"Subject?" Tristan asked in the infirmary, Kobalt had just finished explaining his latest memory to the rest of the team while they waited in his room for his x-rays. "What does that even mean?"
Even hearing it a second time was weird for Nickole, it was an unsettling memory to be sure. But it raised more questions than answers.
"I don't know, but it's not good that's for sure." Kobalt said
"You should tell someone, one of the professors." Tristan said "Maybe they can help out."
"Who? Which professor would have the time to spare to help an amnesiac?" Kobalt asked "Certainly not Peach, Port's to loud, and Oobleck's too crazy."
"Viridian?" Nickole suggested knowing it was a bad idea.
"Too blunt, she's not one to help with this kind of thing." Kobalt said "There's only one serious professor here, and she's way too busy to help. Besides I don't think Goodwitch likes me."
"Ozpin." Justin spoke up "He's serious, and he's probably the smartest man here."
"He's also the Headmaster, I won't bother him with this. Not unless I have to." Kobalt told him
"What about that guy who came to the dorm back at the beginning of the semester?" Nickole asked "Who was that?"
"Qrow? He's a Huntsman but I don't know how to contact him." Kobalt said "And he disappears too often anyway. Hopefully Junior will be able to find something soon, that might give me more answers."
"How many barren wastelands can there be?" Nickole asked "He's been searching for a month."
"Just means the list is getting smaller." Kobalt said "It's a matter of time till he finds something."
The room fell silent as they ran out of ideas to help Kobalt. Nickole almost pointed out that just seeing the place in a picture might not trigger any memories, but she couldn't do that to him. Not after what he had already seen. Before anyone could say anything else a nurse walked in holding a file.
"Kobalt?" she asked as she walked in "Your x-ray is clear you can go back to your dorm."
"Freedom at last." Kobalt said hopping out of bed. He was able to stand on his own since they got back. His leg had healed remarkably fast. "Come on we've got exams we should be studying for."
"I think Port will forgive us after today." Tristan said
"Either way, let's get out of here." Kobalt said "I don't like it here, it's…unsettling."
"Good, I've been missing my pillow." Nickole yawned
The next morning Nickole woke up earlier than usual, it was Tuesday, she always woke up early on Tuesday. Kobalt was already up and probably in the shower by now. She rolled over and checked the time, 7:55, Kobalt had class at nine and she wasn't falling back asleep anytime soon. She climbed out of bed and found her way to the girl's showers. Jazz was already walking out, a towel wrapped around her. That was a benefit of a full girl team, she didn't have to worry about changing in a room with guys. Whereas Nickole brought her clothes with her to change.
"Morning!" Jazz said when she saw Nickole "You're up early."
"It's Tuesday." Nickole yawned still groggy.
"Right, so I guess you'll be joining us this morning, huh?" Jazz said
"Yep," Nickole said ducking into the bathroom. She turned the water up as hot as she could stand to wake her up faster. Even if she had woken up late she still would've needed a push to really be awake. The hot water really helped, she hadn't even realized how dirty she was after falling yesterday. Not only was she coated in dirt from the fall, but she had ash on her hands from making the fire. She probably would've showered when she got back if she hadn't been so exhausted. She couldn't even begin to understand what Kobalt must be going through on top of everything else too. Whatever had happened to him before he didn't deserve it, he was too nice of a guy to deserve what few things they knew happened. For the love of Dust, when he woke up after the fall he was more concerned about her than himself.
After she dressed she got back to the dorm room to pack her bag for the day, she had all of her classes today and they were basically one after the other. And she was going to Kobalt's leadership class too, it was going to be a long day. She noticed Kobalt was still gone, but Tristan and Justin were still asleep so she kept quiet. Suddenly the door banged open, and Kobalt walked in carrying two coffee cups. Justin rolled over in bed while Tristan sat up and glared at Kobalt.
"What?" Kobalt asked "You're alarm's going to go off in like, a minute anyway."
Tristan grumbled something about Kobalt being ungrateful for being saved last night and went back to bed. Something had been up with him the past few weeks, ever since he got back from his date. Kobalt just chuckled and handed Nickole one of the coffees.
"Figured you might want one this morning even more than usual." He said "I need one myself to be honest."
"Thanks, that was nice of you." she said taking the coffee and taking a sip. Nice and sweet with just a hint of chocolate, perfect.
"I didn't think the dining hall was open yet." she said remembering the dining hall was opening later than usual this week, that was where Kobalt usually got their coffee.
"It's not, but the teachers' lounge in Beacon Tower is." He smiled
"You broke in?" Nickole asked shocked
"No, I just asked Professor Port if I could use the coffee maker." Kobalt told her laughing "I don't think he cared too much. Now come on, or do you want me to be late?"
"Right sorry." She smiled grabbing her bag. Just before the door closed Nickole heard Tristan's alarm go off and him groan in frustration.
"You seem to be in a better mood this morning." Nickole noticed "Aren't you bothered at all by…"
She held her tongue, there was no telling if there was someone nearby who could overhear them.
"Looking gloomy doesn't suit me I guess." Kobalt joked "I figure I look better with a smile on my face than moping."
He had a point, she had noticed it back on the first two days. The guy she met back then wasn't someone she thought could ever be depressed. Yet later that night, when his first memory came back, he looked so afraid it was unsettling. It wasn't the Kobalt she had gotten to know. And then last night on top of that, the look in his eyes when he woke up, he didn't look like himself.
"You know what Blue? Do me a favor and keep that carefree attitude of yours." She told him "You really do look weird otherwise."
"You got it." he laughed
"So what do you think Viridian's got planned for today?" she asked Kobalt as they walked to class.
"No clue, but I'm hoping for a break after yesterday." He said
"Yeah I'm sure that'll happen." Nickole said sarcastically "She probably left a note on the board to go to the auditorium for practice."
"Probably." Kobalt laughed
But surprisingly there was no note, nor was there anything else on the board or on Viridian's desk. The whole room seemed void of all things learning or training. Even stranger Professor Viridian was actually there, but she wasn't sitting at her desk like normal. Instead she was sitting in a chair in the back by the end of the white board, looking at her scroll. No one in the class was talking, Nickole and Kobalt looked at each other confused as they took their seats. Kobalt looked like he was going to ask Professor Viridian something when the door in the back of the class opened. A tall man slowly walked into class, looking over all the students. He wore a combat harness over what looked like military style clothing. Nickole figured he was some kind of special ops Huntsman, his clothes were black with green lining, and he had some kind of light metal plate over his chest, elbows, and knees. His hair was white and wavy, and he had a bright green left eye. But that was all she could see of his face, the rest was hidden under a mask of bandages that covered everything up to the tip of his mouth, as well as his right eye and much of that side of his face. He walked over to Professors Viridian's desk and sat down.
"Sorry I'm late," he said casually "You wouldn't believe the traffic."
"And you are…?" Jazz asked the strange man.
"My name is Kage Midori, and I am your professor." He said raising even more questions
"I thought Professor Viridian was our professor?" one student asked
"No she was more of a substitute until I got back." Midori answered "Though she'll stay on as my assistant in the meantime."
"Oh joy." Viridian sighed in the back
"What? You told me you liked teaching these kids." He said
"Yeah, well I'm not teaching them anymore am I?" she asked him
"If you want to leave it's your choice." Midori said, when Viridian didn't he went back to the class. "Anyway, I've been quite busy lately and my cousin was kind enough to take my position while I was away. Now I need to find out if she actually taught you what matters. I have one question, what's the most vital thing to leading an effective team?"
A few hands went up in the back, Nickole heard answers like bravery, power, and authority. Every time one tried to answer the new professor shook his head, and Kobalt chuckled.
"You there in the front laughing," Midori turned to Kobalt "What's so funny?"
"Me? Well they're all giving answers they heard from movies or TV shows." Kobalt said "Things that are important but not vital, they're forgetting the most basic thing that slips everyone's mind."
"And that would be?"
"Cooperation, if the team doesn't get along and work together they will never get anywhere." Kobalt said "It's so simple everyone forgets about it, besides by now most people either get along with their team or have dropped out."
"This must be the one you told me about." Midori turned to Viridian
"You two will get along great." Viridian told him.
"So my teachers talk about me behind my back?" Kobalt asked "Lovely."
"You'll survive, now getting back to the topic of teamwork we will be focusing on combination attacks today." Professor Midori said "I'm sure my cousin already started teaching you the basics of understanding your teams' powers, today we'll be going more in depth. As I'm sure you're well aware not every combination will work for a powerful attack. For instance, fire and water won't combine into an even stronger attack."
"They don't need to make a stronger attack though." Nickole spoke up
"An excellent point, assuming you actually know what you just said." Midori told them "Feel free to elaborate."
"Combination moves don't need to damage an opponent, in the example of fire and water they won't." Nickole started "But they will make a large amount of steam, which would serve as a good diversion."
"Precisely, what's your name miss?"
"Nickole Gareth, Team KNGT." She told him
"I thought Kobalt was KNGT's leader." Midori said
"I am, you could say Nickole is like my second in command." Kobalt laughed "She kind of audits the class every so often."
"Smart girl, now moving on…"
It was a good thing Nickole woke up early on Tuesdays or she never would have been there to see this new professor. Rumors had already started circulating about who he was and why he was absent for a large portion of the semester. No one seemed to have an idea about him though, most figured he was just out on some mission or something like that. It was a little disconcerting that they couldn't see his face, but every professor here at Beacon had some weird quirk, hiding his face was probably the least distracting out of all of them. One thing was obvious, he was an intense professor, and he seemed driven to make sure his students were good leaders.
After grabbing a quick lunch with Kobalt, Nickole rushed to get to her next set of classes, spending most of her day trying not to worry about him. It was weird though, like she was more concerned about his memory than he was. It was getting late and she had History in a few minutes now. The last thing she wanted was to be late to Oobleck's class, she'd never hear the end of it. As always when she got there Tristan was already at his usual seat, surrounded by his fans. Girls from most of the teams at Beacon were crowded around him, Nickole couldn't even get to her seat next to him. She still didn't know what all these girls saw in him, sure he was good looking and nice, but at times he could be a complete pain in the ass. And he wasn't anywhere near as funny as he thought he was. When he saw Nickole walk in, he looked like he'd been saved.
"Alright ladies that's enough for today I've had a long day and I'm tired." He yawned
"Here you can have my coffee." One of them offered
"Thanks but I only share coffee with my girlfriend." Tristan said
"Okay." The girl smiled, still holding out her coffee to him
"That's it I'm outta here." Tristan said pushing his way out of the desks. The girls started to follow him when he disappeared. Nickole chuckled and took her usual seat, Justin sat in his two seats down. When she noticed all the girls were gone she burst out laughing.
"How many times will they fall for that?" she asked as Tristan reappeared in the seat between her and Justin.
"As many times as it takes before they figure out my semblance is turning invisible not teleporting." Tristan whispered.
"Maybe you should just stay like that until me and Justin get here." She told him
"I wouldn't have to if you would get here earlier." Tristan argued "You can't body block them for me if you're not here."
"I still don't know what they see in you." Nickole said "Especially lately, you've seemed way more grumpy than usual."
"Thank Kobalt for that." He said
"What, you mean the whole thing from this morning?" she asked "Because you're alarm went off literally the next minute. Or are you still blaming him for your made up problems."
"He's a dictator! 'Be at the arena for practice at six.' He says, then shows up late each time." Tristan complained
"I'm going to ignore the dictator part because you're an idiot." Nickole said "And you know as well as I do that Kobalt scheduled practices around our classes and has to rush to make it in time."
Tristan looked like he would've argued further but professor Oobleck dashed into class and began giving his lesson. Even Tristan had to give his undivided attention to keep up with him. But Nickole felt like something about Tristan was off. He'd been sarcastic and rude the past few weeks now, something was up that he wasn't telling the rest of them about. He left after class ended without saying a word to her or Justin. She was about to go after him but Jazz grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out the other exit.
"Come on, let's get lunch I'm starving." Jazz said pulling Nickole along
"Lunch? It's almost evening, besides I ate with Kobalt." Nickole tried to protest.
"That's part of the problem," Amy said joining them in the hallway with the rest of JADE "You're always hanging out with the guys on your team. When was the last time you had any girl time?"
"Girl time?" Nickole asked astounded that was what this was all about.
"Well knowing what I know about your family, I would guess never." Dore said "It was the same deal with me, I was an only child and didn't have any real friends growing up. And my team's idea of girl time is not what I had in mind."
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Amy said
"Well when you haven't really hung out with anyone before it is." Dore said
"That's great, can you let go of my arm now Jazz?" Nickole asked, and was relieved when she was no longer being dragged by her. But instead she was flanked by the rest of JADE.
"It's not like I've never hung out with anyone before." Nickole tried to argue "I used to hang out with my older brother all the time back home."
"That's what I'm talking about!" Amy laughed "It like you prefer hanging out with guys than girls."
"It's not like that," Nickole argued "My brother was a Huntsman but…."
"What?" Dore asked
"There was this accident, both of his legs were crushed." Nickole said
"And you wanted to make sure he didn't have to be alone?" Carmen asked. Nickole looked at her in surprise, she was dead on "What? It's what I'd do."
"See this is great, were bonding." Amy said as they entered the dining hall.
"I'll grab a table." Nickole said "I already ate after all."
"I'll go with her." Dore volunteered
"Make sure she doesn't bolt." Amy laughed as the rest of them walked towards the lines for food.
"So how bad is this actually?" Nickole asked once they had grabbed a small table by the window.
"It's not, honestly." Dore smiled "Give it a chance you might enjoy it."
"I'm going to regret this I can feel it." Nickole sighed
"You'll be fine," Dore said "I'm going to get us some tea, please don't leave."
"This is just what I needed this morning." Jazz sighed as she sipped her tea. She had waited in line for five minutes just to make one cup for herself. The rest of the girls had gotten their food pretty quickly.
"You know if you wanted coffee or something in the morning you could ask Kobalt." Nickole said "I'm sure he wouldn't mind making a cup for you when I'm not there."
"What are you talking about?" Jazz asked, then a smug looked crossed her face "Wait, do you mean you don't know?"
"Don't know what?" Nickole asked confused
"Kobalt only makes coffee on Tuesdays." Jazz said
…
…
"What?" Nickole asked, the realization of what Jazz said finally dawning on her.
"Every other day, Kobalt shows up to class without coffee." Jazz said "He only makes coffee on Tuesdays. One for himself, and one for you. I sure hope you know what that means."
"R-really?" Nickole stuttered
"Yep, speaking of which, where did he get it this morning? Weren't the dining halls closed?"
"He said he went to Beacon Tower, to the teacher's lounge and asked to use their coffee maker." Nickole blurted out before she could stop herself. "But that's just him being nice."
"So he went all the way to Beacon Tower, which is past your class, and brought back coffee just to be nice?" Amy argued "Nickole if I didn't know better I'd say you were in denial."
"In denial of what?" Nickole shouted, she could feel her cheeks glowing red. Everyone, with the exception of Carmen who looked uncomfortable, looked at her with the same expression on their face. A look that told her she knew perfectly well what they meant.
"So this is girl time?" she asked as she slammed her head on the table. "Next time I think I'll just run."
"So how long have you liked him?" Dore asked
"I do not like him." Nickole said angrily
"Oh please, your face is as red as Carmen's hair." Amy laughed "Just admit it."
"You two hang out alone more than anyone else I know. And it's obvious he trusts you more than anyone." Dore added "Besides, didn't you fall off a cliff trying to save him?"
"Can I go now?" Nickole all but begged
"Oh not a chance in hell, but this whole conversation has been about you." Amy said "I say we change it up a little."
"Thank you." Nickole said relieved
"So how's Tristan doing?" Amy asked "He mention any of us to you?"
Something about that set Nickole off a gunshot. Maybe the talk about Kobalt had gotten her worked up, or maybe it was switching to Tristan, who'd been a jerk to Kobalt lately that did it. Whatever it was she slammed her foot on the ground in anger and accidently triggered one of her runes in the process. Before she knew it she had sent the table flying towards the ceiling with her impact rune and she was standing there yelling at the girls.
"You want to talk about Tristan?! Fine let's talk about the guy who's been a jerk to Kobalt the past few weeks for no reason!" She yelled "Tristan's been blaming him for his own problems and been a complete asshole! But fine let's talk about him!"
To say they were shocked would've been an understatement, all of the girls were speechless and wide eyed after seeing the table launched upwards. They probably couldn't even react to Nickole yelling as it was, but the table definitely didn't help.
"Ms. Gareth!" a voice commanded from behind her, Nickole didn't have to turn to know it was Goodwitch, and she was pissed. "A word outside if you don't mind."
"Yes professor." She turned around and started walking towards the exit with Professor Goodwitch¸ who flicked her wand and brought the table back down. Nickole had launched it with enough force to impale it in the ceiling. When she got outside she figured Goodwitch would be laying into her about disobeying rules and inappropriate use of power. Instead Goodwitch just turned around and sighed.
"I expected better from you," she said, somehow that felt even worse "I was hoping you wouldn't be too much like your brother. Your father assured me you'd be much less trouble."
"I'm sorry professor, it won't happen again." Nickole told her "I didn't even know I could get that angry."
"Well fortunately for you we've had to deal with far more troublesome students before. If we treated every incident like that the same we wouldn't have any more students now would we." Goodwitch added "Just be glad you didn't cause any serious damage, or send tornados through the library. I don't think I could deal with another student like your brother."
"My brother did what?" Nickole asked astounded, the look on Goodwitch's face told her not to dig further "Never mind, not really important."
"Go back to your room, I'll let you off with a warning." Goodwitch said "I guess you're not like your brother, I can tell when a student is lying to my face."
She walked off without another word, leaving Nickole grateful for finally getting out of the dining hall. She was looking forward to getting back to her room where no one would prod her about Kobalt. So what if she liked him or not, it wasn't anyone else's business. At least Carmen hadn't joined them in ganging up on her, the rest of JADE had really gotten into her head though. She was looking forward to just lying on her bed more and more each step.
"That's it! I don't know what your problem is but you had better get over it already!" she heard Kobalt yell as she reached their floor "You're way out of line saying shit like that! I'll pretend I didn't hear anything you just said, but you had better get your act together!"
When she rounded the corner she passed an enraged Kobalt storming out of the room. When he noticed her the look on his face shifted from anger to surprise, then something else she couldn't place. He looked away and kept walking out the dorm, though he seemed less angry. She wanted to follow him and see what was wrong, but he looked like he wanted to be alone. Instead she walked into the dorm room to see Tristan on the floor, rubbing a bruise on his jaw. The realization of what must've happened dawned on her.
"What the hell did you do?" she asked as Tristan stood up and walked over to a mirror to look at his jaw.
"I uh, might've gone too far this time." he said sheepishly
"No kidding, I thought you tripped and bruised yourself that way." Nickole said sarcastically "What is going on with you, it's like you've been trying to piss us all off."
"I'm going through a bit of a rough patch with Amber, okay." He said slowly "It's been getting to me pretty bad."
"And that's why you've been such an asshole lately?" she asked him, he just sat there and nodded
"And of all of us you had to really piss off, you picked Kobalt?" she asked
"Well I never expected him to lay me out like that." Tristan said "I figured he would never hit me after the 'bookshelf' incident happened."
"Guess you were wrong."
"Yeah looks that way. I don't suppose you could apologize to him for me?" he asked her
"Me, why not do it yourself?" Nickole asked as her face turned red
"Trust me, I'm the last person he wants to see right now. He won't mind talking to you though."
"And why's that?" she asked
"Well for starters you're the one person he really trusts. And he only lets you call him that nickname of yours." Tristan said "Plus…"
"Plus what?"
"Nah you look like you might punch me if I tell you." he said "I don't have enough ice for that."
"I might punch you if you don't." she said
"You two are basically a couple, I don't know if you noticed but the guy likes you. And we all know you like him." Tristan said raising a pillow over his face "Not too hard okay?"
"I'm not going to hit you, just consider yourself lucky I'm in a good mood." She said turning to leave
"Really? You look kinda pissed" he asked, one quick look shut him up. Unfortunately shutting Tristan up was going to be the easiest thing about this whole event. She still had to find Kobalt and talk to him. Which would not be easy after having girl time. The sun was slowly setting when she stepped outside, there weren't many places he would go this late.
She found him in the gardens, leaning against a tree by the edge of the pond. His arms were crossed and his eyes were closed, if Nickole didn't know him better she'd think he was asleep. But she knew this was his way of calming down, and he was trying really hard right now, she had never seen him so set off.
"Apologize fast and leave, I'm not dealing with anymore of your shit." Kobalt said as she got closer.
"Damn, and here I was with this whole speech planned out for you." Nickole said sarcastically
"Nickole?" Kobalt asked opening his eyes and turning his head.
"Hey Blue." She said waving her hand
The look on his face shifted from angry to calm the second he saw her.
"Sorry, I thought you were Tristan."
"I got the feeling." Nickole chuckled as Kobalt slid down and sat against the tree. "He did ask me to apologize for him though."
"He's got some nerve asking you to do that." Kobalt said as she sat down by the water.
"Why's that? He knows you don't want to see him right now." Nickole asked
"Never mind, if he sent you he's either actually sorry." Kobalt started "Or he's the biggest coward I've ever met."
"His semblance is invisibility." Nickole pointed out
"You got a point there." He chuckled
"He seems to think we're in a relationship." She said looking at the moon's reflection in the water.
"I don't think I know how to be in a relationship." Kobalt laughed
"You don't know a lot of things." Nickole reminded him "You have amnesia, not knowing things comes with the territory."
"I know I like you." he said quietly
"What?!" she asked standing up. She shouldn't have been surprised, everyone had been saying that all day. But hearing it from him meant it was true, not just some rumor being used to tease her.
"You can't just say something like that out of nowhere!" she reflexively yelled "People might get the wrong idea!"
"There's nothing to get the wrong idea about." He said calmly "I'm trying to say something here you know?"
"You really mean that?" she asked "You're not messing with me?"
"Of course I mean it, besides it would be cruel to mess with a person like that." He said
"Why do you even like me?" she asked backing up "I'm quick tempered, reckless, stubborn…"
She hadn't realized how close to the edge of the grass she was until she lost her balance on her next step and started falling towards the water. Faster than a bullet Kobalt shot up and caught her before she hit the water.
"As to why I like you; you're funny, smart, brave, kind, and only about half as quick tempered and reckless as I am." He smiled. "You risked your life to save me, and helped me out where no one else could."
"Um, Kobalt." She said noticing he was still holding her "You can put me down now."
"I'm not sure if I want to." He said "Do you want me to?"
"You're so not making this easy, you know that." She told him
"I don't know a lot of things, someone told me it had something to do with amnesia or…"
She never let him finish, she pulled his head down and kissed him.
"So I take it that means you feel the same?" Kobalt asked
"Of course it does you idiot!" she said standing up on her own
"You sure? Cause it's not going to be easy with me." he said
"When has it ever been easy with you?" she laughed, he leaned in and kissed her again.
"That was easy," Kobalt said as he pulled back
"AND SCENE!" Someone shouted in the darkness.
"Tristan?" Kobalt called out, across the pond what little light there was shifted, and Tristan materialized out of thin air. His scroll was raised in his hand like he was taking a picture.
"Finally!" he laughed "We've all been waiting for you two to hook up. I guess you just needed a little push."
"Push? So that's the reason you were pissed at Kobalt…" Nickole started
"Pissed at me?" Kobalt asked "He was being a jerk to you behind your back. That's why I laid him out."
"What?"
"Yeah, he was saying 'if you weren't crazy for her you'd see that she's….' actually I think I'll stop there." Kobalt said
"Probably for the best." Tristan said
"And you and Amber?" Nickole asked
"We're fine, she was watching this whole time." Tristan said turning his scroll towards them. Barely visible on the screen was a girl with short brown hair
"Um hi." She squeaked nervously
"She's been helping me with my acting so I could play my role convincingly." Tristan said
"And you told me you were working on a video project!" Amber shouted regaining composure "Not manipulating your friends!"
"Sorry?" Tristan tried
"Sorry? You think sorry is going to be enough…." And suddenly Amber cut out.
"Oh crap, the battery died!" Tristan said freaking out "I'm going to catch hell for this later!"
"Later?" Nickole asked him "Why's that?"
"Well I have to charge the battery back up." Tristan said looking dumbfounded
"Why bother?" she asked him "You've got me to deal with right now!"
She boosted herself with a rune towards him gave her best shot at kicking him in his damn head. He managed to duck under it, but she followed through with a punch aimed at his chest. If her head was clear she probably would've used the hand to hand training her father gave her, but she was so full of rage she just chased Tristan around the garden.
"Well this was certainly worth the wait." Jazz laughed, Nickole stopped to see all of JADE walking up
"Jazz?" Nickole asked "Oh my god you we're in on this weren't you?"
"What can I say? We just couldn't stand to see you and Kobalt going on the way you were." Jazz teased
"Consider it payback for our duel." Dore said to Kobalt
"I was helping you get along with your team, not setting you up with a member of it!" Kobalt argued
"Are you complaining about the result?" Jazz asked
"No but it's nothing like what I did!"
"You're right its way better!" Dore laughed
"We just thought it was a good idea." Amy said
"Whose idea?" Kobalt asked her
"Tristan's." they all said together
Nickole had never seen Kobalt make a look like the one he shot Tristan, a mixture of happiness and pure rage.
"You're damn lucky this worked out," he said "You do know that?"
"Does that mean you'll let me off the hook?" Tristan asked
"Not a chance in hell." Kobalt said raising his hand, for a second Nickole thought he was going to blast Tristan. Then a ring of light emerged from his hand and wrapped around Tristan's arms.
"Now he won't be able to defend himself," Kobalt said "Kick his ass sweetie!"
"Gladly, Blue." Nickole said cracking her knuckles.
"Now I know what you're thinking" Tristan said as she advanced on him " 'Is what he did really that bad?' And the answer may surprise you."
"Actually I was thinking your girlfriend might let you off the hook for the whole phone thing when she sees you." Nickole said, with that Tristan shuttered with fear and tried to turn invisible. But the binds Kobalt had put on him were still clear as day, and Tristan took off running.
"Get back here you manipulative jerk!" Nickole shouted as she chased him
"Boy you are in for one bumpy ride, Kobalt." Jazz laughed
"Yep, Nickole is a bit of a handful." Kobalt sighed
"Excuse me?" Nickole stopped and asked her new boyfriend "Whose a handful, Mr. Amnesiac?!"
She hadn't even realized what she said until the words came out of her mouth, she immediately clamped her mouth with her hands to keep from saying anything else. Kobalt had one secret, and she had just blurted it out to all of JADE. Not even ten minutes into this relationship and she'd bombed it.
"Amnesiac? Kobalt what's she talking about?" Amy asked
"Shit, Kobalt I…I'm so sorry." She started, before she knew what was happening he was standing next to her with his arm over her shoulder.
"It's okay, they would've found out eventually." He said, the smile still not leaving his face.
"Kobalt what's going on?" Dore asked "What's does she mean Mr. Amnesiac?"
"It's a long story." Tristan said, becoming visible again "I'm actually working on a script, I thinks it's going to be great."
"Actually it's kind of short." Kobalt said "But you're all going to have lots of questions with Tristan's version so let me sum it up. I lost my memory before I came to Beacon, yes I'm okay, no I don't need any more help, I'm working on it. I forget anything Nickole?"
"Not that I can think of." She said "But please don't tell anyone else, we don't want this to get out to the whole Academy."
"Don't worry, everyone will be talking about the newest couple on campus." Carmen smiled
"Speaking of which, Kobalt we should probably talk." Nickole said "Alone."
"You all go on ahead, we'll catch up." Kobalt said
"You sure you want this?" Nickole asked once everyone was gone. "Tristan did just orchestrate the whole thing."
"Is that going to change how I feel?" he asked her, when she didn't respond he just smiled "I didn't think so, in the meantime I think our first job as a couple should be to make his life hell the next few days."
"Agreed." Nickole smiled