"There has got to be a way to get in there, right?" Cobalt asked Lykos as they both served themselves salad from the bar at the end of the cafeteria and sat back down at their table with Tawney and Bái. Tawney looked up at Cobalt as he sat, a little confused by the contents of his tray as she'd never seen him eating healthy before, but she wasn't going to judge him if he wanted to start now.
"A salad?" Bái noted looking at Cobalt. He looked at his tray before looking up at Bái and then over at Tawney who was trying to make it less obvious that she was staring.
"I figure this is a good way to deter myself from eating," Cobalt laughed as he looked at the leaves and picked them up at the end of the fork, holding them out towards Tawney. "Say 'ah'."
"I'll break your hand," Tawney told him. He placed it back down on his tray and shook his head.
"Simmer down, Maniac," Cobalt scolded as he wagged his finger. "Like I was asking before, there has got to be a way to get in there, right?"
"I guess that all depends on whether or not your semblance is making a clone, or is just dumb luck," Lykos replied. "Because I've seen you have some really dumb luck in the past."
"What are you two talking about?" Tawney asked with a sigh.
"I was hoping that I could break into the room that Port is examining Orion's Gauntlet in and get a look at it for myself," Cobalt said.
"Sounds more like suicide," Bái offered.
"We hacked the council's mainframe! Surely getting into that room cannot be more difficult," Cobalt declared.
"Yeah, but how many more marks do you really want on your record?" Tawney asked.
"Like you're one to talk, you're a walking mischief machine," Cobalt noted.
"What? I haven't gotten into any trouble at all this year!" Tawney defended.
"Except for the several fights you've gotten into with Neela," Lykos pointed out. She shook her head and tsk'd.
"Those don't count!" Tawney informed them.
"Why not?" Bái asked.
"Neela had it coming!" Tawney explained. They all looked at her.
"Is that how you justify that?" Lykos asked. She groaned and pushed her seat out.
"Don't leave yet!" Cobalt demanded as he leapt up, almost knocking his tray onto the floor in his flurry.
"Why not?" Tawney asked.
"What if you could get your hands on the weapon?" Cobalt told her. "You could beat her easily then." Tawney's mind raced as she grinned wickedly and turned back around to face him.
"Alright, what are you thinking, Cobalt?" She inquired. His grin mirrored hers.
"Murder," he said flatly. Lykos and Bái looked up at them as Tawney's eyes lit up.
"Really?!" She pried excitedly.
"Did I say murder? I meant, mass chaos," Cobalt said.
"Less exciting," Tawney groaned. "Anyways, what's the plan?"
"Can we go in and have a look?" Cobalt asked Sun as he and Tawney stood in front of the lab's doors.
"No can do," Sun told the two of them. "Coco gave me very explicit instructions saying that you and your team would probably come down here and try to distract me, but that I am not to move from this spot, and I am not to let any of you in there."
"Money is no object," Cobalt said as he removed his wallet.
"Nope," Sun replied.
"How about a banana?" Tawney asked. Sun furrowed his brow.
"No…" He began to reject them. He leaned in towards her. "Why? Do you have a banana?"
"No," she said dejectedly shaking her head.
"Cobalt!" Bái shouted as she ran towards them.
"What is it? And what are you doing over here in the lab this morning? Aren't you supposed to be in study hall?" Cobalt asked her.
"There's a Grimm chasing me down the hallway!" Bái announced loudly as she slid past them and a Beringel rounded the corner, pounding its chest before roaring and shaking the entire hallway.
"Help us, Mr. Wukong!" Tawney yelled at him.
"You kids must think that you're pretty clever, but Coco already warned me that you'd try this," Sun said proudly, puffing his chest out. "Nice try, Lykos!"
"Darn it," Lykos said as it disappeared and he filled its place. "I thought that it might work."
"Just like you thought that this might work?" Sun asked as he gripped the spider drone tightly in his tail.
"Busted," Tawney declared as Cobalt moaned in frustration.
"Sun!" Came Neptune's voice from the hallway in the direction that Bái had come in from.
"What's up, man?" Sun called back.
"I need some help with this paperwork that I'm working on for the last mission I was on with Yatsu," Neptune yelled. Sun grunted and slumped.
"I can't leave this spot, what do you need?!" Sun shouted out.
"Bro, I can't remember our address!" Neptune said.
"Can't… Why is that so hard for you to remember, we've been there for like, five years now!" Sun told him. He put his fist into his palm, forming two clones and leaving them to block the door as he left the post.
"We didn't account for the clones?" Lykos asked precociously. "How could we not account for that?! You have the same semblance!"
"Similar," Cobalt offered, laughing sheepishly.
"How long do you think it'll take for him to realize that it was just a speaker broadcasting a modulated form of your voice?" Bái pondered.
"Hopefully long enough that we can get in," Cobalt replied. "These clones can't last that long, can they?"
"Famous last words," Lykos said.
"What's the backup plan?" Bái asked.
"I call Coco and just ask her to let us in," Cobalt explained.
"How is that better than this plan?!" Lykos shouted.
"Did I say that it was?" Cobalt shrugged dialing Coco.
"Yes?" Coco asked.
"Hey, Mrs. Adel! Long time no talk!" Cobalt declared.
"Why are you calling me, Cobalt? And how in the hell did you get my number?" She demanded.
"Long story," Cobalt admitted. "Hey, any chance you could tell Sun here to chill and let us in."
"Sure," Coco replied as she hung up. Cobalt looked at his scroll in shock before putting it away.
"Well?" Lykos asked.
"She said to come in," Cobalt stammered.
"You're kidding," Bái replied.
"I guess perseverance pays off," Tawney said throwing the door open. The lab was empty and instead was occupied by Glynda and Coco, the latter of which was grinning from ear to ear as she stood and made her way to the children.
"Cobalt," Coco said, her boots thundering off of the flooring as she moved to them. "I don't know what's worse, that you thought your plan would work, or that you somehow managed to drag your entire team into it. I honestly think it's the first one, I admire your team for supporting you, but for the second-best leader at the school, I expected something more elaborate than just trying to make the man leave the door."
"You knew I couldn't resist, didn't you?" Cobalt asked. Coco nodded and peered at him over her glasses.
"A little bird Faunus told me," Coco informed him. "I always know what you're up to, Cobalt. I knew that you'd be coming thanks to Neela, and so I arranged for the reverse engineering process to take place in the library, the least likely spot that you'd expect in order to keep you from somehow working around my security measures once again."
"Isn't it premature to tell me your plan before you've caught me?" Cobalt asked. Sun blocked the doorway.
"I think it's safe to assume that you've been caught," Coco informed him.
"I think that it's safe to assume that I deserve a passing grade in your tactics class," Cobalt laughed as he dissipated in front of her.
"What?" Coco asked in confusion.
"Huh," Lykos said astonished. "What do you know?"
"He sent us with the clone," Bái explained to Coco.
"And that means…" Tawney began. Coco laughed.
"Well played," Coco said.
"Are we free to go?" Tawney asked. Glynda pushed her glasses up on her nose.
"The three of you are, yes," she informed them as Neo appeared holding Cobalt by the collar. He hit the ground with a thud.
"She's so rough for such a quiet person," Cobalt gasped.
"It's not by choice, I'm sure," Coco informed him. "Detention for attempting to break that rules that a teacher specifically set out for you." Coco nodded as he grasped as his neck.
"That's fair…" he inhaled sharply.
"How was detention?" Eliana asked Cobalt as she bit into her hotdog and ended up with ketchup all over her chin that caught the eye of Neela before Ilia cleaned it off for the both of them. "Oh, sorry. And thanks."
"No problem," Ilia said winking at Neela who shook her head and sighed.
"It was the worst!" Cobalt declared. "Imagine if you can, that I'm sitting all alone, in the middle of this massive room, with none of my gadgets or electronics, and there's nobody else in there with me. It was awful! They might as well have put me in a straightjacket while they were at it."
"I would have paid good money to see that," Tawney offered. Cobalt rolled his eyes.
"That does sound horrible," Eliana noted.
"There are worse things," Titus stated without looking up from his textbook, prompting them to all stare at him before he acknowledged them. "What?"
"Show me on Cobalt where Atlas hurt you," Ilia said. They all laughed with the exception of Titus who shook his head.
"Atlas wasn't that bad," Titus said. Eliana puffed out her chest.
"I used to run like seventy laps before dawn and then another seventy before breakfast at The Academy," Eliana mocked him. They all laughed again with Titus included.
"Somehow that number gets bigger every time that you tell the story," Titus informed her.
"Of course!" Eliana beamed. "Only a bad story deals in absolutes."
"I get that reference!" Cobalt shouted. They all glanced at him.
"I wasn't quoting anything," Eliana said.
"Oh," Cobalt stated. "Yeah, no, why would you be, that franchise probably doesn't even exist within this fan fiction." Tawney sighed and shook her head.
"You say the weirdest shit," Tawney complained.
"Congratulations on you guys solidifying the top spot for the end of the year," Bái stated with a kind smile.
"Really? They posted it already?" Eliana asked excitedly.
"Out on the bulletin board next to the office," Lykos said.
"You gave us a run for our money," Neela assured them.
"Why so early?" Titus asked. "There are a few weeks left."
"The odds of them letting us face each other again must be astronomical for them to call it so soon," Ilia pointed out.
"Or we've been slipping," Lykos shrugged.
"Have you been?" Eliana inquired.
"Our last exercise out in Forever Fall could have been better coordinated," Bái explained.
"Or, you know, Cobalt could keep his nose out of where it shouldn't be," Tawney added.
"Oh come on!" Cobalt protested. "You said that you wanted to see the Camazotz (Sp) again too!"
"I did, but I didn't know that the area was still quarantined! We probably would have been suspended or expelled if we'd accidentally let it out!" Tawney shouted at him.
"But we didn't!" He yelled back.
"Get a room already," Ilia jested.
"We'll get you guys next year!" Bái announced looking at Lykos. He gave her a nod.
"We'll do our best," Lykos agreed.
"I guess we'll have to try our hardest too then," Eliana decided. Eliana sighed as she took another bite of her food, careful to make sure nothing was left behind around her lips this time. "It's too bad that we all have finals next week, it would have been really fun for us all to do something together before we all head out for summer break." Ilia and Titus looked at each other before giving a glance towards Neela who was watching Eliana.
"What are we all doing Saturday?" Ilia asked.
"What if we all do something this weekend?" Titus noted.
"Like what?" Lykos asked.
"A barbeque!" Eliana shouted excitedly. They all looked at her before the entire group broke out into a commotion.
"That's a great idea!" Bái replied.
"I can invite Vin to come hang out with us!" Ilia told them.
"My parents can probably provide us with food!" Cobalt informed them all.
"It's settled then," Titus declared standing. "A cookout in the Emerald Forest where we all first met."
"Even better!" Eliana squealed leaping to her feet. Neela stood up and laughed.
"I'm in!" Neela said.
"Sissy looks like she's dying, Mommy Blake," Shadow yelled running into the kitchen to get her mother and drag her back into the living room.
"Sissy feels like she's dying," Neela responded as they returned and Blake sat next to her on the couch.
"What's up, Neela?" Blake asked her. Neela chuckled as she rubbed her forehead and sighed.
"The cookout is tomorrow," Neela informed her. Blake laughed.
"I know, you've been going on about it all week, like we could forget," Blake reminded her.
"Can I go with?" Shadow begged.
"It's just for Sissy and her friends," Blake explained.
"I'm one of Sissy's friends!" Shadow declared. Blake laughed as she lifted the kitten and placed her on her head.
"Sissy's older friends," Blake reiterated. Shadow groaned, nearly flopping off of Blake's shoulders.
"Lame," Shadow replied bounding away for her bedroom.
"What has you stressed out about the cookout?" Blake asked her daughter. Neela looked at her mother without even opening her mouth and Blake nodded. "Finally thinking about telling her?"
"Nothing gets past you and mom," Neela replied slumping further down on the couch.
"It's alright if you're not ready, Neela," Blake assured her. "You don't need to rush it. Eliana is always going to be at your side, whether you tell her now or later. I know that was the case with Yang and me after I joined back up with the team in Mistral."
"I know, it's just…" Neela began.
"It feels like an incredible weight on your shoulders?" Blake guessed. Neela nodded. "We've all been there at one time or another."
"I'll tell her for you if you want," Yang called out from the other room before joining them.
"How did you hear us from in there?" Blake asked.
"Maybe it's evolution and I've adapted to having Faunus hearing," Yang offered. Blake raised an eyebrow. "Nah, I just recognized the look."
"The look?" Neela repeated. Yang took a sip of her soda.
"Yeah. I suppose you kids don't see it because you all kind of walk around wearing it some of the time. If you're used to seeing it, it's hard to spot, but it's easy for us teachers, and your parents, to tell that you are overly smitten," Yang explained. "Seriously though, I can tell her for you."
"I'd be afraid of how that would go if I was Neela," Blake stated. Yang placed a hand on her chest.
"How dare you!" Yang gasped. "I can be gentle… Here, let's try a mock version of what I'd say, Blake can be Eliana." Yang turned around before facing them again. "Hey Elli, I need to talk to you." Blake stared at her blankly. "Blakey. Come on."
"Fine," Blake sighed. "About what?"
"Neela," Yang said winking at her daughter. "She's got the hots for you."
"Mom. Please. No," Neela begged.
"Wait wait, this is the good part," Yang assured her.
"I don't know how I feel about Neela as far as being in love with her goes," Blake stated. Yang grabbed her by the collar, her eyes flaring red.
"If you break her heart, I'll break your arms and leave your legs for Nora!" Yang shouted. Blake blinked at Yang several times before she broke character and released her wife. "Or uh… heh… something similar to that? Maybe with less violence?"
"It's probably for the best if we just let Neela do it, don't you think?" Blake asked. Yang nodded.
"Of course," Yang agreed. "Just saying though. If you want me to do it, you know where to find me." Yang left the room as abruptly as she'd entered and Neela exhaled as she laughed nervously.
"These butterflies are the worst they've ever been," Neela complained.
"Even since you first noticed?" Blake asked. Neela laughed loudly.
"No, back then I just felt confusion," Neela giggled. "Eliana and I have come such a long way from where we started."
"Have we?" Eliana asked at the door. Neela's body went rigid as she sat straight up.
"Oum! Eliana! Don't you knock?!" Neela shouted. Eliana closed the door quickly and knocked, forcing a sigh out of Neela.
"Come in," Neela permitted. Blake concealed her smile behind her hand.
"Better?" Eliana asked.
"How long were you there for?" Neela asked.
"Long enough to hear 'Eliana and I have come such a long way from where we started'," Eliana confessed. Neela nodded as her heart rate slowly came down.
"What brings you by today, Elli?" Blake asked her as she stood up. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"I'm good, thanks," Eliana replied waving her off. "I just came by to let Neela know that we decided to change the venue after much arguing from Cobalt and… Yeah, no, it was mostly just Cobalt."
"Let me guess," Neela started.
"The first two guesses don't count," Eliana exclaimed.
"The beach," Neela said.
"Oh, you're good," Eliana declared pointing at her. "Be there tomorrow around two. Bring your swimsuit, we're going swimming." Eliana left, closing the door behind her allowing Neela to flop completely onto the couch.
"That's gonna make things worse," Neela complained into the cushions.
"Or better," Yang said raising her eyebrows.
"Yang!" Blake shouted. Yang backed away into the kitchen.
"Right. Worse. Situational."
Neela's got it bad, but we all knew that already, didn't we? Next week, Chapter 113 - The Beach Chapter!
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!