And now for a complete shift in story. Apparently, the dance was never mentioned prior to this episode, so... yeah. Plus, a moment many people swear is a shipping moment but in reality it's... not.
Disclaimer: RDF1 doesn't own RWBY, WATCH THE SHOW!
(Chapter Begin)
(Recap)
"ICE FLOWER!" ordered Ruby as Weiss moved next to her, swinging her Scythe around and planting the tip into the ground.
Weiss followed with multiple Ice Glyphs, enchanting the Sniper Rounds Ruby was firing, getting large chunks of ice on the Paladin and making it harder to move. Blake gave one more swing with all her might as Yang used her shotgun in her right arm to continuously build momentum as she launched one final full powered punch into the Paladin, turning it into scrap.
"Dang it!" complained Roman as he got up from the wreckage of the Paladin, "I just got this thing dry cleaned too."
Yang wasn't done though and sent another shot at Roman, only to be deflected by an Umbrella that popped down from the sky. The umbrella moved to reveal a young girl wielding it with a smirk on her face. Roman grinned as well as his getaway vehicle hovered nearby.
"Ladies..." dismissed Roman, "Ice Queen."
"HEY!" yelped an indignant Weiss.
"Neo, if you would," said Roman, as Neo gave the girls a bow, and winked at Ruby, keeping her smile.
Yang rushed in while her strength was still going, but Neo used her Semblance to allow her and Roman to get out of dodge unseen while Yang shattered the image she left behind. RWB walked up to Yang as a ship flew off into the distance.
"I guess he got a new henchwoman," pointed out Yang.
"Well, I guess she really made our plans... fall apart?" joked Weiss.
Ruby couldn't help but chuckle a bit, before feeling her emotions dull after the adrenaline started wearing off. Her emotional state had been improving the past few months with WBY, but some days she couldn't help but feel her emotions mute at the wrong times.
"No," retorted Yang, who was now done with the day, "just... no."
"What, you make puns all the time? How is that one bad?" countered Weiss.
"It wasn't bad, just..." stalled Yang, now she felt awkward.
"What your the only one who can make puns?" pushed Weiss, "I'm trying to be more social, less... standoffish."
"Come on girls," said Ruby, folding away Crescent Rose, "We gotta find Sun and Neptune. Need to tell them off for ditching us."
(Recap End)
The following day it was classes as usual, though Ruby couldn't help but notice Blake looking a bit pale. She let her have her space as she had her own issues to work around. She had been leaving paperwork tp pile up at the office and took an afternoon to take care of it. Once she was caught up, she headed out to the mission board, and found a familiar multicolored girl there, looking at the mission board as well.
"Neo," said Ruby, stopping a few feet behind her.
"Ruby," replied Neo, turning around, a small frown on her face.
"Neo, what happened? You had the perfect opportunity and you let it slip," questioned Ruby.
"It wasn't the right time," said Neo, "Cinder would ask questions, so unless you're going to take her out at Beacon, back off."
"Neo," sighed Ruby, "Don't let a mission become too personal. Don't make the same mistake as Rick did."
Rick was another Reaper who had inadvertently fallen in love with one of this three selected targets. Trying to save his target from death got both of them permanently killed for doing so. Rick wasn't the only one either; though rare, some reapers have risked their own lives for their targets and were punished because of it.
"You forget I'm the one that gave you advice on perfect timing. Your first mission was a disaster because of how you handled yourself. Took at least five favors of the Local Reapers to drop those charges," countered Neo.
"Neo, if you need help, don't hesitate to ask, okay?" suggested Ruby, taking a mission and heading off.
(AN1)
Ruby took a breath, before heading up to Ozpin's office for her meeting with Ironwood. As Headmaster and someone who knew her secret, Ozpin would be there to keep things civil, given the sensitive nature of what/who Penny is.
When the doors opened, Ironwood was waiting next to Ozpin's Desk, which had said Headmaster sitting in it.
"Welcome, Miss Rose," greeted Ozpin cordially, "I asked the Food Service to provide some fresh cookies, as an incentive to be on your best behavior."
"Headmaster, it's not nice to bribe teenagers," chuckled Ruby, but ate the cookies all the same.
"Miss Rose," said Ironwood, getting straight to business, "You asked to meet because you know Penny's secret."
"Yes," said Ruby, "I'm sorry if I overstepped any bounds, but I know about Penny being a robot."
"Yes, Penny mentioned that something unique she sensed about you was the reason you knew she was a robot," said Ironwood, "And yet, you accepted her without hesitation, why is that?"
"Because she has a soul. Yes, it most likely came from another person, but who am I to judge morality against you?" replied Ruby.
"I suppose I should read you in on all the details," nodded Ironwood, "To give you context into Penny's origin."
With that, Ironwood brought out a folder full of paperwork and set it down.
"Before we begin, Oz, is there someone you'd like to say about this?"
"While I frown upon the creation method of Penny, I too am not one to judge morality out of context," spoke up Ozpin, who had been respectfully quiet during this exchange, "My own choices are things I must live with, and not all of them have others' approval."
"Very well," resolved Ironwood, "This is Project Maiden."
Ozpin's eye rose at the title, but stayed quiet all the same. James Ironwood briefed them on the Project, and how Penny came to be, taking hours to complete. Once he was finished, the Sun had already gone down.
"Thank you for sharing this with us, James," said Ozpin, "We will keep this secret, right Miss Rose."
"Yes sir," nodded Ruby, "Penny is my friend, it doesn't matter if she has nuts and bolts instead of organs and blood. She is a person, and I trust in her."
"Thank you Oz, Miss Rose," said Ironwood, "If that is all, I must return to my ship. There is other business I must attend to."
Ironwood gathered the files into the folder and made his way to the elevator, after he left, Ozpin turned to Ruby.
"Why did you not share your secret with him, Miss Rose?" asked Ozpin, "It would have helped him understand how you know about Miss Polendena and that you wouldn't betray her secret."
"Because he's not ready for that information," said Ruby, "I shared it with you and Glynda because you actively asked me about it after digging into my past. I forgive your intrusion into my privacy by the way."
"I do apologize all the same," noted Ozpin.
"I can't go around sharing my life's story with everyone I meet, much like you, Professor. Much like many people," explained Ruby, "Some lies, even lies of omission, are necessary, especially when first meeting people."
(AN2)
With that, Ruby headed out herself, while Oz contemplated her words, and how true they were.
Days passed and Ruby indeed kept Penny's secret. She also kept up with her work, something she and Weiss and Yang noticed Blake was not doing. Bags had started to appear under her eyes and she was tired ALL the time. CFVY had left on a mission the week before and had yet to return, so Miss Glynda asked RWBY to take over and finish preparations. During this time, Blake was looking worse and worse with each day passing, bags under her eyes, constant irritability, and loss of focus halfway through conversations.
Confronting her only made it worse the day before the dance, even if it was a day off. One bemusing unrelated note was Jaune's attempt to ask Weiss to the Dance, singing of all things. Ruby took this time to keep busy with office work. Noting an extended absence by Fox. He and his team hadn't returned to Beacon yet and Fox hadn't shown up in days. Asking around didn't help, as everyone was on the same page as her: not hearing from Fox since before CFVY's latest mission. Sighing in frustration, she returned to Beacon to get ready for the dance.
Yang was determined to get through to Blake, and resorted to some underhanded tactics to get her alone in a classroom. Blake wasn't a fan of this.
"Yang, if you're going to ask me to stop, then just forget it," said an exacerbated Blake.
"Stop, no; slow down, yes," replied Yang, "It's crucial to stopping Torchwick."
"Well slowing down is a luxury that can't be afforded," retorted Blake.
"Luxury? Taking care of yourself isn't a luxury, it's a necessity. Even Ruby knows this and she's been dead for five years," countered Yang, getting her attention.
"...Okay," said Blake after a moment, before sitting down, "I'll listen to what you have to say."
"Good," nodded Yang, "Ruby and I grew up on Patch Island just north of Vale. You know how Ruby died five years ago due to an Ancient Beowolf, but that wasn't our first brush with death, or rather near death."
Blake remained quiet, both out of respect and out of interest. She kept forgetting at times that Ruby and Yang haven't had it the easiest either.
"When we were little, we were raised by our Father, Taiyang, and our Mom, Summer Rose. Summer died on a mission twelve years ago, going solo when no one else was available to help her. After she died, Dad sort of shut down for a long time. It took me two years to find out why. Summer Rose wasn't my Biological Mother, it was her Partner, Raven Branwen. Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, and Raven and Qrow Branwen, our parents and Uncle worked together as Team STRQ while here at Beacon. Shortly after I was born, Raven left me with Taiyang and fled Patch, even Vale. Summer helped Tai out and less than two years later, Ruby was born. After I found out about Raven being my mother, I went looking for her. It consumed me, until I found an old photo of a place She and dad lived before they moved to where we live now. My naive eight year old self took a sleeping Ruby in a small red wagon and journeyed through the wilderness of Patch to find that place to see if Raven was there. She wasn't, and all that found us were Grimm," explained Yang, who got up and drew Qrow's symbol on the chalkboard, "If not for Uncle Qrow, we both would have died that day with no guarantee that either of us would return as Reapers of Grimm." Yang's eyes turned red as she looked back to Blake, who noted her seriousness, "I pushed too far and rush too fast into finding Raven that I nearly got Ruby and myself killed."
"I'm sorry to hear that, but..."
"No buts," said Yang, getting a bit agitated, "There's no difference here. You keep going like this and you'll kill yourself, and us because we wouldn't let you go alone and in your state, our teamwork will be shot. I'm not trying to guilt you, I'm trying to help you understand that taking an obsession too far won't end up how you imagine it. If not for your own sake, then for ours, take it easy and take it slow. We are here for you. We're in this together."
Yang brought Blake into a hug, "Much like I tell Ruby, you don't have to do this alone."
Blake felt a great burden lift off her shoulders, and couldn't stop her tears as she hugged Yang back.
"I'm sorry," apologized Blake, tears streaming down her face.
"We're here for you, just don't be afraid to let us in."
Yang let go of Blake after a few minutes before heading up the stairs. She stopped at the door and looked back, "Maybe if you feel like, I could save a dance for you."
With that, Yang exited the classroom, leaving Blake and Qrow's symbol on the chalkboard. Blake looked at the symbol for a few moments longer, before erasing it and heading out herself. The dance was tomorrow night, and she couldn't afford to go in her current state.
(AN3)
The following night, the Dance was underway and Blake finally showed up, after getting some much needed sleep. As she approached the main hall, she noticed Sun approaching as well, wearing a black shirt, buttoned up, with white tie loose over his neck and his standard bluejeans, but Blake couldn't help but smile.
"I knew you'd look better in a tie," greeted Blake, getting his attention with the same line he gave her after she first ran away from her team.
"So..." wondered Sun, as Blake walked up and placed an arm around his, "Does this mean we're going together?"
"My first dance is spoken for, but the night is indeed young," smiled Blake, "Shall we?"
Several minutes later, Sun and Blake were dancing after Yang had her turn starting off. Ruby couldn't help but smile as Blake's laughter, glad that she was finally getting herself together again. Glad with their success with Blake, Weiss and Yang headed out to enjoy the party, leaving Ruby by herself.
"It's just for a few hours..." said Ruby, as if that would make it easier being in heels, "I can't believe Weiss does this all the time..."
"Not enjoying your first dance, Miss Rose?" came the familiar voice of Ozpin.
"It's more the footwear than the dance," smiled Ruby, "And I'm not one for dancing. Not from lack of trying."
"I see," said Ozpin, "Though Fighting and Dancing aren't so different to two people in sync with each other. Though, one wrong move here and the worst is a swollen foot."
"Or a sprained ankle," added Ruby, "Again, high heels seem to be my alternative to a natural dust allergy."
"All the same, do enjoy the evening. It may the last one for a long time. And someone like you would know that better than most."
"Indeed, this night will be something to remember," smiled Ruby, a bit cryptically.
(AN4)
Then night moved along smoothly. Everyone was enjoying their time... mostly. Ruby found herself nursing the punch bowl when Jaune joined her.
"I see you're hiding at the punch bowl as well," commented Jaune politely.
"Yep," responded Ruby, taking a sip of her drink.
"Here's 'to the socially awkward'," toasted Jaune, clinking his glass with Ruby's.
"I'm sorry things didn't work out with Weiss."
"It's fine," shrugged off Jaune, "I can see why she'd go for a guy like Neptune."
"Wait, you think Weiss came with Neptune?" asked Ruby, raising an eyebrow while looking at her first friend at Beacon.
"Yeah, I kinda overheard her asking Neptune," continued Jaune, "I mean, he's got the looks, the charm, the confidence. Heck, he pulls off BLUE hair. How many people can do that?"
"Jaune... Weiss came here alone," informed Ruby, glancing over at her partner, "Neptune turned her down."
"What?" exclaimed Jaune, quietly so no one heard him but enough for Ruby to tell the emotions going through him right now, "Hold my glass."
Jaune passed his glass of punch to Ruby as he determinedly walked over to Neptune, intending on telling him off, only to notice Pyrrha leaving the room to go to the balcony outside.
"Neptune can wait," decided Jaune, changing course and following Pyrrha, only to see her alone on the balcony, "Hey Pyrrha."
He did his best to hide his nervousness.
"Hello Jaune," responded Pyrrha in kind, turning to acknowledge him.
"Are you okay?" asked Jaune, worried for his partner, "I hadn't seen you tonight."
"I arrived late, I'm afraid," informed Pyrrha, turning back to look out over the balcony.
"You look amazing tonight, by the way," complimented Jaune.
"Thank you, Jaune."
"He's not gonna beat me up for saying that, is he?"
"He who?"
"Your date..."
"That's the thing Jaune," said Pyrrha, feeling very vulnerable as she held her arm with her hand, "I have no date tonight. No one asked me to the dance tonight."
"I don't get it," wondered Jaune, "You're Pyrrha 'Untouchable' Nikos; four time winner of the Mistral Tournament, spokeswoman of Pumpkin Pete's Cereal! How could YOU not have a date?"
"It's precisely because of that as to why," explained Pyrrha, "'Untouchable' is right. No one asked me because they were too scared to do so. As if they couldn't measure up to what they assume are my standards. You were different though, Jaune. When we met, you didn't know me at all. And as we became partners, I was able to be myself for once, and not what people expected of me. You looked at me as if I was just another person, no assumptions or biases."
"I did flirt though," smiled Jaune goofily as he reminded Pyrrha of the other part of their first meeting, "You pinned me to a locker."
"That did happen," chuckled Pyrrha, reminiscing herself, "But thanks to you, I was able to open up and meet new friends. Nora, Ren, Team RWBY. Thanks to you I have so many wonderful friends. And because of that, I was hoping... you would have asked me to the dance tonight."
With that, Pyrrha turned and walked back through the doors and the dance.
"Pyrrha, I'm so sorry," apologized Jaune, trying to go after her, "I..."
Jaune was cut off by Neptune appearing at the doorway, which was convenient because Jaune had a bone to pick with him.
"Jaune, right?" greeted Neptune, "Guess the Ballroom dancing got to you too, huh?"
'Guess having seven sisters growing up helped for some things more than others,' thought Jaune, keeping his anger to a minimum.
"The girls are cute though..." continued Neptune.
"Is that all you care about?" asked Jaune, "That the girls are 'cute'? Not any feelings they may have about your excessive flirting?"
"Where is this coming from?" asked Neptune, taken aback by Jaune's attitude.
"Weiss Schnee asked YOU out. THE Weiss Schnee, and you turned her down," complained Jaune, not letting his voice get much louder, "Yes, I overheard her asking you to the dance. What, was she not 'good enough' for you?"
"No, that's not it," defended Neptune, "She's great, but..."
"But what? What about her makes her unsuitable to go to a dance like this with her?"
"It's not her!" blurted out Neptune, "It's me! I can't dance!"
"You can't!?" blinked Jaune, who was surprised by this revelation. Sure, he himself may have had more dance lessons than half the guys in the school, but a guy like Neptune not being able to dance? It didn't make sense, "So that's why?"
"That's why I turned her down. I was embarrassed," confessed Neptune, "I know she's really amazing, and she kicks butt too..."
"Preaching the choir on that one," smirked Jaune with a chuckle.
"But... something like this...?" continued Neptune, only have Jaune place a hand on his shoulder.
"Do you really like her?"
"I don't know...we haven't known each other long, though she's pretty cool, and she's got good teammates, considering her team took down an Atlesian Paladin on their own. Ruby gave us a good earful for missing out on that one."
"Then be honest with her," advised Jaune, "Someone wise recently told me to just be yourself. No tricks, no drama, just yourself."
"That's actually good advice. Thanks Jaune," said Neptune, "I may be 'cool', but you're the real deal. It takes a lot of courage to do that. I'm going try and patch things up with Weiss."
After Neptune left, Jaune took a deep breath, "Guess there's one more thing I need to do tonight."
Ruby rejoined Yang on the upper floor, looking at everyone still dancing, except for Blake and Sun who decided to sit for a moment while continuing their conversation.
"This turned out well," said Ruby, "I just wish CFVY didn't have to miss this."
"They'll be fine. They've been here longer, worked out their team dynamics much better than we have. Plus, Fox is like you, so he's not going down easy," replied Yang, before noticing something, "Oh, look at that."
Ruby looked down to see Neptune approach Weiss. Weiss was polite enough to let him sit as they engaged in a conversation.
"Good for her," said Yang, "Wonder what got into him to change his mind... wait, is that... Jaune?"
"No way..." said Ruby, "That's where he went!? I held his punch for ten minutes!"
"Jealous?" smirked Yang.
"Proud, actually," countered Ruby with a smirk of her own, "Jaune's cool, but he's meant for someone else. If anything, he's like a dorky brother we never had."
"I can attest to that," chuckled Yang, as they watched Jaune of all people, in a white strapless dress, approach Pyrrha.
"Jaune!?" exclaimed Pyrrha in a surprised voice, "But... you didn't have to..."
"I am an Arc. Our family's honor is in keeping our promises," smiled Jaune, ignoring all the laughter he was getting as he held out his hand, "Now, do you want to stay here, or do you want to show them how it's done?"
Pyrrha took his hand as a new song started and they moved to the center of the floor, with Ren and Nora joining them as they pulled of an amazing dance routine.
(AN5)
"So... what made you change your mind and come talk to me?" asked Weiss, keeping one eye on JNPR who was getting the room's attention with their amazing choreography.
"You're looking at him," said Neptune, being completely honest like he said, "You have good friends Weiss. Far better than a shameless flirt like me."
"I don't know about that," smiled Weiss, giving him her full attention, "It took a lot of courage to do this. Thank you for that."
The two of them looked on as their teammates and friends danced center stage as the Dance went on, smiling at the new beginning they had.
Ruby took one more look around the room before heading outside to get some fresh air. She felt her emotions draining already and she wouldn't be able to keep up the pretense for very long. Glancing around, she noticed someone moving across the rooftops.
"Oh no," groaned Ruby as she focused her attention on who it was, revealing it to be Cinder, "I never should have said that. I just HAD to jinx it!"
Checking to make sure no one else was watching, she took off after Cinder, who was headed for the CCT.
(Chapter End)
And I'm evil, though that's not new to long time readers who've read my other works. This chapter... just kept wanting to continue. I had to settle for a stopping point here before I just made this chapter the longest in the fic... and that's saying something considering what I'm going to write in the upcoming chapters.
Author Notes...
AN1: Volume 2 is slow, if only because how the timeline works. We know it's several days after the battle with the mech, but alternatively, it doesn't feel as though there's a big gap between that fight and the dance. Certainly didn't feel long enough to justify Blake's bags under her eyes and other signs of insomnia and paranoia.
AN2: This holds weight with the Volume 6 controversy over Ozpin not sharing his (multiple) life story too RWBY. Some secrets are kept for a reason, and considering there is currently no known way to defeating Salem, kinda makes his efforts pointless... which is a big lie! For those who think he's controlling people's lives and choices with the schools he put into place... giving them an option of learning how to defend themselves against the Grimm? How is giving them a choice controlling their life? I could go on, but seriously, it's such a controversial topic. Ruby's the only one who's looking past the betrayal and focusing on what's important, like protecting the lamp and continuing the fight against the Grimm, because if they don't, why should anyone else? Just saying...
AN3: And here's the scene that created the Bumbleby Fanatics. This was never intended as romance. Yang was sharing an experience and giving advice on something she's experienced before. She's acting like a wise older sister, not an overly concerned girlfriend.
AN4: As it's the last night before the final arc of the Volume begins and RWBY finally gets the plot moving forward at a slightly better pace.
AN5: RWBY Chibi anyone?
Family issues are still going on, but they are improving by the day. This longer chapter should help hold over a for bit longer as I work on other fics.
Thanks for reading and look forward to more "Reaper of Grimm"!
Until then...
Later,
RDF1