Neela stared at the chalkboard as Nora droned on about Grimm, rushing from one side to the other and banging out image after image, the chalk clicking and scratching across the canvas as she explained this far too quickly for anyone to follow. Nora was absorbed in the material, with little to no time in between her rants to yell at students who were on their scrolls or just weren't paying attention, but she allowed the students to take a self-driven approach. If they failed, it was their own fault in her mind. Neela's mind danced around the idea that she'd been able to take down Mercury, and the usual fantasies of Eliana. She glanced down at her notebook, noting she'd written her best friend's name and bordered it with a heart instead of notes about Grimm.
Neela glanced at the clock, she only had a minute or two more of class before she'd be done for the day and would be able to get some of her homework done before she'd have to head off to work at the bookstore. It gave her very little time with Eliana, but she didn't have a choice and she needed the money. She stared back down at Nora once more who went on and on about a Grimm known as Nuckelavee and how she faced off against it in Kuroyuri, it was all old news. Her Aunt Ruby had told her the story at least a dozen times and as much as Neela enjoyed the tale, at this point, it was just keeping her from the bell.
The seconds dragged on for what seemed more like minutes, Neela's mind playing with the possible outcomes of the rest of her evening, some more entertaining than others albeit unrealistic. She rapped her pencil against the desk, looking at her things before sliding them off of the desk and into her bag, knowing full well that she wouldn't be taking any more notes at this point. Could the class last any longer? It was pointless, there was no reason to wait out the last few seconds, especially if Nora didn't care what they did to an extent. Neela slowly stood and sighed in relief as the bell went off behind her above the door.
"Did I talk for too long again?!" Nora asked. She shook her head with laughter. "You kids do the reading and I'll see you tomorrow!" Neela was out the door more quickly than any of her classmates and took off down the hallway towards her dorm. It didn't matter if it was a few seconds, the more time with Eliana, the better. She made it halfway to the door before someone snagged her and dragged her into one of the classrooms, closing the door behind her. Neela swung around wildly before her assailant grabbed her arm, giving her a rather large grin. It was Yang.
"Mom!" Neela blurted out. "What are you doing?!"
"I wanted to tell you something," Yang told her.
"So you snatch me out of the hall like some creeper?" Neela asked wrenching her arm free.
"Blake and Shadow are going to meet us in town, but we're taking you out to dinner!" Yang exclaimed. Neela flushed and looked away, sorry that she had gotten worked up.
"That's great and all mom, but I have work tonight," Neela explained.
"Blake already talked to Fox," Yang told her.
"What about Elli?" Neela asked. Yang groaned and shook Neela by the shoulders.
"One night away from her won't kill you," Yang said. "This last week has been hectic and we wanted to congratulate you for taking down Mercury!" Neela laughed and hugged her mom. Yang held the embrace for a long moment, taking comfort in her daughter. "Thank you, Neela."
"It was nothing," Neela replied. Yang shoved her back.
"Nothing?!" Yang asked. "You go tell that to Coco, she's been after him for years now. Taking down Mercury was nothing, you're something else, you know that? You must get it from me." Yang wrapped her arm around Neela's neck and messed up her hair. Yang opened the door and led her out into the hall.
"Can I get drinks?" She asked Yang.
"I say yes, but Blake might say differently," Yang told her.
The four of them took a table at the Crowbar, getting settled in as Neela's scroll continued to vibrate as she set it on the table and picked up her menu.
"Is everything okay, your scroll hasn't stopped going off since we left Beacon," Blake said. Neela laughed sheepishly as she checked it abruptly before placed it on the table once more.
"Yeah, it's just Elli," Neela said. Yang laughed.
"Maybe we should have brought her with," Yang said.
"Mommy, I'm hungry," Shadow complained.
"I know, just hold on a minute," Blake replied. Neela's scroll vibrated once again and she quickly silenced it, sighing as she brushed her hair back.
"Wants to make sure her lover is okay?" Yang asked. Neela and Blake shot her a look.
"Can you not refer to our daughter as someone's lover?" Blake asked. Neela nodded in agreement.
"Please?" Neela begged. Yang shrugged as the waitress came to take their orders, Neela's scroll lighting up in silent mode on the table and she glanced at it quick.
"Eliana?" Blake asked. She placed her order and Shadow's, watching as Neela read meticulously through the message. Neela nodded. "Do you want to call her and find out what's going on?" Neela chuckled.
"She just tells me everything that pops into her head. If I take a call, I don't think that I would be back until dinner was getting cold," Neela told them. Yang ordered followed by Neela and they all handed over their menus as the waitress left.
"Ugh! Mommy, I'm gonna be old before my nuggets get here!" Shadow groaned dramatically. Blake removed a paper from her purse, setting it on the table as she gave some crayons to Shadow who got to work, determined with her tongue sticking out as she concentrated.
"She's going through a coloring phase," Blake said.
"Are you gonna be a huntress like your big sister?" Yang asked. Shadow nodded without looking up from her work.
"I can make a copy of me!" Shadow exclaimed happily. Neela looked up at Blake who nodded.
"She can make clones? Shadow, that's awesome!" Neela told her.
"I'm going to grow up strong and fight monsters like you!" Shadow exclaimed. "I want a sword like Grandma Raven's!" Yang shifted and sighed.
"Not a chance," Yang muttered.
"Mommy Yang, where is Raven?" Shadow asked.
"Hopefully dead in a ditch somewhere," Yang offered. Blake's ears flattened as she shot Yang a death glare.
"Yang!" Blake stammered.
"She's safe, she's staying with Grandpa Tai," Yang replied. She leaned over to Neela. "Against my better judgment." Shadow hummed to herself as she scrawled on the page, bobbing her head. "Seriously, Neela, you're doing amazing so far this year!"
"It was nothing mom. May said something that got me thinking and we decided to take action," Neela said. Yang nudged Blake.
"Sounds like someone else I knew back at Beacon," Yang said.
"Things were different then," Blake said. Yang shook her head.
"She's always so worried," Yang said. Shadow looked up, sniffing the air and looking around the room.
"I smell Grandma Raven!" Shadow exclaimed. Yang's eyes flared red as she shuffled in her seat, moving to stand but Blake grabbed her arm, smelling the air silently and giving Neela a knowing look. Neela listened hard, removing her scroll to obscure the use of her semblance.
"Shadow honey, I don't smell Raven," Blake said. "Neela, do you smell anything?" Neela had spotted Raven, she was in a back room with two men that appeared to be wearing suits and she deactivated her power, looking up at Yang and Blake in a slight purposeful daze.
"Sorry, I was messaging Elli back, I didn't smell anything," Neela replied.
"Mommy, I know it is!" Shadow said whining.
"Blake…" Yang said trying to stand once more. Blake forced her to sit again before finding her feet.
"It's nothing Yang. How about I get you a strawberry sunrise to ease your nerves," Blake offered as she left the table. Yang took a deep breath as her eyes faded back to normal.
"She's right," Yang said with a smirk. "You probably just smelled some fish." Neela turned red and clamped her mouth shut, shaking her head.
"Why would Grandma Raven smell like fish?" Shadow asked. Neela leaped to her feet.
"I'm going to use the bathroom!" Neela exclaimed. Yang chuckled and nodded at her.
"Okay Neela," Yang said. "Hurry back!" Neela slipped away, heading down the side hallway beside the bar that led back towards the bathrooms, a door halfway down the hall that Neela assumed previously was a storage closet but it now appeared otherwise. She used her semblance again, the two men sat on one side of a small square card table, Raven opposite them with her mask lying before them. Neela pried the door open slowly and crept in, closing it behind her and staying close to the wall, peering around the corner that led into the room. Raven placed a large metal case on the counter and grinned, folding her arms as the men slid it closer and opened it up, viewing the contents.
"How do we know that this stuff is legit?" They asked. Raven grabbed up one of the vials and peered at the black liquid inside, rapping on the container with her finger before tossing it back at the one on the right. He fumbled with it for a moment before grasping it and gently placing it back in the briefcase.
"Would you care to test it out?" Raven asked. She leaned back, folding her arms and casting a side glance towards her sword. "I've never seen it in use, to be honest. Dread. Whoever came up with this must have been a psycho." She smirked. "I'm guessing that you two don't even know what it does."
"Made from Grimm's Bane. Supposed to give anyone dosed with it some pretty twisted nightmares," one of them stated. Raven nodded. Neela shifted back and kicked a bucket that was beside her that she hadn't taken notice of before and both of the men leaped to their feet, drawing their guns. "Who's there?! Is this a setup? You working with the cops now?"
"Please," Raven said without moving or showing signs of distress. "It's only my supplier." Raven glanced back out of the corner of her eye. "Neela was it?" Neela nodded and she slowly stood. "Come on. It's fine, they don't bite." Neela walked to the table, sitting beside Raven who looked her over. The men still trained their weapons on Neela.
"She looks kinda young for a supplier, and why is she so nervous?" The other asked. Raven stood and they both shook, aiming their guns clumsily between the two women. Raven leaned forward.
"Maybe it's because you two assholes are pointing guns at her. She's not a huntress, she's just some kid that sells me the product. I told her to stay out of it, but she was curious as to how you men were planning on using it," Raven told them. She grabbed them both by the collar and lifted them off of their feet. "Play nice, or I'll kill you both, take what I need, and keep the Dread." She threw them back into their seats before smiling softly at Neela and sitting. "Now you got what you wanted, where's my payment?"
"You're in the wrong business kid," one of the men told her. She noted what they were wearing as her nerves calmed. Suits. Red ties. Red glasses. "Or at least with the wrong woman." Raven slammed her fist and he jumped, his hands fumbling as he reached into his jacket and removed a flash drive, setting it on the table for Raven to look at. "Satisfied?"
"I want proof of the information," she told him. He smirked.
"And I want proof that the Dread is legitimate, but we can't always get what we want," he replied as he stood with his partner. Raven snarled as she stood, her rage boiling over.
"You two aren't leaving until I'm assured that what I'm looking for is on that drive!" Raven shouted. The man who spoke before leaned across the table.
"You made an agreement with our boss not to touch us, there's nothing you can do," he said. Raven smirked as she glanced over at Neela and nodded, motioning with her head towards the sword. Neela glanced towards it, both the men hesitating as they grabbed their guns.
"I never said that she wouldn't hurt you," Raven replied with a grin.
"You said she wasn't a huntress!" The other man shouted. Raven shrugged.
"I lied." Raven motioned with her head again. "Go ahead Neela, grab it. They won't dare shoot. It'll cause a scene and the police will be here in no time. You boys don't want that, do you? You're wanted by the cops and you said a few years ago that you were no longer in the area. I think they'd be interested to find out otherwise." The second man lowered his gun, throwing his bag onto the table and removing a laptop which he threw open and slid over to Raven as Neela retrieved the sword.
"Put it down!" The first man yelled at her.
"I think I'll wait and see if you two followed through with your payment before I do that," Neela said. The man turned to Raven, pointing his gun at her as she rolled her eyes and opened the drive, checking the contents and removing it from the computer before pushing it back towards them, pocketing the flash drive.
"Was that so hard?" Raven asked. They both glared at her and she shooed them with her hands. "Go on. Leave. I'll contact you boys again once another trade is in order." They left as they grumbled, closing the door behind them and Neela handed the sword back to Raven. Raven nodded, sheathing the blade and turning to leave but Neela stopped her.
"Did you know that we would be here tonight?" Neela asked. "And was that actually Dread?" Raven rubbed the back of her neck and nodded.
"That stuff was the real deal, but I had no clue that you'd be here tonight," Raven told her. "How did you know?"
"Shadow smelt you," Neela said. Raven tried to act like she wasn't impressed but chuckled thoughtfully.
"How did you know for sure?" Raven asked. Neela leaned against the wall and smirked.
"In addition to having heightened senses because I'm a Faunus, my semblance allowed me to see you. I can see things going on around me. It's tricky through walls because everything is kind of blurred, but I only know one other person who has hair like you," Neela explained to her. She looked Raven over. "What's on the USB?" Raven lifted it and examined it.
"I think it's something that you might find interest in," Raven said as she put her mask on and opened a portal behind her, stepping back into it. "Meet me at the docks this weekend. Saturday night around six o'clock. I think it's about time that I get to know my granddaughter." The portal closed around Raven and she disappeared, leaving Neela in a momentary stunned silence as she left the room and returned to her table. Yang looked up at her as she sat.
"Get lost on the way back?" Yang asked. Neela shook her head as Blake approached with Yang's drink.
"For me?" Neela asked. Blake laughed.
"In your dreams," Blake replied.
"Mommy Blake, Mommy Yang said that Grandma Raven smells like fish, but I don't think so," Shadow said. Yang turned, staring across the bar as Blake cleared her throat.
"Yang!"
"I've got a great feeling about today guys, and I'm not just saying that!" Eliana exclaimed as they rode the airship, sitting side by side on one bench as Coco sat across from them on her own, looking something over on her scroll as she crossed her legs, smiling at them. Ilia was feverishly tapping away, a message to Vin no doubt, Titus sat with his arms crossed, Eliana practically on his lap, but she didn't seem to mind. She craned her neck to try and get a view out one of the windows, Neela watching her the entire time, trying to seem curious, but Coco was getting more of a lustful vibe she was sure everyone else but Eliana was getting too.
"Where's that great feeling coming from?" Coco asked her. "What's brought that on?"
"We're training! That's enough for me!" Eliana exclaimed. Neela chuckled and blushed. It amazed Coco that Neela was more obvious with her crush than any student she'd ever taught, and Eliana was equally oblivious. She shook her head and smirked.
"So what happened to Team CFVY after the fall of Beacon?" Eliana asked. Coco sighed as she leaned back.
"We spent two years in Vacuo at Shade. When we got the call from Glynda and RWBY to help clear out Beacon, we all felt like it was the right thing to do, and after that, we all just decided to settle in. We've all lived in Vale since then. Yatsu is one of my choices for the huntsmen that will be added to the police force, Fox owns a bookstore that I know you're familiar with and Velv and I teach at the school. Tai watches Lamar when we're busy," Coco told her.
"Is there anything you wish you would have done differently?" Eliana pried. Coco stared hard into the distance.
"I wish I would have beaten Emerald and Mercury in the doubles. They really pissed me off that day, not to mention that the only way their plan would have worked is if they defeated us," Coco told her. "But thanks to Neela, I've more or less been avenged." Eliana smiled at Neela.
"That's why training with Coco is my favorite, she gives me the answers I need!" Eliana exclaimed. Coco laughed.
"I enjoy training too," Coco said, "Easily my favorite class." The airship had only reached the other side of Vale before it began to descend, landing in an area that looked mostly like an industrial park and Eliana leaped off of Titus, landing next to Coco and watching the landscape below grow closer. The ship touched down gently, Eliana the first one off, followed by the rest of them and she peered out, pointing to something that had caught her interest.
"Is that what I think it is!?" Eliana asked.
"I guess that depends on what you think it is," Coco replied. Neela stopped in her tracks as she recognized the structure herself and stared in awe.
"The Vytal Festival arena!" Neela blurted out. Coco nodded as she patted Neela on the back, ushering her forward.
"It sure is," Coco told them. "This is one of the locations it sits when it's not in use. I figured it would be helpful for today's adaptation lesson and when the venue is sitting here collecting dust, why not use it?" Eliana took off into the structure with Neela close behind, Ilia still couldn't be bothered to leave her scroll's screen and Titus pushed on it silent wonder. He admired the architecture as he entered. "Well?"
"I always dreamed that one day I would stand in this place as a soldier for Atlas," Titus said. "Delusions of grandeur now that I think back on it." Coco stopped in front of him and made eye contact.
"When you came here at first Titus, your dream was only to outperform. You're a different man now," Coco told him. "Hold on to that dream, as a warrior from Beacon. As a member of Team NITE." Titus searched her eyes for a long moment before he nodded and smiled at her.
"You're right," he replied. Coco chuckled as she walked away.
"Of course I'm right," she responded. She grabbed a large tablet from near one of the tunnels as they stepped onto the battlefield, adjusting different settings here and there, re-examining her work and tweaking adjustments until she was satisfied and left them for a moment, telling them that she had one last thing to retrieve. Ilia put her scroll in her pocket and looked at the three of them.
"Okay, where are we, and what did I miss?" She asked.
"You want the long version or the short version?" Titus asked. Ilia raised an eyebrow and shrugged.
"Short?" She answered unsurely.
"This is the Vytal Festival arena and we are going to fight…" Eliana exclaimed before she took a step towards Ilia and lowered her voice. "To the death!"
"Elli, no," Neela said. Eliana threw her head back in laughter.
"Elli yes!" Eliana called out.
"That hardly seems fair, only Ilia or I would win," Titus told Eliana laughing. She gave him an evil glare.
"How do you figure that?" Eliana asked.
"Neither of the two of you has had to kill someone," Ilia said. Ilia looked first at Neela and then Eliana. "Hopefully you'll never have to." Coco returned with harnesses that had a light on the end.
"Are we bonding?" She asked. None of them responded so she shrugged and finished handing out the supplies. "Slip your arms through the straps, these two lights will go here." She displayed it to them, a decently sized beacon on their chest and back. "One on front and one on back."
"What are these for?" Titus asked. Coco glared at him as she took a few steps back with the tablet.
"If you'd let me explain, we could've started by now," she yelled at him. "Try hard."
"I'm listening!" Eliana exclaimed. Coco smiled.
"Good. Now the lights that you're wearing have two settings, blue and red. You'll be in two teams, three on blue and one on red," Coco explained. They all looked at each other, the notion of three on one was ridiculous, but none of them were about to tell Coco she was crazy. "The lights you're wearing will change periodically during training." She began to leave the battlefield.
"How are we being graded?!" Titus called out.
"Good luck!" She yelled back. The ground began shifting beneath them, a mountainous terrain covered half of the floor while desert covered the other, a stark contrast. Eliana's glanced down, noting the red light on her chest and flashing an evil smile at them as she fired both of her guns at Titus who blocked with a wave of air Dust from his swords. Eliana pushed them all back towards the desert with a force field as she made her way up the mountain and watched them from the top. Titus knelt, waiting for Ilia to take Neela's body before launching them after their teammate. Neela fired an arrow as she landed, Eliana blocking it with her power as she charged in, catching Neela off guard by the head on approach. Her prods electrocuted Neela, forcing Ilia out who blocked Eliana with her blades.
She opened fire, several explosive fire Dust rounds sent Eliana sprawling and as she slid to a stop her light became blue. The three girls glanced at each other before realizing that Titus had been chosen. Eliana took off, grabbing onto Neela as the girl repelled down, Ilia taking a head-on approach and leaping off directly towards Titus to buy them time. As she reached him her feet met his blade and he activated the gravity Dust, tossing her away. Eliana opened fire, forcing Titus to create a rock wall to protect himself but also leaving him blind for a moment and oblivious to Neela's attack. She'd fired an arrow almost directly upward and it landed in front of him, leaving him ill-prepared as the arrow exploded and he was thrown back into the barrier. It cracked and Ilia forced her blades in, attacking with fire Dust bullets, shattering the wall and effectively destroying it.
Titus had already moved, he rushed through the collapsing defense and landed a blow on Ilia with ice Dust, encasing her as his light flickered back to blue and his eyes met Neela's. Her own light cycled to red and she fired a lightning arrow in front of herself which threw both her and Titus off of their feet. Eliana had used a forcefield to protect herself and freed Ilia before running in to attack Neela. Neela had already found her feet, flipping her bow into its sword form and grappling Eliana who had fired but had her attack blocked by Neela's blade. As Eliana reached Neela she threw up a barrier that stopped her momentum and in turn yanked Neela off of her feet.
Ilia rushed past Eliana, her blades meeting Neela's as their leader did her best to get out of the way of their attacks. The force sent Neela reeling, she rolled and bounced for a long few moments until her body finally found a resting place in the desert sand. She watched as Ilia rushed towards her quickly, but as she did so, her light became red, and a wave of earth Dust raced quickly beneath Ilia, forming a dome of hardened sand over Neela. She took a deep breath. Titus had been quick enough to protect her. Eliana glanced across the way at Coco as Ilia met Titus head on and they deflected each other's' assaults. She seemed pleased with them.
Eliana fired past Ilia, freeing Neela who placed an arrow in Ilia's back, damaging her aura as the projectile ricochet off and dropped carelessly into the sand. It threw off Ilia's concentration and she turned to face Neela, giving Titus an opening. He took it but Ilia was a step ahead, her plan to seem occupied worked and as he swung she ducked his attack. She knew his pattern, and she was able to throw herself back at him and grapple his neck, possessing his body and leaving Neela and Eliana to wonder for a long moment how to proceed. She chose water with his kopides and slammed them into the ground, and geyser spraying up around her and flowing out like a tidal wave, sweeping the other two girls off of their feet.
"Stop!" Coco yelled. Ilia released Titus and Coco jogged over to them, clapping as she took care not to drop the tablet under her arm. As she reached them she removed it once more and made a few more adjustments to the device. The landscape flattened back out into the large, simple, metal panels and they all came together to huddle around her. Eliana smiled as she took a step forward, placing herself closer to their teacher than the other members of NITE. She laughed excitedly.
"I feel like we did a great job today! Passing scores for the whole team, right?" Eliana asked. She looked at her friends. "We've got adapting down no sweat! Nothing to it!" Coco raised an eyebrow and glanced up at them from the tablet, trying to hide a smirk.
"Is that so?" Coco asked. Eliana nodded, but Neela and the others knew that there was something more that Coco wasn't telling them. "Then I guess you won't have any problem with the second half of our training session today, now will you?" Eliana's smile disappeared and her mouth hinged open.
"I'm sorry… second half?" Eliana asked. Coco removed herself from the battlegrounds once again and queued a timer that appeared on the scoreboard, counting down slowly from ten and they all took a moment to notice it. They all looked at Neela.
"Now what?" Ilia asked.
"Stay on your toes," Neela told them. The clock continued to tick away, nothing seemed to change and they wondered if Coco was simply testing their nerves until the buzzer sounded and they were greeted simultaneously with two huntsmen landing a few feet away from them. Jaune's shield crashed into the ground and brought with it a mighty shock wave that threw all of them onto their backs as Pyrrha landed beside him, taking a knee and blocking a quick shot from Neela with her own shield. Pyrrha stood and took a battle stance and Jaune did the same, giving the students the courtesy of finding a footing.
"Sorry!" Pyrrha called out to them.
"Arkos in action!" Eliana squealed as she leaped up and down with her hands drawn up to her chest. "Neela!"
"Now's not the time to fangirl!" Titus reminded her. She frowned, but it was replaced with a look of determination as she aimed her guns at them.
"Right!" She declared. "What's the pl-" Eliana was cut off as Pyrrha's shield slammed into her chest, knocking the wind out of her. At the same time, Pyrrha had fired several shots at Ilia, forcing her to defend as opposed to attacking as Pyrrha drew her shield back in, blocking another arrow at the last moment from Neela. Titus turned his focus solely on Jaune and defended Eliana from any more attacks with an earth wall, both of his kopides slamming down against Jaune's shield. The reverb threw both of them back from each other, but Jaune had placed force behind his block and Titus slid back past Eliana, the force hard enough to deal damage to his aura.
"Titus!" Neela yelled. "Guns and guns at Jaune!" Neela deflected Pyrrha's spear, mostly able to match her footwork, but taking an occasional blow as Pyrrha had her beat in speed and sheer strength.
"I still think that we can come up with a better name for mine and Eliana's team attack then…" Titus began.
"Not now! Just do it!" Neela commanded.
"Right!" He replied. He shattered the wall that was protecting Eliana and rushed in, Eliana guiding a force field in front of them as they rushed Jaune. He swung out, striking the barrier and it threw him off guard. His shield held fast, but as Eliana pushed out past him, he faltered, moving his shield to block her fire. He expected to then catch both of Titus's blades with his own, but Titus had charged his weapons with gravity Dust, throwing Jaune away who was brought to a sudden stop by his wife's semblance, despite the fact that she was more than a little preoccupied.
"Dammit!" Neela muttered. Ilia moved in, but anytime she attempted to grab Pyrrha the woman used her power to force Ilia's arms away. Neela had no doubt that it was also the reason that Pyrrha was landing so many blows on her.
"New plan?" Titus asked. Neela was close to her breaking point… wait!
"Ilia told me all about what happened with you up at Atlas!" Neela called out. Titus shot a look at Ilia who shrugged and laughed sheepishly.
"It was all over the news and the internet. If anything, I saved you the trouble of having to explain what happened yourself!" Ilia yelled.
"Do that!" Neela yelled. "Ilia, fall back to Jaune!"
"Are you sure?" Ilia asked. Neela stumbled as Pyrrha batted her away.
"Yes!" Neela yelled. "Iliana attack pattern!"
"You got it!" Eliana piped up. Eliana opened fire at Titus, the bullets riddling him as he stood there stoically to allow his aura to drain. Ilia grabbed Eliana and they rushed Jaune again, this time without a force field. As Eliana met his shield, Ilia leaped out over him and he slammed his shield into the ground to throw them away, but Eliana blocked the attack with a quick spherical barrier. Ilia quickly disarmed his sword as Eliana hurdled his defense, slamming her tasing rods into his armor, lighting him up and sending him writhing to the ground.
Titus forced a blow on himself using fire Dust, breaking his aura and dropping his swords as his skin simply flaked off, leaving a gargoyle in his place and he smirked as he planted his feet into the ground, cracking the panel beneath him. He sprinted for them, Pyrrha slamming Neela with the butt of her rifle and sliding away as Titus steamrolled through her, his body crashing into her shield.
"Is this enough holding back Coco?" Pyrrha asked. Coco laughed.
"It is adaptation training, after all, let's crank it up a bit and see how they deal with the pressure," Coco replied. Pyrrha leaped back and rolled out of the way, Titus running until slamming into a panel that Pyrrha had lifted from the floor and placed in a vertical position. Several more were thrown up around him until he was surrounded, imprisoned by Pyrrha who seemed to have absolute control over the arena now, lifting more into the air and letting them float about lazily without her giving them notice. Neela was beyond intrigued, but the realization that there might be no hope of winning also swept over her. All that was left now was pure desperation.
"Neela!" Eliana called out as she was trapped with Ilia in a similar matter as Titus. There had to be a weakness to this, but what could it be? Neela's mind raced back through all of her schoolings and something clicked. She took off running for Titus's kopides before Pyrrha could trap her as well, diving and dodging out of the way of attacks. Pyrrha caught on as Neela reached the swords and she dragged Neela across the ground as she clung to one of them. Neela could hear Titus slamming against the walls of the trap, forcing Pyrrha to pay more attention to him and Ilia managed to escape during the distraction.
"Distract her!" Neela yelled.
"Because yelling for me to do so with her right there isn't a huge giveaway towards your current plans," Ilia shouted back. Neela opened Titus's Dust chambers, letting them spill out onto the ground. Neela leaped back as a panel flipped up in front of her, Pyrrha was done playing around and planned to finish them off.
"Fire at the Dust!" Neela yelled out to her teammate,
"Sure!" Ilia replied. She did so, Neela firing an earth Dust arrow beside herself to create a touch of extra protection and she hoped for the best. The lightning Dust erupted, lighting up most of the arena, and screwing with the magnetic field. The panels dropped for a moment but Jaune had found his feet once more and blindsided Titus before he could take out Pyrrha. The gap wasn't large enough and before they could all rush in, Pyrrha had regained control over her power and trapped them all once more.
"That's it!" Coco declared. Pyrrha freed them and they all met in the middle of the arena once more.
"Recap?" Eliana asked less enthusiastic than the first time.
"Neela was a little on the reckless side, but she had some good ideas that could have been executed better," Coco told them. "That being said, the rest of you need to work on acting on your own if the need arises. She should do most of the thinking, yes, but not all of it. I get that Arkos is a lot harder to fight than each other, but you need to use the same critical thinking as you did in the first half of today's training. Other than that, you all did a great job protecting each other today, I want to see more of that." Eliana leaned over to Neela as they left.
"Does that mean we passed?" Eliana inquired. Neela laughed and threw her arm over her best friend's shoulders.
"I'm sure we did, Elli," Neela replied with a smile. Coco's scroll rang and she removed it from her pocket, letting her students and Arkos walk ahead of her towards the airship as she answered the call.
"Hello?" she responded as it connected.
"Coco, do you have the weekly report finished already?" Glynda asked. Coco chuckled slightly.
"Of course," Coco replied. "You know that I'm always on time with it."
"Is there any chance that we can go over it tomorrow instead?" Glynda requested. Coco paused for a moment before continuing to follow NITE.
"Of course, what's going on?" Coco asked.
"I can't say too much about it, but we've received another message from Ozpin," Glynda replied.
"Let me guess. Only you, Qrow, and RWBY again?" Coco asked.
"You catch on fast," Glynda said with a chuckle. Coco laughed.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
NITE slowly gets better as a team, and it seems Raven wants to meet Neela in private to talk about the contents of the flash drive. Next week, Team NITE builds on their bonds in Chapter 57 - Games and Death!
A big thank you to Carlomontie, Nliast, 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!