The Ace of Spades: A RWBY Story

Chapter seven: A dance to kill for

[Several weeks later, Beacon dance]

Nihil could be seen walking through the doors with Cinder hanging on his left arm, wearing a black suit with a red tie and black gloves, his mask gone to show the scars on his face and his serpentine eyes scanning the room with his short hair combed back, giving the killer a refined and cool demeanor. Cinder wore a long black dress with slits down the sides, showing her legs with long black gloves going up past her elbows, the half fall maiden looking at the assassin as he silently looked around, taking note of any and all escape routes. "You don't like dances?" She asked, as he glanced at her for a moment before looking around again. "I don't particularly care for them. They make things.... complicated." He simply replied, causing the woman to look curious about his reply. "And why is that?" She replied back, as the faunus had a brief flashback of a past contract involving a dance, which did not end well at all. "...I have my reasons." He simply replied, not giving a full answer as they walked towards the dance floor, the two dancing as he noticed a certain rose in a red dress standing off to the side, then noticed a certain thief watching them with slight jealousy in her eyes, Mercury seeming to say something to her that caused her to elbow him in the gut.

'Nihil.' Jäger's voice spoke into his earpiece a few minutes as he answered back. 'Jäger. Is the general here?' He asked, still dancing with Cinder as he coolly looked around. 'Front door.' He simply answered, the assassin glancing at the door as Ironwood walked through it before looking at his date and motioned his head to the door. 'Guards?' He questioned, the two walking off as she turned her dress into a tight fitting stealth outfit using dust capsules while Nihil simply walked through the shadowed hallway, a hooded cloak replacing his outfit as a full black mask covered his face. 'One. Front entrance, currently relaxed.' The German answered, Nihil taking hold of Cinder as they disappeared before reappearing on the rooftops, right next to Jäger who was laying prone on the roof, a silenced sniper rifle aimed at the guard. "Good. Continue providing overwatch." He replied, his voice sounding like a cold whisper due to the mask before the two began moving across the rooftops, though not without being noticed by a certain girl in red who was walking out, now starting to follow them. Nihil used the guard's shadow to appear behind him, driving a shadow dagger into his back while covering his mouth before dropping him into the bushes below him, motioning Cinder to follow him as shadow daggers appeared in between his fingers.

"Excuse me, no one's allowed in this area! Stop!" One guard shouted, Nihil simply dashing forward and thrusting one of his daggers into his heart before spinning around and slitting the second one's throat, kicking him away as he faced the last two charging at him. "Fools." The assassin hissed, throwing the remaining daggers at them as they stopped dead in their tracks before hitting the ground, the daggers seen imbedded in their flesh before dissipating. "Impressive, your reputation is well deserved." Cinder remarked, Nihil merely glancing at her as he walked to the elevator doors, hearing voices coming from the shaft while shadowy daggers once again formed in his hands, any expression on his face hidden by his mask. "I spent many years building my reputation, obtained skills beyond most." He replied, the half maiden's hand gliding across his chest with a smirk. "Perhaps you can show me your skills in private~" She purred, her tone suggestive with a glint in her eyes as he simply gently shook off her hand, showing no reaction to her words. "...Perhaps." he merely answered, as soon as the doors opened they saw the guards grabbing their weapons, stunned at the sight of the two and the bodies of the others laying on the ground, the two simply walking into the elevator as Nihil brandished his daggers, the doors closing right after.

Jäger quietly kept watch over the outside, noticing Ruby in front of the tower as she saw the body, using her Scroll to get her weapon before running into the CCT tower. The German merely let her go, knowing by now it was merely too late for the girl to do anything, though he did alert his colleague just in case. 'You have an uninvited guest.' He spoke into his earpiece, getting a simple reply. 'It will be handled.' The assassin replied, both him and Cinder walking out of the elevator as the bodies of the two guards could be seen pinned to it's walls before it closed and headed back down, the woman moving to the main terminal as the killer kept a careful watch while she quickly hacked into it, though Emerald and Mercury quickly spoke through the comms. 'A part guest is leaving.' Em informed her, as she sighed in annoyance. 'Which one?' She questioned, as the two could be seen watching Ironwood leaving the dance. 'Ironwood.' She replied, Merc soon adding his own reply. 'Guess the general's had enough fun for one night? Should we intervene?' He asked, as all the terminals soon lit up with a symbol of a queen piece in chess. 'No. We're done here.' She replied smugly, the two going to walk out when they heard the elevator coming up as they quickly hid, the doors opening to reveal Ruby in her dress and heels, holding Crescent Rose as she looked around. "Hello?" She said, stumbling in her heels before regaining her balance as she looked around again, walking forward. "Is anyone there? Hello?" She said again, Nihil giving Cinder a look that told her to stay down as he slowly stood up, getting the young huntress's attention. "Excuse me! It's not a masquerade party, so why don't you take off th-" She was cut off by daggers being thrown at her, the girl quickly deflecting them before shooting at him, the assassin expertly dodging the shots as he threw a shadowy blast at her feet, the effect of using his semblance so much taking a slight toll on him as he took light breaths. The elevator could be heard coming up, as Nihil subtly nodded at Cinder, before looking over at the young girl. "Until next time, little rose." He told her, taking a slight bow as the elevator doors opened, causing Ruby to look over to see Ironwood as she grinned and his eyes narrowed, the young girl turning her head to see him gone, instead in his place was a single red rose, Jäger leaving to tell their boss the success of the mission.

Nihil swiftly walked back through the dark hallway alongside Cinder, using his manipulation to change back into his suit as she also changed her outfit back, her stealth outfit crumbling to the ground like glass as they disappeared into the dance, the guards following them barging through the doors only to see them nowhere in sight, baffled looks on their faces as they looked around. As that happened, Mercury and Emerald were dancing as she felt a finger tap her shoulder, turning around to see Cinder. "Oh, may I cut in?" She asked, Emerald backing off as she did a slight bow with her head. "Of course." She replied, Cinder starting to dance with Mercury as she turned to go to the sidelines only to be stopped by a suited assassin, who held out his hand to the thief with a slightly cold yet charming smile. "Don't you want to dance with me?" The killer remarked, Emerald having a slight blush of surprise on her face as she smiled at him, taking his hand. "Of course." She answered, Nihil leading her to the dance floor as a certain half-maiden looked slightly jealous but quickly covered it up, the killer and thief slow dancing. "How did it go?" She asked, Nihil looking down at her as his smile slightly curled into a small smirk. "It went perfectly. This phase is done." He simply replied, staring into her red eyes. "W-What now?" She said, a bit flustered by his staring as he slightly smiled again. "Now, we should enjoy this night together, don't you think?" He replied, the girl simply nodding before hesitantly and slowly laying her head on his shoulder, the faunus surprisingly making no protest as they continued dancing together.