Chapter 31

The knights arrived in Atlas and began to settle in. Ironwood was told of the oncoming war in Atlas that will decide the fate of the world, and the knights will play a role. Penny has returned, somewhat, as an AI that is on the scrolls of the people of Atlas. Roman Torchwick was found alive and offered a job as a spy for Ironwood.

Team RRWBY and JNPOR were in the training hall going through the new training regimen that was designed for Hunters and Jedi. Team FNKI was there watching them go through the new challenge.

Rosa saw the wall flying towards her. She had to jump forward to avoid it, but when she landed, the pillar she was standing on stopped with zero gravity. She was starting to fall down toward the bottom of the training hall with normal gravity back on. She used the force to push herself up and found herself in a gravity well of another wall. She was falling sideways and slammed into the pillar. She got up, with a struggle, and stood on it. She felt the gravity start to lessen and she knew that she would soon be falling. As soon as the extra gravity began to disappear she pushed off the pillar she was on. She reached out and grabbed the ledge she was trying to get to. She pulled herself up and looked at the members of Team FNKI who were in charge of everything. Neon was smirking at Rosa.

"Come on! You got more to you than that!" Neon shouted out to Rosa.

There were training droids that appeared. Rosa grabbed her lightsabers and turned them on. The green and red caught Neon's eye and the eye of the other two members of their team.

Rosa started deflecting the shots back at the droids before she felt the gravity lessen where she was standing. The pillar dropped and another pillar came rushing at her. She sent a force push to move her from the strike of the pillar. She felt the pillar go right passed her. She brought her lightsaber up and sent the bolt back to the droid.

She brought her feet down on the pillar and pushed off. She started falling when she hit the gravity zone again. She used a force push to stop her from hitting the ground so fast. She slammed the ground and rolled. She dropped her lightsabers. As soon as she got up, she saw Neon in the arena, grabbing the lightsabers.

"Let's see how you'll get to me now." Neon said.

"That wasn't part of the…" Rosa shouted. She sighed as she started to run after Neon. She reached into her pocket and grabbed a shard of fire dust. She turned it into a shield and blocked a shot from another droid.

As she was running to get to Neon, she saw a pillar floating on by. She jumped on it and saw Neon change direction. Rosa pulled out a shard of wind dust and activated it behind her, sending her flying toward Neon. She didn't use her maiden power, so she didn't see this as cheating. Neon spun around right before she caught her.

"Why do you have a red one?" Neon asked.

"It's mine." Rosa said.

"The color of the Sith, really? Maybe I should destroy it." Neon said.

"Don't you dare." Rosa said. There was anger in her voice.

"You want it?" Neon asked.

"Yes." Rosa said.

"Wanna fight for it?" Neon asked.

"Yes." Rosa said. Neon put the red lightsaber away and took out her own blue lightsaber. She held onto the green lightsaber.

Neon rushed in first. She swung with the blue lightsaber, but Rosa jumped over her. She rolled and spun. Rosa sent out a force push that slammed against Neon, sending her flying. A pillar made its way over for her to land on. Neon smiled and laid back on the pillar, holding Rosa's lightsabers. Rosa used the force to jump, jumping from floating pillar in the air to floating pillar. She knew which ones Flynt was going to activate as she closed her eyes.

Rosa avoided the traps and was still following Neon.

"Still chasing? You'd think you would have figured out it's no use." Neon said. Rosa saw a pillar coming. She jumped off to the side, realizing the pillar wasn't there. She was falling, hoping that the pillar would show up!

She slammed into the pillar which did arrive. She got up and grabbed a shard of ice dust. She made an ice spear and threw it at Neon. Rosa jumped forward and grabbed onto another pillar. She saw a group of pillars that were spread out, but if she followed them quickly, she would get to Neon. She needed to take the more dangerous route.

After six dangerous jumps Rosa landed on the pillar she needed. Neon had just broken the ice that kept her leg attached to the pillar. Rosa jumped and landed on Neon's pillar. She took out one of the daggers and spun it so she could get a good grip. She changed the other one into a pistol.

"I think you have something of mine." Rosa said.

"I think so too." Neon said. She brought the blue lightsaber forward in an underhand arc. Rosa dodged the swipe and moved forward. Neon took a step back before Rosa brought the dagger up. Neon quickly kicked out at Rosa. Rosa was hit and stumbled back. She almost fell off the pillar, but she caught herself. She fired, causing Neon to block. Rosa quickly put away the dagger and raised her hand forward. She sent out a blast of force lightning. Neon's eyes grew wide as she blocked it. Rosa rushed forward and drop-kicked Neon. Neon went off the pillar. Rosa got up and used the force to grab her green lightsaber from her hip.

Neon landed and got up. Rosa jumped down and turned on her green lightsaber.

"Why did you use that?" Neon asked with a serious tone that Rosa only heard after Yang beat her.

"It's a tool." Rosa said.

"It's a dark side ability." Neon said.

"It is." Rosa said. She rushed forward. Neon blocked the strike. Rosa was trying to get closer to Neon. Neon blocked the strike from the lightsaber but didn't see the fist coming. Her head bounced back.

"Just like my fist is a tool." Rosa said. Neon was starting to understand Rosa more now. Rosa brought her lightsaber around and Neon blocked against another strike. She brought her hand up to stop a fist, but that was what Rosa wanted. Rosa grabbed her Sith lightsaber back.

"Thanks." Rosa said. She jumped back and landed on another pillar. She turned around and ran up the pillar. The gravity began to change, but she brought both her hands down to send her flying. She got to the top of the pillar and stood next to the button. Sweat was falling down her face as she pressed the button. Everything stopped moving. Neon looked up at her.

"Clever." Neon said.

"Thank you." Rosa bowed.

"Alright, that was the last one for today." Flynt Coal said.

"Good job everyone." Ironwood said as he walked into the room. "Don't forget your missions for tonight."

"They got you guys going to that dance too?" Rosa asked down at Neon.

"Yeah." Neon said.

"We've got a few other teams with Jedi on them going. But they too will be hidden." Ironwood said.

"We'll be there." Rosa said.

Rosa was in her dorm room with Oscar. She and Oscar were watching the footage from all of their sessions today. She was watching Ruby going through the course. She struggled at the start to get used to the zero gravity zones.

"Do you think there's going to be something at the dance later?" Oscar asked.

"Probably. I know that the Sith were starting to turn their eyes toward Atlas when I left. But the chances they actually got something up and running? I wouldn't say those are too high." Rosa said. She watched as Kobalt, a member of team FNKI jumped in from the stands and stood in her way. He took out a blue lightsaber, like Neon.

"Do you have a dress?" Oscar asked.

"Yeah. It's not going to bring me a lot of undo attention. I think he wants me to feel the guests." Rosa said.

"I got a suit, but I don't want to wear the jacket. I did get a nice vest though." Oscar said as he watched Ruby use the zero gravity to her benefit and kick Kobalt out of the arena before hitting the button.

"Why not the suit jacket?" Rosa asked.

"I probably will wear it, at least to the dance. But if I do dance, I'm probably going to take it off. It's a bit bulky." Oscar said.

"Do you know how to dance?" Rosa asked.

"Slow dance, yes." Oscar said.

"Maybe you can help Ruby learn." Rosa said.

"You guys keep teasing me." Oscar said.

"Because we care about you." Rosa said. Oscar grabbed his suit for the dance.

"Do you want to see it?" Oscar asked.

"Sure." Rosa said. Oscar went to the bathroom to change, still caught up on not changing in front of a girl. Rosa rolled her eyes. She took out the dress Ironwood got for her. She laid it out on the bed. Someone knocked on the door, and Rosa used the force to open it. It was Ruby holding up two dresses.

"Ironwood said that Penny couldn't decide on my style." Ruby said.

"She did see your dress at the school dance, didn't she?" Rosa asked.

"I think that may be part of the problem." Ruby placed the two dresses on Oscar's bed. The first one was mostly red, with black around her middle, and a lace top. The red material around the chest was slightly bunched together. Rosa realized the black was a built-in corset. The other dress was almost all black, with a large red ribbon that went around the waste. It also had above her chest, but there was also some lace around the back which was covered by the ribbon. The lace had a crisscross design on it.

"Black isn't really your color." Rosa said.

"But it feels so nice on the inside!" Ruby said. Rosa felt it and realized she was right. She checked the red one, and even though it was still comfortable, it wasn't as nice as the black one.

"That's… I don't even know how they did that?" Rosa said. Oscar left the bathroom, the suit jacket over his shoulder. He got a solid orange tie and a green suit vest over a white shirt.

"The orange really brings it all together." Rosa said.

"You getting ready?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby, when'd you get here?" Oscar asked, his face starting to blush.

"While you were changing apparently." Ruby shot a glance over at Rosa, who gave an innocent shrug. Oscar looked at the two dresses.

"I thought you said your dress wasn't eye-catching Rosa." Oscar said. "I also didn't take you as someone who would ever wear a corset."

"Those are the options Ruby has. Also… you need to do something with your hair. Right now you look…" Rosa said.

"He looks like Oscar." Ruby said.

"Yes, and Oscar looks good when he has the whole farm boy aesthetic. But right now he looks… What's the word." Rosa asked.

"Unruly?" Weiss asked at the door. "Not finished?"

"Wow." Oscar said.

"It's true. It looks like you spent most of your time getting dressed without a single thought to anything else." Rosa said.

"I am still right here." Oscar said.

"Maybe gel your hair back." Ruby said.

"Good idea. Do we have any?" Rosa asked.

"I think I have some somewhere." Weiss said.

"You?" Oscar asked.

"I have it in case it is needed. For situations like this." Weiss said.

"So, Oscar, while Weiss is getting that hair gel for you, why don't you give us an opinion. Which looks better on Ruby? Red or Black?" Rosa grabbed the two dresses and moved them between Ruby.

"I could do that myself." Ruby said.

"Hush." Rosa said. "He's thinking."

Ruby shook her head.

"I'll take either honestly." Ruby said.

"Is Blake wearing a black dress?" Oscar asked.

"I think so. She doesn't like the idea of wasting time at a dance like this, but she does like the idea of finding Sith while at this dance." Ruby said.

"He's thinking which one would look better next to him." Rosa said. Oscar rolled his eyes. Somehow Rosa had taken to teasing him just as much as Yang teased Ruby.

"That better be where his thoughts stop." Rosa added.

"Ok, that's enough out of you." Ruby said.

"Just playing. You know I don't care about that stuff." Rosa said.

"You certainly get no end of fun from teasing." Oscar said.

"Let me have a vice or two." Rosa said. Weiss came back with a few various kinds of gel. She placed them in front of Oscar and explained the differences. Oscar just picked one at random.

"So what were we thinking? Off to the side?" Weiss asked. She moved Oscar's hair to reflect where they were thinking. After not agreeing on what he should do he took a step back and ran his hand through his hair before sighing.

"Stop." Weiss said. Oscar did just that. The girls looked.

"That's it." Ruby said.

"What is?" Oscar said.

"Turn around." Rosa said. Oscar turned and saw the look.

"That's not bad." Oscar said.

"He likes it too." Ruby said.

Ren and Nora were getting ready for the dance. This time, Ren didn't have time to coach his team a choreography for one of the songs.

"We taught Pyrrha once, we could have done it again." Ren said.

"It took us so long the first time. It was a miracle we did it." Nora said as she was changing into her dress. It was mostly pink, with some lace around the neck, and an almost invisible ring of lace around the hem. Ren got a simple tux but with added protection around the shoulders, which had a slight pink color showing. It matched so well with the tux that Nora didn't believe it was armor at first.

"Well I could have done it." Ren said. He felt the armor on his shoulders. He took out the note that was in his jacket left by Ironwood.

"The armor is only meant if something happens at the dance. Penny will be able to activate it if she detects someone trying to harm the guests." Ironwood said.

"These things activate?" Ren asked.

"What? Shut up." Nora said. She grabbed onto the armor and felt around it.

"Nora, please, we don't know how these activate." Ren said. Nora sighed and stepped away. Ren got a good look at Nora. He brought his hand up and hid his smile. He planted a kiss on her cheek.

"I love you too, Ren." Nora said. "Now zip me up."

Ren did as he was told. After he did, he noticed the dress started moving on its own to fit Nora better.

"Hell yeah." Nora said. "I got some cool stuff too."

"You're always cool." Ren said.

"Don't lie to me. I'm adorable too." Nora said. That earned her another kiss.

"You are adorable." Ren said.

"Thank you, Ren." Nora said.

Yang was looking at the dresses they had for her and a suit, but she didn't want that one.

"I don't know how that one got in there." Penny told her. "I remember telling them you wore a dress to the dance at Beacon."

"It does look nice though. Too bad." She looked at the dresses there. One white, one yellow, and one Orange. She picked it up and saw it had no sleeves and left part of her back exposed. She held it up to a mirror.

"Hot DAMN." Yang said. She turned around to let Blake see. It would show off all her curves and show her off. Yang liked it but needed to know if it was too much. Blake blushed.

"How did they get everything right? And it's not too fluffy at the bottom." Blake said. "Do they want people looking at you so we can do our job better?" Blake asked.

"Look, it won't show too much but just enough." Yang said pointing to the front.

"Yang, I don't know why they sent the other two." Blake said. They were good. Really good, but the dress she was holding was better.

Yang took a look at Blake's dress options. There was a black one that immediately caught her eye. It was a backless dress with a bow at the back and conformed to Blake's shape just as well as Yang's dress. There were some flowy bits at the bottom that Yang couldn't think of the name for. She also noticed that the dress would tie at the top of her neck.

Blake took off her shirt and turned around.

"Do I have any noticeable scars?" Blake asked.

"Nope. But you can still get away with a few scars and do this dress. It would give you a… Lady killer, what's the word from the book you're reading?" Yang asked.

"Femme Fatale." Blake said.

"Exactly. You'll look good." Yang said. "And if anyone says otherwise, they're lying. Hell, any one of us will kick their ass if they say that about you. We're both sexy as fuck."

"Thanks for the confidence booster Yang." Blake said.

"Any time."

Jaune looked at the suit he got and looked down at what he started wearing after they got to Argus, and back at the suit.

"Penny, is there any reason I should wear that over what I'm currently wearing?" Jaune asked.

"If you wear the suit jacket instead of the jacket you're wearing now, it comes with armor that will activate in any case of attack from an enemy." Penny said.

"Okay." Jaune said.

"And it has hidden compartments where you can store a blaster and a lightsaber." Penny said.

"Nice." Jaune said.

"I think it would look good on you." Pyrrha said. Jaune turned around to see her getting changed. He blushed.

"You don't need to look away." Pyrrha said. His face was red too, but there was nothing the other hadn't seen or felt on the other.

"Just… trying to be respectful." Jaune said. Pyrrha had a smile on her face.

"You always are." Pyrrha said. Jaune looked at her dress and his eyes opened wide.

"That's beautiful. Almost like a fire." Jaune said.

"It does remind me of that as well." Pyrrha said. The dress was mostly red, but the closer to the center it got the more golden, with flecks of gold and red intermingling. The dress came with a golden shawl that wrapped around Pyrrha's waist and ended in red tips. There were golden olive leaves running up the side of the dress, which opened to reveal Pyrrha's leg and golden-colored shoes. The same leaves went around the dress's neckline.

"Do you think it's too much?" Pyrrha asked Jaune.

"It fits you perfectly. Penny, remind us to thank whoever made Pyrrha's dress." Jaune said.

"I have it noted. You will look quite lovely in that dress Pyrrha." Penny said.

"Thank you Penny." Pyrrha was still getting used to the idea of having Penny in her pocket at all times. It was strange to her. But Penny was genuinely such a good person. She wished she got to know her better when she had a body. She also wished they could meet Pietro soon. Maria had gone to him but hadn't come back. She said she wanted to go on an "Old Person" weekend. Pyrrha didn't want to know what she meant by that.

After Weiss got Oscar's hair gelled back she left the room. Oscar was so preoccupied that he didn't notice Rosa change into the dress, which she enjoyed not having to hear him blunder about. This dance was soon, and they had to make sure everything was going to go right.

She wondered if they were going to find any Sith in here. It would be the perfect place to attack going off their record. They did like to sneak into a place and bring it down around them. She was trying to think of some Sith who could make it to the dance, but she couldn't think of any. She didn't get to know that many Sith, but she got to know a few. Valum was most likely to be able to sneak in, but that also made her a dangerous choice. It probably wasn't going to be Nihil or Requiem. Those two weren't very stealthy.

Weiss looked over Rosa.

"It's nice. It reminds me a lot of the dress we got you for the dance. Just… this fits you better. Or maybe it's not the dress that changed, but you." Weiss said.

"Thanks." Rosa said with a smile. The dress itself was a few shades darker, coming to a darker beige, almost brown. She liked it. Maybe Weiss was right, she was more comfortable in her own skin.

"We still need to see your dress." Rosa said.

"It's a long white dress with hints of blue at the top and long blue gloves. Simple but elegant." Weiss explained.

"Don't sell yourself short." Rosa said.

"I'm not." Weiss said.

Ruby and Oscar were chatting and laughing at how much time they were putting into getting ready for this 'stupid dance' that they had to go to.

"Gods, just ask her out already Oscar." Weiss said after listening to them going around the issue.

"It can be just as friends. Just like Weiss and I are going." Rosa said.

"Gah!" Ruby shouted. Her face turned red.

"What, have you already decided for us?" Oscar asked.

"Come on! It's just dancing. Besides, someone needs to teach Ruby to dance." Rosa said.

"I…" Ruby was about to start.

"Have no idea how to slow dance. And refused to learn. I offered, but you refused. So one way or another you will learn." Weiss said.

"What if I don't want to dance?" Ruby asked.

"We don't care." Weiss said.

"I don't think we're going to get ahead in this one." Oscar said.

"See, Oscar understands." Rosa said.

"I don't know If we have an option but to go together, Ruby." Oscar said, turning to Ruby.

"I guess friends can dance." Ruby said.

Robyn Hill and her closest allies, the Happy Huntresses left Ironwood's office. After the death of Jacques Schnee, she ran basically unopposed. That allowed her to meet with Ironwood more often than he liked. She knew that he didn't trust her because she didn't have a military background.

"General, you know that there is an enemy coming, yet you still allowed this dance to happen. Why?" Robyn asked.

"The public doesn't know about the threat. We are trying to keep everything under control. The enemy is not here yet." Ironwood said.

"Is that why you have determined to force everyone to use Penny? She's little more than spyware right now." Robyn said.

"I will not allow what happened at Vale to happen again. I will not allow the Sith to appear and take everything we love. This is our home. If I can find a Sith through the help of these AI, then I will use the tool." Ironwood said.

"And if we deal with the Sith? If we beat them, what then? Will all these breaches of our liberties go away?" Robyn asked.

"I am trying to hold the kingdom together. Do you not understand that? Do you think I'm the enemy?" Ironwood asked. He looked at Robyn. She took a step forward.

"I want to trust you Ironwood, but I will not allow my home to be ruled by a dictator." Robyn said.

"Do you think I want all this power? That if I could trust anyone to handle everything I am handling I wouldn't give it to them? But who is there left? The Sith corrupted Lionheart. If they could get to him, they can get to anyone." Ironwood said.

"You have allies. You have generals who follow you. General, if you died right now, everything would be lost. That isn't right. You need to spread your responsibility, authority, and your power. No one person should hold onto that much power." Robyn said. Ironwood let out a sigh.

"Thank you for your concern." Ironwood said. "I understand why you are worried. But I need everyone's trust."

"You need someone who will push back against you." Robyn said.

"The dance is happening because I want to please the people. I know that a dance like this is a tempting offer. But I have many Jedi there who I do trust." Ironwood said.

"Do you think the Sith are already inside Atlas?" Robyn asked.

"I don't know." Ironwood said.

Rosa made sure to only bring her green lightsaber to the dance. She knew that they were looking for Sith and if they saw a red lightsaber, if they had to take out lightsabers, she would only bring confusion. She had her daggers strapped to her legs, just out of sight of the split in the dress.

She went over everything she could get away with for the dance in her head again. She was sure that she had all the weapons she could bring in. She turned to Oscar who put his lightsaber on the inside of his vest.

This dance is a chance for the social elites to meet with the best and brightest at Atlas. Companies were looking for the best talent, and so many students were going to be there. This was also considered a charity event, so that brought in more people. One of the councilmen was going to speak at the event, on what, Rosa had no idea yet.

"Oscar, I want you to know, despite all the teasing, it's nice to see how much you care about Ruby." Rosa said. "And the others. Have fun tonight."

"Thanks. But I'll also try to do our job as well." Oscar said.

"Don't be awkward, be yourself." Rosa said.

"I get it Rosa." Oscar said.

"Ruby was in your shoes two years ago." Rosa said.

"I know." Oscar said.

"And afterward, if nothing happens, we've all agreed to come together after the dance and just hang out." Rosa said.

"What do you mean by hang out?" Oscar asked.

"I think Nora wanted to have everyone play never have I ever." Rosa said.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Oscar rolled his eyes.

"Where are you getting this sass from?" Rosa asked.

"Maybe you've rubbed off on me." Oscar said.

"I'll remember that Mister Pine." Rosa said.

Everyone left their rooms around the same time. Rosa stepped next to Weiss.

"You've been to these types of dances before. Who's going to take what roles?" Rosa asked.

"We're in more muted colors, which means that we're going to be able to blend in more. Oscar and Ruby will be noticeable together, but separately, not so much. Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha are going to be the center of attention. I don't even think Nora and Ren are going to focus on the mission…" Weiss said. Ren and Nora were inseparable. Nora looked good, but it was obvious that she and Ren were a package deal.

"Jaune is going to once again be key to the success. He's amazing with the Battle meditation ability and can easily contact all of our minds at any time." Weiss finished.

"Thank you Weiss." Jaune said.

"You're welcome. What are those things on your elbows?" Weiss asked.

"Armor, I think. Penny said that if something happens, the armor will activate." Jaune said.

"While we get dresses." Rosa said.

"Each dress is made so that it can absorb and redistribute the energy from blaster bolts, or blunt weapons." Penny popped up.

"So, we look hot and can kick everyone's ass. Nice." Yang said.

"That is correct." Penny said.

"Yang, don't teach Penny to swear." Ruby said. She was wearing the red dress to go more with Oscar's outfit. She wore subtle lipstick, had her nails painted, and wore a pair of cross earrings. Rosa couldn't believe it.

"How the hell did Weiss get you to paint your nails?" Rosa asked.

"I can be very persuasive." Weiss said.

"I can be ladylike, thank you very much." Ruby said.

"I'm just surprised." Rosa said.

"Weiss, thanks for getting us all to get piercings. They're more fun than I thought." Blake said. She was wearing a small golden set of earrings on both sets of ears.

"I tried to get you all to join me for at this point years." Weiss said.

"Weiss is always right." Yang said.

"Good. We all understand each other." Weiss said.

"Now we just need to convince those two." Yang said, pointing at Nora and Pyrrha.

"The transports are arriving." Penny announced. The knights went to the entrance of the school where they saw a large amount of the student body was going to the dance. Many of them had high quality suits and dresses.

They got in one of the transports saved for them. They were off. It was a closed roof transport. They were flying along. The image of Ironwood appeared in the center of the transport.

"Thank you all for coming. You are part of the hidden security. We don't know if the Sith are going to be at the dance, which is why we asked you all to go. If there are no Sith, that is still a successful job. If there are Sith at the dance, you will help fend them off. We have a few emergency procedures. Penny will be able to show you all the emergency procedures and which ones are best for each situation." Ironwood said. They realized it was a pre-recorded message.

"Rosa, if you see anyone you recognize, tell Penny immediately. You have seen more of the enemy than anyone else."

Another reminder of her terrible life choices.

"Please be careful out there." The message ended.

"There's a chance you won't see anyone." Ruby said.

"There's also a chance I won't recognize them. I don't know which would be worse if I do or don't. The ones I would recognize immediately are some of the strongest Sith out there." Rosa said.

"Let's hope the Sith aren't here." Oscar said.

"Let's." Pyrrha said.

It was a simple thing to get into the event. It was being held in one of the many fabulous dance halls around Atlas, built for the rich to mingle and share gossip. The letters they received were all they needed to flash to the security. Weiss knew this place; she had been here before for some of the endless charity galas and concerts.

There were already many students in the hall talking with business leaders in Atlas. Small foods were being laid out that were made to show off how much money the establishment could waste on these people. Wine and Champagne for the adults, and the students who were swift enough to grab. A punch bowl was the consolation prize for those who failed. Of course there were more drinks than just punch, but the bowl itself was so elegant it made Weiss want to puke. And they just entered the hall.

The building itself was far larger than what they saw. It was a few floors, with a few more rooms where refreshments could easily be found. It was all fake. All of this pretense infuriated Weiss but she knew exactly the kind of face to hide it behind. Weiss saw the workers moving back and forth. Some being treated not like sentient beings, but like robots by some of the rich members of the city.

Couples were coming in wearing suits and dresses that cost them more than most in Mantle would see in years of work. That irony wasn't entirely lost on Weiss, but she knew that her dress, no matter how beautiful it was, was merely a disguise, a masquerade. She knew that some of the people here, like many of the students, weren't so eroded by the glitz and glamor that they were able to ignore what was going on here, but she knew that there were many who were.

They were looking for jobs, and this was one of the best ways to do it. She knew that. Winter herself went full-time into the military at one of these events. But she hated them. The dance at Beacon was far grander than any ball here could be.

Weiss knew how to mold herself to appear as comfortable her as anywhere else.

"You good?" Rosa said, putting a hand on Weiss's shoulder.

"I hate these places." Weiss whispered, careful not to let the mask slip. They had to play the perfect part to find any suspects, if any existed here today. It could all just be a precaution. A very understandable one from Ironwood, but some would see it as wasteful. People like her father.

"Weiss." Rosa said.

"Don't worry about me. I know exactly what to do here." Weiss said.

Ruby was glad that Penny made sure she was given a pair of flats for her dress. She just knew her feet would have been killing her if she had to wear heels. She had no idea how Weiss made it look so easy. Even Yang used them better. She found herself quickly at the refreshment table. She saw hundreds of small finger foods and had no idea what any of them were.

"I think that one would be closer to what you'd like." Oscar said. He pointed at a small yellow desert with a small spoon to go with it.

"What is it?" Ruby asked. She tapped the top and found it was hardened.

"Lemon Posset." Oscar said. Ruby gave him a strange look and brought her hand up to cover a slight blush.

"You didn't just say that." Ruby said.

"Or we can use the other pronunciation for it." Oscar said. He pronounced it closer to pause it.

"How do you know about this?" Ruby asked.

"Ozpin's telling me about everything on this table." Oscar said. Ruby took a bit, and her eyes widened.

"It feels like I'm eating a cloud." Ruby said. Oscar grabbed a stuffed mushroom and ate it.

"The event's still not fully underway. Don't fill yourselves yet." Ren said.

"Don't worry about us." Oscar said.

"It's got a lemony aftertaste." Ruby said.

"Hence the name." Oscar said with a smile.

Winter had finally arrived back in Atlas. Ironwood appeared as a Hologram.

"Welcome Home, Winter." Ironwood said.

"It's changed once again." Winter said.

"It will keep changing. There is a dance happening tonight. The yearly attempt for the students to get sponsorships and jobs. Still held at the same place. Your sister is there right now, with the other knights." Ironwood said.

"I see. Why are they there?" Winter asked.

"To stop the Sith if they have already penetrated into Atlas. But that is a big if. If you want, you have an open invitation to go. General, Jedi, or Schnee. Go as which you choose if you do." Ironwood said.

"Don't we have important work right now we should be doing?" Winter asked.

"I was hoping you could go. You, or all people, need some rest." Ironwood said.

"Sir, I am more than capable of…" Winter started.

"Winter I am not saying anything. You have fought harder than anyone I know. You were at Menagerie and Mistral. You defeated the White Fang. People know something is wrong, but they believe in you. If you go, the people will be able to see you." Ironwood said.

"Making another alluring trap if the Sith were there." Winter said. She realized that she too had become a trap for the Sith. If they were here.

"Yes. The most tempting target." Ironwood said.

"And they wouldn't expect me to wear a dress?" Winter asked.

"They would probably expect military dress. That's the image they have raised in your honor." Ironwood said.

"I see. I will go then. Give me time to freshen up and I will be there." Winter said.

"You know that the guests will still be arriving quite a while from now." Ironwood said.

That she did. She knew that the Atlas Elite were nothing if not arrogantly late to their own parties. Winter got everything in order on her bridge before going to her personal quarters. She may have hated events like this, a hatred she could already feel in her sister below, but she too was a Schnee. They had certain expectations for her. And not being in a sweat-covered uniform was one of those standards she was willing to accept. A quick shower later, she found her best military uniform, and the perfect earrings to go with them. She wanted them to have a sense of power from her. Make herself a more alluring target. If there was a Sith, she would be the irresistible target.

People were talking about Yang. People were talking about Pyrrha. People were talking about Blake. People weren't talking about Rosa, who casually spied on almost every single conversation as she elegantly slipped in and around groups. Gathering Intel was an essential task that she had done all throughout the Clone Wars, she had become expert in it. She knew she could go through this crowd with her eyes closed, but that would draw attention to herself.

Rosa stopped by a pillar and listened into a new conversation.

"I can't believe Yang Xiao-Long is here." One of the students in a group.

"She and all of her other friends are here too. They've got the really nice two-bedroom dorms." Another student said.

"Are they here for Atlas? I heard they saved Menagerie and Mistral already." Another person said.

"Does that mean Atlas is next?" A student asked.

"No, the White Fang are gone. They took out all the leaders in Mistral." A female student said.

"So any of you got anything yet?" Another boy asked.

She stopped listening.

They knew Yang. They knew they were there. They didn't know her. Rosa found a drink in her hand. She was sure it was Champaigne, but she didn't exactly remember picking it up. An old habit she picked up.

"Hello there." Rosa turned her head and saw a man. One of the seniors she thought.

"Good evening yourself." Rosa said. She had a part to play, and she knew exactly how to play it.

"I don't seem to recognize you. You're not one of the seniors are you?" He said.

"You've noticed." Rosa said. She brought the drink to her lips. She took the smallest sip and confirmed it was champagne she got.

"You aren't one of the donors. Who are you?" He asked.

"I'm still a student, just one who's looking to get ahead of my schedule." Rosa said.

"I see. I get that." He said. Rosa rolled her eyes in her head. She was still the perfect image of civility here. She had started listening to other conversations. She was wasting time with this idiot. He didn't know that she could feel all his emotions. She would need to be drunk to talk to him for too much longer.

Thankfully, there was an extremely helpful distraction. Winter Schnee arrived at the dance, in full military dress. Rosa used the distraction to slip away from the man. She didn't know that Winter was going to be here, and by Weiss's reaction, she didn't either.

Rosa found herself next to Weiss.

"What are you drinking?" Weiss asked.

"I was on autopilot when I picked up some champagne." Rosa said.

"Get rid of it." Weiss said. Rosa glanced over at her. She brought the glass to her lips.

"You know that's not what I meant." Weiss said.

"I am a war veteran and spent six months in hell. I think I can handle one glass." Rosa said. Winter was surrounded by people.

"We're not here to get drunk." Weiss said.

"Only joking." Rosa looked for a place to dispose of the drink.

"That one is a fake plant." Weiss pointed at a small plant in a corner. There was a small drain below it. "It was put there in case someone wanted to get rid of a drink."

"You going to save your sister?" Rosa asked.

"I think I might have to." Weiss said. Rosa went over to the plant but took one more sip for the road.

Weiss was the only person that Winter stopped for. She raised a hand and the people around her took a step back. Winter turned to Weiss.

"Welcome home, Witner." Weiss said.

"I should say the same to you." Winter said. Winter examined the dress Weiss was wearing. It was a simple one compared to the others. She saw Rosa Reidan in the corner pouring out a drink on the plant meant for that. She quickly spotted all ten of the knights and knew exactly what their roles were.

"Let us talk somewhere more private." Winter said, looking around at the others. They both knew where the Balcony was. They stood out there.

"You're gathering intel." Winter said.

"And you're acting as bait." Weiss said. Winter was proud that Weiss figured it out so quickly.

"Do you have your lightsaber with you?" Winter asked.

"We all do. Rosa only has one, and not her Sith lightsaber." Weiss said.

"I've not felt any dark presences here." Winter said.

"Neither have we. Tons of gossip, but no dark side." Weiss said.

"You're here with Rosa, are you not?" Winter asked.

"Yes." Weiss said.

"As friends, or more?" Winter asked.

"We're all friends. My team is as close as family." Weiss said. Winter knew exactly what that meant for her to say, in front of her last family member.

"Weiss, you know I'm not father. I don't care if you are gay or straight. I just care that you are cared for." Winter said.

"I'm not looking for that kind of love right now." Weiss said.

"One day you will." Winter said.

"There aren't many options right now constantly being on the road." Weiss said.

"That I fully understand." Winter said. "But don't wait too long."

"What about you?" Weiss asked.

"There is a reason I give the advice I do." Winter said.

"I guess most people around you are subordinates or superiors." Weiss said.

"There are some options out there still for me. Don't worry about that." Winter said.

"Our team has sort of been pushing our two youngest. We know that Oscar likes Ruby after she invaded his mind…" Weiss started.

"Invaded his mind?" Winter asked.

"Yeah, we reprimanded her, and they had a massive fight, but they came back together as a team stronger." Weiss said.

"And you think Ruby…" Winter asked.

"Ruby doesn't know what she thinks, and I think it would take a miracle for that girl to figure out something as emotionally complex as that." Weiss said.

"Any nonromance-related news?" Winter asked.

"Yes. This one may take a while for you to accept though. Roman Torchwick is alive, and on our side as a spy." Weiss said. Winter hadn't heard about this.

"What?" She asked.

"Exactly." Weiss said.

Ren and Nora were on the second floor, but they didn't feel any dark side presence.

"You know… this is a dance." Nora said.

"I guess it is." Ren said. The dance part had officially begun. It was a slow song. Ren offered Nora his hand, and she gleefully accepted it. They began slow dancing. Ren and Nora weren't experts at it, but they knew how to slow dance. They knew how each other moved.

"You know, if there are no issues, we just got to have a fun night off." Nora said. Ren smiled and leaned down for a kiss, which Nora graciously gave.

"I hope we find nothing." Ren said.

"Yeah, I hope so too." Nora put her head against Ren's chest. She heard his heart beating.

"Thank you for always being with me." Nora said.

"I will always be with you." Ren said.

"Look at us, getting all gushy about our feelings." Nora said.

"You bring out the best in me." Ren said.

Oscar and Ruby were in one of the less occupied side rooms, where Oscar was going through the steps of slow dancing with Ruby. They were over-exaggerating how bad Ruby was at it… but she still needed a lot of help. She hadn't stepped on his feet yet, which was a bonus.

"You're doing better Ruby." Oscar said.

"Where did you learn to slow dance?" Ruby asked.

"The yearly festivals after harvesting everything." Oscar said.

"How many have you danced with?" Ruby asked, watching her feet.

"I never kept track. My deaf friend, Maron, made sure I knew how to dance. I'd always ask her. She had hearing aids so she could hear the music, but she told me that she loved feeling the vibrations more." Oscar said.

"What was Maron like?" Ruby asked.

"Shy. Worried. Afraid that someone was going to make fun of her. But brave when someone made fun of someone else. Kind. Warm. Super smart. Witty too. The kids didn't know sign language so they didn't know when we made fun of them." Oscar said.

"Do you know where she moved to?" Ruby asked.

"Vale." Oscar said.

"That's halfway across the world." Ruby said.

"It was. It was so hard to say goodbye. I was a crying mess. She wrapped her tail around me and gave me the longest hug of my life." Oscar said.

"What kind of Faunus was she?" Ruby asked.

"Chinchilla." Oscar said.

"Wow. Maybe we can meet her again if we go back to Vale." Ruby said.

"I hope she's still there, but I don't know." Oscar said.

"She was lucky to have a friend like you." Ruby said.

"I was the lucky one. Before her, I was still stuck in my shell. After… my parents died, I wasn't me." Oscar said.

"Then you helped each other." Ruby said. Oscar smiled at that.

"I guess we did." Oscar said. The slow song ended.

"You did good Ruby. Sorry for hogging the conversation." Oscar said.

"No big deal." Ruby said.

Yang and Blake finished their dance, ending it with a laugh.

"So corny." Yang said.

"Everything here is." Blake said. "Except for those fish bites."

"You've already had a few. Let others have some." Yang said.

The music went back to a conversational level.

"You felt all the eyes on us, didn't you?" Blake said.

"Yeah. I don't have to be Rosa to tell that we made a lot of boys jealous." Yang said.

"I'm sure we made girls jealous too." Blake said. Rosa was walking toward them with drinks.

"You two really know how to put on a show." Rosa said, handing them both water.

"You finally found the non-alcoholic drinks I see." Blake said.

"And here I was being generous to two of my favorite people." Rosa said.

"Did you hear anything?" Yang asked.

"I heard a girl over there complain to her gang of friends saying some nasty things about you." Rosa said.

"Let me guess, attention whore." Yang said.

"Close. They didn't mention attention at all. She did mention your 'ballons' a few times." Rosa mocked the girl.

"Better than the guy who was at half-mast the entire time." Yang said.

"Yang, remember where we are." Blake said.

"You didn't notice him?" Yang said.

"I did, but if you're going to say something like that at least hide it behind your water." Blake said. "Makes it easier to deny calling those bimbos out."

They moved over to the refreshment table. A man with a glass of wine looked at the three.

"Two members of Team RWBY, and a friend I see." He said. Rosa took a deep breath.

"We're a team of five, actually." Rosa said in her calmest voice.

"So you must be the one left out at Vytal." He said. Rosa didn't like his tone.

"I did sit out. Just to make it fair for everyone." Rosa said. He chuckled and walked away. Rosa grabbed a cup and raised it to her mouth.

"Fucking dick." Rosa said.

"See Yang, that's how you should insult people here." Blake said.

Pyrrha recognized some of her old sponsors here. Jaune was next to her as some of them came up to her and 'chatted about the go times' where Pyrrha pretended to be whatever they needed so she could help her mother after her father died. She didn't like a single one of them and saw glad that she had nothing to do with them anymore.

Some offered her another sponsorship, but she declined. Jaune had to step in twice when some rich kid thought they could talk to Pyrrha however they wanted because Daddy sponsored her. One of them tried to flirt with her until he noticed Jaune standing next to her.

"And who's this?" He said.

"Jaune Arc, Team Leader, Tactician for the battle of Hellio, and my Boyfriend." Pyrrha said, making sure the last word was emphasized. Everyone knew that Hellio was a massive victory for the Alliance and that the tactician was a powerful Jedi.

To make him suffer even more, Pyrrha grabbed Jaune and gave him a long, passionate kiss, so the kid would leave.

She continued after he left. Jaune wasn't complaining.

"Sorry for using you as a prop." Pyrrha said.

"Hey, use away. You know, Beacon was a lot less stuffy." Jaune said.

"We don't have to worry about losing sponsors. Honestly, I understand the fear a lot of them have right now. Without sponsors, I wouldn't have been able to go through school." Pyrrha said.

"I guess so. But trust fund babies are the worst." Jaune said.

"Yes, they seem to be. Have you noticed all the men shooting daggers at you?" Pyrrha asked.

"I couldn't care less about them." Jaune said.

"I do see Ren and Nora having a good time." Pyrrha said, moving her eyes. Jaune followed and saw the two dancing to the song playing.

"Sorry I missed the first dance again. I didn't think they'd have wine and punch that looked the same." Jaune said.

"At least you only took a sip." Pyrrha said.

"I can still feel some of it at the back of my mouth." Jaune said.

Rosa finally found Weiss after her chat with Winter. Weiss was smiling. She and Winter had a chat that sisters would have. Not the chats that they were used to, but one as equals.

"We've got a few dances left. I don't think the Sith are here." Rosa said.

"Are you asking for a dance?" Weiss asked.

"Well, technically speaking you are my date to this. I've already danced with a few strangers, and mostly everyone else." Rosa said.

"Who haven't you danced with?" Weiss asked as they started.

"Ren and Nora. Those two are almost glued together. And you?" Rosa asked.

"After coming back in, I had a few gentlemen ask me. Flynt Coal asked me, and we talked about jazz the entire time." Weiss said.

"Nice." Rosa said.

"Then I had to check with Ruby. She's far better, thanks to Oscar. Oscar helped since we were both in dresses and she could see my feet." Weiss said.

"At least she's getting better." Rosa said.

"I danced with Pyrrha and Jaune. I didn't suspect Jaune to be so good at slow dancing, but he said…"

"I have seven sisters who made me dance with them." Rosa said.

"I see. You heard too."

"He told me how Saphron said it would help him later in life, and only recently had he realized she was right." Rosa said.

"And Pyrrha and I talked about how much we hate these things." Weiss said.

"Of course. There are a lot of assholes in here." Rosa leaned in to say that part.

"There most certainly are." Weiss said.

"Anything else to report?" Rosa asked.

"Besides that I've seen a few students who've had a few drinks leave to some secluded areas for a while?" Weiss said.

"Gross." Rosa said.

"How stupid Wine makes someone." Weiss said.

"Good thing I only had a sip or two of champagne then." Rosa said.

"You took a second?" Weiss asked.

"Barely a sip." Rosa said.

"You know, I don't like any of that stuff." Weiss said.

"I know." Rosa said.

"You promise me that's it?" Weiss asked.

"I promise." Rosa said.

Winter looked down at everyone having fun. She figured out the Sith hadn't been able to get in. Whatever Ironwood did to secure Atlas had worked, at least for now. Weiss found her.

"Winter." Weiss said.

"Weiss. Why aren't you with anyone else? The dance is almost over?" Winter said.

"I know it's been a while, but we haven't danced tonight." Weiss said. Winter smiled. She missed her sister more than she realized.

"Are you sure?" Winter had to check.

"Positive." Weiss said.

Oscar made his way around the circuit. He'd danced with all of team RRWBY. He was asked for a dance by Neon, which surprised him. She just wanted to know who Oscar was and how he got tangled up in all of this. He danced with Pyrrha and ended up getting a dance with Jaune. There were a few random people who asked him to dance, and he danced with them. A guy must have overheard him and Pyrrha or Jaune talking about the team. Oscar declined to give personal details away.

He found himself back with Ruby. At one of the punch bowls away from the main room.

"I've only got one more dance in me." Oscar said. "If you have one left in you."

"I'm pretty sure this is the last slow song of the night." Ruby said.

"I know. How lucky for me then." Oscar said. "We can talk about your life if you want to."

"Fine. You convinced me." Ruby said.

They started. Oscar could tell that Ruby was getting better at it as she stopped having to look down at her feet.

"You sure you want to hear me talking about my past?" Ruby asked.

"Of course." Oscar said.

"Should I tell you about Patch?" Ruby asked.

"Whatever you want." Oscar said.

"Okay. You ever seen pictures of it?" Ruby asked.

"In my lifetime, no. Ozpin's told me some." Oscar said.

"Well, back when it was just Dad, Yang, and me, Dad would take us out to a few places. My favorite was the Bubba Bubba Boba Tea place." Ruby said.

"Is that why you are constantly drinking it?" Oscar asked.

"Not constantly." Ruby said.

"My apologies." Oscar said with a laugh.

"Dad took us there when he had the time. That's where Alice, Onyx, and I would go after school a lot. Technically went on a date or two in there." Ruby said.

"Technically?" Oscar asked.

"Yeah. I didn't think they were dates, but Onyx told me later that Alice wanted to see if we connected like that. Honestly, it's better I didn't realize till later because I would have been so awkward around Alice." Ruby said.

"Did you go on a date with both of them or just Alice?" Oscar asked.

"No, just Alice. Onyx is kinda like Rosa like that." Ruby said.

"I see. So, what did you do when you learned you dated Alice?" Oscar asked.

"Apologized. I didn't realize that she saw it like that, and I told her that I still wanted to be friends, and she told me she realized I was… obviously. Onyx laughed at us. He probably saved our friendship then. He told me that I didn't have to worry about him." Ruby said.

"How did Yang react when you told her?" Oscar asked.

"She laughed at me, and so did Dad. 'Only Ruby could go on a date and not realize it.' They kept saying. I mean, I was thirteen." Ruby said.

"I would have been eleven." Oscar said.

"Did you ever go on a date without realizing it?" Ruby asked.

"Don't think I have." Oscar said. "Did you go on any date you did know were dates?"

"There was one where a boy asked me out at Signal, but that ended pretty badly. He said I only have a heart for weapons." Ruby said.

"His loss." Oscar said.

"Yeah." Ruby said. "But I do have a heart for weapons. Don't forget that."

Yang was dancing with Neon for her last dance. It was a surprise, but not a bad one.

"So, Yang, Sorry about everything I said during the Vytal Festival." Neon said.

"Don't worry about it. I punched you with a lava fist." Yang said.

"You did get me good. But I was just trying to get in your head. I know that mocking people's appearance really unbalances them, but what I said wasn't really that cool." Neon said.

"Nothing some of these people haven't said about me tonight." Yang said.

"I think they think I'll think they're cool or something." Neon said.

"Are you pretty popular at Atlas?" Yang asked.

"At first I wasn't. The tail and all." Neon said.

"I really don't consider the opinions of assholes." Yang said.

"Thanks. After the teams were made, Flynt and I became best friends. We both hated the SDC, which was one of the biggest things. One time really early on there were some girls who were trying to bully me and grab my tail, but Flynt and the others saved me. Flynt used some… colorful… words. Said Team FNKI was going to be the best. And that's our goal." Neon said.

"When did you tell Flynt about your Jedi heritage?" Yang asked.

"Right after we got back to our dorms actually. Turns out Flynt's the only one who doesn't have the force, but he's really what keeps us together and grounded." Neon said.

"You know, I'm glad we can see some familiar faces that aren't being attacked by the Sith right away." Yang said. Neon's colors faded.

"I heard what happened to Teams SSSN and ABRN. I'm sorry." Neon said. Yang didn't expect that to hit so hard. They knew Sun and Arslan were alive. But they weren't here. They had no idea where Arslan was, and they knew exactly where Sun was.

"We're going to get Sun back eventually." Yang said.

"What do you mean? I thought he was dead." Neon said.

"He's…" Yang leaned in. "Salem's realm. He's being used as bait to try to lure us in."

"Shit. Gods there has to be something we can do." Neon said.

"We have no way to get to Sun right now. We need someone from the Sith who will open up a portal so we can get to Sun and get back out." Yang said.

"The masters will figure something out." Neon said. The color returned to Neon.

"We're going to have to win against Salem when she comes." Yang said.

"We will. And we'll make the bitch pay." Neon said.

"My thoughts exactly."

Rosa was eating some of the refreshments on the table. Her shoes next to her on the floor. Her feet were hurting from all the dancing, and there was nothing in the galaxy that would cause her to put her shoes back on for one last dance. Blake was sipping at her drink, sitting down in a chair.

"I know I had a good time tonight Rosa." Blake started. Rosa moved over and sat down next to her.

"But…" Rosa said. There was always something after a statement like that.

"Sun should have been here for this." Blake said.

"I know." Rosa said. She wrapped her arm around Blake.

"I know that we didn't waste our time here." Blake said. "But there's this nagging accusation in the back of my head saying we aren't doing enough to help Sun."

"I know." Rosa said.

"I haven't felt him in a few nights. But I know he's still alive. And part of me feels like we're wasting time doing this. It's that same part of me that was obsessed to find Torchwick." Blake said.

"We love you, all of us." Rosa said.

"Thanks." Blake said.

"I think… everyone needed this. After everything we've been through, we've got to do something just for fun. I mean yeah, we were searching for a Sith and didn't find one, but we weren't guaranteed to find one." Rosa said.

"So we didn't fail." Blake said.

"Exactly. Hey, do you wonder if Oscar and Ruby actually talked about the crush, or no?" Rosa asked.

"At this point I think it would take divine intervention for those two to talk about that." Blake said.

"Or Yang locking them in a room." Rosa suggested.

"Or that." Blake said with a smile.

"Gods I am so glad to be back with you all." Rosa said.

"We're glad your back too." Blake said.

Since there were no Sith at the dance, the knights were able to just go back to Atlas after the dance finished up. Nora told everyone her wish that once they got back they would play Never Have I Ever. They agreed to do it.

Once they got back to their dorm, they all entered Rosa and Oscar's room. Mostly because they knew Rosa had made some baked goods beforehand. They all stayed in their suits and dresses. They got ten lives so everyone could ask a question. Nora started everyone off.

"Never have I ever… taken a sip of something thinking it was one thing, but it was something totally different." Nora said.

"Really Nora?" Jaune put a finger down. So did Ruby, Blake, Rosa, Nora, and Ren.

"Wow. That got a lot." Oscar said.

"Alright everyone, say what it was." Nora said.

"Is that part of the rules?" Jaune asked.

"I once took a sip of swamp water thinking it was juice." Rosa said.

"What?" Everyone turned to her.

"It was back when I was at the Galaxy at large. Lots of fruits that taste amazing kind of look like swamp water." Rosa said.

"I swear I thought those glasses tonight were punch and not wine." Jaune said.

"I may have sipped oil thinking it was coffee." Ruby admitted.

"Never have I ever… won an argument just by being louder." Ren said.

"Yang put your finger down." Ruby said.

The night went on like that. Until everyone had started losing fingers. Once everyone got down to one hand, they became more cutthroat about it.

"Never have I ever… been in a situation where there was obvious tension with someone." Nora asked. She looked right at Ruby and Oscar. They each had to put a finger down. She looked over at the other members of Team RRWBY.

"The Docks." Was all she had to say.

"Hey, remember when you told us when you all saw Ren's dick! There was some tension there!" Yang yelled.

"What? Pyrrha you weren't in the room." Ren said.

"I was at the door walking in." Pyrrha said.

"That one kinda bit me in the ass. Down to one." Nora said.

"Never have I ever been genuinely jealous of someone in this room." Ren said.

Jaune was first. Then Rosa. Weiss put one down. Oscar and Ruby were in the lead with three fingers left. But everyone else had two.

It was Oscar's turn. He looked around the room. He knew it would be dangerous. He decided to wait one more turn for that question.

"Never have I ever had to stop myself from saying something very flirty." Oscar said.

"Come on. That one feels targeted." Yang said.

"My turn." Weiss said. She had to think about her next question carefully.

"Never have I ever had a crush on someone in this room." Team JNPOR all let out a sigh. Weiss looked over at Ruby. She didn't put her finger down.

"I got this." Yang said.

"Never have I ever kissed someone in this room and got caught immediately." Yang said, looking right at Ruby her face was on fire. She put her finger down.

"What?" Jaune asked. "Who?"

"Back in Argus, after Oscar there was asleep waiting for Rosa to come home she gave him a little kiss on the head." Yang said.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Ruby shouted. Oscar was blushing now too.

"Never have I ever had to buy me new clothes because Zwei stole them, and we never found them." Blake said. Looking right at Yang.

"I'm sorry he stole your bra." Yang said. She was down to one finger. It was Ruby's turn.

"Never have I ever ignored their team leader to instantly regret it." Ruby glared at both Weiss and Blake. They both put their fingers down.

Somehow, everyone survived the next four questions. Oscar saw his chance to take out everyone but Ruby. He had to take it. It would probably be the most hated question of the night.

"Never have I ever seen my teammates naked."

Oscar was right. Yang threw a pillow in his face.

"That's bullshit!" Rosa shouted.

"Put them down!" Oscar shouted. He was getting excited about winning. He took out eight people with one question. He looked at Ruby who had her one finger left.

"You got this Ruby." Blake said.

"Never have I ever been kissed by someone." Ruby said. Oscar felt his face getting red aside from the pillow mark. Finger down.

"You saw that in my head." Oscar said.

"Who was it?" Jaune asked.

"Did you like it?" Nora asked.

"Amber Emir. No, I really couldn't enjoy anything at the moment." Oscar said.

"Why not?" Weiss asked.

Oscar put a finger on the bandages.

"I was bleeding out." Oscar said. He and Ruby were down to one finger each. It was Oscar's turn.

"Never have I ever had a dream about someone here and never told them." Oscar and Ruby just looked at each other. No fingers moved.

"I'm pretty open about my dreams." Ruby said. Oscar floundered.

"Never have I ever regretted not telling someone how I really felt." Ruby said.

"Ruby." Yang said. There was a tension in the air now. To everyone's surprise, they both put a finger down. Oscar didn't know what that meant if she was thinking about him, or someone else.

"I never got to say Goodbye to Mom and say how much I love her." Ruby said.

The room got even heavier.

"Ruby, you don't need to go into that if you're not ready." Yang said.

"Sorry." Ruby said.

"I… I was thinking about my parents too." Oscar said. "I was angry at them that night. I refused to talk to them. And everything happened so fast."

"Guys…" Jaune said.

"Sorry. That wasn't a good question. I…" Ruby said.

"No. I trust everyone here." Oscar said. Something in the room changed. The heaviness was still there, but there was also something else there.

"For a while, I've been worried. Tonight reminded me of what we are. I think for a while I was worried that the only reason you guys keep me around is because of Ozpin. Maybe twice tonight I thought of him. You all care about Oscar. Thank you." Oscar said. They didn't think it was going to get that heavy.

"I think right now, we all need to get some of the pretzels." Rosa said. Oscar and Ruby didn't move.

"I'm sorry… I… I don't know why…" Ruby said.

"Ruby, It's okay. Actually… I think we should have done more of those." Oscar said.

"I ruined the mood." Ruby said.

"I kind of want to do another round. But now, we just do those questions." Oscar said. Everyone turned around.

"That's… a really good idea. But we're not doing ten. Three at most." Rosa said.

Ruby looked at Oscar and his smile. It helped her. She didn't know why Summer popped into her mind. Well… maybe she had been seeing her a lot recently. Everyone gathered around again in their spots. Nora was first.

"Never have I ever pretended to be fine when I absolutely wasn't." Nora said.

"Never have I ever doubted my own abilities, even when others believed in me." Ren said.

"Never have I ever felt like I had to choose between my happiness and someone else's." Pyrrha said.

"Never have I ever felt like I wasn't good enough." Jaune said.

"Never have I ever felt completely alone, even when I was surrounded by people." Oscar said.

"Never have I ever struggled with forgiving myself for something." Weiss said.

"Never have I ever pushed myself too hard just to prove a point." Yang said.

"Never have I ever been in a situation where I knew exactly what I should do but still made the wrong choice." Blake said.

"Never have I ever questioned whether I was actually important to the people around me." Rosa said.

That game would be the one that was remembered.

Author's Notes: I hope that you at least enjoyed the Never have I ever part. Though I have to admit, I never want to type those words again after them so many times. This chapter is a nice moment for all the characters involved. A rare moment where the Sith aren't ruining everything.

I had characters not take not of women slow dancing with other women, and men slow dancing with other men, because I think that is the kind of place that Remnant is. I also don't think that there is anything wrong with that in real life either and have seen it whenever I was at a dance.

I wanted to have a feeling that there was going to be something wrong at the dance, but then nothing happened because it's kind of the reverse of what happened at the Beacon dance.

I think the characters deserve to have one night where in the end, they didn't have to be Jedi and worry about the Sith. They just had one night where they could relax. I hope the dialogue was realistic here.

We need a little light before the Siege begins.

We got a review from CT7567Rules. Thank you for leaving a review.

Yes, there are parts of this story that are very dark. It was going to be darker, but I didn't like how they were ending up, so I changed some things, but this is still a very dark story. Just look at Sun. He's nowhere close to done with his suffering.

At different points Ironwood would and wouldn't want people like Jasper around, but soon, Ironwood will need everyone he can get.

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May the Force be With You

-DragonZlayerx12