Around Petal were the scratches of pens on paper, as notes were being taken at an alarming speed. She was resting her chin on her left palm as she tapped her ringed fingers against her cheek. Her right hand was scribbling a random drawing into the corner of her page as she tuned out the constant ramblings of the teacher. It was a man with a darker skin complexion, short black hair, and was wearing a white dress shirt, a pair of black slacks, and a gray vest, as he walked around the front of the room, lecturing them on one of Petal's least favorite subject in the school, and that was History. Beside her, she could hear Rose writing faster than she had ever seen somebody write before, and she was leaning so far over the notebook, some of her hair was touching the desk beside it.
Shimmer, who was sitting just past Rose, was practically the same when it came to most classes, while Mila simply sat there, casually writing whatever he felt necessary. Sometimes, he would make a face of surprise or curiosity, showing that whatever the teacher was discussing was something he didn't know, and on those occasions, he would actually be a decent student. Petal was unfortunately very different when it came to her studies. To her, a girl who was born away from any school and was raised to be a fighter, didn't really care all that much for academics like mathematics or Remnant's history. Math was overcomplicated and boring, and history just simply wasn't necessary to know, not in her opinion at least. Rose, however, had a very different view on that, and they had gotten into minor arguments over Petal's thoughts of schoolwork and studying. As the teacher droned on and on about some long ago battle, she continued her drawing, and smiled as she added the finishing touches.
"What is that?" asked Mila, peeking from her left and glancing at the paper.
"It's a dog, can't you tell?" she questioned.
"Looks more like an upside-down shoe, if you ask me," he replied.
"Well, I didn't ask you, so shut it." she said, pouting slightly.
"You actually did, sooo…" Mila said, before leaning back in his seat.
"I bet you can't draw a better one." she whispered, glaring at him.
He smiled and slid his notepad over to her. In the upper corner of the page was a nearly perfect drawing of a small dog with a curling tail. She narrowed her golden eyes and then shoved it back to him.
"Nobody likes a show-off." she muttered.
Mila laughed as he took the pad and continued drawing something else. Petal let out a short breath as her eyes found the clock that hung above the door of the classroom. She blew a loose strand of hair out of her eyes and then groaned as she rested her head against the table.
"Petal, you should pay attention." whispered Rose, tapping her arm with her pen.
"She is right, Ms. Petal." came a deep voice, the one that had been previously giving the lecture.
Her head quickly shot up, her eyes wide, and she swiftly collected her pen. "Of course, sir, I was just dozing off. I'm sorry." she called out, fumbling to straighten her notebook out in front of her. "It won't happen again."
"I don't think so, Petal, not this time." said the teacher. "I let you slide a lot, but today, I think it's time for a bit of a lesson. Come on down here, front and center." he said, gesturing with his finger for her to come.
"Professor Flint, I don't think that's necessary." she said.
"Now, Petal, or I will have to give you after-school lessons. Both you and I do not want that, I assure you. I have better things to do with my time."
"Yes, Professor." she groaned, rising to her feet.
Petal walked down the open aisle, in between two different sections of seats, descending the small stairs that led down to the front of the room. Flint's desk was tucked into the left corner and in front of her was the man, and the podium that he adored so much.
"Stand there," he said, pointing to the metal stand, and so she did as she was told. "Now, Petal, would you like to tell the class how well you did on the last quiz?" he asked.
She looked around and saw Rose's face turn scarlet, and she knew it was from embarrassment, but it wasn't her own, it was for Petal. There was only one person she told her recent scores to, and that was Rose, so only she knew how bad the results had been. She then looked back to the professor and smiled widely.
"Do I have to? You could just scold me and I'll promise to pay more attention, right?"
"Not right. Petal here," he said, turning to the rest of the class. "Got the lowest score in the class, a near zero. Tell me, Petal, do you study at all?"
"Ehh, not really. I kind of just… wing it." she replied, knowing and anticipating the coming lecture.
"That's what I thought. Tell me, roughly how long did the Faunus Rights Revolution last, and what organization was created from the aftermath? I don't need specifics, just get as close as you can."
Petal scratched her cheek as she tried to find the answer, and wherever it was stored in her mind. "I remember hearing about it." she mumbled, closing her eyes and looking towards the ground, drawing a blank as she searched endlessly in her memories. "I know it's the White Fang, but…"
"Around three years, Petal." huffed Flint. "You're a faunus, I would expect you to have a larger interest in these things, as they have affected you and your kind in the past."
"It's an old war, one that's been fought. Why do I need to know about it now?"
"Because, child, and this will be an answer any instructor of history will tell you, if you don't learn from history, it repeats itself. Everyone makes mistakes, we as a species, both human and faunus alike, have made many mistakes in the past. We are not perfect, we weren't created to be. The best thing we can do is to learn from the mistakes of those who came before, so those of us that came after know what decisions lead to what end. If we remain ignorant, and follow the same roads they did, we shouldn't expect a different result. And in some cases, Petal, we can learn from the same mistakes we make almost every day during History lessons, right?"
"Yes, Professor, I get it."
"I hope you do, child, but I fear that we will be having this same discussion tomorrow. If one thing is to be taken out of this, class, learn from Petal's mistakes, and you will be better tomorrow than she was today. Petal, you can return to your seat."
"Thank you, Professor." she said, sighing, and climbing the steps back to her spot between Rose and Mila.
"That ending was a little harsh, yeah?" Mila stated, as they left the class several minutes later.
"He shouldn't have used you as an example like that." Rose proclaimed. "I might have a talk with Professor May about this."
"It's no big deal, Rose, he had a point anyway." Petal said, softly.
"Maybe so, and it might be your fault this happened, and I might have warned you against not paying attention, but still, he should have pulled you aside after class or something." Rose declared.
"Wow. Thanks, Rose, that really makes me feel better."
"You're welcome." she said, smiling.
Petal flashed her a weary, sarcastic grin in return, and then heard a faint beeping coming from Rose's wrist.
"Oooh, I forgot. We're going to be late." she said, disabling the alarm.
"Late for what?" asked Shimmer, walking slightly behind the others.
"Late for our meeting with Professor May. She wanted to see us after History."
"And you set the alarm for three minutes afer the class ended?" asked Mila. "Petal was right, you are a bit nutty when it comes to that stuff, no offense."
"You people, I swear. This time, offense was taken. I do it to stay punctual."
"I think you do it to stress yourself out." Petal stated, playing with the rings on her fingers as she walked. "And I do appreciate the heads up this time." Petal added, proceeding to pull out a pair of black gloves from her bag. She slid them over her hands to hide the rings she wore and smiled. "There we go, like they were never there."
"I still think you should follow the rule, Petal, all of us do." Rose then said.
"Well, you all have too large of weapons. You can't conceal them like I can."
"Oh yeah, real concealed." Mila muttered, staring at the slight bulges that the rings made in the fabric.
"I think you should just take them off, Petal." Shimmer suggested. "The rings under the gloves make your fingers look fat, it's too warm for them, and you never wear gloves to begin with. She'll know the second she sees them."
"I doubt it. You'll see. If I take them off and throw them in a pouch or something, they all get mixed up. It's the problem with rings, they're all sized to fit particular fingers."
"Then why did you go with rings instead of gloves in the first place?" asked Mila.
"That was the original idea. You see, I was thinking of some sort of armored bracer that covered my hand and forearm, and they would have these metal claws that came out. Then, I got to thinking about what would look better and what would be more comfortable. I mean, who wants to wear gloves all of the time, right? When you fight, they would get too sweaty and it would just suck. The rings are fashionable, they don't limit me in any way, and, no sweaty hands." explained Petal, seeming proud of herself and her explanation.
"I think you overcomplicated it." said Mila.
"Says the boy with two transforming guns." she snapped. "I don't want to hear it from you."
"She does have a point," said Shimmer. She looked at Petal before speaking again. "Since we're talking about weapons, I have a question about yours. How do you get the band to turn all of the rings at the same time?"
"Those were actually a pretty recent addition. Before, it was just the rings, and I had to turn them all manually. However, after Atlas started sharing their tech a bit more, I was able to get my hands on some parts, and then I was able to figure out how to link them all together using wireless signals."
"So like the CCTs?" asked Rose.
"Sort of, I guess… maybe? I'm not entirely sure, but I got them to work, so that's all that matters." Petal answered.
"See, you are pretty smart, Petal. If you would only apply yourself to your schoolwork, you would be top of the class, I'm sure of it." Rose said.
"You say this about the girl who thinks those obvious gloves will hide her rings from May." Mila pointed out.
At this, Petal rolled her eyes, and the four of them were soon walking up to the headmaster's desk. The old woman behind it smiled at the sight of them and raised a shaky hand to gesture for them to sit. They all accepted and found their seats in front of the professor.
"You wanted to see us?" asked Petal.
"I did, and I applaud you four for being so early in getting here. I didn't expect you for another fifteen or so minutes." said May.
To this, Petal glared to her right, staring at Rose with a growing frustration and a taunting smirk.
"Sorry." Rose squeaked.
"One should never apologize for being early to something," said May. "Being punctual is a rare trait, and one that I deeply respect. Though, Ms. Glade, it isn't always a bad thing to slow down from time to time. Take that lesson to heart from an old woman that rushed through her life much too quickly. If you're constantly worried about the clock, you'll find that you leave a lot of the world behind you in your haste to reach something that isn't worth the hassle. Now, I suppose I should get right to it, since you are all here. Petal, since this is your first time, I will explain a bit of this. There are occasions where we send our students on what we call expeditions. They are smaller missions that we think the students can handle. Sometimes we send them with a Huntsman to act as a guide, others, if we deem the job safe enough, we send them on their own. We also restrict certain years from participating in certain missions, specifically if the mission is seen to be much too difficult for those of lower years" explained May.
She took a shaky sip of her tea and then let out a sigh of relief. "Alright, with that out of the way, I will begin to tell you that I have chosen team PRSM to take on this assignment, and with all of your abilities being what they are, I don't think you need to be under the watchful eye of a teacher. I trust you four to handle this and I expect you to be able to use proper judgment if a situation gets too out of control. My faith isn't misplaced, right?" she asked.
"No, Professor," said Petal.
"Excellent. The forests outside of the city can be a dangerous place, as you all may know. This will be a trial assignment, your first one as a team. While this will be something I planned for your team, the risk of running into danger is not fake in any way. You need to be constantly cautious of any possible threats, and aware enough to handle them without issue. For this assignment, I want you four to find one of these." said May, pulling something small and black out from under the desk.
"A ball?" asked Mila.
"A ball, Mr. Lunare, but not an ordinary ball." May tapped the top and the dull balck orb began to glow a sapphire color, as if full of some kind of magical, swirling energy. "It lights up as well." said May, grinning.
"Are you feeling okay, Professor?" asked Petal, growing genuinely concerned for the old woman's health. She had been odd on several occasions before but this was the first time it worried her to this extent.
"Right as rain, child. Are you deaf at all, Petal, or is it intentional?"
"I'm sorry?" Petal questioned, unaware of what the headmaster was talking about.
"How many times have I told you to not wear those around the campus?"
"Told you." said Mila and Shimmer, simultaneously.
"Sorry, Professor." Petal said, pulling the gloves off of her hands and stuffing them back in her bag. Even Rose was laughing at this point, and that was a rare sight when it came to Petal breaking rules. "It won't happen again."
"Don't lie to me, Petal, I know for a certainty that you will forget again come tomorrow. You might as well just wear them with my permission and be done with it. Back to your mission… That is unless one of you has any more questions about my sanity?" The four of them shook their heads, but Petal was the one that apologized again while bowing her head. "Good, then let's continue. We use these quite often in our introduction exam, as I'm sure you're aware, Ms. Glade, since we used the same thing in your first year."
"I remember," said Rose.
"Then you should know that these aren't just some glowing balls. They have a special tool inside that absorbs Aura from whoever is holding it at the time. We use these so the team has to act as such, or they won't make it back with the orb. My strategy, pass it around, and always keep an eye out for danger. If one person holds it for too long, they won't be much use in a battle. You can use whatever means you can think of, but you must get it back to me before tomorrow morning. You will be brought to the landing zone we have picked in about an hour, then it will be all on you to see if you pass or fail."
"What happens if we fail, Professor?" asked Rose, nervously.
"Should you fail, you'll be expelled from the academy."
"Couldn't we just try again later?" asked Shimmer.
"I'll say that it depends on how well you do this time around. If you fail and it was because of a lack of cooperation, we won't have need of you."
"What if we pass without any cooperation?" asked Mila.
"If you pass, it doesn't matter if one person did all of the work, or if all four of you did, though it is preferable and highly recommended that you work together. The only way you will be punished is if you fail, period." answered May. "I recommend that you four go and get ready, it's going to be a long night." she said, smiling wickedly at them.
Within the hour, the four of them were in their normal attire, and waiting on the platform for their transportation. Petal was in her black and yellow clothing, wearing the brown coat over it, while the transfers from Atlas wore the clothes they had arrived in originally. Rose was wearing a sleeveless coat that draped down past her knees, and was zipped up along her chest. The coat was a dark red with green, thorny vines on the back that formed the shape of a large rose. Besides that, she wore some black shorts, a pair of black boots, and a pink bag, which Petal knew to be the place where Rose always kept the two halves of her weapon. Petal was surprised by the look, as it was the first time she had seen Rose wear her mission attire. They all piled onto the airship and were soon being dropped off in the middle of the forest, where the four of them began looking around for a good place to start their search.
"Any ideas?" asked Petal, looking at Rose.
"What makes you think I have any?" she questioned, in response.
"You did do this before." Mila pointed out.
"I did, in a different place and a different time. I've never been around here before, or, I don't think I have. Since she gave us until morning to get back, I imagine it is a decent way into the forest, but not too far where we might be in more danger. I don't think the professor would want us getting too far out of the city's range. It's solely to make this a challenge, so we should start by looking for any landmarks in the general area." said Rose.
"I can handle that." Petal said, walking towards a tree. "I'm a good climber so I'll head up and see what I can find. You guys wait here for a second and I'll be right back." said Petal, leaping up onto a branch and swinging herself up into a perched position.
She continued scaling the towering trunk until she was well above most of the other bits of flora that surrounded them. Most of what she saw were just trees, their swaying, leaf covered branches going on for what seemed like miles and miles of greenery, almost resembling an ocean to some extent.
"Do you see anything, Petal?" yelled Rose, cupping her hands around her mouth.
"Nothing but what you'd expect to find! If we were looking for trees, we would have this in the bag!" she called back, still looking off into the distance. As she scanned the emerald sea, she then noticed something that resembled a stone structure sticking out of the treetops. It was thin, and barely noticeable, but she did see it. "Actually, Rose, I might have found something! It's kind of far but I think it's worth a try!" Petal yelled down, before beginning her descent to the bottom.
Once her feet touched the grassy, overgrown terrain, she saw Mila and Shimmer pulling something out of their bags.
"Here, take one." Mila said, tossing her two black rods.
"These are?" Petal asked.
"Glowsticks, but really, really bright ones." answered Shimmer. "We figured we should bring some, just in case. I don't know if they'll come in handy, but you never know when you're out here in the dark."
"I am a faunus, you do remember that, right?" said Petal. "I can see perfectly well in the dark, but, I suppose you're right. It's better to be safe than sorry." she added, stuffing them in a pouch on her belt. "Alright, team, I think we should start heading south, that was where I saw the pillar, or, I think it was a pillar. It was something made of stone so I think we should check it out."
They all gave an affirming nod and began their march through the extremely dense forest. Petal and Rose walked side by side as they pushed past brush and low hanging branches. Dead leaves and broken tree limbs crunched under foot as they stepped past and over obstacles, which gave Petal a faint chuckle of amusement.
"What's so funny?" asked Rose.
"This just reminds me of when I was younger. It's really not a funny story, I don't know why I laughed. I guess it just made me feel a bit nostalgic or something. I've been through forests like this all over the place, and every time I'm somewhere similar, it reminds me of the first Grimm I tried to kill. To this day, I've never seen one like it. It was massive, and terrified me to no end."
"But you tried to kill it? How old were you?" Rose questioned.
"Ten, believe it or not. It was the one that attacked my village when I was seven. It was the reason I became an orphan, or a stray, I guess. The day it attacked my home was the day I unlocked my semblance, though I didn't really know what was happening. I just… felt stronger, but it only gave me enough strength to crawl my way through the streets, trying to figure out what exactly happened. Anyway, after a few years, I tracked down its nest and tried to kill it."
"Tried?" Shimmer asked.
"My mentor saved me. I thought I won so I let my guard down, and I was already exhausted as it was. It shot this spike at me, and hit me right in the shoulder."
"So that's how you got that scar." gasped Rose.
"You have a scar?" Mila interjected.
Petal gave a quiet laugh and a short nod of her head. "Yeah, it took me out with that one hit. I pretty much gave up after that. I thought I was going to die but then this blue light shot overhead and… Bam!" she said, smacking her hands together. "There was this big explosion, and then, when I looked up, I saw this shadow coming out of the woods. He steps over me and then stabs his bow right into the monster's chest. After that, I begged him for almost three days straight to take me with him when he leaves. I wanted nothing more than to learn how to fight those things. I thought that one little girl's life being uprooted was more than enough. I wanted to do everything in my power to prevent that from ever happening again." explained Petal.
"You know that's impossible, right?" said Mila. "You'll never be able to save everyone from that, that's just how the world works."
"Mila." Shimmer snapped, smacking his arm.
"No, he's right. It was something that Cole taught me pretty quickly. Well, I guess it was an inadvertent lesson, he never wanted me to see it firsthand. That was one thing I think he wanted to keep me oblivious too. We were staying in a town on the border of Mistral and Vale when on the second night, it was attacked by a group of bandits. We managed to fight them off, but not everyone survived. The aftermath is what finished the place. The grief was so heavy, you could almost feel it in the air. Within hours, by the time the sun came up, the Grimm arrived. Cole and I saved who we could, but most of the population was killed, and it didn't even take a full hour to achieve it. They just swept in and destroyed everything. I even watched Cole kill a man that day. He was torn to pieces but he was still breathing. When we passed, after the Grimm was finally dealt with, he begged me to kill him. I was only thirteen at the time, and I never killed another person before. I didn't know what to do. It scared me. Cole walked up and put his hand on my shoulder. 'I'll do it, kid, just don't watch', he told me. I couldn't look away though. He took a knife from his belt and gently pressed it to the man's throat. He thanked Cole before he died, but it still made me sick."
"I'm sorry," said Rose.
"Nothing to be sorry for." Petal stated. "It was a valuable lesson, something I needed to see and learn. The world isn't a fairytale, or some made up land of achieved dreams, or a place where the heroes come in and always save the day. Remnant is a harsh place, one that doesn't play favorites, and it is full of people that are constantly fighting for their survival, be it against Grimm, nature, or even their fellow man. We don't always win, in fact, most of the time, we lose, because even if we do come out of whatever fight alive, nine times out of ten, somebody didn't."
"I never knew you had such a dark outlook on the world," said Shimmer.
"It's not a dark outlook, Shi, it's just her seeing clearly." Mila stated, coldly, and Petal noticed his hands clenched into white knuckled fists. "I don't think enough people see Remnant for what it really is," he added.
"And what's that?" asked Rose.
"Hell." Mila replied, his voice dark and full of hatred.
"Alright, guys, enough of the pleasant conversation," said Petal. "I think we've found our place." she added, cutting through a few thick portions of brush.
Past the bushes, there was something that looked to be an old courtyard of some kind, as she saw what remained of the stone pavers that would have made it up. Most of it, however, was covered in moss or algae and overgrown with weeds and flowers. When she breached through the hindering flora, she saw what looked to be a fairly large tower of stone, atop it was a long pillar, the tip of which must have been what she'd seen from her earlier overlook of the forest. The structure was leaning slightly, and had missing, caved in sections of the gray bricks that made up its frame. Vines spidered up the entire tower and the building that was left in ruins beside it. From the inside of the building, Petal saw a light blue glow repeatedly dimming and growing brighter.
"There's our target." she said, as the others came from the bush beside her. "Now, we just need to grab it. I'll take the first turn in carrying it. Sound good to all of you?"
"You're an excellent fighter, Petal, we might need you on our way back." said Shimmer.
"We are all capable fighters, and I have a pretty decent amount of Aura. I'll be fine carrying it for a bit."
"I'll carry it." said Mila, causing the others to look at him.
"Are you sure?" asked Petal. "I really don't mind."
"My semblance is too dangerous to use. If I run out of Aura, it's not that big of a deal. Plus, I have ranged weapons while you three specialize in close distance fighting. If I need to participate, I can sit back and shoot my guns."
"He has a point," said Rose. "We can't have him going crazy while we're surrounded by Grimm. He does seem to be the best one for the job."
Petal scratched her head and sighed. "Fine, but if you need a handoff, don't hesitate to pass it around, got it?"
"Understood, Petal." he said, grinning slightly.
He walked over to the house and retrieved the glowing ball without any resistance. At once, Petal could see the strain in his face. He didn't appear to be in pain. It instead looked like he was experiencing great discomfort. He walked up to Petal, gave her a nod, and the team began moving again, though they didn't make it very far before Petal held out an arm to stop Mila in his tracks. The other two stopped with them and looked to their leader.
"What is it, Petal?" Rose whispered.
"I can hear something large moving around. I've heard it for a while but I thought it was just the wind moving the trees around. It's getting closer though, and much louder."
"Think it's a Grimm?" Shimmer asked, quietly.
"Has to be," said Mila. "It's the only thing I can think of that would make that sort of noise. It sounds like steps." he added, and when Petal turned to see how he could hear it, she saw his dark eyes glowing scarlet, showing that he was partially using his semblance
They quickly faded back to their dull black and he shook his head, as if fighting off exhaustion.
"We need to move then. We should try to avoid a fight if possible." said Petal. "You two watch Mila, and follow behind me as quietly as you can."
"Where are you going?" Rose muttered.
"I'm scouting ahead. I'll stay in your sights, I just need to make sure we don't run into trouble." Petal answered, before swinging herself up to another branch.
She leapt from that one, and perched on another a little way ahead, using her senses to determine the best path. She then landed on another branch and looked back to check on her team. They were still moving behind her, and she heard very little sound coming from the group. It was when she looked ahead again that everything went wrong. As her head turned, she saw nine glowing blue eyes staring back at her. Webs of sapphire veins ran along the sleek bodies of oily feathers, and their white beaks had stains of what looked like blue blood at the tips. She almost screamed but fought the urge to let it out. That, however, didn't matter, as the blue and black figures opened their beaks and let out a deafening howl that caused her to cover her ears and fall backwards from the tree. She landed on her back, still hearing the ringing that the sound caused, and she squirmed as if to get away from the sharp, stunning noise. That was the only thing that filled her ears now, nothing else made it through. She could no longer make out the branches swaying, the wind that was moving them, or the footsteps of her team as they ran up to check on her. Petal glanced up and saw their mouths moving but still only heard a high-pitched screech in their place.
She took a hand away from her ears and saw a dark liquid in her palm. Rose took it and helped her to her feet, before pulling an arm over her shoulder. They started moving at a much faster pace but she could then feel the vibrations in the ground below her feet as that large creature grew closer. They must have felt it too, or in their case, heard it by now, as they all started rushing faster. Rose now had her bag held firmly in her left hand, and Shimmer had drawn both of her daggers, the one from her thigh, and the one she kept in a horizontal sheath on the back of her belt. Slowly, the ringing was starting to fade and she began hearing their hasty footsteps again, as they all ran back to the place they had been dropped off. The footsteps of the beast had now returned to her, and she instantly looked to the right, where she then saw the blue veins and eyes of massive Ursa, one larger than any she had ever seen before. Petal activated the claws on her right hand and swung swiftly in the beast's direction. Icy waves of dust lashed out and struck the beast, causing it to stumble, and causing the rest of her team to stop. Her other set of rings activated and black marks began running along her body as her golden eyes lit up the darkness around her face.
"Rose, your job is to guard Mila if the Grimm heads his way. Mila, keep an eye on that ball, don't lose it. Shimmer, are you ready?" she asked.
Shimmer gave a nod in response and took a stance with her diamond colored blades. Petal saw Rose pull her weapon from her bag and start heading for Mila, who was reaching for the gun in his right holster. Petal charged forward as Shimmer did the same. The edges of Shimmer's daggers began to glow a bright reddish orange, and she swung at the beast as she approached. Shimmer's dagger got lodged in the monster's arm and was stuck in place as she brought the other one down to assist the first in cutting through. Petal leapt up and kicked as hard as she could, driving her foot into the monster's exposed stomach as it was standing on its hind legs, and it flew backwards into a large collection of trees, cracking the trunks and causing a massive amount of leaves to come raining down atop them. Shimmer's daggers were freed as the beast left the ground, and Petal flipped back onto her feet. Something long and glowing yellow flew between them and struck the Ursa in the chest, causing the monster to squirm as currents of electricity ran through it. Shimmer flipped both daggers into a reverse grip as she ran forward, her body low to the ground, and Petal quickly followed.
Shimmer swung the blades back around and brought both of the glowing weapons down at the creature's right arm, finally cutting through it as she accurately hit the same spot she had dug them into before. As she stepped aside, Petal leapt up and drove her foot into the end of Rose's staff, driving it further into the beast, and causing it to let out a deafening howl. As she flipped backwards again, she slashed with both of her claws towards the Grimm's left arm, severing it with multiple fiery waves.
"Move!" Mila ordered, and when Petal looked back, she saw him holding up one of his guns, which was now even longer than it had been before.
The barrel had extended and a massive, multi-colored ball was forming in the mouth of it. Petal rolled to the side as he pulled the trigger, sending an enormous beam of light towards the cripple Ursa, and when the blinding energy faded, Petal only saw smoke rising from the area it had been laying. Three pieces of Mila's barrel folded backwards, returning the gun to its normal shape as he dumped the five shells that occupied the cylinder onto the ground. Petal glanced at the space the Ursa had taken up and even several of the trees that were once there were no longer whole, which gave rise to a new concern. She also saw Rose's staff still sticking out of the tree it had gotten lodged in, or what was left of the tree, anyway. She ripped it out, and saw Shimmer already moving back to the others. She quickly followed as the trees behind her began collapsing to the ground, sending dirt everywhere, as well as filling the air with an obnoxiously loud crashing.
She handed Rose back her weapon and looked back at the destruction. Petal then felt something dab at her ear and quickly looked to see what was causing it.
"Sorry, you still have some blood there." Rose said, and she held up a white cloth that was now streaked with scarlet. "It's mostly dry now so you'll have to wash it when we get back. Is your hearing alright?"
"It's fine now, thank you." Petal said. "How is everyone else, all good?" she then asked the others.
"Besides my busted weapon, all good," said Mila.
"I'm okay, too." Shimmer answered, sheathing her daggers.
"Alright, let's get back to the transport, I think I've had enough fun for the night." Petal stated, taking two steps towards the path before stumbling slightly.
Her black marks vanished and her eyes dimmed again. At once, her head felt like it was going to explode and everything was spinning around her, making her dizzy.
"Petal?" asked Rose, hurriedly grabbing, and supporting her.
"It's the noise that those damned birds hit me with." said Petal, rubbing her head and stumbling again as she tried to take a step.
"Take it easy, I'll help you." Rose offered, forcing Petal to lean against her.
"Can't you create portals, Rose, why are we walking?" asked Mila, as he came up behind them.
"Professor May asked me to refrain from using them. Plus, if the distance is too far, it gives me some horrible migraines, almost to the point where I can't walk without collapsing."
"Why would she ask you to avoid it? We could've really used them back there?" Mila said.
"She said it would make it too easy if we could just warp around, and like I said, I can't…" she stopped and took a breath. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I take the rules too seriously. She told me to not use them because this was a test. I should have understood that we were in danger, and that she wouldn't forbid me from using them then."
"Don't apologize, Rose." Petal stated, firmly. "This was a test, and we passed it, right? We had it handled. Besides, that thing was a serious threat that needed to be dealt with. It was also proof that these blue Grimm are starting to spread around, which is really concerning, and something that needed to be known. If we just left the second we got the orb, that thing could be out killing other people by tomorrow morning."
"But we could've died." Shimmer said.
"We didn't, did we?" retorted Petal, stepping away from Rose and turning to face the other two. "We got the ball, we took out a major threat, and we did it as a team. That was the point of this whole thing, right? To be a test? To prove we can handle this? Yes, we could've left at any point using her power, but if it cripples her, what's the damn point? Would you sacrifice one of your teammates so we could avoid one fight, a fight that we had no problem winning, might I add?"
"She would've lived, but we might not have," said Mila.
"If the situation was looking grim enough, I would've ordered her to use it. She might've even suggested it. She obviously believed we weren't in any life-threatening danger, or she would have gotten us out. Isn't that right, Rose?"
"Y-yes, I would have. I had faith in you guys, faith that we could do it." said Rose.
"You were following your rules," said Mila, before sighing.
"It's really not a big deal, Mila." said Shimmer. "You know we had it under control."
"I know. Sorry, I just… I've never seen them before, those blue ones. It rattled me a bit. It also annoys me that we had a lifeline like her semblance but May forbid us from using it. What if we are on an actual mission, what then?"
"Then we will figure out when the best time to use her ability is," said Petal. "If we are in a deadly situation and need to retreat, she can decide if it's worth it."
"She can?" Mila questioned.
"Yes, she can. I might be the team leader but that doesn't mean I can command you all to do my bidding, or the bidding of the others. She has to have a say in it, since it's her semblance, and her body that it would be taking a toll on. You don't like using your semblance either, but it could've saved us as well. What if I told you to use it right now, would you?"
"No, it's not needed right now." answered Mila.
"And neither was hers. This discussion is over. She did what was right, and we passed our mission, take some solace in that and let's move on. We'll go back to the school, get some sleep, and celebrate with a big breakfast tomorrow. How's that sound to you all?"
"I like it." said Shimmer, raising her hand.
Rose then raised her hand, albeit sheepishly.
"Mila, are we good?" asked Petal.
He sighed and nodded his head. "Yeah, we're all good."
Petal gave him a warm smile. "Great. Let's head back, then." she said, turning and stumbling once more.
Rose pulled her close and supported her again, which Petal thanked her for, and the four of them returned to the drop-off point, where the transport was still waiting for their arrival. That night, Petal was the last to fall asleep, as she spent most of the late-night hours on the table by the window, staring out at the sky and the shattered moon that occupied it.