Imperial Ball

"It's on," Gyro told Tora after placing last of Bumblebee's chassis back on.

"Then it finished," Tora said proudly, "Thank you Gyro for helping Tora."

"No problem," Gyro said as he wiped his hands on a cloth, "You know…I think Pierce would like this."

"Gyro want blueprints?" Tora asked as he placed his goggles back on his head.

"Nah, I think I can work from scratch," the blonde Ardainian said confidently.

"Why would you want to make that?" Theory asked from a chair at the back of the garage.

"Come on, Theory," Gyro said, "This thing was designed to go fast and carry heavy stuff. Wouldn't that be cool?"

"…I just don't see the appeal," Theory said with a disinterested look. Or it would be disinterested if it wasn't her default face.

"You're no fun," Gyro complained, before turning to Tora, "So, should we tell Yang now?"

"Tora tell after party," Tora said with a smile. Then the inventor let out a smug laugh like a mad scientist, "And blow friends' minds."

"What party?" Gyro asked out of curiosity, deciding to gloss over Tora's mad scientist moment.

"The party held in celebration of Mòrag's return," Poppi clarified.

"Ahhh, I heard about that," Gyro said, "You guys were invited?"

"Yep!" Tora said happily.

"Lucky you," Gyro muttered in slight jealousy, "You get to stuff your face with fancy food."

"What Gyro saying?" Tora asked, not catching that.

"Nothing." The blonde Ardainian Driver replied quickly. Then he looked thoughtful, "Hey, if you happen to see Pierce in the Palace, tell him I said hi."

"Pierce doing guard duty in the palace?" Poppi asked with a head tilt.

"Among other boring stuff," Gyro said with a laugh, "I don't know if he's doing guard duty for the party, but I figured I'd ask just in case you happen to see him. Praxis should be with him."

"Tora say hi for Gyro," Tora promised.

"Thanks," Gyro said with a grateful smile.


Later on, the gang was discussing on how to act in a party as formal as this. While Mòrag assured everyone that they wouldn't need to dress up since the event wasn't going to be too extravagant, some of them still felt insecure about being underdressed. Not to mention some of them had no idea how to act in formal events that no doubt had high class people attending.

Fortunately, they had a tutor.

"Ruby, that's not how you greet someone formally," Weiss said in exasperation.

"But I thought I sounded formal enough," Ruby complained.

"Sure, if you were in a play," Weiss said with a highly annoyed look. Then Weiss turned to Roze, "How would you greet nobility Roze?"

"That depends if I talked to them first or they to me first," Roze replied.

Weiss let out a sigh, "Fair enough. Let's say they greeted you first."

Roze then gave an example, "Greetings Lady Schnee, my name is Roze. Pleasure to meet you." The rose reaper finished with a dip of his head.

"Hmm…Not bad," Weiss said looking mildly impressed, "Although I would use 'It's a pleasure to meet you'."

"Noted." Was Roze's simple reply.

Then Weiss whipped around to Rex, "Rex, sit up straight!"

The salvager did as commanded in an instant.

"Not so stiff," Weiss pointed out and Rex visibly slumped.

"Don't slouch!" Weiss then said, causing Rex to go back to overly stiff, "Urgh." This was frustrating.

Weiss wasn't the only one doing the tutoring. "Now, you use the fork and knife like this," Aizen said while gingerly cutting a small piece of steak. He knew that the event they would attend would only be a ball, but might as well go through the table etiquette just in case.

Naturally, there were those who outright rejected the notion.

"Eating is supposed to be fun," Nora complained as she shoved a huge helping into her mouth.

"Do not gorge!" Aizen let out firmly, surprisingly stopping Nora mid-chew. "Only take enough that you can chew while keeping your mouth shut," Aizen said with a firm look, "No talking with your mouth full. Chew thoroughly before swallowing. And do not eat dessert first!" That last one was let out because Nora was reaching for a souffle that Aizen had procured. It was amazing how much patience Aizen had with Nora.

As this happened, Joana was giving personal tutoring to Jaune. She even went as far as grabbing his hands and moving them in the appropriate motions before instructing her lord to try himself. This hands-on approach seemed to be very effective, which made Joana very happy.

Otohime on the other hand had easy time with Ren. The black-haired boy was almost a natural when it came to table manners. The water Blade once again wished she could have met the parents who brought such a wonderful boy into existence.

"Okay, Drag how the heck can you have already memorized all of this?" Yang asked her Blade who showed almost perfect example of how to use utensils in a formal setting.

"I wonder the same about your inability to do so," Dragunov replied easily as he plucked a small piece of steak into his mouth before chewing it with barely noticeable movement.

Yang glared at her Blade for that remark.

"I still find it weird that you are among those with good table manners," Nia let out, having been exempt from this after demonstrating that she was more than capable of socializing and table manners.

Dragunov didn't answer immediately, for his mouth was still full. But when he swallowed, he replied, "What's it to you?"

"Nothing, just…never mind," Nia said before leaving the dining room of the inn they were using. Which was empty as of now. And the food was naturally provided by Pyra.

"You really should follow Blake's example," Aizen said to Nora while motioning to Blake who was picking this up rather well.

The faunus Driver shook her head at Nora blowing a raspberry at Aizen. The nobleman Blade did not look impressed, at all.

Zeke watched this with an amused look. As much as Aizen and Weiss tried to force him into practicing, the prince of Tantal reminded them of his status. He couldn't understand why it did nothing to reassure them.

Then there was Tora who had gotten back a little late for the tutoring. Like Nora, the concept of table manners in formal setting went right over the nopon's mohawk.

Finally, there was Qrow. If he had a say in the matter, then he wouldn't be attending at all. But as long as there's booze then it could be…tolerable.

And that was how the afternoon was spent by the gang. Trying to learn enough manners so that they wouldn't embarrass themselves. Or as Weiss said to all Remnant natives, not embarrass the people of Remnant in front of Ardainian nobles.


Then the fated evening came. Despite being told that they could all come as they are, some of the gang felt a little…self-conscious. Mainly, Ruby, Jaune, Oscar and Rex. Even the Blades were allowed to come. Although Blake had half a mind to leave Nox behind, but she guessed that he would just find a way to sneak into the palace without anyone's knowledge. And that would be worse than the dark one warding off anyone who approached her.

So here they were in what they assumed was the ballroom of the palace. It was of course much grander than the one at Beacon. But the party itself seemed not that grand, at least by what Weiss was used to back in Atlas. And honestly, that was refreshing.

Despite this being a ball, there was very little dancing happening despite the music right now. Well, since the event itself was small, it was mostly high-ranking officers of the army attending with their families. And it was the said officers, their spouses and their children of varying ages that were occupying the dance floor for the most part.

At the start of the party, Mòrag naturally introduced everyone to the Emperor and needless to say they were surprised by the fact that he was indeed 13 years old. Younger than Oscar, which was shocking to the farmhand who couldn't comprehend how this boy was able to deal with all the stress that came with running an empire.

Ren had to keep a hand on Nora's shoulder to stop her from saying something stupid. He could easily see Nora shouting stuff like, "Cute boy emperor.". That would never fly.

For Ruby she wasn't sure what to feel about someone even younger than her back at Beacon's first semester being in such a position.

For Weiss…after few exchanges and from the way she briefly saw Niall conversing with Mòrag. The former heiress felt a little jealous of Mòrag's relationship with the young emperor. It reminded her of what kind of back-stabbing little shitstain Whitley was.

For Blake, she was partly surprised that the empire hasn't crumbled due to a child emperor, but she noticed that the boy clearly knew what he was doing. So maybe he was raised that well. Most importantly he was respectful to her and Nia. But she was especially surprised when Niall thanked the Gormotti again for saving his life.

"It was nothing, really," Nia said dismissively, earning a shocked look from Blake.

"Maybe so, but you did a great service to the empire," Niall said with a smile.

"I didn't do it for you your majesty," Nia shot back, "I did it for Alrest."

"You have my gratitude none the less," Niall said, seeming to be done with her before turning to address the rest of the entourage.

Out of all the people who were surprised, none were more than Qrow. He honestly expected a pompous brat who thought that the world existed solely for him. Then again, what he had seen thus far from Mòrag was…decent enough.

Then the main event was set to start as Niall cleared his throat, "As the Emperor of Mor Ardain, I, Niall Ardanach, welcome visitors from Remnant to our Empire. I would also like to thank you for ensuring our Special Inquisitor's safe return. I doubt you know what it means to have her return safely to us." At the last part Niall gave a grateful smile.

Ruby and Yang smiled a little. For they had a feeling that Niall wanted to say "me" at the last part.

After that, Niall started addressing everyone in the room, "May the celebration begin!"

That earned a round of cheers from the party goers. And so, the ball began and the gang soon split up to enjoy the festivities in their own way.

Starting with Dahlia who was standing some ways away from Weiss who was conversing with the local nobles.

"If you don't mind me asking, what noble house is your Driver from?" a finely dressed young man asked the busty Blade.

"Oh, she is not a noble, just a daughter of a wealthy merchant," Dahlia replied politely. It wasn't technically a lie, seeing as the Schnee Dust Company was a business.

"Oh? Her posture and clothing make her seem like a…princess," the boy said after a moment of thought.

"Trust me, she hears that a lot," Dahlia said with an amused look.

"I see," the boy then said with a small smile, "Do you think she would mind if I approached her?"

"I'm sure she wouldn't, but I can't promise that she would be…interested in you," Dahlia replied, catching onto what the boy was going for.

"I will take my chances," the boy said before walking to Weiss who was chatting up with other members of nobility.

It was quite surprising for Dahlia that Weiss would chat with high-class people after what happened in Atlas. But judging by Weiss' smile, these nobles were a cut above Atlas' wealthy.

"You do know he is planning to court her, don't you?" Said Aizen who had come as soon as the boy left.

"And?" Dahlia said uncaringly.

"We are on a mission, and having romantic relations with people we may never see again is a waste of time," Aizen replied easily.

"Are you assuming that Weiss would fall for someone just like that?" Dahlia asked with mildly offended look.

"A woman's heart can be very fickle," Aizen spoke like he was talking about the weather, "They may not always know what they want."

"I can't help but notice you said, 'can' and 'may not'," Dahlia spoke up in amusement.

"Nothing is absolute," Aizen replied easily as he looked to the boy that was asking about Weiss was now chatting with her. "But I would rather not take chances if that is at all possible," the nobleman Blade spoke.

"You do know that Weiss will be capable of anything when she sets her mind to it," Dahlia spoke up, "After all, you have said yourself that she was improving during training."

"Indeed," Aizen replied with a small smile, "So, about that thing we discussed yesterday?"

"I have asked some people," Dahlia said, "They recommended we save it until Indol since that's where we're going anyway."

"Hmm…" Aizen muttered with a thoughtful look, "Perhaps we could send a letter there ahead of us?"

"I already asked about it," Dahlia replied, "Said that we might as well go there in person due to how long it will take for the letter to reach Indol."

"How unfortunate," Aizen said uncaringly, "But I suppose this is better dealt with in person."

"I agree," Dahlia said with a small smile, before frowning, "Does our agreement still stand?"

Aizen let out a small sigh, "Dahlia, we have been over this. If Miss Schnee is to wear that, we might as well ensure it to be something she wishes to wear."

"I'm glad we're on the same page," Dahlia said, smiling again.

"Indeed," Aizen said as he looked to their shared Driver with a small frown as Weiss seemed to enjoy her present company.

With Blake and Nia, they were being chatted by several younger nobles.

"How do you get such beautiful curls on your hair?" One of the girls asked Blake.

"Uhh…My hair is always like this," Blake said with an awkward look. Never in her life had she thought that high-class people would talk to her like this.

"Does your Blade act as a butler?" Another one asked while looking at Nox who was ignoring the girls and looking around the ballroom, trying to spot anything suspicious. But all he saw were several soldiers standing guard around the ballroom.

"Uhh no, he's…more like an overly zealous body-guard," Blake responded again, earning Nox's attention.

"Uuhhh. I kind of wish I had a handsome Blade like that," A third one spoke.

"I could do without the claws though," a fourth one spoke, which caused everyone to giggle.

Except Blake who felt mild offense to that, "What's wrong with his claws?"

"Oh, you know, what if he accidentally scratches you in the bedroom," A second one said, which made everyone giggle a little.

Except Blake who blushed furiously as she figured out what they meant. But then the temperature dropped as bloodlust began radiating from behind Blake.

The four noblewomen looked startled as they too felt it.

"Nox, no." Blake said to her Blade with the sternest look she could muster.

"My apologies, my lady. I am not very fond of such baseless accusations." Nox showed on his scroll.

"Accusations?" the first noblewoman spoke with a questioning look, "We were simply gossiping."

"You were insinuating that I would have such inappropriate relationship with my lady." Nox showed with his pupil turning into a cross.

"Please forgive Nox," Blake quickly said, trying to salvage the situation, "He believes that someone like me deserves more than a…lowly servant." The faunus Driver resisted a cringe of having to say that.

"Oh." All the noble girls let out in unison.

"I suppose I understand," the second noblewoman spoke. "It would be insulting to us to insinuate we would have a relationship with a beggar." The latter was said with a look of utter disgust.

The three others let out varying sounds of disgust at hearing that.

As much as Blake felt annoyed at the comparison, she didn't want to start a needless fight either. Blake then turned to Nia for help, only to see that the Gormotti had taken distance and was watching with a very evil grin.

"Have fun," Nia mouthed to Blake before walking away smugly. Dromarch following suit, as he gave Blake an apologetic look.

With Yang, she decided to chat up one of the soldiers that were apparently on guard duty. The reason why this one caught her eye was because he was clearly a Driver. Judging by the rare Blade at his side.

The rare Blade in question was a tan skinned female wearing a mostly white body suit that exposes her midriff and most of her feet. The girl had a teal colored hair with two dark blue spheres that kinda looked like bubbles at the back of her heads. Though judging by how her hair looks, it was likely that most of it was gathered into two large buns inside the spheres aside from several large strands that are wildly pointing to ever-which-way. She has one pink left eye, while her right eye was covered by an eyepatch with a blue circle at where the eye would be. The said circle had a black X crossing it. She also has similar spherical ear-rings on both ears.

Moving onto the Blade's torso, Yang saw that the Core Crystal on the Blade's chest was V-shaped and was right above her large bust which, again was covered by that dark blue bubble. Yang almost laughed out loud at the thought of "Bubbles within bubbles.". Moving on, the Blade there were two oval shapes with a glowing blue circle inside of them, on top of the breasts and on the sides. They kind of looked like eyes. On the lower body her she had ether lines going upwards the sides of her belly from beneath what looked like bikini bottoms to under her breasts. On her hips were those eye-like decorations that were attached to large feather-looking plates that each had a large dark blue bubble embedded into them. From each of the plates, two glittery see through extensions came out. The extensions made Yang think of wings on a fairy. Strangely the Blade had a dark blue bubble at her back, like a bunny tail.

On her arms, the Blade had her forearms partly inside of a dark blue bubble that was circled by white frame and more wing-like extensions.

Moving onto her legs, the Blade had dark blue bubbles around her upper thighs. Right beneath those bubbles were another set of fairy-wings covering the black undersuit which vanished under the white suit mid-thigh. The top of the feet each had that eye-like decoration covering from the base of her ankle to almost to the toes. However, there were black straps connecting them to the white high heels from between the big toe and index toe as well as the sides of the feet.

Since Yang approached from the side, she saw the bubble-like thing on the Blade's rear.

"I've heard about bubble butts, but that's a new one," Yang opened up, earning the Blade's and the soldier's attention.

"What?" The female Blade let out in confusion as she turned to them.

But the soldier's eyes fell on his Blade's butt and he burst into laughter, "Yeah, I thought so too when I first saw her."

It seemed like the Blade now caught onto what was being talked about. "Pierce." The Blade said in a warning tone.

"Sorry, Praxis," The soldier, apparently named Pierce, apologized from the now named Praxis, "But that was a good one."

"Gyro doesn't like your puns, Theory doesn't like your puns and I don't like your puns either," Praxis said with a glare, "So stop making them!"

That made Yang perk up a little, "Wait, you know Gyro?"

Pierce turned his helmet covered head to Yang in pretty quick motion, "Yeah, he's my brother. Why?"

"He's been helping me tune up Bumblebee," Yang said with a small grin.

"Bumblebee?" Pierce asked with a head tilt, "What's that, some fancy gadget?"

"Bumblebee is a motorcycle," Dragunov replied from behind Yang, "A fast moving vehicle."

"Sounds cool," Pierce said with intrigue in his voice, "Could I see it if I get a day-"

"Hey! Rookie, stop chatting! We're on duty." A soldier not too far from Pierce piped up angrily.

"Oh, come on. What's the harm?" Yang complained before Pierce could say anything.

"What's the harm? What's the harm!?" The soldier let out incredulously, "We got several important people in here, including the emperor himself! I'm not taking chances of any of the rebel groups somehow getting in here." All of this was said while the soldier still had his eyes around the ballroom.

This surprised Yang, she hadn't heard of any rebel groups.

"Sorry, miss," Pierce apologized, "But I got a job to do…Maybe talk when I get a leave in a week or so?"

"Sorry, I won't be here by then," Yang said apologetically before remembering something, "Oh, right. I'm Yang."

"Well as you heard from Praxis here, I'm Pierce. Pierce Vermillion," Pierce quickly introduced himself.

The Blade in question then gave Dragunov a look, "So, what's your name big guy?"

"…Dragunov." Yang's Blade replied easily.

"Hope to see you later," Yang said with a small wink before moving out. Dragunov following suit.

As soon as Yang was out of earshot, Praxis gave her Driver a grin, "Are you blushing under that helmet?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Pierce said quickly.

"Oh please, you're stiffer than normally on duty," Praxis said with an evil grin when her Driver visibly froze, "You can't hide anything from me even in that uniform."

Pierce let out a series of unintelligible grumbles, until Praxis could hear something else, "Can't wait to get out of this suit when I climb up the ranks." Seriously without Praxis none of the citizens can tell it was him. He just hoped no one would forget him.

"You won't get up the ranks if you don't take your job seriously!" the other soldier growled out, still doing his job.

"Okay, I get it," Pierce called out in frustration before returning to his job of watching for anything out of the ordinary.

"Sir, you can't go in there!" Was then heard from behind the doorway the two were guarding.

"Did you hear that?" Pierce's fellow soldier asked as he reached for his rifle at his side.

"Yeah…I did," Pierce said as he drew out Praxis' Megalance. It was like a staff with a large blue bubble at the tip, surrounded by the framework of the silvery large spear blade itself. On the surface of the Megalance's blades were more of those eye-like decorations. "Come on Praxis," Pierce then said as he prepared to move out with his Blade. The exit of the two soldiers wasn't lost on Brighid who happened to glance at their direction.

Outside the ballroom, Pierce saw what the problem was. "Great…this guy." the Ardainian Driver complained in his head at the obese old man in an embellished attire, Count Dreyf. A man that wasn't popular among the people or even other nobility.

"You will let me inside this instant," Count Dreyf said to the two soldiers that were preventing him entry, "Do you know who I am!?"

"Count Dreyf," Pierce was the first to say, no doubt scowling under that helmet, "What business do you have here?"

"I heard there would be a celebration for the return of our Special Inquisitor so I felt that I should attend as well," Count Dreyf said pompously.

"I see," the soldier that was Pierce's partner said, "Would you present your invitation?"

"It was lost by the courier," Count Dreyf said in annoyance, "Now let me in or I will have you all thrown in jail for mutiny and high treason!" The man even raised a fat finger as if that would make the four obey.

"As if we haven't heard that before." Was the collective thought in all four soldier's head. They were all informed that Count Dreyf wasn't invited for several reasons. The man's family has been in the imperial family's good graces due to a member of their family being married to one of the previous emperor's. Unfortunately, Dreyf's idiocy resulted in rumors of him dealing in shady businesses along with openly calling the current emperor an ignorant brat when said individual was standing right behind him. Since then the buffoon has been trying to kiss the emperor's butt to get back into the good graces. The guy is either stupid, stubborn, or going senile for not being able to take the hint. Pierce was pretty sure it was the combination of all three.

"Our orders are clear," One of the soldiers who first argued with the count said sternly, "No one without an invitation can enter."

"Is everything okay here?" came the voice of Brighid who had just arrived.

"Lady Brighid!" All soldiers exclaimed before saluting.

Then Praxis piped up, "Nothing, just someone trying to get in without an invitation."

At that, Brighid turned to the obese nobleman. Honestly, part of the blue haired woman hoped that one day someone would present evidence of the man's supposed shady dealings so that he would be stripped of his status for good.

"Unfortunately, my invitation was lost by the courier so I am unable to present it," Dreyf said, now sounding disgustingly sweet.

Brighid resisted rolling her eyes on that claim. It would be surprising to hear how many claim the same thing. Besides, "My apologies Count Dreyf, but I know for a fact that you were not invited."

"What?" Dreyf asked, looking like he was slapped across the face by a beggar.

"You see, my Driver has invited the companions that helped us to return. And we were afraid that their presence might…upset you," Brighid said, internally cringing at having to use polite language with this lard barrel.

"Why would I be upset by presence of people who helped our Special Inquisitor return," Dreyf said before putting on his most charming smile, which made Pierce and Praxis resist a snicker. "I would love to meet these fine individuals."

Brighid resisted a snort, for she knew how the count would react to Blake and Nia. Another reason why almost no one among nobility took him seriously.

"Something wrong, here?" Speak of the beige haired, kitty eared devil.

"Oh, crap." Was the collective thought among the soldiers while Brighid let out a weary sigh at what happened next.

"A Gormotti!" Dreyf cried out like he saw a rabid pack of Volffs. "What is that fleabitten plaguebearer doing here?!"

"Excuse me?!" Nia growled out with a twitching eye.

"Lady Brighid! Did you know there was a filthy Gormotti here?! Get it out before everyone carries the plague or some other disease these mindless animals carry!" Dreyf cried out before turning to the soldiers, "Shoot it quickly!"

"Who are you to call me such, you bloody git?!" Nia shouted back, cracking her knuckles in preparation of tearing this guy a new one.

"Nia, please stand down. I have this under control," Brighid quickly said before turning to the soldiers, "I hereby authorize you to escort Count Dreyf out of the premises."

"Yes, ma'am!" Two of the soldiers said before grabbing the still ranting Dreyf and started dragging him away.

"What are you doing?! You are supposed to kill that hideous monster!" Dreyf cried out as he was dragged away.

"What was up with that guy?" Nia asked, never having encountered someone like that.

"…Ma'am, permission to answer her freely," Pierce piped up quickly.

"Permission granted," Brighid replied with a smile.

"Count Dreyf is just senile old cuckoo," Pierce then told Nia while twirling a finger around his head. No doubt grinning under that helmet.

"Yeah, kinda noticed," Nia grumbled, before turning to Pierce, "So, military life treating you good, Pierce?"

"Wh-How did you know it was me?" Pierce asked in surprise, seeing as you can't tell one soldier apart from another due to the military armor.

Nia crossed her arms with an amused look, "First off, I recognize your voice. Secondly, you have Praxis, and we left her to you the last time we were here. Speaking of which, I heard your brother has Theory."

"Yeah," Pierce said, "Didn't feel right to separate these two, so we decided to make them official sisters, seeing as Gyro and I are twins."

"I still think it would have made more sense if you had become Theory's Driver too," Praxis said with a small sigh, "We don't get to see each other as much as I would like."

"Hey, I don't get to see Gyro as much as I like either," Pierce shot back, "Besides, Gyro's the one with theories, while I do the practice."

*Badum-Tss*

Nia rolled her eyes at the stupid pun.

"Are you planning to reach the same rank as your brother, private Vermillion," Brighid then asked with a small smile, deciding to ignore the pun.

"Well…I don't know…I mean…Azure was a brilliant tactician," Pierce said with an awkward tone and slight shuffling, "Though I would like to get high enough rank to get out of this armor."

"I suppose we shall wait and see," Brighid said with a small chuckle, "I have a feeling we can expect great things form you."

"Thank you, ma'am," Pierce thanked with slight grin under his helmet.

"Carry on then," Brighid then said as she and Nia returned to the ballroom.

"…You know I wanted to rip him to shreds," Nia grumbled to Brighid.

"Count Dreyf?" Brighid sounded out with a quirk of an eyebrow, "Why do you think I ordered him to be escorted out?"

"Does he seriously believe that Gormotti are fleabitten and disease-ridden?" Nia couldn't help asking.

"Unfortunately yes," Brighid replied, "No one knows where he got that delusion from."

"Well, I'm just glad Blake wasn't there to hear it," Nia said before having a small smirk, "Although I would've loved to see Nox tearing that geezer a new one."

"My lady, as much as I would have liked to tear that insolent man apart myself, he is one of the Ardainian nobles," Dromarch piped up, not even lying about wanting to tear that arrogant count apart.

"Yeah, yeah, we don't need any headaches," Nia waved her Blade off. Although she was also glad that Blake wasn't there to hear it. While she can't fully understand the faunus plight back in Remnant, she can make an educated guess on how Blake might have been shocked, angry or reduced to tears…possibly all three.

However, Dreyf's little tantrum didn't go unnoticed.

"What was that?" Weiss asked about the shout that sounded out.

"…I really hope it's not who I think it is," the noble that previously chatted up Dahlia said with a deep frown. It should probably be noted that Weiss learned his name to be Trevel

"And who might that be?" Weiss asked, not sure if she should be worried.

"Just a certain someone who believes that Gormotti are disease ridden savages," Trevel replied with a sigh. This information earned an appalled look from Weiss. "I know, if half of his ramblings about Gormotti were true they wouldn't have been let onto this very titan in the first place," Trevel said with a chuckle.

But Weiss didn't appreciate it, although she did acknowledge that Trevel thought this grade A racist was wrong. "Is he important?" Weiss asked, partially dreading the answer.

"Dreyf? His family was important once upon a time, but not anymore," Trevel replied, "Besides, there are some shady rumors around him lately. Sadly, no evidence has been found, because then we would finally be rid of him."

"What do you think of Gormotti?" Weiss then asked.

"I'm…not sure I understand the question," Trevel replied with a confused look.

"What do you think of Gormotti in general?" Weiss asked, now wondering what was so hard to understand.

"What is there to think?" Trevel replied with a shrug, "They are from Gormott Titan and have feline ears…Oh! And my mother collects wood carvings made by them. Did you know that some Gormotti wood carving's prices rival that of jewelry? Of course, that depends on the wood used."

Weiss was baffled. It seemed that a conflict between species wasn't a thing here. Only between nations which just happen to be inhabited by different kind of human. Then again, the conflict between humans and faunus on Remnant had very deep roots. If things between the two species had begun differently, perhaps wars like the Faunus Rights Revolution would never have happened.

Meanwhile, Rex, Ruby and Oscar were in the most secluded corner they could find and were trying to be as unnoticeable as possible. Seeing as they, especially Rex, stuck out like a sore thumb among all these fancy people.

"Rex…You do realize that you're not invisible," said a very frustrated looking Mythra, who kept glancing at people who gave them small stares. Some like they were staring at a pack of street rats, others with a baffled look.

"I should have said no," Rex muttered, feeling very self-conscious. He probably should have followed Roc's and Wulfric's example when they said they didn't want to come. Roc didn't feel like being surrounded by the so called upper-class, while Wulfric didn't want to scare them.

"You're not alone there," Ruby muttered as she was clinging to Roze's arm like a life-line. At least she didn't have to wear heels or a dress.

"…Why am I even here?" Oscar couldn't help asking himself. A farm boy in an event fit for royalty? Yeah, in hindsight he should have realized he would stick out. Worst part is, Ozpin seemed to be mildly amused at the poor boy's misery.

"Ruby…I think you're crushing my arm," Roze said, causing Ruby to detach herself quickly.

"Sorry, Roze. But…I'm just…what if I embarrass Remnant," Ruby despaired. Weiss' words about her embarrassing Remnant really got to her. It was like her first day at Beacon, but worse. "…I almost wish I could take some liquid courage," Ruby said, looking to Qrow who had a glass of…champagne?

"Aren't you too young to drink?" Rex asked with a suspicious look.

This made the very nervous reaper give an annoyed glare to the salvager, "So are you."

"Yeah, he is." Mythra snarked, crossing her arms under her impressive bust, "What's your point?"

Ruby was about to retort before feeling three light knocks on the top of her head. Turning to the culprit that was Roze, Ruby asked, "What was that for?"

"The saying is, knock on wood," Roze replied with a small smile and a twinkle in his white eyes.

"Hey!" And now Ruby was annoyed at her Blade.

"Sorry, but you keep acting like everything that can go wrong will go wrong," Roze said with a smile.

"It's not my fault. I…I've never been a-" "Fancy schmancey dancey girl?" Roze asked with a smile.

Ruby almost snapped before realizing something, "You remembered?"

"Yeah, I had fun dancing with you that night," Roze said, internally celebrating at his successful misdirection.

This made Ruby blush a little as she remembered how dancing with Roze was more fun than she thought. "…I'm not dancing again," Ruby muttered as she looked to the dance floor to see an interesting sight. Brighid was dancing with Aegaeon. "How did that happen?" Ruby couldn't help asking.

"Maybe Brighid and Aegaeon decided to show example," suggested Pyra who replaced Mythra.

"Uhh…Ruby," Rex said as he pointed to a particular direction.

"What?" Ruby asked in confusion before seeing what Rex was pointing at. It was Aizen, dancing with Dahlia. And it seemed like, Dahlia was enjoying herself. But only Roze could tell from this distance that the nobleman Blade had a faint smile on his face.

Then Ruby darted her eyes every which way, looking for Weiss. Soon enough, the little red reaper spotted her bestie who had a slack jaw at the sight of her Blade's dancing together.

Soon Ruby noticed the guy that Weiss was talking to lightly tapping the white-haired girl's shoulder. Once he earned Weiss' attention the boy made a small bow while offering his hand. Weiss seemed to let out a sigh before taking it, and the two moved to the dance floor.

"All that's missing would be Yang and Dragunov…," Ruby trailed off as her eyes began darting around to see Yang dancing with Dragunov, like she did back in Beacon. "Where are they?" Ruby muttered in mild concern, it should be easy to locate someone as big as Dragunov yet his massive form eluded Ruby's silver gaze. Until finally she saw him, and by extension Yang. The two weren't dancing, they seemed to be having an argument of some kind instead.

"I wonder what they're talking about?" Roze couldn't help muttering.

With the said fiery duo, Yang was seriously getting frustrated, "Oh come on! Are you really that afraid of dancing? The big and strong Dragunov is afraid of moving to the rhythm of music?"

Dragunov looked unimpressed at Yang's words, "That's not gonna work a second time. If you want to dance, why not steal that soldier? Or better yet, the emperor himself, wouldn't that be a riot." The fire Blade had the audacity to laugh at the last part.

"First off, that guy was on duty, so I can't do that. Secondly, what was that last part supposed to mean?" Yang asked, finding that part offensive for reasons she wasn't entirely sure.

Dragunov had a shark-like grin at that question, "Just picturing you leading the poor boy by practically swinging him around off the ground, with him yanging on for dear life." And then the fire Blade laughed.

At that Yang wasn't sure if she should feel exasperated or laughing at the pun and the mental image associated with it. "I'm not you thank you very much." Yang decided to dead-pan.

"No, but you might like them young," Dragunov then said, earning an appalled look from his Driver. "…And I just realized how bad that sounded when said aloud," The fire Blade had the decency to look sheepish.

"Asshole." Yang muttered before stomping off.

This wasn't quite how Dragunov wanted to get Yang off his back on the topic of dancing, but he'll take it.

"Okay, what was that about?" Ruby wondered at her sister stomping off.

"Who knows with those two," Roze shrugged.

Pyra looked confused for a moment before turning to everyone, "Mythra guessed that Yang was probably asking Dragunov to dance and he refused."

"What?" Rex, Ruby and Roze let out in unison.

"How would Mythra know that?" Rex then asked, and soon Pyra was replaced by Mythra.

"500 years ago, Dragunov had a bit of a…talent for dancing, but he didn't like it very much for whatever reason," Mythra explained with a shrug, "My guess is that Yang tried to get a dance out of him and he managed to say something to drive her away."

"What could he have said to do that?" Rex wondered aloud.

"…Probably a stupid blonde joke or something," Mythra said bitterly, "That's what he liked to launch whenever he felt like annoying me."

"You really don't like Dragunov," Ruby pointed out, while wondering why the fire Blade was so mean back then.

"Not really, no," Mythra replied, "I did such a fine job repressing any and all memories of him until I saw his stupid face again."

"Was he horrible or something?" Rex asked, now a little worried.

"Horrible?" Mythra parroted with questioning look, "I guess that's one word for him. I know there's a reason I'm not vaporizing him, but I just can't seem to remember what it is."

"Uhh…Don't you mean there was a reason and never vaporized him?" Rex asked in slight fear.

"No." Was the cold reply from the blonde Aegis.

"Maybe I should tell Yang to stay away from him when he's trying to annoy Mythra." Ruby thought in slight fear of her sister getting caught up in Siren's blast. Of course, Mythra gave a short explanation of her Artifice last night after blasting Smuide Mountain. Let's just say there were several silent vows to never annoy the blonde Aegis.


AN: Here we go, the party is going on. The gang has met the child emperor and Weiss feels jealous of Mòrag having a good relationship with him. Blake is surprised that upper-class people would talk to her like she was a person. Our lovable feline definitely wouldn't have gotten the same treatment from the rich people of Atlas. But it turns out there was an extreme case in Mor Ardain after all, but no one takes him seriously thankfully.

But there's just one question, what are the rest of the unmentioned members of the gang doing? We'll find out next time.