake can only give you options or suggestions, each with different paths and each with different results. However, these are just choices given to you, it's ultimately up to you to choose which path you want to take in your life. Just keep in mind Blake, the people that surrounds you deeply care for you whether you see it or not. Sometimes, it's best to listen to what they have to say."
Blake is now in deep thought, pondering on what Ceres just said.
*sigh* "Alright Ceres, I see what you mean but-"
DRDRDRDRDRRRRRRUUMMMMM!
"WEEEEIISSS~!"
Both Blake and Ceres saw Jaune standing in front of their dorm room playing an acoustic guitar, trying to possibly serenade a certain heiress to go with him to the upcoming dance.
Slam!
Weiss in reply slammed the door closed on the blonde knight's face.
"Oh come on. Open the door." Jaune said in a sad tone as he kept knocking on the door.
A brief moment of silence past by.
"… I promise not to sing."
Soon the door opened.
DRDRDRDRDR! "I LIIIEED~!"
He continued to sing.
"Weiss Schnne, will you accompany me, to the dance on… Sunday~?" Jaune sang/asked as he played the guitar.
However, from what both Ceres and Blake could hear, Weiss was not amused.
"Are you done?"
"Yes?"
"No."
Slam!
The rejected knight groaned and made his way back towards his own dorm room, guitar dragging behind him.
As soon as Jaune entered his room Ceres turned back towards Blake. Both were awkwardly staring at one another after what just happened.
Ceres broke the silence. "It appears that I've taken too much of your time Blake. I'll see you next time we meet. Just take in consideration on what I said before we we're… interrupted." Ceres said as Blake simply nodded in agreement.
Soon both turned away from each other, one heading towards the library and the other heading toward their dorm room.
However, one of them had a lot to ponder on what the other said.
Location: Beacon Academy, Cinder's Dorm
At the end of the day Cinder sat on her bed sewing her special "dress" in her dorm room, temporarily given to her by Beacon academy, under the guise of an exchange student from Haven Academy.
She was not alone however, as in front of her were her two loyal "team members."
Mercury, the son of an assassin, is currently laying on the floor reading his choice of literature, comic books.
Emerald, a "master" thief, on the other hand is sitting beside the gray haired teen facing Cinder, holding on one hand her scroll with the lists of students and their transcripts going through it for Cinder, and on the other a bag of ice for a bruised eye.
All three occupants were going over the list of students that were most likely going to be fighting in the tournament.
Seeing which student would fit perfectly for their overall plan for Vale and its people.
"Next is Pyrrha Nikos." Emerald states.
"Ahh, the invincible girl." Cinder said in recognition.
"She's smart, but I wouldn't say invincible." Mercury explained as he continues to read his comic.
"Do tell." Cinder asked in slight curiosity.
"Her semblance is polarity, but you'd never know it just by watching." Emerald answered
Mercury then sat up and placed his comic away. "After she made contact with my boots she was able to move them around however she wanted. But she only made slight adjustments." Mercury added.
Emerald continued. "Just enough to make it look like she's untouchable. She doesn't broadcast her powers so it puts her opponents at a disadvantage." Cinder hummed in understanding.
"Hmm, people assume she's fated for victory when she's really taken fate into her own hands… Interesting. Add her to the list." Cinder ordered as Emerald made the arrangements on her scroll.
"You should be able to take her no problem." Mercury stated in a confident tone. However, Cinder stopped her sewing for just a moment.
"It's not about overpowering the enemy… It's about taking away what power they have. And we will, in time." She then resumes her sewing as Mercury lays back on the floor.
*sighs* "I hate waiting." Mercury whined.
"Don't worry Mercury, we have a fun weekend ahead of us. Now then, who is next on our list?" Cinder asked. Emerald searched her scroll and soon found the final student's transcript and scowled.
"The final student is Ceres Kerrigan." Emerald growled as she almost crushed the scroll in her hands. Cinder stopped sewing as Mercury turned to lay on his side facing Emerald with an amused smirk.
"The merciless monster of Beacon. I've only heard rumors about him and they were mostly about his recent matches. Tell me Emerald, what was it like facing him?" Cinder asked in slight curiosity.
But before Emerald could answer Mercury beat her to it. "It was a bit surprising and funny to watch. At first when the match started, Emerald tried hitting him multiple times but he dodged all her attacks like it was nothing. Then Emerald got fed up with it and used her semblance on him. It worked for a little while until Ceres caught Emerald and started pulverizing her face in until her lights went out." Mercury explained to the ire of the mint haired teen.
Cinder frowned. "Emerald you used your semblance when I explicitly told you not to use it until the time is right or in secret. We don't want anyone getting any ideas when we finally commence our plan, especially a certain headmaster. Do I make myself clear?" Cinder said in a stern tone as Emerald looked down in both shame and embarrassment.
"Yes Cinder. I'll make sure it never happens again." Emerald replied as Cinder smiled. "Good, now tell me more about this boy, I'm VERY interested about the one who manage to beat you Emerald." Cinder said in an amused tone as she resumed sewing. Emerald looked over Ceres's transcripts.
"It's says here he's a recent addition to the academy. He came about two weeks ago on full scholarship and handpicked by Ozpin himself." Emerald explained as this caught Cinder's attention.
"What else?"
"It says he came from a small village from the western continent. He lived there with his adoptive father, who was a Huntsman, and was trained by his father. However, just two months ago his village was overrun by Grimm which killed all the villagers that didn't escape in time, including his father. Somehow he manages to survive the Grimm onslaught and survived for two entire months in the ruins of his village until Atlas came with a rescue party that so happens to have Ozpin on board. Ozpin saw his skills and offered him a position in his school, and we know the rest." Emerald explained.
Cinder nodded. "Hmm, what else?"
"It says here his semblance is…" Emerald's eyes widened in worry. "Mind manipulation, the ability to read and manipulate minds through skin contact." Cinder frowned.
"Does he know?" Cinder asked in a dangerous tone as her eyes bored into Emerald's. Emerald started panicking in fear.
"I-I-I don't think he knows! It says here he can only manipulate memories one hour prior to the present and he can only read surface thoughts." Emerald hastily explains as Cinder slowly went back to her sewing.
"Still, be careful around him you two. We can't afford for anyone to know our plans. Especially those that HE has his eyes on." Cinder explained as both Mercury and Emerald nodded.
"In fact, I think we can use this to our advantage." This confused both Mercury and Emerald.
"What do you mean Cinder?" Mercury asked in a confused tone.
Cinder simply smiled. "He's with team RWBY is he not? Not only that but their team has close relations with team JNPR. If we can get him to our side, he can prove to be a useful ally for our plans." Mercury nodded in understanding, however, Emerald voiced her objection.
"But Cinder! You can't be serious?! He's dangerous!" Emerald exclaimed in protest as Cinder continued to smile.
"Ohh Emerald, even the most violent of animals can be tamed if you know how to approach them. Leave convincing Ceres up to me." Cinder said in her usual sultry tone. Both Mercury and Emerald didn't argue as they simply nodded their head obediently.
Cinder stopped sewing. "It's getting late you two. We'll talk more about our plans tomorrow." Cinder explained as both Mercury and Emerald went to their respective beds.
Cinder held out her newly made dress in front of her, her smile turning more sinister with each passing moment.
Location: Beacon Academy, Dance Hall
It was the day before the dance. Ceres, Ruby, Yang, and Weiss are currently in the dance hall preparing the hall for tomorrow's event.
Normally Ceres wouldn't go to such an event, however, if he didn't go his own team would become suspicious of as to why he didn't want to go. If he learned anything about his own team, is that they can be unrelenting when it comes to finding out about someone.
Unfortunately, Blake wasn't with them as she is currently in the library, continuing her constant search for any information about her old organization and the master criminal who is leading them.
Ruby is currently sitting at a lone table with her head held up by an arm while the rest of her team (sans Blake) are putting the finishing touches to the hall. Ceres can tell that his team leader is miserable about the fact that Blake still refuses to go to tomorrow's event.
Slam!
"I need you to pick a tablecloth." Weiss said as she presented two cloths of the same color and shape, bringing Ruby out of her daze state.
Ruby gave an incredulous stare at both cloths before looking at Weiss. "Aren't they both the same?" She asked in a confused tone.
Weiss sighed. "I don't even know why I asked" Weiss said in an annoyed tone as she soon walked away.
Soon after, Ruby's sister, Yang, came along carrying a fairly large and heavy stereo. As she placed the stereo down, shaking the entire hall for just a moment, she then made her way over to the miserable red reaper.
"So, have you picked out a dress yet?" Yang asked as Ruby turned her head towards her.
"What's the point? Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going?" Ruby said in a bland, miserable tone.
"Oh, don't worry. She's going." Yang stated with a confident smirk. Yang then turned to look around the hall until she sees Ceres placing doilies on each table with Weiss overseeing him.
"Weiss! I thought we agreed! No doilies!" Yang exclaimed catching the attention of the heiress, Ceres ignored her and continued on.
Weiss quickly made her way towards Yang. "If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines." Weiss argued as she pointed a finger in Yang's face, but before both girls went into a shouting match the hall doors opened as two familiar teens walked into the room.
"Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked as he walked in with Sun in tow.
Weiss immediately became smitten in the boy's presence.
"We were thinking about it." Weiss replied with a bright smile.
"That's cool." Neptune said as Weiss gave him a happy smile, happy to see him once again.
Her smile soon fell when Sun ruined her happy moment.
"You ladies all excited for dress up?" Sun asked in a slightly excited tone.
All the girls rolled their eyes. "Pfft, yeah right." Ruby replied, not excited one bit.
"Laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night." Yang said with confidence.
"What are you two wearing?" Weiss asked the two boys, changing the subject.
"Psh. Uh, this." Sun said as he gestured to his current attire as if it was obvious. Neptune then pushed the blonde Faunus behind him, raising a hand in front of Sun as he rolled his eyes.
"Ignore him, for he knows not what he says." Neptune said in a bland disappointed tone. Sun moved past him. "Hey I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kinda place." Sun explained.
Ruby, Yang, and Weiss gave Sun a deadpanned stare.
"Yeah, we've noticed."
"There is a thing called a shirt. It's used to cover one's decency. You should try it, unless you're allergic to such a simple piece of clothing."
Sun turned and glared at the approaching Ceres as everyone else laughed at said teen's expense.
"Yeah well! What are you going to be wearing for the dance?" Sun demanded in an annoyed tone.
"Unlike you, I'll be wearing a suit-and-tie provided by the academy. Simple and easy to obtain. But enough about me, you're here for someone else, aren't you?" Ceres asked in an inquisitive tone.
Sun soon dropped his glare and looked back towards the girls.
"Yeah, so, uh… what does Blake think of all this? She still being all, you know… Blakey?" Sun hesitantly asked.
"Obviously." Weiss replied. "I still can't think of a way to change her mind." Ruby said as she still couldn't find a solution.
However, Yang adopted a confident smirk.
"Guys. Trust me. Blake will be at the dance tomorrow." Yang said with conviction as she made her way out the door. The rest of the teens (sans Ceres) gave each other confused looks.
"What does she mean by that?" Sun asked to no one in particular.
"I think Yang is going to try to convince Blake to go to the dance." Neptune replied.
"Do you guys think we should help her?" Ruby asked.
"No. I trust Yang to handle this situation by herself. If we interfere then we're just going to make things worse." Ceres said leaving no room for argument. Everyone simply nodded their heads in agreement.
"Welp! It was nice meeting you girls again, but me and Neptune need to freshen up for the dance tomorrow." Sun stated as he soon made his way towards the exit with Neptune in tow as he waved goodbye.
As soon as both boys left Weiss turned her attention towards Ruby.
"Ruby we still need to pick out a dress for you. Come on let's go to Vale and see what they have to offer." Weiss said as Ruby's eyes widened in fear.
"Uhhh. I'm fine Weiss! I already have a dress for the dance tomorrow!" Ruby explained in a panicked tone. However, Weiss wasn't convinced.
"If you call your combat skirt and red hood a dress, then you have some serious issues with your fashion sense. Let's go!" Weiss said as she started dragging the flailing reaper by her hood.
"NO CERES! DON'T LET HER TAKE ME!" Ruby exclaimed in desperation. Ceres merely smiled as he waved his hand, much to Ruby's ire.
As the two girls left the room Weiss poked her head back in.
"Oh! And Ceres, could you be so kind as to clean up any leftover material we have in this room? Thank you!" Weiss asked not giving Ceres the time to reply as she shut the door.
Ceres looked around and saw many boxes of extra supplies all around the room.
*sigh* "This might take some time."
3 hours later…
After hours of cleaning and adding the finishing touches to the dance hall, Ceres is now making his way towards the student center in order to pick up his suit.
He was almost to his destination, however, as he turned a corner someone abruptly bumped into him.
"Oof!"
Ceres looked down and saw the one who bumped into him.
It was a girl- no- a woman, she has a pale-white complexion, ashen-black hair, and bright amber eyes, all of these features makes her desirable to a human male's eyes. She is currently wearing a Haven Academy uniform with full black tights and white gloves that fit her style rather well.
From her spot on the ground she looked up towards Ceres with an obvious expression of annoyance. However, her annoyed expression changed into a smile when she recognized who she just bumped into.
"Sorry for bumping into you. Would you be so kind as to help a lady up?" The girl asked in an amused tone as she brought a single delicate hand up towards him.
Ceres chuckled. "Do not worry, I'm also part to blame." He said as he took her hand and gently pulled her up.
"Sorry. I didn't get your name?" Ceres asked, the woman smiled. "Cinder." She replied.
"Well Cinder. My name is Ceres Kerrigan." Ceres said. The woman now named Cinder continued to smile. To most the smile is merely a friendly gesture to them, however, to someone like Ceres he can see that her smile is hiding something more.
"Ahh I have heard of you. You made quite the reputation among the students here, especially those who are here for the tournament." Cinder said in an amused tone. Ceres chuckled. "Yes, I've heard the rumors. Some of them are true, but many others are very… imaginative to say the least."
It was Cinder's turn to chuckle. "Yes I have to agree, they said one time you were bitten by a King Taijitu."
"Yes, and after three days of pain and agony… the Taijitu died." Ceres finished as they both shared a small laugh.
"A gentleman and a comedian. Those are rare traits for a man now-a-days." Cinder stated.
Ceres gave a small smile. "Yes, especially in a world like this. One must always find enjoyment in even the smallest of things lest they succumb to the darkness ahead." Ceres explained in a calm tone.
Cinder nodded her head in approval. "Wise words. Are you sure you're a huntsman-in-training not a philosopher?" Cinder asked. Ceres gave a small smile. "Yes I am, but unlike most of the students here, I have experienced the true reality of this world and how cruel it can be." Ceres explained, tone turning more remorseful with each passing word.
Cinder's smile never left her face. "But instead of succumbing to this harsh world, you instead stood your ground and face against it." Cinder said in an amused tone.
She continued. "This just shows how powerful you are compared to the rest of the students and even some of the professors, and they fear you for it, calling you a monster in human skin." Cinder explained in a sincere tone. She then approached Ceres and brought a gloved hand to gently caress his cheek. "However, what they see a monster, I see a very powerful and very strong man who won't succumb to anything he faces and will fight in order to survive."
Ceres kept an emotionless stare for a brief moment until he gave a small smile and gently held Cinder's hand.
"Thank you Cinder, it's nice to know that not everyone sees me as a brutal monster." Ceres said in a calm and happy tone. Cinder brought back her hand from Ceres's gentle grip.
"I'm glad I can be of some help, Ceres. If you need someone to talk to, just come and find me, I'm not hard to find." Cinder offered in a calm tone.
"Then I'll see you next time, maybe at the dance tomorrow?" Ceres asked in a calm and somewhat hopeful tone.
Cinder kept her smile as she walked past him, when she was a few feet away from him she turned her head towards him. "I'll save you a dance. See you until then, Ceres."
"Till we meet again, Cinder." Cinder then kept walking as so did Ceres.
However, while Cinder's smile is one of accomplishment, Ceres's was one of self-amusement.
Halfway into the conversation, Ceres used his psionics to secretly scan Cinder's mind. What he found greatly intrigued him.
'Cinder Fall… to think that you can manipulate me to be your pawn in your little game. Your plan for this world and its inhabitants is impressive to say the least. However, you just made your biggest mistake...'
Ceres's smile grew more predatory.
'You decided to get me involved.'
Location: Beacon Academy, Dance Hall
It was the night of the dance, students and teachers alike were either dancing or conversing among themselves over a delicious cup of fruit punch.
Students were still arriving, whether they were with someone or not they still came to enjoy the night for all its worth.
Ceres, now in a simple black suit and tie, arrived to the dance hall and was greeted by a familiar blonde bombshell wearing a simple white, sleeveless dress.
Said bombshell gave him a low whistle.
"Dang Ceres. You clean up good. That suit really… SUITS you! Huh, huh, get it." Yang joked in a hopeful tone. Ceres raised an eyebrow. "Aren't I'm always clean?" Ceres asked in a confused tone, completely missing the pun.
Yang gave him a deadpanned stare. "Yes, but you're always in that lab coat like Ruby with her red cloak. It's nice to see you in something else for a change." Yang said, slightly disappointed that Ceres completely missed her joke. Ceres rolled his eyes, he then gave Yang a small smile. "You look great tonight Yang." Ceres complimented.
Yang laughed and waved a hand. "Aww shucks Ceres, you make me blush!" Yang said in a happy tone. She continued. "Well what are you waiting for? A date? Well you won't find one standing here, I saw a bunch of girls coming in alone, if you hurry you can snag a few of them." Yang said as she winked. Ceres merely rolled his eyes and proceeded past Yang and towards the punch table.
He grabbed himself a cup of punch and stood near the bowel, merely observing everything that is going on the dancehall.
He saw Weiss, alone, trying to fix (and failing) a drooped flower.
Jaune is standing awkwardly in the corner, alone and somewhat depressed.
Nora was pulling Ren towards the dance floor, poor boy.
"Ohh you look beautiful!"
Ceres then heard Yang from the hall entrance, what he saw brought a smile to his face.
Ruby finally arrived, she is wearing a short, red, sleeveless dress with a black sash around the waist and black edging at the bottom. She is also wearing a semi-transparent black panty house and black pumps.
She is currently wobbling her way over to Yang as said girl is laughing at her expense. Ceres made his way over towards the two girls, just as he arrived Ruby tripped on her own two feet.
"WOAH!"
Ceres caught her and manage to balance Ruby back onto her own two feet.
"Are you ok Ruby?" Ceres asked, Ruby blushed in embarrassment. "Thanks Ceres, I friggin HATE this tight dress and these stupid lady slits they call shoes. How does Weiss even fight in these?!" Ruby exclaimed in both anger and frustration.
Ceres chuckled. "Well you're just going to wear it only once for this specific event and besides, you look wonderful, it really brings out your feminine beauty." Ceres complimented as Ruby started blushing up a storm and Yang laughing in her expense.
Before Ruby could say anything, the doors opened once again as two familiar Faunus entered the room, arm in arm.
"Blake! You're here!" Exclaimed Ruby as both Blake and Sun approached the group. At this time Weiss arrived as well to greet the Faunus couple.
Blake was wearing a black dress with black wrist cuffs around her wrist and her usual black bow and black high heels.
Sun's attire is similar to his original, except he's wearing a buttoned up, black dress shirt with the top two buttons loose and loosely wearing a white neck tie.
"See, what did I tell you guys! I told you she will be coming to the dance." Yang boasted as she strutted her way towards Blake and offered her an arm.
"Would you care for a dance Blakey?" Yang asked in an amused tone, Blake rolled her eyes but smiled none the less and took Yang's arm.
"I would love to Yang." Blake replied as they made their way towards the dance floor. Sun just stared confused of what just happened.
"What just happened?"
"It appears Yang asked Blake for a dance." Weiss replied.
Sun shrugged. "As long as Blake enjoys herself, Then I don't care who she dances with." Sun said as he waited his turn. Soon Yang finished her dance and Sun took her place.
Yang approached and stood beside Ceres, Ruby, and Weiss, happy that Blake is finally enjoying herself.
"Excellent job Yang." Ceres complimented.
"Mission accomplished." Weiss added.
"So… what do we do now?" Ruby asked as she looked at each member of the group for an answer.
"Just have fun!" Yang answered as both she and Weiss started walking away, leaving Ruby and Ceres.
"Does that mean I can change out these stupid things and into my hood now?" Ruby asked Ceres in a hopeful tone.
"You can, if you want to walk back to our room in those." Ceres answered as he gestured towards her shoes.
She then turned back towards the dance floor in misery. "Stupid lady stilts."
Both Ruby and Ceres stood in comfortable silence until someone interrupted them.
"Not enjoying yourself?" Ozpin asked as he stood beside Ruby.
Ruby shook her head. "Oh! No. Haha. Everything's fine. I'm just not much of a fancey, pancey… dancey girl." Ruby explained to the headmaster.
"Well, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield. Even if you may want to." Ozpin said in a calm tone.
Ruby crossed her arms and frowned. "Yeah, that lesson's been floating around a lot lately."
Ozpin nodded. "If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different. Two partners interlocked. Although, one wrong move on the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot." Ozpin explained, Ceres nodded in agreement as he saw the similarities.
"Or a twisted ankle…" Ruby added.
Ozpin then turned to Ruby. "It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds. But it's nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget." Ozpin said as both Ceres and Ruby nodded, understanding his wise words.
"Well I'll leave you to yourselves. Enjoy the night Miss Rose and Mr. Kerrigan." Ozpin then left.
As soon as the headmaster left, both Ceres and Ruby heard the door opening. What they saw was both Mercury in a suit and bow, while his partner Emerald is wearing a dark green sleeveless dress.
Ceres made eye contact with Emerald and gave her a small wave and a friendly smile. Emerald, however, simply scowled in return and started dragging the gray haired teen towards the dance floor.
Ceres chuckled and brought his attention back towards Ruby, who was looking at the punch bowl.
"Hey Ruby?"
Ruby turned towards Ceres. "Yes Ceres?" She replied, Ceres then gave her a small smile as he held out his hand gently towards her.
"Do you want to dance?" Ceres asked in a calm tone. Ruby started blushing. "W-W-What?! Ceres I-uhh- don't know how to dance?" Ruby said in a timid tone as she timidly poked her index fingers together.
Ceres chuckled. "Me neither, but if it's anything like fighting, then I'm sure we'll be ok." Ceres assured her as he held his hand out, waiting for Ruby to take his hand.
Ruby nervously looked towards the dance floor. "Well… I'm afraid we might end up like THAT." Ruby said as she pointed towards the dance floor.
As Ceres followed to where his leader was pointing, he soon saw what she meant.
On the dance floor he sees both Nora and Ren. Nora is happily dancing away without a care for the world, seemly having the time of her life.
Ren on the other hand, was desperately trying to keep up with Nora's pace and trying to divert their "dancing" away from the other dancers, bystanders, and the food table, his feet suffering many times from Nora high-heeled shoes.
Poor boy.
Ceres then turned back towards his leader with a smile. "Don't worry Ruby, just follow my lead and we'll be ok." Ceres assured as he once again held his left hand out ready to take hers.
Ruby hesitated for only a moment before finally taking Ceres's hand with a large blush. Both Ruby and Ceres made their way towards the middle of the dance floor.
Ceres placed his right hand on Ruby's back as Ruby (observing the other dancers) placed her left hand on Ceres's right shoulder. They both stared at one another, Ceres keeping his usual calm demeanor while Ruby on the other hand is a nervous, blushing wreck.
"Ceres I don't know if this was such a good idea. I mean what if I trip! Or what if I step on your toes! What if-"
"Ruby, calm down. Like I said, just follow my lead and you will be fine. I promise that nothing will happen." Ceres said with a smile, Ruby took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Alright let's do this!"
With Ruby's confirmation, they started.
At first it was a bit clumsy due to Ruby not use to heels, but thanks to Ceres, Ruby soon got the hang of it and started truly dancing.
Both teens were enjoying their little dance that they had together, especially Ruby as she smiled in glee.
However, soon the song ended and thus in turn everyone stopped dancing, including Ceres and Ruby.
As they separated Ruby still held her smile. "That was so much fun! Thank you for teaching me Ceres! I didn't know you were such a good dancer!" Ruby said in an excited tone.
Ceres chuckled. "It's no problem at all Ruby. It was just a few simple steps, I'm just glad you enjoyed yourself." Ceres said, however, before Ruby could comment further Yang interrupted by hugging her from behind.
"Awww! My cute little sis is all grown up! Finally having her very first dance with a man!" Yang cooed much to Ruby's ire.
"YANG! LET GO OF ME! YOU'RE EMBARRASSING ME!"
Yang soon let go of Ruby as said girl crashed comically onto the ground. Yang then made her way over to Ceres and brought her arm around his shoulders, forcing him down to her level.
"Ceres! Thank you for giving Ruby such a great time! Just letting you know if you think of dating my sis I'll support you two all the way!" Yang teased trying to rile up Ceres. However, Ceres wasn't fazed one bit as he smiled. "I'm glad you think so. However, I don't know if Ruby will agree." Ceres said as Ruby blushed.
"YANG! I'm not going to date Ceres! No offense." Ruby exclaimed as she quickly apologized to Ceres. Ceres just nodded in reply as Yang released him.
Yang pouted. "Boo! You guys are no fun." She then adopted a devious grin. "But I'm sure dad will enjoy the pictures that I'll send him." Yang said as she pulled out her scroll and showed multiple pictures of Ruby and Ceres dancing.
Ruby's eyes widened as her pupils dilated. "Yang. Don't. You. Dare…" Ruby warned in a dangerous tone. Yang's grin grew as she simply waved the scroll in front of her.
"Boy would dad be surprised that little Ruby Rose manage to get a dance with a boy like Ceres. No offense." Yang explained as she quickly apologized to Ceres. Ceres simply nodded in reply.
Ruby lunged for the scroll, but Yang anticipated this and brought it just out of her reach.
"YANG! GIVE IT TO ME SO I CAN DESTROY IT!"
"NOPE!"
"GIVE IT TO ME!"
"NOPE!"
"GIVE IT!"
"NOPE!"
"RAAAAAAH!"
Ruby then started chasing Yang around the dance hall in righteous fury. An impressive feat to do in heels.
This soon left Ceres alone in the middle of the dance floor, soon a new song played and couples resumed dancing.
Seeing as he is most likely in the way, he made his way towards the sidelines and chose to observe the people around him.
After a few minutes of merely observing, he then decided to exercise his psionic ability and started reading through some of the minds of those within the dancehall.
'What a wonderful night!'
'Ok. Ok. Keep calm! You got this!'
'I can't believe this is really happening!'
'I can't believe this is really happening…'
'Wow! Ren is such a great dancer!'
"Ow! Just got to get her away from the- Ow! That was my favorite foot!"
'WHEN I CATCH YOU YANG, I'll SHOVE THAT SCROLL WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE!'
'Wow. Ruby is really angry. Luckily I can still- NO HEELS NO!'
Crash! Splash!
Ceres saw Yang trip and crash into the table with the punch bowl, said bowl spilled all its contents onto her blonde hair and white dress. Soon Ruby caught up to Yang, grabbed her scroll, and proceeded to snap it in half and stomp on the remaining pieces in abandon fury.
Ceres chuckled and went back to his exercise. However, as he shifted through hundreds of minds he notices that there was one mind that he couldn't read.
This particular mind wasn't normal; he couldn't delve into it or much less read it, he can only detect its unique signature. There are only two explanations for this, one the user has psionic powers that far more powerful than his, or two the user is not an organic being.
He followed this presence until his gaze sat upon the source.
It was a pale white skinned girl with orange, curly hair and bright green eyes. She is wearing a simple white dress and a large pink bow tied at the back of her hair.
She is currently dancing by herself with what seems to be two Atlas soldiers guarding her, one red and the other blue. This caught his attention, who is this girl? And what makes her special?
He did a quick scan of the orange haired girl entire body and read the minds of the soldiers simultaneously. What he found surprised him.
'She is a synthetic A.I named Penny. Not only that, she is generating her very own aura. This is very interesting… what are you up too Ironwood?' Ceres pondered.
After a moment of pondering he made his way towards the synthetic.
As he got close the girl soon noticed him and gave him a wave and a large smile.
However, her guards took notice of his approach as well, and they weren't as friendly.
"Sal-u-ta-"
"Stop right there, sir. I have to ask you to return to whatever you are doing." The blue soldier ordered as he and the red soldier blocked his way.
However, Ceres was undeterred and much less intimidated.
He simply smiled. "I'm sorry to bother you gentlemen, but I would like to ask the lovely lady behind you to a dance." He explained in his usual calm tone. The girl, Penny, seemed delighted by the offer, however, the soldiers weren't.
"Sorry, only the general or anyone with his direct permission are permitted to approach her. I'll warn you once again, leave now." The blue soldier said in a warning tone as he placed his hand on his pistol. Behind them Penny looked worried for the boy who just wanted to potentially be her friend.
However, instead of backing away, Ceres simply smiled.
"You two must be thirsty, why don't you two get something to drink?" Ceres said as he used his psionics on the two soldiers.
Even with the helmet obscuring most of their face, Ceres can tell that both soldiers are a bit dazed from the mind control.
Finally, the blue soldier snapped out of his daze. "Yes… you're right. I think we should get something to drink. What do you think Grif?" the other soldier nodded his head. "Yeah I'm parched. All this standing around really drained me, we deserve the break Church."
Soon both soldiers left for the newly replaced punch table, leaving Ceres and Penny together alone at last.
"How'd you do that?" Penny asked as she tilted her head in curiosity.
Ceres smiled. "I can be very persuasive when I want to be." Ceres lied. Penny simply nodded in acceptance. "Oh, ok!"
There was a brief pause as both Ceres and Penny stared at one another. One merely observing her technological makeup while the other has a bright smile, delighted to know more about the boy in front of her.
After a brief moment of silence between the two, Ceres was the first to speak. "Sorry I forgot my manners. My name is Ceres Kerrigan." Ceres said with a smile. Penny seemed to recognized him as her smile dropped.
"My name is Penny! I would normally ask you to be my friend, but general Ironwood said to stay away from you since you're a criminal. Are you a criminal?" Penny asked in an inquisitive tone as her eyes narrowed. Ceres chuckled in amusement. "I'll have you know that whatever I did was all in self-defense. I didn't kill anyone and It was the general who attacked first." Ceres replied in a calm tone.
Penny searched for any proof that he was lying to her. She found none.
Penny smiled. "Ok then! If that's the case, do you still want to be my friend?" Penny asked in a hopeful tone. Ceres chuckled once again. "Only if you accept my offer to a dance."
Penny's smile grew as she hopped on the spot in excitement. "That is SAN-SATIONAL! I would love to dance with you!" Penny exclaimed in a happy tone. Ceres brought up his hand to take hers, but instead Penny just started dancing on the spot in front of him.
This confused him. "What are you doing?"
"I'm dancing. Why aren't you doing the same?" Penny asked as she soon stopped. Ceres chuckled. "That is not the type of dancing I'm referring to. The type of dancing I'm talking about is the one you see other couples doing currently on the dance floor." Ceres explained.
"Oh! You mean like that." Penny said as she pointed towards something behind him. Ceres turned and saw who she used as an example.
It was Nora and Ren once again.
Ceres turned back towards the orange haired girl. "Yes… something similar, but not as… enthusiastic." Ceres explained to the girl. Penny beamed. "Well that looks absolutely fun! Let's us try to do this dance!" Penny said as she grabbed Ceres's hand and pulled him towards the dance floor with a surprising amount of strength.
As they found a spot on the dance floor, Ceres finally got his bearings and started dancing with Penny. Unlike Ruby, Penny knew how to properly dance, thus Ceres and her had a calm and enjoyable time.
Ceres saw Ironwood giving him a frown as the general tried to make his way over towards them. However, Ozpin intervened just in time and coaxed the less then pleased general to let it slide. Ceres gave Ozpin a nod of appreciation as he returned to his dance.
In the middle of their dance, Ceres looked Penny in the eye. "So… tell me more about yourself Penny."
"Sorry, I can't really tell you much. All I can say is that I have a best friend named Ruby and a wonderful father that takes good care of me, and since he's working with the Atlas Military, general Ironwood and his soldier makes sure to protect me at all times." Penny explained in a happy tone.
Ceres gave her a small smile. "Is it because you're not exactly normal?" This caught Penny off guard. "W-W-What do you mean, I'm just a normal girl?!"
*hic*
"I can tell. I have an eye for these things."
"I don't know what you're talking about?!"
*hic*
Ceres chuckled. "You don't have to lie to me. I already know what you are. A synthetic A.I. created by the Atlas Military." Ceres said. Penny nervously looked side to side before looking back towards him.
"Please don't tell anyone. It's supposed to be a secret." Penny begged.
Ceres smiled. "Then how about this… a secret for a secret. It's only fair if I tell you mine." Ceres offered. Penny pondered for a moment before nodding her head.
Ceres's expression turned serious. "Do you have a scanner to scan my biology in those eyes of yours?" Ceres asked. Penny tilted her head in confusion before nodding her head.
"Then scan me."
As if part of their dance routine, both Ceres and Penny parted, still holding hands, as Penny did a quick but through scan of Ceres's body from head to toe. What Penny saw greatly shocked her.
When they returned to their normal dance position, Penny looked towards Ceres with a shocked expression.
"You're not human or a Faunus. Your DNA and molecules are something entirely different. You also have a strange and powerful energy signature emanating from your highly developed cerebral cortex. Something very-"
"Alien? Yes, Penny, I'm not from this world." Ceres confessed as his eyes glowed bright orange for a brief moment.
Penny still looked shocked from the new information she just received.
Ceres gave a small laugh. "This seems to be an interesting combination from two extremely different fields. I'm a biological marvel not from this world, while you're a technological marvel created by man." Ceres said in an amused tone.
This brought Penny out of her shock, she also laughed. "Yes it's indeed interesting…" Penny then hesitated in worry. "Ceres… when I do my weekly checkup next week, Mr. Ironwood and his scientists will search through my memory banks. Then your secret will be known and the general will try to detain you for study. I'm terribly sorry." Penny explained in a genuinely sad and remorseful tone as she bowed her head in shame.
However, Ceres merely smirked and lifted her chin up to look at her. "Don't worry Penny, when it comes to that, I will like to see him try. No matter how many guns or soldiers he will bring, I won't back down." Ceres said in a firm tone.
However, Penny was still worried for him. "But you will be hurt, and Mr. Ironwood might order me to fight you, and I don't want that to happen." Penny said in a worried tone.
Ceres smiled. "Then don't. Everyone deserves to lead their own lives, whether you're a machine or an alien from another universe. And besides… friends don't fight with one another, they help each other to face the most difficult of obstacles. Isn't that right, my friend?" Ceres said with conviction.
Penny gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you Ceres. I'll try to keep your secret safe the best I can."
"And as will I, Penny."
Soon the song finished as couples separated, including Penny and Ceres. But, before they could speak, both marvels of different scientific fields heard a large amount of laughter among the crowd behind Ceres.
Ceres turned and as the crowd parted he and Penny finally saw what was the cause of the commotion.
It was Jaune Arc, in a white dress.
The cross-dressing knight made his way through the laughing crowd towards a depressed looking Pyrrha Nikos.
Suffice to say Pyrrha wasn't expecting this.
"Jaune?!" Pyrrha said in surprise as the blonde knight stood in front of her with a shy smile.
"A promise is a promise." He simply said.
After a brief moment of silence Pyrrha started laughing up a storm.
"HaHaHaHa! Oh Jaune! You didn't have to!" Pyrrha said, still laughing.
However, Jaune wasn't deterred. "Hey! An Arc never goes back on his word. Now do you want to stand there and laugh at me? Or do you want to dance?" Jaune asked in a confident tone as he held out his hand for Pyrrha to take.
Pyrrha, with a smile, took his hand. "I will love to dance." Pyrrha replied as Jaune took her in her arms and made their way towards the dance floor.
"Ren! This. Is. HAPPENING!" Exclaimed Nora dramatically as Ren looked confused.
"Wait? What is happening?" He asked, however, he never got an answer as Nora dragged him towards Jaune and Pyrrha.
Now with the entirety of Team JNPR, they did the only reasonable thing to do at a dance party.
They danced.
Suffice to say, Ceres was impressed. Team JNPR can dance.
While JNPR was dancing everyone was either cheering or joined in as they started showing off their own styles, including Penny and the blue soldier.
Ceres simply clapped for JNPR when they finished dancing and went back to observing the dancehall.
He sees Neptune animatedly talking to Weiss, both with happy expression. Yang was laughing with both Sun and Blake. And Ruby just stepped outside, probably for some fresh air.
As Ceres was observing his surrounding a certain headmaster stood beside him.
"Enjoying the night Mr. Kerrigan?" Ceres nodded, knowing who it is.
"Yes Ozpin. I'm enjoying my time here." Ceres replied as Ozpin nodded in approval.
Ceres continued. "Thank you once again for stopping the general back there. I didn't want to create a scene."
"Your welcome Mr. Kerrigan, but next time be careful who you choose to familiarize yourself with, for every friend you make there is always an equal chance of earning someone else's ire." Ozpin wisely warned.
Ceres chuckled. "Then should I worry about any 'Specialists' coming after me anytime soon?" Ceres asked in an amused tone. Ozpin also chuckled. "No, not yet anyways. But knowing James, I wouldn't expect any less than 24 hour surveillance, spying and tracking your every move." Ozpin answered as they both shared a laugh.
After the brief moment of laughter Ozpin turned his head towards Ceres as Ceres did the same. "So… how was your time on our little planet?" Ozpin asked.
Ceres pondered for a quick moment. "Very interesting, to say the least. With this world's history, the Grimm, and the antics of my team and that of team JNPR. Every day is interesting." Ceres explained.
"Yes Team RWBY… what do you think of them?" Ozpin asked in a curious tone.
"They're an interesting sort. Each and every one of them experienced pain and loss in each of their lives. And yet they keep moving forward, fighting and hoping for a better future for both themselves and those around them. Their goals and painful pasts has brought them together to form a bond that I have seen only very few times before. A bond of kinship, respect, and an unbreakable loyalty to one another." Ceres explained in a calm tone.
Ozpin nodded his head in agreement. "Yes I can see what you mean… do you know why I placed you on this team?" Ozpin asked as Ceres raised a curious eyebrow.
"Because it was part of the initiation rules?" Ceres asked, however, Ozpin shook his head. "No. I rigged the selection process." Ozpin explained as Ceres raised a surprised eyebrow.
Ozpin continued. "I put you on that team, because I believe not only that you can see that there is still good in humanity and the Faunus, but also that you can protect this bit of hope for a better future."
Ceres then turned towards the dance floor, pondering over what Ozpin just said. It's true that before meeting Team RWBY, Ceres has seen mostly the bad side of both the humanity and the Faunus. Even in the face of total extinction from the creatures of darkness, both humanity and the Faunus choose to fight one another over different ideologies that could be more than easily solved with the right minds.
When he met team RWBY, he can see what Ozpin's sees in them. Hope for a better future.
Ceres smiled. "Don't worry Ozpin. Even without my help, they can look after one another. However, I will only intervene when needed." Ceres explained, Ozpin smiled. "That's all I ask… enjoy the rest of the night Mr. Kerrigan." With those last words Ozpin left.
After Ceres saw the professor go, he then turned back towards the dance floor. However, as he was observing the crowd once again, he noticed a familiar feminine figure entering the hall from the back door.
Soon after, two Atlas soldiers burst through the same doors and seemed to be searching for someone among the crowd. However, whoever they were looking for seemed to have vanished.
After the soldiers left, Ceres brought his attention back towards the figure that first came through.
This figure was a pale white skinned woman, with ashen black hair and bright amber eyes. She is currently wearing a black sleeveless dress that accent her curves well with black elbow length gloves and black high heels. On her back was a black tattoo of two high heel shoes, placed together by their soles to make a heart.
Ceres recognized her, it was Cinder Fall.
He then smiled as he made his way towards her.
She had done it. She completed her mission.
She planted a virus within the Cross Continental Transmit system. Now she can access any information and manipulate any files within the system and those that plug themselves into it also.
Unfortunately, the foolish general controls his entire army of drones through his main ships.
She would have to plan something for that, but right now it's time to enjoy the night.
Cinder slowly made her way over towards the dancing couple, Emerald and Mercury.
When she arrived she tapped Emerald's shoulder to get their attention. The mint haired girl turned around and saw Cinder standing there in her newly formed dress.
"Oh, may I cut in?" Cinder asked. Emerald separated herself from Mercury and stepped to the side. "Of course." Emerald obediently complied.
Cinder then wrapped one arm around Mercury's neck and placed the other near his shoulder as Mercury placed his hand behind her back.
As they started to dance Mercury was the first to speak. "And how's your night been?"
"Hmm, a little more… exciting than expected." Cinder replied.
"Should we be worried?" Mercury asked. "Hardly. They'll be scratching their heads long after we've finished what we came here for." Cinder replied in an amused tone.
"So then what now?" Mercury asked in curiosity.
Cinder smiled. "Enjoy the rest of the night. After all… it is a party." Cinder said as they continued dancing, celebrating their first victory.
However, in the middle of their dance, someone tapped Mercury's shoulder as both dancers stopped and Mercury turning around to confront the person behind him.
It was none other than Ceres Kerrigan.
Cinder smiled, the simple black suit and tie Ceres was wearing exudes his power and confidence. It also really brings out the color of his eyes.
Mercury raised an eyebrow. "Yes, can I help you?"
Ceres smiled. "Sorry to interrupt you, but may I get a dance with the lovely lady in your care?" Ceres asked in a calm and steady tone. Mercury looked towards Cinder for confirmation as she simply smiled and nodded her head.
Mercury looked back towards Ceres and shrugged his shoulders. "Meh. Fine by me." Mercury said as he stepped to the side and walked away towards a scowling Emerald.
Soon it was just Cinder and Ceres alone in the middle of the dance floor.
Ceres then gently held out a hand for Cinder to take. "May I have this dance?"
Cinder smiled and placed her hand onto his. "You may."
Soon Cinder positioned her hands on Ceres just like she did with Mercury, as Ceres placed his hands behind her lower back. They soon started dancing.
There was a moment of simply enjoying one another's presence. Cinder can feel the power exuding from Ceres's body, enjoying this feeling. Ceres seems to be captivated by her, just like all the rest who meet her for the first time. However, while most would look at her with either desire or fear, Ceres is simply admiring her like an artist admiring his master piece, his eyes never left hers, never roamed anywhere bellow the neck. Truly a gentleman.
As they were dancing, Ceres then broke the silence between the two of them. "Enjoying your night so far?" He asked Cinder with a sincere smile.
Cinder also smiled. "Yes, though a bit too much I would say." Ceres raised an eyebrow. "How so?" He asked in slight curiosity.
"I just arrived believe it or not. Had a few errands to run before coming here." Cinder explained, a little lie doesn't hurt anyone.
"Does one of these errands involved going to the Cross Continental Tower?" Ceres asked. This caught Cinder a bit off guard, however she recovered just as quick.
"Yes. I needed to make a quick call to my family back in Mistral. It's been awhile since I contacted them." Cinder lied with a smile.
Ceres nodded as he started looking around the dancehall. "I see… It's always good to keep in touch with those who you love. In a world like this and with our profession as huntsmen and huntresses, one might never know which day will be their last." Ceres explained in a calm tone.
He continued. "In this world, every kingdom believes that the creatures of darkness that inhabits outside their walls are the greatest enemy to both humanity and the Faunus… I can see why." He paused as Cinder kept listening, interested to what he has to say next. "However… what I believe to be the greatest threat to the kingdoms are those conspiring within their walls. Those who want to see the very kingdoms of humanity and the Faunus burn to ashes and consumed by the darkness that surrounds them. After all… the unseen blade is the most deadliest of attacks."
Cinder is now suspicious of this boy. What he is saying is setting off her mental alarm bells, he couldn't possibly know, she made sure that he didn't in that brief encounter, her cover was flawless.
Ceres continued. "However, bringing down an entire kingdom is no easy task. One must do a lifetimes worth of planning in order to bring out the downfall of an entire civilization. Now I ask you this, Cinder Fall…" Ceres then brought his gaze back towards her. All notion of friendliness is now gone, his eyes bored into hers as she couldn't look away.
"How will you plan the downfall of all the kingdoms?" Ceres asked in a cold tone. Cinder's expression betrayed no emotions, however, on the inside she was seething.
'How did he know?! How long did he know of my plans?! That's IMPOSSIBLE!'
"Nothing's impossible, Cinder Fall…"
Cinders eyes widened in surprise as she saw Ceres's eyes glowed bright orange as no one else seemed to notice.
He chuckled. "Do you think a simple cloth can prevent me from using my semblance on you? Do you really think I wouldn't be suspicious of a woman who would familiarize themselves with me? And do you really think that you can use me as a pawn in your little games?" Ceres asked as they stopped dancing.
"Your plan for Vale will no doubt bring out the destruction of humanity and the Faunus. But your biggest mistake was to involve me in your little plans." Ceres said in a stoic tone, soon the music stopped as the dance was over. Students and professors alike were filing out of the dance hall, tired and ready to turn in for the night.
Ceres calmly smiled as Cinder eye's glared into his own, burning with hate. Oh how much she would've loved to incinerate the fool in front of her, however, with these many witnesses and Ozpin nearby, her cover will be blown and her plans in ruin.
So with iron will, she held back her burning fury as Ceres separated from her.
"Don't worry Cinder, I would love to see how your plans will play out. I won't tell anyone, and I won't interfere… much." Ceres said as he chuckled, much to Cinder's growing anger. "I just wanted you to know that I, Ceres Kerrigan, played you like a fool… until next time we meet, Cinder Fall."
Ceres then took her hand gently and kissed the back of her palm before giving her one last smile and started making his way towards the exit.
Cinder stood there, seething in rage as her two partners approached her.
"Cinder what do you want us to do?" Emerald ask as she glared at Ceres's back.
Cinder replied in a calm tone. "For now, nothing. We can't risk killing him just yet, especially if Ozpin has his eyes on him. For now, add him to the list."
Both Emerald and Mercury nodded as the three started to make their way towards the exit.
'Ceres Kerrigan… you are a dangerous man. But you're just that, a single, pathetic, man. You will get what's coming to you. After all… you just sealed your fate by earning my ire.'
AN:
And that's a wrap! Hope you enjoy this chapter, put a lot of work into it.
Now to answer questions.
Why couldn't Ceres read Penny's mind? Penny is a MACHINE. It's true that powerful Zerg beings can listen into radio communications and communicate to said machines, but when it comes to literally trying to see what's inside a super computer, it not possible since it's a totally different system.
What is Ceres going to do with Cinder's plan? Like he said he will only interfere when needed.
*IMPORTANT NOTE*
Now there are two stories that has been floating around my head for a while now.
The first is a Overwatch and Warhammer 40K crossover.
The second is a Warhammer 40k and RWBY crossover.
I want to know if these will be something that you readers would enjoy reading. I'll be doing a vote on my profile page to see which one you readers want me to do first.
Here are the stories:
Courage and Honor
The Adeptus Astartes, the Imperium's finest warriors and the pinnacle of the Emperor's holy might made manifest.
Thousands of chapters make up the bulk of the Emperor's angels of death, the greatest among them are the Ultramarines, space marines who fought and won numerous battles in His name.
Many within the Imperium hail them as honorable heroes, while many others see them as glorified zealots. However, each and every Ultramarine will defend humanity and the innocent to their very last breath… even if it's in a different timeline.
So this story is about an Ultramarine 1st Company Veteran, who was blasted into the warp after disrupting a chaos ritual on the world of Cadia just after the 13th Black Crusade. He's then sent back in time to 21st century Earth during the time of Overwatch.
Here is the second:
Remnant's Grey Knight
It has been so long since I remembered who I once was.
All I remember was when I took up my sword for the first time, pledged my undying loyalty to the Eternal God Emperor, and too slay each and every heretic and deamon that dare oppose his righteous rule.
For over a hundred years, I have slain countless heretics and deamons with my sword. All in His name.
Now I find myself on a world embroiled in darkness. A world that was once my home, reunited with those who once called me friend.
But it matters not…
I am Julius Arch, Brotherhood Champion of the 1st Brotherhood.
For I have returned to smite the enemies of man once more.
This story is about how our favorite blond knight, Jaune Arc, gets blasted into the 40k universe after defeating a mysterious sorcerer of darkness. Once there, he was soon thrust into a battle between the deamons of chaos, led by a newly ascended Deamon Prince, and the Grey Knights. Jaune, using his unique aura, slays the Deamon Prince single handily. This catches the attention of the Grey Knights and they decided to indoctrinate Jaune into the Grey Knight order.
Time skip a hundred years; we find Jaune (now newly named Julius Arch) as a Brotherhood Champion. However, during a fight with a powerful Chaos Sorcerer during the 13th Black Crusade, Jaune sacrifices his life to slay the sorcerer and disrupts his ritual. As Jaune's body is floating within the warp, he was then sent back to Remnant, alive and well, with all his memories of his past restored.
Just letting you readers know that I won't be starting these stories anytime soon.
Tell me what you think of it. Leave a comment, review, or a question or PM me.
I'll see you in the next chapter.