Neela fired her grapple hook, nailing her mark and swinging gently to the ground, releasing it as she was comfortable with her balance. The Emerald Forest. She crouched against the nearest tree that she could find, listening for a long moment and smelling the air for any trace that she could of Eliana. She couldn't waste much time trying to find her, she promised herself that she wouldn't allow Eliana to be a distraction today. She activated her semblance, noting that there were a few Ursai that were nearby, but they weren't nearly close enough for her to have to worry about them. She was amazed at how open the forest was, she had expected it to be far denser than it was in order to make it more difficult for them to find their friends, but Neela guessed at the fact that they were all launched off of the cliff at different speeds.

This is where it had all gone down, and from the stories that she had heard growing up, it had all gone down in quite an absurd manner. Weiss was trying to escape Ruby but had no choice but to go back for her. Jaune was always hitting on Weiss despite Pyrrha's 'advances'. Yang had mentioned something to her about Nora riding an Ursa, but the notion of a girl riding a Grimm like that just seemed like nonsense. Then they all had to fight a Death Stalker and a Nevermore. The story was close to unbelievable, but all eight of them had told her the same story. Neela shook her head, she was getting too far off track in her daydreaming.

Neela found herself discouraged, it became evident to her that she wasn't going to be able to find Eliana without spending too much time looking for her, and so she decided to head north, concentrating solely on obtaining a relic and scoring the best she could on the graded portion of the initiation. They had been vague in informing the students that this event would also be part of their first-semester grade, but Neela assumed that it was the same as any other contest that she had taken part in. They would score them on technique, innovation, marksmanship, and cooperation, or at least she assumed. She unsheathed her sword and pivoted forward, ready to attack anything that came her way.

After a short time, Neela became surprised that another student hadn't found her yet and her mind continued to wander, despite her determination to perform better than anyone else in the forest. It drifted to her memories of sitting with Eliana at the top of the cliff and running through the forest, nothing but the moon and stars to light their path as they enjoyed the springtime of their youth and ran to the river. The mask screamed back into Neela's mind and she stumbled momentarily, clearing her mind. She needed to stay here. Her mind needed to focus on what was happening now. She sheathed her sword, deciding that she might attract more Grimm running, but it would increase her mobility and chances of being spotted by one of her classmates.

She sensed someone coming near and as she activated her semblance again, she heard someone dive into the bushes. She noted Tawney and shook her head, now picking up on a few Beowolves that were coming close, but were still out of her immediate range, Tawney would be able to deal with them without any problems. Were the others ignoring Neela? Did she intimidate them to the point that they didn't want to be on her team? She knew that her name preceded her, but she didn't want it to be like this. She still needed a teammate.

"Still haven't found anyone yet, have you?" a voice asked her. She turned slowly and spotted the source, a tall male that wore Atlas Military attire and stood several inches over her. She noted the hair and immediately knew that he was the one that Eliana had run into when she was leaving the table yesterday. "If you have I'll just continue on my way." She couldn't exactly lie about it, the rules were rules and she was going to have to get used to this guy. He carried himself like a soldier, and Neela felt as though he was one of the better students that she could have ended up paired with.

"No, I'm alone yet," she told him. She extended her hand and he looked at it. She tilted her head slightly, smiling up at him. "I'm Neela Xiao Long." His eyes changed slightly and he smirked.

"Neela eh? Your friend ran into me back at the admissions booth," he told her. Neela chuckled and flushed in embarrassment for Eliana.

"Yeah. She felt really bad about that," Neela explained. He shook her hand.

"Lieutenant General Titus Prasinos of the Atlesian Army. Youngest soldier ever chosen for the rank," he told her with an air. His chest was puffed out and he looked towards the canopy as he stood at attention saluting her. She looked him over and raised an eyebrow as she reached up and pulled the hand he was saluting with down.

"Uh huh. Yeah. If you're one of those big shots in the Atlesian Army, why are you training at Beacon and not back at home," she inquired. He gritted his teeth and looked away from her, staring hard at a few tree roots that covered the ground.

"I wonder that as well," he muttered. He looked back at her and scoffed. "It's not important. Come with me." He told her. He began to walk away and she watched as he left, tapping her foot. Come with me? Who does this guy think he is? He stopped and turned back to her, watching her for a long moment. "Follow me, Ms. Xiao Long. I will escort you to the objective." She snorted and covered her mouth, holding it back until it came out all at once. She laughed hard, kneeling on the ground to balance herself and laughing even harder. Titus was confused. "What's so funny?"

"All of this! Listen, pal…. Titus, right?" She asked. He nodded. "You have got to drop this military act. I'm not your target. I'm not the 'package', or whatever you would refer to me as in your military lingo. Think of me as your equal. We're here to help each other get through the Grimm, and get one of the relics at the end of the forest. Sound good?" She walked past him and headed north, leaving him in a state of confusion and anger for a moment as he followed her. Equal? Equal?! What could she possibly be capable of that would make her even remotely close to my equal?! Titus refused to believe it.

She didn't have the experience in life and death situations that he had. She didn't have a childhood that was filled with anger and fear like he did. She couldn't have known how hard he fought to get to where he was, and yet, she wanted to suggest that she was equal to him?! He needed to be the one leading them, it was the only way that Glynda was going to chose him to lead the group. She held a hand up stopping him, but he pushed past and continued into a small glade. She reached out and grabbed his cape but he pulled away and continued into the meadow.

"Titus!" She yelled. He looked around him at the bright pink flowers and looked back towards where Neela had been standing, but she was now nowhere to be found. Had she been attacked by a Grimm and had been calling him for help? He moved back towards where she was, but a slow, mind-numbing perplexity crawled into his senses.

"Neela?" He called out. He leaned down, picking one of the flowers at his feet and watching as the rest died around him, the ground becoming a stone pathway that spread in every direction, destroying the trees and leaving him in the middle of a vast city that was made completely of stone, and was mostly destroyed. He could feel his heart racing as he grasped for his blades, but they were not at his sides. Without warning a terrible storm set in and Titus found himself drenched as he looked down at his hands and his clothes. Where was his uniform?

No, he knew where this was, he knew what this was! Titus trembled as the wind blew even harder, throwing wooden debris past him, he needed to make it to Bakers Road, but he wasn't sure that he could! Grimm tore past him, not stopping to acknowledge him as he struggled with the wind, a street market stand slamming into him and throwing him to the ground. It hurt more than he remembered and he shakily found his feet. A gunshot rang out, slamming into his shoulder and throwing him onto his back again.

"Time's almost up Titus! You really are worthless, aren't you?! How will you live with yourself if they die?!" A menacing voice called out. He shook his head as he found his hands and knees before another hunk of debris hammered into him, driving him onto his chest. This wasn't real! It couldn't be! Titus reached for his radio, but it was shot out of his hand and the sniper cackled as he watched it land in a pothole filled with water several feet away.

"You're not real! You can't be real! They locked you up!" Titus called out. The shooter laughed again as Titus could hear him drawing nearer, his boots splashing against the wet bricks with every step he came closer. The man leaned down and looked Titus in the eyes, his pink eyes menacing and terrifying, piercing his soul. The crazed smile left his face and he got on his hands and knees beside Titus.

"If you can't do this alone Titus, you'll never be strong enough!" The man screamed. He stood back up and pointed the barrel of the gun towards Bakers Road. "I think I can see them from here!"

"You're not real!" Titus exclaimed. The sniper laughed again and turned quickly, kicking Titus in the chest. Titus grunted, hitting the ground and coughing up blood. Titus felt the cold steel of the muzzle press against the back of his head.

"Then why are you so afraid and in so… much… pain…"

The shot rang out and Titus sat up immediately from lying on his back, Neela sitting on his chest and trying to hold him down as he reached for his swords.

"What was that!? Where am I?! What happened?!" Titus demanded. He shoved her off and rolled over, propping himself up on his hands and knees. His chest heaved as he looked around him to make sure that the nightmare was over with.

"Those pink flowers that you so carelessly decided to take a stroll through, are known as Grimm's Bane. Kind of like a subspecies of Grimm in a way, although no one knows if it's completely true. Just the smell of them can cause someone as big as you to have hallucinations of their worst fear, hence naming them after Grimm. They are indigenous to the Kingdom of Vale, and not something that you would have read about in that packet. You're just damn lucky that I've forced myself to build up an immunity. I had a run in with a meadow full of these back on the island of Patch. They can be pretty scary," she told him. The words rang in his head. If you can't do this alone Titus, you'll never be strong enough! But Glynda had told him differently! The two ideologies clashed in his head as he found his feet with some assistance from Neela.

"Thank you," he told her. She smiled, looking at him differently now than she had before. "What?" She chuckled.

"Your welcome." A smile tugged at the corners of his lips and he brushed her off.

"Come on. We still have to go get a relic and it took me a bit to get you to come…" Neela began before she was cut off by a shout that filled the entire forest.

"A Beringel!" Came a voice that was further north than they had reached. Titus and Neela sprinted the rest of the way, stopping at the edge of the clearing as Neela spotted Ilia and Eliana on the far side being chased out by the beast. A panic filled Neela. That was larger than a regular Beringel.

"Elli!" Neela exclaimed. Titus squinted and shook his head in disbelief. Why is Ilia still here, didn't Headmistress Goodwitch hear a single thing that I told her yesterday? Titus looked at Neela before deciding to charge out after them. Neela reached out to him before removing her sword and flipping it out into its bow form. What was wrong with that guy? Why did he feel like he could take every problem on his own? "What are you doing?!" He grinned as ran towards the Grimm.

"Just watch!" He called back. She loaded an arrow, hoping to freeze it to the ground, but without fail, Titus was following right along with her line of sight and she withdrew, groaning as she rolled her head. There was nothing organized about this ordeal and this was a teambuilding mission that was going horribly wrong. She didn't necessarily want to take charge, she just wanted some order. What was she going to do? Lykos came sprinting out of the woods close to where they had seen Ilia and Eliana appear from, and directly towards the temple with a smaller girl behind him. Neela watched as they made it, completely unnoticed by the Beringel and retrieved one of the relics. She sighed, why couldn't that have been her and Eliana.

Cobalt and Tawney flew past her next from out of the forest, Tawney practically dragging Cobalt as he struggled to keep up with her.

"I knew we could do it!" Tawney gasped as she doubled over, trying to catch her breath. Cobalt joined her as he propped himself against a pedestal and grabbed the relic off.

"I still don't understand… why we had to run all the way here," Cobalt explained. He held the Black Rook out towards her. "Look good?" She brushed him off as she stood and held her side.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Bái pointed out at the Beringel as Lykos looked over the Black Rook that he had selected.

"Should we help them out?" Bái asked him. Lykos shook his head.

"We've done what was asked. They'll be fine," Lykos told her. As he began to leave the temple, the floor shook and the four of them stumbled, maintaining their balance.

"What was that?" asked Tawney.

"I'd say a trap, but my sensor is going into overdrive. Says that there's a Grimm nearby," Cobalt explained. Lykos gave him an expressionless look and pointed.

"Yeah, the Beringel," Lykos replied. Cobalt swallowed hard.

"Something bigger," he replied. The group gasped and Lykos shook his head.

"Absurd! It's crazy enough there would be a Beringel out here, what would be bigger!?" Lykos asked. Slowly the temple rose up from out of the ground, revealing that it was now acting as a body for a Geist. It had tree arms, and legs that were made up of rocks and it pulled itself from the earth, forcing the students to leap off of it with their relics. Cobalt glanced across at Neela and the other three before turning back and grabbing two of the relics. He slid into one of the pedestals, grunting as he shoved himself off and ran towards the ledge.

"Cobalt!" Tawney yelled from the ground. She blasted back the Geist's arm as it swung down. It stumbled back and Cobalt grunted, his armor falling behind in its calculations for a moment as he ran up the incline. The beast peered down at the three below it and Cobalt's running surface changed once again.

"I'm coming!" He replied as he slid off. His armor adjusted and he landed unscathed. Cobalt glanced back up at the Grimm behind him as it stomped and swept its arm towards them, knocking Tawney off of her feet as she tried firing at it again, but it resisted. Cobalt hit the ground beside Lykos who had leapt on top of Bái once again. "What is this thing?!"

"We can worry about that later!" Lykos exclaimed as he helped Bái to her feet and took off for the tree line. Cobalt watched as the Geist wound up, swinging down at Tawney who was trying to stand. He sprinted to her, throwing his arm into the air, the gears locking up as he stopped the Grimm. He grunted as she looked up at him.

"Cobalt?!" She exclaimed. He smirked, still straining against the tree.

"Go!" He shouted. She found her feet and ran after Lykos, looking back at Cobalt for a moment and realizing that he was going to be crushed. An arrow slammed into the top of its arm and froze the limb to its body, effectively stopping it. Cobalt rolled out and ran after the others, nodding to Neela in acknowledgment. The Geist slowly surveyed its surroundings as it became adjusted to its new host and peered around for the Huntsmen that had been on top of it. "Hey Neela, I don't suppose that you want to try and take that thing on, do you?" Neela's eyes were wide as she watched it swing wildly at the trees immediately surrounding it, ripping them from the ground and throwing them about. The ice shattered on its arm and it seemed pleased, looking for its prey once again. She had only heard about this Grimm once, and it had been from her Aunt Ruby.

"Only if you take on the Alpha Beringel," she replied with confidence as she began to walk towards their group. Cobalt smirked. He knew that she couldn't resist the idea of taking down something so massive, but he also knew that she was more than capable of doing it. She stood a far better chance of taking it down than the rest of them. Now it was a matter of getting the others on board. He tossed her one of the Golden Knights and pocketed the other, he'd give it to Ilia or Eliana when they had a moment.

"Deal," he replied. Tawney grabbed him and shook him by the shoulders. Her eyes were intense as she stared deep into his own, pleading to let her fight the Geist. I am not going to let Xiao Long outdo me! Her sense of competition knew no bounds, did it?

"No way am I going to let her take that Grimm down!" Tawney yelled at him. "I deserve to kill that thing! We can handle it!" Cobalt shoved her off of him.

"I've agreed to let Neela take it on. We've got our own problem to worry about. If you're really so hell-bent on killing it, I'll you can help her," Cobalt told her gesturing towards Neela. He knew he had Tawney where he wanted her, if there was anything that would completely destroy her pride, it would be having to work under Neela's command. Tawney's eye twitched slightly and she slammed her tonfas together.

"Right, the Beringel it is," Tawney answered. Neela whistled for Titus who completely ignored her as the Beringel batted him away and continued to chase after Ilia and Eliana. Eliana dove under another sweep from the beast and grabbed Ilia's arm, dragging her back towards Neela. The Geist spotted them crossing the clearing, and Eliana blocked its arm quickly with a force field which threw them both forward and they stumbled for a couple of steps. Ilia jumped into Eliana's body and rode the rest of the way there, jumping out as they approached Neela.

"What's the plan?" Eliana asked. Cobalt and Lykos watched as Titus slammed his swords against the Beringel with little effect, angering it for a moment. His eyes grew wide as he realized the need to hit it harder and the Grimm batted him away towards the Geist. Neela shook her head. Why was he so hell-bent on getting his ass kicked?

"You two with me!" Neela shouted as she ran towards the Geist with Ilia and Eliana close behind her. Titus groaned as he peered up at the Geist which prepared to crush him. This was it. It was like he had been told all along. He couldn't do it alone, and it only further proved his weakness. He wasn't worthy of his title in the Atlesian Military. He was hardly worthy of attending Beacon with these common fighters. He was useless. "Titus! Come on!" Glynda's words found him again.

"Lykos, can you keep that thing off of Neela's team while my scanner finishes calculating?" Cobalt asked. Lykos nodded and he ran out towards the Beringel, throwing several shurikens that glanced off without consequence. Bái stifled a cry as she stayed back with the other two. She wanted to go help Lykos, but it was so dangerous. The Beringel acknowledged Lykos with a scream and it beat on its chest, meeting eyes with the Huntsman and falling prey to his semblance. Lykos made another Beringel appear to the Grimm and as he suspected, the real monster was determined to display its dominance by fighting the fake. "Tawney, beat the hell out of it while it's occupied and build up your semblance."

"You got it!" She replied. She took off for Lykos and the Beringel and Bái glanced over at Cobalt. He seemed calm under the pressure and knew exactly how to get done what needed to be done. She wasn't sure that she could ever be like that, pressure usually got the better of her and that's when things would get dangerous. It was better if she just stood by and followed orders.

"Bái is it?" Cobalt asked as he formed his swords and kept them locked together as one. She nodded at him as he gave a subtle smirk, his scanner probably filling him in on how to go about defeating the Grimm. "That thing is gonna be pissed when it finds out that Lykos is making a decoy. You want to go cover them?" She nodded and ran out towards the action as Cobalt slowly followed behind her, his sword charging up, preparing to fire his laser. He would have two more shots after this one, and hopefully, it would be enough to take down the other Grimm that Neela's team was fighting. Just as Cobalt expected the beast targeted Lykos as his decoy semblance broke and Bái reached him with seconds to spare, instantly creating an ice wall between the two of them.

The Beringel smashed at it several times, trying to reach Lykos who had formed his whip and was falling back now. The creature stopped for a moment and acknowledged Tawney who was relentlessly beating on its legs. It batted her over the wall towards them, and as she careened through the air a wave of water swept up from out of the ground around Bái and snatched Tawney out of her flight. She landed softly on her feet, acknowledging Bái.

"Thanks," Tawney told her. Lykos strafed out past the edge of the ice barrier and wrapped up the Beringel's left hand with his whip. He strained against it and handed to Cobalt as he approached, who gave it a solid pull, causing the beast to stumble. As its fist planted against the ground, Bái used her ice to freeze it in place. The Beringel strained to free its hand as Tawney charged it. She slid in front of it, sliding through its legs and blasting it with both tonfas in the jaw. It jerked back, but it wasn't enough to kill it. It roared and used its free hand to smash the ice trap away, freeing it once again. Cobalt tossed Lykos' whip back to him.

"I don't think so!" Cobalt shouted as his laser finished charging. It fired, blasting the beast in the chest and filling the area with a bright light, consuming the team. As the laser finished, Cobalt dropped to his knees, chest heaving, and satisfied that his attack had landed, but when the smoke from the Grimm cleared, the monster roared and charged, indicating it was still alive. Cobalt found himself in disbelief as Bái threw up a short ice wall, causing the beast to trip over it. It fell towards Cobalt as Lykos sprinted in, dragging him out quickly as the Beringel flopped onto the ground. Lykos turned, whip ready as he watched the beast.

"This thing is tough," Lykos stated out loud. Cobalt's chest heaved as he found his feet and his scanner warned him that he only had two shots left with the laser. None of them had ever fought something like this, how were they supposed to defeat it? One idea crossed his mind, but he thought of it more as a last ditch effort and pushed it aside for the moment. Lykos charged in, scattering his shurikens in every direction but they simply ricochet off of the beast. He reformed his whip quickly, the Beringel smashing down quickly towards him. He used the whip to try and redirect the blow, but the Grimm was too strong and pulled back, throwing Lykos behind him.

"Lykos!" Bái shouted out. She ran out for the beast and it wound up again, preparing to crush her. As its fist came down it glanced off of an ice shield that had formed in Bái's hand. She swung around with an ice sword, slashing at it and knocking it off balance, but not causing it any pain. It roared and became even more enraged, swinging wildly now. A wave of water beneath Bái threw her into the air and she came down at the monster, but its hand clasped around her shield and threw her in the direction of Lykos. Cobalt's concentration broke as he watched Bái's body tumble across the ground. What could they do?

"Can you make a clone?" Tawney asked snapping him out of it. He watched her as she tried to form her own plan and peered through his scanner, letting it know to calculate whether or not he could do that right now, but it informed it that it would be a bad decision. He shook his head.

"No, I can't do that very often," he told her. "I could make a clone, but it would be too weak and wouldn't be of much use." She gritted her teeth as she took a few empty shots at it, drawing it away from Lykos and Bái. It worked and the Grimm turned back towards them sprinting.

"Dammit," she muttered. They dove out of the way as the Beringel charged and slammed both fists against the ground. Cobalt charged his laser again and slid back as the beast swung for both of them. Tawney landed a few good hits but needed a couple more solid ones in order to get her semblance to activate. She glanced at Cobalt. "It didn't work the first time, why would it work now!" He knew she was right, but it was better that he tried something instead of just standing by.

"It has to!" He shouted as he blasted at the beast again. It proved just as ineffective as the first time, and Cobalt watched again in shock as he looked at the sword in his hand. He had no other choice, he had to hope that his final plan was going to be enough. "Lykos! Bái! Reform on me!" Lykos came sprinting out of the far side of the forest, Bái close behind and he whipped the beast again, giving a solid pull. It acknowledged him and turned from Tawney and Cobalt, preparing to charge. It beat on its chest, letting Lykos know that it meant to kill him, but Lykos smirked at it, fully prepared for what would happen next. It ran for the two of them and Bái formed an ice wall, which it slammed through to Lykos surprise, trampling him as he shoved Bái out of the way.

"Bái!" Tawney called out. Bái landed on her chest and glanced around, trying to spot where Tawney had called her from. "Here!" This time Bái found them and scrambled over to where they were waiting. They met her halfway. She was close to tears and Tawney helped her to her feet.

"I'm sorry! I'm getting weaker because I'm being too careful! If I push myself too hard…" She explained.

"It's fine!" Cobalt told her cutting her off. Lykos body finally came to a stop and he grunted as he struggled to stand, the beast preparing to hit him again. Tawney fired off several shots that staggered the Beringel and it turned its attention away from Lykos. Lykos finally found his feet and rushed past the Grimm as he rejoined them. It roared in disapproval, moving faster towards the team. "Here's the plan…" The Beringel swung and Cobalt knocked it back with assistance from Tawney.

"Make it quick!" Lykos demanded. The scope scanned Cobalt's thoughts and warned him that it was a bad idea, but he disregarded.

"Can you use your decoy again?" Cobalt asked. Lykos nodded again, albeit a bit reluctantly this time and charged out in a wide arc to the right, away from the Grimm and activating his semblance. The Beringel glanced away as Cobalt had hoped and he turned to Bái. "Keep it in place." She nodded and threw her hands out, slowly coating its feet in ice and shaking as her eyes lit up slightly. Cobalt hadn't seen that before and wondered if this is what she was referring to. "Bái?"

"I will protect you. Go!" Bái shouted out. Tawney nodded at Cobalt and he formed a clone, stumbling slightly as he positioned himself.

"You just told me that you couldn't make a clone," she stated smugly. He grimaced.

"It'll disappear as soon as I throw you, so make it quick!" He instructed her. They both crouched, placing their hands together and throwing Tawney in the air. "Bái, give us a platform in front of it!" A pillar of ice rose from the ground and Cobalt glanced quickly at Bái whose eyes were glowing even more intensely. Tawney launched herself forward by firing behind her and she slammed her tonfas together, firing below her to maintain her height and successfully landing on her mark. Cobalt sprinted towards the action, his clone crouching at the base of the column and throwing him up to catch the ledge. The clone disappeared as Cobalt glanced down at the ground below. He slid his sword to Tawney as he pulled himself up.

"What am I doing with this?" She asked. He joined her and pulled her down as the Beringel swung over the top of them. Lykos flew in behind the Grimm, catching its arm with his whip and holding it still as he shouted out.

"Hurry up Cobalt!" He roared.

"Pull back hard on the handle and aim into its mouth," he told her. He used his armored limb to pry open the beast's mouth and hold it there as Tawney's body shook, trying to keep a hold on the sword as the laser gathered its power for one last shot. "Now!" She fired into its mouth and the laser cut through it like a blade, blasting out through its back and easily tearing it apart. The sword shattered and she tossed the handle behind her, watching as it slipped off of the platform, falling to the ground below. She placed her tonfas in its maw, giving the monster one last blow to make sure that it was over. Its body went limp and it fell to the ground, disappearing as Tawney and Cobalt leapt down from their perch. Cobalt retrieved his device and pocketed it.

"Great job everyone," Cobalt told them as he brushed himself off. Ice slowly climbed up his and Tawney's bodies and he glanced over at Bái whose eyes were giving off an even brighter blue light. She was staring at something in the sky, or so it appeared, and he found himself unable to move. Cobalt was confused and a slight panic set in as the ice was thick and now covered up to his chest. "Bái?" Lykos stopped approaching them as he realized what was going on, immediately throwing his weight towards Bái and running to her.

"Bái, snap out of it!" He demanded. He took a step too close and he was dragged away from her with a wave of water, pulling him out into the clearing again. She turned to face him, her eyes expressionless. This must be what they had been told about. "Bái, you're okay. Just wake up!" Lykos shouted it, and her eyes flickered, long enough for her to see it was him and the light went dim, dying completely. She ran to Lykos, pulling him to his feet.

"Lykos! I'm sorry! Did I hurt any of you?! I didn't mean…" Before she could finish she passed out and fell to the ground, landing on her chest. Lykos slowly picked her up and held her in his arms as he viewed the clearing around them. The ice shattered off of the others and they met up with him.

"What was that?" Tawney asked as they all looked at Bái. Her breathing was labored and slow as she slept in Lykos' arms. "She went crazy there for a moment." Lykos looked up from Bái at Tawney, a stern look on his face. She took a step back. "What?"

"We can address that later," Cobalt told her.

"Where are the others?" Lykos asked. Cobalt made a one-eighty and scanned the immediate area, but his scope gave him no indication that they were still nearby.

"Hopefully they're doing alright. I still have one of their relics," Cobalt told them. He pointed out further north. "I saw a cliff that way past an old fortress. It looked like it was probably the quickest way to exit the forest and complete our mission. It's fewer trees to go through too and I'm guessing that it's the route that Neela and her crew would have taken." Tawney grabbed his arm and pulled it, pointing. There was a path cut through the woods where the Geist has chased after them.

"We could just follow this," she offered. Cobalt smirked and chuckled.

"Touché," Cobalt replied.

Next week NITE finishes the test with a battle against the Geist in Chapter 13 - Initiation (Part 4)!

A big thank you to Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their 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!