Welcome back everyone to another exciting chapter of The Darkling Thrush!

This one is a bit late, I've been in a transitioning period. Summer's over back to business as usual, you know? So, hopefully I'm now in a place where I can write more. We'll find out.

As always, I'd like to thank those who left a review on the previous chapter! Thank you jin0uga, Baoh joestar, Ussop and noone297. I appreciate the words, even if its something as simple as a 'Need Work' or 'Nice' or 'Fuck you this is terrible'. Its just nice to know people are reading and get something out of what I've written, enough to motivate people to address me and tell me what they think. It's nice.

So, anyways, moving on. Once again, we're back for another Nebula chapter. I wrote this over the course of a week, but only having an hour a day to work on it. So, yeah. I hope it flows well enough.

Well, on with the show!

XXXII

Nebula: Part 2

The acceptance letter from Shade Academy arrived in late spring. There was never a doubt Nebula, now age seventeen, would get in. Spending eight years of her life at the local Acre Combat School, she'd studied and trained. Graduating with high honors, Nebula was her class' valedictorian. The speech she delivered drew tears from both her parents, the faculty, her peers and esteemed guests.

"The future is ours." Nebula muttered to herself, recalling the final four words of her passionate speech. Staring out the window of the airship, Nebula couldn't help but admire her destination. A combat school surrounded by desert, built upon a plateau with high spires which demanded recognition for the brilliant ingenuity that resulted in their being built. Shade Academy was a futuristic marvel that could make even Atlesian engineers and Mistralian architects green with envy.

Nebula could feel a mix of fear and excitement welling in her chest. For the past eight years she'd worked tirelessly, from unlocking her aura, to honing her skills with a crossbow to even academia. Everything had been leading up to these moments when she'd take the first step forward into the rest of her life.

The airship landed and its doors opened. Nebula grabbed her suitcase and joined the other passengers as they swarmed for the exit and disembarked their transport. Her first steps taken forward, Nebula met the all too familiar blistering heat of Vacuo with a confident grin. The students were motioned forward by loadmasters, appointed faculty who ensured the incoming and outgoing airships ran smoothly and in a timely fashion.

It was when she was heading down Main Avenue of the school when Nebula realized she hadn't taken in all of her surroundings. The entire trip over to the school and she'd spent it all gawking at the plateau and the buildings built atop it. Never once did she pay any mind to the kingdom's capitol right next door.

The indigo haired girl wanted to run back over and take in the sights. Maybe she'd catch sight of the council chamber or the Schnee Dust Corporation building her father worked at. Maybe she could even take a photo and send it to him, maybe he'd find it reassuring that his baby girl was alright and having the time of her life. But one look over her shoulder back at the busy tarmac quickly snuffed such thoughts. Sure, she could go around and get another angle, but it wouldn't be the same. Maybe later she'd do it, just not now. After all, Nebula, just like the rest of her fellow first years were left with the puzzling question, where exactly were they supposed to go now?

Down the maroon brick road the mob of students went before congregating right beside a statue out front in the center of a fountain. The statue in question was of a cloaked figure standing triumphantly in the process of removing a spear from a dead Ursa. Some students took seats at the edge of the fountain, others stood and silently kept watch, as if waiting for someone else to take lead and answer the unspoken question of their destination.

"Anyone know where we're supposed to be headed?" A young man with his light pink eyes with short dark red messy hair asked allowed to no one in specific.

Like most others present, Nebula's eyes fell onto the young man. The Violette could help but look the boy over, taking note of his casual dress consisting of a deep sky blue jacket with a black hood and rolled up black sleeves. Beneath that he wore a white shirt with long, rolled up sleeves. A pair of sunglasses with lenses that matched his eye color hung from his collar. His burgundy colored pants were ripped but stitched accordingly. Must've been the style.

The young man was looking to his peers for answers, turning slowly and meeting their eyes. Some looked away from the foreign eye contact, others just let it was over them. But none answered his question.

She could tell by the look on his face he wasn't exactly enjoying the lack of feedback from his peers. Soon, the scarf wearing young man's eyes fell onto Nebula. She met his gaze and gave a shrug, deciding any response was better than none. "Not a clue." Nebula said before following up with a thoughtful laugh.

The young man stared at Nebula coldly, as if he'd preferred she hadn't said anything at all. He let out a hearty scoff before shaking his head and walking off, sneering something under his breath too inaudible to make out. But from the young man's body language it couldn't be anything nice. Nebula watched as the boy walked away, a frown forming on her face. For goodness sake, all she did was contribute, no need to be all fussy about it.

"Bit of a jerk, that one is." A foreign feminine voice interrupted Nebula's thoughts. The Violette turned to her right, following the voice to its source. There standing a foot away stood a girl, slightly shorter than herself with curly black hair pulled into ringlets. She wore a black corset dress with a dark gray front, purple hem and purple laces on the back with a high gray collar and elbow length sleeved with black cuffs. Her belt was a long purple ribbon edged in gray, with a bow in the back and tied in the front. The girl had the appearance of a ballet dancer and could very easily be mistaken for one if not for the pair of armor tassets that appeared to act as storage for her weapon connected to her belt.

"Am I right?" The girl directed her question towards Nebula.

Nebula didn't know him, so Nebula couldn't agree with the curly haired girl's assessment. But Violette shrugged, not exactly able to argue for the boy either. "Eh, maybe. He certainly isn't the type for long winded conversation though, is he?" Nebula said jokingly before turning to face the curly haired girl fully. If she didn't know where they were supposed to be heading, the least Nebula could do was entertain a conversation and possibly make a friend.

"Name's Gwen. Gwen Darcy." Gwen said in a welcoming tone before taking a step forward and extending her hand.

"Nebula. Nebula Violette." Nebula returned the gesture. She grabbed Gwen's hand and shook it firmly.

"Violette? That wouldn't be 'The' Violette, would it?" Gwen asked.

"'Fraid so." Nebula reluctantly admitted.

"Yikes." Gwen could help but say. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, I mean."

"No, no it's fine." Nebula waved it off, seemingly unoffended. The past eight years spent attending the Acre Academy, Nebula had been faced with similar responses from her peers. It was in the history books when she'd learned of her great grandfather and grandfather's failures. Everyone expected her to choke, to fail at some point or another. But she never did. Nor does she intend to anytime soon. "I will overcome great adversity."

"Are you quoting?" Gwen raised a brow as she tried to make sense of Nebula's comment. "Sounds like quoting. I just can't point my finger on it."

"Pyrrha Nikos. Right after she took home the Mistral Cup for the third time." Nebula said a matter of fact.

"Oh, right, the Mistral prodigy. Isn't she on that cereal? The one that isn't good for you?" Gwen inquired innocently.

"Oh yeah. That's the best part." Nebula couldn't help but laugh. Of all the cereal boxes on the market, her idol couldn't have chosen something healthier. Oh well, Nebula ate it anyways. "The prizes inside aren't that bad though. Got myself a kickass decoder ring once."

The pair shared a quick laugh, but then things seemed to die down. In an effort to keep the conversation going, Nebula changed topics to something bound to get a response out of Gwen. "Can you believe they let us off the airship without telling us where we had to go?"

"Yeah, that did strike me as a bit odd." Gwen nodded in agreement. "I tried asking those guys manning the tarmac, but they wouldn't budge. To busy making sure everyone got off. You think they'll make an announcement or something?"

"Attention. Will All First Year Students Report To The Northern Edge Of Campus." A voice spoke loudly over the intercom.

"Guess that answers that question." Nebula remarked before both she and Gwen, along with the rest of the hangers on doing nothing by the fountain gathered their things and followed the voice over the intercom's instructions.

There must have been over a hundred first year students, Nebula thought to herself as she got lost in a sea of her peers as she made her way to the designated rallying point. It got so bad the Violette lost sight of Gwen. Before she knew it she'd been pushed and shoved all the way to the edge of campus and now found herself looking down what would be a rather steep fall.

"You'd be best to step away from there child." A womanly voice called out to Nebula in a warning tone. The Violette snapped at attention and laid her eyes on the speaker. The elder woman had appeared almost out of nowhere and now stood flanked by a silver haired man beside Nebula. "Please, join the others." She gestured to the mob of students.

Nebula stared at the woman for a moment, noting her dark green work suit and purple hair. She had a cold calculating face, one devoid of emotion. She must've noticed Nebula's staring, because the woman's eyes quickly darted at the Violette and sent a chill down her spine. "I won't ask again." She said coldly. Nebula then did as she was told and joined the rest of the students beside a long row of metal platforms imbedded into the rocky surface of the plateau.

"I am Headmistress Wytcherly. I'll do my best to keep this as brief as possible, today is not only your first day but may possibly be your last." The Headmistress stressed darkly, causing a number of the students present to become a tad rowdy and demand an explanation. The purple haired woman raised a hand and an icy silence descended on the students. Nebula couldn't tell if it was of their own volition or somehow the Headmistress had coerced them in some manner to do so.

"You all may have skirted by with high grades at your respective prior academies, but Shade isn't a place for the weak. We train Vacuo's next great defenders and no one else. Those who return before dawn will have earned their place at Shade. Those who don't, well, you're better off not just coming back at all."

"Now, if you would all please turn your attention to Professor Kashmir, he will explain the rest of this test and any other little bits of information you'd best know." The Headmistress turned the student's attention to the silver haired man standing beside her. "Professor." The man identified as Professor Kashmir stepped forward. His hair was silver not from age but apparently from stress. He didn't look a day over forty. He wore a three piece beige suit and wore a pair of circular spectacles. He practically danced at the chance to speak as the Headmistress turned everything over to him.

"Yes, thank you ma'am." Professor Kashmir smiled before turning addressing the assembled students. "You have three objectives in this year's initiation. Objective one, make your way to the Sinbad Mountains just over yonder." The Professor pointed outward over the edge and at the far off distant mountains. "There you will find an artifact. You will choose one and only one. Objective two, you will return to Shade with said artifact before dawn."

"Objective three-this is a fun one. I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, those rumors were correct. The first person you make eye contact with is now your designated teammate for the rest of your presumed stay here at Shade. Your third objective is to arrive back here at Shade together. If not, then you're both washed. Any questions?"

"Yeah, you make it sound cut and dry, but I want to know, will there be any staff standing by in case one of us gets hurt? That's a mighty long walk to and from. All sorts of nasty stuff can happen along the way." One of the students, a dark skinned boy with dreads, spoke up as he jotted a thumb at the considerable distance between the mountain and their current position.

"There will be no supervision. If you're as good as you should be, then you won't have any issues dealing with Grimm or any other surprises out there." The Professor said simply. "Any other questions? No? Good. Take your places on the launch pads and we'll begin."

"Launch pads?!" A fair number of students, including Nebula, exclaimed in unison.

"Did I forget to mention? Oh dear I do that every year." Professor Kashmir couldn't help but lightly slap the side of his head. "Consider this an act of kindness. Like that one boy mentioned earlier. It's a rather long walk. Consider this a small boost."

The students glanced to each other cautiously before they all began taking their places on the nearby launch pads that appeared to be built into the rock. Soon, one by one all one hundred and forty four first year students including Nebula were launched into the air. It was unexpected, neither the Professor nor the Headmistress gave them notice of when they'd begin. The first few students were taken by surprise, but Nebula was further down the line, by the time her turn had come, she'd already prepared herself and thought up a suitable landing strategy to accommodate the firm hard Vacuo surface.

Nebula landed into a roll. Quickly gathered her bearings as she now faced the desert flats of Vacuo. Squatting down, close to the ground, she took into account his surroundings. There were shrubs far and wide and numerous boulders. Dead ahead were the Sinbad Mountains, named after Sinbad Queen and old wizard who'd been said to have harnessed the elements through dust and made the mountains his home where he acted as the Sentinel of Vacuo.

From what the Headmistress had indicated, their destination would no doubt take them into the mountain. Several hundred feet away through Grimm infested land and the hazardous heat of the desert itself, there were relics that needed to be reclaimed. After assessing and understanding what was required of her, the Violette detached her crossbow from her back and armed herself before setting off for the long trek up the mountains.

But the distance between herself and her destination was vast, she wouldn't be getting there anytime soon. In the meantime, Nebula decided to keep her eyes out for some other wandering hunter. After all, the first one she makes eye contact with, will be her partner for the rest of her days at Shade. If she acted fast and cautiously, maybe she'd snag a partner that didn't weigh her down.

But to much surprise, Nebula found acquiring a partner to be much more difficult than expected. For a good hour, Nebula walked under the merciless sun alone with no sign of a fellow huntsman either behind or in front of her. Another hour passed and Nebula found herself about to give up on finding a partner of any sort. That was until she fancied taking a right by phallic rock formation for some rest in the shade.

Sitting atop the rock was a girl wearing a red and white hoodie with blue tracksuit pants and a distinctive black beanie that covers her left eye. The first thought that crossed Nebula's mind was just how someone dressed like her could stand the heat. The second thought was one of pure desperation as Nebula recalled she was in need of a companion. And at this point anything was better than nothing.

"Hey, over here!" Nebula called out. The beanie wearing girl turned glanced downward, spotting Nebula waving to her. "You got a partner already?" Nebula asked the girl. But the beanie wearing individual remained silent, staring at Nebula with her wide uncovered eye. Nebula found the girl's actions a little unsettling. She neither made a noise nor appeared to be sweating up there. "Uh…"

"She's already got a partner." A familiar gruff voice said from behind a nearby boulder. Walking out from behind the massive stones stepped out the messy redheaded boy with pink eyes from earlier, his hands gripping onto his pants as he struggled to pull them up. "Oh, it's you." He said in the most offensive tone he could muster while he finished cleaning up after himself.

"I think you forgot to flush." Nebula smirked as she pinched her nose and waved a hand in front of her face. The boy glared in response causing Nebula's smirk to widen into a full blown smile.

"Piss off." He sneered. The boy then glanced up to the beanie wearing girl and nodded at the road ahead. "Let's hit it May."

The girl, May, nodded simply before leaping down from where she'd been perched. Nebula then watched as the duo walked off, a frown forming on her face. So far she'd only met one half way decent person and unless she had the fortune of running into Gwen again, the odds of getting paired with some other piss poor mannered individual appeared to be more likely.

Nebula took some time out of walking and rested beneath the shade the rather odd looking rock formation offered her. Next time she ever had to walk through the desert, she'd be sure to wear something other than her light blue coat. Being bullet proof in the back was nice, but that god awful sun above didn't give two shits about bullet proof.

The Violette spared a glance upward, taking into account how the sun had moved and determined it would be setting in a couple hours. The nights in Vacuo were arguably harsher than the day. And just like that, Nebula was glad she'd brought her coat. It never got to freezing temperatures, but the last thing you wanted was to be stuck out here in a dress.

But even if Nebula waited for the sun to set, the distance between her current position and the Sinbad Mountain was still too numerous to count. Not to mention she'd have to walk all the way back too. Given what time remained before dawn tomorrow, Nebula resigned herself to her fate and stepped out of the shade and begun walking towards the mountain once more.

Another hour of walking in the desert and Nebula had pretty much given up hope of finding a partner. For a large open landscape, you'd think you could just turn one way, look another, and then you'd find some other guy or gal in the same desert and wave at them. But for some reason that wasn't the case. The desert had numerous hills and dips, no doubt there were caves some poor fools were getting lost in. Maybe if she just waited it out by the artifacts in the mountain, maybe then Nebula would find a partner.

But even with that optimistic outlook, Nebula couldn't help but feel doubt and uncertainty creeping up her spine. Without a partner, she couldn't complete initiation. Then her dreams of becoming a huntress would end before they even began. Then she really would be a Violette after all.

Lost in her worrisome thoughts, Nebula was caught off-guard by the Deathstalker flying overhead. After noticing the brief relief from the sun the Grimm's shadow provided, Nebula whipped her head upward to see the giant scorpion soaring over her and landing nearby. Nebula then whipped her crossbow around and took aim at the Grimm. If anything were to come of her experience at Shade, she would be leaving with the knowledge she'd slayed a god damn ugly looking scorpion.

But before Nebula could bring herself to pull the trigger, she stopped herself. Instead she lowered her weapon and stared in amazement. There, practically riding the Grimm was a girl her age with long blonde hair wearing a green sleeveless dress with what appeared to be gold scale armor beneath it. She was holding onto the Deathstalker with one hand and using the other to repeatedly stab the Grimm with the staff weapon.

The Deathstalker desperately attempted to remove the girl from its back, but its claws were too short to reach her. So the Grimm resorted to using its tail and stabbed downward. But it appeared the girl was planning on this and cracked a smile. She dodged the Deathstalker's attack, allowing it to stab itself. It let out an ear piercing screech in pain before dying on the desert floor.

"Um, hi." Nebula waved.

"Hey." The girl shrugged before dislodging her weapon from the disintegrating body of the Deathstalker. "You got a partner?"

"Nope. You?"

"Guess we're partners then." She shrugged before stepping of the carcass. "The name's Dew Gayl. You?"

"Nebula Violette." Nebula returned the pleasantries as she helped Dew down.

"Violette? That's rough." Dew muttered.

"So people keep telling me." Nebula shrugged it off. "You seemed to have handled yourself pretty well." She said, gesturing to the still decomposing Deathstalker.

"I would've handled the situation better if they'd given us some warning ahead of time." Dew said spitefully. She then pointed at her staff-like weapon and gestured to the large diamond shaped hole near the point of the head. "With all this flinging us into the desert nonsense, I didn't have the time to properly prepare."

"If anything I'd say that's a testament to your own abilities." Nebula complimented.

"Thank you, you're so kind." She said in an almost sarcastic tone, causing Nebula to raise a brow. Dew then turned to face the mountain and then began to walk on ahead. "Come on, there's still a lot of ground to cover."

Nebula just watched as her partner departed without her. For a moment, she thought she'd been stuck with a relatively nice person to be her partner. Now it seemed her earlier fears have been realized. The indigo haired girl let out a sigh before hurrying on to catch up to Dew, resigning herself to the reality that this very much was how her days at Shade would be for the next four years.

Hours passed and there was barely any water to be had. Their trek through the desert was a perilous one. Along the way to their destination, Nebula and Dew stumbled upon what appeared to be fully clothed skeletons, no doubt belonging to students who'd perished during their initiation. It was a foreboding sight, but it was a reality Nebula found herself easily accepting.

"Not everyone makes it." Nebula couldn't help but say aloud.

Dew remained silent, but she nodded, agreeing with Nebula's sentiment. This was their test, to see if they had what it took to study at Shade and protect the people of Vacuo. They continued on their way, neither spoke of the sight again. They had more pressing matter to deal with, like climbing the mountain.

Hours passed and by the time they'd reached the mountain night had already fallen. Nebula glanced to her opposite, her partner Dew and was well prepared to offer her coat to the girl, having taken into account of her state of dress. But Dew declined her offers and soldiered on, despite her audible teeth chattering.

They climbed the mountain, passing a few pairs of students on the up. They didn't stop to ask questions like where exactly in the mountain the artifacts were located. It was a combination of pride and respect for their fellow peers. Nebula was not the type to turn to others for help. She'd gotten this far on her own abilities and she wasn't about to stop yet. Not to mention, by the looks on their peers' faces, they were worn down by the march through the desert and she didn't want to trouble them.

Eventually, the further they climbed, they happened upon a dip into the mountain and found the ruins of what must have been the Sentinel of Vacuo's lair. Amongst the ruins were a series of weapons stabbed into the ground around it. Nebula continued onward, passing by Dew and quickly made her way towards the ruins, only to stop in place after spotting a familiar face. "Gwen!" Nebula called out to the girl she'd met earlier. The ballerina looking girl spun around and shot Nebula a tired smile.

"Hey Nebula." Gwen managed to wave. "Tough day, am I right?"

"Oh yeah. Like crap, there better be beds when we get back."

"I could do with a shower." Dew muttered as she walked up from behind Nebula. "Hello there, I'm Dew, Nebula's partner."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Gwen." Gwen greeted before shaking hands with Dew. But then the dancer heard a coughing in the background from a girl with red hair. "Oh, and this is Octavia. She's my partner!" Gwen said quickly introducing the pair of Nebula and Dew to Octavia.

"So, we're just supposed to take one of these right?" Dew asked as she walked around the ruins, examining these so called 'artifacts'. "They're just painted swords."

"A little strange right?" The Octavia commented. "This has to be some sort of test."

"It probably is." Nebula agreed as she began to round the ruins that protruded from the mountain. The ruins themselves were old, made ages ago, before The Great War and perhaps even older than the wars that preceded that one. The swords themselves matched the sentiment. Despite the heavy coatings of paint, Nebula could make out signs of damage along their blades and hilts. The weapons had seen battle and they'd been rusted by the air.

"We're supposed to take one. Now the question is, which one should we take?" Gwen mused.

"Who cares?" Dew deadpanned. "Just grab one and let's go."

"How about this one?" Nebula said before reaching out and plucking one of two painted black spathas out of the ground. "You guys want one?" She asked, turning to Gwen and Octavia. The pair of partners shared a glance and shrugged, there was no reason for them to decline Nebula's offer. So the Violette plucked the second spathe out of the ground and tossed it to Gwen who caught it before passing it on to Octavia to hold.

After that, the four girls made the long trek back to Shade. They made their way down the mountain and once more they crossed the desert. Hours passed by them like fingernails scraping a chalkboard. The burning sun had been replaced by the chill of night. Any Grimm lurking out in the darkness remained silent and still, but the paranoia of their presence had the girls on high alert throughout the night.

Occasionally, they would hear sounds of Beowulf snarling in the distance. There was audible gunfire echoing behind them, then what followed was the dying whimper of creatures of Grimm. The shattered moon above passed over the sky just as easily as the sun had. Dawn would be arriving soon.

The four girls arrived at the base of the plateau. Despite their tired states, the four of them managed to let out a round of cheers. They patted themselves on the back efore stopping shortly as they realized they would have to scale the rock formation in order to gain entrance into Shade. They let out a series of groans and exhausted sighs, but the four girls shrugged it off and got down to business.

By the time they arrived at the top, all four girls were just about ready to give up. It had been a grueling day and night, what they really wanted was something to drink, somewhere to sleep and something to eat. They didn't care in which order they received said accommodations, they just really wanted it to be over.

"Oh, goodie, more of you made it. How exciting!" The quartet of girls looked to their left and found Professor Kashmir standing there looking absolutely ecstatic. "Do you have your artifacts?" He inquired. Both Nebula and Octavia raised the black spathas, causing the professor to jump up happily. "Congratulations girls, you've passed! Head on down to the campus amphitheater. Feel free to catch some shut eye, we won't begin the ceremony until after dawn."

"Ceremony?" Nebula couldn't help but ask.

"We're going to formally introduce you all into teams in front of the whole student body. Now, chop-chop. You wouldn't want to wast your time sleeping on some rocky ground when there's some nice chairs in doors." Kashmir said before motioning to what appeared to be the only illuminated building on campus.

"Well he's not wrong." Dew muttered as she tapped the rocky surface with her foot. So together, the four girls fought tiredness once more as they trudged through campus to the amphitheater.

Hours later, well into the morning. Nebula found herself seated amongst the rest of the first years, the ones who'd passed initiation. There was quite a considerable difference in numbers compared to earlier. It was almost unsettling, but Nebula pushed past it and allowed herself to enjoy the ceremony as Headmistress Wytcherly formed another Team.

"Kafka Dominos, Panini Delso, Sibrand Chow and Yasmin Tea. You four retrieved the green paramerion. You will be hence known as Team PSYK, led by Panini Delso. Congratulations." Headmistress Wytcherly said with a smile. Nebula couldn't make heads or tail if it were a genuine one. That sort of scared the Violette.

There was an applause from all around. The students were smiling, they'd successfully survived initiation and were moving on to better things. Nebula watched from where she sat as the newly formed Team PSYK stepped out of the spotlight and walked back to their seats. Professor Kashmir called up another group to take the stage. Apart of that group contained that boy with the affinity for pink and his partner, May. There was also a rather toned, punkish looking boy with slicked hair. A little easy on the eyes, Nebula couldn't help but stare a little as he took to the stage as well.

"Nolan Porfirio, May Zedong, Brawnz Ni and Roy Stallion. The four of you retrieved the golden khopesh. From this day forward, you will operate as Team BRNZ. Led by Brawnz Ni." Wytcherly said before the crowd broke out into applause once more.

As the newly formed Team BRNZ took their seats, Professor Kashmir signaled to Nebula and her team. It was their turn in the spotlight. And so one by one they stood from where they were seated and marched into the view of their fellow students.

"Octavia Ember, Gwen Darcy, Dew Gayl and Nebula Violette." The Headmistress recited their names. The four girls stepped up into the spotlight, arms behind their backs standing shoulder to shoulder. They looked up to that middle-aged purple haired woman and the screen behind her in anticipation of what came next.

"The four of you retrieved the black spatha." An image of said darkly dyed weapon appeared on the screen behind Wytcherly. "From this day forward, you will work together as Team NDGO, led by…"

And then time stopped. Nebula stood there, eyes widening in anticipation. She'd come this far from the Acre Academy. She'd graduated the top of her class despite the name that she'd been born into. The name Violette, which was now synonymous with failure because of another's actions, clung to Nebula like a dead animal. But she'd pushed herself time and time again to come up short now. More than anything, she wanted to lead.

"Nebula Violette!" Wytcherly declared. Time started again and Nebula was back in the moment of things. She stood there soaking up applause from her fellow classmates unable to help herself from grinning with the outcome. "I knew your Grandfather, Ms. Violette." The Headmistress singled out Nebula. "You've come this far. Don't burn out like the rest of your family. I expect great things from you."

"I aim to please!" Nebula smiled. Another round of applause erupted from the student body, causing Nebula's grin to widen.

With their moment in the spotlight over, the newly formed Team NDGO walked off stage. They took their seats once more and returned to watching their fellow students be christened into teams. A hush fell over the assembled student body and faculty as the next group of students marched up onto stage. And it was then, when they were under the light and presented to their peers when Nebula noticed one of their number had a pair of antlers sticking out of his forehead.

It was a pleasant surprise to Nebula. She'd known a number of faunus while attending the Acre Academy, but none had wished to enroll at Shade. Some of them went to Mistral, others to Vacuo's longtime rival Vale.

"Revy Linnaeus, Talal Cuvier, Echelon Lyell and Ketch Buffon." "You four retrieved the bronze scabbard. From this point onward you will be known as Team TREK." Headmistress Wytcherly announced.

"Led by, Talal Cuvier." The Headmistress announced. On the screen beside her, an image of the antler headed boy appeared. "Congratulations Mr. Cuvier. You're both the first faunus to attend Shade as well as the first ever faunus team leader. I expect great things from you."

Nebula began clapping, as was the customary thing to do. But then she halted her actions after the realization that she alone was the only one clapping. The Violette looked around hurriedly as her cheeks turned reddish. For a moment she wondered if she'd begun clapping early and cut off the Headmistress. But upon further inspection, Nebula realized that wasn't the case. It was just nobody was clapping.

Nebula raised a brow in confusion and leant over to Dew. "Why isn't anyone clapping?" She whispered.

"Because he's a faunus." Dew rolled her eyes. "Poor bastard. They're going to eat him alive."

Once more, Nebula raised a brow in confusion. She looked from Dew to the boy Talal as he and his team stepped out of the spotlight and walked back down the stairs as the next team got up to be announced. But one of the boys while walking past Talal, stuck his foot out and hooked it around the antler headed boy's leg, causing him to fall forward. Immediately, a number of Nebula's peers erupted in laughter. But there was something off about it, something Nebula couldn't quite put her finger on. It was almost as if they were laughing not because they found it funny, like a three stooges slapstick episode, but rather they laughed to hurt the fallen Talal.

But the antler headed boy said nothing. He picked himself up and soldiered on. The ceremony resumed but Nebula was left staring, appalled by her peer's actions.

When it comes to Vacuo, what really sparked this whole anti-faunus idea was really Nolan Porfirio. The guy literally has a cattle prod as a weapon. I asked myself, what good will that do against Grimm? So, then my mind wandered and thought, maybe its not for Grimm. And that was the birth of this version of Vacuo, a kingdom in need of a civil rights movement.

Nebula, is really the perfect character to deal with that. She's not Russel, she grew up in a home with loving and supportive family. She's rounded enough to know when something's off and driven enough to want to make a difference. So, expect to see some social topics brought up in this arc and later down the line.

I also played around with the aftermath of The Great War. Vacuo is the sort of country to still harbor ill will over the whole affair. After all, they didn't lose but they didn't win either. So, there's a lot of nationalistic ideology flung around. And, as evidence by their so called artifacts, they like reminding everyone there was a war and there could be another.

Headmistress Wytcherly spun out of a Wicked Witch of the West sort of thing. I took into account of Ozpin and Ironwood, who are Oz and the Tin Man. She could've been Dorothy, but, as you'll see later on, Shade Academy doesn't need a Dorothy, it needs a witch. So, that's a little fun fact.

Next chapter, I hope to have out soon. If you couldn't tell, each chapter sort of mirrors a specific previous arc. The last chapter mirrored 'Russel', this one mirrored 'Welcome to Beacon'. So, next one might mirror 'The Tyger and the Lamb' or 'The Dance'. We'll see.

'Til then later days!