Locker room...
Pyrrha is gearing up in a locker room. As she walks out of the locker room, we cut to her sparring with Cardin Winchester and back again. Eventually, the fight scene includes the other members of Team CRDL.
While she is still exiting toward the arena, Pyrrha is now sparring with Team CRDL.
Arena…
"Now that was a good fight." Jared said, as Yui is sitting on his shoulder. "I liked it a lot."
Glynda approaches from behind Cardin who clutches his ribs, "And that's the match."
"Lucky shot." Cardin said, collapsing.
"Well done, Miss Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament." Glynda said.
"Thank you, professor." Pyrrha said.
"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match." Glynda said, tapping her Scroll. "Any volunteers?" She looks around at the observing students and Jared. "Ms. Belladonna?" Blake slams her book shut and stares wide-eyed at Glynda. "You've been rather docile for the past few classes. Why don't you…"
Mercury raises his hand.
"I'll do it." Mercury said.
"Mercury, is it? Very well, let's find you an opponent." Glynda said.
"Actually, I wanna fight...her." Mercury said, pointing a finger at Pyrrha.
"Me?" Pyrrha asked.
"I'm afraid Miss Nikos has just finished the match. I recommend you choose another partner." Glynda said.
"No, it's fine! I'd be happy to oblige."
Mercury struts into the arena, visibly sizing up Pyrrha. Their spar begins when he makes the first attack and is knocked down. Recovering quickly, he deflects an attack and begins trading blows with Pyrrha until she knocks him back with her shield.
"Wow, Mercury is good." Jared said, smiling. "Not as good as Pyrrha."
"Is she as good as mommy?" Yui asked.
"Definitely."
Ruby Rose turns toward Emerald sitting behind her, "Hey, your friend's doing pretty good."
Emerald gives a fake smile and then rolls her eyes as Ruby turns her back.
Mercury unleashes a series of powerful strikes. Pyrrha allows his kick to slam against her forearm before Mercury manages to disarm, a kick impaling her blade into the ground. Pyrrha uses her Semblance to redirect the direction of Mercury's next kick. As she charges him with her shield, he shoots off of it and turns his back to her. Pyrrha tries to rush him again.
"I forfeit." Mercury said, nonchalantly.
Pyrrha almost stumbles as she stops beside him.
"You...don't even want to try?" Pyrrha asked.
"What's the point?" Mercury asked, shrugging his shoulders. "You're a world-renowned fighter. We're obviously leagues apart."
"In that case...Pyrrha Nikos is the victor of the match...again." Glynda said.
Emerald smirks. Mercury sneers smugly. Pyrrha has a annoyed and disappointed look on her face, and places her left hand on her hip. The Aura displays for Pyrrha and Mercury are shown as Mercury's is changed from green to red indicating his loss.
"Next time, you may want to think a little harder before choosing an opponent." Glynda said.
"I'll be sure to do that." Mercury said.
An alarm sounds which jolts Blake who has nodded off.
"That is all for today. And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses." Glynda said.
As everyone leaves, Mercury stops beside Emerald.
"Learning is so much fun." Mercury said, happily.
Locker room...
Outside, SSSN are standing at the entrance as Team RWBY and Jared walk past. Sun notices Blake and runs after her.
"Hey, Blake!" Sun said, grabbing Blake by her shoulder. "You uh, doing okay?"
"I'm fine." Blake said, shutting the book she is reading.
"So I hear there's this dance going on this weekend...ah, sounds pretty lame, but you and me, I'm thinking, not as lame, huh?"
"What?"
"The dance! This weekend! You wanna go, or what?"
"I don't have time for a stupid dance. I thought you of all people would get that."
Blake walks away past her team and Jared. Sun sinks from his rejection.
Team RWBY's room…
"Blake, go to the dance!" Jared said, as Yui is sitting in his leather jacket pocket. "We want you to."
"You what?" Blake asked, sitting with her arms crossed.
"Yup." Yui said, and Ruby, Weiss, and Yang are also in the room. "We do. According to Jared, dances are fun."
"We want you to go to the dance." Ruby said.
"That's ridiculous." Blake said, scoffing.
"Blake, we're worried about you. This investigation is starting to mess with your head." Yang said, sadly.
"You can't sleep, you hardly eat, and to be honest, your grades have been suffering." Weiss said, counting the facts on her fingers.
"You're basically me in school but much worse, Kitty Kat." Jared said, frowning. "You replace the investigating with video games, and that's what happened with me. When I tried to balance gaming and my studies."
"You think I care about grades?" Blake asked, shrugging her shoulders and then gestures out the window. "People's lives are at stake!"
Yang puts her hand on Blake's, lowering it, "We know, and we're all still trying to figure out what Torchwick is up to."
"Thanks to you and Sun, we know they're operating somewhere outside of southeast Vale." Ruby said.
"And, the Schnee company records singled out Vale as the primary target for Dust robberies over the last few months." Weiss said.
"Don't forget about their missing military tech too." Yang said.
"But there's still unanswered questions!" Blake said, angrily. "And Jared, you have answers to those unanswered questions!"
"So, I can't reveal anything to you guys. Me telling you guys early, it could have consequences in the future." Jared said, leaning against the wall. "Even if I want to."
"Anyway, you need some rest." Yui said, flying towards Blake. "You look awful."
"Yui's right, you do look awful. And Blake, you won't be able to find anything if you can't even keep your eyes open!" Ruby said, annoyed.
"All we're asking is that you take it easy for one day." Yang said.
"One day of fun, Blake." Jared said, excitedly. "That's all you need. No board games, no video games. Just a nice, simple, fun dance."
"It will be fun! Yang, Jared, and I will make sure of it." Weiss said, as Jared nodded his head.
"Yeah! We're planning the whole event!" Yang said, pumping her fists which causes the bed to bounce Blake.
"Excuse me?" Blake asked.
"Team CFVY's away mission lasted longer than expected." Weiss said.
"So, Weiss and I were asked to pick up where they left off. Jared loves parties, and he wanted to help us a bit. And now we can make sure you have the perfect night." Yang said.
"And once it's all over, we'll return for our search, rested and ready."
"We can go traveling with the Doctor too after this." Jared said, with Yui flying back towards him. "After we got our R&R."
"So what do ya think?" Ruby asked, looking at Blake.
"I think this is a colossal waste of time." Blake said, walking away from the group and opens the dorm door. "I'll be in the library."
Blake walks out of the room.
"Great." Yang said, annoyed.
"She can't keep going on like this." Weiss said.
"She really can't." Jared said, as there is a knock at the door and Weiss approaches and opens it. "Oh no...here comes the worst singing in a while."
Jaune appears at the door with a guitar.
"Weiss!" Jaune said, singing.
Weiss slams the door in Jaune's face.
"Oh, come on, open the door! I promise not to sing." Jaune said, when Weiss opens the door.
"I lied! Weiss Schu...nee, will you accompany me, to the dance on... Sunday!?" Jaune exclaimed, still singing.
"Are you done?" Weiss asked.
"Yes?" Jaune asked, shrugging his shoulders.
"No." Weiss said, shutting the door in Jaune's face.
"Not in front of Yui." Jared said, and Weiss turns around to see him, Yui, Ruby, and Yang staring at her. "She's too young to understand love."
"What?" Weiss asked.
Ruby, Yang, and Jared are standing while Yui is flying precariously.
"And that is why they call you the Ice Queen." Yang said, coming up with another bad pun.
"It goes without sleighing, never sleigh never." Jared said, also coming up with a bad pun. "This is Jaune Arc that can never be as Weiss as snow. You could Schnee it coming."
Ruby finally collapses.
"All my life, boys have only cared about the perks of my last name. Besides, I already have a date in mind." Weiss said.
"Date or no date, none of this will matter if we can't get Blake to go." Ruby said, sadly.
Beacon roof...
That night, Pyrrha and Jaune are sparring at their spot on the roof. Jaune appears to gain the upper hand until Pyrrha sweeps his legs out from under him.
"Well done! Your swordplay's improved immensely." Pyrrha said, laughing and she helps Jaune to his feet.
"I couldn't have done it without you." Jaune said.
"So, are you ready to move on to Aura?"
"I'm actually thinking maybe we just skip Aura for tonight? Might go on a jog or something."
"Come on, I know you get frustrated, but you must keep trying. I'm sure you'll discover your Semblance any day now."
"That's not it. It's just…" Jaune said, hesitating for a moment. "...it's dumb."
"What is it?" Pyrrha asked, approaching Jaune, and she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, you know you can tell me."
"It's...Weiss."
"Oh." Pyrrha said, her face falling slightly. "What about her?"
"I asked her to the dance and she shot me down." Jaune said, laughing halfheartedly. "Big surprise, right?"
"Well, I believe the saying goes: There's...plenty of fish in the sea."
"That's easy for you to say. You've probably got guys clamoring over each other just to ask you out."
"You'd be surprised." Pyrrha said, chuckling half-heartedly.
Jaune dismisses the thought, "Oh please. If you don't get a date to the dance, I'll wear a dress. Heh."
Jaune walks away. Pyrrha drops her smile and looks rather upset.
Cinder's dorm room...
"Emerald said.
Cinder is sewing a black dress as she sits on one of the beds. Emerald is sitting on the floor while looking at her Scroll, and Mercury is lying on the ground and reading a comic book.
"Ah, the invincible girl." Cinder said.
"She's smart, but I wouldn't say invincible." Mercury said.
"Do tell."
"Her Semblance is Polarity. But you'd never know just by watching." Emerald said.
"After she made contact with my boots, she was able to move them around however she wanted. But she only made slight adjustments." Mercury said.
"Just enough to make it look like she's untouchable. She doesn't broadcast her power, so it puts her opponent at a disadvantage."
"Hmm...people assume that she's fated for victory, when she's really taking fate into her own hands. Interesting. Add her to the list." Cinder said.
"You should be able to take her no problem." Mercury said.
"It's not about overpowering the enemy. It's about taking away what power they have. And we will, in time."
"I hate waiting."
"Don't worry, Mercury. We have a fun weekend ahead of us."