"Springtime!" Eliana exclaimed as she threw her hands in the air and looked up to the sky, enjoying the subtle warmth and breeze in the air that embraced her like an old friend that wanted to dance innocently with her across the meadow. She twirled around as Neela, Titus, and Ilia followed after her, enthusiastic about the warmer weather, but none of them as child-like as Eliana who had more or less frolic all the way from the edge of the Emerald Forest to where they were now. A frivolous mission had been assigned to them that morning, they were supposed to head out to the area in which the temple had stood, before the Geist carried it off, and make sure that the Beowulf pack numbers were staying within the school's target numbers. It was remedial and was usually reserved for third years during the last few weeks of school, but Eliana had asked Glynda for some extra work and the woman gladly provided.
Tomorrow was the big day, the event that the entire school had begun talking about, even the teachers mentioned it constantly. Their training exercise against Team CBLT, the deciding, once and for all blow, that would determine which of the two teams had come the furthest and had earned the bragging rights to be called number one of the first years. They'd all come a long way since their initiation, all haphazardly bumping into each other in this very place and each of them pressing onward with their own dreams and aspirations of greatness. Now they shared a common goal that unified them despite their differing personalities, the desire to fight when others can't, the need to protect those that mean the most to them. Their achievements would be on display tomorrow, though the exact details of what exactly was going to happen were still being kept under wraps.
The more time that passed after their trip to Mistral, the less that they talked about what happened. Neela told them that she was okay and that everything that had happened didn't bother her, but Titus wasn't completely convinced and asked Ilia and Eliana that they try not to bring it up again. She'd passed her psychological evaluation from Coco when being debriefed, and her medical evaluation from Ren, both of which were standard when returning from a mission outside of the school, but there was still a chance that her emotional reaction could be delayed, or that she was concealing it well. The thieves had been making and selling meat from Faunus, their leader had been wearing their features like some kind of kill trophies, none of which would have sat well with anyone else. For his own perspective, Titus likened it to if someone had been out there killing Atlas Military officials, and then had been parading around with their medals or patches.
The winter had lasted a few weeks longer than it normally did, bringing with it cabin fever for everyone except those who'd lived in Atlas in the past. Neela had never really been bothered by the cold of the snow, but the beginning of the new year and the thawing of Vale left her with a renewed determination to do even better than she had before. She had plans for making new arrows, part of the reason she was excited to come out to the forest, well aware that one of the ingredients that she was in need of could be found within. She'd get back to the basics, Eliana had already offered to train with her almost every morning. Then she'd tackle some more advanced techniques, and she knew just the person to ask. It was shaping up to be a great year.
Ilia had begun to grow nervous, however. In the time that she'd managed to reach Vale she hadn't once been sought after by Strakh, and she wondered why. The man had made it a point to make sure that she returned one day so that his secrets were never brought to light, and in turn punish her for trying to leave his gang. Time after time he'd stopped her from leaving and with as much power as she knew he possessed, she couldn't understand why she hadn't woken up to discover a Hercules or Hades waiting outside of her dorm to beat her down and carry her back to Vacuo. She found herself on edge once again, having conversations more frequently with Jaune and Pyrrha about her anxiety, but not yet telling them the cause. They were always open to listening, and Ilia felt safe around them.
Neela spotted the Beowulves and she stopped them, taking to the trees so that she could take a count before they attacked, determining how many needed to be eliminated to keep everything balanced. Titus had grown more accustomed to his support role, though he couldn't fully embrace it mentally as he had always been trained with the idea of being the best that Atlas had to offer in mind. In the military, he took orders only from one person and issued the rest, but here it was different, there was no one under him to delegate things to. He still preferred going solo however, something that Ilia tried relentlessly to break him of as she volunteered herself to join him wherever he went with the exception of the restroom. He had only tried calling Natalia once more, though she didn't pick up as she had before and he hung up before leaving a message for her.
Eliana stared out at the woods and smiled, it was a lovely day and they'd get to kill some Grimm in the process. If she was lucky they'd have enough time to do some training before the end of the day in preparation for the fight with CBLT, but she wasn't picky. She clung to Neela even more so that she did before her best friend had been kidnapped, and was happy to do whatever with her. They all had long term goals, but Eliana was simple. She wanted Neela to be happy, she wanted to beat CBLT tomorrow, she wanted to have pasta for lunch or dinner, but that was the extent of it. She was content with things the way that they were, the trip to Mistral had been bittersweet, but she always felt stronger when she returned. She knew her father was still with her.
"How large is the pack?" Titus asked as Neela returned to the forest floor and ran the numbers through her head before consulting her scroll for their mission details. They'd been out looking all morning for this specific group of Grimm per Glynda's orders. Eleven in total, not including the albino that seemed to be the leader, which was to be expected, or at least that's what Dr. Oobleck had told them. Albino Grimm were allegedly stronger than their same-size counterparts and as a result, were typically considered to be the alpha of the set. Neela had never seen one before, but she knew that it was the one in an instant, the color of its fur swapped with the color of its bone plates, and the same was true of the latter. Neela thought it was a shame that they had to kill it, but Oobleck had told them he'd seen plenty in his day and wasn't in need of another to observe.
"Twelve counting Al," Neela told them. Titus nodded before staring at her bewildered.
"Who?" Titus asked.
"The name I gave the albino, sorry," Neela said as she checked the Dust levels in her quiver on the touchscreen of her forearm pad.
"I like it," Eliana replied with a smile. Ilia chuckled and patted Eliana on the shoulder.
"Where at?" Titus inquired. Neela pointed across the way.
"Just beyond that heavy tree line," she told him. She began heading that direction, moving swiftly with a gentle grip on her bow as she glanced back at them and motioned forward with her head. "Come on. We still have to get back in time for some training, right?" Titus smirked and Ilia nodded as Eliana sprinted past all three of them.
"What are we waiting for?" Eliana called back. "It's just some Beowulves, and time is slipping away. Ten minutes tops and we can be back to the school in time to have something delicious for lunch. Last one to the pack has to pay for the winners!" Ilia shook her head and nudged Neela.
"You're telling her soon, right?" Ilia asked. Neela hesitated.
"Ye- Yeah. Of course," she replied. Titus walked quickly until he was past the two girls, taking off in a full out run as he was sure he had a few feet on them. "Wait, really?"
"I know I can beat the two of you, and the loser is buying lunch," Titus told them. "Sounds like motivation to me!" Ilia looked at Neela who nodded to her, letting Ilia leap into her body as she grappled up to the treetops and moved gingerly along. She kept an eye on Titus the whole time, noting that Eliana had stopped about where Neela had spotted the beasts before firing a flashbang a few feet in front of Titus. It worked, blinding him effectively but he refused to stop, and instead swung both blades vertically in front of him and used wind Dust to destroy the next several trees directly before him. It had the desired effect, splintering them apart as he crashed through and was stopped by Eliana's force field short of taking her out.
"Where are these Grimm again?" Eliana asked. The sudden confusion at the question was the opening that Ilia needed and she leapt from her teammate's body, landing with her legs tucked and rolling before leaping to her feet beside Titus and Eliana.
"Yes!" Ilia declared.
"They were right here!" Neela exclaimed as she swung down on her grappling cable and proceeded to investigate the area.
"Were seems to be the optimal way of describing it," Titus offered. "Where did they go?" Ilia glanced about with Eliana as Neela dropped to her knees and noted the grass had been compressed, prints from the monsters headed even deeper into the forest and Neela followed for a few feet before stopping.
"They went this way," Neela noted, Titus stood next to her and followed her line of sight.
"Why?" Titus asked.
"Why do Grimm clear out of an area?" Ilia asked.
"Something spooked them?" Titus offered.
"Unlikely," Eliana said picking a flower from off of the ground before putting it behind her ear. "They rarely run from a fight."
"Nobody killed them," Ilia added. "They wouldn't have had enough time, not to mention we could have heard the exchange…" Ilia nodded to Neela. "Or you would have at the very least."
"They must have smelled fear," Eliana suggested as she glanced around for a matching bloom.
"Nobody is supposed to be in the forest today," Neela told Eliana who shrugged at the response.
"Maybe someone is here that isn't supposed to be?" Titus pondered out loud. Neela took a knee and used her semblance to scan the area.
"Best that we can do right now is follow their tracks," Neela instructed. "I didn't see anyone with Hunter's Gaze." They all nodded, Eliana finally finding another buttercup and placing it behind Neela's ear, scrambling away with a large smile as Neela smirked thoughtfully. Nearly half a mile later Neela stopped them, listening closely. "Someone is here, I can hear them yelling and firing shots at the Grimm."
"Team CBLT?" Eliana inquired.
"They wouldn't, would they?" Ilia asked.
"Only one way to find out," Titus said as he began to run. Neela chased after him with the last two girls on her heels.
"Do we engage either way?" Eliana questioned.
"Yes!" Neela commanded. They came to the edge of a small embankment, at the bottom were the Grimm that they'd been tasked with finishing off. The people surrounding the Grimm however, was what Neela considered to be an even larger problem. She stopped cold in her tracks, noting the masks that they wore and took a step back, bumping into Eliana who kept her from moving further away.
"Are you okay?" Eliana whispered in her ear.
The perfect weapon for killing the humans.
So much potential for such a young girl.
The humans will be the ones living in fear when we're done training her.
"Neela. I'm here," Eliana spoke snapping her out of it. She breathed heavily, noting that they'd backed away and taken cover in a bit of foliage just over the crest of the short bluff.
"You okay, Xiao Long?" Titus asked.
"I tried calling the teachers, but there's no signal out here," Ilia told the three of them.
"We attack!" Neela exclaimed finding her feet despite sweating profusely and feeling shaky
"Are you sure?" Titus asked. "Just seeing them rendered you catatonic!"
"The White Fang are never up to anything good," Neela shouted in a burst. "We can't let them leave before we find out what they're doing here." She sprinted to the highest point that she immediately noted before they could try and stop her again and declared their intentions. "I am Neela of Team NITE and a member of Beacon Academy. This is private property owned by the school and if you do not vacate immediately, we will have no choice but to take you in and let our headmistress question you!" The last Grimm fell as the remaining, living Fang members turned and acknowledged Neela.
"So this is that girl that I keep hearing about," one of the voices called. She tossed her mask away, revealing dark red hair that flowed out behind her as the cultists standing behind her followed suit. Neela gritted her teeth, recognizing the second woman as they came closer.
"Neela!" Ebony shouted. "I didn't expect that we'd run into each other again so soon!"
"I hoped I would never have to see you again," Neela declared clearly worked up. Titus shook his head as he checked for his hilt positions with his palms, glancing at Ilia.
"I don't advise this Neela, Glynda will kill us if she finds out that we're out here fighting the White Fang," Titus informed her. Neela took a step away from him, closer to the edge of the drop-off. She'd made up her mind and no matter what he tried to tell her it wasn't going to change her mind. He sighed and looked at Eliana who seemed unsure to follow Neela's lead for the first time since he'd met the two of them.
"Neela, maybe we should listen to Titus," Eliana agreed. "We can go back and let the adults know what's going on out here."
"We can't let them escape again!" Neela barked at her teammates. Her eyes were wild, clearly something was weighing on her. Eliana recalled how she'd reacted the night they were out by the cliffside, she saw the White Fang mask and had lost her nerve, it'd taken her some time to calm her friend down from the emotional distress she was in. Eliana was tempted to reach out and comfort her in the same way again, admiring her braids and brushing her cheek gently, but Neela wouldn't be stopped this time. Her eyes darted between the few underlings that still stood beside Ebony and the other, unable to avert her gaze from their masks. The red-haired woman bounced on her feet before leaping towards her target, less than roughly two hundred feet between them, but Ebony grappled her quickly.
"Crimson, mind yourself and do not show them too much," Ebony told her. "We very well may face off against them again in a few months' time." Crimson shoved her away, sprinting for Neela. Ebony shook her head, she knew that Crimson did not view her as either an equal or superior, and could only hope that her senses would kick in before her lust did. She looked at the other men standing beside her and screamed at them without warning. "What are you waiting for? Attack them!" They moved before they could think, rushing in to meet their targets that were sliding down the embankment, Neela stayed perched above them with her bow and arrows. Crimson batted two arrows away as they came in quick, throwing her rod through a third, watching with amusement as Titus struck down the man beside her with ease.
Neela hadn't expected the throw to send the weapon at her so quickly, batting it away from her body with the edge of her bow and watching it tumble down the slope, transforming into a replica of her own bow as it did so. She was in shock, though it quickly wore off as she noted that Crimson was already in route to retrieve her new toy. Neela shot another arrow as she shadowed the woman, following her along the edge of the bluff until Crimson snatched up the bow and swung it into its sword form, prompting Neela to slide down and attack her. Their swords met, first Neela's over her head to meet Crimson's horizontal blade before she pushed her away.
"Let's see if you're as tough as Ebony made you out to be, or if you're just another spoiled brat who Athena sees potential in," Crimson seethed as she rushed towards Neela again.
"Eliana, go!" Titus shouted to her. She gave a single nod before taking off, her arm snared by one of the wires attached to Ebony's dagger. She stumbled back, Ebony's attempted blow thwarted by a shot fired by Ilia that turned her completely around to face Titus. As he swung for her, she dissipated, completely removing herself from their view, "Neela, what does this one do again?" Neela grunted as Crimson's attacks began to overwhelm her with relentless and animalistic force. She leapt back, placing space between them as she had enough time to fire off an overcharged ice arrow that formed a small barrier between them. She noted the sun's position just behind the top of the incline, causing the dip in the earth to be shrouded in a large shadow. Was Ebony anticipating an attack or had it been in preparation of a worst-case scenario?
"Shadows!" Neela managed to get out before Crimson leapt over the ice and came down on her. Their blades met again, Crimson kicking Neela's left knee out from under her and forcing her down momentarily, grasping an arrow from her foes quiver before Neela swung back around and planted an earth arrow in her chest. Crimson retreated momentarily as the projectile in her chest erupted and coated her torso in stone, slowing her and allowing Neela to move back towards her team. "She can travel through shadows!"
"Great!" Titus shouted back as he removed another of the extras from the battle. "And you just thought it'd be a good idea to leap into the shadow-filled valley then?" Ilia stepped past him, cracking the mask of one of the underlings before nailing him in the jaw.
"Can we argue about this later?" Ilia asked. "I think this fight is just beginning!"
"Smart girl!" Ebony declared. Ilia swung around, hoping to make contact with the woman who was undoubtedly directly behind her but instead found her right blade locked into place between Ebony's claw blades. The Faunus leaped into the air, planting her feet into Ilia's chest before launching off of her, doing damage to the girl's aura before landing a few feet from Eliana who was trying to reach Neela. "No. Not yet." Eliana's eyes filled with a fire that Ebony had seen in Neela's during their first fight and she smirked as she blocked Eliana's attempted blows.
"Elli!" Neela shouted.
"Hey!" Crimson yelled. Before Neela could turn to face her an arrow struck her in the back, making her stumble forward a few steps. She reached back, feeling the lightning course through her before she could remove it and she hit the ground. "You said this girl put up a fight before?"
"Her friends weren't around before to distract her," Ebony informed Crimson. She glanced back at Crimson who slowly approached the young hawk Faunus. Titus was already in motion to stop Ebony but steps before he reached her a shadow swallowed both her and Eliana up, he glanced off as he slammed into it.
"Eliana!" Titus shouted slamming his fists against the large sphere but his assault seemed to have no effect.
"There's no getting in there," Crimson chuckled. "And your friend will be lucky to get out." Crimson admired her sword as she drew closer to Neela, sending a shiver of panic into Titus.
"Gargoyle!" Ilia shouted snapping him out of it as she leapt into his body. She slammed his kopides into the ground, creating a stone barrier over Neela as she sprinted for Crimson.
We don't know what she can do! We need to assess…
"There isn't always time for your military strategy!" Ilia snarled as she left his body, her feet moving as quickly as they would carry her. Her blade met Crimson's hard enough to throw her on her back if she hadn't sprung off of her hands, landing on her feet and taking another blow from Ilia. She slid back, laughing as she raced towards Ilia, their blades slamming off of each other.
"Now it's a fight!" Crimson shouted.
"What about…" Titus began as he tore Neela's earthen coverage open.
"Eliana is tougher than we give her credit for!" Ilia informed him, her body moving faster than Titus had ever seen. What was driving her so hard? Titus ran to join her, kopides crashing against her sword as the four of their blades met on top of Crimson's. She grunted, transforming her rod into Titus' weapon as she realized she couldn't push them back. They swung through, Crimson diverting both of his blades as she leaned back out of the way of Ilia's follow-through. She countered with an attack that was similar to one of Titus', crashing the blades together and using her weapon's core to throw them both back.
"I don't want to hurt you kids, we're only here to take Neela," Crimson informed them.
"And I'm telling you that you're not going to take her," Ilia replied.
"Any idea what her semblance is yet?" Titus muttered to her. Ilia shook her head.
"Still working on that," Ilia replied. "Get me in close and we can shut her down."
"You going to take her body?" Titus asked as he prepared his kopides, chambering the next Dust he planned to use.
"It's probably our best bet," Ilia responded. She glanced back towards Eliana and Ebony. Come on Eliana, we need you!
"Such anger," Ebony taunted from the pitch black that filled Eliana's sight. "We know all about you Eliana, I'm sure by now that the school is more than well aware of the files that we stole from them. Everything that has ever happened to you or your family was in that file, part of you psych evaluation to make sure that you're capable of filling the role of Huntress." Eliana swung around behind her where the voice was but came up empty. "It really is a shame what happened to your father."
"Shut up!" Eliana shouted. They hurt Neela. They attacked her, they wanted to hurt her again! It didn't matter what this woman said, what mattered the most was that Eliana proved herself to Neela and that she kept her friend safe. Ebony struck Eliana, a solid blow that Eliana was unable to see and had little time to react to, causing it to damage her more than it normally would. She could fire blindly, but without knowing the full extent of Ebony's power she didn't know whether or not this space looped back in on itself, making an attack dangerous. She needed to stay on the defensive, and if all else failed, resort to the ability she first used against Neo at the beginning of the year. It would leave her drained, but she'd be able to counter the woman. "Too afraid to face me one on one? Don't think you'd be able to take me?"
"That's not it at all," Ebony's voice flooded the area around her. "I just want to waste time here and let your friend worry."
"What do you have against Neela?" Eliana asked.
"Nothing personal, but it seems that Athena wants her back dead or alive," Ebony said. "I'm simply following orders until the time is right to make my move. Athena is no different than her brother, an arrogant woman who throws a tantrum when she doesn't get what she wants and spites all those who stand in opposition to her. She'll be easy to overthrow and the Branwen Tribe will rise again."
"That's not the way that I've heard it'll happen," Eliana bluffed. "Raven says that you're a coward for leaving her." Eliana could feel Ebony's shadowy body stop for a long moment.
"Raven's the coward for leaving us to die or be captured the way that she did," Ebony growled.
"She told us that she left all of you because you weren't strong enough and were only going to drag her down," Eliana insisted. "I'm starting to believe her in this abyss. You don't have the strength to kill someone like me so you toy with me instead."
"Listen here!" Ebony demanded. "I will not be demeaned by the likes of you…"
"If you really read my file, then you should be worried," Eliana cut her off. She threw a force field out in all directions off of her body, freeing herself as Ebony was thrown from the sphere and it disappeared into smoke around her. "I am the daughter of Alexander Latherus, and I demand to be taken seriously." Ebony shook with rage at the fact that the girl had not only tricked her into dropping her guard but at the fact that it'd worked and she threw her dagger which Eliana shot out of the air as she charged Ebony.
Crimson planted her feet and crouched as the steam from Titus' dual bladed attack set in over her, making it difficult to make out her targets and they came it at full speed, knocking her back as she felt Ilia's blade slide across her own. She transformed her weapon once again, unloading several rounds where she thought she'd seen them last only to discover that Titus was standing behind her. She spun around to fire, his hand gripping her barrel and directing it away from his body as Ilia leapt from him and grabbed the girl by the face, possessing her body. Titus released her and took a few steps back, waiting for Ilia to confirm her entry.
Ilia landed on her feet within Crimson's mind, the floor was made of white sand that pulled ever so slightly at her feet and she walked towards the horizon where the sun was rising. She'd seen memories locked away, she'd had access to the mind's current point of view, but she'd never entered a psyche that had looked like this before. Was she losing in taking over the woman's body? She glanced out once more, noting that someone was coming closer, walking towards her as she continued on her path until she came face to face with herself. She glanced back, noting the sun over her own shoulder, it appeared to be a large mirror.
"Are you m-" Ilia began.
"How do you feel about blood?" Her doppelgänger asked with a smirk. The copy's head tilted slightly as she opened her mouth in a cackle, it was as if Ilia was sucked into the clone's wicked-looking maw, she fell for a while before landing in the sand once more, though this time the sand was colored normally and she recognized the place she'd landed. "Are we really that different? Remember the rush? Wasn't it fun?"
"It was either him or me, I couldn't die like that!" Ilia shouted as the body flickered into place before her, the sounds and sights of that day returning to her. This wasn't real, was it possible that Crimson had the same power that she did, or was this something entirely different. Ilia looked at her blood-covered hands, the body lying at her feet still clinging to the loaf of bread. He was trying to steal it from her… She hadn't had anything to eat it days… It all rushed back to her and something crashed against the outside of the hut startling her. She threw open the crude wooden door, blood-washed into the building and flowed past her feet before retreating like an ocean tide.
"You did so much killing before you arrived in Vale, and you think that it'll all just disappear? You think it'll all vanish into thin air and you'll never have to atone for your sins? Did you think that you were being just? Did you think that it didn't matter because you did what was needed to survive?" The voice asked, now Crimson's once more. Ilia tried to leave the body but found herself unable, the woman was keeping her there. "That doesn't make it okay… it'll never be okay…"
"At least I didn't kill my family!" Ilia blurted out, though she was unaware of the place that the sudden knowledge had come from. The building crumbled around her, a tidal wave of blood rushing for her as she sprinted from it towards a dense grouping of trees. "You did it because you enjoyed the feeling, didn't you? Your semblance has to do with blood!" The trees were all knocked over at the same height and Ilia stopped as she watched Crimson run straight for her.
"Should I be impressed that you read my mind while invading it?" Crimson asked. Her rod became Wilt and she crashed her blade off of Ilia's weapons, the two women exchanging close blows and glances before Ilia faltered thanks to Crimson's ever-shifting mindscape, feeling herself fall to the ground in slow motion as Wilt impaled her and kept her trapped to the earth. "You have a passion, strength, and skill, but your guilt will always get the better of you. That the difference between us. I feel no guilt for the people I've killed."
"I guess that just makes me the better person," Ilia grunted. The katana that had been run through her didn't hurt, but it kept her from going anywhere, and it didn't seem like Crimson was ready to let her go yet.
"We all fight for what's right in our own eyes, so who's to tell us that either of us is on the wrong side?" Crimson inquired. The sky spun around at a violent rate before stopping, dizzying Ilia and as she glanced around she noted that she was caged and surrounded by White Fang members. "Perhaps there will never be an end to this…" Crimson smirked as clothes materialized on her body and she was wearing the same outfit as Athena, smirking as she placed the mask over her eyes. "Or perhaps there will. My goddess Athena will lead us to a future that will see Faunus rule mankind." Ilia slashed at the bars.
"Titus!" She shouted. "Just hit her already and put me out of my misery!"
"The truth can be…" Crimson stopped in the middle of her words and everything shattered, returning Ilia to the white desert she'd first entered and Crimson landed in a pile across from her. Ilia glanced around nervously.
"This can't be good…" Ilia stated. She felt her body ripped violently from Crimson's, she was slammed into the earth with amazing speed, Crimson's hand kept her pinned as she glanced back towards Neela. "Titus…"
"I've had enough of this!" Ebony shouted to them. She gripped Neela's shoulder, the girl had only just come to and Ebony's dagger was planted deep in her side, drawing blood that trickled down the blade and dripped onto the ground.
"Eliana was beginning to win against Ebony and she lost it, saying that she wasn't going to lose to another one of us," Titus explained as he slammed both of his kopides into Crimson's side and launched her using gravity Dust. Crimson slammed across the earth before sliding to a stop and glancing at Neela once more, her eyes wide and pupils shrinking, dancing about as her chest heaved. "What happened while you were in there, I was beginning to worry."
"I think that Crimson gets off on blood," Ilia grunted as he helped her up.
"Like it's her semblance?" Titus asked.
"Or something worse," Ilia replied.
"Let go of her!" Eliana demanded. Ebony glanced at the girl that was moving closer rapidly before shouting to Crimson.
"I know what I told you before, but I need the demon to come out to play!" Ebony yelled. A bullet slammed into her shoulder, bringing her aura to the brink as she crashed off of Neela who cried out in pain as the dagger was removed, producing more blood as Ebony disappeared into the shadows. Neela gripped her side, gritting her teeth as she looked at her teammates, Eliana finally reaching her and checking her wound.
"How long was I out for?" Neela asked.
"Long enough that I was worried," Eliana declared. Neela chuckled as she tried to stand despite her pain.
"Just a few minutes, got it," Neela replied.
"Are you done being the hero now?" Titus asked looking back at Neela.
"Titus!" Ilia shouted. As he turned, his eyes followed Crimson who was trying to dash past him and he reached out, managing to grip her arm and throw her against the ground. Her body bounced off of the earth, cracking it as she found her feet again and she moved towards Titus and Ilia. Ilia had little time to prepare a defense, knocked off of her feet quickly as Titus managed a blow that sliced into Crimson's aura. She girl screeched, startling Titus as she slammed her full body into his torso, throwing him onto his back. She clambered over him to avoid losing momentum, making her way back around towards Neela who'd found her feet but was struggling to stay on them. Eliana raised a force field and stopped her several feet away from them. She clawed at it, her eyes dead as she screamed like a banshee, unnerving all of them.
"What's wrong with her?" Neela asked.
"Does it matter?" Ebony asked standing next to Eliana. She reached out quickly, knocking one of Eliana's guns away and forcing the girl to break her concentration. Crimson stumbled towards them before she was stopped again, this time by a wall of earth. Titus pulled his kopides back out of the ground as he and Ilia joined the fight. "Athena was wrong about the lot of you." Neela chuckled as Eliana kept her away, her best friend slamming her empty palm into Ebony's injured shoulder before forcing her to retreat into the ground again.
"We're not weak if that's what you heard," Neela reassured her.
"No, she said you'd be scared," Ebony's voice echoed out. Neela's smirk dropped. Athena wasn't wrong about that though.
"Neela," Titus grunted. "A little help if you can." Titus swung at Crimson who ducked, slamming her rod against Eliana's gun that had fallen on the ground, blasting Titus back as Ilia came in only to be juked out and shocked by the prod attached at the end of the pistol. She toppled Ilia onto Titus and turned her focus to the blood again, finding one of Eliana's real electrified rods in her chest and lighting her up. She shook violently, ignoring the pain as she reached up struggling and grabbed Eliana's wrist, twisting it hard enough to break it if not for her aura. She knocked Eliana off to the side to find Neela standing behind her, arrow trained on her before it slammed deep into her chest.
"Goodnight Crimson," Neela said. The arrow erupted into lightning and threw Crimson to the ground, coursing through her for a long few moments before her body finally stopped. Neela gasped as she slowly moved to Eliana to check on her.
"Are you okay?" Eliana asked.
"My side feels pretty rough, but I'm sure…" Neela began.
"You cannot keep me from the blood!" Crimson screamed. She rolled onto her back, reaching up with her rod and activating it, flash freezing the entire area in a thick layer of ice. Everything was stopped, nothing was able to move and nothing did for a moment until Ebony emerged and reached into her Dust pouch, using fire Dust to free Crimson.
"I thought Athena told you to only use that in emergencies," Ebony reminded her. Crimson knocked her away.
"I need the blood…" Crimson seethed.
Next Week: Chapter 92 - NITE vs. The Fang Part 2!
A big thank you to Helihi, Cadhla182, 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!