Previously, on The Defenders of Remnant...

"You… don't even want to try?" Pyrrha asked.

"What's the point?" Mercury replied with a shrug. "You're a world renowned fighter, we're obviously leagues apart." Pyrrha didn't know how to respond, and didn't entirely like Mercury's sudden surrender.

"That is all for today. And remember, the dance is this weekend, but you all have your first mission on Monday!" Goodwitch exclaimed.

"Hey, Blake! You doing ok?" He asked.

"I'm fine," Blake replied, bags under her eyes.

Sun then nervously cleared his throat. "So, I hear there's this dance thing going on this weekend. Sounds pretty lame, but, you and me, I'm thinking not as lame, huh?"

"What?" Blake asked.

"The dance this weekend! Do you wanna go, or what?" Sun repeated.

"I don't have time for a stupid dance," Blake shook her head before walking away, leaving both Sun and her teammates behind.

"All we're asking is that you take it easy for one day," Yang stressed.

"And it'll be fun! Yang and I will make sure of it," Weiss assured her.

"Yeah!" Yang agreed excitedly "We're planning the whole event!"

"I think this is a colossal waste of time." The Faunus then sat up and went for the door

"I'll go pay a visit to Pete, see if maybe he'll talk to her," Yang said.

Quickly, the electricity created the pulsing yellow mold of a human man with bright blue eyes crouching down. The man rose to his full height as electricity sparked from his fingertips.

"Wait… Dillon?" Taskmaster questioned.

"Where is Wilson Fisk?!"

"What is it?" Pyrrha asked. Jaune didn't immediately give an answer, so Pyrrha approached closer and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, you know you can tell me anything."

"It's… Weiss…" Jaune answered.

"Oh…" She quickly regained her composure, though, putting on a friendly smile again. "What about her?"

"I asked her to the dance, and she shot me down. Heh. Big surprise, right? Heh heh…"

"Well… I believe the saying goes, there's plenty of fish in the sea," Pyrrha nervously replied, trying to make Jaune feel better.

"That's easy for you to say. You probably have guys clamoring over each other just to ask you out," Jaune chuckled, a bit of his life coming back to him. Pyrrha started to feel the opposite.

"You'd be surprised…" She insincerely chuckled.

"Oh please, if you don't get a date to the dance, I'll wear a dress," Jaune said as he turned around and headed for the door back into the dorm building.

"So… we good?"

Cinder gave a small nod. "I suppose so. I think we both understand each other now."

She filled her own glass again and held it out. "To partners, Taskmaster?"

Taskmaster clinked his glass against hers. "To partners." The two then sipped their drinks comfortably. "Also… just call me Anthony."

The Defenders of Remnant

Chapter 20: Dance Till You're Dead

I'm starting to think this might not have been your best decision, Marc, Steven worried.

"I dunno, I think this is going relatively-" Marc started to say before a fist connected with his nose, sending him stumbling back and blood gushing from his nose, staining his white face mask. "Ugh, relatively well…" The bandit who punched him snickered, and the others got confident smirks. Marc was surrounded by at least a dozen different bandits, all aiming to maim or kill him. The thing was, just as many were beaten to a pulp and spread across the ground. "Alright, assholes, I'm gonna ask this one more time before I beat the shit outta the rest of you: Where is Raven Branwen?"

"Get 'im, boys!" The lead bandit ordered, then the rest started to close in. Marc raised his fists and prepared himself against his adversaries. The first bandit swung in with a sword, and Marc caught his arm mid swing before delivering a blow to the elbow, breaking the man's arm at the joint, followed by tossing him aside. A second bandit smashed a club into Marc's back, which Marc followed by backhanding his fist into the bandit's jaw, putting him into the ground. Marc quickly took the club and spun back around, swinging upwards and connecting with another bandit's chin, drawing blood and sending him flying, before spinning back and going low, connecting the end of the club with a man's unmentionables, stunning him before taking a Dust round to the shoulder. This stumbled Marc, but he quickly threw the club to connect with the shooter's head, followed by turning back to the stunned bandit and smashing his face into his knee. The bandit stumbled back and fell to the ground with a broken and bloody nose. Five down, at least seven more to go.

Then five more came out from the trees behind him, boxing him in. Define 'relatively well', Steven remarked.

"Tell ya what, make like Jake for a while and keep quiet.," Marc replied. Then the bandits came in as a swarm, but Marc would go down swinging. Everything became a series of delivering and taking attacks. He breaks another nose. Takes a hit to the back. He grabs an arm, and snaps it two-thirds of the way down the forearm, and a blood curdling scream follows. A blade cuts his shoulder. He takes a firearm from a bandit, shoots him in the foot, then backhands them with the pommel and drops the weapon. He delivers a blow to a windpipe, causing the bandit to drop and start coughing blood and force air back into their lungs. A Dust round hits his torso. An attack hits the back of his knee, causing him to drop down on that leg. The butt of a rifle hits the side of his face. Two bandits try to hold him down, but Marc grips one of each of their hands in his and crushed every digit in their fingers, causing more screams of pain. He takes a blow to the face. A blow to the stomach. A blow to the face. Ribs. Remaining leg. Ribs. Jaw. Face. Right arm. Face. His vision became blurry, until enough blows smashed him into the ground. Then the ringleader stood in front of him, only his boots visible in the tipsy-turvy blurriness of Marc's vision.

"Wrap him up. He wants Raven? We'll take him to Raven," He said. The last thing Marc Spector saw before darkness was the bottom of the bandit's boot.

Ruby sighed and leaned her head against her hand, sitting at one of the glass tables in the ballroom as Yang, Luke, Danny and Weiss carried speakers, hung up decorations, and more to prepare for the dance. Luke and Danny had officially left their positions at Junior's and been hired by Ozpin himself as "additional security". But all Ruby could think about was Blake, a train of thought which derailed when Weiss slammed two folded-up tablecloths in front of her. "I need you to pick a tablecloth." Ruby distractedly looked down at the two cloths in front of her, both of which seemed an identical shade of light gray.

"Aren't they both the same?" Ruby asked, to Weiss's chagrin as a look of frustration waved across her face.

"I don't even know why I asked," The heiress groaned before taking both clothes and leaving Ruby behind. She passed Yang, who was hauling a stereo speaker twice her size over her head over to Ruby, and slammed it down just next to the table with a groan of effort. The older sister wiped her hands, then went to her younger sibling.

"So, have you picked out a dress yet?" Yang asked Ruby.

"What's the point?" Ruby moped. "Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going?"

"Oh, don't worry; She's going," Yang assured her little sister before looking to Weiss across the way. "Ugh, Weiss! I thought we agreed, no doilies!"

"If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines," Weiss replied defensively.

"What kind of school dance has doilies…?" Luke questioned.

"The kind run by rich people," Danny answered, getting a glare back from Luke. "Ward liked to flaunt his worth. I'd personally take the fog machines."

"Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked as he and Sun entered the ballroom. A smile quickly came to Weiss's face and she approached the aqua-haired Huntsman.

"We were thinking about it," Weiss said in a more positive tone.

"That's pretty cool."

"You ladies all excited for dress-up?" Sun asked.

"Pfft, yeah right," Ruby remarked.

"Laugh all you want," Yang replied, "I'll be turning heads tomorrow night."

"What are you two wearing?" Weiss asked the two boys.

"Uhh, this?" Sun said, gesturing to his standard Huntsman outfit, before Neptune stepped in front of him.

"Ignore him, for he knows not what he says."

"Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kinda place," Sun said.

"Yeah, we've noticed," Yang remarked.

"So, uh, what does Blake think of all this?" Sun asked. "Is she still being all, you know, Blake-y?"

"Obviously," Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I still can't think of a way to change her mind…" Ruby said.

"Guys, trust me. Blake will be at the dance tomorrow," Yang assured the others.

Blake sat at a terminal in the library, continually working on her research, the bags under her eyes just as bad as before, if not worse. She was hard focused on what was in front of her when a red dot appeared on the screen in front of her, and began moving around, back and forth. It took Blake a moment to register the new light in front of her due to her fatigue, but wasn't exactly happy when she realized what it was. She furrowed her brow and tried to ignore still sped across her screen before moving down to her hand on the computer's mouse. She turned around to see who was doing it, only to find no one nearby. She let out a disgruntled sigh and returned to her work. All was fine for a few peaceful moments, before the red dot reappeared on her hand again. This time she quickly turned around, only to again find no one nearby. So she yet again returned to work. A longer time of nothing went by, to the point Blake thought it was over. Then, Blip! The red dot returned and sped back and forth across the screen constantly. Blake tried to keep herself calm, but her frustration grew to its peak, and she slammed her fists on the desk before shooting up and twirling around, still no one in sight. She looked down and saw the red dot on the ground, then start moving across the library. Blake growled and stomped after it, her tired eyes laser focused on it. So focused, in fact, not even her faunus senses told her that Peter was in front of her before she bumped into him.

"Peter?"

"Huh, didn't think that would actually work. Guess you really are a cat," Peter smirked.

"What do you want?" Blake questioned with an agitated expression on her face.

"We need to talk."

Ren uncomfortably sat in nothing but a towel, as Jaune had stopped him on his way out of the shower before he could get changed. He was trying to listen to his leader, but badly wanted to just get dressed. He listened to Jaune slowly burn through the header of what he was trying to get at, ending at a statement along the lines of, "... You're like the brother I never had."

"And I you," Ren said, tuning more back into the conversation. He didn't really know if he meant it, or if he was just anxious to end this conversation and clothe himself.

"Which is why I wanted to get your advice on… girls," Jaune said, finally reaching his point.

"Girls?" Ren questioned.

"I just… don't know… how to…uh, girls. I, uh, I guess what I'm asking is, how did you and Nora… y'know…"

"I… uh… deh…" Ren stammered. He was reaching again for his outfit hung on the door when Jaune's query caught him off guard.

Then Nora cleared her throat, getting the attention of both of her teammates as she had a book in her lap and headphones around her neck. She let out a nervous chuckle before saying, "We're not actually together together…"

"Nora, I said headphones on!" Jaune exclaimed.

"Oop!" Nora squeaked before quickly putting the headphones back over her ears.

"Jaune, what is this all about?" Ren asked.

Jaune sighed before answering, "It's Weiss. I'm completely head over heels for her, but she won't even give me a chance. She's cold, but… she's also incredible. She's smart, and graceful, and talented, I mean have you heard her sing? I just wish she'd take me seriously. Y'know? I-I wish I could tell her how I feel without messing it all up…" Jaune started to look down at his feet on the carpeted dorm floor.

"Then do it," Pyrrha said as she entered, drawing the attention of all other teammates, and causing Nora to take off her headphones.

"Uh, wha..?" Jaune stumbled.

"Tell her exactly what you just said! No ridiculous schemes, no pick-up lines, just… be honest," Pyrrha said.

"But, what if-" Jaune started.

"Jaune," Pyrrha interrupted her leader, "You can't get it wrong if it's the truth." Jaune thought this over for a moment, then met Pyrrha's gaze with a reinvigorated smile, one Pyrrha happily returned.

"You're right," Jaune nodded before standing up. "Thanks, Pyrrha. Good talk, Ren!" Jaune then strode past his teammates back out into the hall, a new pep in his step. Pyrrha's smile then faded, and she walked towards a desk in the corner of the room.

"Practice what you preach, Pyrrha," Nora sighed and shook her head. Pyrrha didn't reply, nor did she take a seat. She just placed her left hand on the back of it and stood in silence.

"Peter, if you're going to tell me to stop, you may as well just save your breath," Blake said, She walked around the desk Peter sat himself upon, Matt's desk. Peter knew the lawyer wasn't even on campus at the moment, so he brought Blake to his classroom to talk privately.

"I don't want you to stop, I just want you to slow down," Peter replied.

"We don't have the luxury to slow down," Blake replied, arms crossed.

"It's not a luxury, it's a necessity."

"The 'necessity' is stopping Torchwick and Taskmaster."

"And we will, I promise you that. But first you have to sit down and listen to what I have to say," Peter smiled as he patted open space on the desk next to him. Blake wanted to tell him no, to tell him to stop trying. But she hesitantly sat next to him. "I told you about my Uncle, MJ, my Aunt, Harry, and what the Goblin did to put me over the edge. But I didn't tell you everything." He seemed like he really didn't want to tell the story, but Blake knew Peter well enough to tell even if she said anything, it wouldn't stop him from doing so. Especially since he still kept it secret until now. "I lived with my aunt and uncle because my parents died when I was little. I couldn't have been older than five years old."

"What happened to them?" Blake asked cautiously.

"Plane crash. They were traveling overseas for business when it happened. Once they found the wreckage, they said it was engine failure. The night they dropped me off with my Uncle and Aunt was the last time I saw them. They said it was them babysitting me until they got back, but… looking back on it, it was more like they were running from something. So I was raised by Ben and May up through high school. One day, when I was fifteen, I found a bag of my dad's stuff in the basement. Copies of his research. Most of it was either missing or torn up, but what was left… I thought I could use it to figure out what they were running from. For weeks, I did all I could to try and uncover it. I didn't sleep, barely ate, I was just focused on learning about what my father was researching. I started pushing Ben and May away from me, even though they were just worried about me. Ben… he was just trying to live up to dad, raise me right. I just couldn't see it. I told him to stop acting like he was my father. I … snapped. I hurt him. And I left."

Blake felt a twinge in her chest. Some of this was hitting too close to home for her. She was a runaway, leaving her family behind to join the White Fang. And look how that turned out.

"I went back out to keep digging, even in the middle of the night. Ben went out, trying to look for me. It was after midnight when I started heading for home. I wasn't even halfway when I saw the crowd, the cops, the ambulance. The spider had already bitten me, so my senses were bashing my skull. That's when I knew I was too late. Ben was already dead by the sidewalk. And the last thing I told him was the one thing that would hurt him more than any bullet." He took a second to gather himself before continuing. Blake felt the urge to reach out, grip his hand, to anchor him as she did before. But she didn't have the strength to do it. "They caught the guy on the street cams, but he got away. So I took it upon myself to hunt him down. I put on a mask and scoured the city for weeks. I got less sleep, ate less, and lived even less than that. I dedicated every second of my free time to this manhunt."

"And… did you find him?" Blake asked.

Peter gravely nodded. "Yeah. And I beat him half to death. And as I looked down on him, I thought only one thing: I want this man dead." He fell silent for a painful amount of time. Knots tied in Blake's stomach. "I got what I wanted." Blake swore she could feel her soul sink to the floor. Peter couldn't kill someone, right? He has to just be trying to scare her. Except if it was that, it was working. Blake couldn't tell if he was holding back tears, or if he just had none left to shed. It was to her surprise when one fell down her own cheek. She quickly wiped it away and uncomfortably crossed her arms. "Peter…" She shuddered. "I'm… so sorry that all happened to you… and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but this is different. This isn't just a search for answers, I can't-"

"I'm not done, Blake," Peter cut her off, which surprised her. "What I didn't tell you before, when I told you about losing everyone else… was that I felt it all over again after MJ died. I wanted Norman Osborne dead. I got rageful. I got bitter. Then history repeated itself all over again. Down to the T. I chased him. I hunted him… and then I killed him. It didn't make it better. Because I broke my promise to Ben. By killing Norman, all I did was ensure the last thing he did was beat me. By doing what I did… he won. And I couldn't be Spider-Man after that. That's when I hung it up, when I just… I just broke. It took that long year before I worked up the courage to put it on again, and then… then I was here." Blake continued to be in shock. Peter always seemed so calm, so in control. Like a better version of herself. "And it almost happened again. At the docks, with Kingpin, I nearly did it again. And I don't think I would've come back from it a third time. If Cardin didn't stop me, I… I would've really been gone." he took a deep, painful breath before turning back to her, an insincere smile on his face. "Like I said, I'm not asking you to stop, Blake. I haven't. Every day, I think about those who I didn't save, who I didn't stop. I still think about why my parents had to run, and leave me behind. But I can't let those thoughts, those searches, control me. Not again. Never again. We'll find the answers we're looking for, Blake. But if we destroy who we are in the process, then what was the point of it all?"

Blake started to feel frustrated again, though. "I thought you of all people would understand! I'm the only one who can do this!"

"Blake. If Roman Torchwick, hell, if Taskmaster came through that door right now, what would you do?" Peter questioned while bearing down on her.

"I'd fight him, stop him!" Blake exclaimed,

"You'd lose!" Peter yelled, snapping and pushing her back into the desk, a bit too hard as she hit it enough to activate her aura. Blake's expression changed to a hurt one, while Peter's expression changed to shock. "I-I'm sorry, I…" He helped her back up, then gently held her by her arms. "You'd lose, Blake… and I don't want to lose anyone else… I promise, I'm not asking you to stop… Just, Please…" He met her eyes, and Blake saw he indeed did still have tears to shed, as his eyes were slightly watering up. "Get some rest. Not just for yourself, but for the people you care about." Blake felt like she could see into his soul, every little bit of horror, trauma and pain behind the eyes she looked into. "Because you never know how much longer you'll have… Don't end up like me, Blake…" Peter then let go of her and started for the door. Blake watched after him with surprise but also sympathy in her eyes, for the first time realizing how broken Peter might well be. "Hey, if you do decide to head to the dance tomorrow night…" He glanced back at her. "I'll, uh, be saving you a dance…" The last part came out awkwardly, but Peter continued and left the classroom. "'Save you a dance'? Stupid, Parker, stupid!"

Blake looked after him for a bit longer, before sighing and leaving the classroom herself, heading to her dorm for much needed rest.

Jaune sped happily to find Weiss, a white rose in his hand. He was coming around a corner when she saw Weiss nearby. "Neptune!" She called. Jaune quickly hid around the corner and watched as the heiress caught up to the aforementioned Neptune.

"Oh, uh, hey, what's up?" Neptune asked

"I, uh, know this is a bit unorthodox, but," Weiss replied, actually get nervous, putting her hands behind her back and anxiously turning the tip of her shoe. "I wanted to ask you something. Would you… like to accompany me to the dance tomorrow?" Jaune's heart sunk, and his joyous smile quickly disappeared. He turned back round the corner and went back on his not-so-merry way to his team's dorm, dropping the single white rose on the ground.

The night of the dance was one of celebration. The dance floor was already full and the event had just started. Yang was up front at the greeter stand in her dress, a white halter neck with a pale gray hem and white pumps. Peter approached from behind her and stood beside her, a drink in hand. "Hey." He wore a simple black tux with a red button-up under the jacket with no tie, and he wore his tennis shoes instead of dress shoes.

"Hey, lookin good!" Yang remarked.

"Not so bad yourself," Peter complimented with a smile.

"Aww, thank you!" Yang hugged Peter and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks for coming!"

"Wouldn't miss it! Figured a night off hero work wouldn't hurt." The two then turned as the large doors to the ballroom opened, and in stepped Ruby wearing a short, red, sleeveless dress with a thick black sash around her waist and black trim along the bottom. The bodice of the dress was split vertically to the sash and laced with black lacing, and the yoke of the dress was transparent mesh with an opaque collar and hem, and there were opaque lines connecting the collar to her shoulders. She also wore black stockings and pumps, as well as black heels, which she seemed to have trouble balancing on.

"Awww, you look beautiful" Yang cried, fawning over her little sister.

"Ugh, can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these?" Ruby remarked. She had to waddle her way over to her sister and Peter. The two laughed as she tried to do so.

"Really, you look great," Peter told her.

"Got room for more?" Sun asked as he and Blake also entered. Sun wore a black button up and silver tie, but otherwise, he wore the rest of his normal Huntsman outfit, save the jacket. But Peter was stunned when he saw Blake. She wore a short, purple, asymmetrical halter neck dress that was split up the right side and had a black collar. Translucent black mesh covered her shoulders, décolletage and back, and decorative black swirls covered the left side of the dress and continued up the left strap. The look was completed with black pumps, and atop her head was a new teal bow on her head as opposed to her usual black one. To Peter, it was almost as if she was shining.

"W-Woah…" he muttered. Blake blushed and glanced away, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"You guys look great," She said.

"So do you!" Yang exclaimed. "You look gorgeous! Right, Pete?" Yang jabbed Peter's arm.

"U-Um," Peter stammered. What should he say? You look like an angel…No, STUPID Parker! "Y-Yeah. What she said."

Blake couldn't help but chuckle a bit, but still blushed.

Before long, they all took part in the festivities, and moved towards the dance floor. When they did, Blake turned to Peter. "S-So, I believe you owe me a dance?" She said. Peter immediately felt flustered and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"O-Oh, right, that! Y-You don't have to if you don't want to-" Peter stuttered. Blake chuckled again and took his hand.

"Come on, dummy." Peter blushed beet red, but let Blake lead him to the dance floor just as a slow dance song came on. One the edge of the dance floor stood Yang, Ruby and Weiss, who wore a short, white, sleeveless dress with cutouts on the sides of her waist, and a translucent mesh yoke.

"I told you she would come," Yang said to her teammates.

"Mission accomplished," Weiss nodded.

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

"Just have fun!" Yang said before both she and Weiss left their leader behind.

"Does that mean I can change out of these stupid things and into my hood now?" She then sighed and tried to keep her balance as she walked. "Stupid lady stilts…"

"Not enjoying yourself?" Ruby jumped and turned to her left to see Ozpin to see Ozpin taking up her side.

"Oh, no! Hehe… Everything's fine!" Ruby replied. "I'm just not much of a fancy-pantsy… dancy girl."

"Well, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield," Ozpin said, "Even if you may want to."

"Yeah, that lesson's been floating around a lot lately," Ruby remarked, crossing her arms and furrowing her brow.

"If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different, Two partners interlock; Although, one wrong move in the ballroom merely leads to a swollen foot," The headmaster chuckled.

"Or a twisted ankle…"

"It's not every day friends are able to come together like this," The headmaster continued, particularly watching Blake and Peter. "Time has a way of testing our bonds, but it's nights like these that can help keep them stronger than ever." As he spoke, Peter and Blake kept their dance up, Peter's left hand and Blake's right hand interlocked at the fingers, with Blake's remaining hand on Peter's shoulder, and Peter's on Blake's waist. They were still nervous, both of them, but they both shared one thing: a smile. When they met eyes, they both felt a calm, a wave of serenity that allowed both of their pasts to fall away for even a fleeting moment. "Nights like these are ones we'll never forget." This brought a smile to Ruby's face, as she understood what the headmaster was trying to convey.

Yang had returned to the podium up front when Emerald, Mercury and Cinder all entered. Yang gave them a greeting smile. "You guys are just in time!"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Mercury assured her.

After the party went on for a while longer, Ruby had decided to make herself a hiding place at the snack table, a drink in her hand, bored to death. Before long, Jaune took up her left. "I see you're hiding at the punch bowl too."

"Yep," Ruby replied, popping the P.

"To the socially awkward," Jaune said, getting a giggle from Ruby as the two clinked glasses.

"Sorry things didn't work out with Weiss," Ruby said.

"Meh, it's fine. Neptune's pretty cool," Jaune replied, shrugging it off. "I get why she went with him."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Well, c'mon, how many people can pull off blue hair?" Jaune remarked before sipping his drink.

"No, I mean Weiss came to the dance alone," Ruby said.

Jaune immediately started choking on his drink and spit out what was still in his mouth. "Uh, what?!" He then looked across the way to Weiss, who was tending to a vase of White Roses.

"Yeah, she said she had too much to focus on to worry about boys," Ruby quoted. In the vase Weiss was tending to, one particular rose kept wilting downwards, much to her frustration. Then her attention was taken by the group of Sun, Blake, Peter and Neptune, as Neptune was doing something to make the other three laugh. Jaune watched this all as well, and growled.

"Hold my punch," Jaune said, handing his glass off to Ruby and heading towards the group. Ruby watched him go as she took a sip out of his glass. Jaune pushed past the crowd of people, making his way toward Neptune when Pyrrha crossed his path, not seeing him and just crossing the dance floor. Jaune paused and watched her as she made it through the crowd and started up the stairs to the second floor. Jaune looked at her go and took a breath, trying to decide what to do. In the end, he decided to check on his teammate, and followed her up the stairs and out to one of the many balconies overlooking the kingdom. "Hey, Pyrrha."

The star huntress turned around to face her leader. "Hello, Jaune."

"You Okay? I haven't seen you tonight," Jaune asked, moving to stand next to his teammate.

"Arrived late, I'm afraid," She answered as she turned back around to face the view.

"Well, you look really nice," Jaune awkwardly complimented her.

"Thank you, she simply replied.

"You're, uh, date isn't gonna beat em up for saying that, is he?" Jaune jokingly asked.

"I think you're safe for tonight," Pyrrha replied without humor.

"So… where is the guy?" Jaune asked. Pyrrha rolled her eyes and turned back around.

"There is no 'guy'," Pyrrha said.

"Heh, what?" Jaune asked in surprise.

"Nobody asked me," Pyrrha said.

"But that's-... you're Pyrrha Nikos! How could nobody ask you?"

"I've been… blessed with incredible talents and opportunities. I'm constantly surrounded by love, and praise. When you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. Everyone assumes I'm too good for them, that I'm on a level they simply can't attain. It's become impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationship with people. That's what I like about you," Pyrrha said. "When we met, you didn't even know my name! You treated me just like anyone else. And thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. I guess… you're the kind of guy I wish I was here with. Someone who just saw me for me." Jaune felt guilty, but before he could address it, Pyrrha brushed past him and walked back inside. When he turned back around to call to her, Neptune was in the way.

"Hey, uh, Jaune, right?" Neptune asked.

Jaune sighed. "Yeah…"

"This party's pretty lame, huh? I mean, ballroom dancing. Pfft."

"Yeah…" Jaune repeated.

"Cute girls, though, huh?" Neptune commented, gesturing back to Pyrrha.

Jaune growled and snapped at Neptune. "Is that all you think about?!"

"Huh?"

"D-Do you even care about the girls you're hitting on? How they feel about you?"

"Woah! Where's this coming from?" Neptune asked.

"How could you just turn her down like that?" Jaune questioned.

"Huh? Wh-Who?"

"Weiss!"

"I, uh," Neptune nervously replied, "It, uh,... it just didn't work out, y'know?"

"What, you think you're too cool? Too many other options? Weiss Schnee asked you to the dance! What in the world could possibly keep you from go-"

"I can't dance!" Neptune quickly admitted.

"Beg your pardon?" Jaune asked.

"I can't dance, man!"

"But, you're… so cool!"

"Thank you, I try really, really hard."

"So… you'd rather break a girl's heart and go to a dance alone rather than admit you can't move in rhythm to music?" Jaune questioned.

"That about sums it up, yeah," Neptune admitted.

"Well… I certainly feel a lot better about myself."

"Please don't tell anybody! Look, if you want Weiss, she's all yours. I don't wanan get in your way," Neptune assured him, backing off.

Jaune sighed and leaned himself against the guardrail of the balcony. "Do you like her?"

"Yeah, well, I don't know her too well yet, but… she seems pretty cool," Neptune answered.

"Then just go talk to her. No pick up lines, no sauve moves, just be yourself. I've heard that's the way to go."

"Yeah, but that isn't-"

"Hey," Jaune interrupted him, "You don't have to look cool all the time! In all honesty, if you could be a little less cool, I'd really appreciate it."

Neptune smiled a bit. "Yeah. Okay."

"Go talk to her. I guarantee it'll make her night."

"Thanks. You're a really cool guy, Jaune," Neptune said as he fist bumped Jaune.

"Alright, don't lie to my face." Neptune then went back inside the ballroom to find Weiss, and Jaune sighed to himself. "Alright. Only one thing left to do."

Peter was out on a balcony back on the lower floor, spacing himself from the crowd of students. He had spent a good amount of time with Blake, Sun and Neptune, but Neptune departed, and Peter wanted to give Blake and Sun some time for their "date". Apparently, it was more than enough time, as Blake joined him before long.

"Hey," She greeted.

"Hey yourself," Peter replied with a smile. "I thought you were hanging out with Sun."

"I was. But… I just wanted to thank you," Blake said.

"For what?" Peter asked.

"Come on, don't be the humble hero for just five minutes," Blake chuckled. Peter couldn't help but smile wider. "What's that grin for?"

"You just seem… happy. A complete one-eighty from yesterday."

"I… needed the push."

"I think I just started to vent towards the end of it there," Peter looked away, rubbing his neck.

"I think you needed it as much as I did," Blake said.

"Maybe," Peter agreed. "I just needed to get some things off my chest."

"Well, it definitely sounded like you needed to. You've had a hard life, Peter. I don't envy you."

"I'd be surprised if you did. Parker luck hasn't been kind to me over the years."

"'Parker Luck'?" Blake repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"It's what I call a string of bad luck, from minor stuff back in the day like missing class, or losing a bad guy at the worst time. I think it hit its peak a year ago."

Blake shook her head. "Peter, you can't blame yourself for what happened. Some people… some people are just pure evil."

"I thought you said there was no such thing as pure evil," Peter replied.

Blake sighed. "There are exceptions. I think we both know that."

"What was your exception?" Peter asked.

"That's… for another night. Still have to enjoy myself after all," Blake said, leaning on the guardrail and looking out on the city.

"Yeah… right," Peter nervously chuckled. The two were silent for a moment.

"I'm sure they would all be proud of you, Peter. Who you are, what you've done, who you've helped. And so long as you keep doing what you're doing, they'll only be more proud. I'm sure," Blake assured him.

Peter looked at her with a small smile. "Look at you. Blake Belladonna, the silent ninja herself, speaking words of wisdom."

"Shut up," Blake chuckled with a smile, which only made Peter's smile grow.

"Y'know, all of you… you remind me of MJ, all in your own ways."

"Wait, really?" Blake asked.

Peter nodded. "Pyrrha has her hair and eyes. Yang has her spunkiness, Weiss has her tact, Nora her silliness, Ruby has her positive outlook and sense of right and wrong… and you… you have her kindness. Her heart. She supported me whenever she could, but she could also give me a reality check when I needed it. She always knew what to say."

Blake's cheeks quickly tinted pink. "She… She sounds perfect."

"She was. I just hope you're right, and she really is proud." Peter gave Blake a genuine smile, one Blake returned with a small blush still across her face. Then a roar of laughter emanated from the crowd inside, drawing both of their attention. "What's all that about?" The two walked in to see a crowd around Jaune, who was wearing a white dress with a pink waist ribbon, and Pyrrha, who was looking at Jaune in surprise.

"Jaune…?" Pyrrha said.

"A promise is a promise," Jaune shrugged.

A wide smile spread across Pyrrha's face and she began laughing, covering her mouth. "Oh, Jaune! You didn't have to-!"

"Hey, and Arc never goes back on his word. Now do you want to stand there and laugh at me, or do you wanna dance?" Jaune asked as he put his hand out to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha giggled and took his hand. "I would love to dance." Jaune then pulled her in close and brought her to the dance floor. "Oh!"

Nora watched this happen and turned to Ren. "Ren! This, is, happening!"

"Wait, what's happening?" Ren asked, confused. But then Nora dragged him out with Jaune and Pyrrha, and momentarily, all of team JNPR began dancing together in sync, as a team.

"Seems like they're having fun," Peter remarked.

"When did they practice a dance routine?" Blake questioned.

JNPR won the crowd over and entertained them, also reinvigorating the entire gathering into dancing with them. After the routine was over, Jaune and Pyrrha split off from Ren and Nora and continued to dance. "I had no idea you were a dancer!" Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, well, these things tend to happen when you grow up with seven sisters," Jaune remarked.

Off to the side of the dance floor were Neptune and Weiss, sitting next to each other in a pair of metal chairs. "So, what made you change your mind?" Weiss asked Neptune.

"Huh?" Neptune replied.

"You said you were embarrassed at first. What made you come talk to me?"

Neptune smirked and sighed, before looking at Jaune and Pyrrha on the dance floor. "You're looking at him." Weiss was confused before she also looked at Jaune, and the realization dawned on her. "You've got some good friends looking out for ya." Weiss didn't know what to feel at first, but before she could even actively decide, a smile crept up onto her face.

"Well, I'd consider this a massive success for Yang and Weiss. Seems like they made the entire school happy," Peter said.

"Yeah. It's a nice break. A night where we can just forget about everything for a while," Blake agreed.

"I'm glad you got the rest you needed. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to enjoy all this." Peter then rubbed the back of his neck. "B-Besides, you definitely look prettier without the bags under your eyes." Blake gave him a sideways glare, which made him instantly regret his words. "Y'know, that sounded a lot better in my head."

Blake glanced away. "That makes two stumbles tonight. You should work on your game," She teased half-heartedly, somewhat nervous herself.

"You, uh… you really do look beautiful, Blake…" Peter stumbled.

Blake's blush grew and her smile became a more bashful one. "Th-Thanks. You look nice too." Peter nervously chuckled and look to the side, as did Blake . After an awkward moment of silence, the two met each other's gaze again, and a spark of… something hit them both simultaneously. They held that gaze for a few moments, before Yang came up behind them and put her arms around both of their shoulders, causing them both to jump in surprise and shatter the moment.

"Hey guys! How's the dance?" Yang asked.

"O-Oh, it's, uh, it's great! You and Weiss, uh, really knocked it out of the park!" Peter replied anxiously.

"Thanks, Pete! Wait, was I interrupting something?"

"Nope!" Blake answered. "No, just… just hanging out."

"Well, I'm glad you guys are enjoying yourselves!" Yang smiled broadly.

"Hey, Pete?" Ruby said, trying to get their attention. The other three turned around and looked outside to see a pillar of smoke in the distance, out in the city. Peter's smile quickly disappeared. He had a break, a night he could just be with friends, he was getting closer with Blake, and then there was this. "C-C'mon, Matt and Jessica can handle whatever's out there!" Peter tried to shrug it off.

"Pete…" Yang said.

"No, I.. I just want one night-" Peter started to say.

"Peter," Blake cut him off. Peter turned to face the Faunus. "It's alright. We'll still be here when you get back. Now go save some lives." Peter sighed in defeat. It seemed he was right: she always knew what to say. "If you hurry, I might even save you a dance." Peter chuckled and smirked.

"You know copying is cheating."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Go." Peter nodded and leapt off the balcony, falling out of sight.

"He's always so cool," Ruby said with a smile.

"C'mon. Let's not stop celebrating while he's gone," Yang said before bringing her sister and Blake back into the ballroom. So they continued to celebrate, all the while waiting for Peter. They waited for minutes. Minutes turned to four hours. Four hours turned into the night. They waited. And waited. And waited. Waiting for Peter Parker to return to the dance. Blake genuinely wanted to dance with the hero one more time before the night was done.

Peter never returned to the ballroom.

Peter tried to get at least to his knees. His back was on fire. His left leg was numb. All he could taste was the iron of his blood. He never even made it to one knee as Tuksen's claws dug into his back, forcing a painful scream from his mouth, which cut off when the Lizard smashed his skull back down into pavement. His world became topsy turvy, he couldn't tell up from down. Peter opened his eyes and glanced up to see Taskmaster lord over him, his sword in hand. Peter scowled and tried to push back against the two Faunus pinning him only for Taskmaster's blade to stab through his hand and pin it to the pavement, forcing another cry from the bottom of his lungs. Taskmaster then activated his comms. "Dillon, status?"

"Mission accomplished. Seed planted in the CCT."

"Good. Return to home."

The last image Peter saw before blacking out was the bottom of Taskmaster's boot.