Before we get into it this week I just want to thank everybody who is still reading the story or anyone who just started reading it recently! You guys are great! Also, check out AG_Nonsuch on Twitter, she did a comic of a scene from the very first chapter recently but, ya know, this website isn't big on links and doesn't have embedding, so go give it a look-see! I hope you all enjoy this week's chapter, we're getting 'relatively' close to the end of Year 1!

"I guess today is as good as any to call and give you another update before we end up busy the rest of the week and then head out on our summer assignments," Titus said as he spoke with his mother on the phone and stared into space, rubbing his temples. "Where to begin, where to begin…"

"We fought a giant bat! I mean huge! No, it was a lot bigger than the house… no, not our vacation house, just our house in town," Cobalt insisted as he filled his parents in.

"This is the first time you've talked to your parents since second semester?! They live in Vale!" Tawney shouted at him.

"Quiet, I'm on the phone!" He hushed her.

"We fought that psycho who was trying to turn Neela into edible Grimm meat in Mistral, so there was that!" Eliana exclaimed as she took another bite of the ham on her plate.

"Can you not recall this stuff while we're eating…" Blake requested.

"I… I tried to…" Bái began to recount to Ren before being stricken with grief and crying into Lykos's chest.

"It's okay," Lykos insisted. "You're safe now, but we need to talk about it with Ren."

"We fought Ebony and Crimson of the White Fang before Raven bailed us out," Ilia noted as Blaine hung from her shoulders and looked at her face. "Probably one of our tougher fights this year."

"Did you win?" He asked. Pyrrha and Jaune laughed.

"It was more of a tie," Ilia assured him. "There was that time we beat CBLT at diffusing bombs."

"A real bomb?" He pried.

"It was a fake for practice sweetie," Pyrrha explained.

"Then what happened?" He questioned, hinging on every word.

"Tell them about the time that you tried to steal Team NITE's panties!" Tawney shouted so that she could be heard on the other side of the phone.

"I am not telling my parents… she's joking. It's just a joke, mom! Mom, I would never do something like that, that's what the internet is for! Oh… That's… That's not what you meant…" Cobalt defended.

"Training with Raven was a great idea, I feel like I'm much quicker than I used to be and have a better idea of how to plan for outcomes," Neela told them.

"Super, great, just fantastic," Yang replied robotically.

"Yang!" Blake scolded.

"Proud of you!" Yang said with a thumb up and her tongue stuck out. She laughed as Blake hit her.

"Yeah, I heard that they relocated Kitsune to Vacuo," Titus told his mom. "Jealous? Why would I be jealous? I'm right where General Branwen wants me!"

"Remember when I fought Grandma Raven in the treehouse!" Shadow interjected, flinging peas everywhere.

"It was epic!" Eliana replied, throwing her fist in the air before freezing for a moment. She wasn't supposed to be enjoying herself, her mother was in danger. She couldn't forget that.

"Everything okay?" Blake asked. Eliana nodded and smiled.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Neela's been kind of off since the White Fang rally," Bái noted. "Have you talked to her about that at all?" Ren shook his head.

"Haven't had the chance yet," Ren offered.

"And the best part of this whole year was when RWBY and JNPR fought!" Eliana shouted.

"They're flattered, I'm sure," Neela droned with an eye roll.

"I liked when Elli told us a story at Neela's bookstore," Shadow giggled. Neela laughed and shook her head.

"It's not my bookstore," Neela corrected.

"Whatever, it was still an awesome story!" Shadow exclaimed.

"Tell her about the time that we tried to steal property from the school!" Tawney shouted again.

"We never!" Cobalt began. "Wait, which time? The drone? The gauntlet? The micro EMP?"

"I'd like to think that Neela is going to tell her soon, it just keeps getting worse and worse," Ilia laughed. Jaune chuckled.

"We can only hope," Jaune replied.

"I hope she tells Eliana soon," Bái told Lykos.

"It would be for the best," Lykos agreed.

"Yes, mom, I'm sure that Neela is going to confess to Elli soon. Why are you so invested anyways?" Titus questioned.

"I went on a date, let's not forget that," Cobalt informed his parents.

"How could we forget, I'm still shocked," Tawney replied.

"You mean jealous?" He teased.

"No," she replied flatly.

"That's fine, everyone was just waiting for us to say the whole Eliana and Neela line anyway," Cobalt said hanging up the phone.

"Do what?" Tawney asked looking back at him from her scroll.

"Nevermind," Cobalt said. "Bái and Lykos should be back soon, right?"

"Yep," she mumbled uninterested in anything he had to say.

"Wanna make out?" Cobalt asked.

"No!" She yelled throwing a pillow at him. It glanced off his face and he sat motionless for a few seconds.

"I was just making sure you were paying attention," he informed her.

"Sure, whatever," she droned shaking her head and tapping out messages on her scroll again.

"I'm bored!" Cobalt groaned.

"And I don't care!" She yelled back, standing up and leaving the room. "Can't I just have a moment of peace and quiet?"

"End scene?" Cobalt asked.

Eliana found herself running down the halls of the school, not getting any closer to her goal as it seemed to keep stretching out in front of her and she wasn't able to make any headway. She was running out of time, it kept crawling closer and closer to her agreed-upon meeting time with Athena, but the environment wouldn't agree, her body wouldn't allow her any progress. Was it real? Was she in reality or was she trapped inside of some kind of nightmare that she didn't seem to be able to wake herself up from? She stopped, the room continuing to shift beneath her and taking her feet out from under her. She landed hard on her back. Was this someone's semblance?

"Time's running out, Eliana," Athena's voice thundered past her like a terrible wind. "Can you complete the task ahead of you?"

"No police," Crimson and Ebony echoed together.

"You can't tell anyone," Athena said, standing in front of Eliana with her back to the girl. Eliana held one of her guns in her hand and she slowly approached the Faunus. "I'd hate for you to see what happens if you did."

"He did… bad things, Elli," Alex's voice rang out at the same time as Eliana's gunshot.

"Do you really think it'll be that simple?" Crimson asked. "She's untouchable. My goddess will long outlive you and your friends."

"She'll turn on you, Neela," Ebony and Crimson told Neela on the far end of the hallway. Eliana ran for them to reassure her that it wasn't true as her friend hung her head, walking away from them as they dragged Shadow behind.

"It's not Shadow! It's a double!" Eliana screamed.

"Help!" Shadow called out fighting against them.

"No!" Eliana shouted as she used her forcefields to throw her body down the corridor. As she rounded the corner, she spotted her mother with Irving, a knife to her neck.

"Elli," she rasped as The Chameleon pressed it with enough force to draw blood.

"Soon you'll be like Salem," Irving insisted as he held himself back, his hands shaking. "As soon as Athena gives me the word."

"Save yourself…" Violet whimpered.

"Another angel sent to me from Salem herself," he said as he took a step towards Eliana.

"I'll save you, mom!" Eliana yelled as she fired. The bullets passed through him as he gripped her wrist hard and raised her off of the floor.

"Perhaps we should see what we're dealing with," he suggested holding the knife to her top.

"Let go of me you bastard!" She screamed.

"Elli!" Someone called out to her.

"Let go!" She demanded.

"Elli!" The same voice yelled.

"Let go!" She struggled one last time.

"Ilia, go get her!" Neela's voice became clear. Ilia's hand reached out of a tear in space from behind Eliana, dragging her out of her mind and into reality. Eliana sat up instantly, out of breath and drenched in sweat. "Sweet Oum! Eliana, what is going on?" Eliana glanced around at them, noting that it was dark out.

"I was just having a bad dream, I'm fine, thanks though," Eliana insisted.

"Elli," Neela began.

"I don't think she knows," Titus noted. Eliana looked at him confused.

"Know what?" Eliana inquired.

"It's Monday night. 8 PM or thereabouts." Ilia replied. Eliana gathered herself to avoid going into a panic attack.

24 hours to pull off the impossible. Fool Athena. Save her mother. Kidnap Shadow. Was it enough time? Was she mentally prepared? Could it even be done? Was she digging her own grave? Would they kill her mother regardless of if she met their demands? First, she had to take care of the fact that her teammates were all staring at her with more concern than she was normally given from them. She nodded and shrugged.

"What can I say, I was pretty tired," she said with a yawn as she stretched.

"You slept for over 18 hours," Titus replied plainly.

"Really tired?" She offered.

"Or sick," Ilia said.

"I can take you to see Ren if you'd like," Neela noted as she tried to help Eliana out of bed.

"I'm fine, really," Eliana insisted as she stood up, revealing to them that she was wearing nothing more than a bra and panties. Neela and Titus averted their eyes.

"You might want to get dressed," Ilia noted. Eliana looked herself over.

"Sorry, I strip when I get warm," Eliana apologized. "Neela, why are you looking away?"

"No reason!" Neela blurted out.

"Smooth," Titus whispered.

"Shut up!" She bit back in a hushed tone.

"Just put something on," Titus spoke up.

"Right," she agreed. She grabbed Neela's hoodie and slipped it on, admiring the length of the sleeves and how it came down far enough to cover her butt. "Better?" They looked up.

"Yep," Titus agreed with a nod.

"Your nose is bleeding," Ilia noted as she ran to grab Neela a tissue. She stopped it with her finger.

"Sorry," Neela chuckled nervously.

"Maybe Neela is getting sick," Eliana deflected.

"Seriously though, 18 plus hours of sleep?" Titus repeated.

"I didn't sleep at all the night before," Eliana informed them.

"Why not?" Neela asked nasally.

"Was contemplating life's greatest mysteries, how many stars there are in space, how my teeth are part of my skeleton, why cargo is taken by ship but shipments are taken by cars, normal stuff," Eliana offered with a shrug. Ilia and Titus looked at each other.

"Normally that would be crazy talk, but I think we have to give her another pass," Ilia noted.

"Come on, really?! That wouldn't have kept her up for that long! I should know, she normally keeps me awake with those questions!" Neela argued.

"Were you awake when she got back last night?" Titus asked.

"What?" Neela stuttered.

"Were you awake when Eliana got back last night?" Ilia said it again.

"No, what's that got to do with it?" Neela replied.

"Then who would she have asked? It might very well have kept her up all night," Titus insisted. Eliana nodded.

"It did, this is proof enough I would say," Eliana added. "Can we all go about our day now?"

"Night," Ilia corrected.

"That," Eliana included.

"Can we have a moment alone?" Neela asked. Eliana's heart raced as Titus and Ilia gave each other a knowing look and agreed.

"Sure," Titus complied taking Ilia out of the room with him. They closed the door and Neela moved closer to her friend.

"Elli, is something wrong? I can understand if you wouldn't want to tell me in front of them, but you know that you can tell me anything," Neela reminded her as she grabbed Eliana's hands. Eliana suppressed the fear. She silenced the voice that demanded she tell Neela everything on the spot and have her help get her mother back from those monsters. But Athena's words haunted her. Crippled her. Seized her. She could involve no one or they would hurt her mother… and that… meant lying to Neela. I'm sorry, Neela. I know that you'll forgive me when this is all over, but for now, this is what I have to do.

"Nothing's wrong, Neela," Eliana assured her. "You'd be the first to know if something was…"

"You promise?" Neela interjected. Eliana was convinced that her body was shaking violently as she regretted her next decision with every fiber of her being. She nodded and gave Neela a reassuring smile that Neela believed.

"Of course," Eliana said. She's only going to hurt you, Neela! "I'm sorry that I had to leave in such a rush the other night. What was it that you needed to tell me?" Neela was stunned as she stared into Eliana's eyes, swallowing hard. Was this it? Was this the moment that she'd been waiting for? She began to open her mouth but was interrupted by a banging on the door.

"Can we come back in now?" Titus pried.

"Neela?" Eliana asked her dividing her attention. Neela warmly smiled at her before squeezing her hands and letting go.

"I'll tell you Friday," Neela said with a wink. Eliana was surprised at Neela's gesture. Since their talk on Saturday night, the girl seemed more confident with herself than ever, and Eliana couldn't pinpoint the reason why.

"Sounds great," Eliana laughed.

"Yeah come in, we're not making out!" Neela shouted.

"Yet!" Eliana added. They both laughed. Titus slowly opened the door, Ilia trying to peek around him as they came in and Neela nixed them, waving her hand horizontally at her neck.

"Dammit!" Titus swore.

"Fork it over," Ilia chuckled holding her hand out.

"You lost me twenty lien," Titus informed her.

"Sorry," Neela mouthed.

"Nothing says great rest of the week like a surprise meeting with your field instructor," Cobalt groaned sarcastically as he sat at the table in the cafeteria and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "I'm smart. I have a computer to tell me how I can improve at fighting. If we could literally just go from class and training to the dorms and just be done, that would be the best thing ever. Do you think that the Atlas kids have this many meetings with their mentors? Maybe, but I'm guessing that every single one of those meetings is scheduled and aren't given to them via a scroll notification 1 hour before the meeting."

"Is there ever a time that you just stop for a moment and listen to yourself?" Lykos asked him as he sat with Bái across the table and handed his cup of grapes to her.

"Don't like grapes?" Tawney asked.

"She just likes them more," Lykos informed her.

"People like grapes," Cobalt said with his mouth full.

"Please swallow before speaking," Tawney pleaded as she rolled her eyes.

"Great to see that the team is at peak levels this morning," Neela said sitting down with Eliana next to Bái and Lykos.

"How apropos," Cobalt noted after swallowing.

"Thank you," Tawney nodded.

"How so?" Eliana asked.

"She still doesn't know," Titus grunted sitting beside Cobalt.

"Uh… because you're the two best on your team and they're the two best on our team," Cobalt covered.

"Excuse me," Tawney and Titus demanded in unison.

"Nice save," Ilia teased as she sat next to Titus with Vin.

"Uh… I see you've brought Vin with. Is that glorious angel here as well?" Tawney asked.

"I have arrived, you called?" Rowan cheesed as Ivory smacked the back of his head.

"She was referring to me," Ivory corrected.

"She doesn't even go here!" Cobalt shouted down the table.

"Shut up, Cobalt!" Ivory bellowed. He shrank down in his seat.

"What are you kids up to today?" Rowan asked sitting across from Ivory and next to Eliana. "How it going?"

"I'll cut you," Neela assured him with a grin. Rowan scooted away from Eliana towards the end of the bench.

"How's it going, sweet ass," Tawney asked.

"There is way too much going on right now," Lykos added.

"So what are you guys up to today," Vin asked Cobalt.

"We have a meeting with our field instructor so they can tell us how bad we did," he admitted.

"Cobalt!" Tawney growled.

"How good we did," Bái corrected.

"Funny, we're on our way to do the same thing!" Eliana declared. Tawney leaned forward and glared at Neela.

"Bet ours goes better," Tawney taunted.

"She still finished at the top of our class, so…" Titus began.

"Your argument is kind of invalid," Ilia chuckled.

"How did you guys place at the end of the year anyway?" Rowan asked.

"First," Neela spoke.

"Second," Lykos added.

"Third," Titus proudly asserted.

"Fourth," Bái smiled.

"We tied for fifth," Eliana noted pointing at Ilia.

"Seventh," Tawney scowled.

"Ninth…" Cobalt admitted quietly. They all looked at him. "Some random from across the hall had better history scores, okay?!"

"We were the top second-year team," Vin noted.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Orin noted as he approached the table.

"This guy again?" Cobalt groaned.

"So dreamy," Eliana sighed.

"How's it going, Orin?" Neela asked.

"I had to come over when I heard from the other side of the cafeteria that Vincent here was trying to sully ONYX's good name," Orin informed them.

"We were first last time we checked," Rowan insisted.

"Perhaps you should check again," Orin noted as he handed them the roster. Vin read it over.

"Really? By point seven points?" Vin argued.

"A shame really," Orin pointed out as he took the paper back and brushed it off before folding it up and placing it back in his pocket.

"Where's the rest of your team?" Titus asked.

"They already headed to the meeting with our field instructor and I really must be going as well. Farewell," He bade them as he left gracefully.

"Is he real?" Cobalt asked.

"He looks real," Bái noted.

"Maybe he's one of those robots from Atlas," Cobalt suggested.

"A Penny model?" Eliana questioned.

"I mean come on, no one is that suave," Cobalt added biting his lip.

"Careful, you'll start turning green," Tawney chuckled as she egged him on.

"As if," he scoffed and stood, moving to dump his tray.

"He is," Tawney insisted as she followed him.

"Guess that's our cue too," Lykos said, motioning with his head for Bái to follow him. She did, waving back at them.

"Later guys!" Bái exclaimed chasing after her boyfriend.

"And then there were seven," Eliana counted.

"Where's Yvonne?" Neela just noted.

"I think the better question is, 'Who' is Yvonne with," Rowan stated.

"One of those, huh?" Neela asked.

"Mission related?" Titus questioned. They all looked at him. "In the Atlas Military, once you're of age, if sleeping with the enemy means getting the information, you might just have to sleep with somebody!"

"Nope," Ivory corrected. "That's just how she is."

"Does Cobalt know that?" Eliana inquired.

"He didn't seem to care," Ilia explained.

"Which is strange because most guys turn tail and run when they find out what she's all about," Vin explained.

"Yet you slept with her," Ivory noted. Ilia looked at him and he shot a death glare at Ivory.

"I was one of her first victims!" He defended.

"Did you sleep with Rowan too?" Ilia asked.

"Not for lack of trying," Rowan laughed with a wink. Vin removed himself from the table.

"No, I did not," Vin noted leaving quickly.

"Did he?" Ilia asked quietly.

"No," Ivory confirmed.

"We'll leave you guys to your breakfast," Rowan said as he grabbed Ivory and yanked her to her feet. "We should be on our way."

"But Vin left early and we don't have to be there for nearly an hour," Ivory protested.

"And I was told not to leave you alone with Ilia," Rowan replied.

"But…" Ivory cried out.

"Come on!" He asserted, dragging her out.

"Well, that was a thing," Eliana noted.

"Indeed," Titus agreed.

"What do we do for an hour," Eliana pried.

"I'm gonna message Vin, and it'll probably be incessantly," Ilia offered.

"I'm going to study the layout for the chairs that need to be set up," Titus informed her. "It'll be easier to set them up Thursday after the last sparring match is done if we don't need to refer back to the guide constantly."

"And you, Neela?" Eliana asked.

"I guess just try and finish breakfast?" Neela assumed.

"That'll take you a whole hour?" Eliana pondered.

"Maybe?" Neela shrugged. "You gonna be okay without something to do for that long?"

"Sure, sure, I'll be fine," Eliana insisted. The girl began whistling, counting tiles, walking along the lines where the flooring came together and hopped on one foot for a bit. "How much time has passed?"

"Three minutes," Titus told her.

"Oh come on!" Eliana shouted.

"It won't kill you to wait," Ilia told her.

"I'm going to go find something to do, won't be long," Eliana assured them as she headed out the door. She only made it a few steps when she reached the corner of the building and was grabbed by someone who covered her mouth immediately.

"Shhhh…" Crimson hushed her with a bout of laughter. "Anyone sees me and your mother is as good as dead or worse." She released Eliana who looked at her, the fear still very obvious in her eyes and Crimson shook her head. "You're far too scared, that will never do. You need something that'll boost your confidence, we wouldn't want you to second guess yourself tonight, now would we?" She slammed a White Fang mask against Eliana's chest. "Take it. Put it on. Then you don't have to worry about being noticed."

"Helping humans now I see?" Eliana jested in anger.

"Anything that will help please my mistress," Crimson insisted. "It's crucial to her plan that you make good on your delivery tonight. Can't have you bailing out just because you were afraid of the repercussions. Once they see a member of the White Fang in their home they'll be too frozen to act… or if you think they still will, best do it after they're asleep. It doesn't matter to me as long as Athena is happy."

"Ever try thinking for yourself?" Eliana questioned her.

"You're about to betray your best friend," Crimson cackled. "How's thinking for yourself working out for you?" Eliana swung in a sudden fit of rage but Ebony appeared, dragging Crimson into the shadow with her and they left her in silence. She looked at the mask for a long hard minute. Why? Why did it have to be like this? If they caught her… Yang and Blake might murder her on the spot, and her mother would die. That's what mattered the most, and she was going to bring Shadow back. The mask was just to help with anonymity until she could get to her mother. She shoved it quickly in her backpack that she had with her and zipped it back up as Neela peeked around the corner.

"There you are," Neela noted.

"Worried about me?" Eliana asked sheepishly.

"Was just wondering what you were up to," Neela confessed. "Caught me."

"Yeah, I was just going to go call my mom," Eliana told her. "You might want to let Ilia and Titus know so they don't come looking for me too." Eliana faked a chuckle.

"Sure…" Neela said slightly off-put. "Still okay?"

"Of course," Eliana insisted. "Be right back."

"Just as long as you make it back in time for Coco's farewell speech," Neela laughed. Eliana laughed and nodded.

"Will do!"

"Where do I begin?" Coco asked as they at the oval-shaped table that sat before her. "At the beginning of the year, I wasn't entirely sure that this team was going to come together. Ilia was a loner that wanted to run away from here as fast as she possibly could, Eliana was chasing after Neela in a different way than Neela was chasing after her, and Titus didn't think that Neela deserved to be the team leader, and somehow I feel like I could be talking to some strange alternate version of RWBY."

"Who does that make me?" Eliana asked Neela.

"Ruby," Neela replied.

"Yesssss," Eliana whispered.

"Besides the point," Coco said. "I'm proud of you guys."

"Aww…" Eliana began.

"However," Coco interjected.

"Here it comes," Ilia said.

"There's a lot of room for improvement," Coco started.

"Oh boy," Titus groaned.

"Neela, remember what I told you about using your team as your tools for the hunt," Coco reminded her as she looked at the girl. "You're going to make a great leader, you already are, but the next year isn't going to be any easier. You'll be smarter, faster, and stronger, but so will your peers and the enemies that you face. The missions that you're assigned to will be difficult and your third-year mentors aren't going to take it easy on you."

"Come again?" Ilia asked.

"Third years?" Coco repeated, confused where she'd lost them. "You guys didn't know?"

"I knew," Titus informed her.

"You didn't tell us?" Eliana griped.

"Maybe this will encourage you guys to read the handbook next year," Titus retorted with a smirk.

"Your team will be assigned to a third-year team next year," Coco explained. "When they aren't out on missions or training they'll have days set aside to mentor you. You'll also act as a support system of sorts for each other. If one team needs help in the field, the other will offer support. Now, I feel like we've gotten a bit derailed from the conversation we were having."

"You were telling us that we were doing a great job," Eliana offered with a smile and a shrug. Coco sighed.

"Ilia, I'm glad to see that you've grown closer to your teammates. Lean on them if you need to. They're there to help you and support you if you need it. I understand that before you came here you were a solo act, but I think you'll find that once you master your semblance, it'll be just as handy in a team setting. However, with that being said, don't rely on it too much. A good huntress always has an out, and sometimes your ability leaves you powerless, especially if you end up facing an enemy that's not afraid to hurt their own. The fighting will come naturally for someone like yourself," she informed the girl. Ilia nodded.

"Yes, thank you. I'll do my best next year," Ilia told her with a gleam in her eye.

"Titus," Coco began. He stood up and saluted.

"Yes, ma'am!" He reported.

"Pull your head out of your ass. Learn to open up. Don't be afraid to use your semblance. Keep up the good work. And lastly," Coco said with a smirk. "Lighten up already." He grinned.

"Right," He replied as he sat back down as abruptly as he'd stood.

"Eliana," Coco spoke.

"Yep," Eliana said leaning forward in her seat.

"You were the most surprising member of this team by far," Coco informed her. "I've known you for nearly as long as Neela has known you, but I always saw you as a tag-along or sidekick. You never act seriously outside of a fight, and sometimes the rest of us wonder if you're all there, but you fight just like another Latherus I knew once upon a time." Eliana's eyes welled up. "Between the fight you had early on in the year against Neo, and the display that you put on in Mistral, I knew that you could be Neela's equal, as can the rest of your team. Neela can get better on her own, you need to focus on getting stronger yourself, I think that this team could easily finish as first through fourth-best next year."

"Thanks, Coco," Eliana said wiping the tear from her eye. It filled her with confidence. To be on par with Neela? Maybe she could pull off the impossible that night. She would do her father proud, she could save her mother! Eliana stood to leave before the three of them looked at her.

"Going somewhere?" Neela asked. Eliana laughed and sat back down.

"Sorry, thought that we were done," Eliana informed them.

"You guys did great. I had a good feeling from the moment I watched you all fighting during the initiation. You took every challenge with stride, even when I broke the rules just a little bit to let you guys help us fight Stardust. Mistral was unexpected, and I think next year we might have someone do a little scouting. Otherwise, I don't have much else to say, hope you all aren't too bored at the ceremony, and I'll see all of you this fall," Coco closed.

"Any idea who our instructor for next year is?" Eliana pried.

"No idea," Coco said with a shrug.

"Dang it," Eliana groaned as the teenagers all stood and filed out of the room, Titus closing the door behind him. Ilia Amitola appeared next to Coco, placing her hands on the table as she leaned forward a bit.

"I think that's the longest I've ever seen you stay invisible," Coco told her.

"I've gone much longer before," Amitola told her as she turned around, leaping up and sitting on the table.

"You've got news for me I assume?" Coco asked.

"Have I ever paid you a social call?" Amitola replied shrugging.

"And here I thought you just dropped in to see how I was on your way to visit with Blake, I know that Ruby was in town a few days ago, it was only a matter of time before you stopped in," Coco said standing up.

"You wanted confirmation that they were on their way for their interview," Amitola declared as she leapt down off of the table and made her way for the door.

"So she's coming after all," Coco stated as she rubbed her face. "You know, you're always free to come out with us for drinks if you're in town. I've got a couple of friends that wouldn't mind meeting you."

"I'm flattered, but my line of work doesn't exactly allow downtime for leisure," Amitola called back as she left the room. Coco chuckled to herself.

"I thought the same thing before I started dating Velv," Coco told herself.

NITE and CBLT have been through a lot this year, but what will next year hold? Chapter 129 - Forgiveness?

A big thank you to AG_Nonsuch, Helihi, Cadhla182, Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. The 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, and make sure to wash those hands!