Chapter 61
(AN: Merry Christmas of 2022! The very bottom has the rest of the author's note. I'm really sorry for the long wait, since times have been super rough lately. But I have not given up on this fic, especially with the holidays coming in at full swing. But for now, enjoy the longest chapter of the story so far.)
Chapter 61
"A party?" I asked at the cafeteria. It was early the next day, and Emerald and I were eating breakfast with the others. Yang and Weiss sat across from me and Emerald as we chatted through multiple topics, one of which was Yang's mentioned plan for the day.
"Yeah. We take one of the training rooms, turn it into a big club, and we spend all night partying. Then we'll watch a movie in the end or something," Yang said. "I doubt we'll be able to after Atlas falls. Vacuo will be full of panic and...well...who knows what that other dimension has in store for us."
"By party, you either mean a night full of alcohol and poor choices, or a night full of everyone fighting everyone until morning," Weiss said as she cut her well done steak - I will always call her a savage for eating steak in such a way, no matter how much Weiss insists it's 'refined'.
Yang just rolled her eyes at Weiss. "Have you forgotten that we're in an active military base? I seriously doubt that the Ace Ops or anyone else would want to get wasted," she remarked. "Plus I did have a chat about that way earlier. We can drink booze, just not enough to get shit-face wasted. Wouldn't do that anyways, I saw how messed up that stuff gets." No doubt that she was referring to Weiss's family. Willow was well on the way to recovery, and Qrow had stopped drinking long ago. He did keep the empty flask around.
"You'd be surprised," I said, remembering more than a few videos and stories of just that happening with off duty soldiers in fiction or in real life, and they didn't have a potential war hanging over their heads. But I doubted we had anything to worry about, not with the chance of the General being there, or an irate Yang trying to protect little Ruby. That remark did get me some odd looks, but I waved it off. "So you're planning on inviting them as well?" I asked.
"Well yeah. Even if they won't admit it, I think we're friends, especially with how often we've trained and worked together," Yang said with a smile before taking a bite of her own, much more reasonable, medium rare steak. "They should be able to let loose a little as well."
"Good luck with that," Emerald gave a snort of laughter. "Maybe you can get Clover and Elm to join, but the rest seem like they'd rather keep working. Especially the Schnee."
"We can work something out," I said placidly. "But we shouldn't force them if they'd really rather be doing something else." I finished, turning my attention back to Yang.
"You make it sound like I'd drag them here kicking and screaming!" Yang said in false offense.
"You saying you wouldn't force anyone to come to a party of your own making? Really?" I said with as much sarcasm as I could without bursting out into laughter.
"Hmph!" Yang haughtily turned her nose up at me. "If I did, it would be for their own good!" She said in her poshest accent.
We stared each other down for five seconds before we couldn't hold it anymore and started cracking up. Weiss just gave us a dirty side eye, but I could see the smile tugging at her lips, while Emerald continued to eat but gave me a fond look. Once we had settled, Emerald decided to get us back on topic. "So who else is coming?" she asked.
"Oh!" Yang perked up at the reminder. "So it's supposed to be us and our teams," JNPR needing no mention since Nora would make sure they all showed up. "The Ace Ops, General Ironwood if he wants, Qrow, Oscar, Penny and her dad if she brings him along, he might bring Maria along so we should just include them as one package."
That would be a lot of people, which made sense of why Yang wanted to have the party here instead of just going to a club with the rest of us. It would certainly be nice to see everyone and have some fun, but it'll definitely be a little cramped.
"What about the Happy Huntresses?" Weiss asked, causing me to perk up at the mention of their names. "We've worked with them just as much, and they should be in the base."
"I thought they were out on a mission?" I asked. Mission probably wasn't the right word, as they'd mostly just be preparing civilians for the eventual evacuation and making sure to keep the peace, but they'd been kept busy.
"Multiple, actually," Weiss said with a nod, confirming my thoughts. "But they've been called back for a rest period. They don't like it, but they've been staying close to base."
"We should definitely invite them then," I said with my own nod. "They're good people, and I know Qrow will get along well with Robyn."
"You'll need a lot more than booze and a movie to keep everyone entertained then," Weiss said as she daintily wiped her mouth from her dry ass steak.
"Booze? Interested in getting wild, princess?" Emerald teased, much to the former heiress's ire.
"N-no! I was just being considerate of the adults that will be attending!" Weiss protested, her cheeks burning red.
"You said booze. Not alcohol. Something tells me you might be very interested in that," I lightly teased Weiss.
Weiss just crossed her arms, a blush still on her cheeks. "You're crazy if you think I'm touching that stuff after what it did to Whitley. Never mind having to nurse Yang after every night out she has!" She finished with a scowl sent to the aforementioned blonde, who developed her own blush and turned her head away, whistling as if she hadn't just been called out. "And don't even get me started on you!" Weiss suddenly pointed a finger in my direction, causing me to sweat out of nervousness and confusion. I hadn't expected the sudden verbal jab at me
"What did he do?" Emerald asked, suddenly very interested, and causing me to sweat even more. I tried to stammer something out, but Weiss was quicker on the draw.
"These two decided to go missing, and then proceeded to get wasted and nearly passed out at a bar until we found them," Weiss sneered.
"We weren't that bad..." I said meekly.
"We found you with your tongues literally tied together. I'm surprised you didn't copulate then and there," Weiss just said with a deadpan.
Emerald burst into a fit of giggles, and while Yang seemed just as embarrassed as I was, she found it just as funny. Thoroughly outnumbered, I could only bury my head in shame and embarrassment. Soon however I lifted it back up, as I felt a light flick to my temple.
"I was absolutely furious at the time," Weiss said once I was paying attention. Great way to start it, honestly. "But that was more because we didn't know where you guys were or if you were hurt," she said, her voice adopting a much quieter tone - a tone that made me feel rather guilty. I grumbled out a brief apology, which Weiss was quick to wave off, before we tried finishing our meals.
"So...are there gonna be party games or something?" Emerald asked a few minutes later, our collective gazes turning to her and just staring. "Hey don't look at me. I'm the orphan here, I've never been to a party, so this is just an assumption based on what I've heard."
"Oh yeah. We need to get Emerald's first times listed off. Her first win at Remnant: The Game, her first shot at a dance competition, her first time getting wasted, etcetera etcetera," Yang said excitedly before turning to wink. "Her first time?"
"Actually...uhh..." Emerald whispered as I turned away, whistling innocently. Yang froze immediately, and for a second: I was concerned that she might get jealous or angry, but to my surprise, she leaned forward and gripped Emerald's shoulders with glee. "Is he big or what?" she tactlessly demanded - making Weiss spit out her water as I paled immediately.
Emerald frowned as she snuggled up against me. "I ain't sharing," she said.
"Oh, come on!" Yang whined. "Give a girl some gossip, eh?"
"Nope. Mine," Emerald said, slapping her hand on my lap and squeezing. I jumped and banged my knees under the table, earning more than a few curious looks my way. Coughing, I rubbed my kneecaps and winced at the sore feeling, feeling very embarrassed.
Luckily, Yang didn't pursue the topic any further - I imagined that even she wasn't crude enough to talk about anything sex related in front of a bunch of people. Any and all conversation was pretty much cut short for the remainder of breakfast, as Yang went to talk to General Ironwood as soon as she was done.
"So, do you think your family will be up for joining this party?" I asked as I piled all the dishes together to bring back to the kitchen.
"I doubt it. My sister wants to get everything prepared, and my mother and brother aren't fans of rowdy get-togethers," Weiss admitted. "Still, I'll ask."
"Alrighty," I said. "I'm gonna get some more training in. Then I'm going to walk Biscuit. Last I heard, Maria does it whenever she's not doing her own thing."
"Oh, speaking of which, Ruby wanted to get some more training from Miss Calavera. It's going to be the first time she sees her in a long time," Weiss said.
"And what about Doctor Polendina?" Emerald asked curiously.
"I'm not sure. As...eccentric as he is, he is a nice person," Weiss said. "But I can see him being busy with all sorts of projects before the attack begins."
"Makes sense," I replied with a light frown. "But I can't imagine carrying on with any of them would actually be beneficial."
Even if he did get something finished, like a new weapon or Atleasian Knight, the allocation of resources, relocating potential workers and then trying to place them in strategic positions would honestly cause a lot of issues. Right now Atlas was running like a well oiled machine, well more than usual anyways. Guns, knights, armor, etc, were all being pumped out round the clock in preparation for the coming conflict. Things had gotten into a certain rhythm, allowing for quick work, and interrupting that rhythm could cause everything to slow down for a brief period. But with only a few days left, Atlas couldn't afford that.
"Maybe not, I agree. But he's a builder, like Ruby," she continued, her tone now a fond exasperation. "Their answer for most things is to build something to deal with it, when all else fails they can trust in their creations."
I fell silent. "I guess..." I said. "See you around?"
"Indeed," Weiss said, Yang cutting in with "At the party!", as we went our separate ways, planning on seeing one another when the early afternoon rolled around.
There wasn't much to do before the party, so Emerald and I decided to do the one thing we always did when we had time to ourselves. And that was to spend time with each other by making out in the bunk room.
It wasn't anything too spicy at first, thankfully - I still felt embarrassed over breakfast, and the sudden public exposure of the fact we were currently sleeping with one another. It was just me sitting on the bed, Emerald straddling my waist as she had her arms wrapped around my neck. My own hands were on her hips, gripping her tight as the two of us kissed - alright, less kissing and more tongue wrestling.
That lasted upwards of fifteen to twenty minutes before we moved to just cuddling, the two of us stripping to our underwear and snuggling against each other underneath the covers. "Why do we need no clothes for this?" I couldn't help but ask.
Emerald looked away. "Just...I wanna feel your skin on mine..." she admitted as she pushed her head in the crook of my neck, her hair pressed up against my cheek as she hugged me. Her hands felt rather cold, but the rest of her body felt very warm indeed, and I couldn't help but lean into her.
"I love you, you know that?" I finally said after a few minutes of enjoying myself against her embrace. I blushed as Emerald shifted closer, lifting a leg over one of mine and pressing her entire body fully against me underneath the blankets. "I know," she said, a cheeky yet soft and emotional tone in her voice.
"So, anything you wanna do in the few days we have left?" I asked as I stroked Emerald's hair gently.
"Well, I'm not sure. There's all kinds of things we can do, right?" she asked as she looked up at me. "Do you have anything in mind?"
I just grinned and kissed her forehead. "Eh, we'll wing it," I finally said, before reaching down and slowly pulling down her wrap top. Emerald bit her lip before reaching for my shirt, slowly pulling it up.
You can imagine what happened next.
- elsewhere in the compound -
"Penny!" Ruby cried excitedly as she all but crashed into Penny thanks to her semblance. Penny was ready for it, and wouldn't have moved an inch despite the force, but she completed a twirl for Ruby's sake. She couldn't injure her friend, after all!
"Salutations, friend Ruby!" Penny in a tone just as excited. "It's been far too long!"
"I missed you too, Penny," Ruby smiled before letting go of her friend, and embarrassingly turned toward the other two occupants. Maria just cackled at her student, while Pietro had a happy, if equally amused, smile. It was moments like these, where he was glad his daughter had such great friends.
"This the welcome I get, after all I've taught you brat?" Maria asked with a grin.
"Sorry," Ruby rubbed the back of her head. "It's great to see the both of you as well, but I knew Penny could handle it. After all she isn't..." Ruby trailed off as Maria raised an eyebrow, daring her to say what she expected she wanted to say. "...made of flesh and guts! Yes, flesh and guts," Ruby finished with a nervous laugh.
"Yes, my daughter is quite amazing," Doctor Polendina said soon after, and the rest of the greetings were concluded. From there the group sat down and discussed what they had all been up to.
Just like in the vision the Jinn had shown Ruby, Maria had been spending most of her time with Doctor Polendina, helping out on occasion when he needed it but otherwise just being there to keep him company wherever he went. Dr Polendina had been hard at work, keeping the soldier's and their equipment in good shape, but apparently he had been rather busy as of late.
It likely could have been because of Penny. She had been training non stop, despite likely already mastering her new weapons and having a solid fighting style. If Penny had any suggestions for ways to improve her body, Dr Polendina would drop everything to implement them. He wanted to give her the best chance of survival after all.
Ruby briefly shuddered. She could hardly fault him.
Honestly she likely had the most boring time out of everyone here. She didn't get a chance to tinker with Crescent Rose, a fact she bemoaned everyday despite her baby being better than ever. Being with her team was always fun, but everyone was tense and they couldn't release any of that tension with missions. Her own training had begun to stagnate as well now, the only thing she could really improve upon was…
"The next step in training your silver eyes?" Maria asked. "Why are you only asking now? Why not, say days or weeks ago?"
"I've been busy, okay?" Ruby whined. "I had a lot of missions to go on and different training to do, and whenever I tried to find you, you just disappeared!"
"You expect an old woman to come looking for you brat?" Maria scoffed. Ruby groaned, Penny attempting to give her a comforting pat on the back, however it came out more forceful than she probably wanted, sending Ruby into a fit of coughing as she nearly plopped on the floor like a sack of potatoes.
"I know I can't get much practice in, especially with no Grimm conveniently around. But every little bit is going to count. And I need to make everything count if I want to be able to get stronger and save more people. Otherwise...well..." Ruby said once she overcame the Penny induced coughing fit.
"Well today's your lucky day kid!" Maria said with an excited tone, causing Ruby to lean forward in equal excitement. This was it! She could still become a super badass huntress! Well, an even superer-
"You've officially graduated from Maria's Silver Eyed crash course!"
...
"Huh?" Ruby asked dumbly as she stared at her teacher, blinking three times in succession.
Maria shrugged unapologetically. "I've taught you all I know kid, the rest you'll have to figure out on your own."
"B-but you were the Grimm Reaper! Y-you took them down like it was nothing with your eyes!" Ruby said in a panic.
"Using the tricks I've already shown you," Maria said, before a frown overcame her face. "I was good, but my eyes were taken from me young." She rubbed her prosthetics absentmindedly. "I'm sorry Ruby, but unfortunately for people like us, we rarely live long enough to pass down what we know."
Ruby always had a clear reminder of that fact.
"Do not worry, friend Ruby," Penny tried cheering up her morose friend. "You have all the skills you need, and I will be sure to ensure your safety!" Penny finished with her usual megawatt smile.
Ruby wanted to believe her unconditionally, but the truth was that she was shaken. She was unsure if she, they, really had what it took to make this plan work and escape Atlas. Nevermind defeating Salem. Jinn's vision had shown just how wrong things could go.
But she couldn't lose hope, if she did that, failure was all but guaranteed. "Yeah.." Ruby agreed. "And I'll make sure you stay safe as well, Penny."
She was never losing her again.
"That is a shame though," Dr Polendina cut in, idly scratching his beard. "I would have loved to take some readings on the energy released when you use your eyes. Imagine if it could be recreated?" He said with a deep chuckle.
"And take away my students' time to shine?" Maria asked as she jabbed the man with her cane.
"Ha ha, I suppose not," Pietro gave in, unbothered by the cane as he chuckled heartily, before he cracked his knuckles. "Fortunately, I already have something else in the works."
"Is it the General's laser hand?" Ruby asked excitedly.
"Sort of. Don't worry, you'll likely see it in the final battle to come," the doctor said. "In the meantime, I refined and tuned up some of Penny's weapons. Unfortunately, they're not really recommended to be used in training...as the use of railguns is..."
"Destructive," Ruby finished. "Don't worry, I'm not that crazy when it comes to weapons."
"Sure you aren't, Ruby," Penny said, and Ruby couldn't help but pout, because her friend doubted her and for the fact that she apparently learnt sarcasm, before she remembered what she came to do.
"Oh, by the way, do you wanna have a party later? Yang and I are putting together a night of nothing but fun!" Ruby asked excitedly.
"Parties? I always wanted to join another! The dance party at Beacon was so fun!" Penny gushed before she turned to the creator in a wheelchair, hopping up and down in eagerness. "Father, may I please go? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?"
"I don't see why not. You should go and have fun every once in a while, after all," Doctor Polendina agreed. "Just don't cause too much trouble, alright? Even if you can't get drunk."
"Yay! When do we start this party?" Penny asked, hugging Ruby and spinning her about twenty full rotations a second, Ruby's life slowly draining out of her in that squeeze. When she finally stopped and let Ruby go, she was left stumbling in her wake. She opened her mouth and tried to speak, before turning green and stumbling towards the nearest trash can.
As Maria sighed at Ruby hurling in the corner of the room, Doctor Polendina joined in with his old friend as Penny watched her friend puke, the woes of such high speed centrifugal motion sickness finally having caught up to her. "Oops," she said.
"Off to a great start, dear," Maria sarcastically said.
- several hours later -
Blake's scroll rang with a notification from Yang as she stepped out of the Manta, having returned from the city of Atlas. "Meet us at Training Room A-5," she read as she walked towards the main building of Atlas Academy. "Whatever for?" she mumbled, making her way there regardless. If her teammate neglected to add any details, there was a good chance that it was somewhat urgent.
She'd just visited Deery - Jennifer at a construction yard near the edge of the city, one of thousands that had volunteered in helping build fortifications on empty streets, presumably for the upcoming attack in a few days. Blake had gone into Atlas to visit and catch up with the aforementioned girl while she had time, especially with what was coming in just a few days. General Ironwood had been quick to set her to work as part of her 'probation', but he hadn't been unreasonable.
When Blake had gone to see her, she was working on a minor construction site that was building up more temporary structures for the displaced citizens, as well as clearing any debris that could hinder them during the eventual evacuation.
Regardless, she accepted the work with open arms, knowing she deserved it. As upset as it made Blake, she knew the young woman did bring it upon herself, just glad she was doing what she could to make amends.
Blake spent about ten minutes making her way through the hallways, past the classrooms and towards the combat rooms, where A-5 was waiting for her. She reached it, double checking the message on her scroll to make sure that this was the correct location before quickly knocking on the door, waiting for someone to open it.
Indeed it opened, and instead of one of her teammates opening up the entrance to the room, it was a large fluffy dog that tackled her. She screamed as the dog straddled her, slobbering all over her face as she struggled, flailing helplessly as Biscuit gave her several dozen doggy kisses.
"Okay, Biscuit. Up you go!" Yang's voice said, before the big dog was lifted right off of Blake, allowing her to scramble to her feet to see Yang holding Biscuit like a big baby, the dumb dog panting happily as he enjoyed the attention. "Who's a good boy? You are! Yes you are!" Yang cooed as Biscuit squirmed in her hands.
Blake frowned as she wiped her face of any excess slobber, which was all of it. "What's going on?" she asked, not mentioning Biscuit, already resigned to the fact that this was probably just her life now.
"The party! The only chance we'll have to enjoy ourselves before war breaks loose against the Grimm!" Yang explained. Blake then took the time to look inside. Instead of towers of hard-light Dust, the room was bare except for several speakers, a dance floor, an entire quarter of the room dedicated to food catering, and a bunch of video games all crammed in the opposite corner of the room. Inside was Ruby, Weiss, Penny, Oscar, all of team JNPR, and even a few other teams like team FNKI, as well as Qrow and Winter. No music was playing, but there was clearly a DJ station against the wall.
"When did you come up with this?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow, as Yang led her further into the room while setting Biscuit down on the floor, the big dog thankfully running off to go bother someone else.
"Just this morning actually. Had help hashing out some details, and here we are," Yang said as she spread her arms as if showing off some grand display.
"I'm surprised you managed to get this set up this quickly. I didn't think the General was the type to party during a crisis," Blake remarked as she walked inside.
"You'd be right usually," Yang said with a nod. "But he agreed that everyone needed a break before shit hits the fan." Her tone became more somber as she said this. "Gotta have fun while we can, and remember what we're fighting for."
Blake followed her gaze, which rested on their team and friends, busy setting up the needed entertainment while laughing all the while. Weiss was criticizing the tables and food being prepared, like the rich snob she was. Ruby was visibly running out of willpower to grab one of the cookies on the table, while Jaune, Flynt, and Ren were already on the dance floor, warming up for the dances to come as Pyrrha, Neon and Nora cheered from the sidelines.
Oscar was talking with Winter, having a clearly professional conversation as Qrow was at the DJ station, setting things up since apparently the rest of the room didn't want to. And by the looks of things, he was having trouble.
Blake didn't have any intention of helping - she was bad with tech. "So," the cat Faunus said suddenly, hoping to distract the both of them from any negative thoughts. They were here for a party after all. "What exactly do you need me to do?"
"Sure you don't want a rest first? You were gone a while," Yang asked, though she sent Blake a smile, showing she appreciated the effort.
Blake smiled back, a bit flattered that Yang was asking this. Long ago, Yang likely would have dragged her to a party without asking. She really had become more considerate. "I'm fine. It was just a simple visit," Blake shrugged.
"Help me out with this then, will ya?" Yang asked as she brought the duo to a line of speakers. Looks like someone was going to be helping out Qrow after all.
"How is uh...Deery was it?" Yang asked as they got to work.
"It's Jennifer," Blake said before laughing a little. "Calling her Deery pisses her off, and trust me, you don't want to do that."
The reason Blake decided to warn her partner instead of just letting it be, was because of the scene she had walked in on when she had gone on her visit. One of the laborers, an older gentleman by the look of it, seemed to have more traditional views on life. He apparently thought that it was better that Jennifer sit the work out, leaving the men to do it. Blake could only laugh at what his reaction would be if he discovered her previous occupation.
Jennifer had been calm, but firm in that she was going to work as well. Him calling her deary however seemed to have been the final straw, even if it wasn't exactly the same. Other than that, she had been doing rather well, working with fatigue and a bit of frustration from those that hated Faunus.
Yang gave her a strange look at her laughter, but she just waved her off. "She's doing well. Working hard, and the men under her are as well. Seems her time in the White Fang was good for something at least."
"Never quit even in the face of utter stupidity?" Yang remarked. Blake couldn't hold back her snort of laughter, so instead she sent a lighthearted punch into Yang's arm, before hearing a bark halfway across the room. Turning, Blake and Yang saw Neon, Ruby, Pyrrha, and Nora bowing before a proud Biscuit as Ren, Jaune, and Flynt all laid on the ground, in apparent poses of agonizing death. Weiss was burying her face in her hand while the other hand was planted on her waist.
"Do I even wanna know?" Blake asked.
"Looks like Biscuit won the dance contest," Yang remarked, and Blake snorted for a second time.
- POV: Markus, a few hours later -
"We're not sleeping tonight..." Emerald said, wiping her eyes as she walked alongside me towards the training room.
"Yep," I agreed, before yawning. "I forgot how much I hate napping sometimes."
"Ditto," Emerald yawned before leaning against me. "So, what's the plan for this party?"
"Dunno. Eat and talk? Who knows what it has?" I remarked as we reached the room. Almost immediately, we could hear the thumping of some jazzy beat inside. The door was partially open by only a millimeter, so I pulled it open all the way to get struck by an almost literal wall of sound, powerful enough to make me and Emerald stumble back a few feet. Inside the training room were strobe lights, speakers blasting enough decibels to knock a normal person out cold, and the sound of laughing that could barely be heard over the music.
There were several people swing dancing, such as Jaune and Pyrrha, Nora and Ren, Oscar and Ruby, Neon and Flynt, and about a dozen other couples as the rest of the teens watched with interest and glee, cheering as they all danced in somewhat poor synchronization. Maria Calavera was sitting in a chair by herself, smiling in content as she watched the teens dance like there was no tomorrow. Qrow and Winter were standing by the wall, chatting normally - which I refused to believe was anything more than snarky insults disguised as playful banter the moment I saw it.
"Markus!" Yang shouted, and she came over and pulled Emerald and I towards the group through the packed crowd. "I was wondering when you were going to get here. Come on, let's dance!"
"I-wait!" I croaked as Yang let go of Emerald and left her in the crowd, while I was immediately pulled into the group of couples, all of us dancing partially in tune with the beat. Yang took the lead, pulling me around and making me do all sorts of flips and spins alongside everyone else. The entire time, all of us were laughing throughout the song, which was a very long song.
As I was flipped around, held up over Yang's shoulders while upside down, and spun like a ragdoll, I remembered all the funky dance videos on the Internet back at home, and I felt myself get into the mood a little bit more. When the music finally ended, I was dizzy and giggling like a weirdo as normal techno music played over the speakers. "Heh...I feel like I'm gonna throw up," I muttered as I leaned against Emerald's supportive arm.
"If you do, do it all over Yang," Emerald growled. "Stealing you from me and taking my first dance with you away from me."
"Can you even dance?" I asked.
"Ap bup bup!" Emerald silenced me immediately. "Not the point."
I just rolled my eyes at Emerald, before grabbing her arm and dragging her into the center of the circle with me.
"Hey!" Emerald cried in protest, which I dutifully ignored as a good boyfriend. We made our way to the food table, where there were all sorts of party foods: foods such as hot dogs, sandwiches, fried chicken, fruit punch, cheap booze (for some reason), and so much more. Emerald and I ended up getting a little bit of everything, sitting with Oscar, Penny, RWBY & JNPR in the corner as we all ate.
"Ozpin hasn't stopped laughing," Oscar was saying as we joined in. "It's embarrassing..."
"Why? Has he been enjoying himself?" Ren said.
"Also, I thought Ozpin would be busy helping Ironwood with the big mission," Pyrrha chimed in, some of us agreeing.
"I thought so too, but he said he wanted me to go and enjoy myself first," Oscar said before smiling. "He says I'm still here and that it's still my body. He doesn't really want me to feel like I'm just some passenger in his body."
"That's nice of him," Yang remarked, smiling as he tapped the punch cup in Oscar's hand with her own. "So, why's he laughing?"
"He...has some thoughts about Ruby's dancing. And mine. And how we were less dancing and more...stumbling on spinning logs," Oscar meekly answered, as Ruby gasped in offense. I snorted as Yang and Weiss looked away. The two had been rather haphazard on the dance floor.
"It's not my fault! These lady stilts are so annoying!" Ruby whined, her cheeks flush in bright red embarrassment.
Everyone had decided to dress up a little for the occasion, but nothing fancy except for maybe Weiss and Winters dresses. Ruby's dress was similar to the one she had on during the Beacon dance in terms of color and general shape, but that's where the similarities ended. Ruby's arms were covered by a black sheer material, and the straps of her dress were tied around the sides of her shoulders instead of above them, the skirt was also more form fitting, hugging her legs and emphasizing her thighs. The slit down the one side also helped quite a bit.
Now that I think about it, maybe Weiss had a lot more influence on what her team was wearing tonight than I realized, Yang no doubt chipping in to make her sister turn some heads. I feel almost underdressed now.
"You didn't have to wear heels," Blake said, making Ruby turn very stiff as she turned to face Blake. "Why did you get a pair anyway?"
"Because Yang said I had to..." Ruby said before trailing off, coming to a startling realization. "YANG!" Yang leapt out of her chair and ran, cackling like a maniac, Ruby getting up and wobbling after her and yelling child friendly expletives at her older half-sister before finally losing her balance.
"You think she would've learned her lesson the last time she wore heels." I mumbled, as all of us laughed when Ruby flopped on the floor like a wet sack of potatoes before I spoke up again. "So what exactly is all this? Are these all Atlas students?" I asked as I looked at the several dozen teens all enjoying themselves. I even saw Ciel Soleil in the crowd as well, though she seemed to be casually mingling with a drink in her hands - something I thought she wasn't the type to do considering how stiff she is when we see her.
"Well...these are all the students who volunteered to stay behind and fight when General Ironwood announced the existence of Salem," Jaune said. "He also changed the plan of telling the people about Salem for now. He'll have it done at Vacuo."
"Wait, when was this?" I asked, surprised.
"Earlier today. A few hours before lunch," Weiss said.
"Oh. We were...asleep," I said awkwardly. Emerald began to whistle casually, and Weiss frowned, putting the pieces together. "Wait, they volunteered to stay behind because of the party?" I asked incredulously, once I put my pieces together.
"What, no, of course not!" Weiss said before Jaune snorted. "What?"
"I was just thinking, can you imagine if some announcement said 'those who choose to remain behind for their nation get a sick dance party before we all die' or something," Jaune said, and Nora burst out laughing at that.
"In all seriousness, several students chose to stay behind and protect Atlas for as long as possible," Ren explained. "We heard about it and Yang volunteered to invite them to the party as well."
"That's nice of her," I said. "And hey the more the merrier."
"Yeah, well I figured they needed the pick-me-up. We all did," Yang said as she reappeared, Ruby currently latching on her back and hitting her repeatedly with the strength of a head butting Chihuahua. Speaking of dogs-
Biscuit was rolling around on the floor, a piece of sandwich meat in his mouth as a dozen girls all fawned over him, cooing and giggling.
"Dogs get all the girls," I remarked.
"Not all of them," Yang said with a grin, and she ruffled my hair and ears, nearly making me collapse against Emerald before she caught me, preventing me from becoming acquainted with the floor. "Still got it."
"Nope," I growled. Curse my sensitive ears. "Anyways, what were you planning for all of us to do?"
"I dunno, mingle, chat, have fun. Eat and drink as much as you want because we're partying like there's no tomorrow!" Yang cheered before her smile dropped from her face. "...that bummed me out way more than I thought it would."
"Well...it's a pretty rough situation we're in," Ruby said, still attached to Yang's back. "It's a lot harder to have fun when we're gonna fight the entire Grimm army in a few days..."
"That's exactly why we should focus on looking forward to the slim chance of victory rather than the risk of defeat," Jaune piped up. "And I'm pretty sure Nora's actually looking forward to it regardless."
Turning toward our resident leg breaker, we could see her shaking in restrained excitement, the only thing keeping her grounded being an exasperated but still amused Ren.
"Are you kidding me?" Nora said, finally bouncing up and striking up the classic superhero pose, hands on her hips and chest puffed out. "Grimm season is officially open, and mama needs herself some new rugs!"
"But don't Grimm dissipate?-"
"Hush!" Nora shouted at the confused farm boy, leaving him with a hilarious wide eyed look on his face, causing the rest of us to crack up. The wide eyed look vanished, morphing into a rather amused expression as Oscar's eyes glowed briefly.
"I think it's best to just go along with Miss Valkyrie's...fantasies." Ozpin said from within Oscar's body. "I have seen a lot of different people, from all walks of life come through his school, but very few could compare to her sheer exuberance."
"No kidding," I remarked, and Ozpin and I shared another chuckle as Nora pouted, before glowing bright pink when Ren kissed her on the cheek.
"Well I agree with Jaune," Pyrrha giggled as she bumped shoulders with her boyfriend. "The night is still young, so let's party!" We all collectively cheered at that, and we all split up, ready to enjoy the rest of our night.
Yang and Ren went right back to the dance floor, joining many others for a freestyle event that Blake, Ruby, and Nora watched and cheered for all the while. Yang seemed to be taking the lead with her mere experience on the dance floor, but Ren was a favorite as well, his flexibility allowing him to perform some impressive moves. And that's by huntsman standards, aura made breakdancers from Earth look stiff and slow in comparison.
Jaune and Pyrrha were binging on any available video games, competing against anyone else in any four or more player games. Pyrrha's competitive nature was shining through as she didn't pull any punches against her opponents, like she was fighting them in a tournament for her title. When they weren't demolishing everyone as a synchronized duo, Jaune was matching her move for move, he was the one who introduced her to these games after all, and the one to show her his tricks. But not all of them, he couldn't let his student best him!
Ruby had taken to riding Biscuit like a bull, the dog running around as she latched on and laughed, many party goers caught off guard as a red and gray streak zoomed around them, cackling being heard as it happened. Weiss followed soon after, trying to scold her for such reckless behavior. Trying being the key word as she failed to hold back her own laughter time and time again.
Penny was in the DJ's seat, pretending to act the part of an actual DJ as the music continued to play. All in all she wasn't doing too bad, seeming to forgo using her robot abilities to make the music, and just having fun with it.
"I'm DJ ready!" She shouted out to the crowd before even more music started blasting.
She seemed to have a small gathering of fans, some watching and others dancing along with the beat. One such pair was Maria, and surprisingly Dr Polendina. He must have finished his work for the day. The man leaned forward to be able to reach the old reaper, his robotic legs working overtime to keep up with her energetic and sometimes erratic moves. Yet they were never chaotic, always seeming controlled as the duo literally danced around everyone else.
Emerald had wanted to join the sort of mosh pit that had started around the two, after we had our own little moment together, just letting loose and not caring if it was really considered dancing. I'd declined joining her, feeling parched, and joined Qrow and Winter by the refreshments table that had been set up.
"Great party, huh?" I remarked. Winter scoffed as she looked to where Weiss was, smiling as Biscuit finally rolled over, Ruby trapped under the big doggo. Qrow seemed to be enjoying the sight as well.
"Yeah," the former drunkle said as he sipped his clearly non alcoholic punch. Winter was holding a plastic cup of alcohol, though clearly playing things safe as she barely took any sip. "Haven't seen something like this since Beacon."
"How crazy was Beacon with team STRQ?" I felt the need to ask. The older man grinned and looked down, clearly lost in nostalgia as he recalled moments in Beacon as a teenager.
"Plenty of crazy moments. Taiyang forced me into a skirt on our first day," Qrow said. "Said it was some sort of cultural thing. A kilt or whatever."
"Yeah, I remember that. You were all 'like what you see?' to the girls," I said.
"Right. The future kid who saw everything happen already. Kind of creepy, and probably never gonna get used to you doing that," Qrow said.
"What about me? Any dark secrets that were revealed about me?" Winter asked as she looked at me, her eyes narrowing in a dangerous glint.
"Not really. No offense, but you weren't important enough for that to happen. At least, not at the time," I said, sheepishly looking away. Qrow let out a loud "Hah!" as Winter directed his glare at the older and very much amused man.
"Not gonna have anything stronger?" I asked Qrow once Winter's glare wasn't directed at me.
Qrow just huffed. "Even if I wanted to, Ice Queen over here wouldn't let me."
"And for good reason," She said, glaring even harder. "We're supposed to be the adults here and we need to make sure they behave themselves."
"They'll be fiiiiiiiine," Qrow tried convincing her. "Its not like they're just gonna start fucking each other."
The soda I was drinking quickly exited my nose, leaving me in a coughing fit. "Jesus Qrow…" I managed to cough out as I cleaned my face.
"Who's Jesus?" Qrow asked. I decided not to answer, as my nostrils still burned.
"Of course you'd think something like that." Winter said, her disgust at the comment clear for all to see.
"What? I said they wouldn't!" Qrow protested. "Kids doing that is...ew."
"Even if you did the exact same thing when you were our age?" I asked Qrow, nose finally soda free.
Qrow declined to comment.
We chatted for a few more minutes before Yang called us over, an empty space by the wall taken by RWBY, JNPR, Oscar, Penny, and Emerald sitting in a circle with spaces large enough for Qrow, Winter, and I to sit on one side.
Yang held up an empty booze bottle. "Alrighty, we are going to make up for lost time. Spin the bottle, and truth or dare all in one. You know the rules, right?" she asked as she set the bottle in the center of the circle.
"Um…" Oscar cut in with a half raised hand. "I've never played…"
"Ah, no problem then." Yang said as she spun the bottle. "So as the spinner I get to ask…" She explained as the bottle landed on Weiss.
"...Weiss, if she'd rather choose Truth or Dare, if she picks Truth, she has to answer anything I ask her truthfully, if she picks Dare she will have to do whatever I ask. If she refuses to do either of those, she has to take a shot as punishment," Yang finished with a big grin directed at Weiss.
"Eugh!" Weiss scoffed as she looked away, and I sighed at Yang's antics.
"I'm gonna bow out then." Qrow said as he stood up, brushing himself off.
"Awww! Come on Uncle Qrow, don't tell me you're too chicken to join the fun." Yang complained.
"I bet I could do every dare you could give me without any hesitation," He immediately shot back. "But on the off chance that I do say no, I can't take the shot. Besides, it's no fun if I can't dare you kids to flash your tits or something." Nora's eyes lit up, though only Ren and I noticed this, as Ren grabbed her hand and quickly whispered "No!"
"Absolutely no such thing will be happening," Weiss firmly stated, red in the face at the thought of such unmentionables occurring.
"Agreed." Winter said with another glare directed at Qrow. She seemed to be doing that alot tonight. "But he does have a point, I'll sit out as well to ensure nothing untoward happens."
"Buzzkill," Yang muttered disappointedly under her breath as the two walked off, before turning back to Weiss.
"You will ask nothing vulgur of me, Xiao Long." Weiss said with a glare still directed at Yang.
"Fine," Yang huffed. "Truth or Dare?"
Weiss stared at her teammate for a moment, before deciding to put her trust in her and give her the benefit of the doubt. "Dare."
Yang had to take a moment to properly think of something, as most of her go to's were off the table when it came to Weiss, until finally she thought up something appropriate.
"I dare you to serenade everyone with a song of your choice."
Weiss gasped lightly, before closing her eyes, presumably thinking of what she was going to sing. This took a full minute and a half, before she finally began to sing, audible to all of us despite the hard beats of the music playing from the speakers.
"Baby, it's time to make up your mind...I think, that tonight is when our stars align...
Honey, it's time we leave the doubt behind...take my hand 'cause you and I are gonna shine..."
We were all silent as Weiss finished that one verse. I was pretty sure she was about to keep going, if it weren't for all the staring. "W-what? I know it isn't really a love song, but the lyrics-"
"Forget the lyrics, you sound beautiful!" Pyrrha exclaimed, her hands clasped together as she beamed. "I saw your concerts from television a few times, but hearing it in person-"
"You have the voice of an angel," Ren said, making Weiss 'eep' and look at the levelheaded young man she respected so much during Beacon.
"He's right!" Nora said. "Can you sing later? Can you can you can you?"
Weiss's face burned bright red as she was poured over with compliments left and right, and she buried her face in her hands, all of us laughing as the best girl of team RWBY blushed in embarrassment and bashful pride.
"Well," Yang said as she turned back to Oscar, getting her giggles under control. "Now that Weiss had her turn, now she gets to spin the bottle, and so on. Simple right?"
As Yang asked that the bottle came to a stop, landing on Ruby.
"Ruby, Truth or Dare?" Weiss asked her partner, a light blush still on her face.
"Truth!" Ruby almost instantly responded, wanting to avoid doing anything embarrassing.
"Hmmmm," Weiss thought for a moment. She didn't really want to make Ruby do anything she wouldn't like, but on the other hand...
"Have you ever accidentally caused a fire?" Weiss finally asked. Ruby froze immediately, which spoke volumes.
"Ha! I can answer that easily enough!" Yang laughed at the question, having grown up with Ruby.
"Ehehehe," Ruby laughed while looking down at the ground. "One, or two…maybe several..." Ruby began to say, before she rushed to amend her statement as she felt everyone's eyes drilling into her form. "It was an accident I swear! My cape just caught on fire in the forge, and well there was that one time I left the stove on... and how was I supposed to know that blankets were flammable!"
Ruby quickly shut up as she realized she had begun to ramble, and share too much. 'UGH THAT WAS SO EMBARRASSING!' Ruby couldn't help but whine, voice barely audible as she buried her face in her hands as we laughed.
"Do not worry friend Ruby, I have burnt many things as well!" Penny said, trying to be comforting, but instead causing us to laugh some more. Wanting to divert attention, Ruby spun the bottle. In her haste she put a little too much force into the spin, causing it to go longer than necessary, but eventually it landed on Blake.
"Seriously?" I said. "It's only landing on you guys."
"Oh? So eager to get dared?" Yang asked with a toothy grin.
"As if," I said in a huff, not liking that smile one bit. "Just seems like the universe is favoring you guys."
"We are the best team." Ruby said, before turning to her silent teammate. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare." Blake said.
Ruby was quicker about hers, having thought up what she was going to ask in the meantime. "I dare you to eat some of your earwax!" Ruby said, a finger dramatically pointed at Blake.
"Pass," Blake said instantly, reaching for the shot and downing it at once.
"Awww," Ruby said dejectedly.
Less than one second after Blake had downed the drink, she began to cough and hack, pounding at her chest as she began to turn blue. Before we could step in and help her, she gasped for breath and nearly fell over. "What's in that?!" she cried, her throat raspy.
"Oh nothing...just some DeathStalker Vodka exclusively from Vacuo," Yang said, trying to act as innocent as possible. All of us reeled back in horror. Well, everyone except me, because I never tried that stuff before, nor even heard of it really. "Just so you all don't try and take the easy ways out in this game," Yang chimed.
"Uh huh..." Jaune said, his expression full of nothing but concern. "So, who's next?" Blake, still coughing, reached over and spun the bottle, rather weakly as she was still feeling the effects. The bottle spun one full rotation before landing on Yang.
"Oh, bullshit," Emerald said this time.
"Maybe," I agreed. "But just see this as Blake being able to get revenge against her." I said this with a near crooked grin.
"Oh hardy har har," Yang rolled her eyes, then deciding to cut to the chase, a smug grin on her face. "I chose truth."
Blake glowered at her partner, less than pleased, but carried on regardless. "When was the last time you faked being sick?" she asked.
"Ah..." Yang said, the wind seemingly taken out of her sails. She'd rather not mention the story, but she did agree to be completely honest. "It was a couple nights before Beacon started, I think I took like a week off."
"How come?" Blake asked, a little curious.
"I was searching for something, and I ended up in a bar," Yang said.
"Wait, the same one I found you outside of?" Ruby asked, remembering that night.
"The one you trashed?" Qrow cut in with a smirk, getting shocked stares from everyone, but none more so than Yang.
"How did you-" Yang questioned, before a light bulb went off in her head, remembering a certain detail from watching her life from Markus's perspective. "Were you following me that night?"
"Guilty," Qrow responded easily, seemingly satisfied with his response and offering nothing more.
"You destroyed a bar?" Oscar asked Yang.
"You destroyed a bar?!" Nora repeated excitedly.
"A story for another time," Yang sighed as she spun the bottle. "Besides, the jackass deserved it."
"That's no excuse for the destruction of public property," Weiss said in an admonishing tone, but let it go. This time the bottle landed on Ren, who simply nodded, accepting his fate.
"Truth or dare?" Yang asked.
"Dare," Ren said, and some of us blinked in surprise.
"Hmmmm..." Yang said, stroking her chin as if she were really thinking. "Make out with Markus."
"You bitch!" Emerald shouted, though she noticeably had no real bite in her voice. Looking back, her eyes seemed to have an excited glint in them.
Emerald, you perv.
"Oooh! Two feminine boys kissing? One of them being my boyfriend?" Nora giggled, before pulling out her scroll.
"The fem stuff again, seriously?" I asked, whining before sighing. "Let's get this over with."
I went over to Ren, and the two of us locked our lips together, closing our eyes in the process. The girls all stared as we just kissed for about ten seconds straight before we separated.
Nothing spicy, whatsoever. I couldn't hide the blush however, and Ren did look a bit uncomfortable, but nothing more than that. "Dare done," I said.
"Come on Markus, that wasn't hot at all! Where's the tongue?" Yang complained.
"Don't push it buster!" Nora said, sounding both amused and irritated. Yang let it go and Ren spun the bottle, which landed on Emerald.
"Truth," Emerald said.
"Where do you see yourself in five years?" Ren asked, patiently clasping his hands together.
"I...don't know," Emerald said after a minute of thought, her brow furrowed. "I always thought I'd be by Cinder's side but now? I feel like I'm making things along as we go."
"What about Markus?" Ren asked. "Will you see the two remaining together in five years?"
"I really hope so. He's the best thing that's ever come into my life," Emerald said, smiling at me. I flushed and looked away bashfully before Emerald reached over and held my hand.
A squeal from Pyrrha turned all our heads. "How romantic!" she giggled. "I can see the two of you getting married, you know?"
"Wait what?" I asked, face turning from a nervous pink to a bright red tint.
"You really think so?" Emerald asked, her voice sounding hopeful.
"Of course I am! You two are so cute!" Pyrrha continued before she leaned against Jaune. "Don't you agree?"
"I can hear the wedding bells already," Jaune teased, and the rest of us chuckled. Yang had a somber look on her face - a sad sort of smile. I turned away from the feeling of guilt as Ruby began to gush about an actual wedding.
"Funny of you guys to say. I mean Pyrhha, you and Nora were always the ones most head over heels." I laughed at the two now blushing girl's. "It was never a matter of if but rather when."
"It's not my fault Jaune was so dense!" Pyrrha cried.
"Hey!"
Regardless, the game continued on a few minutes later, with the bottle picking Jaune. Emerald had dared him to try and sing Mirror Mirror, which ended in laughter from all of us. As good as Jaune was at many things, singing was not one of them.
"I thought having seven sisters gave you a lot of skills?" Ruby asked, laughing at her best friend.
"Oh they tried to make me sing all the time, but funny how you never want to, when they only want you to do it so they can embarrass you." Jaune replied and spun the bottle, and we watched as the glass rolled around, all of our eyes watching the neck for where it pointed.
Jaune let out a "hmmmmm" as the bottle finally landed on Blake. "Truth or dare?" Jaune asked.
"Truth," Blake said.
"Who do you think has the best butt out of all of us?" Jaune asked, and Blake recoiled in pure shock.
"I-uh…" Blake tried to say, but honestly not knowing how to respond. Her gaze scanned everyone, her eyes seeming to linger on Yang, but it was too quick to tell. "M-me? Because of um…"
"Your Bella Booty?" I smirked as I asked, causing the embarrassed faunus to hiss at me, as well as earning some looks from the others.
"I think mine's better," Yang said in a haughty tone.
"No way! Mine is! Right Ren?" Nora asked the stun boy, daring him to say otherwise. "Well?"
Deciding to help him out, I quickly went over and whispered for Ren to say a line I just knew Nora would love.
"I have seen no better cake in my entire life, then yours Nora," Ren said. Nora didn't seem to care about whether it was a rehearsed line, simply blushing in pride.
"You're just biased!" Yang whined as she got up and slapped her own ass lightly. "Come on, you can't not love this!"
"Actually friend Yang," Penny cut in. "If we calculate the mass of friend Blakes 'booty' compared with the rest of her mass, then she indeed has the biggest booty out of all of you! So her choice is at least partially truthful!"
Blake just wanted to dig a hole and stay in it. Yang and her appraising eye be damned.
"However if we go off of the greatest size alone then I would be the victor!" Penny finished with a radiant smile. She got up and - in an absolutely unforeseen and unexpected move, she lifted her own skirt and bent over.
I'll spare you the details, but she did not wear anything under that dress. We all recoiled in shock, as Yang threw herself over Oscar and Ruby simultaneously. Pyrrha had yanked her skirt back down as soon as the shock had worn off.
"Penny. No," I finally said after registering the sheer view of what I'd seen. She indeed has the biggest butt out of the group. But she also lacked underwear and genitals. It was just skin colored nothingness there, which I was thankful for. And a bit disturbed.
"Aww, why not?" Penny asked as she sat down.
"Penny!" Winter called across the room, looking like she had prepared to throw herself across it if Pyrrha hadn't stopped Penny. Qrow was just being Qrow, dying of laughter at her mortification. He wasn't in view of the sight, however.
"What have we told you about clothing and keeping it appropriate?!" Winter continued to ask in a scandalized tone.
"But I lack the necessary parts-"
"Penny!" Winter barked, her face quite red. Penny complied, recognizing anger when she heard it. I turned to look for Doctor Polendina, and was glad to see that he and Maria were simply chatting on the far side of the room.
"I can never look at you or your father the same way ever again Penny." I said, really not being able to contemplate what the fuck just happened.
"Doesn't that make you like, less aerodynamic or something?" Yang questioned.
"Not at all!" Penny said cheerfully. "Father just needed more room for my strength enhancers and inertia dampeners!"
"Alright. Blake, spin the bottle," Emerald finally said, and Blake was happy to comply. The bottle spun on the floor before coming to a stop, pointing right at Ruby.
"Dare!" Ruby said at once.
"I dare you to let me draw on your face," Blake said, and Ruby's eager grin fell immediately.
Five minutes later, Ruby sat, pouting at the cat's whiskers and nose that was scribbled on her face by black marker. "Truth or dare," she said as soon as the bottle stopped, pointing at Jaune.
"Truth," Jaune said.
"What's the most embarrassing thing your sisters ever made you do?" Ruby asked.
"Hmmmm...I dunno where to start, believe me," Jaune said. "Well...there was this one time they dressed me up as a girl and called me their eighth sister for a day."
"Wait, seriously?" Yang asked, trying to stifle her laughter.
"Yep. Fooled half the town," Jaune said. "And that's all you're getting out of me."
"That's where you got your crossdressing habit from?" Pyrrha asked cheekily. "After all, I do recall being told by Yang that you wore a dress to the Beacon dance at another time."
"That's. It." Jaune grit out.
"Aww, come on!" Nora wailed, but her pleas went unheard as Jaune spun the bottle, which landed on me.
"Truth," I said.
"Alright...have you ever snuck out of the house before? Like when you were way younger?" he asked. I felt my smile drop at the mention of home, and Jaune seemed to realize this seconds after. "W-wait, sorry, I meant-"
"Once. I was too restless in bed, so I left my room through the window at midnight so I could have a late night walk. It was the most peaceful moment I can recall," I said, my voice growing noticeably soft. "Sorry...didn't mean to-"
"Don't apologize. I thought it up on the fly, shouldn't be asking questions close to home," Jaune said.
"It's fine. Honestly, I'm surprised none of you wanted to ask about my home life," he said.
"We...saw glimpses of it when Jinn showed us. It was rough," Yang admitted. "So, we'd rather not make you live through some bad times."
I smiled, a bit touched. "Thanks, Yang," I said before spinning the bottle, which slowed to a stop, pointing at Oscar. "Truth or dare?"
"Oh! Uhh, truth?" Oscar asked, a bit nervously.
"Don't worry, it's nothing bad," I said. "What's it like having Ozpin in your head?"
"Well...a little weird. It's like having a person living in your brain, instead of a voice in your head," Oscar said. "I can feel him and he can feel me. And when he sifts through memories, I can recall them perfectly sometimes. And when he gets his own, I feel them too. It's...kind of jarring."
"Yeah, that has to be weird," Yang said.
"I'm used to it now, don't worry," Oscar said as he spun the bottle, which landed on Pyrrha. "Oh! Uhh, truth or dare?"
"Hmmm, let's go with dare," Pyrrha said.
"I dare you...to drink alcohol out of your shoe," Oscar said. Pyrrha paled immediately, and I refuse to describe her doing the dare, as it was too disgusting to even recall. Let's just say that Pyrrha's personal hygiene had been somewhat lacking since we started living in Atlas, with all the missions and extra training. I think she would've preferred the shot by the look on her face once she finished.
"Truth or dare?" Pyrrha asked as the bottle landed on Emerald.
"Hmmm, dare," Emerald said.
"Eat a whole head of garlic. Peeled and one clove at a time," Pyrrha said. Judging by the voice she had, she was eager to make someone else's taste buds suffer.
"Uhh...alright," Emerald said as she got up. "Be right back." She left the room at once, and returned fifteen minutes with the garlic, peeled and separated - presumably from the kitchen.
"One at a time in front of us," Pyrrha instructed.
"Seems easy enough," Emerald remarked, and she popped one at a time. Almost at once, she recoiled and nearly gagged for a full thirty seconds. After forcing it down, she coughed and hacked. "Eugh!"
"Keep going!" Pyrrha chimed in a sing-song voice, and I couldn't help but feel my cat ears wilt in fear of Pyrrha's current state of sadistic want. We were forced to watch Emerald as she forced down one clove at a time, out of a total of nine, before she was finally done.
"Blegh," Emerald whined as she gulped down more water, the incredibly powerful scent of garlic slowly filling the circle as she spoke. She spun the bottle and growled as it landed on Yang instead of Pyrrha.
"Dare," Yang said.
"Ice water. Down your shirt. Now," Emerald snarled. Oscar's eyes widened, and Jaune immediately choked on his fruit punch.
Yang rolled her eyes and walked over to the table, grabbing a cup and filling it with ice cold water, before dumping it on her chest. At once, she yelped and hurled the cup away. "That's so damn cold!"
Luckily, she wore a sports bra underneath, so nothing was getting too exposed. Yang spun next, and the glass bottle landed on Weiss. "Truth or dare, ice queen?" she asked.
"Dare," Weiss said.
"Blindfold yourself and eat whatever we give you," Yang said. Weiss spluttered, ready to decline before Yang spoke up once again. "Don't worry, it's food at this table."
"I...fine!" Weiss said, and Ruby held her cape over Weiss's eyes while Yang grabbed something from the table. When she returned, I saw what it was. It was a hot dog bun - minus the hot dog - full of nothing but incredibly spicy sauce, chocolate syrup, relish, and pickle slices.
It was incredibly disgusting, but so glorious to watch as Weiss spat out the first bite the moment it entered her mouth. "Yang!" She tried to yell through her full mouth after having to take another bite as compensation, as the blonde in question fell over, cackling like a maniac as Weiss scrambled to grab water.
"You're terrible," Weiss finally said once that horrid taste was out of her mouth, spinning the bottle.
"I know," Yang giggled. The bottle stopped on Ren, who immediately answered with "Truth".
"What's the one joke you found funny, but nobody else did?" Weiss asked.
Ren smiled at that question. "When people believed my organic smoothies were actually good for you," he said.
"Wait. What?" Jaune asked, horror on his face. "I was only drinking that to get healthier!"
"I know. But I make smoothies as a good starting drink for my daily routine. Not for improving physique or combat training," Ren said. "You all could have said no when I offered it the first time."
Jaune whined. "You're cruel..." he groaned.
"I quite enjoyed them," Pyrrha said, attempting to chime in. "After the first two months of drinking them every single morning..."
Ren just shook his head before spinning the bottle once again. It landed on Nora, and she shouted "Dare!".
"Hmmm...do an impression of Qrow," Ren said.
Nora did not hesitate, downing a shot of the DeathStalker vodka before starting in an overly deep and very raspy voice. "Hey everyone, I'm drunkle Qrow. I have cool hair and I have a cape. I like scythes because I'm such a cool uncle. Hey bartender, where's my drink? I haven't had one in five minutes."
We all exploded in laughter at that, rolling on the floor as we tried to keep our bellies from hurting too much. I managed to spy a disgruntled Qrow, grumbling as Winter simply smirked in response. We didn't stop laughing for a full ten minutes, and Nora rolled the bottle after getting a drink of water.
"How were you able to take that shot without flinching? I almost died!" Blake exclaimed.
"Yeah, that was hardcore!" Yang joined in as the bottle stopped on Oscar.
"Cute boy Oz!" Nora said, causing Oscar to pale. "Truth or dare?"
"Ummmm…" Oscar said as he began to sweat. "Dare?..."
"Good choice!" Nora said with her usual megawatt smile. "I dare you to do ten push ups…"
"Oh," Oscar said, surprised. "That isn't so-"
"With Penny on your back!"
Oscar could only stare in horror at Nora, before turning his gaze toward his approaching executioner Penny.
Penny helped Oscar get into a better form so he didn't hurt himself, and was gentle about sitting on him, but that didn't make the strain of her weight any easier. It took five grueling minutes for Oscar to succeed, and he almost looked like he was about to keel over after only half his push ups, but he did it.
"You people are crazy." Oscar mumbled as he tried catching his breath on the floor.
"Welcome to the club." Ruby snickered.
"At least you were able to do it," Jaune said. "I bet Crater Face would've fallen after two push ups."
"You promised not to call me that anymore!" Ruby wailed as we all laughed again.
After getting a quick break Oscar spun the bottle, which ironically landed on Penny. "Oh come on! How am I supposed to think of a dare for her?" Oscar complained. Penny seemed happy about it however, being her first turn. "Truth or Dare Penny?" Oscar said resigned.
"I wish for a Dare!"
"Right." Oscar said, having to think for a minute. He didn't want to do anything mean, and because of that, nevermind her being a robot, he couldn't think of a dare. "Could I give you a Truth instead?" Oscar asked with a wince.
"Of course!" Penny said, happy either way.
"That's cheating," Weiss pointed out.
"Eh let him have it," Yang said, waving her hand flippantly. "Not like we could make her drink…I think."
"What's the dumbest thing you've done?" Oscar asked quickly, before anyone got the bright idea to investigate if she had a digestive system. And that someone likely would've been Penny herself.
"That is a good question!" Penny exclaimed. "Hmmm, it would probably be the time I played dodgeball with some fellow students a few weeks before you arrived."
"There doesn't seem anything wrong with that." Jaune pointed out.
This time Penny developed an actual embarrassed smile while rubbing the back of her head. "It's embarrassing because I didn't know how to hold back my strength. I...I may have drained the auras of everyone there. My team included," she said.
"Yeesh," Yang said. "That must've been painful."
"They all liked me for it, but...I suppose respect is gained in the oddest ways," Penny said, easing up a little.
"Yeah..." I muttered, imagining if her head popped loose like in the RWBY Chibi short. Penny spun the bottle, landing on Emerald. "Friend Emerald, Truth or Dare?" she asked.
"Dare." Emerald said without hesitation, smirking.
Blake let out an impressive whistle. "Not going to take it easy with Truth?"
Emerald just shrugged her shoulders, as if the previous dares from the others were nothing. "I'm no coward," she said.
"I dare you to flash your breasts for us all to see," Penny said. We all fell silent at that, Emerald in particular losing that smirk.
"Damn, you don't hold back," Emerald said before she reached up and unbuttoned her wrap top, surprising all of us. Before I could protest, she yanked her green crop top down, letting them free for us to gawk at for two whole seconds before she covered them up again. "I know, I got the bigger ones here," she said, a prideful grin on her face.
"Wanna bet?!" Nora growled as she began to unzip her jacket, stopped in her tracks only by Ren's "No!" and the sudden leap to tackle her before she could release her honkers into public view. The rest of us laughed, though more than half of them had blushed cheeks.
"Why'd you do that?" I asked Emerald.
"Let them look. Only you get to touch them," Emerald replied, pulling my arm and pressing it against her chest. I flushed immediately, staying quiet as Emerald spun the bottle, watching as it did three full rotations and almost completing a fourth one as it landed on me.
"Dare," I said.
"Hmmm...kiss your favorite part about me," Emerald said. I grinned before I leaned forward, pressing my lips against her left cheek, then her right cheek. Next was her nose, and finally her lips, locking them and passionately making out for several seconds. I heard the others reacting, many of them remarking on how cute it looked.
"Why couldn't you kiss Ren like that?" Yang complained, before I heard a smack. "Ow! I was joking!"
I broke the make out session as Emerald looked at me, cheeks flushed. "What, you only like me for my face?" she asked, a bit out of breath. I was the same.
"Well...I was just putting it on pause. Kissing every single millimeter of you is gonna take hours," I said. Emerald's cheeks went bright red, and her lips trembled as I could hear "Awwww" all around us. With what sounded like Ruby and Weiss gagging in the background.
After a few seconds of clear flustered behavior from Emerald, she leaned up. "Once the party's done, we're going back to the room," she hissed. I blushed back, and quickly spun the bottle.
We all followed it as it spun three times before it landed on Ruby. "Eh...heh heh heh," Ruby said, chuckling nervously. "Truth?"
"Hmmmm...what to ask?" I said, a mischievous expression on my face. "So, who was your first crush-"
"DARE! DARE!" Ruby screamed, flailing her hands, Yang's eyes narrowing at that.
"Fine," I said. "Do a one handed handstand for ten seconds."
"Pfft, easy enough," Ruby said as she got up. The moment she was on her feet, she immediately flipped forward and stopped when she was on her own two hands. Then she leaned to the left and raised her right hand from the ground, holding it in place. "See? Easy peasy!" she said five seconds later.
Then she promptly fell over, her butt smashing the bottle underneath her as she lost balance. Her aura flickered as we all heard the crunching glass.
"Ruby, you alright?!" Yang quickly said, helping her little sister up.
"Ow..." Ruby muttered before she brushed off the crumbs of shattered glass off of her skirt. "Sorry..."
"Don't be. This game went on long enough anyways," Ren said before looking to see the other students mingling. Then the music changed from background techno to slow and soft violins. "Come on, I'm in the mood for some slow dancing."
"As am I," Pyrrha said, taking Jaune's hand and getting up alongside him. I turned to face Emerald, who smiled and nodded before getting up.
The rest of the party was smooth sailing after that - slow dancing for about a half hour, Emerald and I simply enjoying each other's company. We barely talked, but we did kiss a lot. Despite not wearing any fancy attire for the party, we certainly felt like royalty in our own little moment.
The other couples had the same idea. Nora slowed down for once and just basked in the moment between her and Ren, the two holding each other tight as they swayed with the beat. Jaune and Pyrrha were in similar positions, if a little more animated with both of them actually dancing, and quite well at that.
The biggest surprise was seeing Yang and Blake joining. I couldn't say if it was just for the fun of it, but Blake seemed quite happy, so good for her.
But what really made the moment for me was seeing Winters near breakdown with Penny. I could hear snippets of "You were supposed to be the innocent one!", and "Curse teen drama's!".
Hopefully she wasn't too hard on Penny, she seemed to think that doing…that, was normal for our game. Be a bro and help her out Qrow!
We ended the party with a massive screened Spruce Willis movie - Try Hard, which played almost identical to the original Die Hard movie. When that three hour train wreck of an action movie was done, we all went back to our dorms to get sleep.
Emerald and I stayed up all night.
- several days later -
It was exactly one week since General Ironwood had announced his plan. One week for all of us to prepare while the city underwent various evacuation drills. On the seventh day, the city was empty.
The evacuation had started the night before today, as the city's hard-light shields were lowered in the dead of night. Ten hours were spent, civilians being moved to the docks and boarding airships to take them to Amity Colosseum. When Amity was full, the rest of the civilians boarded airships to the carriers, then the airships themselves. It wasn't easy, as the procedures had taken everyone by surprise. Riots broke out at first, people refusing to leave their homes, fights starting because some people wanted to bring some of their possessions with them, despite there being no room. As the hours dragged on, people began to comply, and less and less fuss was made over it. I just hoped the negativity didn't tip off Salem.
It was hard work for the police and the military to get everyone out of the kingdom, but it was eventually complete. It was early in the morning now, when the evacuation was complete and the ships were given the sendoff signal - which was an explosion that would destroy one of the hard-light shield generators, causing the massive spire to collapse and shatter the shields all at once.
General Ironwood had planned that Salem had deployed those infiltrators in hopes of causing internal chaos, as well as likely opening the door for the beginning of the invasion. As the shields "fell", the civilians would evacuate under the cover of the dark morning clouds, as well as the mobilization of all of Atlas's fighting forces.
I watched as the carriers and thousands of airships flew away from Atlas, Amity Colosseum floating behind them, all of them carrying as many people as they could manage. The city which seemed so packed and full of life, was now barren and abandoned. The Atlesian Air Fleet hovered over the city, Manta airships were landed on rooftops large enough to support them, and barricades were set up all over the streets, heavy weapons and emplacements set up by thousands of soldiers and combat engineers.
I was on the top of the wall with the heavy railgun batteries, and I could see the massive farmland that Monstra landed at when Salem commenced her attack in Volume 8. Instead of trenches and cavalry squares waiting for Salem's troops, what awaited her were entire lines of blockades, mostly the hay bales gathered from around the farmland, as well as various farming vehicles and empty crates set up as makeshift obstacles and walls to slow down the eventual Grimm attack.
Between the wall and the makeshift barricades were rows of Atlesian Knights and Paladins, alongside automated turrets. Behind the wall, where the city began, were more automated defenses, alongside rows of soldiers and more Atlesian Knights. Intersections had a Paladin each, and there were snipers and heavy weapons deployed in the taller buildings. Barricades on each block had manned turrets, and there were overlapping arcs of fire everywhere they went. Armored vehicles were parked at every large empty space, like parking lots and expanded lanes, to bring some additional firepower, and any rooftops that weren't big enough for a Manta to land, instead had an Atlesian Spider Droid - which I learned was officially named the AR-200 Combat Automaton, or the Arachne 200.
Then there were the huntsmen. Hundreds were scattered on the streets in teams of two, all ready to engage the Grimm and keep them from pushing further into the city. I peered all the way back in the defense line, where command centers were set up at the end of the street. As far as I knew, Atlas Academy and the primary military complex were still operational.
Emerald stepped up next to me. "It's really happening, huh?" she said.
"Yeah," I said. "Hard to believe."
Emerald leaned against my shoulder, sighing. "We'll win. You know that, right?" she asked.
"I know. I'm just hoping we'll be able to make it out in one piece," I said. "At least we had the party, right? Some good times before the storm...probably the last. Just a shame we couldn't spend it with the other's as well…"
The Happy Huntresses, the Ace Op's, CRDL…Liya…
I knew that they should all be fine at the end of this, they were the best of the best, and Liya had some of them guarding her to boot. But I guess I'm just used to every situation going to shit.
"Hey, don't talk like that. We'll make it to Vacuo," Emerald chided. "And we'll stay together until the end."
I sighed before leaning over kissing Emerald on the cheek. "I know," I said before turning around. "Come on, any minute they'll drop the shields and-"
An explosion rumbled all of Atlas, and the two of us turned back to see one of the hard-light shield spires tilt, before falling over. The entire sky was replaced with the blue semi-translucent hexagonal structures of the hard-light shields, before they vanished. The shields had officially fallen.
And a swarm of millions of Grimm awaited us.
(AN: Sorry for the long wait. This chapter was one of the hardest to do, especially since it was a sort of 'calm before the storm' chapter. Between work and finishing up the semester's finals, this came out a lot slower than planned, but I was just happy to keep my inspiration for this story all the while. Thankfully, after many rough drafts, redo attempts, and looking through feedback, we were able to get this done.
This is the largest chapter in the story so far, and it's been one hell of a ride in writing this. It's been thirteen months since I started this story, and I never imagined making it to Volume 8 within this short timeframe, nor would I imagine so many people being fans of this story. It isn't perfect, but I'm gonna continue to keep pumping out as many good chapters in the future.
Expect the next few chapters to have plenty of action.)