16

Chapter 16: Dance Dance Infiltration

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"So after Blake left the void, she spent months wandering around Remnant. At first she was going to head to either Atlas or Patch, but by the time she was able to get out of Anima, she only had enough time to go to Beacon—can you hand me that wrench?" Ruby asked.

She and Jaune were spending the Friday night before the dance at Beacon's workshop, upgrading everyone's weapons. Of course, following the ironclad rule that Beacon students hated being on campus on Fridays after classes were done, the workshop was empty. The machinery was pretty loud too, which masked their conversation further.

Jaune dutifully handed Ruby the tool. "That's insane. What would you have done if she showed up on Patch?" He asked.

Ruby adjusted the dust chamber in her hand and pressed it against the lathe. "Saved us all a lot of trouble!" Ruby grinned.

Jaune smiled at the response. "No wonder Blake backed us up when we wanted to go to the docks. She knew that Torchwick was going to be there too." Jaune paused. "Thanks for upgrading our weapons, by the way."

Ruby laughed. "I promised on our second first day at Beacon to upgrade them! If anything, I'm a little late!" Ruby had upgrading all their equipment on her to-do list for a while, but everything else kept taking priority. First it was getting back into school, then it was planning, then it was training her team, then it was the docks, after that Oscar, then the White Fang rally, and then Blake.

Blake. Blake. Blake.

… Yeah, that was all still weird. Blake, who was supposed to be Ruby's future sister-in-law. Who Ruby considered her best friend. Who Ruby had been spending so much intimate time together with…

Ruby shook her head to clear those thoughts away. Not right now. "Can you hold the shield for me? Usually I'd prop it against a wall, but since you're here…"

"Oh! Sure!" Jaune grabbed the shield and held it up as Ruby worked. She stuck her tongue out in concentration as she fiddled with the locking mechanism. The dust camber was still too big, but Ruby was hesitant to shave any more metal off it. She was already cutting it close as she was. They had been able to order some custom parts, but for the most part Ruby was working off the stock that Beacon kept on hand. "So… does this mean you and Blake aren't going to date?" Jaune said casually.

Ruby finally jammed the chamber in place and squeaked. "Wha- what are you talking about??"

"Nora and Pyrrha were gossiping about the two of you last night." Jaune said apologetically. "Well, actually Nora was gossiping about Weiss and Yang and Pyrrha mentioned that you and Blake made the better couple."

Betrayed by an angel. "Not Pyrrha too!" Ruby whined. "I get enough of this from Yang."

Jaune set his shield back down, its upgrades complete. "I know I'm probably the last person who should ever give romantic advice, but you shouldn't wait." His voice was serious now. "Look at us, here right before the deadline, upgrading our weapons a day before we have to fight Cinder. None of us might have as much time as we think." He let his gaze drop.

The words caught Ruby's attention and she turned off the machines in front of her, their whirring slowly fading. "Hey," she said. Jaune looked up at Ruby. "We're going to stop her. We have to."

"I know. I just… I can't get it out of my mind. What if we don't?" Jaune asked.

Ruby studied Jaune's expression, before recognizing it from the void. "Are you having nightmares about it?"

Jaune sat down on one of the tables and Ruby hopped up next to him. "I… Yeah. I just keep seeing Beacon, burning from the inside out. Pyrrha's there next to me, asking what we should do, making me choose."

The stress of everything had been getting to Ruby too, and her nightmares had made more and more frequent appearances too. If they succeeded tomorrow, that would do wonders for her spirits. "We can only fight what's in front of us, and keep moving forward."

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Keep moving forward. We'll beat Cinder and then stop the Fall of Beacon." He said, convincing himself.

"Yeah! And then we'll all get to live happily ever after!!" Ruby gave a cheesy grin. They could all get a house together, a team RWBY house! They would go on missions together, and cook dinners together, and invite team JNPR over. It was going to be awesome.

Just as soon as they stopped Cinder.

---

Blake sipped at her tea, basking in the warm afternoon sun. Afternoons in downtown Vale were something she had missed terribly, and every chance she got Blake would come down for a cup of tea at her favorite café, usually with good company in tow. Usually.

"So… give me all the details!" Sun sat across the table, holding his teacup in his tail.

Blake smiled. "You know I can't tell you everything." When Blake had first recruited Sun to help her sniff out the White Fang's activities, she had been upfront in saying that she couldn't tell him everything that was going on. He hadn't minded the secrecy, so long as he could tease her about being a secret agent.

"Well duh. But c'mon! You were so worried about what was going to happen when she found out and from the looks of it, everything ended pretty well! You gotta fill me in." Sun waved his tail in his excitement, nearly spilling his tea all over.

"You're going to spill that." Blake said dryly. "It turns out that Ruby had something similar happen to her, so she was understanding."

Sun looked around theatrically and leaned in close. "Does that mean you're going to replace me with her for your super-secret assignments?" Sun whispered, smiling.

Blake chuckled. "No, Sun. Ruby isn't a faunus, she can't poke around the White Fang like we can."

"I still can't believe they were behind the attempted robbery at the docks. I mean, when I told you I overheard something, I didn't think it was going to be true!" Sun gestured excitedly with his hands. "So what's our next move?"

Blake pondered that. What should their next move be?

"…What do you know about Mountain Glenn?" She asked.

---

"You know; I think we really needed this." Yang stood on the balcony overlooking the dance floor. Beside her, Weiss looped their arms together. "We make a good team." Down below party guests gathered, drinking punch and chatting with each other. A soft melody filled the air. A small group had already congregated on the dance floor, Nora and Ren included. Off in the corner, Sun and his friend Neptune did their best to chat up a gaggle of girls.

Weiss snorted. "You thought we wouldn't? We're an exceptional team."

"Speaking of… have you seen our teammates?" Yang hadn't seen them come in, and she had been manning the front desk before Weiss pulled her away to enjoy the party—and be her date, of course.

"They better not miss this." Weiss warned. "I can excuse their hours when it comes to training, but they had better show up to this."

Yang's first instinct was to jump to the defense of her little sister, but she felt that Weiss was right. The two of them had worked hard to plan this success, and she wanted to share it with her teammates. "They'll show up." Yang tried to sound more confident than she felt. "Who knows, maybe they're late cause they couldn't keep their hands off each other and ended up making out in the dorm." Yang snickered.

Weiss smiled and rolled her eyes at the joke. "Do you really think there's something going on with them?"

"Uh… yeah? You saw them in the same bed."

Weiss nodded in affirmation. "Hmm… how long until it's our turn?"

Yang grinned at her partner and pretended to fan herself as she felt her heart skip a beat. "Buy me dinner first, snow angel."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "That time in Vale wasn't enough for you?"

"I thought that wasn't a date?" Yang turned her smile up to eleven, but Weiss didn't back down.

"It wasn't." Weiss responded. Yang stared at her partner, unbelieving. "But this certainly is. Now come, we have a party to enjoy." With that, Weiss led her partner by the arm out into the crowd.

---

Blake eyed the entrance to the CCT tower from one of the lecture hall roofs. With her superior night vision, she had been tasked with keeping lookout for Cinder. Once Cinder showed up, that was their queue to move in.

Beside her, keeping an equally vigilant vigil, Ruby kept her own watch. Her hands fiddled with the latches on Crescent Rose absentmindedly. The image made Blake think back to the last time they were on a roof together. "Feels like the docks fight, doesn't it?" Blake said.

"Except this time our opponents aren't grunts." From behind them, Pyrrha spoke up. She was stretching and practicing simple forms with her weapon. At least, the ones that wouldn't attract much attention.

Blake could see Ruby nod in the corner of her field of vision. Jaune maintained his stony silence, the simple clink of his whetstone on Crocea Mors the only noise he made. The source of his apprehension was obvious. They would be going after Cinder, the one who had taken Pyrrha from all of them. Just being able to stand here, much less fight, was a testament to his dedication. Blake wondered, if Adam showed up, would she have the same courage to fight him with Yang?

The question made her stomach churn. That wasn't a thought to be dwelling on right now.

Ruby had double and triple checked their weapons before they all left. There would be no malfunctions. They knew their opponent, and her objective. They would stop her. They had to stop her.

---

"Hey guys!" Nora shouted to Weiss and Yang from across the dance floor. Behind her, Ren dutifully nodded in greeting to both of them.

"What's up? You both look great." Yang used the hand that wasn't holding Weiss' to wave back.

"As do the both of you." Ren said.

"Sure, we look good, but look at the two of you!! Finally, you're making good on the goo-goo eyes you keep giving each other!" Nora teased.

Weiss scoffed. If she expected Weiss to stutter and blush she would need to do more than that. "Yes, well, it was about time."

Nora pumped her fists. "Yeah!! Alright team SNLY, let's tear up the dance floor!" She half dragged half pulled long suffering Ren out onto the dance floor.

Yang leaned in and whispered to Weiss. "Since when are you so self-confident?"

Weiss pulled back so her partner could see her grin. "Since I finally saw what you did. I'm tired of trying to be someone I'm not."

Yang put her lips right to Weiss' ear. "And what are you tonight then?"

Weiss' voice was barely audible, but the one-word response was enough to send fire coursing through Yang's veins.

"Yours."

---

The pulsing music was making it hard to concentrate, but Blake didn't miss when a lone figure started running across the rooftops. They jumped from one to another with grace and dexterity and Blake knew she had spotted their target. Blake nudged Ruby and pointed in the direction, a finger on her lips. Ruby nodded in understanding and looked out across the way. She spotted what could only be Cinder, and motioned to the others.

Jaune was still white knuckling his sword, all emotion drained from his face. Pyrrha looked through the sights of her rifle in the direction Blake pointed, and nodded in ascent. Ruby activated her semblance and whisking the four of them to the ground under her cloak. Blake still hated the sensation, the ground lurching towards her before coming to an abrupt stop, but she trusted Ruby enough to not turn the four of them into pancakes on the pavement.

The four of them took off in pursuit of their target, reaching the base of the CCT tower. The knocked out Atlesian soldiers confirmed that Cinder had already made her entrance. Blake let Ruby take the lead, retracing the steps that she took the first time.

The floor was littered with guards, all of whom had been dropped by Cinder. No one was left to notice that a break-in was occurring. The four of them fanned out, confirming that Cinder had already left the floor. Ruby called for the elevator, and the two of them dragged out two more unconscious guards when it arrived.

The ride down the elevator was nearly silent. Ruby took several deep breaths before the doors opened.

"Good luck everyone." She said.

---

Weiss relished having Yang so close to her. She wasn't going to deny what she was feeling any longer. It wouldn't matter that her father wouldn't approve. Yang had been the best thing to happen to her since she arrived. What would have happened if Yang hadn't been here for her? Would she never have accepted Ruby as her leader? Would she never have accepted Blake as her teammate? Would she have nothing but bitter memories to remember Beacon by?

"You're staring." Yang smirked.

"And you love the attention." Weiss retorted.

Yang laughed. "Yours most of all."

"You've always had it. Ever since you barreled into my life in the Emerald Forest." Weiss said sincerely. It was true. In one form or another, Weiss had always been paying attention to Yang. Admiring her. Falling for her. Maybe even falling in love with her.

---

Jaune barely registered his feet moving out of the elevator. The ding would've alerted Cinder to someone's presence, and surely seeing four armed hunters would make them as targets. Pyrrha would be a target. But Jaune wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

The four of them quickly scanned the area and saw no signs of Cinder.

"Intruder. Show yourself." Pyrrha commanded, short sword at the ready.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Jaune's heart beat out of his chest. The seconds seemed to stretch into infinity until slowly, so impossibly slowly, Cinder emerged from her hiding place. She was wearing a simple black mask and black combat gear. What struck Jaune most was her eye, undamaged, and her arm, ungrimmified.

Ruby hefted Crescent Rose. "This isn't a masquerade party. So why don't you take off that mask and we can-"

Cinder pulled out a canister of dust and released it as a powder in front of her. Her semblance crystalized the shards and sent them flying at the hunters. Ruby twirled Crescent Rose, as Jaune raised his shield without even thinking, his hard light extensions activated.

Blake dodged off to the side and started to circle around Cinder, and Jaune knew that Ruby would soon be doing the same, once Pyrrha and Jaune engaged. For her part, Pyrrha immediately charged, shield raised, Jaune only a half-step behind.

Ruby fired at Cinder moments before Pyrrha engaged, forcing Cinder to reposition and use her semblance to create her dual swords. Pyrrha made quick, methodical slashes, probing Cinder's defenses for weakness. Cinder blocked the attacks and moved to counter.

Jaune swapped in with Pyrrha and her attack met the solid wall that was his defense. Still, three blows deflected on his shield was all he could take in such quick succession, and he was thankful when Gambol Shroud suddenly appeared wrapped around Cinder's arm, wrenching one of her swords from her grasp.

Jaune backed off just as Ruby used her weapon to catapult herself in, taking a wide slash at Cinder. Clearly starting to realize this may have been more than she bargained for, Cinder delivered a swift kick to Ruby's midsection, pushing her back and giving her time to get Gambol untangled from her arm. A moment later, her dual swords were back and combined into a bow. At such short range, it would be largely ineffective as a conventional weapon, but Cinder had no plan to use it as such.

She notched two screaming arrows and shot them into the floor between herself and the hunters. The arrows heated the ground and exploded between them, filling the air with smoke, vapor, and debris. Jaune snapped his head around looking for where Cinder went.

"The exits!" Ruby shouted. "Cover the exits!"

The response from Jaune was instantaneous. They had already spent several hours in this room the previous days mapping out the possible routes of escape. Cinder could always jump through a window, but short of that, they should be able to hold her.

In the end, Cinder opted for trying to overpower Blake, who held the emergency fire escape. Still, with both of her blades drawn, and a flurry of shadow clones, Blake kept Cinder in place long enough for the others to realize what was happening.

Jaune moved in to support while Pyrrha shot several rounds with her rifle. The dust enhanced cartridges found their mark, and Jaune spotted the distinctive orange flicker of Cinder's aura.

Ruby shouted as she once again propelled herself, slamming into Cinder from behind and knocking out another chunk of her aura, slashing down her back.

The fight was going well, but the next thing Jaune knew he was covering his face with his shield and trying not to be blown back by a wave of superheated air. Whether intentional or just her anger getting the better of her, Cinder's eye burned with the stolen maiden power.

Now the real fight could begin.

---

Yang still couldn't believe this was her life. Staring down at the partner that she cherished dearly, holding her as the rest of the world receded behind them. How had she gotten so lucky?

She stared into the blue eyes that had captured her heart so long ago. When had she first realized that she wanted more than just friendship with Weiss? She had no idea. Maybe it was when Ruby had teased her for the first time while they were planning the end of semester party. The first time she had seriously considered what it would be like to date the heiress. They had started as partners. Partners. The word hadn't fit at first, but now she couldn't imagine any other word.

Well, maybe there was one other. But there would be time for that later.

The partners were taking a break and sitting on the sideline, Weiss practically in Yang's lap, her legs over Yang. The music was so loud that it was a necessary expedient for them to be able to hear each other, but really, they were both happy to use that as an excuse.

In the background, barely in the periphery of Yang's awareness, several soldiers burst into the ballroom and made a beeline for Ironwood.

Weiss laughed as Yang joked about maybe they didn't like the terrible music selection, which of course, they were in charge of. As if on cue, the song ended and a quieter, slower melody replaced it. Devoid of their excuse for closeness, Weiss moved back to her chair.

Missing her already, Yang stood up and extended a hand. "May I have this dance?" She grinned.

Weiss returned the smile. "Like you even have to ask."

---

Ruby dodged yet another blast of pure fire coming from Cinder, who was slowly reducing the communications room into a pile of slag. The bolt hit a window, which started to slowly seep from its frame.

Cinder was successfully keeping the four of them back, but each time she turned her focus to one of them, the others pressed in, keeping her pinned down. Pyrrha pressed in again, her spear making quick jabs at Cinder. The half-maiden reformed her short swords in the nick of time to deflect, but Blake got behind her and forced her to flee away from the exit, forcing her back into the center of the room, where there was more room to maneuver.

Temporarily putting her escape plans on hold, Cinder pulled out a reserve vial of dust and spread it in front of her. Pyrrha and Jaune both put up their shields, but this time they weren't able to stop all of them, as confirmed by the pings in their auras. Ruby threw her scythe at Cinder force her to change tactics, semblancing to the weapon when she side-stepped it.

Just as Ruby turned to face her, Cinder slammed both swords into her back, sending her flying across the room. Her aura had absorbed most of the blow, but half-maiden Cinder, especially now that she wasn't trying to escape, was slowly wearing them down.

---

Weiss felt like she was dancing on a cloud. Her arms around her partner's neck, her partner's on her hips. Even with Weiss wearing heels Yang still had a considerable height advantage, but Weiss was sure that if she was on her tippy toes she could close the distance.

If pressed, Weiss could honestly say she had no idea who moved first. Her eyes closed and she leaned in. Yang might have said something, but it was lost in the music and the beating of Weiss' heart in her ears.

Kissing Yang was everything Weiss had ever hoped it would be, and everything she never could have imagined. She was gentle yet firm, fierce but yielding. Yang wrapped her arms around Weiss' body, and pulled her in. Weiss melted into the embrace, and nothing seemed to move. It was just her and Yang, everything else was irrelevant. Put on hold while the two of them completed their dance around each other.

It had all started when Yang had extended her hand at a nightclub, it seemed fitting that now it was finally ending at the dance they planned together.

As Weiss pulled back and watched as Yang's eyes fluttered open, she felt a deep contented happiness. This was what she wanted. She hadn't doubted that since she asked Yang to the dance, but now, there was nothing on Remnant that could convince her that this wasn't exactly where she was supposed to be.

"Wow… that was…" Yang said, dazed.

"Not enough…" Weiss finished. Yang grinned and this time Weiss was sure that it was her who leaned in first.

---

Certainly there would be consequences for the fact that she revealed herself to be a half-maiden, but Cinder had already deemed it necessary. Unfortuantely for Ruby, it didn't give her any new information anyway.

Pyrrha was still aggressively attacking Cinder, switching out with Jaune whenever Cinder attempted to counter. Still, Jaune's aura was taking a beating. Even his large reserves were starting to run dangerously low. Sensing her partners trouble, Pyrrha changed tactics and put her shield and weapon away before activating her semblance. She pulled the metal from the destroyed communications equipment and turned it into a fiery rain of molten lead. Against a normal enemy it would've been a devastating attack.

But Cinder was no normal enemy. The superheated metal seemed to have no impact on her. If anything, she relished the heat.

With the other duo backing off, Ruby and Blake made their own attempt at a combo attack. Trying to keep Cinder's back to one of them at all times, the duo ran in. Ruby slashed at Cinder, but reinvigorated, she ducked and weaved around the blade. When Blake moved to slash at her from behind, she flipped over Ruby placing the two of them in front of her again.

Before either of them was able to circle around behind her, Cinder unleashed another wave of fire and superheated air that blasted them across the room.

Ruby shook off the blow and watched as Blake took potshots at Cinder before her gun clicked, indicating she was out of bullets. Ruby was seriously considering calling everyone back, and letting Cinder escape. There was already more than enough evidence that they had done their best to stop her, and they could undo any damage Cinder had done to the network once she was gone.

Prolonging the fight was starting to become dangerous. In the split second that Ruby had to make the decision, she decided to pull back. They had accomplished what they needed to. Staying just meant that she was putting her team in danger. Cinder wouldn't hesitate to kill any of them if that's what she needed to escape.

"Back!" She called out. A moment later the others fell into a fighting retreat, ceding the exit to Cinder, who, quickly realizing the changing situation, ran into the nearest exit, which led directly to the ballroom.

Moments after Cinder departed, the elevator dinged, and Ruby cursed herself when General Ironwood and a dozen Atlesian soldiers, along with Penny emerged. The general took no time to access the situation and started barking out orders after asking where the assailant went. He ordered the four of them to not leave until they had secured the area.

---

Cinder was fuming. She had used her quick change and dropped her mask in the hallway, but made a beeline for Emerald and Mercury. As she passed by a young couple with blond and white hair who were making out, Cinder's rage only grew. What the hell had just happened? That was supposed to be a simple job, in and out before anyone had even known she was there. Emerald was watching the party guests, and she had only reported Ironwood leaving, by which point Cinder had already had bigger problems.

So that left the question, who the hell were they? Who the ever living fuck did she need to skewer for forcing her to show her cards early like that?

It was humiliating.

Cinder didn't bother with the pre-arranged signal to her assets. She grabbed gruffly Emerald and pulled her away from Mercury. "We're leaving, now."

Emerald nodded without question and turned to exit. "What about the plan?" Mercury said, trailing behind.

"The plan has changed." Cinder stewed as they left, none of the party guests sparring them a second glance, plotting the best way to burn them all alive.

---

Yang grinned like a fool as she pulled back from Weiss. That was incredible. She looked down at Weiss' face, the adoration that Yang felt for her partner fully reflected back at her. "I knew you had a thing for me." Yang said.

Weiss rolled her eyes fondly. "It took until I kissed you to figure that out?"

"No, but that was a nice confirmation."

Weiss pretended to be annoyed by the comment, but her eye caught something behind Yang. Her eyes widened. "What on Remnant…?"

"What? What is it, Weiss?"

"I found your sister…" Weiss pointed behind Yang. Finally! It had taken her long enough to make her way over.

Yang turned around to see her sister was in fact there. But instead of seeing her in a dress and high heels, stumbling like a newborn fawn, she was fully dressed in her combat gear, Crescent Rose extended. Beside her, Blake was similarly dressed, followed by Jaune and Pyrrha. Their clothing had all been singed, and their weapons born marks of a recent battle.

Escorting them were a dozen Atlesian soldiers, guns out, along with General Ironwood. The large group was quickly making their way over to a concerned Professor Ozpin and Glynda, who were running towards them.

Yang could barely comprehend what she was seeing. What on earth had happened to Ruby?? To Blake?? Where had they been?? Who had they fought!?

"What the fuck is going on…?" Weiss whispered.

Notes:

Dun dun dun!!

Chapter 16! Whew. This was a doozy to write. I feel like the constant swings between the dance and the fight would've been better in a visual medium, I'm still okay with how it turned out. It was cool to branch out from my usual way of writing these two things which would be sequentially. Depending on if people like it, I might try it again another time. There's already a couple scenes next chapter I could write that way.

As always, thank you to everyone for reading, kudo-ing, and commenting.

Until next time,

~ThePalestRose