Qrow stood and nodded to Ruby as he slipped past people and apologized as he made his way to the stairs in the aisle. Ruby clapped and leaned over to Glynda, keeping her voice down.

"That was short even by practice round standards," Ruby commented. Glynda nodded.

"You're right, but seeing as this is the largest venue in recent history, or at least since the reappearance of the Fang and Salem devotees, we wanted to make sure that they didn't try anything. By keeping the first round short and the breaks a touch on the longer side, it throws off their timing if there is an attack," Glynda explained. "Precautionary measures." Ruby nodded.

"I'll go with it for now, but you really should have let Neela and Orin show off what they have a bit more," Ruby said. Glynda chuckled.

"We didn't want the students using everything during that first match," Glynda said. "Then the actual tournament gets a little boring and predictable."

"Since when does that matter?" Ruby asked. "This isn't for entertainment, this is for showing off…" Ruby looked at Glynda who gave her a look. "This wasn't your idea, was it?"

"The city council threatened to cut funding seeing as we're in peace and the entire school staff is made up of huntsmen and huntresses," Glynda explained.

"What?" Ruby asked. "I'll override them!"

"They wouldn't look too kindly upon that either," Glynda informed her. She sighed and adjusted her glasses. "They just don't get it. They've only known peace since Salem's death and they're coming dangerously close to allowing us to be caught with our guard down." Glynda sighed. "So I agreed to make this tournament a bit more entertaining than one would normally be."

"I won't override them for now," Ruby said. "But Qrow will have a word with them." Glynda nodded.

"Where was he off to anyways?" Glynda asked.

"Assembling my crew. We'll be leaving Friday afternoon so that I can have them back to you by Monday morning," Ruby explained. Qrow knelt beside Coco, keeping his voice low as he glanced back at Ruby.

"Enjoying the show?" He asked. Coco smirked and glanced at him, trying to avoid looking obvious.

"What does she need this time?" Coco asked. Qrow laughed as he removed his flask and took a swig of his whiskey, spotting Raven at the top of the bleachers on the far end of the building. He met her eyes and they stared for a long moment before he looked back at Coco.

"You know we can't talk about it here," Qrow said. "Tell Pyrrha that we need her too. We'll meet with you in the tower after the show." Coco nodded and Qrow looked to where Raven was again to make sure that he wasn't seeing things, spotting her once more before returning to Ruby. "They'll be there." Ruby nodded.

"Good," Ruby replied. The buzzer sounded once more, signaling that the first round was about to begin.

*Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… Cerise against Orin. No timer this time, lose your aura and it's game over. Have fun.*

Neela stared at Orin from the tunnel as the timer began to count.

3… 2… 1… Go!

Orin flipped his rifle together, lifting it and taking several shots that were haphazardly denied by Cerise's semblance as she struck the bullets with her shockwaves and they dropped harmlessly to the floor. Orin smiled, continuing fire as Cerise walked closer at a painstakingly slow pace. Ready to attack as soon as she was in range, her flail being attached to a laser instead of a chain gave her a varied range, and she was confident that she knew it better than Orin. On the cusp of her maximum reach, she stopped and lashed out, a focused shock wave through the ground reverberated behind Orin and he sidestepped, blocking her weapon with his rifle before flipping it out into its disjointed, staff form.

She placed both hands together, forming a large wave that crashed off of Orin as he quickly turned and took the brunt of it with his wings, pushing them together to form two scoops as the waves rolled off of his wings and continued past him, cracking the wall. He looked back over his shoulder, flying straight up into the air and doing a backflip, landing just behind her and turning to meet her mace with his staff. She maneuvered it quickly, able to combine the weapon with bare-handed combat to block and attack against his three-part staff. They both leapt back and reevaluated their strategies as everyone looked on in amazement.

"I have to admit that your weapon is more powerful than I first gave it credit for, but it would be far more effective if it had a chain, to be honest," he told her. She frowned at him. Another couple of waves that he backflipped out of the way of, coming to a stop and firing at her as she charged him, blocking his shots with her flail. He nodded his head, impressed with her but slid out of the way as she brought her weapon down on him. "Then you could actually latch onto things. It would be way more painful, seeing as it would allow you to grab on, but the laser… Well, it just chips away slowly at the aura."

"Not if I adjust it," she told him.

"Will it matter though? Especially if I'm in your head?" He asked. She stared hard at him, putting her back on the defensive as he jumped into action with his staff. "Did you two really think that I could only use my semblance for communication?"

"That's not fair!" She shouted at him.

"Remnant's not fair!" He replied. He tripped her with the bottom third of the staff, bringing down the top segment and batting her against the ground. As her body rebounded she threw him back with a shock wave, more powerful than any of the previous and more concentrated, it was as if a fist had slammed into his torso and drove him back. He doubled over for a moment, letting his wings carry him backward as she swung a bit wildly. Was she desperate already?

"I fought hard to get here!" She yelled at him as she rushed in.

"We all did!" He replied. He diverted the flail, his staff nailing her in the side as he removed a Dust crystal from his inside jacket pocket. "For someone to think that they deserve to win more than anyone else is foolish! Remnant is unforgiving, and we all try just as hard as everyone else. A true test of combat like this is measured in skill, not in determination." Orin slid back, pulling open a chamber in the middle section of his staff and placing the crystal inside.

"Enough talking!" She yelled at him. He moved in once again, she deflected his staff for as long as she could before a carefully placed blow with the middle portion struck her in the head and the lightning Dust within his weapon activated, killing her vision for a few deciding moments as it screwed with her helmet. She tried to use her shock waves to continue the fight, but Orin had her on the ropes and he chambered another crystal, a shot full of gravity Dust directly to her gut that sent her across the arena, he chased after her with the assistance of his wings. She landed on her back, still unable to find her feet his he flipped out his staff, slamming it against the side of her head before taking her down completely. Her aura shattered and everyone watched them for a long, silent, fleeting second before the applause shook the fieldhouse.

"Cerise!" Soya screamed as she ran past Neela out of the tunnel and sprinted to the girl. She took Cerise in her arms, her sobs drowning out whatever the announcer was telling them over the PA system. Orin looked at her with cold eyes, extending his hand to help her up but she batted it away. "Get away! This was her last year and you took her victory away! Why would you do that?!"

"Would you have preferred that I just let her win?" Orin asked. "Would she have felt good about herself then?"

"You read her mind, there's no way that isn't cheating!" Soya shouted.

"Actually I didn't," Orin replied. "Using my semblance to infiltrate a mind and fight at the same time is overly exhausting, my body wouldn't be able to handle it." Orin pointed to Cerise. "She fought well, but she had small tells that someone with keen eyes could pick up on." Soya's face twisted and she gently helped Cerise to her feet, pointing at Orin.

"You wouldn't have won if you weren't a Faunus!" Soya yelled. The cheers became a dead silence and all eyes were on Soya whose face was red and wet from the tears that streamed from her eyes. "Why don't you all just go back to where you came from? Where you belong!" Neela's mouth hinged open as she took a step out towards the girl, her hand trembling as she reminded herself to breathe and leave her sword alone. She glanced up to Yang who was being restrained by Blake. Orin stared at her in disbelief, hanging his head as he searched for the words he wanted to use. Ivory and Rowan stood in front of their seats, every Faunus in the building hinged on Orin's response. He smirked.

"If I may, I would like to use Ruby Rose as an example," Orin spoke softly, though his voice was carried through the people with a microphone that they'd provided each of the participants. "Without her silver eyes, Ruby would not have been able to take down Salem and save all of Remnant. A trait that Oum had blessed her with and gave her the upper hand in the battle. Sure, it gave her an advantage over one fight, but I'm sure that she has her flaws. I guess that makes her dangerous. Perhaps we should round up all of the Silver Eyed Warriors. Perhaps you'll only win your battle because Neela is inadequate at defending against vines. Should we then tell you to go back to where you came from?

It's a foolish argument. We all have something that makes us unique. You should think before you speak Ms. Kelly." Soya rushed him as he turned away and a blinding light diverted her as her fist met Ruby's palm.

"I don't advise that," Ruby said. "Remnant as a whole will not stand for the discrimination of anyone. Not for race, not for gender, and especially not for species. Why don't you finish this tournament so you can fight the people who really matter? It's no secret that the White Fang is back, and with that, Grimm will return as well. Don't be so short sighted and don't ever say that to a student again or I'll so to it that you're expelled for at least a quarter. Got it?" Soya nodded nervously and with that Ruby exploded into rose petals, drifting slowly and reforming back in her seat.

*Neela and Soya. You're up.*

Neela watched Orin and Cerise as they left the area and turned to face Soya, preparing herself. She had seen what the girl could do before. All she needed to do now was out think her. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, her teammates cheering her on. She felt the warmth of the lights that shone on the two of them, the hilt of her sword lightly pressed against her palm and was ready for her to unsheathe it. She watched Soya seething as she stared Neela down, her arms spread at her side so that she could use her whips or plants with the drop of a pin. Neela would have to agile and prepared for anything, her nerves only intact because of the training she had done with Eliana. At the very least Elli, this one's for you.

*3…2…1…Go!*

Neela rushed in, leaping up and using parkour to navigate the large vines that burst forth from beneath them and tried to protect Soya from an initial attack. Neela grappled to her right, narrowly missing being flattened by a larger plant stem as she turned in mid-air and fired an arrow. She didn't stop to watch the arrow as she continued upward and forward through the tangle, practically above the girl as she fought off a few more vines with her bow limbs, noting the muffled sound below as her arrow exploded and she swung down towards Soya, slipping through the crevices. She landed behind the girl, backflipping over her whips before meeting them the next time around with her sword.

"I will not lose to a Faunus!" Soya yelled at her. Neela noted that Soya must have discarded her mic, grappling the girl and trying to pull her in but coming up short as Neela was forced to disappear back into the plant and check her arm out. It burned and she noted the spores that latched to her skin from one of Soya's flowers and she tossed them away as she made a decision to try out her new Dust threads. Soya spun, peering at each of the locations that Neela shot by feeling the plants pain as opposed to seeing her and her whips tore past the knotted plant mess, forcing Neela to move to a different spot. What was Soya's plan, Neela could just leave the dome and be free to wait her out on the outside? She humored the girl instead and moved back in, firing two arrows that Soya batted away.

"You're trying too hard, Soya," Neela told her.

"Am I?" Soya asked as her plants lashed for Neela but she'd been using her semblance for a moment and was able to block them all flawlessly. "You can't possibly hope to beat me! My power is superior, I pour every free moment that I have into bettering my semblance. You haven't seen anything yet!" As she raised her voice, Neela's mind flashed back to her screaming with Orin, only Soya disappeared from her mind and was replaced by Shadow. Why don't you all just go back to where you belong? One of Soya's whips caught Neela off guard and pulled her in, allowing Soya to make an attempt at hand to hand, only to be driven back against her wall. Soya shoved her away and a giant flower sprouted beneath her, carrying her several feet up so that Neela could only fire arrows in vain as she avoided vines.

"I can defeat you even without using my Faunus traits," Neela offered. Soya frowned, snarling as her anger forced the plant to carry her further up and she triggered the Dust line. Neela had coated them with fire Dust, her arrows as well and it formed a mess of lines as she had managed to get ten arrows off before Soya had forced her back out before. A chain reaction explosion destroyed the barrier, letting the gasps of the audience pour in as Neela took cover beside the stem of the giant lilly. It turned its head as though it was living and Neela skittered away, grappling the bars that sealed the tunnel between matches and making her get away as Soya gave chase. Neela's feet hit the gate as she arrived, she gathered her aura in her feet and sprung back at Soya who had no choice but to take an arrow to the chest.

The arrow activated, damaging her aura and disabling her whips for a moment as Neela managed several blows before a large vine caught her by the leg. She sliced it away with her sword but it was too late as several others had taken to other limbs and wrapped themselves tightly around her. Soya chuckled as she evaluated her aura on her scroll and shook her head. She slapped Neela across the face, causing Eliana to yell at her to hang in there, but Neela wasn't worried one bit. She'd accounted for this.

"It doesn't look good," Ilia said.

"She has a plan," Titus said as he looked at Eliana with a nod. "She wouldn't be taken down this easily."

"So how does she get out of this?" Tawney asked Cobalt.

"I've been meaning to ask her what determines when her arrows explode," Cobalt noted.

"She did have a few arrows in her hand," Lykos agreed.

"Ice!" Bái added.

"Smart move," Vin said relaying the info. "With that much ice, she'd be able to freeze the plant."

"The instant freeze will cause the water in the vines to expand and do most of the work for Neela," Cobalt reiterated.

"Don't look so smug," Soya told Neela as she paced in front of her. "You've been bested. My vines will slowly crush you until your aura gives out. Victory will be mine and then I'll wipe the floor with Orin."

"It's a nice plan in theory," Neela told her. The arrows were set off and Neela strained as she activated her sword to flip back out to a bow, tearing through the trap. In two steps she had her blade to Soya's neck and she smirked, holding it close. "You should never assume that someone is unable to win until they are finished completely. As a third year, I thought that you'd understand that by now." Soya separated them with a series of vines that quickly weaved into a wall. She scowled as her mind returned to something she'd never told anyone.

"All of you Faunus are the same and deserve to be put down," Soya mumbled. Her whips met Neela as she scaled the wall and leapt down at her, Soya rolled out of the way at the final moment and slid back, her whips tanging to a few large stems she'd formed behind her and pulling her back faster. Her mind teetered on the edge of panic as the trauma of the forgotten memory slipped back in. The White Fang is coming! Soya get up, Soya! Plants that were much larger than before rose up and tried to block Neela's path and crush her as she grappled her way towards her opponent, Soya cutting down the last one in Neela's way and swatting the underclassman away with a whip. Neela was taken off guard, landing hard on the floor and rolling until she hit one of the arena's walls.

"I don't know what happened to you, but I can assure you that what you've been told is a lie," Neela informed her as she struggled to stand. She blocked Soya as the girl came in quick, using her grapple to slam the girl to the wall as she slid out from under her. Soya bounded off as Neela found her feet and they clashed weapons. Soya clenched her teeth, struggling with all she had until she was able to toss Neela away with her weapon and throw her further with a couple of well-placed plants. We have to go now! Trust me Soya, I've been friends with you for years, haven't I? Soya's rage grew and with it the intensity of her abilities, a set of vines as thick as a large tree batted Neela into the floor, disorienting her and taking more aura. Neela coughed a touch of blood as she scrambled but fell onto her face, Soya behind her. The arena floor was slowly covered in a layer of Grimm's Bane and Soya grinned as she held Neela's face to the floor.

"Share in my nightmare," Soya told her. She laughed, making sure that the girl's face rubbed all over it and Neela kicked her legs out, swinging slightly.

"Stop!" Neela yelled. Eliana clung to the edge of her seat.

"Neela…" Eliana stated with a touch of confusion. Titus smirked. Neela tried to grip the ground, ripping up flowers and she made eye contact with Raven who she had just spotted, her grandmother shaking her head in disbelief. Raven knew as well as Titus and Eliana, the majority of people who were born, or at least raised, on Patch had an immunity to the Bane flower that had built up over time.

"This is what you get for defying the order," Soya said through gritted teeth in her ear. "Faunus are nothing." Neela's eyes shot open and she swung up, eyes lighting up as her fist made a loudly audible crack against Soya's jaw. Soya stumbled back out of confusion and attempted to retaliate with her whips but Neela grabbed one in each hand and pulled her in, kicking Soya hard in the chest, grappling the girl as she reeled back, and cracking her in the jaw again. Her aura broke and she collapsed on the ground as the arena shook, the onlookers jumping and shouting. Ruby glanced across at Blake and Yang who were losing their minds worse than the students.

"What was that?" Ruby asked. Glynda smirked.

"Amazing things can happen with the right motivation," Glynda replied. "I can't be sure what Soya said, but Neela didn't like it." Neela waved to everyone before meeting Orin in the tunnel, Cerise meeting with Soya out in the arena and they both retreated to the locker room, Soya giving Neela a crazed look all the while. Orin waved her off and gave Neela a handshake, bowing slightly.

"That was impressive, but I have one question for you," Orin said.

"Sure," Neela replied.

"After I watched the fight, I wondered why you used ice instead of fire for the arrows that helped you break free." He inquired. She laughed sheepishly and shrugged.

"It was closer on my touchpad than fire and I had to do it quickly," she said. They shared a laugh over it and Eliana practically tackled Neela as she sprinted out of the tunnel.

"You were great!" Eliana exclaimed. Neela broke free and laughed as she held Eliana back.

"It's not over yet Elli, but I have you to thank," Neela told her.

"We'll be kicking ass in the Vytal Fest for sure!" Eliana declared. Orin shot them a glance.

"You do know…" Orin began before Neela cut him off.

"She knows," Neela replied.

"What did Soya say that got your blood boiling?" Eliana asked. Neela reviewed the fight in her head and frowned as she turned slightly away.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Neela said. Orin nodded.

"It's best not to let your feelings get in the way," Orin added. "Guess that leaves you and me." Neela nodded.

"At least we can both rest assured that the underclassman took the win for once," Neela replied. Orin laughed and nodded.

"Too true," Orin said.

"Elli!" Came a voice from the locker room. It was Yang and she appeared from around the corner with a huge smile on her face. "Hey, kids. Great job, Neela! Elli, they're about to start!" Eliana glanced between Yang and Neela before realizing what Yang was telling her.

"Right! Good luck, Neela!" Eliana offered as she followed Yang back out. Orin smirked softly.

"I'd be a lucky man to have a girl that's half as sweet as Eliana is on you," Orin told her. Neela watched her leave.

"We're not an item yet," Neela replied distracted.

"Yet," Orin pointed out. Neela looked at him. "That's what I like to hear! My teammate feels the same about her soulmate!"

"Is your team here today?" Neela asked. Orin shook his head.

"The next time we rub elbows I'll introduce them," Orin told her. "They had a field mission today. I'll be leaving directly after this to join them." He stared off thoughtfully.

"I look forward to it," she said. Neela glanced up at the scoreboard as it indicated that her aura was full once more and she looked at Orin one last time.

*Will finalists Orin and Neela please come out and prepare for battle!*

They nodded at each other. This was it. This was the moment that they had both prepared for nonstop and when it all came down to it, it was just as Orin had said before. It wasn't determined by hard work, compassion, or whether or not they were human or Faunus. It was skill. It was out matching the other person at the game they played best, that's why each of them had been chosen for this battle. Cerise went down easy on her own, and Soya held out until she convinced Neela to prove her wrong, but now it was just the two Faunus underclassmen, and they were about to put on a show. Neela smiled as she reached back for an arrow, waiting for the signal.

*3…2…1…Go!*

"Why don't you back to where you belong?" The man shouted at Orin as he took a step back and assessed the situation. It was a complete accident, he hadn't paid as much attention as he should have when he was leaving the tunnel out of the mine and had swatted an entire crate of purified Dust onto the ground. The explosion was smaller than it would have been if it had still been in its original form, and no one had gotten hurt, but the foreman still ran out, waving his arms wildly at the first mistake that Orin had ever made and shook his fist at him. "You stupid too? All you Faunus are only good for one thing, and that's manual labor! Can't even leave without screwing everything up!"

"With all due respect sir, anyone could have knocked it on the ground," Orin said. "Why does it matter that it was a Faunus?" The foreman got up in his face and threw his hat at the ground.

"Because you don't matter!" The man yelled at Orin who stared straight ahead. "That's why we pay you less! And none of you will ever do anything about it because it's the way that things should be! You Faunus are so incompetent, thinking that you're all special because you have some freak deformation, or because you can see in the dark! Do you know how much that crate cost?!"

"Two hundred lien," Orin stated bored.

"At least!" The man shouted. "A normal man would have to work one month to pay that off! Instead, now I'm stuck with your stupid ass for three more months!" Orin took a deep breath, removing two hundred lien from his wallet and shoving it into the foreman's hand, walking away and taking extra care not to run into anything. "Hey, you can't get off that easy! I'm still talking to you!"

"You were talking down to me sir," Orin stated as he stopped to look back at the man. "I quit." Orin left the mine, the boss yelling a few more choice words as Orin placed his timecard in the rack and left for the last time, making his walk back towards the outskirts of the capital. Beacon awaited if he only had the patience to hold on a little while longer. He neared one of the first squares, looking at the people as they watched him walk by. Despite being the city's outlying area, the people still gave off an air of entitlement and wealth. Look at him. What a freak. Do you think he's ever killed anyone before? What if he's in the Fang? I mean, I know they're gone, but what if they really aren't? That poor soul. I can't imagine the things they'd say about me if I had wings like that. They didn't have to say a word. He could hear their thoughts.

He reached his small living arrangement and noted a piece of paper on the door that appeared to be from the Atlas Military. He removed it from the nail, viewing the back of it for any more text before proceeding to the front. An eviction notice… He balled his fist as he tore it up and glanced around the house for his items, but they were nowhere to be found. His day couldn't have been worse. He opened the door and was greeted by several militants lined up on each side of his entrance hallway. What was going on? He proceeded further, rounding the corner for his kitchen to find a woman in a general's garb that was examining his plates.

"Mr. Akos?" She asked.

"If this is about how I watch the other students at Atlas train from outside the fence, I can stop," Orin said. "I really need this place."

"I am here because you've been watching them, but it seems that you caught the right eye," she told him. She extended her hand to him and he shook it. "General Winter Branwen."

"What… what's going on then?" Orin asked. Winter smiled at him.

"A girl by the name of Natalia Ironwood recommended you to me. She said that I should pay for you to take the entrance exam at Beacon so that you don't have to wait another year," Winter explained. He jumped in place and pulled his hair.

"You'll do that for me?" He asked. "Even though I'm a…"

"A what?" Winter asked cutting him off. His wings flapped lightly behind him and she peered around him. "Well? Even though you're a what?" Orin didn't know what to say to her. "If everything that Natalia tells me is true, you'll make a fine huntsman." He took her hand, bowing and shaking it vigorously.

"I don't know what to say," he told her. She laughed.

"Say yes."

This is it. This is the moment that I define the rest of my time at Beacon as the girl who went on to become the greatest warrior that Remnant will ever see. My potential on full display. The only thing standing in my way is a second-year with bird wings. Neela rushed him as he flew forward, their weapons meeting each other's with speed and precision, both of them giving everything they had. Sparks flew off of Neela's sword with each blow, careful not to let him take her off guard and trip her.

"What Soya doesn't understand," Orin grunted. "Is that this is where we belong!" Neela chuckled as she fought him off, driving him back as he struggled to keep up blocking her before flying back to put distance between them.

"You always talk this much I combat?" She asked. He cast his arms out to the side and looked around.

"If you're listening to my words it means that you're less focused on the fight," he stated. Neela had to admit that his strategy was solid, even as he opened fire and she used her sword to deflect the shots. "It's all about brains now. We're far too good of shots for this to be a long distance battle."

"Then why are you so far away?" She asked. She attempted to grapple him but he deflected it with his rifle and opened fire, one of his bullets nailing her in the shoulder before she was able to reach him. Her sword caught his side on two occasions as he switched from an offensive stance to that of defense and in a panic, he batted her away with his wing. She tumbled across the floor, activating her semblance and bracing for his attack as she watched him come down on her from above. The force was more than she expected and he forced her sword away from her, swatting it across the floor with his wing and pinning her, his rifle to her chest.

"And here I thought that this fight would last longer," he told her.

"Won't it?" She asked. She grappled his arm, pulling him in for a blow and forcing him to stumble away as she pulled her sword back to herself and he nodded.

"Of course. Dust string, how clever," Orin complimented her. "You truly are tactically brilliant."

"I'm flattered," she replied. She fired several arrows that he had no time to avoid, but he instead blocked with his wings and let them erupt behind him.

"I'll finish this in a moment," he told her as he rushed in with the assistance of his wings, batting her ankle as she slipped up. She blocked the next blow, the force still driving her to the ground and mid-roll she'd managed to flip out her bow and fired several shots at him, two of which exploded before he could deflect them. Earth Dust arrows successfully anchored him for a moment and she regained momentum as she dashed towards him. Neela leapt up, a kick placed perfectly for his nose but he batted her away and she leapt off of his arm, grappling and pulling herself in until meeting his wings which threw her away. She slid to a stop, loading an arrow and moving as she peered down the sights.

She had an idea, and there was no reason in her mind to believe it wouldn't work, she slid in past his wings as he freed his feet and fired the arrow point blank, clamping her eyes shut as the flashbang head detonated and left the two of them without vision until Neela activated her semblance. She struck out but with as much accuracy as before, he blocked her attacks, pushing her back as his wings opened up and loomed large behind him. How? Was he reading her mind to see what she was seeing? He had mentioned before that it was a last-ditch effort move, did she have him on the ropes?

"Forgive me, Neela," Orin told her. She opened her eyes and blocked two blows but was thrown away immediately, landing on her back and groaning as she made a mad attempt to stand. "When you pulled that trick it gave me the perfect amount of time to load gravity Dust into my staff. I get why you did it despite the risk, but even though forcing myself into someone's mind drains my energy, I'm still able to keep tabs on everything." Neela laid on the ground, her chest heaving as everyone watched them for a long moment and Neela strained.

"You got me," Neela admitted. He chambered a lightning Dust crystal, placing the end of the rifle against her chest and pulling the trigger, the energy coursing through her broke what remained of her aura and the high-intensity battle ended before it had even really gotten started. Neither of them had wasted any time, getting right at each other and fighting hard until the end. The clapping and whistling followed shortly after the realization of the match ending set in and Orin dropped to one knee, sweating heavily.

"I'm sorry," he groaned through the pain. "I would have… helped you up but… it seems that I've over exerted myself." She sat up and watched as her teammates came running to her, helping her to her feet before Eliana moved over to Orin to help him stay standing. Neela looked back as her ears flooded with congrats and questions, Yang and Blake both clapping and Yang giving her the thumbs up. Neela hadn't won, but it felt like she had.

"You were great!" Ilia declared.

"I could have done better," Titus said looking down his nose at her.

"I doubt it," Neela said hugging him. Titus looked at her and squirmed as Ilia quickly jumped for him and grabbed him as well, grabbing Eliana's arm and pulling her in.

"Why is this happening?" Titus asked.

"It's called a group hug," Eliana explained.

"I know what it is, I asked why!" Titus stated. The girls laughed and refused to let go. Eliana spotted Cobalt and waved at his team, prompting them to chuckle and wave back.

"It's going to happen soon, right?" Bái asked.

"I would think so," Lykos replied.

"Why can't we just tell Elli for Neela?" Cobalt asked as he began filing out. Tawney kicked him in the back of the knee and he collapsed onto the floor.

"It would hurt Neela that she wasn't the one to tell her," Tawney said. She glanced at Team IVRY. "You guys want to join us? We're going to do a little celebratory partying." She looked them over. "You guys are sophomores, right?"

"Yeah, and?" Rowan asked.

"You guys can supply the booze!" Tawney exclaimed. Ivory shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" Ivory agreed. Vin scowled at her.

"Yvonne won't be happy if we come back trashed," Vin pointed out.

"Is she ever happy?" Rowan asked with a chuckle. Tawney fist pumped.

"Party at the first-year dorm!" She shouted.

"What if Glynda finds out?" Bái asked. Tawney laughed and wrapped her arm around Bái's shoulder.

"Bái, you have to have some kind of fun stories from the academy to tell your ice throwing, quiet and mild-mannered, Grimm pelt-wearing children someday," Tawney said. "Why not have it be about the greatest party that Beacon ever threw!?" Lykos removed Tawney's arm and pulled Bái away.

"That you ever threw," Lykos corrected.

"You're just jealous that it's going to be awesome," Tawney called out to him. Cobalt slid in next to her and wrapped his arm around her.

"Because I'll be there!" Cobalt exclaimed. Tawney socked him in the stomach.

"Did you say something?" She asked him. He shook his head. "Good."

"I don't know if I'd say best party ever," Rowan said. "The upperclassmen have way more fun, mostly because they can legally get away with debauchery." Tawney shoved him.

"We'll get away with it too if we don't get caught," Tawney told him. "Hell, why are you worried, you don't even actually go to school here… not technically anyway."

"Technically, yes. Just not officially," Ivory told her. She sighed and smiled. "I'm in as long as Ilia is going to be there."

"Ivory…" Vincent warned.

"Come on, a little rivalry never hurt," Ivory said. "Why don't we just call Yvonne and ask her to come out to the party?"

"She's a pinky raised kind of drinker," Vin reminded her. Ivory nodded.

"Right. Cocktail parties and what not," Ivory said. Rowan snorted.

"More like cock parties," Rowan laughed.

"Rowan!" Vin yelled as they exited the arena with CBLT.

"What?! I'm not saying that she's a whore… I'm just saying…" Rowan defended. Ivory nodded her head.

"A pinky raised kind of whore," Ivory added. They both laughed. They all stopped together in the middle of the courtyard.

"So are we doing this?" Cobalt asked. Tawney bounced on her feet excitedly.

"Why not?" Vincent asked. "We'll go get the alcohol, you guys invite NITE." Tawney beat Cobalt's shoulders.

"Sounds like a plan!" She exclaimed. They waved as they left and Cobalt turned around to face Tawney.

"Why are you so abusive?" He asked.

"I haven't been to a good old-fashioned drinking party since I left Mistral!" She declared. "This is going to be a night that none of us are ever going to forget!" Lykos chuckled. "What?"

"Unless you get blackout drunk," he offered. Bái laughed.

"As if," Tawney rebutted. Bái pointed towards the building and took off, dragging Lykos behind.

"Let's go tell Neela how well she did!" Bái yelled back to her team. Cobalt and Tawney shrugged, making their way over.

"Neela's the best, I mean, let's just face it," Eliana told them as they gathered around. "She went into full-blown beast mode when she was fighting Soya."

"How can people be so ignorant?" Lykos asked.

"It was uncalled for, that's for sure," Cobalt said.

"It's alright guys," Neela said.

"But it's not really," Tawney said.

"If you ever need us, we're here for you," Ilia said. They all smiled at her and Tawney cleared her throat, stretching her hands out above her head.

"Alright, sappy shit aside, who's ready to get messed up tonight?" Tawney asked.

"How do you mean?" Titus asked with his arms folded. Tawney stuck her tongue out at him.

"You don't have to join us, just don't ruin the fun," she begged.

"I can't make that promise," Titus replied. Tawney shook him by the shoulder.

"Oh come on!"

Neela may not have come in first overall, but it was definitely a victory. Next week, Ruby discovers a secret on Vytal Island in Chapter 68 - Silver Eyes!

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!