"Events like these are wonderful. Don't you think so, Ozpin?" Glynda looked out over the brightly coloured students milling in the dance floor below. She would not say they were dancing, for what teenager could? They bumped into one another awkwardly, span in circles and otherwise did their best in a clumsy, endearing, manner. Glynda waited for a response from her colleague and employer and looked his way when there was nothing. "Ozpin?"
The headmaster looked beleaguered, one hand on the table beside him and the other holding a scroll to his ear. "What do you mean you don't deliver? I need ten cups right now or I'm going to faint."
Ozpin was silent as he listened to the response.
"Yes, I know there's a Grimm-infested forest between Beacon and Vale. Where else am I supposed to throw my students? It shouldn't matter. You have aura, don't you? Just push on through."
More chatter.
"I think the Grimm would have to be very evil indeed to get between a man and his caffeine."
Glynda growled and stalked across the floor, snatching the scroll and holding it to her ear. "Is this Jaune?"
"Oh." The young voice was familiar. "Hello Miss Goodwitch."
"You can call me Glynda, Jaune. I'm not your teacher. Also, please ignore Ozpin's last order."
Jaune chuckled nervously. "I kind of already did…"
"Good. You have a nice night, Jaune, and thank you for letting Mr Thrust and Miss Scarlatina have the day off for this."
"No problem. I, uh, don't suppose they're going together, are they?"
"They're teenagers, Jaune. You can't expect them to recognise their feelings, let alone address them in a conductive manner. Both have come alone."
"Ugh. What was I even thinking? Alright, thanks for letting me know."
Hanging up, Glynda stole Ozpin's phone and dropped it into her handbag, daring Ozpin to try and take it from her. It might have been however many thousand years since the man had been married, but he seemed capable of recognising the look on her face and deciding it was better to give it up.
"Really, Ozpin, trying to get him to come here just to deliver coffee. We have a cafeteria downstairs."
"Yes, and they all have the night off. Not to mention you've stipulated that we need to watch the students at all times – which, I feel I ought to remind you, is a decision I should make as your boss – and for some unholy reason, the only beverage being served at this event is wine and punch!"
"Non-alcoholic wine and punch."
"Yes, meaning I cannot even get so buzzed that I forget my cravings."
"Ozpin, you can't be addicted to coffee. It's not like tobacco."
"Try drinking it for six thousand years and see how that goes. You'll be amazed what you can become addicted to."
That was a fair point, she supposed. The human mind was only made to handle so much information, and Ozpin had a lot of memories to sift through. Glynda would have liked to use that as an excuse for some of his peculiarities, but she had a feeling those were just Ozpin being Ozpin.
Sighing, Glynda reached into her bag and drew out a small, silver thermos.
Ozpin made a choking sound.
"I will give you this," she said, holding it away from him in case he lunged. "If you promise to keep an eye on the students on the dance floor for the next two hours, without causing any problems or leaving your post."
"Done."
Oddities aside, Ozpin was as good as his word, so Glynda tossed him the thermos. A part of her imagined his shock if he found it empty and realised he'd been duped, but it was only an amusing thought. Ozpin unscrewed the cap and poured himself a hot cup, which he drank with a contented sigh.
"Thank you, Glynda. Ah. Jaune's blend, I see."
Glynda shrugged. "I'm not a huge fan of coffee, but he's spoiled us, I suppose. Store bought or instant coffee tastes like mud now."
"Indeed. I maintain that we should have accepted him into Beacon."
"He didn't have the skills or credentials. He'd have been killed."
"I never said as a huntsman. I could make an opening in the cafeteria team easily." Ozpin smirked at her shock, then laughed softly. "Only joking, Glynda. I shall go and watch over the students. Do have fun dancing with James."
Blood rushed to her face. "I never said I'd be doing that! H-He hasn't even asked!"
Behind her, a man coughed. "Ahem."
Ozpin laughed as he departed.
Glynda's fist shook. "I hate that man sometimes…"
"I completely agree," James Ironwood said, looking just a little out of his depth, but undeniably handsome in his dress uniform. He extended a hand, not quite blushing but not quite meeting her eyes either. "May I ask for this dance, however?"
"You may."
/-/
"You know the drill."
Mercury and Emerald nodded, dressed in their finery and stood in a small circle, glasses in hand, looking for all the world to outsiders like they were smiling and chatting between themselves. If anyone came close, Emerald would ensnare them in her Semblance and keep them from hearing the truth.
"Not much of a drill on our parts," Mercury said. "You sure you don't want us on board?"
"Yes. One person can sneak out easier than three, and your presence is required to maintain the charade. Emerald, find a secluded corner to hide in. if anyone seeks to investigate, use your Semblance to convince them I am there with you."
"Understood, ma'am."
"What about me?" Mercury asked.
"Draw attention to yourself and be noticed. It will look suspicious if all three of us are shying away. Make sure you are seen, and that people remember you."
"Want me to go and dance?"
"By all means. Make sure it is someone other than Emerald, however. We need whatever alibi we can find."
"You got it."
"Once the job is done, I shall return and slip back into the crowd. Find and dance with me. I need to be visible for anyone who might be looking for those absent." Cinder waited for them both to nod in understanding, before slipping away and out of sight.
"Not exactly in a cheery mood, is she?"
"This is work, Mercury. Not a game."
"Eh. Life is but a game. You shouldn't take it so seriously." Waving one hand, he made his way towards the staircase leading down. "Enjoy your secluded corner, Em. I'm going to go mingle and have fun."
"No one would deign to actually dance with you."
Oh, he had a feeling one or two might. And he had someone in mind.
/-/
Team RWBY were huddled off to one side with Sun and Neptune in attendance, who had come as Weiss and Blake's dates, but whom had to stand around while the four girls handled conspiracy things. That didn't appear to bother Sun at all, who would have stood before a charging Goliath with a smile on his face if it meant he got a chance to come on a date with Blake.
Neptune didn't mind, either. Weiss spending time on some subterfuge thing meant she wasn't spending time trying to dance, and thus not spending time realising he couldn't dance.
The two male teammates exchanged high-fives.
Also, it felt good to know they were trusted enough with this kind of thing. Or considered unimportant enough that the girls didn't need to keep quiet around them, but Sun was more of a glass half-full kind of guy and went with the former.
"Don't act unusual," Weiss said. "Our goal isn't to stand out or be obvious. If whatever happens is going to happen tonight, we need to be able to see it taking place."
"Isn't it more unusual for us to be skulking in a corner like this?" Yang asked.
As far as Yang was concerned, it sucked that they had to work through an event like this, but Ruby had been genuinely worried about Jaune, her first friend outside the team, and Yang wasn't about to risk that. The whole point of the dance was to get Ruby being sociable, and hey, Jaune helped with that. Helped a lot. Ruby had made more friends over that diner than anywhere else, which meant it was to be protected with their lives.
At least I got out of having to man the entrance, Yang thought. It had been touch and go there, but since Velvet had her job to think of, Port had relented and taken another team on his mission, leaving Coco and Fox to handle the dance arrangements as had been the original plan.
"We need to act natural," Weiss said. "Blake and Sun should wait outside and act like they're talking, letting them watch for anyone who leaves. Neptune and I will dance on the floor-"
Neptune panicked.
Sun came to his rescue. "Actually, I was hoping me and Blake could dance. I, uh, I have a reputation for it, so people from Mistral would realise something was up if I didn't."
It was a lie of course, but not one Weiss knew for sure. Neptune was quick to agree. "He does. And I figured you and I could talk a little, Snow Angel."
"A-Ah, well, I suppose that would not be a bad idea."
"Great!" Yang clapped her hands. "So, Weiss and Neptune outside looking for those who leave. Blake and Sun on the dancefloor. I'll hang on the first-floor balcony and get a bird's eye view. Ruby, you okay to hang by the back exit and look for anyone trying to slip out? Just shuffle around awkwardly like you're trying to sneak out or something."
"Awkward and trying to escape!?" Ruby's eyes blazed. "Yang. I was made for that role!"
Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I figured you'd be good at that…"
Team RWBY plus SN moved out, most of them breaking off in pairs but Ruby and Yang going their own way.
Ruby slipped past the buffet table towards the exits which led back into the school itself. It wasn't the main doors, which Yang would have a good view of, rather a side exit that wasn't technically supposed to be open but totally was. Beacon was a school after all. Finding a pillar to lean against, Ruby sipped at her drink and generally acted like she wanted to avoid all the dancing and craziness going on.
It was an easy act to fall into.
She hadn't expected anyone to ask her to the dance and hadn't been upset when no one had. Being fifteen gave her an excuse there, even if Yang made a big deal of it. Not like she came with anyone, either, for all her complaining about me not finding a date.
Though, to be fair, that hadn't been for a lack of people asking Yang. More like her sister's high standards and paradoxical interest in the Achieve Men, but lack of interest in men in general. Ruby had either been too young, too shy or too outshined by Yang to get a single request for the dance.
Honestly, it didn't really bother her. She'd only have freaked out and turned into an embarrassed mess if someone had asked her. Maybe if Jaune had made it into Beacon, the two of them could have gone as friends. That would have been cool.
Ruby spotted Pyrrha in the distance, dancing with Russel of all people. No romance there, obviously. They must have come as partners. Come to think of it, if Jaune was here, he'd probably be going with Pyrrha. Ugh. I really need more guy friends.
A hand landed on the pillar above her head, attached to a silver-haired boy with dark eyes. "Hey there, Red."
Ruby spurted and spluttered her drink across his shirt.
"Huh. Okay, I'll admit, I've never had that reaction before. Not sure if it's good or bad."
"W-What are you doing here!?" Ruby hissed. This was the guy who had almost caught her in Jaune's apartment, and worse, the guy who had then hinted that he knew exactly what she'd been up to.
"Secret's safe with me, Red."
The only person who called her Red was Torchwick. And the only `secret` this guy could know was that she'd been there listening in to him and his employer. Ruby edged away and prepared to bolt, only for him to catch her elbow before she could.
"I'll scream!"
"Now that's a reaction I've managed to earn once or twice." He winked.
"What are-?" Ruby's mind filled in the blanks and she went red. "W-What? But I didn't- I didn't mean that kind of scream." Growling, Ruby pulled her arm away and looked around, trying to see if the rest of his team was waiting in ambush. They weren't. "What are you doing here?" she whispered. "Are you trying to intimidate me? Trying to blackmail me?"
"Yep. The blackmail, I mean."
Ruby's mouth fell open. He was just going to come out and admit it?
Well, it wasn't like she could do anything. If he told his boss about her, then it wouldn't just be her life in danger. Jaune would get in trouble and maybe even be killed. "What do you want?" she asked, looking away angrily. "Information? I don't know anything. And I'm not going to take part in your plan or betray my friends."
"Nothing like that, Red."
"Then what?"
"I want a dance."
Ruby froze.
"Whut…?"
"A dance," he said.
"Uh. You want me to set you up with Yang?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Do people actually ask you for that?"
"Sometimes, yeah."
"That's pretty messed up."
"I know." Ruby shrugged. "Yang tells me to accept and lead them to her, so she can punch them in the balls for trying to use me."
"Heh. Nice."
"Yeah, it's-" Ruby shook her head. "No. No. You're not distracting me."
"I kinda am."
"Not anymore!" she amended, stomping one foot and nearly tripping over her heels. He caught her with one arm. "Don't touch me."
"And let you fall?"
"Yes. I have aura and the floor is my friend. I happen to like these tiles. We have an understanding."
The dangerous criminal rolled his eyes. "Sure. Look, all I'm asking for is a dance, Red. No shenanigans and no tricks. Besides, wouldn't it be a good idea to keep me where you can see me? Make sure I'm not up to anything dastardly. See if you can't do a little information gathering and pick my brain?"
"I'd like to pick your brain with something," Ruby muttered.
To her mortification, he burst out laughing.
"You've got spirit. I like that." He grinned roguishly at her and held out a hand. "So? Dance?"
Ruby glowered back. "I have heels and I don't know how to use them…"
"Yeah? Somehow, I think I'll be immune to the damage they might do. Call it an occupational hazard."
Grumbling, Ruby placed her hand in his.
/-/
Weiss groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. Communication was key in a military operation, and while they weren't military by any means, Weiss had learned enough from Winter to organise a lookout like this. Headsets weren't easy to get a hold of, but scrolls worked well enough. The problem, Weiss realised, was in trusting her teammates to hold any level of decorum.
"Blonde Bombshell to all. Rubaby has taken to the dancefloor. I repeat, Rubaby has taken to the dancefloor."
"Roger that, Blonde Bombshell. This is Golden Abs. Can you confirm Rubaby has not been abducted and replaced with imposter?"
"Affirmative, Sexy Abs. Rubaby has stabbed dance partner three times with heels. No one else can match that level of dance failure."
"Blake here-"
"Black Lotus," Yang corrected.
"Blake here," Blake repeated, refusing to use the name, "And I can confirm that Sun can and will dance just as poorly. My feet hurt."
"Hey. I'm trying…"
Weiss groaned into her hand.
Idiots. All of them.
"Yang-"
"Blonde Bombshell."
"I am not calling you that," Weiss hissed. "Get in there and get Ruby out. Poor dancing aside, she's supposed to be watching the back exit."
"Negative, Snow White-"
"What did you just call me?"
"I have visual on both exists. Leaving Rubaby to dance."
"Yang, you cannot just ignore what we're doing because you find Ruby dancing cute."
"Negative, Ice Queen. Can and am."
"Golden Abs requesting visual proof of Rubaby dancing."
A camera snap sound echoed through the call. "Good call, Sexy Abs. Evidence acquired. Blonde Bombshell shall continue to provide overwatch and monitor situation. Requesting status update on Blizzard Babe and Goggle-Boy's status."
Why did her name keep changing?
"Neptune and I are both fine," she said. "There are a few couples out here trying to find a spot alone, but no one acting unusual."
"Unless you call making out in the bushes unusual."
"Come again, Goggle-boy? You and Snowcone are making out in the bushes, confirm?"
"No!" Weiss hissed.
"Golden Abs believes he heard that also," Sun teased.
"Can confirm~" Blake added, obviously laughing.
"You're all idiots. Absolute idiots." And really, it felt like the two of them were the only ones doing anything at all. "We are keeping watch on the path to the CCT and-"
"Weiss!" Neptune hissed.
"What is-?" Weiss followed his hand and her eyes widened. "Shape approaching CCT fast!" she hissed. "Breaking off to take a look."
"Be careful, Weiss," Yang said, suddenly all business. "I'm on my way out."
"Same," Blake said. "Take care."
"What about Ruby?" Sun asked.
"No time. Just leave her. The five of us will be enough."
Weiss pushed the scroll away and made to run after the figure disappearing around the corner, only for Neptune to grab her hand before she could. He made a show of wrapping his arm around her waist and leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Look natural. They might have lookouts. Act like we're wandering off."
Of course! Potential watchers. Weiss nodded and hugged the taller boy back, not entirely feigning the heat creeping up her neck. She allowed Neptune to manoeuvre her off the main path and towards the trees nearby. A few students looked their way, but with their hands around one another, it was clear they were slipping off to exchange spit.
The moment they were in the treeline, they broke apart and dashed off.
"Don't attack straight away," Weiss said. "We can't assume the worst. We'll watch from a distance and make sure this isn't a false…" They broke from the trees on the other side, in front of the CCT building. "Alarm…" Weiss said miserably.
Neptune knelt and touched a hand to the neck of one of the unconscious – she really hoped it was that – guards laid out by the entrance.
"Alive," he said.
"Oh, thank goodness…"
"Yeah. And I think we can rule out the `false alarm` thing. We going in?"
The obvious answer was yes. If it were Ruby, she'd have dashed in already.
Weiss was not Ruby.
"No. Whoever is inside clearly believes they have the element of surprise and is taking the defenders down non-lethally. I don't want to startle them and change that. We'll wait for the others to catch up and then go in together."
"Safe option," Neptune said, approving her plan. "I doubt whatever they're doing in there is going to be quick. Not if they felt it necessary to take the guards down."
"Yes. If it were an easy or subtle task, they could do it during the day while the CCT is open." Weiss looked down at the guards, not quite liking the idea of them being found here like this. "Let's move them off the path, at least. They'll be in danger here."
"Right."
Luckily, the damage seemed to be specific and targeted, so there weren't any wounds either of them had to bandage up. Although Weiss had said they'd both move them, the Atlas armour they wore was so heavy that Neptune had to do most of the work. Not that he complained about it. Weiss collected their fallen weapons instead and laid them down by the guards. As an afterthought, she rolled them over into the recovery position.
Yang, Sun and Blake arrived at that moment. "Oh crap," Yang said. "Are they-?"
"Alive and well. Just unconscious."
"Sheesh! You scared the shit out of me there…"
"I guess Ruby's intel came through," Blake said, looking at the tower. "There's no way this wasn't a professional job. Say what you will about Atlas, but their troops are some of the most well-trained on Remnant. The White Fang struggled to deal with them."
"We gonna stand out here talking or go in?" Sun asked.
"Or," Weiss said, "We could inform the teachers. Most of us are unarmed."
"I can still fight," Yang said, flexing one fist.
"I know some unarmed combat," Blake added. "Sun? Neptune?"
"So-So," Neptune said.
"I'm not bad." Sun added.
"And I am useless," Weiss finished. Without her dust rapier, she couldn't even use her glyphs. "But I suppose I can try and contact the teachers while you go in. Just be careful. Whomever this is will be armed and dangerous."
"Got it, mom. We'll be alright."
With a laugh, Yang, Blake, Sun and Neptune entered, leaving Weiss to sigh and dig out her scroll.
/-/
"What are you planning?"
"To dance."
"What are your goals?"
"To dance."
Ruby growled and `accidentally` drove her heel down into his foot. The big lout showed no reaction whatsoever. He didn't even seem to notice.
"What are your feet made of, steel!?"
He grinned. "Yes."
"What?"
Sweeping her around, Mercury tapped the hell of his shoe against his shin, making a quiet but audible `pinging` sound of metal against metal. The implication wasn't lost on Ruby, whose face drained of colour.
"I am so sorry. Oh man, I can't believe I said that…"
"Eh. It's fine. Makes it easy to dance with girls who can't dance."
Ruby glared down at the floor as if it was its fault, feeling the weight of shame crashing down on her. No wait, he's a crook. I shouldn't be feeling bad warred with Oh God, I just called out a disabled person on being disabled.
"Seriously, Red, it's fine. You asked a question. I gave an answer."
"Hate you so much right now," Ruby whined.
"Ha. Love you too."
Ruby's face exploded in colour. No, no, no. He didn't mean that literally, damn it.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, trying to hide her treacherous thoughts. "I know what you are. You know what I know. Right…?"
"That you heard us at Jaune's? Yeah, I know."
Swallowing, Ruby asked, "D-Do the others…?"
"No."
Her relief was palpable. She sagged against him, legs almost giving way under the pressure of it all. Thoughts of Jaune being killed left her mind. "Why?" she had to ask. "N-Not that I'm not grateful, but why keep it a secret?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Cuz I feel like it, I guess."
"Because you feel like it?" Ruby held onto his arms as he spun her around, one hand on the small of her back. He was a good dancer, annoyingly. "What kind of reason is that?"
"A pretty terrible one to be honest. If my boss finds out, she'll kill me. If you guys find out what's planned, you'll probably kill me too. Damned if I do and damned if I don't."
"Then why make so dangerous a choice?"
"Because it's my choice to make."
Ruby blinked. What kind of reason was that?
An important one if the emphasis he put on it meant anything, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why. Still, if it meant he wasn't throwing her to the wolves, then it was a decision she could get behind.
"So, you're not going to tell your boss…?"
"Kind of committed now, even if I have second thoughts. Besides, I happen to like Jaune and don't want to see him dead."
"Yeah. Me too."
"Heh. Glad to see we agree on something."
He meant weird. He had to mean weird. "You could come to Ozpin, you know? He'd protect you. I'm sure there's witness protection. You'd be looked after and kept safe, and the things you could tell us would save a whole load of lives."
"Sorry, Red, I think I'm a little too deep for something like that."
"Why? You haven't killed anyone or anything."
His silence scared her.
"H-Have you…?"
"Ask no questions and I'll tell you no lies, Red."
Holy crap. He'd killed someone. She was talking to a murderer. She was dancing with a murderer. A murderer had her held hostage via blackmail he could choose to use at just about any time, and for some reason she wasn't screaming to high heaven or stabbing him with her scythe.
Oh right, because Crescent Rose was in her locker. Apparently, it wasn't an acceptable accessory to wear to a school dance. Stupid Yang. This exact moment was proof those rules need to be changed. Weaponry should be mandatory at all social events.
Weaponry other than heels, since those had proven useless here.
"Frightened?" the boy teased.
Ruby clamped down on her panic immediately. "No."
"You sure?"
"Who's be afraid of you? I'm a huntress. I fight Grimm. I drink milk."
They held one another's gaze for a minute of dancing, Ruby's face slowly turning pink.
"You want me to ignore that last one?" he finally asked.
"Please…"
He shrugged and spun her around a little more, dragging her across the dance floor and dipping her down over his arm. His roguish smile hinted that he was enjoying it more than he let on, though that might have just been because of how embarrassed he was making her.
"Don't be afraid of me, Red. At least not unless I'm fighting you."
"How likely is that?"
"For now? Not very. Later, well, that depends if I make it to a later point. If you're digging into me and my team, you might want to be careful. You won't find any mercy from the rest of them. You make a mistake and they'll kill you. Instantly."
"Why the warning? Why any of this? Why help me stop you if it means you're killed or sent to prison?"
"Because it's my choice, Red. For the first time in forever, it's mychoice."
/-/
Yang reflected idly that this could have gone better.
Hindsight was like that. Always 20-20. There were plenty of things Yang looked back on and wished she could change, from her last words to her mother to her first words to the guy she'd first had a crush on. Even just stupid stuff like skipping homework or making an ass out of herself in public.
Storming into the CCT and demanding their opponent surrender while dressed in a ball gown and high heels?
This, Yang regretted.
"Nice work, Yang!" Blake howled, hidden behind a computer terminal which had sprouted three black-feathered arrows. "Real good entrance. I loved the flare and the pose."
"Mistakes were made, okay."
"Oh, they were made? Were they? I couldn't tell on account of the fact we're pinned down by a single person that we could have snuck up on and attacked from behind!"
"You girls done arguing?" Sun asked.
"NO!"
"Looks like you'll have to," Neptune yelled. "Scatter!"
Yang had no idea what they were scattering from, but trusted his panic enough to follow it, diving out and rolling away as a huge ball of flame struck the barrier they'd been hiding behind. She had a moment to wonder what the point of someone who could apparently control using a bow was, when said bitch closed in on her, now swinging two black swords towards her stomach and head.
Ducking, she dodged the top one, then slammed an open palm out into the path of the other, cringing as her aura stopped it cutting through her hand but did little for the agony that tore through her. Yang gritted her teeth past it and lashed out with her Semblance, launching a fiery attack that would have shattered bone if it hit.
It tore through the floor instead, not crunching her opponent like she wanted, but at least forcing her back and giving Yang a chance to escape unharmed. Mostly unharmed. Her aura had taken an uncomfortable hit on that one.
"You okay?" Sun asked.
"Oh yeah. Just peachy. You know, I catch swords with my bare hands for fun!"
"See, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. Whoah!" Sun dodged out the way of an arrow and might have missed the damn thing turning to dust in the air and reforming behind him, now pointing back at Sun, if it wasn't for Yang tackling him out the way.
"This chick has a lot of different Semblances!" Yang yelled. "Watch out for the fire. And the weapon changing, And the arrows dodging around stuff. Fuck sake," she mumbled. "This is ridiculous. Where is Weiss with those reinforcements?"
The elevator dinged behind them and closed, the carriage descending as it was called down.
Speak of the devil. If that opens and Ruby comes out, me and Weiss are gonna have words.
Hopefully, it would be Miss Goodwitch or Ozpin. Both, if they were lucky.
"You might as well surrender." Yang called, hoping to hell the woman would agree. "You're outnumbered and we can keep this up as much as we have to. You've lost. Give it up."
The woman tutted but didn't speak. She hadn't once. Instead, she darted away from a computer keyboard Blake was wielding like a weapon, caught the wiring Blake whipped towards her and then dragged the faunus off her feet. With her other hand, the woman threw her curved sword at an approaching Neptune, forcing him to curse and hit the deck lest he take it in the throat.
All that followed by a spinning roundhouse that caught Blake in the chest as she fell and sent her flying back into a set of computer screens. They shattered and sparked angrily around Blake's body, but lucky didn't electrocute her or explode.
Ruby sure knows how to pick her enemies. First Torchwick and now this chick? What is she, some kind of huntress prodigy? Is this Pyrrha Mk.2 in skin-tight clothing with dyed hair? This is ridiculous…
Whatever she was, she was holding the four of them off. Not winning per se, but not losing either. It might have been a different story if they had weapons – Yang certainly hoped so – but right now, with only her having any semblance of a weapon in her fists, they just weren't cutting it.
The elevator began to whirr again, coming back up.
Yang heard it.
The woman in black heard it too and glared at the door.
Yang swore when the woman dismissed both her weapons and held her arms out, summoning two balls of flame that seemed to pulse with heat. "Oh, that can't be good. Guys," she called, "Might wanna dodge this one!"
"Yes," the woman said, speaking for the first time. "You might!"
The coruscating wall of flame that swept towards them incinerated the desks and chairs in its path and forced them to both dive for cover and shield their eyes against the harsh burning sensation. It headed for the elevator door just as it opened, giving Glynda Goodwitch a brief second to exclaim her shock before the flames were on her and General Ironwood beside her.
Meanwhile, their aggressor took the moment granted to dash towards the closest window and leap through it, shattering glass outward and dropping out of sight. Yang was too busy pushing herself up off the floor to stop her, then she was too busy rolling around trying to put out the flames that had caught her dress and caused it to smoulder. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"
The fireball had stopped at the elevator, bubbling and straining against some invisible force that appeared to hold it back. With an angry roar, it was swept upwards, where it crashed into and through the ceiling, spreading for a moment before fizzling out against the retardant substances keeping the building safe.
On the other side of the inferno, Glynda Goodwitch stood panting with one arm outstretched and her weapon pointed toward the door. "What-" she gasped, "Is the meaning of this…? Hah. And who am I going to stretch over the coals – hah – for attacking me?"
"It wasn't us," Sun groaned, flat on his back with a nasty burn on his chest. "Also, ow…"
General Ironwood strode into the CCT, his weapon at his side. His eyes roved over each of them, landing on Yang for only the briefest second before he snapped his attention away. "Miss Schnee contacted us to say you had discovered an interloper. I have already seen to securing help for my men downstairs. I presume the one who fled through the window was the aggressor?"
Yang, groaning, managed to stagger to her feet. "Y-Yeah. She escaped…"
"Miss Xiao-Long!" Miss Goodwitch hissed. "Cover yourself!"
"What?" Yang looked down and suddenly realised why General Ironwood had looked away. The flames had caught more of her dress than she'd realised, leaving her thigh exposed up to her hip on one side, and a generous portion of side-boob showing through her top. "Eep!" Yang ducked, holding her arms over her chest and hiding her body behind a terminal.
Coughing awkwardly, General Ironwood removed his long military coat and tossed it in her general direction.
"Thank you!"
"That damage aside, is anyone injured?"
There was a general collection of `no` and `not much` from each of them. Most of the damage was superficial, though the same couldn't be said for the CCT itself, which was almost certainly going to be out of operation for a little while.
"Good." Ironwood holstered his weapon. "You did well in noticing a disturbance, and even better in drawing our attention to it. While I, and I am sure Miss Goodwitch, would have preferred you leave the attack to ourselves, I can understand why you did not."
"Yes." Miss Goodwitch agreed. "I would have had particular words for you had you not instructed Miss Schnee to contact us. I am impressed with your decision making." Her eyes roved over the room. "If not your restraint…"
"That was mostly her," Blake said. "We don't even have our weapons."
"And suddenly, I'm less impressed with your decision making. What convinced you to enter a situation like this unarmed? It was not a hostage situation, nor an immediate crisis that warranted your intervention." At the lack of an answer from any of them, Miss Goodwitch sighed. "Silence. Of course. You students ever rely on it when a discussion doesn't go your way." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "You are not being punished if that is your concern. We're just trying to understand what is going on."
"Well, we did hear her monologue," Yang said.
Blake, Sun and Neptune looked her way in confusion, wondering at the lie.
Ironwood raised an eyebrow. "She spoke to you?"
"Briefly. Told us we'd never stop her plans," Yang said, lying easily. Ruby wanted to feed the intel she had to Ozpin in a way that didn't throw Jaune under the Bullhead. This worked. "Something about a plan for Vale, and she mentioned the White Fang, too."
"You're sure of this?"
"I heard it," Blake lied.
Sun nodded in agreement.
"Interesting. We should convene with Ozpin and speak about this," Ironwood said, this time to Miss Goodwitch. "Of course, your students should come to be interviewed. Again, have no fear, none of you are in trouble, but we must get the full story here."
"That idiot," Miss Goodwitch hissed suddenly.
"Glynda?"
"Ozpin just texted me." Glynda Goodwitch snapped, putting her scroll away. "He said he'd love to come and help but he promised a certain someone he would not leave the dance hall and stop watching over the students, so, sadly, he would have to give it a miss. He added that he would not want to make a habit of breaking his promises."
General Ironwood let out a long and suffering sigh.
/-/
Jaune clapped his hands together and looked over his diner. The chairs were upside down on the tables, the floor was clean, and the books were balanced. All of that without any stress, disasters, explosions or anything.
"Huh. Guess something crazy doesn't happen every day…"