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Chapter 134: Tonight's The Night
The Grand Hall of Halo Academy was a rarely used part of the campus located on the opposite site of the main entrance to the mess hall which was coincidentally also the side of the academy that the dormitories could be find; Felix found himself wondering if this part of the academy had been used for anything other than allocating missions to teams of students in the entire time he had studied here. The thought occurred to the Lion Faunus as he leaned over a balcony and watched the finishing touches be made to the preparations, though he quickly shrugged it aside and refocused.
The dance would be starting in a matter of minutes after all.
Both Felix and Arctus had, much as they had done two years previously in Atlas taken part in the effort to make the grand hall suitable for the dance along with several other students, though this time rather than the promise of easy Lien tempting Felix it had been Arctus that had suggested it and the Lion Faunus had been surprised by just how involved and demanding his cousin had been with the project.
From his current vantage point Felix could see that things were all but ready, a well stocked bar had been put in place under no small amount of supervision from the Professors and the stage which was intended for addressing students had been repurposed into something far more fitting with a DJ's booth, speakers and several microphones having been set up; Razzmatazz who was Nyanza's ex-girlfriend would be one the DJ's for the evening but was currently nowhere to be seen which Felix supposed was a good thing as interactions between the pair remained tense and awkward however much they tried to pretend otherwise and the Lion Faunus could see three of Team NEON's four members below. Between Nyanza's knack for electronics borne of a childhood learning to mend and make do, Olivine's mastery of seemingly any form of machinery and Ether's experience the three of them had managed to set up the sound system with time to spare, Felix had also heard that Creatures of Grin may be playing the closing set of the dance but wasn't entirely sure if that idea had survived Professor Goodwitch's veto. Elsewhere in the hall he could see Team RAIN removing the last of the ladders that had been used to modify and add to the existing lighting so that it would be more fitting for the occasion; Redshank Bronzewing, who looked odd in a tuxedo with his signature scarlet and swept forward Mohawk had jokingly mentioned that he was glad that his father was not one of the Professors overseeing the dance, he and Amethyst were also attending as a couple after seemingly deciding to give their relationship another try. There were a few younger students present as well, not all of whom Felix knew by name but had certainly grown from the nervous and untested First Years that they had been a few short months ago.
A deep breath from beside him caught Felix's attention and he turned away from the dance floor below and faced Arctus who stood on the balcony beside him.
"Relax man" Felix gave a wide smile that showed his overlong canines "We've got everything under control….a few faulty wires and a couple of supports on the lighting rig needed swapping out, no big deal. Tonight's gonna be great….even if you spend it taking cheap shots at my outfit" the comment was obviously meant as a joke though Arctus had indeed been making decidedly less than polite comments about Felix's choice of attire, even if those comments were intended to be equally in jest. Felix currently wore his distinctive mass of dirty blonde curls tied back into something that was not quite a bun or ponytail and his outfit consisted of a white tuxedo with a black shirt which Arctus had wasted no time telling him looked like 'Something you'd see the Vaccuan Mob wearing forty years ago' or 'One of the old James Blonde movies' the Lion Faunus had naturally traded insults with his cousin for a while before donning a tie that was striped with all the colours of the rainbow and sending several photographs of the finished outfit to both Blake and Yang as well as Myrtle, all three of them telling their son that he looked very handsome ending the debate as far as Felix was concerned.
Arctus remained silent and merely nodded, fingers drumming on the railings of the balcony in apparent agitation and giving Felix a sudden cause for concern; despite having an appearance that could easily have found its' way to the front page of any Atlesian tabloid or celebrity gossip magazine in a form fitting black tuxedo which showed off his broad shouldered and powerful physique with a simple white shirt, sapphire blue tie and diamond cufflinks that gleamed in the light, along with his immaculately styled hair the Bear Faunus did not look as collected or suave as he might have; in fact his eyes were wide and distant and a bead of sweat trickled down his temple
"Okay spill" Felix demanded sternly, yet without raising his voice "Something's up with you Arctus so come on, what is it?"
"Nothing man"
"Bullshit" Felix retorted bluntly "You, in the politest way possible have been an ass-hole to work with for weeks. So come on man what is it?" Felix winced, he didn't mean for the comment to sound as belligerent as it did but the exasperation of working with the Bear Faunus who had suddenly become obsessive and demanding to the point of lunacy in everyone else's opinion suddenly made itself known
"It just wanna make this perfect and do it right" Felix raised an eyebrow in confusion, Arctus swallowed thickly and reached into one of his pockets before continuing
"I've had this since the start of the year….I've been waiting for the right time" he held out what could only have been a jewellery box and confirmed Felix's suspicions before he could voice them "I'm gonna ask Diamond to marry me tonight"
"Holy shit man!" Felix hissed out, barely above a whisper "If I'd know it was that serious I would've-"
"You would've gotten overexcited about it and let it slip" Arctus noted
"I mean yeah okay probably" Felix shrugged, the comment doing nothing to remove the broad smile from his face "But congratulations man"
"She hasn't said yes yet" Arctus noted wryly; Felix was about to tell him that he was being an idiot and that if he actually had any doubts that Diamond would say yes then he wouldn't have even bought the ring in the first place but before the words could leave his lips the nasal voice of Nora Ren, who had been overseeing the preparations carried up to them
"OKAY PEOPLE WE'VE GOT TWO MINUTES UNTIL SHOW TIME! EVERYTHING LOOKS READY TO GO! LET'S BREAK A LEG!" there was a chorus of assents and the diminutive combat instructor gave a wide smirk; in place of her customary combat gear Nora currently wore a pink suit with a matching bow tie, something that had apparently been suggested by Eagle after she had mentioned in passing that choosing between a dress or a suit had been a difficult decision to make when she had been a student herself.
"You've got this" Felix assured his cousin, playfully punching the taller mans' shoulder as the lighting was first cut off, then replaced by the multicoloured and swirling pants of lights created by the extra lighting Team RAIN had helped install.
"Thanks" Arctus managed to croak out, swallowing another lump in his throat as he counted down the seconds until the first guests arrived and the dance officially began.
The double doors to the great hall were flung open and the first students began to enter, Arctus's sapphire coloured eyes focused as he searched for one person in particular as the music began to play, something simply to set the tone and the Bear Faunus was sure that Felix was talking to him again.
Then he saw her and nothing else mattered.
Diamond entered the dance with Eagle and Helios, the closeness of Team FADE and Team NEON's dormitories making it almost a foregone conclusion that those members of the two teams who had not been working on the preparations would make their way down to the Great Hall together.
"Oh this is really nice" Eagle beamed happily as they stepped inside and saw what the rarely utilised part of the campus had been transformed into as she surreptitiously cast her eyes around looking for her Hellion; the Fourth Year students, most of whom were close friends had agreed that they would spend the start of the evening hanging out together as it was unlikely that they would get many chances to do so as a group if any at all, before most likely breaking off into smaller groups and couples as the night went on; as much as Eagle, Helios and Diamond agreed with this idea it did little to stop them seeking out their dates specifically.
"Felix says Arctus put a lot of work into it" Helios noted in response with a small grin at the comments Felix had made about just how demanding the Bear Faunus had been, the redhead wore a suit of the same deep crimson colour as his hair, with the golden surfaces of of the armoured bracers which he never removed being visible below the sleeves of his jacket and complemented by a pair of golden cufflinks, he wore a black shirt beneath the jacket with the top few buttons left unfastened and a shimmering, almost pearlescent white tie hanging loosely around his neck; the overall look combined with his vibrant green eyes, height and build gave him a striking appearance.
"Well it's yours and Felix's two year anniversary as well as mine and Hellion's right?" Eagle noted "Maybe he's just doing a favour for his cousin" the blonde and freckled Huntress wore the dress she had bought during her shopping trip with Diamond a little more than a week prior and was immensely happy with the result, it was a bright emerald green and flowing affair that Eagle felt transformed her entirely; the dress and her make up which was far in excess of what she usually wore taking her considerable height and broad shouldered, and solid mass of muscle and making it appear feminine and simply cute.
Diamond saw the bright smile on Eagle's face and felt an immediate sense of gratification, the time and effort she'd spent getting her friends' look just right having obviously been worth it.
"Come on" the silver hair sniper chuckled "Let's go find our collective dorks"
"We found you first" Felix's voice informed her as he and Arctus stepped into view, obviously having seen them arrive. Without a word Helios stepped forwards and took one of Felix's hands in his own and kissed his knuckles gently whilst pulling an impressively vibrant bouquet of flowers out from behind his back
"Well damn….why didn't I think of that" Felix sputtered, his attempt to seem nonchalant by the gesture failing abysmally as his cheeks flushed scarlet and his cybernetic tail swished animatedly behind him, its' golden paint catching the light as it moved revealing exactly how flustered he had suddenly become.
"Aww that's sweet" Diamond laughed before turning to Arctus and comfortably wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she reached up to plant a brief kiss on his lips "Hey big guy"
"H-Hey" Arctus managed to croak out, blinking and appearing to be utterly shell-shocked as if he were seeing Diamond for the first time.
Exactly the effect she had been aiming for.
The dress that she promised Eagle she would find away to repay her for, despite the taller woman's assurances that there was no need to worry about it was the same striking shade of cherry red as her eyes and clung to her figure whilst being lines with shimmering silver detailing. The dress was asymmetrical and had what the seamstress had described as a distinctly Mistrali look that had unfortunately fallen out of favour, reaching to her calves with a slit running along the right thigh to show the light brown skin of her toned legs; her left arm and shoulder were bare while the right side of the dress featured a sleeve, it kept her cybernetic arm almost entirely out of her sight and the silver detailing of the dress complemented the colour of her mechanical hand and overall she was happy with the result. Her silver hair which was usually tied back in a ponytail whilst her bangs were held away from her face with a bandanna had been let down and cascaded over her back and shoulders in waves whilst the diamond necklace that Arctus had given her two years ago hung around her neck.
"The poor boy looks like he's going to faint" the comment came from a low and smoky voice that could only have belonged to Hellion Eudialyte and was followed by both a coarse booming laugh from Onyx and Raffia's laugh which always managed to sound a little unhinged. Hearing the Dragonfly Faunus's voice Eagle whipped around and let out a sound that was somewhere between a squeal of excited happiness and a yelp as she came to a halt at the sight of Hellion flanked by her team-mates and was suddenly unable to process anything else at all as her mind went utterly and blissfully blank.
Hellion wore a simple black three-piece suit and white shirt, though several buttons had been left undone and a deep violet tie they same colour as her tied back, braided and undercut hair hung unfastened around her collar; several small adornments and trinkets added to her appearance including a fine chain hanging from her waistcoat, beads and caps for her braids which had been engraved with tribal glyphs and marking which Hellion had almost certainly made herself, several heavy rings and a jewelled necklace which only served to draw Eagle's attention to the dark skin on display and the slightest hints of the tattoos which reached from the Dragonfly Faunus's left arm across her chest.
"Looks like he isn't the only one" Felix noted as Eagle's cheeks reddened. Eagle gave a satisfied smirk as she reached out and took Eagle's hands.
"I know we all agreed that us final year students would spend some of tonight together….but would you mind too much if Eagle and I had our first dance?" Eagle found herself almost melting into the touch and allowed herself to be led away as Felix called after them
"We'll find Team AQUA and get a spot at the tables….saves Raffia having to fight someone for one later" both Eagle and Hellion laughed at the comment
"You look stunning tonight" Hellion breathed in Eagle's ear as she deftly twirled her around and pulled her close, moving through steps with ease
"I-thanks, um-you look….wow" Eagle managed to stammer out as she placed on hand on the Dragonfly Faunus's hip and tried to regain some control of herself
"Glad you're enjoying the sight" the Dragonfly Faunus grinned before leaning close and purring seductively in Eagle's ear "I'm sure we can take pictures later so you can remember it better….or videos perhaps"
"We are in public!" Eagle gasped, mortified at the idea of them being overhead yet at the same time entirely aware of her own hypocrisy considering how many times Hellion had left her stifling her own moans in empty classrooms, the workshop or in the back seat of the Lightning Bug.
"Hence 'later'" Hellion chuckled, spinning Eagle again and using the brief moment that one of her hands was free to pluck something from one of her pockets.
"I'm glad that we get to do this before our missions" the Faunus added, flirtatious and husky tone softening into something gentle
"Me too" Eagle admitted, managing to take control of their dance and turn it into something less dramatic and dynamic but easier to hold a conversation during "I'm gonna miss you….and I know that you're amazing and that there's no Grimm in the sea that can scare you, but I'm gonna be worried"
"I miss you and worry about you every time our missions take us away from each other little canary" Hellion assured her, kissing her briefly as she used the old, familiar nickname before taking hold of both of her girlfriends' hands once again and using the opportunity to slip the item that she pulled from her pocket over the index finger of Eagle's right hand
"You know….giving someone you're dating a ring…..that's um-"
"I know the Kingdom's marriage customs" Hellion assured her with a soft smile "The Frost River Tribe don't have a marriage ceremony, but I've made no secret of the fact that I plan to grow old with you….and I wanted to make you something instead of buy it"
"You...made this?" Eagle stared at the ring in disbelief for a second before seeing that the thick and heavy silver band did indeed feature the iconography of Hellion's people embossed upon it along with several ridges which looked to be serrated
"This is beautiful" she murmured
"We don't have weddings" Hellion restated, gossamer wings fluttering behind her as she spoke "But if anything tries to keep us apart, that ring should be heavy enough to crack its' skull and I think it's the sentiment that counts"
"Oh my Oum, I love you" Eagle almost howled with laughter at the comment before twirling the smaller woman and pulling her into a kiss
"Happy anniversary" she smiled against Hellion's lips.
Within roughly an hour of the dance starting it had become apparent to Nyanza Angora that the plan for the Fourth Year students of Halo Academy to hang out as a group had largely fallen by the wayside as the various couples had seemed to drift off far more quickly than expected, leaving the bushy tailed feline Faunus with the options of either trying to integrate himself into a group of people he didn't know as well, or spend the evening with the few of his classmates for whom the dance was not a date or an anniversary; unfortunately the latter option would likely involve spending an extended amount of time around Team GORE who all seemed to share a sense of humour that bordered on malicious.
Nyanza had quickly dismissed that idea.
Instead the green eyed and white haired Faunus, clad in a grey suit allowed himself to blend into the background and skulked around the periphery of the dance floor hopefully deflecting attention away from himself as he wondered if there was any reason for him to still be present other than a simple lack of anywhere better for him to go.
The obvious answer would be to return to the dormitory but Nyanza knew that it would only be a matter of time before that idea proved itself to be a bad one, he was in no mood to be around couples at the moment and even if Helios and Felix or Olivine and Ether didn't end stumbling into Team NEON's dorm with their hands and mouths all over each others' bodies then he would simply end up listening to other couples having sex in nearby rooms until the early hours of the morning. Another option would be to find somewhere other than the dance to sequester himself, the problem was that many of his favourite spots were on the outside of the campus and the weather was hardly suitable for it.
Then he felt a gentle hand on his upper arm and knew before he'd even begun to turn around exactly who it belonged to and that he would need to brace himself for just how stunning she would look
"Hey, you looked lonely"
"Yeah it's the loneliness" Nyanza attempted a bored, acerbic deadpan but to no avail; he took one look at Razzmatazz and realised that he'd guessed correctly, she looked great. Petite and slender as always, wearing a shockingly bright pink dress that assaulted the eyes and matched her hair which was styled in its' customary mass of gravity defying spikes; Nyanza paid no mind to the unseeing fogginess of her right eye which had been blinded when she fought against the White Fang and saw only her bright smile, which faltered only a little at his tone.
"You okay?"
"Yeah I'm good" the lie was obvious and Razzmatazz let out an annoyed huff before tightening her grip on his upper arm and all but marching him towards one of the tables scattered around the edge of the hall, it wasn't one of the tables that Team NEON and their friends had set themselves up at but nobody else seemed to be using it
"Okay seriously what's wrong, you look miserable"
"Just got sick of being a third wheel" Nyanza shrugged, looking away as he realised that his complaints sounded more than a little childish only for his bushy tail to stand up straight behind him as he felt fingers lace through his own
"Razz….don't" he mumbled, trying to keep his voice from cracking "Don't make this harder, please"
"Oh" Razzmatazz breathed out, seemingly coming to a realisation "Is that why you've been avoiding me even when we're the same room"
"What do you want me to do?" he fought the urge to snap at her, as easy as the anger would have been "We had something great and it just ended for no reason"
"Seeing each other once or twice a year just wasn't working, I'm sorry that ending things hurt you but they would have only ended up falling apart one way or another. Better to just rip that band-aid off"
"Yeah….yeah I get it" Nyanza sighed, he may have disagreed with her but it seemed that there would be little point in arguing the point. Then he felt he hand in his again and the weight of her body as she leaned against him
"I missed you too y'know….like a lot" she turned and kissed his cheek "And hey we've still got tonight"
"I don't know if that's a-"
"I don't mean rushing up to your dorm and ripping each others' clothes off" Razzmatazz gave him a smile which Nyanza knew well enough to understand that the possibility wasn't entirely off the table
"Grease hooked up with someone so that's all of Team GRAY dating now, I'm third wheeling as well" she laughed softly "And my set is coming up….I'll let you in the DJ booth, it's basically VIP" with that Razzmatazz rose to her feet and held out a hand to Nyanza who paused for a moment and considered his options, realising that whilst he would certainly enjoy her company it could also ruin what little healing his broken heart had done.
Eventually he shrugged and decided that he was a Huntsman, there was in point making smart or cautious choices now. He took her hand and followed her.
"How can something that looks like that taste like liquid pain?" Helios demanded in a choked gasp as he stared in horror at the drink he had been given, something with several distinct colours which blurred and faded into one another and all of which were jarringly vibrant shades; the redhead considered the colours again and was given the unwelcome mental image of some of the more poisonous species of tree frog that dwelt in the deepest reaches of Anima.
Felix merely laughed at his expense as he gently patted his back
"Really? After all those years drinking Nikosi paint stripper that's the one that gets you?"
"I'm not happy about it either" Helios grumbled before the two of them made their way from the bar to the collection of tables that the Fourth Year students had taken over, where the flowers that Helios had given to Felix stood in a glass of water and setting their drinks down
"Where's Nyanza?" Felix asked, casting his eyes around the dance floor and failing to find his friend which caused him to grow slightly concerned, his fellow Faunus had looked as though he needed some company.
"Next to the DJ….it's Razzmatazz"
"Oh this could get messy" Felix winced, though when he glanced over he saw that the two of them seemed to be enjoying themselves; the pink-haired Huntress readying the first of her seemingly endless collection of vinyl records as she prepared to begin her set whilst the opening DJ, whom Felix only recognised as a student of Shade Academy stood aside and allowed her to take over.
"Shall we?" Helios held out a hand; Felix looked out at the dance floor again and saw that whilst the party was going well it would not truly be in full swing for a few more minutes when Razzmatazz's set started, everything the Lion Faunus knew about Nyanza's ex-girlfriend told him that it would almost certainly be something energetic.
"Absolutely" he grinned, drinks forgotten as he allowed Helios to lead him out onto the dance floor only to be taken by surprise as his boyfriend twirled him and he felt his feet leave the floor for a few seconds before drifting back to the ground
"Did you really just use your Semblance on me?" the Lion Faunus tried to feign outrage only to give in to a fit of laughter as the two of them began to dance; Helios revealing that he'd plucked one of the flowers from the bouquet that he'd brought, something a deep shade of scarlet and managed to place into Felix's hair before cupping his cheek
"You look amazing tonight"
"You're gonna make me blush"
"That's the plan….or at least part of it" the subtle growl in Helios's voice almost had Felix tripping over himself with how weak his knees suddenly became
"Happy anniversary Heely" he whispered in the taller mans' ear before a smile tugged at his lips "Remember when I asked you to the dance in Atlas"
"And I assumed that we already would be going together?" Helios chuckled fondly at the memory
"Like a dumb-ass" Felix laughed "Do you know how long I was working up the nerve to do that?"
"I'm still glad you did" Helios assured, using his Semblance to effortlessly twirl Felix off of his feet again
"You having fun doing that?" Felix arched an eyebrow and grinned "But seriously though, enjoy tonight….you deserve it; a night where we don't have to think about any possible end of the world conspiracies involving Grimm and shape-shifting murderers or any Oum damned assignments"
"A small mercy before we depart for our missions" Helios nodded in agreement, Team NEON had been successful in applying for the mission Qrow had offered though the sense of achievement was dulled somewhat by knowing that Felix's Great Uncle had likely had a hand in that decision and even despite their seeming lack of activity the woman who had worn the face of Pyrrha Nikos as well as one of Felix's mothers, provided they were indeed the same person had occupied his thoughts more than he cared to admit and the distraction of the dance was a welcome one.
"I don't mind thinking about your thesis though" Helios smiled "It's interesting, it's something that will change the way that Hunters and anyone else who fights the Grimm will work and think for generations….and I like that determined look you get on your face when you're working on it"
"You're an Oum damned flatterer tonight" Felix laughed as he kissed Helios's cheek
"I'm merely honest" the redhead beamed as they continued to dance "I love you and I'm proud of you"
"Love you too Heely" Felix's expression softened and he spoke earnestly "And I'm proud of you too….I remember when we were in First Year, damn I was not ready to be a team leader and you were….well kind of an ass-hole, I'm sorry but you were"
"I can accept that, I think we've definitely become the people we were meant to be" Helios's green eyes seemed to sparkle "And that includes finding each other" the two of them continued to dance for a while longer, the songs becoming steadily more upbeat and as Razzmatazz conspired to turn the event from the vision of class that Professor Goodwitch had envisioned into something more akin to the kind of industrial and high-octane raves she was more accustomed to; Felix was about to comment on how the atmosphere would likely reach a fever pitch if Ether and his sister's band were indeed playing only to fall silent, his deep blue eyes widening as the first few notes of an easily recognisable song began to play; being mixed into the preceding number
"Heely….we need to get off the dance floor"
"Why"
"Because I know what song is coming next" Felix answered, his attempt at a sincere warning marred by the manic grin he was wearing "Professor Nora is here….we need to evacuate, and probably record what's about to happen"
"Well now I'm intrigued" the redhead noted, allowing Felix to lead him away from the dance floor just as the next song began in earnest.
"You did amazing work organising all of this" Ren murmured, his wife seemed to glow and positively vibrate with happiness at the praise. Ren wore a three piece suit that appeared black, though the waistcoat was in fact a very dark shade of green that shimmered slightly in the light, he also wore a tie of the same shade of pink as Nora's outfit and a similarly coloured lotus flower in his hair which had both been tied into a single long braid and had its' customary pink streak re-dyed; when combined with the reading glasses that the Huntsman turned History Professor wore and the thin, faded scar that ran vertically down the right side of his face perilously close to his eye the attire served to give him an unmistakably dignified and high class look that the orphan had never guessed would suit him so well.
"Eh it was all the students work really" Nora gave the kind of grin that Ren knew would precede some form of shenanigans "All I did was sign off on enough things to make in….interesting"
"Things that Goodwitch is almost certainly going to want to speak to us in her office about tomorrow?" Ren guessed, though the fond smile he wore made it clear that he couldn't care less if he tried; he was enjoying himself and his wife was immensely happy.
"I just let the students throw the kind of party that they wanted to throw" Nora gave a faux-innocent expression which quickly gave way to a look of pure mischief "Maybe a bigger sound-system, maybe a few smoke missions hidden around the room, maybe didn't pass on those guidelines about playlists to the DJs…..maybe let a death metal band take the closing act"
"One day she's going to fire us both" Ren chuckled softly, knowing that in truth it was highly unlikely; this year was the first time New Vale had hosted the Vytal Tournament and Glynda Goodwitch was simply determined that Halo Academy be represented in the best way possible in spite of the tragedies and blows it had suffered of late, Ren also happened to agree with Nora that the best way to do so was to simply let the students lead by example; the Vytal Festival was about unity and one only had to look at them to see that they were united.
"Nah….who can she hire that's better at breaking legs at me" Nora chuckled, only for her aquamarine eyes to widen in shock before darting towards the current DJ, a small girl with shockingly pink hair, then towards Ren who wore an equally surprised expression
"She's a Fourth Year, Eagle must have told her" Nora whispered as the intimately familiar song which held so many cherished memories was slowly mixed and faded in over the ending of the previous song "Ren we've gotta do it….we have to"
"Are you sure?" Ren asked, pink eyes downcast for a second as he added "Our wedding was one thing, it felt right….here at a dance like this….without Jaune and Pyrrha-"
"That's why we're doing it" Nora nodded in understanding before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him into a kiss "They're not really gone if the memories are still there" Ren gave her a bright smile as they pulled apart and held out a hand to lead her to the dance floor, Nora's eyes widened further still as he uttered words that sounded odd somehow in his smooth and calm voice, yet made her giddily excited nonetheless
"This. Is. Happening" the crowd parted around them, lending further weight to the idea that this had been arranged by Eagle and her group of friends which included the DJ; the students all seemed to know that something impressive was about to happen, with several of them stopping dancing to draw their Scrolls and start recording whilst Razzmatazz held off on dropping the familiar song in earnest until the pair made it to the centre of the dance floor.
Then it played and it was as if twenty years were simply washed away and the pair were lovestruck teenagers once again.
"BABY IT'S TIME TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND! I THINK, THAT TONIGHT IS WHEN OUR STARS ALIGN-"
The steps came easily to them as if their first dance had been only yesterday and they were so lost in the moment and each other that it took them several moments to realise that they had been joined by other couples; first Eagle had pulled Hellion back onto the dance floor and the Dragonfly Faunus was unable to help laughing as she tried to quickly learn and follow the professors' lead.
More surprisingly was that Scarlet and Neptune David-Vasilias had decided to attend the dance, likely because they could hear it from their apartment in the campus anyway and that the two of them were now dancing alongside Ren and Nora, Neptune having long since come to terms with and overcome his fear of publicly embarrassing himself and having also learned to dance specifically for his own wedding to Scarlet.
"I suppose someone has to teach the next generation how to actually dance" Ren and Nora almost faltered at the sight of both Glynda Goodwitch and Qrow Branwen, that neither had dressed formally for the occasion suggested that their attendance had been decided on a whim; Glynda's voice seemed to lack its' usual stern edge and she fell into place beside the other dancers, leaving the collected student body baffled as to how she could move so fluidly at her age though Nora privately suspected that a Semblance of telekinesis may have made things a little easier. The final surprise came in the form of Qrow laughing to himself as he showcased just how dynamic the six-legged chair that carried him was as it approximated the steps of the dance impressively well.
When the song ended the entire hall erupted into applause and Nora gave several playful bows to their audience whilst Ren merely smiled fondly down at her; a drawling murmur from Qrow delivering words that both of them needed to hear
"Whatever comes after life….Jaune and Pyrrha are there right now cheering for you"
"They can certainly put a show on when they want to" Raffia noted with a touch of genuine amusement to his reedy voice as the dance returned to something approaching normality following the resurrection of what the other students seemed to collectively know as the 'Team JNPR dance'
Onyx merely grunted wordlessly in response and Raffia and Carcharodon shared a look, the towering Puma Faunus had been morose all evening; being at the dance where he and Corvid had first realised just how much they liked one another and could in a sense be considered their anniversary despite how uncertain that term was for them when Corvid herself was so far away left a foul taste in his mouth, the fact that they had barely been able to speak to one another for the last week due to a steady stream of small scale Grimm attacks keeping her busy only added to the situation.
"And just think" Carcharodon rasped out, seeking to raise Onyx's spirits with the time honoured tradition of tormenting Raffia "You could have been a part of it if you hadn't gotten yourself caught stealing"
"I will always be who I am….and I would have make a killing" Raffia shrugged, displaying his total lack of concern. The diminutive man had actually offered to take part in the organisation of the dance much to the surprise of his classmates, only to banned from doing so and given a formal warning after being caught attempting to make off with an entire pallet filled with various bottles of alcohol which he apparently intended to sell for cheap after the dance.
"Slinking off with the spoils when the owners' back is turned is hardly our way" Carcharodon countered with a shake of the head "Besides, we hardly need the Lien" that much was true and Raffia was forced to concede it; they were still flush with Lien after spending the summer working to the point where even Carcharodon had decided to buy a new suit for the dance; whilst hardly vain the Shark Faunus did indeed appreciate being suitably dressed for the evening and currently wore and entirely matte black outfit, the suit, shirt, shoes and tie combining with his tall and gaunt physique, bottomless black eyes and grey-tinged skin to give him a somewhat sinister appearance.
The conversation was brought to a halt as an unfamiliar student approached the section of the bar that the three of them were situated at, Carcharodon vaguely remembered seeing them wearing an Atlas Academy uniform in the mess hall and thought that they may have been a Second Year student but wasn't entirely sure or particularly interested
"Excuse me"
"Can I help you"
"No, excuse me as in I'm trying to get passed you" the younger student answered with a roll of their "Come on tall dark and gruesome, I'm trying to ask your friend to dance" Carcharodon was left in stunned silence by the twin surprises of this younger student first daring to speak to him in such an openly disrespectful way and secondly by the fact that they seemed to be interested in Raffia rather than Onyx. Any rebuke that the Shark Faunus may have given was halted by Raffia, who wore a pale salmon coloured suit that was the same shade as his Aura with an ivory waistcoat and tie over a black shirt and embellished the outfit with several ornate golden chains and cufflinks peeled himself away from the bar and flashed his team-mates a feral smile
"Oh this one's got some spine" he cackled before following the younger student away
"I hope he doesn't plan on bringing that back to the dorm tonight" Onyx growled, although the small grin he wore at Carcharodon's expense suggested that he might begin to enjoy the evening after all. Carcharodon himself remained silent for a moment, seemingly struggling to process what had just happened before turning to the Puma Faunus and giving him a stern glare
"You're an insufferable bastard tonight….do you really mean to tell me that you're going to let Raffia enjoy himself here more than you"
"I'm hardly looking for new conquests-"
"I'm not telling you to go and look for someone to bed you imbecile" Carcharodon hissed "But I am telling you that I will call Corvid right now and have her talk sense into you if you're going to continue to stand here looking sorry for yourself" the comment was enough for Onyx to let out a booming laugh before turning and walking away, wading into the dance floor and towering over most of his fellow students
"Another rum" Carcharodon rasped to bartender, slapping down a handful of Lien "Keep the change" with that he turned back to the dance and whilst he had no intention in taking part himself he felt a genuine smile tug at his lips, far softer than the fang-filled leer that he usually treated people to.
It seemed that for better or worse his people had found their new home and that the Hunters weren't such bad company after all.
Arctus was terrified and that all-consuming, stomach churning fear had grappled with his determination all night yet the Bear Faunus knew that it was likely now or never. The two of them were alone despite being surrounded by countless moving bodies, there friends and team-mates having each drifted off to be with their significant others or simply to the bar or away from the dance floor in need of a breather but Arctus could sense that Razzmatazz's set was winding down and that opportunity might pass if he didn't pluck up the courage to make his move soon.
"Hey" he murmured into Diamond's ear, hands on her hips as she went from dancing close to him to simply leaning against his towering frame from support
"I think I might need to sit down for a minute" she admitted as she caught her breath, since entering the dance the silver haired sniper had felt like herself again with all of her doubts and trauma forgotten. The news that she wanted to make her way off of the dance floor for a moment was music to Arctus's ears and he took his chance
"Okay sure, come on" he took her hands and made to lead her away
"Dude, our table's over there" Diamond noted pointing in the opposite direction
"I was going for the balcony" Arctus explained, taking a gamble and adding "I've uh….got a surprise for you up there"
"Aww you didn't have to big guy" Diamond rolled her cherry red eyes and leaned up to kiss her cheek before taking the lead. Arctus stayed a step behind her and allowed himself a smile of relief, things were going to plan and his mind he could see how things would transpire; Diamond would make it onto the balcony and turn to ask him what the surprise was at which point he would be able to get down one knee and ask the question that he had been thinking about for last several months.
He took a slow breath to steady himself and followed behind her, a broad but incredibly nervous smile forming on his face as he reached into his pocket and withdrew the small jewellery box, its' small shape reassuring in his hand somehow.
And then he saw Raffia Dirge.
The dance was still going strong at the moment and the Axolotl Faunus was dancing with a student Arctus didn't recognise; then the two of them locked eyes and the caudal fins adorning the smaller Faunus's skull twitched and lay flat along the sides of his head as a toothy and vicious looking smile split his face.
Arctus new that something was about to occur but didn't know what it was until a moment too late to prevent it, Raffia span his dance partner and with a small burst of his Aura managed to simply fling them towards the Bear Faunus. The younger student staggered backwards and tried to regain their balance to no avail, they collided with Arctus and sent him staggering in turn.
His eyes widened in horror as the jewellery box slipped from his fingers and skidded across the floor towards one the tables around the edge of the dance floor. The sound of Diamond hurling insults at Raffia and student that had been used as a projectile apologising profusely before scurrying away all seemed to be a million miles away as he hurried towards the chair that the small box had vanished beneath, only for another hand to reach down and seize it before he could
"Oh….Oh wow" Aqua Tsuyu, clad in an elegant green dress clapped one hand over he mouth whilst pressing the box back into Arctus's grip with the other; the Bear Faunus turned around and felt his stomach plummet
Diamond had seen everything
Her eyes were wide and she stood motionless as the music was brought to an abrupt halt by Quartz Murus of Team AQUA standing on a table and gesturing to Razzmatazz. There was only one thing left to do now and Arctus swallowed as he slowly dropped down onto one knee and opened the box to reveal a white gold ring set with more diamonds than he could count, glinting in the ever shifting glow of the overhead lights
"This isn't exactly how I planned to do this" he admitted with a small smile "But I've known that is a question I've wanted to ask you for a long time….I think I've known on some level ever since we first met and you choked me out in the airship terminal. You're my partner, my best friend and the love of my life and I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you; and I promise to stop getting stabbed on missions so that's a little bit longer so Diamond….will you marry me?" her hands were covering her mouth and tears were streaming from her eyes, a single second of silence seemed to stretch out for an eternity before she gave a single enthusiastic nod and managed to sob out a single word
"Yes"
For the second time that evening the entire Great Hall erupted into cheers as Arctus slipped the ring onto the finger of Diamond's cybernetic hand and before he had even managed to rise to his feet fully she had flung herself at him, first kissing his lips, cheeks and any part of his face she could manage before burying her face into his neck
"Yes I'll marry you! you absolute dork" she cried, still overcome with emotion "I love you so much"
The dance slowly began to start up again, Razzmatazz ceding her place at the DJ both a little earlier than planned so that she could congratulate the newly engaged couple, another DJ taking over as Ether his sister and their band made final preparations whilst Carcharodon and Felix could be seen dragging Raffia out of the dance wearing matching furious expressions, the Shark Faunus understanding that whilst the Frost River Tribe did not have a wedding or engagement ceremony some unspoken line had undoubtedly been crossed. As people began to dance cameras flashed and pictures were taken that would almost certainly find their way into the hands of the paparazzi.
To Arctus and Diamond however none of it mattered, they clung onto each other and nothing else existed in that moment.
Countless miles away and across the ocean that separated the continents of Vytal and Solitas Adam Taurus neither knew nor cared of the events that were transpiring at Halo Academy, the Bull Faunus had his own agenda at play.
Without the network of contacts that he'd established, spanning the entirety of his own version of Remnant even before the war had begun and without any of his assets at his disposal it had taken Adam some time to secure safe passage aboard a cargo ship headed towards one of the Atlesian settlements located outside of the Hive Cities within the hollowed out mountains.
Such settlements had not existed in his own timeline and had left the former insurgent confused, though it had inarguably been far easier to smuggle himself into the Kingdom through the small port than it would have been had he arrived in one of the subterranean docks that seemed to stretch out further than should have been possible where those major cities close enough to the sea to do so had simply reshaped the local geography to suit their purposes.
From there Adam had made his way into Eisenstadt Prime, Capital city of Atlas and begun his work.
It had taken several weeks for him to locate even the hint of White Fang activity and he had almost been willing to give up and declare his organisation utterly destroyed before he finally found traces of their activity and made contact. It took longer still to earn their trust and begin to integrate himself into their midst, for obvious reasons he could not simply declare his identity and assert his command over them; it seemed however that being displaced in the multiverse was a double edged sword as by the same token he was almost entirely above suspicion from the surviving White Fang sect, they would never have accepted him as Adam Taurus even if he did declare himself as such as each of the knew for a fact that not only was their former leader long dead, but he had also sported a cybernetic eye and arm rather than his scarred and burned face.
This White Fang cell was comprised of a motley collection of lowlifes hailing from the Capital, a few warriors from other cities who had abandoned their former lives after the New White Fang, led by Celeste Lupus had failed in the attack on the Vytal Tournament and a small group of survivors from a settlement known as Tartarus which Adam had come to learn had been formed in the remains of Eisenstadt Siebte and had been destroyed not by the Atlesian military but by the High Commander of the White Fang herself as retaliation for daring to take food and medical supplies from Atlas.
Everything Adam had learned of this White Fang disgusted him.
He was more than aware of what Remnant saw him as and had been more than willing on countless occasions to play the role of monster that society had cast him in, yet he had his principles and had seen them instilled in his own White Fang. This iteration of the organisation was a wretched and repulsive thing that believed in nothing but cruelty and wore the goals of justice and liberation as cheap masks. He had read a copy of the manifesto written by this timelines' Adam Taurus, named 'Towards Peace' and been appalled and disgusted by its' contents only to learn that they were the tip of a much larger iceberg, a similar work by the name of 'Peace Through Tyranny' had been almost finished by his successor at the time of her passing and it had been an unwelcome insight into a truly abhorrent mind.
Reading it had made it painfully clear that there could only be one course of action.
The acts of torture could not be allowed to stand, nor could the conscriptions of fighters, the formation of group whose sole purpose was to haunt and terrorise their Faunus brothers and sisters and most disturbingly of all the willingness to harm children.
Currently the faction he had worked himself into, which seemed to be the only group with any form of organisation or leadership left in Atlas was holed up in a disused building which had once been a garage; all of the members were present for a meeting Adam had called save for those few ageing and withered Faunus whom he had paid handsomely to take the children of the groups' members out for the evening and the Bull Faunus stood outside the door, purportedly keeping watch out for any suspicious activity whilst his breath misted in front of his face, the temperature regulation this far down into the depths of Eisenstadt Prime still being a fickle and often unrepaired thing.
The Bull Faunus still intended to have his meeting with Blake Belladonna and Gangrel Slate but it seemed that there would have to be some alterations to his plans, there was someone else whom he desperately needed to meet face to face with first.
Right now however there was only one thing to do.
"The White Fang are not an organisation for hire, we are a force of revolution" he whispered the words before ensuring that the door to the garage was locked and drawing a lighter. He held the flame to a rag soaked in some flammable liquid which he then dropped into a pool of the same liquid directly in front of the doorway; he began to walk away and the first panicked yells from within could be heard as the flames spread into the building and the collection of thieves, drug dealers and murderers that dared to hide behind his ideals realised that the other exists had all been locked and barricaded.
He had shown them one small mercy however, the caches of explosive Dust scattered around he building would ensure that it was over quickly.
Authors Notes:
So, I said I needed to take a week or so off to plan chapters for both of my ongoing stories….I then sat down and planned out the rest of Vol.10 of FADE (Up to Chapter 139) and the seventh arc of Aegis.
I also wrote this entire chapter in one day….moral of the story is, don't believe anyone who says you can't do something, even yourself.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we:
It actually took me a second to figure out where exactly the dance would be held.
Of course Arctus has been the driving force behind the organisation.
I agree with Redshank….can you imagine having your school prom or whatever with your Dad there.
One of the rules of buying a suit, don't wear a shirt darker than your suit unless you want to look like a gangster from the 40s and plan on ending every sentence with "Yeah see"
Also "James Blonde"….Not sorry.
Hey, if your mum says you're a handsome young man that's argument done.
Can you blame the guy for being nervous?
Nora in a pink tux, because apparently in the Vol.2 dance the CRWBY were debating putting her in a suit and I think we were robbed.
If you can pull a red suit off without looking like a postbox then congrats.
Diamond's dress is a "Mistrali style that's fallen out of fashion" because I realised I was writing that it sounds like something that Cinder would wear.
Team GORE can turn a tuxedo into Pirate swagger with ease.
Eagle's poor gay heart, she never had a chance.
"We don't have weddings but if anything tries to keep us apart, that ring should be heavy enough to crack its' skull and I think it's the sentiment that counts" Hellion's a charmer.
Oof, if Nyanza's life had a soundtrack it would be by Joji; his ex is back in town, he's still in his feelings and he's probably gonna spend the whole night having to hear other people fuck….possibly including the ex if he's extra unlucky.
Hey, there's a silver lining for the guy; and he's not being an incel about it.
We've found a drink that Helios can't chug….and it's one of the fruity ones that you wouldn't expect.
Yeah Felix and Heely at least checked on Nyanza, because they're good friends and they know he's having a rough time….but at the same time it's their anniversary.
Helios using his Semblance to reduce gravity when he twirls Felix around was something that occurred to me as I was writing and I thought it was cute.
Does Battle-Cat count as enemies to lovers considering they couldn't stand each other for a while at the beginning or am I reaching there?
I'm sure you all guessed what song was coming when Felix mentioned Nora.
We're all a little Rensexual aren't we.
Nora is an absolute gremlin when she wants to be and we love her for it.
Okay I'm gonna come out and say it, I was listening to shine while I wrote the Renora scene and it got me all the way in my feelings….I choked myself up twice writing this chapter and this was the first one.
The fact Ren was hesitant about doing the JNPR dance when half of Team JNPR are gone hurt.
I was gonna have Nora use her "This is happening line" when the ball started, then I thought it would work better here as a proper callback to Vol.2 and THEN I thought, what if Ren is the one to say it.
Eagle definitely helped organise this so she could get Hellion up there for the JNPR dance.
Neptune has learned to dance….I actually had the other couples and Qrow and Glynda join in as a small homage to the extra versions of the dance scene including the other characters.
I love that the "Team JNPR" dance is a THING that the students seem to know about even thought it's only ever been done when Team JNPR were students and at Ren and Nora's wedding.
Raffia is an absolute gremlin as well, there's a timeline out there in the multiverse somewhere in which Team GORE were adopted by Ren and Nora and they went on to become unstoppable.
Raffia is bi, so I specifically didn't give the gender of the student asking him to dance; I'll leave that up to your preferences.
Carcharodon was so done with Onyx's shit that he threatened to call Corey….because there can only be one broody guy on the team and Car has earned that spot.
Poor Arctus, he had a plan but hadn't factored in Raffia being….well Raffia.
Team AQUA became impromptu wingmen.
You know what, I know I could have made Arctus popping the question better but this still choked me up as I was writing it…..what the fuck was wrong with me, I'm usually an unfeeling monster.
So, they're engaged it's a thing and I bet a lot of you thought I was gonna do something horrible to create angst and drama…..which begs the question, if I'm letting them be this happy now, the how big of a gut punch have I got stored.
You didn't really think I'd forgotten about Adam did you?
So it's safe to say that Adam is not following Salem's plan at this point.
Now I made a comparison several times, I called Celeste and Cult of Taurus the "Decepticon Justice Division" to Adam's Megatron….everyone who read the Transformers comics knows how that ended.
But there's the difference between Adam and Celeste, he made damn sure the kids were out of the way first and he made sure it'd be quick rather than burning people alive.
Thank you to SumoSnipe for their review on the last chapter:
Oh Nickel vs Coco arguing fashion….that's a saga all of its' own.
Yang Branwen isn't quite on Yang Xiao Long's level with puns….hell she's probably not even on Corvid's.
Oh definitely….there's also the fact that a good portion of Vale/New Vale's active Hunters have either been taught by Taiyang or Yang, possibly even Qrow the first time he was a teacher; the Xiao Long family has literally shaped Huntsman culture for a couple of generations at this point.
The Labyrinth indeed….how did you know that Salem is but the harbinger of the true threat, Grimm David Bowie.
Sending people on runabouts is a time honoured tradition, I've never fallen for it but I have seen a guy get sent for left-handed screwdrivers, extra spirit-level bubbles, striped paint and a 'long weight'….all on the same day.
I mean fair….but surely the company has wiggle room and an "Expected amount" of fuckery considering the nature of the job.
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review