Minutes went by, as Celadon and Rusty contemplated their next move. After a few moments passed by, they decided to attack. They began to charge towards the younger pair. "SOUL RESONANCE!" Saffron and Noir screamed, as the size of the harpoon began to triple. "Ready?" Noir asked, aiming the newfound weapon at the charging pair. Saffron chuckled, signaling her response. Pulling the trigger, at a speed defying most scales, the harpoon bolted towards the pair, knocking Celadon off of his feet, and the pickaxe out of his hands. The battle was over.

Saffron transformed into her human form once more, and engulfed Noir in a tight hug. "We did it! I can't believe it!" she chirped, while Noir remained silent. Rusty transformed into his human form, and yanked Celadon off the ground. "Your son is a very powerful meister. He has a lot of potential." Celadon stated, watching as Saffron and Noir cheered with glory. Rusty sighed, his trademark smile vanishing from his face. "Powerful, yes. Too powerful."

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"You passed the EAT exams? So did we!"

"Cherry, we all passed. It's no big deal anymore."

"It's a very big deal, Gray!"

Cherry found herself bouncing around in her seat, a cup of coffee shaking in her hands. This was a dream. No, it wasn't. She was living the dream. Gray sighed, as he watched the excited meister babble on about her battle against Lon and Indigo. Violet listened, as she had heard the story several times. "Lighten up, Gray." Jade stated, taking a sip of her coffee. A small grin appeared on her face. Gray was baffled by Jade's odd behavior. "See? Just take some pride in your battle! From what Jade told me, you guys did great!" Cherry chirped, wrapping her arm around Jade. The navy haired girl frowned. "I told you not to touch me." she snarled. Cherry quickly pulled her arm away. "Sorry Forgot!"

Cherry wasn't the only one bursting with enthusiasm. Noir was in the same boat. Not because he passed the EAT exams, but because he was able to have a showdown with his father. And win. "And then, I was like, 'Ready?'. And then, we kicked Celadon's ass!" Noir exclaimed, flailing his arms in the air to express excitement. Cherry listened intently, feeling hyped from all the battle stories being told. However, her excitement vanished when a familiar figure arose at the front of the table.

"Mind if I join you?" Sage asked, tapping his finger against the wooden table. The odd thing was that Ruby and Azure weren't at his sides this time. He was alone. "Sure!" Cherry chirped, yanking over a seat for the older meister. Braith frowned and shifted closer to Roux. From their previous battle, Sage didn't look so happy about losing so quickly. "What's the EAT class like? Who's the strongest pair?" Cherry and Noir bombarded Sage with questions about the class. Sage took a small sip of coffee and began to speak up. "It's challenging. There's a decent amount of work, exams, and missions. The missions sound fun, but in reality, are the most challenging of all. Even for me." he explained, eventually gaining the attention of the entire table. "The strongest pair...is a hard one to choose." Noir leaned closer towards Sage. "Is it you?" he asked. Sage shook his head. "No. It's not me." Sage stated, then began to think for a brief moment. "...Ivy Stanton and Jasper Cade." All eight students raised their eyebrows. "Who are they?" Saffron asked.

"Ivy Stanton may as well be one of the finest meisters to have ever walked into the DWMA. Dominant and forceful, she will do whatever it takes to win. However, she's extremely stubborn and arrogant, as most meisters are. But...she exhibits those two traits in excess." Sage explained, in a soft tone, as if Ivy Stanton was listening to every word. "Are you saying that she's a bitch?" Roux asked. Sage shrugged. "A bit, though it's because her and I aren't on good terms." Sage chuckled. "What about Jasper? What's the weapon like?" Jade asked. Even Jade was interested in the infamous Ivy Stanton and her partner.

"Her weapon of choice is a fencing sword. A very thin, yet powerful blade. Thinner than my spears, because at least my spears have thicker blades, especially at the tip. In battle, it's more useful for slicing opponents rather than stabbing him." Sage explained to the younger students. "Is there anything else we should know about Ivy?" Braith asked. Sage stood up from his seat. "She doesn't like new students."

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"Should have known that you would be here!" Rusty sauntered into the infamous Death City bar, known as The Crypt. Inside, he found Sinopia sitting at the bar, sipping away at drinks. Rusty wrapped his arm around Sinopia and grinned. Sinopia, though he was a bit inebriated, was excited to see his old companion. "Rusty? What brings you to Death City?" Sinopia asked, ordering a drink for himself and his old friend. Rusty chuckled. "EAT exams. I ended up battling my own son." The bartender passed their drinks to Sinopia and Rusty. "How did he do?" Sinopia slurred, a slight drawl to his words. Rusty took a sip of his drink. "He...kicked my ass. And Celadon's. I'm proud...but worried." Rusty admitted, his accent slipping out several times. Sinopia raised his eyebrow. "Noir, right? That's your kid?" he asked. Rusty nodded his head. Sinopia grinned.

"He's the spitting image of you." Sinopia stated, finishing another drink. Rusty decided to change the subject. "How's Yvette and the others?" Rusty asked. Sinopia shrugged. "Depends. By others, do you mean Death Scythes?" he asked, obviously loathing to speak about the current Death Scythes. "You know what I mean." Rusty laughed, while Sinopia groaned. "Yvette is fine. Still single, though. It's a shame, she's cute, but very shy. Mauve is still smokin' as usual. Also single, by the way." Sinopia paused in between in explanation to order another drink. "Lon, the kid who replaced you, is an awful little shit. I fucking hate him. Too cocky. Indigo was the newest one, and she's bent out of shape." Sinopia explained, as the bartender passed his drink to him. Without another word, he chucked the entire drink down. "I don't want to carry you home again, Finn. At least I can hold my liquor." Rusty joked, ordering another drink as well. "How's the rest of the crew?" he asked. Sinopia was growing more tipsy, but he continued to speak. "The crew...well...there's Sienna. The old bat will never retire. Still talks about you, too. Rowan is still a dirty hooker!" Rusty cringed at the awful words Sinopia spat at the current death scythes, but allowed him to speak nevertheless. "Fuck them all..." Sinopia fell off the bar stool after a few too many drinks.

"I suppose I am carrying you home, after all..."