"Who do you hope that we end up with for our teacher?" Eliana asked Neela as they made their way through the dense woods looking for Titus and Ilia. Neela leaned back against a tree for a moment, blowing into her hands to try and generate a little bit of heat to keep them warm. She used her semblance, scanning for any sign of Titus or Ilia before spotting Titus and leaping back to her feet, leading Eliana through the forest. Who did Neela want to end up being with them in the field for the rest of the year? It was preferable that it wasn't Blake, she had already taught Neela almost everything she knew, and she would constantly be worrying about Neela and protecting her. However, with the exception of Pyrrha, there really was no better instructor for the rest of her team.
"I wouldn't mind Pyrrha," Neela told her as they approached Titus and Neela tapped him on the shoulder. He pulled her into a bush without any warning beforehand, covering her mouth and watching Eliana dive in after them. Titus quieted her as she thrashed for a few seconds, trying to process what was going on as she came down from the initial panic and followed his line of sight. Coco. So that was it. She would be their teacher for the rest of the year. Now to plan out their fight and get a passing grade. They would grade NITE more harshly, they were the top-ranked year one team after all.
"Where's Ilia?"Eliana asked softly. Titus looked back at her and grinned.
"Enjoying the ride," Titus replied. His grin faded. "Can't you jump in someone else's body for once?"
"What's the plan Neela?" Eliana requested of her leader. Neela thought it over for a moment and decided on something.
"Titus, you draw her fire and form an earth wall between the two of you. This will allow Ilia to set up before Coco can destroy it and she can volley gunfire back towards Adel. With any luck, Eliana and I will be able to draw most of her fire and keep it off of you. A couple of waves of gravity Dust should keep her on her toes and will give us a chance to get Ilia in close. From there it should be a cakewalk as we all close in," Neela informed them. They all nodded at her and the plan was set in motion.
Titus sprung out of the bushes and ran into the clearing to Coco's right, just inside of her peripheral vision and Neela grabbed Eliana, grappling a branch above as they silently made their way through the trees. Coco turned and began firing, Titus pushing as hard as he could to stay in front of her aim and slamming his kopides into the ground as he slid to a stop, a large stone wall rose up between them and Ilia leapt out. It almost seemed to be going too well, and it was… until a gunshot rang out, nailing Ilia in the shoulder. She shrugged it off at first, but as another came, her body jerked hard and she grabbed the spot where she'd been shot. She knelt for a moment, looking at her shoulder.
"May?" Titus asked. He deflected the next bullet that came in and stood over Ilia defending her. "The trajectory and angle are right, not to mention the sound of the gunfire. That has to be Ms. Zedong."
"The sniper? Long distance accuracy teacher, or whatever her official title is, right? I guess they've got both long and medium range covered," Ilia responded as she stood. "Hopefully Neela can pick off May before we get destroyed."
"We'll be fine," Titus replied slamming his kopides into the ground again and raising another wall behind them. "We'll continue as planned." She nodded at him as the first wall was destroyed and they rushed Coco. Meanwhile, Neela and Eliana had already picked up on the sniper and were heading towards her.
"So we have to fight two teachers?" Eliana asked.
"It appears so," Neela replied as she stopped short and tackled Eliana out of the tree, one of Ren's guns, Stormflower, flew through the canopy, returning from where it had been thrown similar to a boomerang. Eliana landed on her back with a grunt, Neela on top of her.
"Ren's fighting us too? What's going on, there's no way that we could take all of these teachers!" Eliana exclaimed. Neela noted that her hands rested on Eliana's breasts and she was torn between squeezing them gently, or quickly removing her hands. Eliana looked down her body at Neela. "Aren't they nice?" Eliana raised an eyebrow and Neela felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her as she leapt up and extended her hand for Eliana to stand.
"No, there's only one other teacher out here with Coco, and it isn't Ren or May," Neela replied as she continued towards the attacker with Eliana close behind.
"Then who is it?" Eliana asked. Neela moved quickly now, unsheathing her sword and blocking a blow from Crescent Rose, Ruby's scythe, as Velvet attacked. "Of course, Velvet can mimic weapons!"
"That's the general idea," Neela grunted. "They thought they'd get the jump on us because Velvet doesn't teach any classes, so only a few of us really know what she's capable of."
"You're a smart girl Neela," Velvet told her. "However, it'll take more than that to take down the two of us." Velvet formed Sun's bo staff and moved in, knocking Neela back and attacking Eliana who blocked with her forearms, trying desperately to get a shot in, but having her aim redirected by Velvet. She formed the two gun chucks, leaping and planting her feet into Eliana's chest, knocking her back and defending against Neela. Neela chuckled as they met each other's movements and attacked more aggressively, but Velvet held her own.
"Don't use those too quickly Velvet, or you might run out of weapons before the fight is over," Neela told her. Velvet slid back, forming Ruby's scythe again and firing, slamming Neela through several trees from the impact of the shot. Neela was in a slight haze and disbelief as she tried to get her feet under her.
"We've made a few adjustments to my camera," Velvet said with a smile. She reached back, removing an arrow as Neela's bow formed in her hand and drew it back. "I'm sorry Neela. Think of this as a learning experience." Neela was able to shake off the confusion, but it was too late. She wouldn't be able to deflect the arrow. She'd been bested by Velvet and she was about to learn what it felt like to be on the receiving end of her bow. As the arrow impacted it shattered, dissipating into light particles that danced into the sky. Velvet glanced back to see that Eliana had shorted out her box, slamming both of her electrical prods into it.
"Whoops," Eliana said laughing nervously. "That worked almost a little too well, didn't it?" Velvet leapt back from Eliana, removing her box and hitting it against her hand, watching as Myrtenaster attempted to form in her hand, but flickered away. Velvet turned back to see Neela who was inches from her, sword to her chest.
"You have to worry about Eliana too. We're a package deal," Neela told Velvet.
"Titus!" Ilia shouted at him, she deflected Coco's bullets, but the sheer volume drove her back anyway and she slid past her teammate. "Come on Mr. Modern Major General, what's our strategy?!" Titus continued his barrage of gravity Dust waves against Coco, but it didn't seem to affect her, she stared calmly through her sunglasses as she continued her attempted onslaught, her expression never changing.
"You can't out think me, Titus. You're going to have to overpower me," Coco called out. "And I've fought in a war, so don't expect it to be easy." Coco threaded the magazine that hung over her shoulder into the gun and gave a slight smirk, one that was almost impossible to notice. "And expect it to get harder right now." She opened fire again, this time her rounds laced with fire Dust, each bullet causing an explosion that rocked the surrounding area. Titus stumbled slightly, diving for Ilia. An explosion threw them from each other and she hit her head against a tree, knocking her out. Titus switched to wind Dust, redirecting a barrage of bullets back at Coco. She tried to keep the explosion from affecting her, but she was forced to leap back, Titus moving to Ilia as Neela and Eliana rushed in.
He checked his scroll, her aura was still intact, which meant she was still in the fight, but in this condition, she was only in the way, and he could only assume that getting her to safety would help their grade. He lifted her quickly, placing his hand on her forehead.
"Wake up Ilia. You need to use your power so that you're protected," he told her. Another round of fire tossed Titus off his feet, cradling Ilia and landing roughly, something jarred under his back and causing him pain as he let go of Ilia involuntarily, her body rolling away. Titus cringed in pain, throwing himself to the ground, noting that he had landed on a rock that was about the size of a large chest or cache. He groaned and struggled to where Ilia lay as he could hear someone approaching behind him. He glanced back, Coco had separated herself from Neela and Eliana by throwing up a handful of ice Dust and firing at it, creating a steam cloud that would only slow Neela for a moment.
"Don't take this personally!" Coco shouted as she swung her purse, slamming it into Titus back. He hit his knees as she swung again, the handbag making contact with his head this time and he fell onto his chest as his aura broke. Coco stepped over him and moved to Ilia, making quick work of the girl, but taking care not to push past breaking her aura. An arrow from Neela flew in, Coco sidestepping it and sighing in amusement as she made her way back towards the girls. Moments later the arrow exploded, causing Coco to stumble, taking her focus off of Neela and her grapple hook snagged Coco's purse, dragging her with as Neela retracted the line. Titus groaned, his body trembling as he sweated profusely.
Not now, he thought. Not now! His skin flaked from his face, revealing stone underneath, his body shaking. I can't contain it, can I? Titus managed to work up the strength to find his hands and knees, crawling off out of sight back towards the cliff.
"Elli!" Neela exclaimed.
"Right!" Eliana replied. She threw up a forcefield which Coco slammed into, bounding off and moving to transform her purse back into its gun form, but noting that it was missing. Neela handed it to Eliana and drew back an arrow, Eliana dropping the purse on her toes. She cried out in pain and Neela glanced over at her.
"Are you okay?" Neela asked.
"You didn't tell me that it was so heavy!" Eliana exclaimed. She leapt up and down on one foot, holding the other. "Cripes! Warn me next time!"
"I thought it was implied!" Neela told her. She looked back down her sights, noting that Coco was nowhere to be found. What was her plan? She was weaponless, it wasn't like she could still win. Was she retreating, and if so, why prolong the battle? "I'm going to go find Coco. Join me after your foot stops hurting so bad." Neela used her semblance and took off.
"Neela! Wait!" Eliana called out. She attempted to chase after her leader but immediately fell to the ground, wincing in pain. "Dammit!"
Neela ran as quickly as she could, using her grappling hook to cut the distance between them down as Coco stopped at Velvet's body, swiftly removing the camera from Velvet. Neela only reached Coco in time to witness her putting the harness on so that she could wear the box herself. Neela chuckled as she came to a stop, Coco and her staring each other down.
"I never expected this in the possibly countless outcomes," Neela told Coco. "It's too bad that the camera isn't working right now." Coco smirked.
"Then you should have no problem winning this fight right now," Coco told her. Neela aimed, firing at Coco as she backflipped multiple times, the younger huntress missing each time as each arrow exploded too late. Coco slid to a stop as Neela loaded three more arrows, firing at Coco again as the teacher leapt back, the arrows impacting the ground and erupting, freezing everything nearby, the amount was enough to freeze one of Coco's boots despite her escape. She kicked at it with her free foot as Neela came closer. Coco couldn't risk using fire Dust, the explosion would do damage to her aura.
"Like you said, no problem," Neela told her. She drew one last arrow and fired, the arrow exploding and leaving Coco unharmed as she held Jaune's shield in her hands. Neela was baffled and she took a few steps back as Coco stood. "How?!"
"When you girls reached me, Eliana still had her electric rods extended from the ends of her guns," Coco explained. "I've worked on Velvet's camera more times than you can imagine." Coco looked Crocea Mors over and charged, Neela and Coco's blades clashing, Coco being pushed back with each slamming of Neela's sword against her shield. Coco wasn't experienced with a sword and shield, and Neela would exploit that. Neela attacked relentlessly, forcing Coco further back with every blow, the last created enough of a gap for her to quickly load an arrow and she fired for Coco's feet. Coco slammed the shield into the ground, crouching behind hit as the arrow exploded.
Adel shifted quickly as Neela leapt over her, firing directly down at her. Coco transformed her weapons into Akoúo̱ and Miló, blocking the arrow with the shield and transforming the javelin into its rifle form. She fired off three shots, two missing Neela by a surprising distance and the other ended up deflected. Neela charged, dodging the bullets as she got in close, Pyrrha's smaller shield providing little coverage as Neela was able to bat it away. The rifle then took its xiphos form, but Coco's inexperience left her open to attack once again. The weapons slid against each other, despite seeming awkward, Coco definitely had enough strength to hold Neela back.
They both grunted, fighting against each other, both of them struggling to read the other, Neela's mind was a never-ending evolution of outputs for possible outcomes. Coco's, the veteran mind that had experienced it all and needed to prove to herself that she was still the best, even if it meant defeating the most capable of the first years. The problem was that Neela didn't fight like a first year. Sure, she was inexperienced in the field, but this girl had grown up a Xiao Long. She had the prowess in training of a third year at least, and Coco often struggled with the more capable upperclassmen, but none of them calculated their strategy as quickly as Neela.
At this point, Neela had planned out the end of the fight to perfection, ready to execute it as soon as Coco leapt back. It was the only move Coco could make knowing no other choice would be allowed and she knew that Coco was just as aware. If Coco continued this, they'd be pushing each other back for minutes on end to no avail. If Coco did overpower her or was allowed to, her next move would be sloppy enough that Neela could deal a quick series of blows that would end it before Coco could choose another weapon. Coco would have to get some distance to allow herself half a chance, and Neela would have adequate time to end it. She smirked.
"So you know my plan, huh?" Coco asked. Neela gritted her teeth, giving extra effort to force the woman away, growing slightly impatient. "I might not be able to outsmart you, but I can still match you!" Coco leapt back, already transforming the weapon in her hand back to the rifle. Neela's arrow left as she was still airborne, Coco firing off two shots quickly, the first grazing the strap of her arrowhead pouch which Neela had just opened, spilling the tips everywhere. The second shot made contact with one of them, the chain reaction created a large explosion that blasted both of them away, Coco immobilized by Neela's arrow. When everything cleared they both laid on the ground battered, both of them auraless.
Coco laughed as she struggled to sit and grabbed her side. She grunted.
"Overkill?" Neela asked chuckling. She struggled to her feet and stumbled over to Coco. "How did you know that I was going to use a specialized tip?" Coco stayed seated, still unable to move for the most part.
"I wasn't entirely sure, but if you'd used any tip other than a paralyzer, there was a chance the battle would have continued on," Coco told her. Neela grinned impressed.
"You truly are a tactical genius," Neela told her. After waiting for a minute or two Neela helped Coco to her feet and they headed back over to Velvet who was waiting patiently for them.
"You're one to talk," Coco laughed rubbing Neela's head.
"But if you're such a good shot, how did you miss the first two?" Neela pondered. Coco pointed to Eliana who laid on her back, staring up at the sky.
"Eliana was on her way to back you up. I shot her to make sure she was out, when she dropped the purse on her foot before, she still had some aura left," Coco informed her. Neela helped Eliana up who sighed.
"I need to work on strengthening my aura," Eliana told Neela. "And being more vigilant during training." Neela threw her arm over her shoulders.
"You tried your best," Neela said. "That's what counts. Let's go get Titus and Ilia." Eliana nodded.
"Right."
So Team NITE will be training under the guidance of Coco for the rest of the year in the field. Next week find out what Raven has been up to in Chapter 40 - Raven vs. The Fang!
A big thank you to Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, 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!