I'm truly grateful for all your positive feedback and I'm happy that Joker Card has reached 100 favorites. However, what usually makes a story gain followers is a good start, and unfortunately, my story didn't have that. In fact, the Persona 5 Royal X MHA story I created performed better in two chapters than this story did in over five chapters. That's why I wanted to reforge the chapters without changing the story itself, and I was actually supposed to be revising Chapter 0 instead of this right now. But unfortunately, I accidentally connected the flash drive that had my stories on it to the system instead of the one I was going to use to install Windows, and… well, all the data got wiped. You have no idea how many stories I erased from it.
Here are just a few of the names: Sonic the Chaos Master, Jedi Huntsman with my OC, Persona 5 Arena, Blue Blur and Purple Dragon, Revenants of the Remnant, Quirkless Hero: Xeno Deku, and a complete story I based on Dark Souls. And I haven't even mentioned the other Persona crossovers, Sonic crossovers, and some stories with my own OCs.
So, a word of advice: never have two flash drives that look alike, especially if you're responsible for installing operating systems at the company where you work.
Overall, a lot of my plans changed, and it was such a letdown that even repeatedly dying in Dark Souls wouldn't upset me. And yeah, when I'm feeling down, I play Dark Souls, Sekiro, or any other challenging game.
Gamelover41592: Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed the fight because I personally wasn't too happy with it.
Blockyblob: Thaaaaaaanks.
Guest: Well, it depends on how you want to imagine it because I based the Merchant on the usual interactive NPCs in RPG games, the ones who just wear a black robe, and you can't see anything of them besides a skinny hand. And spoiler alert… this Merchant is like all the other Merchants in RPG games.
What excuse do you have this time?" General Ironwood asked in a calm but certainly angry voice.
The Ace Ops members stood in a line, bruised and battered, staring shamefully at the ground, thinking about what had happened the previous night.
[The Previous Night]
The Ace Ops were waiting for orders inside the airship, each one occupied with something. For example, Harriet was punching a heavy bag, Clover and Vine were studying reports of the stolen Atlas goods, and Elm and Marrow were playing poker.
"Are you ready to lose everything you've put on the table?" Elm said confidently.
"You win some, you lose some, but I am sure you'll lose all!" Marrow replied, then revealed his cards. King of Hearts, King of Diamonds, Ten of Hearts, Ten of Diamonds, Ten of Spades—a Full House. Marrow looked at his cards with confidence, certain that he had won, especially since Elm was hiding behind her own cards.
As Marrow smirked and eyed the 1000 Lien on the table, Elm responded, "Nice try, Marrow, but unfortunately, you're the loser!" She slammed her cards down so hard that the Lien flew into the air. Ace of Hearts, Ace of Diamonds, Ace of Spades, Ten of Clubs, and a Joker. "With the help of the Joker, I can make a fourth Ace, and with that, I have Four Aces!"
Marrow's eyes widened as he dropped to his knees, placing his hands on his head. "Nooooooo!" he cried, while Harriet glanced at them with a small grunt before returning to her punching. "Damn you, Joker!" Harriet punched harder, and the bag tore open.
Everyone stared at Harriet as she pulled her hand out of the bag, then returned to what they were doing... except Marrow, who was tearfully watching as Elm collected the money.
"This is ridiculous!" Harriet grumbled loudly, and everyone turned to look at her again. "We begged the General to come with him to Vale to take revenge on the Phantom Thieves, but now we're sitting here, waiting for them to show themselves!" She then bent the bar from which the bag was hanging.
"Calm down, Harriet. I'm sure we'll find the Phantom Thieves soon," Clover said, and just at that moment, the General contacted them.
Ace Ops used the car for transportation to avoid attracting attention, and therefore arrived at the mission destination a little later than usual. As soon as they reached their destination, they saw a Bullhead flying away from the factory, but although it was suspicious, they ignored it because they had more important work to do. With the help of the access that the army gave them, they were able to open the gate of the factory and enter by pressing only one button in their scroll.
Upon arrival, Ace Ops notices the Phantom Thieves talking to... Beacon students?! Maybe they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although that's not important.
Elm aimed her rocket launcher at the Phantom Thieves and fired everything in her clip. The rockets zoomed towards them, but the Thieves reacted quickly, dodging backward to avoid the barrage. After their ambush failed, the Ace Ops quickly retreated into the building, blocking the exit.
"Well, well, look who we have here. The Phantom Thieves with a new member," Marrow said with a serious, cocky tone, trying to act cool.
"Hello, Clover... and the rest," Joker said calmly, hands in his pockets, exuding confidence.
"Hope you didn't miss us because this isn't going to be a warm welcome," Harriet cracked her knuckles as she spoke.
"You'd better leave now, or you'll be humiliated even worse this time," Mona said confidently.
"I don't think you realize your situation. We've got numbers, and the exit's blocked," Elm added, resting her hammer on her shoulder.
"And don't forget, we're the best Huntsmen and Huntresses in all of Atlas," Marrow said, with his boomerang ready.
"Ever heard of the new Dust?" Joker asked with a smirk, surprising the Ace Ops.
"We've heard some things, like how cyan Dust generates more heat than Fire Dust," Vine explained.
"How about the black Dust?" Crow asked this time.
"Not really," Clover replied.
"Too bad. Mona, Mamudo," Joker ordered. Mona pulled out a Curse Dust from his coat, holding it up to the Ace Ops. The Dust was surrounded by circuits before releasing a thick, black smoke.
The Ace Ops stared at the smoke curiously, but suddenly, it formed into their shapes. A red arrow shot through the smoky figures, and all the Ace Ops felt a sharp, deep pain as if their very souls had been struck. They clutched their chests, collapsing to their knees.
As Clover and his team kneeled on the ground, the Phantom Thieves quickly surrounded them, guns drawn at their face. It didn't take a mind reader to understand that the Ace Ops knew they were done for. "Let's go! All-Out-Attack!" In a flash, the Thieves turned into black blurs, delivering rapid blows to the Ace Ops.
In the end, Mona landed on the ground, tossing the end of his scarf dramatically behind him. "Cleanup complete"
In less than 10 seconds, the best Huntsmen team in all of Atlas was brought to its knees. All of the Ace Ops members were defeated before they even had a chance to attack or defend. Seeing the Ace Ops on the ground, bruised and possibly even unconscious, was shocking for all the members of Team RWBY (except Ruby), especially for Blake and Weiss, who were aware of the power of Atlas teams. The mere thought of such a thing was impossible for many, but what was at least intriguing for the two of them was how they knew about the new types of Dust.
"An army of Terminator robots will probably fill this place in about 20 seconds, so goodbye," Joker waved his hand and then they all escaped.
As the girls watched in shock as the thieves fled, exactly 20 seconds later, the Atlas army surrounded the entire factory, and the new AK units entered the building. The girls, in shock, quickly raised their hands in surrender. After the AKs covered almost all the entrances, Winter, along with a few other human soldiers, entered and was shocked by what she saw.
Ace Ops, injured and unconscious on the ground, her sister and her team surrounded by AKs, and the remains of the Paladins scattered around.
"What happened here?" Winter shouted angrily and confused, her gaze locked on Weiss.
"Hello, Winter. If you allow me, I can explain!" Weiss said fearfully, and Winter stared at her sister without blinking.
[Present Time]
"I gave you a chance to make up for the disgrace you brought to the Atlas army, and this time all five of you failed, in under 10 seconds," the General shouted angrily, pacing around the table where Ozpin was sitting.
"Calm down, James. Even I didn't expect such power from Black Dust. And considering the explanations of..." Ozpin shifted his gaze to Team RWBY, who were standing next to the Ace Ops. "Team RWBY, they are far more powerful than we anticipated."
"Professor, may I ask why we are here?" Ruby asked timidly, feeling as though she was there due to a mistake on her part.
"Actually, you can leave now, as I'm sure the General and the Ace Ops will have plenty of mature discussions, but remember not to tell anyone what you saw tonight," Professor Ozpin warned with a hint of humor, and then Team RWBY quickly took the elevator out.
Team RWBY exited the elevator and breathed a sigh of relief, glad they had avoided trouble. Fortunately, everyone believed that Team RWBY had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had accidentally gotten involved in a conflict between two criminal groups.
"I'm glad everything turned out okay, but unfortunately, we have no leads," Yang said, stretching her body.
"At least we not only met the Phantom Thieves, but we also fought alongside them," Ruby said, mimicking the girl who had just seen the group, and Yang nodded in agreement.
"I have to admit, they were extraordinary. Their teamwork, strategy, technique, speed, power, knowledge, and equipment were all unique, especially their leader," Weiss praised the Phantom Thieves.
"Well, Weiss, what did you want to tell them?" Ruby asked curiously, and Weiss widened her eyes.
"It doesn't matter anymore," Weiss replied coldly, clearly upset.
"Okay," Ruby said, feeling bad for Weiss and deciding to change the subject. "Oh, what did you think about their final attack on the Ace Ops? Wasn't it cool?" Ruby asked with her usual excitement.
"Yeah, it was very effective and powerful," Yang commented.
"How about we create our own kind of All-Out Attack?" Ruby suggested energetically.
"But how are we going to move like that?" Weiss asked curiously.
"That's why I said we should make our own version, because it's probably not feasible for all four of us to move that way," Ruby explained further.
"Now that sounds like a good idea," Weiss agreed with satisfaction.
Ruby moved ahead of the others and continued walking while glancing back. "So let's all work on this attack together..." Suddenly, Ruby bumped into someone and fell on her bottom. "Oh, sorry."
"It's okay." Ruby looked up at the person she had collided with and was momentarily shocked but quickly composed herself. It was Mercury, one of the two assassins who had tried to kill Mona.
"Are you okay?" a worried girl's voice came from Ruby's right, and when she turned to see who it was, she was surprised once again. Emerald was there, offering her hand to Ruby. "Let me help you." Ruby accepted Emerald's help.
"Thank you. I'm Ruby Rose," Ruby said while still holding Emerald's hand.
"Emerald Sustrai, nice to meet you," Emerald replied with a fake smile.
"Mercury Black," Mercury introduced himself, showing no emotion.
"Are you exchange students?" Weiss asked, her tone icy as usual.
"That's right," a self-assured and power-hungry voice came from behind the two assassins. As they stepped aside, their leader appeared. "We're from Haven, actually. Cinder Autumn."
"Oh, well, welcome to Beacon. I'm Weiss Schnee."
"Blake Belladonna."
"Yang Xiao Long."
"Pleasure to meet you," Cinder said, her voice full of arrogance, with that same sharp gaze and wicked smirk. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we should get to our dorm." The three criminals calmly headed toward the Haven students' dorm building, and as Cinder turned her back to Team RWBY, she flashed a sinister grin. Little did she know, the situation was about to turn against them.
[The Next Morning / After School / Leblanc]
"I'm really sorry about what happened last night!" Ruby apologized loudly, bowing in the traditional Japanese style. Ren was behind the counter making coffee, Futaba was working on her laptop at a nearby table, Makoto sat next to her, Morgana, in his cat form, lay stretched out on the counter, and Akechi was sipping coffee.
"Ruby, there's no need to apologize, nothing bad happened," Ren reassured her.
"Your presence along with your team were surprising, but not problematic. And I must admit, it was partly my fault," Akechi added before finishing his last sip of coffee. "Delicious as always."
"We might not have gotten much info from Torchwick, but at least we've narrowed down a possible location for their hideout," Makoto explained further.
"Unfortunately, we still haven't found those assassins," Futaba said with frustration.
"Actually, I've found our assassins," Ruby said, drawing everyone's attention. "They're currently posing as Haven students at Beacon."
"They've infiltrated Beacon, but why?" Morgana murmured, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
"There could be a number of reasons, but it's likely something or someone at the academy," Akechi deduced, using his detective instincts to form a theory.
"Arming a terrorist organization, teaming up with a high-profile criminal, infiltrating the best Huntsman academy, and choosing a time when most of the students are in Vale for the Vytal Festival," Makoto listed everything she knew.
"And consider this, the Grimm Queen, who's only referred to as 'Her,' has the power to control every Grimm on the planet," Ren added.
"This sounds like an all-out attack," Ruby said, unaware of the Phantom Thieves' own technique reference.
"But the question now is, when and how?" Makoto asked. "Even if you have an army of Grimm and a fleet of terrorists in mechs, it still wouldn't be enough to take on thousands of students and the Atlas military," she pointed out, making everyone think.
"But what if it's just the students?" Futaba suggested, and everyone looked at her with curiosity. "In one of the strategy games I play, one of the factions had the ability to build a robot army, and another faction had a perk that let them hack robots and turn them into their own army," Futaba explained, and everyone started to catch on to her idea.
"The General came to Vale with an advanced army of robots, and with Futaba's experience in Atlas' security systems, hacking them wouldn't be too difficult," Morgana said seriously, and everyone's expressions turned grim.
"Shouldn't we report this to the professor and the general?" Ruby asked, confused, since that seemed like the most logical move.
"Normally, yes, but the only ones who've seen them as assassins are Torchwick and Morgana, and I doubt the General would believe that without proof. More importantly, we might lose our only lead to finding the Queen, and risk exposing our identities as the Phantom Thieves," Akechi explained the situation.
"But before anything, we need to figure out how they plan to hack the Atlas army," Futaba said, then turned her laptop to show the others. "Dr. Polendina hasn't announced it officially, but the person who updated the Atlas remote security codes is me."
"Wow! Just, wow!" Ruby said in amazement as she looked at her new friend.
"What about direct connection to the system?" Ren asked.
"No, unfortunately not, because for that, I'd need to be directly connected to the CCT, and there's no way the General would allow that," Futaba explained, confirming that a direct connection to the server would give anyone full control.
"But the CCT tower is heavily guarded," Ruby said.
"Not as heavy as you might think. I've sparred with some of the guards before, and I doubt they could stand a chance against even a basic Huntsman student," Makoto explained.
"Still, a direct attack on the CCT isn't a good idea, because if anyone notices, the Atlas army will be on their tail quickly," Ruby reasoned again, and everyone fell silent, thinking.
"Now that we know who they are and where they are, we can use this to our advantage. But for now, you and your team should rest because the coming days are going to be tough," Ren said as he wiped the counter with a damp cloth.
"Actually, my team and I have an awesome plan! The Beacon Dance is coming up, and since Team CFVY hasn't returned from their mission yet, the responsibility of organizing the event falls on Team RWBY. We're going to make it the best dance ever!" Ruby announced with enthusiasm and dramatic flair.
"That sounds like a good plan, but what kind of music are you going to use?" Ren asked curiously, knowing that music is the key to a successful dance party.
"Truth is, we haven't decided that yet," Ruby suddenly shifted from her dramatic tone to a shy one.
"What would you do without me?" Ren smirked, pulling out his scroll and sending Ruby a few music files. "If you're having trouble deciding, you can use these tracks we played at a dance party in our own world," he offered.
"Thanks, Ren! I'll listen to them on my way back," Ruby said with a smile and quickly started heading out of Leblanc, unaware that...
"Ruby, wait, you..." Before Ren could warn her, Ruby had already exited Leblanc. "When do you think she'll realize that she's dancing to the music without noticing?" Ren asked the others, who just shrugged.
"The Beacon Dance... a dance party..." Akechi began muttering to himself.
[Team RWBY Dorm]
"Weiss, I'm telling you, we need a fog machine!" Yang was standing in front of Weiss, arguing about the dance equipment. Unfortunately, Blake wasn't there to help.
"And I'm telling you, we need tablecloths!" Weiss countered, holding a scroll of paper as long as a king-sized bed. Suddenly, the door swung open, and Ruby entered while performing a jazz dance. The fact that Ruby was dancing as she walked in was strange enough, but what happened next was even stranger.
"Wake up, get up, get out there
Raise your voice against liars
Feed your anger like fire
Why does nobody want change?
Just imagine you're out there
Swatting lies in the making
Can't move fast without breaking
If you hold on, life won't change."
Ruby was unknowingly singing along with the music, which was odd to the others since they knew she usually preferred rock and electronic music. Yang, shocked at seeing her sister in this state, reacted faster than she realized. She charged towards Ruby, quickly snatching the headphones off her ears, snapping Ruby back to reality.
"Ruby, what's gotten into you?" Yang asked, concerned. At that exact moment, the music track changed. Out of curiosity, Yang placed one of the headphones over her ear.
"We're rolling deep in your underground grave
Though we sent a prior notice, called for you
We want to make this party you don't wanna skip
Gonna be a show to remember!
Take Over, it's time to put it down
Make Over, life is gonna fill the way in your mind
Words Over, win is but a given
Give the thought twice, don't think, hide, then game's over!"
Suddenly, Yang's body started responding to the music without her realizing it, her shoulders moving to the rhythm uncontrollably. Ruby quickly noticed and stopped the track.
"Okay, someone explain to me what's going on here?" Weiss, completely confused, set her dragon-sized scroll on the bed and approached the girls.
"These musics are powerful!" Ruby said, staring at the playlist Ren had sent her.
"Wanna try?" Yang offered, extending the headphones towards Weiss. But Weiss, waving her hands in refusal, declined.
"I think seeing its effects is enough for me. I don't need to hear it," Weiss said, clearly embarrassed at the thought of dancing to jazz.
"With music like this, we might even get Professor Goodwitch to dance," Yang said as she handed the headphones back. "Where did you get these?"
"I went to Leblanc today to see Futaba, and she and the others gave me these tracks. They said to use them if we couldn't find anything else," Ruby replied, glancing at her Scroll.
"Is there anything that guy can't do?" Yang asked.
"I don't know, maybe," Ruby answered. "So, do you want to start working on the All-Out-Attack when Blake gets back?" Ruby asked excitedly.
"I'm all for it," Weiss said with a satisfied smile. "But I think we should go get Blake ourselves," Weiss added, raising her index finger.
"Alright, Team RWY, let's go get our B!" Ruby dramatically pointed towards the exit, and Weiss just facepalmed.
[Evening / Beacon Rooftop]
After a grueling and intense physical workout, Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha had moved on to practicing their Aura, with Ruby set to help Jaune discover his Semblance. They were all kneeling on the ground, focusing on feeling the Semblance within them. Thanks to the inner connection she had with her Personas, Ruby was better than anyone at sensing the presence of a person. Although Ruby explained the process of finding one's Semblance very well, Jaune seemed to be struggling.
"It's useless, I can't do it!" Jaune said in frustration and despair as he stand forcefully.
"Jaune, you're searching for a magical power in your body, and that's the mistake," Ruby said without getting up, but Pyrrha stood up and placed her hand on Jaune's shoulder.
"Jaune, you should be looking for an expression of your own soul, not a magical power," Pyrrha tried to explain further, but Jaune still didn't understand and grew even more frustrated with himself, though he tried to appear calmer.
"Semblance isn't a power; it's a part of your true self. Once you find it, you can use it, and the best way to find it is to understand who you are," Ruby continued explaining while still sitting on the ground like a Shaolin monk, and no one expected such wisdom from Ruby.
"Ruby is right, because one of the fastest ways to awaken your Semblance is to be exposed to emotional trauma or experience a near-death situation," Pyrrha added, siding with Ruby in hopes of helping Jaune.
"In those moments, we think about who we are and what we could have done but didn't. Those who never figure out who they are will never discover their Semblance. So, you need to understand yourself first," Ruby's explanation was difficult for many to grasp, but when Pyrrha thought back to when she discovered her own Semblance, she realized everything Ruby said was true.
"I didn't understand any of that," Jaune admitted openly without trying to hide it.
"Well, finding your true self isn't easy, and many people never figure it out," Ruby elaborated further, and it seemed to calm Jaune down a little.
"I think that's enough training for tonight. And Ruby, since you've helped us so much, I'd like to teach you a special disarming technique," Pyrrha said with a smile, then looked over at Jaune. "And Jaune can be our practice dummy."
"Why me?" Jaune protested in surprise.
As Ruby watched her friends, she felt like she had gotten closer to them.
[The Next Day / Afternoon / Combat Class]
In combat class, Team RWBY was facing off against Team LTHR. Team LTHR could only be described as "Sentai." They wore leather outfits with strange helmets, and each member had a different color. Liam, the leader, wore red. Tori, the only female member, wore pink. Hiro wore blue, and Riku was dressed in green.
Ruby was fighting Liam, Weiss was up against Hiro, Blake was battling Tori, and Yang was taking on Riku. Each person was fighting their opponent in a different section of the arena. From the start of the battle, it was clear that Team RWBY had the upper hand.
Ruby, as the red leader, was fighting the red leader of the opponent team, Liam, who used a sword. Unlike her usual strategy of fighting from a distance with her gun, Ruby was engaging in close-quarters melee combat this time. She swung her scythe downwards, and Liam raised his sword to block, but the hook blade of Crescent Rose locked onto his sword. Ruby used this opportunity to jump above Liam. As she jumped, the angle of Crescent Rose's barrel shifted towards Liam's face. With a smirk, Ruby pulled the trigger, shooting at Liam's face, and using the force of the blast to disarm him while propelling herself backwards. Quickly, she adjusted Crescent Rose and launched herself towards Liam once more. This time, she hooked him with the scythe's blade and started spinning him around. After seven spins, scattering rose petals across the arena, Ruby released Liam, sending him flying towards his sword.
Despite the hits he had taken, Liam managed to regain his balance and land on his feet, though he still slid a bit on the ground. He grabbed his sword and, without missing a beat, charged at Ruby, swinging his blade in multiple directions. Ruby responded by blocking each strike, but Liam finally managed to knock Crescent Rose out of her hands with a rising slash, sending it flying into the air. He didn't waste any time and attempted to stab Ruby.
Rumors of Ruby's weakness in hand-to-hand combat had spread throughout the academy, and everyone believed that disarming her would lead to an easy victory. But they didn't realize that was in the past.
Ruby swiftly shifted her left foot behind her right, turning her body slightly to dodge the sword's path. Then, with her left hand, she grabbed Liam's wrist, delivered a chop to his face with her right hand, and in one quick motion, grabbed the hilt of his sword, disarming him. For the final move, she delivered a sidekick to his face, sending him flying to the center of the arena.
Weiss, known throughout the academy as the Ice Queen, was battling Hiro, the self-proclaimed Sea Dinosaur. Hiro, wearing blue set of the LTHR uniform, wielded a pair of sai, but with a twist, his sai had only the central blade and one side blade, while the third prong was replaced by a barrel that shot Water Dust.
Weiss began by using her Glyphs to swiftly move around the battlefield, dodging the water bullets Hiro shot at her, though none of them managed to hit.
After a series of dodges, Weiss finally launched an attack in her last leap, thrusting Myrtenaster toward Hiro with incredible speed. Hiro, in response, stabbed forward with one of his sai, and the tips of both weapons collided, causing both fighters to be thrown backward.
They were both sent flying but landed gracefully on their feet, sliding back slightly on the ground. Hiro was the first to recover and quickly fired several water jets at Weiss, but she just smirked and drove Myrtenaster into the ground. Weiss unleashed a powerful wave of cold, freezing the water jets in mid-air. Hiro tried to dodge, but he realized he was standing on a black Glyph and couldn't move.
Weiss's wave of cold reached Hiro, freezing him up to his neck, leaving only his face uncovered. He could see his breath from the cold, but Weiss knew that wasn't enough to stop him, so she used her Glyphs to launch herself toward Hiro, sending him crashing into the center of the arena upon impact of Myrtenaster.
Blake, meanwhile, was fighting Tori, the pink-clad fighter who used a bow and a variety of arrows as her weapon. Tori kept her distance, firing ice and explosive arrows, while Blake dodged them, leaving shadows behind. After successfully dodging several arrows, Blake finally reached Tori and slashed toward her stomach, but Tori blocked the attack with her bow. Then, she began swinging her bow like a double-bladed sword. Blake dodged the strikes and executed a back handspring to create distance, noticing that part of her hair had been cut. It wasn't just a bow it was also a sword.
Blake quickly transformed Gambol Shroud into its pistol form and started shooting at Tori, but Tori effortlessly dodged by leaping from side to side. Eventually, she leaped high into the air, but instead of descending, she hovered in a small tornado, firing dozens of explosive arrows at Blake.
Blake began dodging the arrows, but the last one nearly hit her head. Fortunately, she managed to combine Ice Dust with her Shadow to dodge the final arrow, and after the arrow exploded, the resulting ice sculpture created a small cloud of mist. Because of the fog caused by Tori's arrows, Tori couldn't see what was happening. Suddenly, Blake dashed from within the smoke towards the space beneath Tori. Tori quickly fired another arrow, hitting Blake... only to realize it was just a shadow.
Shocked, Tori looked ahead and saw Blake in mid-air right in front of her, throwing Gambol Shroud at her. The weapon wrapped around Tori like a lasso, and before she could react, Blake began spinning her like a doll and then slammed her into the center of the arena.
Yang's situation was the best of all. She was battling Riku, the green-clad fighter who wielded a battle axe. What made it easier for her? Riku's movements were slow due to his heavy axe, and he was also weaker than Yang. So when Riku swung his axe vertically, Yang caught the handle. Despite all his effort, Riku couldn't move Yang even an inch.
In the end, Yang lifted Riku like a child swinging a doll by the leg, spun him around, and hurled him towards the center of the arena.
Just like Ruby's plan, all four members of Team LTHR ended up in the center of the arena, surrounded and off balance, with everything set up perfectly to test out their new team attack.
"This is our chance... All-Out Attack!" Ruby called out to Team RWBY, and the rest of the girls nodded.
"All-Out what?" Liam asked, confused, but he got his answer soon after.
Team RWBY simultaneously attacked Team LTHR from all four sides, a cloud of dust enveloping both teams. The only sounds that came from the dust cloud were punches, kicks, and a mixture of groans and cries from Team LTHR. When the dust finally cleared, Team RWBY stood victorious around the unconscious bodies of Team LTHR, while the monitor showed that Team LTHR's Aura had been depleted.
"Congratulations, Team RWBY," Goodwitch said as she walked to the center of the arena beside them. "Your team will have no problems participating in the Vytal Festival, and based on your individual performances, I can say that you've all improved... especially you, Miss Rose. Your hand-to-hand combat skills have shown significant progress, and if you keep improving at this rate, you'll have no weaknesses left by the time of the tournament. And you, Miss Xiao Long, although you've improved, you still tend to underestimate your opponents and leave your guard open," Goodwitch explained everything, and Ruby, overjoyed, clasped her hands in front of her mouth in a puppy-like manner. Yang, on the other hand, rolled her eyes at the criticism, but Weiss nudged her elbow into her shoulder, reminding her that it was rude.
"Thank you, Professor!" Ruby responded with the biggest smile she could muster.
"And please, next time, don't use your fellow students as test dummies for your new attacks," Goodwitch added, motioning toward Team LTHR, who still had stars spinning above their heads.
[Team CEMM's Dormitory]
Team CEMM, composed of Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and Neo (under the fake name Mary Poppins), gathered in their dorm room to discuss their final plan.
"Team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose, the youngest student this year," Emerald read aloud from the Team RWBY profile for everyone to hear.
"The youngest is the team leader? What was that old Oz thinking?" Mercury asked as he flipped through the pages of a fashion magazine.
"Oh, Mercury, still as shallow as ever," Cinder smirked, then started thinking. "I admit, Ruby Rose is an interesting girl... Add her and her team to the list." Emerald then dragged and dropped Team RWBY into a file.
"I don't want to be a pessimist, but don't you think Rose's silver eyes could be a problem for us?" Emerald asked her leader with curiosity. In response, Cinder simply crossed her right leg over her left.
"That old Oz probably hasn't told her anything about her eyes, so there's no need to worry," Cinder replied confidently, and Emerald just nodded.
[A few days later]
A few days passed, and everyone was preparing for the weekend dance. Ruby had spent a few days with the Thieves, and together they started hunting Shadows until, by Velvet Room standards (Persona Q2), Ruby reached level 58, Ren and Akechi reached 64, Makoto reached 62, and Mona reached 59. When Ruby asked Igor how the leveling system worked, Igor explained that by defeating Shadows, they absorb the remnants of their power, and with each level, they transform their Personas into their true mythical form. A user's level indicates how much power they can handle from a mythical being.
Another interesting event for the Thieves was that Ren bought a scroll from the Merchant called the Scroll of Death, which summons a powerful Shadow known as the Reaper. According to Ren, defeating the Reaper is more valuable than any Palace they've conquered so far, but it's also ten times more dangerous. That's why he's waiting until everyone is prepared or until more members join to summon the Reaper.
However, things weren't going well for Team RWBY. Blake, feeling responsible for White Fang, pushed herself without rest or sleep, focusing solely on reading and training. Unfortunately, her performance in everything has declined. Weiss and Yang argued frequently about the Beacon dance decorations, but luckily, Ruby managed to offer a solution that resolved their disputes.
Ruby's relationship with Team JNPR had also improved significantly. Ruby's collaboration with Pyrrha and Jaune led to better teamwork among the group, and Team RWBY even taught them the All-Out Attack.
There were only two days left until the Beacon dance, and Pyrrha was in the middle of fighting the entire Team CRDL. Needless to say, Pyrrha defeated all four of them by herself. The best part of the fight was when Cardin got up from the ground, shook Pyrrha's hand, and said, "That was a good fight." If this had been the old Cardin before his change of heart, he would've probably said something like "Lucky shot," or something similar. The situation at Beacon had improved, and there was almost no bullying in the academy.
The next interesting event was Mercury's request to fight Pyrrha. While Mercury seemed skilled enough to challenge Pyrrha, he suddenly announced his surrender. Ruby's only theory was that they were analyzing their opponents and preparing a counterattack, so she decided not to reveal her new move.
Now that classes were over, Team RWBY planned to continue with preparations for the Beacon dance. The team left the building, and while Ruby, Weiss, and Yang were acting normally, Blake had her nose buried in a book for 25 hours straight.
"Hey, Blake!" At that moment, Sun approached Blake from behind and put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Blake replied, so tired and quietly that it was as if she were on a stealth mission.
"I heard there's a dance this weekend. Sounds lame, but I don't think the two of us are as lame as it," Sun said, gesturing between them.
"What do you mean?" Blake asked, sounding extremely exhausted.
"The dance this weekend. Are you going or not?" Sun asked with a cheerful smile, hoping for a positive answer, but poor Sun was knocked down by Blake's response.
"I don't have time for such distractions," Blake said flatly, either because she felt nothing or was too tired to express any emotion. Either way, her answer was harsh.
"Using time wisely is good, but overworking yourself is no different than wasting time," a sharp, young male voice sounded from behind Team RWBY, causing all four girls to jump slightly. When they turned to see the source, they saw Ren Amamiya standing behind them with a bag slung over his shoulder, having approached unnoticed.
"Ren? What are you doing at Beacon?" Weiss asked in surprise.
"The headmaster ordered coffee, and I came to deliver it. I was just heading back when I saw four familiar faces," Ren replied, adjusting his glasses.
"I didn't know you made deliveries too," Yang said.
"Only for special customers, since I'm usually alone and leaving the café unattended isn't a great idea," Ren replied, and everyone nodded.
"What about the others? Can't you leave the café to them?" Blake asked.
"Akechi and Makoto don't know a thing about running a café, and Futaba… well, although I learned everything from her father, she's the shyest girl on the planet and not ready for this kind of thing," Ren answered, but Blake didn't react. "So, what are you girls up to?" Ren asked.
"We're all working together on setting up the Beacon dance, and I promise you it's going to be amazing!" Yang said excitedly, clearly unable to contain herself.
"Well, I'll be looking forward to it since the professor asked me to serve coffee in the hall," Ren said with a small smile, surprising the girls.
"Are you kidding me?!" Weiss asked in shock.
"No. It's one hundred percent true," Ren responded.
"Uh, can someone tell me who this ninja is?" Sun suddenly appeared in the middle of the conversation and asked.
"Oh, sorry. I should have introduced myself," Ren said, extending his hand toward Sun. "I'm Ren Amamiya, but when I'm with Ren from Team JNPR, they call me Akira."
Sun shook his hand. "Sun Wukong. Nice to meet you," Sun said, gesturing to himself with his free hand.
"Wukong? Are you the Great Monkey King?" Ren asked with a smile, and Sun just tilted his head in confusion. "Sun Wukong is a character from our local mythology. In short, he's the king of all monkeys."
"I don't know if he's as cool as I am, but if he is, then yeah, that's totally me," Sun said, striking a bodybuilding pose.
"If you can ride a cloud, create clones from every strand of your hair, and carry a mountain on your shoulders where heaven rests, and have seven layers of immortality," Ren's description made Sun look dejected.
"Man, that must've stung," Yang whispered to Ruby, and Ruby stifled a laugh.
"If you don't need me, I'll be going," Blake said, paying no attention to the others as she started to walk away.
"I think I told you that overworking is no different than wasting time," Ren called out, catching Blake's attention. When she turned to look at Ren, her eyes widened in surprise. The café owner had Gambol Shroud, Blake's weapon, in his hand, having taken it from her back without anyone noticing. The rest of the group was equally shocked, as none of them had realized when Ren had stolen it.
"When did you do that?" Blake asked in surprise, touching her back a few times to make sure she still had her other weapons.
Ren broke his gaze from Blake and looked at Ruby. "Ruby, if I were Blake's leader, I'd teach her why she shouldn't overwork herself, but..." Ren then tossed Gambol Shroud toward Ruby, who caught it effortlessly. "Since you're her leader, it's your responsibility to guide her... even if using force is necessary," he said, before turning and walking toward the exit.
Blake wasn't angry about her weapon being stolen; she was frustrated because she felt like her time was being wasted. She quickly approached Ruby to get her weapon back. "Ruby, give it to me," Blake reached out for Gambol Shroud, but Ruby pulled it out of reach. "Ruby, I don't have time for these games, give it back..." Blake froze for a moment when she looked into Ruby's eyes.
Ruby's eyes were serious.
"I should've done this much sooner," Ruby said, taking a fighting stance but not drawing her weapon. "Pretend I'm Torchwick or any other criminal. Attack me and get your weapon back."
The atmosphere became heavy, and everyone was surprised by Ruby's words. "Fine, if it'll end this quickly," Blake replied, taking her own fighting stance. Blake made the first move, but before she knew what had happened, she found herself on the ground with her right wrist in Ruby's hand.
"You're so tired that you fell asleep the moment I threw you," Ruby said, letting go of Blake's hand and helping her sit up. "Blake, think about this logically. If you're not ready, even a random street thug could take you down, let alone Torchwick or a member of the White Fang," Ruby said softly, trying to get through to her friend. "We're not saying to stop your investigation, we're just saying you need to rest so you can be ready for what comes next." Ruby then handed Gambol Shroud back to Blake, who accepted it. "The weight of all this responsibility isn't on your shoulders alone. We're in this together."
"I guess you're right," Blake said, and Ruby smiled before helping her stand up. But before they left, Blake had one more thing to say. "Sun, I think I'll take you up on your offer," Blake said. Sun smiled at her new response, and with that, Team RWBY headed back to their dorm.
[That Night / Team RWBY Dormitory]
The night came quietly, and each member of Team RWBY was occupied with their own tasks. Ruby had gone to the rooftop to wait for Jaune and Pyrrha and help them, Yang had gone to check her dress for the dance, and Blake had collapsed from exhaustion onto her bed. Weiss, as usual, was going through her schedule. She was reading her list when she heard a knock on the door. Weiss got up from her bed and opened the door.
"Weissssssss!" Jaune dramatically and musically shouted Weiss's name while playing guitar, and Weiss shut the door in his face. "Oh, come on," he knocked three more times. "Please open the door," he knocked three more times again. "I promise I won't sing," Jaune assured, and after rolling her eyes, Weiss opened the door. "I liiiiieeeddddd..." Jaune played a few guitar notes and leaned in closer. "Weiss Sch..." Weiss slammed the door again, this time hitting Jaune's nose, followed by an "ouch" from the other side of the door.
Weiss, already planning to say no, at least wanted to lower the noise so Blake could sleep. She stepped away from the door to return to her bed, but then there was another knock. Unable to take it anymore, Weiss groaned loudly and headed back to the door.
"For the thousandth time, Jaune Ar..." But when she opened the door, her eyes widened, and she gasped, stepping back slightly. "You!" Weiss exclaimed in surprise.
Black hair, a white mask, a black three-piece tailcoat, black pants, black shoes, crimson red gloves, and a neutral, cold gaze that seemed prepared for anything.
"Hello, Schnee. I came in to listen to your request," Joker said calmly, and Weiss lowered her defensive stance slightly.
"How did you get here?" Weiss asked curiously, knowing that Beacon wasn't a place just anyone could sneak into.
"Getting past the wall took me ten seconds. Reaching the first-year dorms, one minute," Joker replied with a smug grin.
"But how did you know this was my team's room?" Weiss asked, even more curious.
"With that guy yelling your name musically, it's harder to not find your room," Joker replied with a slight chuckle between his words, and Weiss, embarrassed, rubbed her temples. "Now, please state your request. I can't stay here for long," Joker reminded her.
"Yeah, you're right," Weiss cleared her throat and stood in front of Joker, looking very resolute. "I want you to change someone's heart."
"Who?" Joker asked.
Weiss hesitated for a moment but then took a deep breath and looked at Joker. "Jacques Schnee, the CEO of Schnee Dust Company and... my father," Weiss said the last part with shame, staring at the ground.
"You didn't need to ask, as Jacques was already on our target list," Joker replied, and Weiss's eyes widened in surprise.
"If my father is one of your targets, then why haven't you changed his heart yet?" Weiss asked, astonished and angry.
"The process of changing a heart isn't a one-hour task; sometimes we spend a month on a single target," Joker explained, leaving Weiss speechless. "Stealing your father's heart is time-consuming, and we didn't have enough members or resources, and you probably heard that our group has separated," Joker added, and Weiss began to understand, though it was clear she was still disappointed.
"Then I wanted to see you for nothing," Weiss said in despair, turning to leave, but Joker stopped her, and she looked at him in surprise.
"May I come in? Just for some questions," Joker asked, and after a moment of thought, Weiss nodded. Joker quietly entered the room, closed the door, and leaned against it. "Why do you want to change your father's heart?" Joker asked curiously.
"My father?" Weiss let out a bitter laugh and stared at the ground before sitting on her bed. "I don't know if I can even call him my father. It's a cliché, tragic story of a rich girl..." Weiss wanted to explain, but...
"With a dictatorial father who wanted his children to be tools for his success," Joker continued, and Weiss looked at him in astonishment.
"My father was exactly like that. He had high expectations of us, but those expectations were only for himself. I was interested in music and wanted to be a singer, and my father supported that, but not because I had a passion for singing; it was because he wanted to impress other families in the business world." Weiss explained, tears welling in her eyes.
"What was he like before he became such a monster?" Joker asked, and Weiss wiped her tears, but they returned again.
"This is the bitter part of the story. on my tenth birthday, my father threw a huge party for me and invited all his friends and relatives. It was a grand event with hundreds of people I didn't even know, and kids just like me. Everything seemed perfect on the surface, but he wasn't there. My father, the one who arranged the whole birthday party, wasn't even there. After my birthday, I felt really upset, and so did my mother, the only person who made the cold Schnee mansion feel a bit warmer. As I was passing by my father's office, I accidentally overheard an argument between my parents. Every word that came out of that room stung like the venom of a Deathstalker, phrases like, 'Why should I waste my time attending some ridiculous birthday party?' and others like that. But the most painful part was when my mother asked if he even loved her, and without a second of hesitation, he said, 'No.' Just like that," Weiss tried to remain calm, but she couldn't hold back anymore and began crying harder, her quiet sobs filling the room.
"I can't imagine what your mother went through afterward, but I can picture how that mansion turned into an icy hell," Joker said, clenching his fists in his pockets. "If your father were here, tied up and helpless, what would you do to him?" Joker asked an odd question, as if testing her.
"What do you mean?" Weiss lifted her head, revealing her red, tear-filled eyes.
"If Jacques Schnee were here, bound and powerless, what would you do? Would you kill him?" Joker clarified his question.
"To be honest... I don't know. Maybe I'd leave him on the floor just as he is, or maybe... maybe..." Weiss started crying again, her tears soaking the carpet beneath her.
"Wanting your father to be punished is perfectly natural. In fact, every one of us became a Phantom Thief because of personal reasons... and revenge, mostly," Joker said, and Weiss looked at him in surprise. "But we all chose justice over revenge, and now tell me, is this for revenge or justice?" Weiss looked down at the floor and didn't respond. "Think about that question because it can change your life," Joker said as he moved toward the window, but suddenly stopped. "Maybe both of you should talk about your pasts with sisters. I'm sure they have stories to share that will show you you're not alone," Joker added before diving out the window.
Weiss quickly ran toward the window and looked down, but what she saw... was nothing. He wasn't there, as if he had vanished into thin air without a trace. Weiss closed her eyes and thought about Joker's words. After taking a deep breath, she shut the window and lay down on her bed. She glanced at her list, but couldn't focus on it. Maybe some sleep would help calm her down.
Weiss set her list aside and fell asleep, unaware that Blake had been awake since Jaune had started singing. Blake had heard everything and didn't know what to say. Who was the real enemy White Fang had been fighting all these years? Jacques or Schnee family? She realized she wasn't the only one who had suffered. She understood that hardship comes in many forms. Blake knew that the leader of the Phantom Thieves had also been referring to her. Maybe Team RWBY still had some gaps to fill. Blake thought about it for a while, then fell asleep.
[The Next Night / Beacon Ballroom]
The day of Beacon's dance had finally arrived. Yang, acting as a greeter, was welcoming the guests as they entered. Yang was waiting for the next guest when Ruby walked in, and seeing her sister in a dance dress made her happy. "Oh, you look beautiful!" Yang exclaimed.
Ruby, barely managing to stand in her dress, and high heel shoes, walked over to Yang. "I need to have a long chat with Weiss about how she fights in these things!" Ruby said before losing her balance but she didn't fall.
"I know your pain!" Futaba's voice called out. When Ruby turned around, she saw her friend wearing an off-the-shoulder black dress with bright green, neon circuit patterns running along the hem and bodice, giving it a futuristic, tech-themed look. The dress featured a flared skirt that moved freely, fitting her unique hacker aesthetic. Small details like a thin green belt at the waist enhanced the overall sleekness of the design, although it was clear she, too, was struggling to stand in it.
The next people to enter after Futaba were Ren and Makoto.
Makoto's dress was a floor-length, deep blue gown with a high slit on one side, revealing part of her leg. The gown was strapless with a structured bodice, accented by a metallic gray neckline that added contrast to the dark blue fabric. The waist was slightly cinched, and the dress had a flowing design with subtle detailing at the waist, such as metallic rings or embellishments. She was also wearing white high-heeled shoes that completed the elegant look.
And then there was Ren Amamiya. Ren's outfit for the event featured a sharp black tailcoat with silver buttons, perfectly fitted to his slim figure. Underneath, he wore a crisp white dress shirt and a classic black bow tie. His tailored black trousers matched the coat, completing the elegant, formal ensemble. Polished black shoes added the final touch of sophistication, emphasizing his refined appearance. (In summary: it's the Butler Outfit from the P5R DLC, but with his casual glasses.)
"You girls came too!" Yang said excitedly, and at that moment, Futaba wobbled toward Ruby, lost her balance, and Ruby tried to catch her. But she, too, ended up falling to the ground along with Futaba. Everyone looked down in surprise and then burst into laughter as they watched Ruby and Futaba on the floor.
Once the girls managed to get up, Blake and Sun entered the hall together. Yang gave Blake a look as if she had caught two lovebirds, and Blake just rolled her eyes.
Soon, everyone joined the party and started dancing. Ren started his coffee serving, with Makoto helping him. Futaba was still trying to keep her balance, attempting not to show how her heart was practically jumping out of her chest. Yang danced with Blake for a little while before Sun took her place. Then, the rest of Team RWBY, except for Blake, gathered together.
"I'm happy to see her so happy," Yang said, looking at her partner.
"You know, I wanted to talk about something with you all after today's over," Weiss said, her expression turning a bit sad and worried.
"Whatever it is, you can trust us with it, Weiss," Ruby said, and a smile returned to Weiss's face. "So, what do we do now?" Ruby asked as she looked at Yang.
"Have fun!" Yang shouted as she broke away from her sister, and Weiss, after seeing her sister, went over to join her.
"So, does this mean I can take off this ridiculous thing and wear my hoodie?" Ruby shouted toward her sister, but got no response. "Stupid high heels!" Ruby muttered under her breath.
"Not enjoying yourself?" Ruby heard Ozpin's voice behind her and turned to see the headmaster, surprised to find him without his usual coffee cup.
"No, everything's fine. I'm just not really one of those fancy pansy dancing girls," Ruby said, trying to endure the high heels.
"Well, no one can always be on the battlefield, even if they want to be," Ozpin said as he glanced at the crowd.
"I know. I'd just rather be playing darts or pool with the others or maybe going sightseeing," Ruby said, also looking out at the crowd.
"You know, This small time together gives our life meaning," Ozpin said without looking at Ruby.
"I know professor and I will use them properly," Ruby responded.
"You know, dancing and fighting are quite similar," Ozpin remarked.
"Two people working together to execute moves, but unlike fighting, if they misstep, only their feet get hurt," Ruby finished Ozpin's thought.
"Exactly," Ozpin said approvingly.
"Professor, may I ask why I don't see you with your coffee cup like usual?" Ruby asked curiously. Ozpin chuckled a bit.
"Because I gave it to be refilled," Ozpin replied.
"Headmaster Ozpin, your coffee is ready," Ren approached from the left, handing Ozpin his freshly filled cup.
"Thank you, Mr. Amamiya," Ozpin said as he took the cup and walked away.
"Akechi and Morgana aren't coming?" Ruby asked curiously.
"Morgana's currently scouting the Beacon grounds for the Vault, and Akechi's waiting at the CCT to catch his preys," Ren explained, and Ruby nodded.
"Are you sure they'll head to the CCT?" Ruby asked with a bit of doubt, but just then, the doors to the ballroom opened, and Emerald and Mercury entered without Cinder.
"Guess that answers your question," Ren said as his glasses flashed. "Showtime," Ren smirked.
A few minutes passed. Akira continued serving coffee, Futaba and Makoto were chatting with Ren and Nora, the General asked Goodwitch for a dance and she accepted, Winter stood like a statue in the corner observing everything, and Ruby was standing in the corner sipping her drink when Jaune approached her.
"I see you're hiding behind your punch like me," Jaune said without looking at her.
"Yeah," Ruby confirmed.
"To the socially awkward," Jaune said, and they clinked their glasses together.
"Aren't you and Ren together?" Jaune asked.
"He know about ten girls and no one of them are his girlfriend," Ruby explained.
"Is he gay or something?" Jaune asked.
"He hate this word," Ruby answered.
"Oh," Jaune responded to Ruby's answer.
"Jaune, I'm sorry about Weiss," Ruby apologized.
"It's fine. Not all of us can be as cool as Neptune," Jaune decided to accept the truth.
"Um, I think you don't know that Weiss came alone," Ruby said, and Jaune choked on his drink, coughing hard.
"What?" Jaune shouted in surprise.
"Weiss told me she has more important things to worry about than boys," Ruby said, pointing to Weiss, who was chatting with her sister, while Neptune was laughing and talking with Blake and Sun.
"Hold my punch!" Jaune said like an angry gentleman, handing his cup to Ruby before marching towards Neptune... unaware that Ruby took a sip from his drink.
Ruby watched Jaune as he walked, but he suddenly changed course and headed for the balcony. "Their relationship is like something out of a manga," Ren said, appearing behind Ruby like a ninja, causing her to jump a little. She never gona use to it.
"Oh, you mean Jaune?" Ruby asked, placing his cup on the table.
"Keep the music ready and wait for the signal," Ren commanded before disappearing into the crowd.
"You're the boss," Ruby muttered under her breath as she went over to the DJs.
A few minutes later, Ruby made her way upstairs to join Yang, who was talking with Makoto, while Futaba quietly observed everyone around them.
"Well, this is exactly what we needed," Ruby said proudly, watching everyone enjoying the event. Ren and Nora, Blake and Sun, Neptune, who had gone over to talk with Weiss, and Weiss introduced him to Winter. In the corner, she even spotted her friend, Penny, trying to dance alone between two Atlas guards.
"You'd better enjoy this peace while it lasts because storms are always coming after this peace," Makoto advised, and Ruby nodded quietly.
"Sometimes I wish this peace would never end," Yang remarked.
"Peace doesn't make us stronger, it's the hardships that do," Futaba chimed in, and if Yang were honest, she didn't expect that kind of comment from her.
Suddenly, the entire ballroom filled with laughter, and when the four looked toward the source, they saw Jaune approaching Pyrrha... wearing a white dress with his usual sneakers.
"He actually did it!" Ruby said in shock from the upper floor.
"Did what?" Futaba asked curiously.
"If Pyrrha didn't find a date, Jaune promised he'd wear a dress," Ruby explained, as Futaba quickly snapped a picture of Jaune for troll.
Ruby felt a vibration from her pocket, took out her scroll, and saw that Akira was calling. "It's time, fire the music!" Akira commanded.
"Which one?" Ruby asked.
"Last Surprise, Starlight remix." Then the call ended. Ruby switched screens on her scroll and pressed a button.
The song Last Surprise started playing, and Team JNPR all began dancing. While they were showing off their dance moves, suddenly a solo dancer joined the group. He had black hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a pair of black headphones hanging around his neck. He wore a black t-shirt with a big zero printed on the front, with the word "Dance" inside a rectangular box at the center of the zero, a school jacket with open buttons, black pants with red plaid, red sneakers, and red gloves.
It took a moment, but everyone realized that the person who had been serving coffee was now dancing in the middle of the ballroom, performing a wicked routine with smooth and sharp movements. Occasionally, he'd throw in a moonwalk or put his hands in his pockets, sometimes doing impressive acrobatic moves like breakdancing.
Apparently, the music had finally worked its magic, as the romantic ballet and tango dances were forgotten, replaced by high-energy moves. Meanwhile, two assassins watched the show from above.
"I gotta admit, they've got great taste in music," Mercury said, moving in rhythm with the music.
"Focus," Emerald reminded him, though she couldn't deny that the music playing below was pretty great.
"So, how much time do we have?" Cinder asked through a hidden earpiece.
"At this rate, everyone will be tired and heading home before midnight," Mercury predicted.
"Don't worry, I'll be done by then," Cinder replied before cutting the connection.
[Minutes later / CCT Tower]
Crow, like a predator waiting for its prey, was ready for one or all of those three assassins. He crouched atop one of the tall buildings near the CCT, keeping himself hidden while using the height to scan more of the area. After a bit more waiting, Crow spotted a dark female figure knocking out one of the guards from behind and hiding the body. Crow stood up and leaped, covering nearly 50 meters in a leap, and only the gods knew how much he would enjoy hunting that woman.
After covering the remaining distance by running, Crow entered the main hall and saw the unconscious guards lying on the ground. Seeing these unconscious guards, who were supposed to be defending the world's most important communication channel, felt to Crow like watching a forbidden movie with indecent scenes. Crow approached one of the bodies, took out his scroll for access to the elevators, and entered that elevator which wasn't using. However, he didn't activate the elevator; instead, he opened the hatch on the ceiling and began climbing the ladder.
After about a minute of climbing, Crow reached the elevator door of the computer room but passed it, entering a vent instead. He remembered the times when he and the other thieves would navigate through vents to find safer routes, but he decided to ignore these thoughts and focus on his mission.
Crow arrived above the main computer in the system room and saw the woman named Cinder, who was uploading something to the computers. As soon as she finished typing, all the monitors simultaneously displayed the image of a black queen chess piece.
Cinder grabbed her scroll, and the screen went black, which allowed her to catch the reflection of a gun barrel behind her. Cinder gasped, and thanks to her quick reflexes, she moved before Crow could pull the trigger, dodging the Hard-Light Dust bullet. If they were in the Cognitive World, the bullets from the Ray Gun would have turned into actual lasers, but in the real world, they had to rely on real ammunition.
Cinder rolled on the ground and looked at Crow. Wasting no time, Crow aimed his Ray Gun at her and fired. Cinder dodged by leaping left and right, taking cover behind the computers as Crow's bullets flew past, until his ammo ran out.
Cinder seized the opportunity, swinging a container of Dust into the air, which coalesced into dozens of glass spikes and shot toward Crow. But all the spikes were reflected back at her. Crow could have dodged them, but instead, he chose to use the Tetrakarn effect to create an opening for himself. Luckily, it worked; Cinder was startled by what happened, instinctively dodging, and at that moment, Crow channeled Black Rider's Cursed energy into his sword and charged at Cinder.
Cinder noticed and created two short glass sabers, but Crow's first strike shattered the first saber, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. She quickly forged another saber, but it didn't matter; with each strike, Crow broke her weapons. Cinder could clearly feel that Crow's sword was charged with dark energy, just touching it could shatter her Aura. Her options were limited; her glass sabers couldn't withstand his attacks, and if his sword touched her body, she'd lose.
Cinder decided to fight from a distance. She created a fire explosion between herself and Crow. The explosion hit Crow, and since Black Rider was weak to fire, Crow's Aura was nearly depleted, forcing him to drop to one knee. Seeing this, Cinder thought she could exploit Crow's elemental weaknesses, so she used her Maiden magic and shot ice spikes at him. But she made a huge mistake. Unlike his weakness to fire, Black Rider could absorbs ice to heals himself. As soon as the ice hit him, Crow absorbed it, restoring his Aura.
"Shit," Cinder cursed audibly.
"It's time to paint the walls with your blood!" Crow's voice turned menacing as he gathered energy into his sword, preparing for a powerful slash.
Cinder braced herself for defense, but luck was on her side as the sound of an elevator dinged and General Ironwood stepped out, armed. The distraction was enough for Cinder to launch a massive wave of fire at Crow.
Since Crow had already switched to an anti-fire Persona after the previous attack, he merely raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light, tanking the entire attack. He looked over to where Cinder had been, but she had vanished. Then he glanced at the General, who had taken cover behind one of the desks. Reacting quickly, Crow used Phantom Dash to slip out of sight before the General could track him.
The General stepped out from cover, surveying the damaged room. He growled in frustration, slamming his weapon to the ground. That night, two targets had escaped him, but he noticed Cinder heading toward the ballroom and ordered his soldiers to pursue her.
[Ballroom]
Cinder entered a dark, empty room near the ballroom and used magic to change her outfit into a formal dress. She then stepped into the ballroom where everyone was dancing. The guards who had been following her arrived and were shocked to see hundreds of students dancing. They quickly realized they had lost track of their target.
Emerald and Mercury were dancing when Cinder tapped Emerald on the shoulder from behind.
"May I cut in?" Cinder asked, and Emerald swapped places with her.
"How was your night?" Mercury asked.
"Barely got out by the skin of my teeth, but I managed to upload the viru..." Cinder reached into her pocket to show the scroll but suddenly realized it wasn't there. She gasped and began frantically checking her other pockets, while Mercury stared at her with confusion and concern.
Up on the balcony, Ren, still dressed in his Starlight Dance outfit, smirked as he watched Cinder and her team from above.
"How was your night?" Ren glanced to his left and saw Akechi approaching him, in his detective attire.
"Enjoyable for me, but it seems you didn't have much luck," Ren teased.
"Don't be foolish. If the General hadn't interfered, that woman would've lost her head by now," Crow replied, looking irritated. "Besides, I didn't come away empty-handed." Crow pulled out a scroll from his pocket and handed it to Ren. "I stole this from her during the fight."
"Good," Ren said, putting the scroll in his pocket. "I'll let Futaba to check this out."
With that, the two Phantom Thieves moved into the shadows and disappeared.
And that's a wrap. Wow, what a chapter!
First, to those disappointed by the fight between the Ace Ops and the Phantom Thieves—do you really think the Ace Ops stand a chance against the Phantom Thieves, who can go toe-to-toe with Raja Naga? The power gap between these two verses is enormous, and the Phantom Thieves' knowledge of magic gives them a significant advantage.
That said, I think it was a good chapter, though I do wonder if the part where Joker and Weiss meet was a bit unnecessary. However, it's needed for the next chapter and the campfire conversation scene.
As for Persona's music, I don't know about you, but even someone like me, who hates dancing, feels the urge to dance when I hear it.
One change I made was explaining Semblance more clearly since it was never fully explained. They always say it must be "discovered." How exactly is it discovered? For a Persona, you need to tame your own Shadow for it to become a Persona.
Now, a question for you all:
Would you prefer I go back and rewrite the earlier chapters, or should I finish this arc first and then focus on revising the older chapters?