1 day until the party.

Team XICR Dorm (Night)

'What am I doing?' Dominic asked himself as he stood before his bed, a red suit lying on it. He'd taken his brother's advice about attire, despite not wanting to go to the dance in the first place. He had 'errands' to run, after all. His Scroll beeped, prompting him to check it. His eye turned red for a few seconds as he read the message. Hearing the doorknob to the room turn, he pocketed the device as his eye reverted back to green. "Hey, Ivy." he greeted.

"Is that what I think it is?" the Maiden asked, stifling a chuckle. She had noticed the suit.

"Hardy, har, har." the blonde said sarcastically. "Yeah. Gregory managed to convince me to get one for the dance, though I'm still on the fence about actually going."

"Why? I thought you of all people would love a dance. There's a rumor going around about Jaune wearing a dress!" Ivy said, eliciting a small smile from her Leader.

"I'm not surprised." he replied, looking out the window to see all the students walking to the Ballroom. He thoughts went back to the message on his Scroll. 'Eh. One night couldn't hurt, right?' he decided before taking the suit into the bathroom. In seconds, he came out fully dressed in a red tuxedo with a black necktie. "How do I look?" he asked his teammate.

"Well, you could look a lot worse." Ivy said, making Dominic groan in annoyance as he left the Dorm, leaving her to change.

Ballroom (Night)

"Can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these?" Ruby asked Yang and Gregory as she struggled to stand up. Yang was wearing a simple white sleeveless dress, and Gregory wore a black suit with pale gray stripes.

"She's worn heels her entire life. You on the other hand have never even TOUCHED one before tonight." the Blue Rose said, earning a glare from his sister.

"Hey, guys." Dominic said, entering the Ballroom.

"So, you actually decided to show up." Yang said.

"Yeah, well, I figured there's nothing better for me to do tonight. Might as well come to this hellhole." the pyromancer admitted. "But if I have to dance, I'm burning this place down." he added, any trace of humor gone from his voice.

"Nobody said you had to dance." Ruby informed her older brother. "Just look at those Atlas Guards." She pointed to two large men standing next to Penny, who was doing the 'robot'.

"Okay. But I WILL keep my promise if I have to." the blonde said as he left to get something to eat. Threatening to commit arson makes a person hungry.

Blake came in with Sun, with the bags under her eyes severely reduced. "Told you she'd come." Yang said, looking over to her twin at the punch table. 'Thanks.'

"So, what do we do now?" Ruby asked.

"Now? Just have fun!" Yang said as she walked away, leaving the Rose Twins alone.

"Does that mean I can change out of these stupid things and into my hood now?" Ruby asked as her head was patted by Gregory.

"Why don't we get something to drink." he told his sister as they joined Dominic at the punch bowl. The blonde had been spending the night sitting down on one of the nearby chairs.

"Hiding out at the punch bowl, huh?" Jaune said as he came to greet the twins.

"Yep." Ruby answered.

"To the socially awkward." Jaune said, raising his glass. Ruby did the same along with Gregory.

"Sorry things didn't work out with Weiss." the silver-eyed girl said.

"Eh, it's fine." Jaune told the Scythe user. "Neptune's pretty cool. I can see why she went with him."

"Wait, what?" Gregory said in surprise.

"Well, come on. Not that many people can pull off blue hair." the blonde Knight clarified.

"Jaune, Weiss came here alone." Dominic said, making the boy choke on his drink.

"Uh, what?" Jaune asked, unsure of what he just heard.

"Yeah. She said something about not having the time to deal with boys right now." Gregory explained, pointing to Weiss. The heiress was trying to fix a flower in an arrangement, but failing.

Jaune glared at Neptune, angry about what he did to the Schnee. "Hold my punch." he told Ruby, who quickly grabbed the cup. Once Jaune was far enough away, she drank from it.

The blonde stomped over to Neptune, fully prepared to punch the bluenette in the face. "Jaune, stop." he heard. Turning around, he saw Connor with his eyes glowing green. He wore a white tuxedo with small pink hearts around the collar. He pointed to the staircase, where Pyrrha was leaving. "Leave Neptune to me. Your teammate needs you." the male Schnee said as he walked toward his sister's former date. Once he was sure nobody was looking, he opened a Spacial Rift beneath Neptune, causing him to fall into the abyss. "Still got it."

After a few minutes, the Rose/Xiao-Long children watched over the others dancing. "I hate everything this event stands for, but I think your Team did a good job planning it. Good work, sis." Dominic said with a smile.

"Thanks, Dom. Tomorrow, it's back to work." Yang said.

"Well, I'm sure we can handle whatever gets thrown at us." Ruby told her siblings.

"Yeah, except that." Gregory said, pointing to Jaune in a white dress.

While Dominic and Yang laughed at the dance Team JNPR was doing, Ruby saw someone outside leaping over the roofs of nearby buildings. "Hey, Gregory. Follow me." she said as she ran out of the Ballroom. Curious, the hydromancer gave chase as well.

CCT (Night)

The duo found themselves at the CCT, where a guard lay unconscious in the grass. Understanding the severity of the situation, Ruby called her rocket-locker and retrieved Crescent Rose. "Are you ready?" she asked her brother.

"Always." he replied as they entered the Tower. Once inside, they found more knocked out guards. The faintest scent of smoke lingered in the air. They walked into the elevator, preparing for the upcoming conflict. When it reached the top floor, they ended up in the Communication Room.

The one you seek is hiding behind a desk to your right.

'So, you can be helpful.' Gregory sarcastically thought as he silently pointed to where his enemy was, revealing their location to Ruby. "We know where you are. Stop hiding and come out." he said. From behind the desk, a masked woman in black stood up. 'She's the person we fought at the Dust robbery.'

"Y'know, it's not a masquerade party. So why don't you take off that-" Ruby was cut off when the mystery woman unloaded a canister of Dust into the air. It solidified into crystals that shot at the huntress-in-training.

"RUBY!" Gregory shouted as he pushed his sister out of the way, taking the attack. Electricity surged through his body, making him convulse on the floor as he bled out. The last thing he saw before passing out was a young girl with orange hair and green eyes.