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I am making no money from this.

Chapter 83: Dance Dance Revolution

The night that the students currently residing at Halo Academy of New Vale had been waiting for was finally upon them.

The Aurora Hotel was a place which sought to redefine extravagance, sitting upon one of Neo Vale's aerial platforms and holding itself above the city with an aloof grandiosity which seemed to permeate the very materials of the place. Arriving at its' designated landing areas would bring a guest to a series of pathways with tiles resembling mosaics, small statues and flowerbeds all around which were both complemented by a series of self-sustaining water features that had never in the hotels' history allowed a drop to spill onto the city below. Following these paths would lead incoming arrivals to the face of the establishment itself, where they would be promptly and properly stunned by a construction that was equal parts luxurious hotel of the variety any number of wealthy businessmen or celebrities might frequent and muted, tasteful approximation of a castle; an image made in a mixture of gleaming marble and onyx and detailing liberally with gold and crystal which framed each and every window, with all of it gleaming as it was struck by sweeping lights which changed colours rhythmically and had almost certainly been added or altered to suit the current event given that the changing colour was perfectly in time to the faintly pulsing bass that Team MARZ could hear as they drew close to a main entrance flanked by a pair of monumental crystalline sculptures of some mythical beasts which were far removed from the Creatures of Grimm.

It was little surprise that the conversation Team MARZ had been engaged in faltered and came to a brief halt as the four of them properly took in the sight, dragging their attention away from one another enough to do so.

"Y'know…..I wasn't complaining, but I thought the hover-limo might have been a bit much" Astra's voice was reduced to a dry croak as they were overwhelmed by a sudden sense of not belonging in the face of such excess "But apparently I was wrong, fuck I feel underdressed Seriously, is that a gold window-frame? Why? Come on, tell me it's only gold-plated at least!"

"If you're feeling underdressed put some clothes on" Athena answered with the sing-song and teasing note that all younger siblings used to plague their elders; managing to refocus Astra by getting under their skin just in time for the Deer Faunus to hear Zirconia's comment.

"I will be sure to tell Damascus that the company car was appreciated"

"Company car….Nah, you rich girls are just fucking with me now" they shook their head and fought the urge to pop a collar that was currently absent given that Astra was not wearing their usual jacket, instead having seen a sheer and suggestive black dress that Honey Scarlatina had shown to Regalia and purchased the same garment in a striking, fiery red and then pairing it with black make up, shoes and accessories which complemented the dyed colour of their Mohawk. Astra, by their own admission looked incredible but could not help but feel that the outfit had been soured unintentionally by the knowledge that Regalia had been harbouring feelings for them, wearing the same dress she had considered as part of an effort to catch their eye seeming at least a little unkind, as though they were taunting her and rubbing the rejection in her face though the Deer Faunus had neither the time nor the lien to find another outfit. The thought brought a faint frown and look of discomfort to Astra's face before they used the motion of shaking their head to turn their gaze towards their partner.

"Hey, you good?….Feel free to jump in and make jokes at my expense, apparently it's in fashion now"

"Heh, nah you look cool" Regalia answered, hands rubbing together in a swiftly controlled display of uncertainty as the two of them sought to continue on as though nothing had changed between them, almost willing the normalcy into existence through sheer will alone.

"You too" Astra answered honestly and without hesitation, their partner had clearly been uncertain as to whether she should wear a dress or a suit and so had elected to combine her favourite elements of both in a way that was uniquely her own; a well cut purple suit jacket with a wide and gold-lined breast and buttons was worn over a white dress which left her shoulders and collarbones exposed and reached down to her knees and fanned out with layers of purple frills being hinted at. Her hair had been untied from its' customary braid and its' sheer volume was on display whilst the outfit was complemented with boots which somehow managed not to clash with the rest of attire.

It was quintessentially Regalia and she did, in Astra's humble opinion look good tonight.

"Hey, we're running late" Athena's voice was cautious, as though she knew every detail that Astra and Regalia had agreed should be kept between the two of them; giving the comment the unmistakable air of a distraction from a moment which had been allowed to linger for a fraction too long and one which both Astra and Regalia silently agreed to take, with nothing more than a glance between them needed to communicate the idea.

"Well whose fault is that AJ?" Astra countered pointedly "Someone shouldn't have taken all afternoon in the bathroom-"

"Someone should have showered in the morning, like they do every other day; you absolute pest" Athena retorted with a huff "Now excuse me, my date and I have a first dance to get to and as pretty as you think you are….She's prettier"

"Thank you kindly" Zirconia's rasping tone managed to convey some sense of the theatrics that Athena was leaning into, prompting Astra to let out a single derisive snort.

"You two make me sick" they joked, the words drastically at odds with the elated smile they wore as Athena offered an arm to her partner, Zirconia looping her own arm through it before the two departed and made their way to the main entrance to the Aurora Hotel and leaving Astra and Regalia in their wake. The two had worn outfits that were complementary if not precisely matching, each featuring elements of colours associated with the other; Athena-Jade's white three-piece suit being well-made enough that her obscenely muscled arms and shoulders were highlighted and being lined with a pastel pink, the colour being mirrored in a tie that was worn loosely around the unbuttoned collar of a faintly orange shirt. Zirconia by contrast wore a long and flowing black dress, reaching almost to the floor and hiding her mechanical limbs in the process whilst the fabric clinging to her upper body was far less modest and displayed enough that Athena-Jade's eyes had wandered on more than one occasion on the ride from Halo Academy alone, which was no doubt precisely what the Grasshopper Faunus had intended; she also wore a small amount of jewellery and more makeup than was her custom, making the most of the fact that the shawl she wore habitually was absent by decorating herself in the pale greens and sapphire blue shades that brought her girlfriend to mind.

"So, now what?" Regalia asked as she and Astra realised that they had been deliberately left behind, though possibly for reasons no more complex that the couple who had left them wanted to spend as much of their night together as possible. Astra took a moment to answer, eyes roving over Regalia's outfit and the way it complemented her best features once again before answering, considering offering an arm to her before reconsidering and instead draping the limb around her shoulders as they often had before, deciding that the gesture was less likely to be misinterpreted.

"Well, considering how nuts Professor Nora is on a daily basis I'm like ninety percent sure that she probably spiked her own punch.

"Because Professor Nora gets it, she just gets how to make people think she's the coolest person ever" Regalia answered happily, always eager and ready to vocally support the Professor that had earned the Racoon Faunus's loyalty by praising the work that went into Clunker and then maintained that loyalty by being both a spectacular teacher and also someone who exemplified the showmanship which went into being a Hunter.

"Yeah, yeah she does, she's almost as cool as you" Astra nodded sagely as the two of them made their way towards the entrance, Regalia taking a deep breath and forcing herself to be daring as she slipped an arm around Astra and lean closer whilst avoiding their antlers so that the two loosely held each other, even if the gesture was entirely platonic on the Deer Faunus's part. Any further discussion was halted as Astra came to a sudden halt a few paces from the door, eyes widening as a giddy smile and look of recognition crept across their face.

"What is it?" Regalia asked, confused as to the reason and eager to enter the party; whilst she was not the most capable dancer by any means things were becoming lively if the steadily building noise and almost palpable sense of enthusiasm from within were any indication.

"The song that's playing….I know this one; come on!" Astra hurried, Regalia a step behind with her bushy tail swinging.

"You wanna dance?" she asked hopefully.

"Fuck yeah, all of Team MARZ have to do this!" Astra almost cackled with excitement "Come one, you're about to see just how much Professor Nora gets it!"


Nora made an over-exaggerated show of pouting and appearing thoroughly put out as she handed over a sizeable was of lien to Scarlet David-Vasilias, the man whose hair colour was his namesake wearing a smug grin whilst both his and Nora's husbands shared steadily more concerned looks as the proceedings continued.

"That was a safe bet!" Nora griped good naturedly, voice a carefully measured stage whisper that never became loud enough to rise over the sound of music filling the immediate vicinity or carry down to the students and guests being discussed as she swept an arm out dramatically to encompass all that was below she and her fellow faculty members. The dance was taking place in the part of the hotel which Nora had overseen the preparations of, a central dance floor more than capable of housing every guest in attendance and providing enough room for those guests to move as freely as they wished, ahead of which was the stage and attendant sound and lighting system which a vast amount of work had gone into preparing so that the bands and DJs, all of whom called Halo Academy their home who would be performing over the course of the evening were properly prepared for. Surrounding the dance floor were several seating areas located close to the entrées, bar serving drinks for those who could provide proof of their age and a comically oversized bowl of punch which Nora had spiked herself well in advance for the sake of tradition. In addition to this there were a smattering of crystalline statues which caught and reflected the lights dancing across the venue to make the display even more impressive, along with several secluded corners and conveniently placed curtains for those who sought some privacy; with the entire affair being watched over from a walkway that was large enough to serve as a seating area in its' own right and positioned so that the main entrance to the hall could be seen clearly.

A perfect vantage point for Nora and Scarlet, along with a handful of others to begin cashing in on various bets that had been made regarding various students and couples as they arrived and the venue steadily began to fill.

"Serves you right for betting against a man who does detective work and who's married to a counsellor, I know how people's heads work" Scarlet answered with no small amount of satisfaction, the winnings likely being less important than the fact that he had finally overcome Nora's reputable shrewdness and eye for these particular kinds of details. She and Scarlet locked eyes again, another challenge slowly brewing between them with an almost crackling sense of tension that was halted before it could come to a head, playful and enjoyable as the exchange would have been, by Neptune taking his husband's hand in his own and managing a small laugh.

"Quit while you're ahead, I know Nora well enough to know that she won't lose again tonight and the bet on Nugget from Breaktide cost you enough"

"I just don't see the appeal of the chicken boy" Scarlet admitted, to which Nora barely managed to stifle a laugh that she felt a pang of guilt for a moment later; the leader of NUGT continued to be something of a joke amongst his peers despite his efforts to grow beyond it in a way which might have reminded her of Jaune were the boys' personality not so different. Before she could ruminate on that thought Neptune spoke again, in a stage whisper of his own which matched Nora's.

"Besides, we both know I don't dance and if we stay here long enough she will drag me on that dance floor"

"Well, you win tonight Nora….My husband needs me to rescue him from your heinous clutches" Scarlet punctuated his words by scooping Neptune into his arms and carrying him away with a strength that the green eyed man's slender build would not have suggested; at which point Nora did allow herself to laugh loudly and fully until an instantly familiar presence at her side brought a soft and loving smile to her face, one which felt like home and adventure all in one and had been a constant for so much of her life that it felt only natural.

"Having fun?" Ren asked, taking Nora's hand and gracefully twirling her around to face him as though he intended for them to dance there and then, Nora reaching up onto her toes to gently press a finger against her husband's nose in a gesture that had become tradition over decades of use.

"Boop" she beamed brightly "I was having fun….Then the most handsome man I've ever seen walked in, he looks amazing with his hair down and should wear it like that more often"

"It would get caught in things and be absolute havoc. You look beautiful by the way, not just tonight, every night" Nora found herself blushing at that as though the two of them were teenagers again and made to give a joking curtsy to offset detract from blood rushing to her cheeks, though she was hampered somewhat by the fact that she was wearing a vividly pink Tuxedo in place of a dress, with a teal coloured shirt beneath it whist Ren's outfit was a more traditional black and white three-piece suit which the Headmaster still managed to look striking in; modified so that its' jacket reached below his knees and was cinched in at his wait with a belt to give it a faintly cape like appearance, his tie the same shade as Nora's suit and a close match to his own eyes which were currently unobscured by his reading glasses whist his silky and magnificent mane of glossy black hair, pink streak reapplied had been allowed to cascade down to his lower back.

"Havoc would be worth it….Especially if it's the only havoc we see tonight" Nora allowed her smile to become something much closer to a smirk and a look filling her eyes which suggested an innuendo or crude joke which had gone unsaid yet Ren had understood all the same, pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sigh before leaning down and cupping his wife's chin to pull her into the briefest of kisses.

"So far that's the case, let's hope things stay that way….We don't get spend enough time like this" his words dropped almost to a purr as he gently pulled Nora so close that their chests were flush against one another and he could speak directly into his ear; Nora for her part resisting the urge to do or say anything that might progress things in one direction or another and instead simply melting into the touch and allowing herself to relax as the two swayed slowly in time to the music, not dancing and instead simply allowing the stress that informed much of their daily lives to wash away.

It was then that the music changed, a new song with a familiar rhythm began to play and caused the married couple to look at one another with giddy excitement, the often stoic Headmaster being the first to speak.

"They're playing it earlier than expected….May I have the first dance?" he held out a hand for Nora to take, which Nora leaned down and kissed before leaping up onto the edge of the balcony with every intention of back-flipping dramatically down onto the dance floor written on her features; an action she performed with practised ease and to a chorus of cheers from students and guests who hurried to make space even as their numbers were bolstered by more bodies rushing to enter. Ren caught sight of Team MARZ amidst the various teams and groups moving into position to mirror he and his wife, though the centre of the floor remained theirs alone out of a sense of profound respect for the memories the dance represented and the simple spectacle of it all; then the dance began with the same iconic opening words that Ren and Nora had danced to at their wedding.

"Baby, it's time to make up you mind. I think that tonight is when our stars align"


Tiger Santara, despite having been convinced to attend the dance by her team-mates, whom she had come to fully accept as friends in recent months the fact remained that she was not an actively sociable person by her nature and so, as the evening had begun to progress had found herself seeking refuge in the quieter places available.

Initially sequestering herself away in a small nook hidden away behind a curtain at the periphery of the hall where she would be able to read in relative peace and solitude after finding herself separated from Team TRQS and not wishing to intrude upon their enjoyment by finding them again; this peace had been short-lived and interrupted in a sudden and mortifying arrival of a couple who had clearly been planning to use the privacy offered by the space for what was likely a prelude to their retreating to one of the hotels' lavish suites. Blushing, apologising profusely out of sheer embarrassment and thoroughly jarred out of her usual and secure frame of mind Tiger had slipped away and sought out somewhere else to deposit herself, feeling uncomfortably as though every eye were on her as she wandered around the outer edge of the dance floor despite knowing better on an academic level and being certain that she had done nothing wrong until eventually she helped herself to a small amount of the food on offer in an effort to brace herself before venturing towards the bar where she began the process of hopefully scrubbing away the mental image of the scene that had fumbled its' way into her view.

She was still at the bar when Stygian found her.

"There you are" her partner tapped her shoulder as he gave her an annoyed, if faintly bemused huff; as though he should have known better than to hope Tiger would take part in the party before catching sight of the glass currently resting before her "I didn't know you drink rum"

"I didn't know you owned a shirt but here we are, full of surprises" Tiger retorted, wondering even as the words left her mouth if she had crossed some unknown line between casual banter and into something that might genuinely offend her partner only for such fears to be assuaged as the Mouse Faunus snorted and let out a burst of laughter whilst gesturing to Tiger's attire in general; which Tiger supposed was fair all thing considered. The leader of Team TRQS had been an orphan for several years and whilst Halo Academy provided for both orphans and the students in its' care the years of living within very limited means had made her averse to any extravagances, even the bejewelled aspects of her combat gear being gifted by temporary mentors rather than purchased and whilst Ravi had delighted in the opportunity to move forward and cast off the limitations they had shared Tiger herself had not and as such she had no suitable outfits for an event such as the dance. She wore one of the white shirts and practical shoes from her academy uniform, paired with a simple black tie and a skirt Amaya had been able to find for her on short notice; a serviceable look overall but one which left a lot to be desired when stood next to Stygian who wore a silky, almost shimmering black shirt beneath a three piece suit of the same electric shade of blue as his eyes whilst his deeper blue-dyed dreadlocks hung freely rather than being artistically styled as they often were, a departure from his usual habit of wearing a waistcoat with no shirt beneath it an a jacket whose sleeves had never contained the boys' arms.

"So where were you hiding?" Stygian asked, taking a seat beside his partner "I was beginning to think one of the First Years with a crush on you made a move and you whisked 'em away to show off a freaky side that we would never had expected"

"I-what….You're joking with me right now, you have to be?" after some initial sputtering and choking on the rum which burned and took the air from her lungs Tiger managed to affect and at least passable approximation of her usual detached aloofness; only for Stygian to answer it with another round of laughter.

"Kinda" he admitted "There are a couple freshmen who've got a thing for you, mostly exchange student….You're a bad ass and they've never had to sit through a class with you or hear from anyone who has either; but nobody thought you were gonna give them the full extra-curricular cardiovascular-"

"Stop, for the love of everything stop and not just because I don't want to ask where you learned some of those words and how you know what they mean" Tiger downed the rest of her rum to punctuate that well-delivered line, managing not to ruin the moment by sputtering again as Stygian ordered another round for the two of them.

"But seriously though, are you okay?" he asked, clinking their glasses together "You vanished after the first few dances"

"I'm not one for dancing" Tiger shrugged "I found somewhere quiet to read-"

"Only you could" Stygian shook his head in utter disdain "Rye can't dance, you think that's stopping him? No, he just gets used like a puppet by Amaya….Look!"

At her partner's insistence Tiger's vividly green eyes swept across the crowded and energetic dance floor, passing over Athena-Jade Slate and Zirconia Shadowmoon whose close and intimate dancing she suspected was at least part of the reason her partner had excused himself until finally she found the absent half of her own team, where Rye and Amaya were laughing and managing to hold what appeared to be an animated discussion even despite the noise and the fact that the soft-spoken mammoth of a boy was being guided through unfamiliar steps by his partner and girlfriend, the two of them wearing utterly lovestruck and adoring expressions that suggested that they were blissfully unaware of anything happening around them to a large extent.

"It would be pitiful if it wasn't so sweet….It's almost worth waking up to them in the same bed and giggling as if we don't what they were doing a few feet away from us"

"Possibly the highest compliment you can offer without anyone wondering where the real Tiger Santara is" Stygian nodded sagely, to which she managed a smile despite her tension at being surrounded by so many people with whom she would rather simply not deal.

"On the subject of sweet but pitiful, have you seen anything of my brother?" Tiger joked, though treated Stygian to a single look which conveyed that her partner was neither to repeat that particular comment or feel comfortable with ridiculing Ravi himself.

"He was with Snap on the dance floor a few minutes ago, I wasn't planning on interrupting them though" something about the tone of that admission saw Tiger's eyes sweeping across the venue once again with a morbid curiosity which was rewarded in short order by the sight of her twin brother in a black Tuxedo hand in hand with a powerful and sturdy figure flattered by a dress which managed to make its' iridescent colourings seem less tacky than they otherwise might and the familiar deeply maroon hair of Snapdragon Majus; the two of them slipping away the dance-floor and judging by the direction they were heading towards one of the artificial gardens for some fresh air rather than upstairs towards the hotel rooms.

A mental image Tiger was glad to be spared.

"Well good for him" she said bluntly but with as much honest feeling as she could muster; forcing herself to be happy for her twin rather than question his taste or sanity for the umpteenth time.

"Well, if you're not gonna dance" Stygian shook his head in mild disbelief once again "What're you reading, I'll hang out with you as long as you promise me it's not a fucking text book"

"I appreciate it" Tiger managed an earnest statement around her faint chuckling, resting a hand on her partners' forearm "Really I do Stitch….Is it bad that after living outside of the system for so many years I'd be more comfortable here if the whole place was a battlefield or on fire?"

"Hopefully it's not gonna be that kind of party" the Mouse Faunus snorted, managing a diplomatic answer despite the penchant for rushing into danger that his Semblance exemplified.


Following the initial dance, which had been a memorable affair worthy of the fanfare which had surrounded it Team MARZ had drifted off into two separate pairs for what seemed likely to be at least the first portion of the evening, with Athena and Zirconia choosing to remain on the dance-floor together and entwined with one another which left Astra and Regalia to make a cursory and respectable dance to keep pace with the couple before slipping away from the centre of the venue in order to join one of several groups of their peers who had either arrived without dates or else were simply recovering their energy.

This had continued for some time, with conversations between various groups of students who interacted little in their day to day lives being struck up and ranging from topics as innocuous as the dance itself to debates regarding the nature of life and 'Why are we here'; all of which Astra and Regalia had both enjoyed and made their own contributions to, becoming part of the larger scene in a way which allowed Regalia to feel as though she were truly one of the Hunters she had idolised since her first interactions with those who fought the Grimm as a sheltered child of her nomadic clan. A fact which had played no small part in Astra's choice step away from the dance floor early than initially planned; they did love seeing the bright eyed smiles on their partners' face even if they could not, in good conscience give her what she had wanted from them.

Slowly but surely however as the night continued onwards the groups of wallflowers, conversationalists and others who simply did or could not dance had begun to dwindle and disperse, with the truly social awkward making their hasty retreats from the Aurora now that they had sufficiently made their presence known whilst others simply went exploring the grand building and wandered off in apparently random directions despite the reservations held by their peers and others, the most brazen or uncaring amongst them simply returned to the centre of the dance floor once more; hurling themselves into the press of bodies as though it were any other confrontation they had prepared themselves for with results that varied from raucous laughter and cheering as one hapless soul promptly tripped over their own feet to another who, at the other end of a clear spectrum managed to depart from the dance floor soon after with a partner on each arm.

Leaving Astra and Regalia with fewer distractions from one another.

"So" the Deer Faunus managed to flash their partner despite doubts had left them second guessing themselves in almost every interaction with Regalia in recent days as they sought not to hurt their friend or give her the wrong impression "You wanna dance?"

"Heh….Not this song, too fast and I think I messed my ankle up on the last one" the song currently playing, Astra realised as they allowed their focus to expand beyond the table at which he and Regalia were currently sat was indeed something far more upbeat and energetic than what had been pumping from the massive sound system only a short while ago, the current DJ being someone Astra vaguely recognised as a First Year student of Shade Academy who favoured a style which Astra they were back on Menagerie might have said would be at home in Professor Reese Chloris's Dust labs after hours. The music quickly became much less important as Astra fully processed all of what their partner had said to them.

"You've been sitting there with a hurt ankle this whole time?" they demanded incredulously "Why didn't you something? Gimme your boot, I'll get an ice pack or something from-"

"It's fine, it's fine" Regalia waved their concerns aside, though she did manage a sheepish smile before launching into a bout of self-deprecation "It's dumb, I can climb the Aiktishaf and get from the bridge to the rearguard without ever heading inside, while it's moving, in a Dust storm….But put some lights on and I forget where my feet are"

"You dance with enthusiasm….The skill will come later" Astra almost managed to keep the mockery out of their words, giving their partner a wink in response to the brief glare Regalia shot in their direction before adding "Besides those boots look heavier than the ones I wear for stomping on Grimm, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be okay" she reassured their partner before rising slowly to their feet "But I think I'm gonna try and walk it off, I'd be a disgrace to my clan if I was one of the people who didn't explore this place"

"That sounds like we could end up in trouble with a Professor or a manager….So naturally I'm in" Astra chuckled as they followed their partner to their feet, arm casually and naturally finding its' way to the former nomads' shoulders once again "Lead the way"

The two of them began working around the edge of the dance floor, paying only enough attention to their surroundings to ensure that they were steered clear of any collisions and returned any waves in their general direction and found themselves drifting into a silence that managed to be peaceful and easy amidst the noise of the dance despite the sudden wedge between them that Regalia's feelings threatened to become. Astra's focus in the moment was on using their arm to keep their partner upright in case the ankle which in truth was less injured than the Deer Faunus had allowed themselves to believe caused Regalia to stumble whilst the Racoon Faunus simply allowed herself to be content with the fact that whilst it was decidedly not a date and that the two of them were not together in the way that she had wanted to explore it was still a pleasant evening with someone who meant an exceptionally great deal to her.

Until a voice managed to divert Astra's attention enough for the leader of Team MARZ to come to a halt, angling their neck so that their antlers would not catch Regalia's face as they turned towards the source of the noise, which was quickly revealed to be a fellow exchange student, albeit one from another academy whom Team MARZ had no especially close ties to or strong feelings about and; as Regalia had suspected would happen at some point during the evening given that her partner was, by all accounts including her own, hot they were asking Astra to dance.

"I-" Astra was ready to decline until Regalia slipped free of their grasp and gave them a gentle, playful nudge all whilst swallowing a thick, uncomfortable lump in her throat before attempting to speak.

"Go on, you wanted to dance….Have fun"

"I…." Astra trailed off, clearly torn and brow furrowing as thoughts chased one another in their mind until they absently reached out to brush aside a strand of Regalia's dusty, grey-brown hair "One dance with this guy and then I'll catch up with you"

"Heh, sure" she managed to fight the instinctive urge to shrug with feigned nonchalance and shift the movement into adjusting how her jacket hugged her shoulders and with that Astra turned and made their way towards their new dance partner, turning and offering a final smile over their shoulder and wave which Regalia missed as she turned and left.

Her destination was simply to be anywhere other than the dance floor.

As she trudged and stomped heavily through darkened and dimly lit corridors, hands balled into fists in her pockets she cursed herself for own jealousy and stupidity with every pace, the knowledge that Astra would have offered the most vocal protests to those assessments being an irony that was not lost on her. In truth it was not the fact they had left her to dance with someone else that stung and left her eyes burning and watery, that was trivial in the grand scheme of things compared to having the feeling that she could do anything with Astra beside her changed or jeopardised despite her best efforts.

That hurt despite her attempts to pretend things were otherwise.

In her distraction Regalia failed to notice that she had entered a corridor that was currently occupied until an alarmed squeak caught her attention.

"Seriously kid have you got nowhere else to be?" a sharp and irritable voice belonging to Yuki brought the scene into focus and the Racoon Faunus quickly realised that the Third Year student and her more recognisable and more personable partner, Honey Arc had been enjoying a private moment; with the golden-haired Rabbit Faunus's ears drooping in front of a face that was blushing crimson whilst the black dress she wore, almost identical to Astra's save for the colour was bunched up high enough on her thighs to dispel any remaining uncertainties about what had been happening whilst also being pushed away from one shoulder until Honey quickly recovered and began making herself presentable.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm-"

"It's okay, we should've gotten a room, we'll go!" Honey's voice was still a high, wavering note borne of breathlessness and panicked embarrassment; something sharply contrasted against Yuki's grumbling.

"Mood's fucking ruined now" Honey's partner let out a wordless groan of annoyance before finally managing to look at Regalia "Sorry kid, I don't mean to come off as mean as I do but we just never get a minute alone with training and extra missions and….Damn it are you okay?"

Hearing the normally harsh tones of her partners' voice soften with concern Honey managed to peek out from behind her drooping rabbit ears and take in Regalia's overall appearance, piecing together what she believed had happened from so few points of reference and coming to a startlingly accurate conclusion.

"You poor thing; things didn't go well with your partner?" she cooed before nodding to Yuki "Babe I'll make it up to you later but we're heading back….I want you to go talk to the DJ and do me a favour-"

"Drastic measures, got it" Yuki chuckled in a way that suggested this eventuality had somehow been prepared for.

"Wait, what're you doing?" Regalia asked, suddenly startled and even more so as Honey's voice shifted subtly and became something more akin to that which she had used in the training exercise in which she had been pitted against Team MARZ as a whole.

"Mohawk's acting dumb right?" Honey asserted, already marching in the direction Regalia had arrived from "I'm gonna go and fix that"


The evening was not going exactly how Zirconia had planned or intended and yet the Grasshopper Faunus could bring herself to complain or attempt to change this reality.

She had initially intended to put the advice Damascus had given her into practice by having Team MARZ as a whole excuse themselves from where the impending distraction the Chairman needed to create, which would no doubt be violent and chaotic to some degree would be taking place and had no concrete or specific plans in mind to achieve her goal in a way which would not raise suspicion at a later date; a feat made more difficult given that she had been told exactly when to expect the inevitable intrusion upon the dance and impossibly so once Regalia and Astra had slipped away whilst Zirconia had remained utterly captivated by her girlfriends' presence for long enough to lose track of time and her surroundings.

Eventually she and Athena had departed from the dance floor which continued to serve as the central hub around which the dance and party as a whole was focused although it had not been Zirconia's words or actions that had enabled it; instead the couple had been almost washed away from the dance floor in a small tide of migrating students as several of the guests used the moment where a DJ made way for the first live band of the evening to slip away and venture into the rest of the Aurora hotel. Zirconia had realised in short order that the small crowd she and her partner had found themselves a part of had been mostly comprised of Atlesian students, both those attending the icy Kingdoms' own academy and those who had left for other Kingdoms much like Athena-Jade herself; with the vast majority of those students being far less wealthy than the Bear Faunus and taking the opportunity to sate their curiosity with questions about how the obscene luxury of their current surroundings compared to her childhood home of Schnee Manor or the upper echelons of Atlesian society as a whole, whilst a handful of others who were perhaps more daring still chose to ask the snowy haired girl questions about her father, Combat instructor of Atlas Academy and former Specialist Professor Gangrel Slate. Athena for her part suffered the inquisition gracefully and over the course of perhaps an hour steadily transformed the curious crowd into a group of adoring fans with almost no conscious effort on her part and in the process left Zirconia smiling lovingly and listening with rapt attention that would have seen her happily spend the entire evening listening to Athena talk.

Eventually however the group of Atlesian students had begun to disperse of its' own accord, with a handful of daring individuals willing to risk possible trouble by venturing deeper into the hotel to at least peak at amenities which were not currently in use; with some suggesting that they could find the pool. Seeing the folly of this idea many students had returned to the dance itself whilst others had ventured elsewhere, with Athena and Zirconia being amongst the latter group.

Finding themselves in a suite with a king sized bed in the process.

"Should we head back down and find the others?" Athena's voice was a hushed and hesitant whisper, as though there were a clear and specific answer to the question she were hoping for. Zirconia found herself biting her lip and fighting the urge to shiver at the sound of the sheer, unabashed want in her girlfriends' voice as she considered for a moment before answering.

"Not yet….I don't think they'll miss us for a while"

"I was really hoping you'd say that" Athena had already turned and closed the small distance between them before the words had left her lips and in the next instant she was kissing Zirconia fiercely, lips and tongues crashing against one another with a desperate ferocity balanced out by the way the Bear Faunus gently cupped her girlfriends' cheeks, with Zirconia responding by tangling her fingers in the shorter girls' messy, snow white undercut which prompted Athena to turn her attentions to Zirconia's neck and collarbones, her hands trailing downwards as she began to trail a path of sloppy kisses down the valley between her partners' breasts where her dress left her skin on display. A moment later Athena found herself being moved back a single pace as Zirconia used the same motion to strip away the shorter girls' suit jacket in a gesture that Athena couldn't help but feel sent some mixed signals, though before she could question Zirconia's intentions the Grasshopper Faunus had seized her by the length of her loosely fastened tie and pulled her close for another, more gentle and tender kiss.

"I love you" Athena whispered into her mouth.

"I love you too" Zirconia responded without hesitation; their hands trailed steadily across one another though neither made any overt efforts to progress things further until Athena gently but firmly held her partner by the hips and reached up to whisper into her ear with a sultry whisper.

"We can be alone tonight, all night….Nobody walking in on us, no distractions, no need to rush. Just us" a low, throaty moan escaped Zirconia at the promise of that and the obvious offer and suggestion that came with it. She took a moment to weigh her options, she and Athena had come close to this point several times now but had always found themselves stopping short and on the one hand whilst it would certainly provide the reason to be absent that Nero had suggested she find for the two of them the idea of using the moment of intimacy in such a way threatened to sully it; however on the other hand Athena's argument was a convincing one, this was the best opportunity for prolonged privacy and a suitable mood and atmosphere they would likely get and the simple fact remained that Zirconia loved her partner very much and had, for some time been looking forward to having sex with her.

"Lock the door"

Athena was in motion in an instant, trying not to look overeager in a way that might spoil things as she rushed back to the door to ensure that it was locked and secured, the notion of using an Ice Dust infused glyph to freeze the door close for good measure plainly written into her body language even whilst her back was turned. Using the moment where Athena's focus was elsewhere Zirconia reached to the back of her dress to unfasten a series of strategically placed clasps so that when the Bear Faunus turned to face her again she could give a single, flourishing tug on the garment which left sapphire blue eyes wide with surprise and desire. The lower half of the dress billowed as it was cast aside whilst the more figure-hugging upper half of the item was shrugged easily away to leave Zirconia wearing nothing but underwear that had been chosen in anticipation of a moment such as this.

Crossing the room once again Athena was on her in an instant and all thoughts of plans and distractions left Zirconia's mind as she began fumbling with the buttons of her girlfriends' shirt and the two of them stumbled backwards towards the bed.


Astra was in the unenviable position of trying to dance with somebody sorely lacking in rhythm and had soon found themselves wishing that they had stayed with Regalia, something they had hoped to correct in short order as soon as they could make polite excuses and return their current dance partner, who was likeable enough warrant blaming for their own unfortunate lack of skills to their friends. These plans to leave and search for the errant Racoon Faunus were unexpectedly halted however as the current song, something of the same upbeat and energetic sort that Regalia had not wanted to subject a rolled ankle to, albeit now played live by an admittedly impressive band comprised of teens from the orphanage and a few members who had grown old enough to move on came to an end and was followed by something far slower and much more soulful, intended for a kind of dance and closeness that Astra and their current partner were far from well acquainted enough to share in; as a result of this the two gave one another an awkward glance where each of them sought a polite way to say that they wanted to walk away from the situation and in that moment of distraction a pair of hands clamped down on the Deer Faunus and pulled them back with a frightening amount of force.

"Mind if I cut in?" any initial notions that this might have been some ill-conceived prank by Athena were dashed at the sound of the familiar voice and Astra made to look over their shoulder, instead being bodily spun around and led through a few opening steps as they were brought face to face with a decidedly miffed looking Honey Arc.

"Hey Honey, you good?" Astra struggled to reorient themselves and keep up with a dance which, whilst slow still felt as though they were being dragged around in a show of force and control; all as they struggled to think of what they might have done to annoy the normally impossibly friendly Rabbit Faunus "Is this about the dress? Come on, I deliberately got it in a different colour nobody is gonna notice it's the same one unless we're stood next to each other"

"Well then" Honey answered brightly, working up another graceful spin "It's a good thing that we're not standing next to each other; 'cos then I'd have to find another wall to kick you through"

With that and before Astra could offer any retort she all but flung the Deer Faunus across the dance floor with a force that sent them staggering and reeling backwards but never quite falling, instead before they could succumb to gravity and poor balance they found themselves caught once again and this time they were lowered in a deep dip which allowed them to see the face of their apparent rescuer.

"Tell me something my friend, you ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?….Heh, that one sucked but it was all I had"

"I thought you were going for a walk?" Astra asked as they were pulled back into an upright position and left struggling to catch up with a dance partner once again, though the synergy that had become natural between the two of them made it much easier here.

"I did and heh….I kinda walked in on things that nobody wanted me to see, I definitely didn't wanna see it" Astra needed only a moment to put the pieces together and realise precisely what Regalia had interrupted on, why Honey had been so uncharacteristically irate and how that related to them.

"Well, let me get you off of that ankle you hurt then" they grinned, catching Regalia by surprise and taking the lead in their dance by pulling her into a twirl that saw her lifted from the ground with an ease that few people could manage. As Regalia found the floor once again the two of them continued, more tentatively and uncertain than many of the other pairs currently dancing; for reasons that ranged from the unspoken distance that had been allowed to form between them and the fact that said distance left the pair with the focus partly away from the dance itself, thoughts a jumbling cascade as they struggled to navigate the situation, all of which was further hindered by the fact that neither of them were remarkable dancers and Regalia's boots were simply not mean for such an activity.

"Y'know if you wanted to experience things that only the Kingdoms have then this is absolutely a milestone" Astra murmured in their partners' ear, tone light and playful "First super awkward school dance, we've all done it….Usually in middle school"

"Awww nuts I was hoping I'd get the slow motion entrance where everyone's heads turn" Regalia joked back before nuzzling into Astra's shoulder for a moment, the two of them still in motion "But thanks, you're the best"

"You absolutely got that when we first walked in, people even turned away from the Team JNPR dance for a second, nobody does that ever-"

"Don't try and flatter me now" Regalia rolled her eyes but nevertheless found herself blushing and smiling happily at the compliment, pulling away from Astra's shoulder so that her cheek rested against theirs for a moment.

"And listen, I know you didn't meant to sic Honey on me" the Deer Faunus chuckled, nervous as though Honey might appear again "But if you wanted me to stay with you then you could've said-"

"I didn't wanna sound jealous or dumb" Regalia fought the urge to grumble or audibly sulk.

"Nothing to be jealous of" her partner shrugged "Just a random dance at a party with someone I don't plan on dancing with again….Damn it these shoes weren't cheap and now they're scuffed to hell"

"Heh, you always know how to distract me from what's bothering me" Regalia beamed, taking a deep breath before pulling back to meet her partner's gaze with a level and serious stare "Can I say something, I don't want to ruin things or make them any more awkward-"

"Go for it" Astra gave her a reassuring squeeze where they held her and Regalia nodded slowly, needing another moment to prepare herself.

"I asked you to the dance and you said you needed time, but I just wanted to clear the air and make sure that we both understand each other so here goes….I love you" seeing Astra's eyes widen she hurriedly carried on "Not like that, not in the way you're thinking. Team MARZ as whole, I've said it before but I love you guys; you were my first friends outside of my clan and the first people who I feel really understand me and what I want in life, when I'm with you I feel like I can take on anything….I just don't want anything to change that, especially not something like me having a dumb crush"

"It's not dumb" Astra assured her, adding a cocky grin "I'll have you know that plenty of people have had crushes on me….It's a perfectly valid response to meeting me"

Regalia punched their shoulder for that, which Astra could admit was deserved and in the brief pause that lingered for only a moment the Deer Faunus searched for their next words and found that there was only one answer they could give without being a liar of the worst kind.

"Listen...I might not be what you were hoping for, maybe if you'd asked me in a few months it would have been a different answer" Astra shrugged "But you're my best friend and platonically, I love you too"

With that their dancing ceased as the two pulled one another into a crushing embrace that saw them sway lightly on the spot in time to the ongoing music, the scene drawing a few 'awws' and similar sentiments from other dancers who saw it yet had not been close enough to hear the content of the conversation before they promptly moved away to give the partners some privacy. After a while the pair pulled apart enough for Astra to rest their forehead against Regalia's as they began to slowly dance once more; the admission of just how much their partner truly meant to them stirring something in them that saw them hold the Racoon Faunus just a little closer whilst her bushy tail swayed slowly behind her. Astra brushed aside a strand of their partners' hair once again, still unused to seeing it untied save for in the early mornings and without reason or conscious thought they found their hand lightly brushing her cheek, prompting another lingering look between the two of them.

Yet before either could speak the moment was shattered as the lights flickered under the force of a deafening explosion which ripped through the Aurora hotel and made the dance floor tremble.


Petrol's war machine was a thing of twisted beauty.

Standing at roughly two stories tall its' overall construction was based on the principles found in Atlesian military battle-suits, with a structure that was headless and loosely humanoid albeit with modified limbs. Being of a different origin and newer generation however Petrol's mech-suit boasted a far less squat and cumbersome build, with the central mass which held its' Dust-powered generator, a series of other less readily defined segments and its' cockpit being sleeker and less formlessly blocky whilst the limbs of the machine were slender and streamlines in a way which suggested greater mobility and yet no less power.

It balanced on a pair of digitigrade legs, further lending to its' predatory appearance and the pistons and other mechanisms that protruded from the rear of the machines' legs were the only instance inner workings could be seen aside from the faint glimpses where sleek armour panels broke around the ball and socket joints of the suits' limbs. It's arms were, as was standard for such machines tipped with weapons rather than digits or appendages and it was here that Petrol had chosen to answer the challenge that Astra Mars had issued to them in a fashion that could not be ignored; each forearm being fitted with a curved and sweeping shield of armoured cowling which extended beyond the limb itself to encase an enormous rotary cannon fixed under the arm whilst in place of a hand each limb was tipped with a blade larger than a man whose surface crackled with the effects of Lightning Dust

Creating weapons that were a grim parody of Buckshot Ares.

Even this was not sufficient for Petrol's bloodlust however and mounted on the mech-suits' back, resting on either side of its' power supply and forming twin pillars that rose up like spires from where shoulder-blades might normally be were a pair of heavy weapons that could be rotated and angled forward, a laser cannon on one side and a multi-barrelled launcher on the other whose ordnance consisted of incendiary rounds and chemicals whose effects were comparable to the Avian Faunus's own Semblance.

The entire surface of the machines' armour had been painted a pristine, glossy black and the central cockpit of the mech-suit had been covered with an armoured canopy that had been tinted the same colour and given a faint smoky effect to give the appearance of a featureless, visored visage and within it Petrol himself was positioned in a single seat, muscles coiled with tension born of eagerness and expectation whilst his hands were laid on armrests to his sides, with the gauntlets of his new attire connected to a plethora of heavy cables which integrated him with the mech-suit and allowed him a greater degree of control; an effect added to by a weighty harness securing him in place and some apparatus he had not deigned to learn the name of reaching down to interface with the goggles he wore along with his mask, the blinking lights of the cockpit seeming to steadily synchronise themselves with his breathing which grew to an urgent crescendo as the moment he had waited for arrived.

Bringing Petrol's mech-suit and indeed the dozen or so others that were to be part of what was to come had been a simple thing, simply a matter of using some of the many stolen and unassuming vehicles adorned with the logos of haulage companies and the like which did not exist in order to move resources from the Benefactor's own secretive, unassuming warehouse filled with illegal good to ones directly operated by Petrol and his gangs. From there things had been somewhat more complicated however ultimately the crook had managed to secure, through the use of bribery, blackmail and naked threats of violence against family members the use of a collection of airborne freight vehicles to large to small to be considered an airship; in truth more akin to a large transport craft with the vague appearance of a tanker being combined with both a Bullhead and one of the cities' monorails. Such vehicles were a relatively commonplace sight for those working aboard the cities' aerial platforms as they were used to ferry much needed goods and materials to the structures which were anything but self supporting and as such, in light of an event of no small amount importance which had been organised on short notice the arrival of Petrol's small flotilla raised no alarms from either the logistical and administrative staff of the platform itself of the small, unobtrusive security force situated around the hotels grounds; with the first hints that something was amiss coming only when those aboard the aerial platform saw that fully a dozen such freight craft had arrived in tandem and were alighting their cargo at points far from where they should have been.

At which point it was too late.

"TAKE 'EM OUT!" Petrol's voice, phlegm-laced and guttural was magnified to terrifying degrees as his mech-suit strode out into the night air, the pulsing lights dancing across the grounds of the Aurora Hotel making its' gleaming black armour appear almost iridescent before the light was diffused by a barrage of smoke bombs thrown as the rest of the contingent of machines and collections of heavily armed gang members on foot who were both trusted and experienced alighted from their own transports; giving the attackers the appearance of a more coordinated strike force more in accordance with the visions of something grander that had taken root in Petrol's mind. As the Faunus spoke he raised a colossal, bladed arm and gestured to the nearest security officers; allowing those who had accompanied him to jostle for the honour of being the first to land a blow against the enemy whilst he turned his attention to the main entrance of the hotel itself, certain in the knowledge that his presence had now been disclosed to at least some of the Hunters within.

He gave a twisted, monstrous smile of broken teeth and bottomless malice beneath his mask.

All of the Benefactor's strict instructions regarding the level of injury that was acceptable, the degree of damage that could be caused and above all the fact that those civilians present were not to be harmed under any circumstance and the trauma they experienced was to be minimised quickly fell by the wayside in the face of the simple reality that Petrol had already gotten everything he wanted or needed from his arrangement from the shadowy figure and was now in a position to force renegotiations even in the face of threats such as Carmesi Hueso. Most importantly of all however was the fact that somewhere inside the hotel, amongst the mass of bodies identified by heat signatures imposed over his vision by the mech-suits' interface with his goggles was Astra Mars; the foe who had seen a year of Petrol's life wasted in prison and had then dared to openly challenge them for all of Remnant to hear and with that hateful motivation driving him the gang leader sent his war machine thundering forward with loping, powerful strides whilst its' shielded arms rose up to cover the cockpit before swiping outwards as the mecha exploded through the entrance in a mass of stone, glass and wood with a gesture that resembled a callous and dismissive slap. From there Petrol brought the laser cannon of the mech-suit shrugging up into an active position and unleashed a lancing beam of searing green light which tore through everything in its' path as he aimed high and destroyed the main lobby and staircases leading upwards and into various wings of the hotel. Heavy impacts behind him alerted him to the fact that his cohorts were following his lead, with the sound of sizzling, thrumming filling the air as heavy weapons carried by both war machines and attackers on the ground who leapt deftly over debris began to prime for a fresh onslaught and so, satisfied that the stage had been properly set for the inevitable and eagerly awaited showdown Petrol surged onwards, noting as he did so that the venue, with its' high ceilings and open space had likely been chosen by the Benefactor specifically for the use of mech-suits and, projecting his voice from the machine in a booming, distorted din he spoke once more.

Offering a challenge of his own.

"WE'RE LOOKING FOR ASTRA MARS AND THEIR FRIENDS! WE'RE GONNA KILL EVERY LAST PERSON WE SEE UNTIL THEY COME OUT AND FIGHT!"

Authors' Notes:

And here we go, a nice juicy cliffhanger to kick things off for our mid-season finale.
Chapter 84 is the mid-season of Vol.05 and there might be a little break while I plan out the back half of the volume, which should likely take us either to the end of the year or close to it.
There might be a break where I don't post but we'll see, I am actually writing this whilst slightly ahead with my writing.
You know what's fun though….As crazy as the ending to this chapter was and as hype as the payoff next chapter looks like it's gonna be; there's still a whole other aspect of it waiting to be put into motion.
ALSO: This story has 125,000 views on FF Net, which is honestly truly amazing to me...I just wish the reviews were more consistent.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Well the start of this chapter was always gonna be heavily focused on visuals and setting up how things look, which is actually why I waited until here to show what the Aurora hotel actually looks like, especially from the outside.
Astra being utterly out of place around rich people antics is a running theme at this point.
Astra is also a non-binary icon who serves gnc looks that both fuck and slap….And yes I'm aware I sound like the "How do you do fellow kids" meme.
Oof, that awkwardness.
Regalia is allowed to wear a dress and a suit jacket okay, she gets cold.
AJ and Hops aren't quite sickly sweet enough to show up in matching outfits but they came close and definitely considered it.
Nora spiking her own punch….She's basically Sum 41"Trashed my own house party 'cos nobody came" levels of nonsense and antics and Regalia becoming almost as much of a fan of her as she is Hunters like Ruby just makes the most sense in the world.
And of course we're kicking things of with exactly what you thought.
Shifting perspectives like this at the start of the chapter, basically leading up to the same moment from two angles and then again at the end.
Scarlet isn't staff, he's a Hunter/detective but he's married to student Counsellor Neptune so they both live on the campus.
Taking bets on students is something that Nora would absolutely do, the same tradition exists on Breaktide and Ruby is one the people who gets into it.
Nugget's infamy continues.
Nora in a suit, because we were fucking cheated by canon.
Also Ren with his hair down, because I got into RWBY during the Vol.3/4 hiatus and I remember when everyone first saw Ren with his hair down; everyone was thirsty.
If you think Nora wouldn't make an entrance by back-flipping off of a balcony then you've forgotten that Nora used a variation of her landing strategy to make an entrance in a fight against the Nuckelavee.
…..If you haven't belted out shine at the top of your lungs at least once, do you even Arkos?
Tiger manages to be more awkward at a party than canon Ruby….That being said, I do actually know a guy who read a book on physics in the corner of a nightclub at a party once.
Stitch and Tiger are those friends who nobody would expect to be friends, pretty much opposites in everything and the banter between them is entertaining.
Yeah there's at least one First Year who's a sucker for punishment wanting Senpai to notice them.
In every batch of Ocs I have that one couple who're basically placeholders that get paired off so there's an excuse to have them elsewhere; this time it's Rye Fairfax and Amaya Quasar.
As someone with siblings I may have channelled some personal experience with "I am going to force myself to be happy and not strangle this idiot".
Oh the foreshadowing with the line about it being a battlefield.
Debates regarding the nature of life and 'Why are we here'….Yes that was a Red Vs Blue reference.
Honestly a chunk of this chapter was devoted to the kind of angst-drive, kinda cliché pining and high-school awkwardness that I both dislike and try to avoid and also have no personal experience with; I didn't do school dances.
Despite being dense enough to have their own orbit sometimes and the awkwardness of the situation Astra is trying their best here and managing to be a pretty good partner.
Regalia is allowed to be a little upset and is valid for not wanting to hang around at the moment.
It's basically prom, the students were…..Fucking like rabbits and yes I'm making that pun.
Honey Arc to the rescue….Because damn it she was invested in Regalia and Astra lol.
Atlas students being cliquey and still being a little weird around AJ just makes the most sense, she's famous as hell, her Dad is their teacher her Mum is a pop-star/world-saving Huntress/Head of R&D at the SDC and they still don't know anything about her.
Well, Zirconia wanted a way to keep AJ away from the dance floor and this does that.
Let's be real though, this is not her using or misleading AJ, those two are genuinely in love and this is something they have both wanted for some time; no false pretences here.
I think I handled it pretty tastefully without going into full smut.
Yeah some dances are not for random people who asked you to dance just 'cos you're hot; some dances are for couples and if you're not one then evacuate the dance floor.
Of course Astra thought it was about the dress….Also, Astra is a dick for buying the same dress even if it was in a different colour; don't do shit like that.
You know how hard it was to find a good movie quote about dancing that would fit? Seriously the Jack Nicholson Joker was the best I could find.
Honestly the back and forth between Astra and Regalia here was just peak banter for these two, I had some reservations about other parts of the chapter but this is a part I think I did well.
Regalia is Pansexual/Demiromantic and absolutely loves Astra, she loved them before they had a crush on them.
And pause it here folks, this is the moment where Astra finally came close, so very very close to getting it….And then the cliffhanger started.
Now we get to see Petrol's new mech in all its' glory and it's an absolute beauty of a thing.
Of course he specifically asked Nero to give the mech a scaled up version of Astra's weapon….No Hard-light shield though; but it has got a cannon like Athena, a war-crime launcher and then those 'Less readily defined' bits that are absolutely a little something extra.
Okay, he's secured in with a harness and then integrated with the cockpit at the eyes and hands….What could possibly go wrong right?
I had to have a little aside where I explained loosely how he got those mechs onto the aerial platform; it would bother me and probably at least a few readers otherwise.
Of course Petrol has picked now to start getting silly ideas about doing whatever he wants and fuck Nero's orders, because this is what mid-tier henchmen do.
Gotta admit though, he's turned his crew into something pretty dangerous and that is one hell of an entrance and cliffhanger to end the chapter on.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.