Emerald felt that she was adjusting well to the role of night watch, even if she still didn't entirely comprehend the forgiveness that these people were able to show her. Knowing that she was partially responsible for the reason that the school had been completely leveled in the first place, but still welcoming her back in with open arms regardless. They either really did see good in her, or they were just that obnoxiously naive, but in either case, she was grateful to them. Not to mention that it was really an easy job and the pay was nothing that she could complain about. It had been a while since she'd so much as even seen a Grimm, and the students were usually fairly understanding when she sent them back to their dorms. They all seemed to like her too.

She'd heard what had happened to Neela that morning with the Krygore, as Oobleck was now calling it. A Grimm that appeared to have the propensity for converting all of the energy stored in its body into speed and catching huntsmen off guard. Ilia Amitola was instructed to help keep watch that week instead of covering Emerald's off days, Coco wanted to make absolutely sure that this thing didn't start rampaging through the school, starting off by taking out Emerald. Emerald wanted to think she could probably keep it distracted for a while, but Grimm were harder to fool with illusions, even if they were simpler than humans. She made her third check of the cafeteria for the night when a gunshot rang out that almost caused her to jump out of her skin.

After taking a moment to assess what was going on it was evident to her that they weren't firing at her, but it brought with it a new panic that the assailant might be firing at a student and that was something that was just as bad. She had a rough idea of its origin, but if they were firing at a student, why had there only been a single gunshot. With the exception of firing into a dorm, the students would know how to fight back. She grabbed the radio mic that was clipped on her collar.

"Amitola, did you hear that?" Emerald asked.

"Yep," she replied after a long moment of silence. Another gunshot. Emerald moved towards it.

"You don't sound nearly as panicked as I feel," Emerald stated. Ilia chuckled.

"I'm guessing one of the students decided they wanted to get some late-night practice in," Ilia assured her.

"You want to take this one?" Emerald inquired. There was another pause.

"I'll let you take it," Amitola informed her. Emerald trekked towards the outdoor firing range, wondering how anyone could possibly be practicing in the dark like this. Without her flashlight, she could barely see where she was going as she left the lamps of the school behind that lit the sidewalks. It could have been one of the Faunus, and she really couldn't have blamed anyone at the school for practicing harder. These kids had placed Neela on some kind of untouchable pedestal, and she'd fallen hard. Between the emotional trauma, Eliana had inadvertently caused, and the physical trauma that the Krygore had inflicted, they learned the hard way that the goddess among them was indeed touchable… and if she was, weren't the rest of them? The weight of that morning's mission could be felt throughout the student body.

Fears that if the number one student of the second years, and possibly the entire school, could be taken down so easily, did the rest of them even really stand a chance? Maybe it was the wake-up call that they needed, but did it really need to come at Neela's expense? Another gunshot and as Emerald finally reached the guilty party, she discovered May instead of one of the students she expected to find.

"You're up late," Emerald told her.

"I could say the same about you," May chuckled as she aimed down her sights again and continued on with her practice.

"It's my job to be up late," Emerald explained as if May didn't know.

"Keeping us safe?" May pried playfully.

"Of course," Emerald insisted.

"My safety is in good hands then," May noted as she fired once more and hit the bullseye of a target that Emerald could just barely make out.

"Maybe you should join the night watch," Emerald noted.

"It's really hard to see that at night, even for me," May replied.

"Then why not use one of the indoor ranges?" Emerald questioned.

"Three reasons," May said as she lowered her weapon. "The indoor range isn't long enough, and when the enemy attacks there's no guarantee that it would be during the day."

"I guess that's true," Emerald noted as May took aim again.

"When's your next day off?" May inquired. Emerald looked at her.

"Hm?" Emerald breathed.

"You do get days off, right? Or is Coco working you like a horse?" May chuckled.

"Oh, sure. Yeah, I have Sunday off next," Emerald explained to her.

"Do you have any plans?" May asked, blushing slightly as she fired again.

"No," Emerald stated plainly.

"Would you want to go get dinner?" May pried. Emerald looked down the range before the question fully hit her and she glanced at May, the woman avoiding eye contact.

"Are… are you asking me on a date?" Emerald blurted awkwardly. May swallowed hard.

"Do you already have a partner?" May inquired.

"No… No! I just… I… I'd love to!" Emerald declared. May's eye widened.

"Really?!" She exclaimed looking at her.

"Yeah!" Emerald assured her.

"Okay! Okay then… uh… meet me at the cliff Sunday night, around seven in the evening?" May suggested.

"Sounds great!" Emerald agreed. She stood there for a long moment and they smiled at each other dumbstruck before Emerald blushed and rubbed her neck. "I uh… need to get back to work now."

"Sure," May nodded.

"Sunday," Emerald said.

"Sunday," May repeated.

"A date," Emerald said.

"Yes," May chuckled. Emerald nodded a few times before she walked away slowly.

"You never told me the third reason you were out here," Emerald finally informed her.

"Being outside made it easier to catch the attention of the new, cute, night guard," May said with an over-exaggerated wink of sorts. Emerald nodded with a blushing smile, continuing on her way at a standard pace before sprinting towards the school once out of sight. Amitola appeared next to May who was shaking enough that she couldn't aim her rifle.

"Easy, right?" Amitola asked.

"I thought I was going to pass out!" May nearly screamed at her. "What about that was supposed to be easy?!"

"Were you that nervous?" Ilia questioned.

"Yes," May exhaled. "She's a twelve and I'm just a seven, at best."

"You have to give yourself more credit," Amitola told her. "I'd bang you." They stared at each other for a long moment and Ilia went invisible.

"Thanks," May blushed.

"Emerald!" A voice yelled that caught her off guard and stopped her in her tracks.

"Go away!" Emerald shouted at her.

"You think you can just forget about everything and move on?" Cinder laughed as she approached her.

"You're not real, you're just in my head," Emerald rebutted.

"I'm as real as you want me to be," Cinder informed her. "You didn't give up on me after I fought Raven, but now you're going to throw away what we had?"

"We didn't have anything before," Emerald admired. Cinder gripped her jaw and moved in close, as if she was going to kiss her.

"That's not the way I remember it," Cinder whispered. Emerald shoved her away.

"Really? The way I remember it was that I was a scared little girl who allowed herself to be manipulated!" Emerald shouted. "I thought I loved you, but you used fear to make me submit, I was in over my head." Cinder chuckled.

"That's not how you feel," Cinder told her. "If you did, I wouldn't still be here."

"Maybe you shouldn't still be here," Emerald informed her.

"You'll never be able to get rid of me," Cinder instructed. "Let's not kid ourselves, you still feel at fault for all of the pain that you caused these people."

"I don't know if that's a feeling that I'll ever move past, but I can move past you," Emerald informed her.

"Is it possible to move on from me while still holding onto the past like that?" Cinder pried.

"You're not real!" Emerald repeated.

"But you wish I was," Cinder added.

"I don't!" Emerald explained. "I want you to go away! I want to be free of you! I made peace with the things that I did when I was in hiding, so why can't I get rid of you?"

"You're not as fun as I remember," Cinder sighed, rolling her eyes and walking past her towards the woods. "When you destroy this relationship because of regret, you know where to find me." Emerald balled her fists and went red in the face.

"I won't!" She shouted. Emerald looked at her hands which were shaking. She was arguing with herself… "I won't. I need something good in my life."

"Will you be back?" Desirae asked as Eliana finished packing the last of her things in a third suitcase. She looked around the room and sighed, thinking long and hard about the question that was just presented. It was hard to say whether or not she would be back, but she would miss her teammates here, even if one of them was an egotistical maniac that tried to erase the memories of her past. She would be back if that's what Neela wanted, but she wouldn't know until she asked, as she was having a hard time getting ahold of her via her scroll. Eliana gave Desirae a long hard hug before throwing her backpack on and attempting to carry all the cases herself. Needless to say she failed, and Desirae laughed and shook her head offering to help her carry one of them.

"I'll miss you guys," Eliana assured her.

"We'll miss you too," Desirae exclaimed, trying not to cry.

"Hey, Eliana!" Asher exclaimed, throwing open the door and nearly barreling into her. "Woah, I didn't expect you to be standing right there, sorry about that. There's someone here to see you."

"Is it Arslan again? She keeps insisting that I press charges, but I think that everybody involved in the little date incident has already been through enough, right?" Eliana asked. Desirae nodded as Violet peered around Asher and he stepped out of the way. "Mom! What are you doing here?!"

"I came to bring you home, Elli," Violet informed her.

"How did you know that I was leaving today? I haven't told anyone except the Headmistress and my teammates here," Eliana inquired.

"I didn't know that you were, but that's great news," Violet lit up. She was excited over the idea of her daughter coming home and finally facing her fears. "I thought we'd need to have another talk for me to convince you to." Violet laughed before throwing her arms around Eliana and pulling her in tight, holding her close.

"I missed you too, mom," Eliana laughed. "And it's just going to be temporary, to begin with, depending on whether or not Neela wants me to come back?" Violet stiffened and Eliana pulled away slightly to look at her. "She doesn't want me back?"

"That's… not exactly the issue. She wants you to return, there's no doubt in my mind about that… But…" Violet tried to smile as she looked further down the hall and motioned someone to show themselves as she took a step backward to let them in. Yang and Blake. Eliana's mind instantly filled with the horror of trying to take Shadow as Yang's figure loomed over her.

"No…" Eliana stammered.

"We missed you, Elli," Blake assured her.

"How could you!?" Eliana yelled, Violet unsure of who her daughter was addressing.

"You're like a daughter to us," Yang stated.

"But I tried hurting Shadow!" Eliana shouted.

"No, you didn't. We know there's no way you would have handed her over to Athena," Blake added as they moved closer. Asher and Desirae simply stood there and watched, confused and dumbfounded.

"I… I want to come back… but…" Eliana managed.

"But what?" Yang asked.

"You must hate me," Eliana exhaled.

"Hate you?" Blake questioned. They moved in closer, Eliana closed her eyes fearing repercussions, but was instead met with a hug.

"Elli, we love you," Yang corrected. Eliana tried to shove them away but finally gave in, crying into Yang's bosom. She missed them. Why had she run away? Was she being selfish? She was regretful and exhausted, but she had to admit to herself she was happy to see Yang and Blake again.

"I love you guys too!" Eliana exhaled loudly. "Did Neela come with?" Yang and Blake took a step back. "What's up?"

"That's… why we came to get you," Blake informed her. Eliana looked back and forth at the two of them.

"Did something happen?"

"Eliana," Violet spoke softly as her daughter stared through the door window into Neela's room, unable to comprehend the fact that her best friend was in a coma that there was the possibility she might not ever wake up from, and she had the most horrifying feeling that she was partially to blame. Eliana covered her mouth, shaking her head as Violet gripped her by the shoulders. "Look at me." Eliana shook her head but Violet held firm. "Look at me."

"This is my fault," Eliana whimpered.

"This is not your fault!" Violet informed her. "Unless you're running around as a Grimm in your free time, this is not your fault at all."

"If I hadn't left though…" Eliana tried to insist.

"Then you would have been in just as much danger," Violet corrected.

"I just… but..." Eliana stammered.

"No buts," Violet cut her off.

"Eliana?!" Someone shouted from down the hallway. Eliana turned to see Titus and Ilia, Ilia stood with her jaw slack in disbelief and Titus beside her, trying his best to hide a smirk. "Eliana!"

"Hey," Eliana sheepishly answered as Ilia sprinted towards her with no signs of stopping. Ilia tackled her in a full-blown run, both of them sprawling to the floor as Ilia hugged her tightly and cried.

"I didn't think you'd come back!" Ilia sobbed. "Titus said that you would and Neela explained what happened pretty minimally, but I thought you were going to stay away. I can't tell you how much we missed you." Eliana loved this warmth. This embrace. It was familial. This was home, right?

"I missed you too," Eliana managed through having the air squeezed out of her.

"I knew you'd come back," Titus remarked.

"Did you though?" Eliana questioned.

"I missed you too," he finally insisted and she chuckled. He helped them both to their feet and gave Eliana a proper hug before setting her back down.

"Did I miss anything?" Eliana asked before Ilia gave a long look at Titus, unsure of how to reply. "I know about Neela."

"Right…" Titus stated.

"Gargoyle here got himself a woman," Ilia mentioned.

"I hardly think that merits a footnote on the year we've been having," Titus scoffed.

"I think it does," Eliana argued. "Who is the lucky lady?"

"Is she lucky?" Ilia jested.

"Very funny," Titus remarked.

"Who is it?" Eliana pried again.

"No one you know," Titus pointed out.

"Natalia Ironwood," Ilia stated.

"Oh yeah, that girl from his past," Eliana recalled.

"Alright, anyways, what about you Ilia?" Titus moved them along.

"Nothing much going on with me specifically… We took down Quake!" Ilia blurted.

"Yeah, I saw that on the news! You guys did great," Eliana noted.

"Thanks!" Ilia replied.

"Surely there's something going on with you that we can talk about," Titus mentioned.

"Is that Eliana?" Cobalt yelled from down the hall.

"Oh boy," Ilia murmured.

"Boy do we have a story for you," Cobalt insisted.

"It can wait," Tawney scolded.

"But… it can probably wait," Cobalt agreed. Eliana nodded slowly and leaned towards Titus.

"Are they?" She asked.

"No," Titus replied.

"You sure?" Eliana double-checked.

"Pretty sure," Ilia answered for him.

"We missed you," Bái explained.

"I missed you guys too," Eliana told her.

"How's Neela," Cobalt asked. Lykos elbowed him.

"Same as the last few days," Ilia sighed. "Unresponsive with no ETA for waking up."

"Any chance I can get in there?" Cobalt asked.

"Not without permission from the hospital staff, or Blake or Yang," Violet informed him.

"Speak of the devils," Tawney noted, pointing down the hall. Blake and Yang were quickly chasing Weiss towards Neela's room but were having no luck keeping up.

"Weiss, really, you don't have to do this," Yang insisted.

"Would this be a bad time to ask?" Cobalt questioned quietly.

"Probably," Violet answered.

"I know that I have no obligation to Neela or the two of you, but you're family, and if I have the means to keep you closer together during all of this, then I'm going to do it," Weiss informed her sister-in-law.

"We don't want to put you out," Blake noted. Weiss scoffed and then chuckled.

"I have more lien than I know what to do with," Weiss stated.

"Not all of us are that fortunate," Yang replied. Weiss sighed.

"If it makes you feel better, think of it as thanks for the Aura Invitro Project," Weiss offered, entering the room. Cobalt tried to sneak in with them only to be dragged back by Titus.

"What does permission mean to you?" Titus questioned.

"It only would have taken me a moment," Cobalt groaned. Eliana mindlessly followed them in and no one said a word. She moved through Weiss who seemed annoyed at first before softening, Eliana brushed Neela's braids.

I need you to wake up! I have something to tell you!

Eliana wanted to scream, but she couldn't find the words.

Next Week, Chapter 38: Struggle!

A big thank you to AG_Nonsuch, Helihi, Cadhla182, Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. The artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.

Until next week, stay classy!