"This is really going to reflect poorly on our status as the number one team if both Eliana and Neela don't get here soon so that we can all get to the ceremony on time," Titus said as he adjusted his tie for the eleventh or twelfth time in the bathroom mirror. "Have I mentioned how much I hate the Beacon uniform compared to the ones that we wear in Atlas?" Ilia sighed and shook her head, rolling her eyes as she stared out their window and watched for Neela, hoping that she would show up with Eliana soon.

"At least a dozen times this morning," she informed him as she tried to smoothen out her skirt. "This is the first time that I've worn it all year and now that I think about it, this is the only time that I recall seeing you in it either."

"Any word from either of them?" Titus asked her again. Ilia stood up from her bed and stretched, picking her scroll up off of her desk and checking it for any messages from Neela before noting that she had a new one from Vin saying that he couldn't wait until she was done so that they could get started with their summer vacation. She smiled slightly and messaged him back. "Well?"

"Nothing," Ilia replied as she put her scroll away. "At this rate, I say that we just head over to the graduation now. If the two girls show up late there's nothing that we can do about it, and better that only half of the team end up being late, right?"

"Right," Titus said as he left the bathroom and blew past her, tossing the door open before heading across the hallway and knocking on CBLT's door. "If you all don't hurry up you're going to be late as well and that's going to give the graduates a horrible impression of the number two team."

"They left some time ago," Ilia informed him leaving their room and closing the door behind her.

"What?" Titus asked.

"They said something about needing to head into town," Ilia said. Titus sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Is no one concerned about looking good from a principle standpoint?" Titus inquired.

"I think you're a little too worried about this," Ilia pointed out as they made their way down the stairs.

"The other first-years look up to us!" Titus debated.

"They should," Ilia agreed. "But to them, we're just annoying elitists. The popular kids who think that they're too good for everyone else."

"That's hardly fair," Titus scoffed.

"Why's that?" Ilia questioned. Titus smirked.

"I'm the only elitist on this team," he noted. Ilia chuckled and nodded.

"You got that right," Ilia laughed. "I don't think they hate us per se, but it's a lot like the case with CBLT. They all wish that they were in our shoes."

"Well like I said, at this point, it's a principle issue," Titus grumbled.

"So what if we're a touch late?" She shrugged as they reached the bottom floor. "Yeah, this moment is supposed to inspire us to be the best that we can be and show us what we have in store for the future, but let's be real, shall we? The graduates just want to get their certificates of being full-blown Hunstmen and Huntresses, and us first-years just want to pack things up and get to the beach." Titus sighed.

"I understand what you're saying, I just…" Titus began before stopping short, noting Neela running at full speed at them.

"Neela!" Ilia shouted. "It's about time! What were you waiting for, a written invitation?"

"My parents were running a bit late because Shadow wanted to stay home and play with Raven," Neela explained as she blew past them.

"What are you doing?" Titus asked.

"I have to get my school uniform!" She shouted as she stopped for a second, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"There's no time, you'll have to just wear what you've got on!" Titus informed her as he marched towards her and dragged her along, gripping her arm tightly.

"Also, where's Eliana?" Ilia asked. Neela looked away.

"I haven't seen her," Neela admitted.

"What?" Ilia inquired confused.

"I haven't seen her," Neela repeated as she broke free of Titus grip and continued towards the ceremony.

"What do you mean 'you haven't seen her?'" Titus pried.

"I talked to her Wednesday," Neela informed them. "That's the last time that I've seen her. She said there was something that she needed to take care of on her own and that she would meet back up with us tonight."

"What's really going on?" Titus questioned as he reached out to grab her again but she was already making her way towards where they'd set up.

"I can tell you guys once the graduation is over," Neela brushed him off. Ilia stepped beside Titus and they watched Neela for a few seconds.

"Something is wrong," Titus pointed out.

"Yeah, I got that too," Ilia told him.

"Please let me out," Eliana pleaded sitting in the corner of the cell, her forehead placed against the wall as she stared at the fine particles that made it up before hearing the elevator crank up once again and she glanced down the hall lazily, low on energy and tired of being confined to such a small and boring space. "I just want to apologize to Neela."

"I know that you do," the woman called out as her heels clicked against the marble. Eliana groaned. Not Neela. Not Blake or Yang. Glynda. She struggled to her feet, creeping towards the cell bars where Glynda presented her with a scroll. "It doesn't make calls. It'll only allow you to watch the ceremony, I still want you to hear the words of my speech and take them to heart. This is only a hurdle on your path to becoming a huntress, Elli, you still have limitless potential and in that moment we know you did what you felt was right. Even if we were to charge you, which we wouldn't, Yang and Blake would have dropped them."

"I…" Eliana started. "I know." She took the scroll weakly and turned from her slowly. "I just feel horrible."

"That feeling will pass," Glynda said. "Your mother needs you to be strong, as do your teammates and the most important person of all to you." Eliana stared at Glynda.

"How long has she felt this way about me?" Eliana asked her. Glynda chuckled.

"This entire year, perhaps longer," Glynda suggested as her alarm sounded on her own scroll. "Blake will be down after the graduation is finished so that you can be let out. You can tell Blake, Yang, and Neela everything that was going through your mind then."

"Right…" Eliana muttered returning to her corner. Glynda frowned as she looked at the girl and sighed.

"I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the kind of motivational speaker that Ozpin was," Glynda informed her. "But I want you to know that none of us are going to think any differently of you. Your father would probably have done the same thing if it meant saving you or your mother."

"He would have had a better plan…" Eliana pointed out.

"That comes with experience," Glynda told the girl. "Your father didn't get as good as he was overnight. He had to work for it. There were hurdles that he also had to overcome. Maybe not exactly like yours, but each of us has our own trials that make us unique. Neela's is facing the Fang again. Titus's is admitting he needs to work better with his team. Ilia's is escaping her past or confronting it. Yours needs to be forgiving yourself. Things could have ended much worse." Velvet had said the same thing. She needed to forgive herself. But why was it so hard? Glynda was right, Shadow hadn't ended up hurt, and they rescued her mom… so why did Eliana feel like she hurt the Xiao Longs worse than she did?

She'll betray you…

I love you, Eliana Latherus!

Maybe that was why. That Neela thought the world of her, and she might have thrown it all away. Something that she wanted just as badly but had never realized until Neela had said it out loud.

Neela… I love you.

"Are you sure you're still content with the choice you had decided on with me before?" Glynda questioned. Eliana ran a hand over her hair through her hair.

"I… I still need to think about it," Eliana informed her.

"Glynda is cutting it a little close," Blake said as she sat down with Shadow in her arms. She glanced around once more, still questioning Glynda's choice to hold the event outside instead of in the great hall's arena room like they had for so many years in the past, but the weather was agreeable despite the storm they'd suffered through a couple of days ago and the grass had dried quickly.

"She did say that there was one last thing that she needed to check on," Yang reminded Blake as she sat beside her and tried to move her chair over a bit. "Did Cobalt set up these chairs, they're way too close together."

"Actually I think that Team CBLT did the audio and video," Blake corrected.

"So I probably have Titus to blame for this?" Yang asked.

"Yes," Blake answered. "And it most likely means there will be a laser show at the end." Yang laughed.

"Where is Elli?" Shadow inquired Blake as Neela, Titus, and Ilia took their seats.

"She had something that she had to do that was more important than the ceremony," Blake told her. "We'll see her afterward."

"Glynda gave you the key, right?" Yang double-checked. Blake nodded.

"Where is Team CBLT?" Titus asked as he nodded to Bumbleby, sitting down.

"They figured that they'd be running late," Ilia noted.

"Is nothing sacred to you people?" Titus ranted. "These graduates just want recognition."

"No," Ilia stopped him. "Maybe one of them wants it. The rest just want to get the hell out of here." Glynda stepped up to the lectern before looking her notes over and turning her attention to the audience.

"Good afternoon students, parents, and faculty alike," Glynda began. "I'd like to welcome you all to another ceremony celebrating the success that these young fourth-years have had so far, acknowledging the accomplishments of what they've done, and the great things that they are yet to do as our current generation of Hunstmen and Huntresses. They have a long road ahead of them and their certification is the first step in a long and rewarding journey. I'm proud of all of them for making it this far.

Back when I was attending Beacon myself, there were no terrorists. We didn't know that a woman named Salem existed, we didn't have a reason to push like these young adults before you had to. We merely fought the creatures of Grimm and at the time their numbers were dwindling, so it seemed strange that the Headmaster of this school, a man who called himself Ozma, was so worried about making this school as secure as he could with the help of the other kingdoms. Granted, it was one of the few schools that could certify Huntsmen and Huntresses, but there was little reason to panic the way that he was. But he was right, you could never be too careful.

After Ozma came Ozpin, a coincidence to be sure, but I wasn't one to question it at the time of my teaching. Ozpin was more complacent as Ozma, though he agreed something was coming and when Beacon fell, we were ill-prepared for the fallout. The White Fang fully accepted their role as a terrorist organization, Haven was attacked next, though it was kept safe by a few of the people among you in the audience, and Atlas had closed off the entire world in the interest of self-preservation. A truly dark time. But Team RWBY changed that, a team that had only attended Beacon for a semester.

I believe that every one of the students that are leaving this school today to make the world a better place is capable of the change that RWBY made, thanks to the ideology that Ruby Rose and her mother Summer Rose left behind. All of us can be strong if we set aside our differences and work together. We may have our faults and weaknesses, but all of us are unique. We can make up for the area in which others may lack, much like the Huntsmen and Huntresses as a whole make up for the weaknesses of those who live normal lives without Aura or Semblances. This is not to say that we should strive to be our best selves, but that we should lean on each other for support and share in each others' strengths.

Here today I see several first years and fourth years that have convinced themselves that they aren't as strong as their peers because they didn't finish at the top of their class, or because they've had a rough go at it, but this isn't the case. One moment, or area of weakness should not define who we are as people. Be confident. Let those around you that love you lift you up and give you the strength that you've been seeking. As I hand out the certificates to the graduates I want each and every one of them to know that I, Coco Adel, and the Council is there for them. Let's give them a round of applause as we begin commencement."

Without warning, something landed on the stage beside Glynda, small enough that no one in the audience took note of it until Glynda leaned down to examine it. Athena appeared in its place, plunging a syringe into her neck as several members of the audience screamed and murmured, Blake's heart racing as she stood, gripping tightly to Shadow as Yang stood to defend them. Neela found herself gripped with terror, Titus glancing at her before nodding to Ilia, shoving a few chairs out of the way in front of them.

"What a beautiful day it is out today," Athena started with a chuckle, moving to the mic after gently setting Glynda on the ground. Several of the other students began standing, preparing to fight the woman as she stared out at all of them, wearing her mask so that none of them could tell where she was truly looking. "Surely none of you bought into all of that nonsense that she just told you. Strength is found in numbers? What if those numbers are composed of the elderly… or useless, helpless, humans? Is there strength to be had there? The message that she delivered was misleading, sugar-coated so that those of you who are graduating with power that is insignificant to your peers won't feel bad. You can feel it.

The gods, Salem, Oum… whoever you believe is the reason that you're here decided whether or not you were strong. The weak will never match us in strength and if they do it only means that they were meant to have strength all along. It's cut and dry, black and white, you can't have both. But I'm not here to preach to all of you about strength. I know which ones of you are weak and which ones of you are strong. The Fang has had a close eye on this school for most of the year, preparing to make our move." Neela could hear nothing but her heart thundering in her chest, the mask reminding her of her sister nearly being taken and her own childhood, though the images made no sense and were blurred together. The mask on the first day of school. The patrol that had left them badly beaten that Raven had saved them from. Athena had been buying time, preparing for this moment.

"I'm willing to guess from what I've observed that no one here is as strong as I am, but much like Glynda noted before, there is an inconvenience in numbers…" Athena paused and smiled. "So I brought my friends along with me." Guns and weapons could be heard arming and the first and fourth years looked around to see that they were surrounded, members of the Fang prepared to attack at the drop of a pin. "My name is Athena Taurus for those of you who are less educated and the age of the Faunus begins now!"

Before anything could happen, Cerise Carver, the top fourth-year student that Neela had faced off against in her tournament of the best of the best, threw back everyone around the audience, knocking them off of their feet before her girlfriend Soya Kelly covered them all in a dome of vines.

"What do we do?" Asked the fourth year.

"There's a lot of them!" Another noted.

"You have permission to take these assholes down!" Yang cried out over the commotion as they all turned to look at her, her hands visibly tremoring.

"Mrs. Xiao Long?" A student asked. "Are you okay?"

"She's right," Blake replied weakly at first. Something exploded outside of the dome and Soya grunted as she struggled to keep her defense up. "Fourth-years, take down the Fang but don't kill them, that's an order. First-years, this is too much for you to handle, leave towards the rear and make a direct route for the cliffside." Most of them nodded but Titus began walking through the chairs towards Blake.

"We can fight," Titus protested.

"Leaving is also an order, Titus," Blake bit. Titus gritted his teeth, shaking his head before looking back at Ilia who was unsure of what to do, and Neela who still appeared paralyzed.

"Go time!" Cerise yelled knowing that Soya was at her limit with her defensive barrier.

Make a direct route for the cliffside, Neela heard. I can get away. I need to get away. Yang had been right, there was nothing more than a person behind the masks, but the person behind this mask was Athena, and she was tired of waiting. Cerise sent out a bigger shock wave as Soya lowered the barrier, Ebony was already airborne and coming down towards Blake and Shadow as Yang stepped in the way and blocked her daggers with her arm. Ebony smirked before Yang's eyes lit up, turning red as her left fist crashed into Ebony, blasting her away. Blake sent a clone out to fight beside Yang as she took a step back and the battle began.

"We can't just leave," Ilia stated before glancing over and noting that Neela had already taken off. She looked at Titus briefly before they chased after her.

"Neela!" They shouted at her. She had the advantage of her grapple hook, which had let her put distance on them, reaching the halfway point before the power went out, reminding them of the fact that the sun was setting as the shadows from the architecture loomed over the pathway with no lamps to light the path. "Neela!" She couldn't stay here! This wasn't a battle that she could possibly win! "Neela, stop!"

"You heard my mom," she yelled back. "We need to get out of here!" She could see the end of the cliff. An airship waited for them at the end.

"The other first-years stayed to fight, we're literally the only ones running!" Ilia yelled at her. Roughly one hundred yards out and there was nothing that could stop her! The airship exploded suddenly and violently, shrapnel screaming through the air as Neela hit the ground and Titus covered her. Ilia looked on in horror at the scene, the burning wreckage plummeting off of the cliff and into the rocks and water below.

"We can't run from this fight!" Titus shouted at her, holding tight to her shoulders.

"Since when do you disregard orders?" Neela asked.

"I know your mom doesn't believe that," Titus asserted. "She knew you needed an out, but you can't always just run away from your fears. Someday you'll have to face them, and today seems like the day to do so!"

"They turned Eliana against me!" Neela screamed at him in a frenzy, unsure of how to make him leave her alone.

"What?" Ilia inquired as she stepped closer.

"They convinced her to try and take Shadow! These people ruined my childhood! They're the reason that my family can't function properly! I can't do this!" Neela yelled at both of them. "I feel ill! I just want to hide! I'm not cut out for this!" Her protesting stopped as Titus slapped her, knocking her back to the ground after he'd just helped her up. She stared up at him in shock, touching her cheek.

"Titus…" Ilia spoke softly grabbing his arm. He shook her off.

"I don't know what happened between you, Eliana, and the White Fang in the last few days, but these are the things that I do know! Eliana loves you like you love her and doesn't know it, there's no way that she would have gone through with something like that! As for this White Fang nonsense, pull yourself together! You need to make them pay for what they did to you! They have a better chance of beating those monsters if you go back and take a stand! You aren't one of those people in the city below that can't defend themselves when things get out of hand, you're Neela Xiao Long! The top of the first years! Our leader! Our friend!" He bellowed as he lifted her to her feet again by her collar.

"Titus lay off of her!" Ilia demanded. Titus exhaled slowly before releasing the Faunus.

"I'm going back," He told them. He stood in silence before looking back towards the school. "Do what you want, Neela, but if we lose here today, you'll regret it forever." He sprinted back towards the school, leaving the two women in silence.

"He has a point," Ilia noted before sighing. "I understand what facing your past can feel like, but if you don't fight it, you're just letting it happen all over again." Ilia looked Neela over who seemed shocked at Titus's outburst. "Neela, where is Eliana?"

"She's…" Neela froze as her mind cleared and she remembered where her best friend was. "She's in the vault beneath the tower."

"What if the Fang find their way down there?" Ilia suggested. "Based on what you told us before, I assume they have her locked up without a weapon, right?" Neela felt a new fear take hold of her body. She gritted her teeth. She couldn't lose Eliana! She wouldn't!

"How did I know!" Tawney shouted as they headed back towards the docks. "How did I know that we were going to be late to the ceremony?!"

"Must have been some crazy intuition to have known that," Cobalt offered.

"I thought that it was going to be for your stupid book, but no, it was because the waiter was a dumbass!" Tawney grumbled.

"In Cobalt's defense, that isn't on him," Bái pointed out.

"I'm not mad at him, I'm just angry in general," Tawney corrected.

"Isn't that just an everyday thing for you?" Lykos asked.

"Really?" Tawney inquired. "Et Tu?"

"You have been pretty irritable the last week or so," Bái added.

"Probably because Neela finished ahead of her," Cobalt suggested.

"Not everything is about her," Tawney mentioned. "But yes, that is why."

"We'll be late, but we should still get there in time for commencement and clean up," Cobalt calculated as they stopped at the corner and watched a few police cars race by. "Yeesh, what's going on?"

"Something on the other side of town by the looks of it," Lykos offered before the explosion went off. They preemptively covered their heads, glancing around before Bái pointed.

"It looks like it's coming from the power plant," She noted.

"Should we help them?" Lykos suggested. Another explosion.

"Probably!" Tawney agreed as they began heading that direction. One of the police vehicles slowed as it passed them.

"Where are you guys going in such a rush?" Neptune asked from the passenger's seat.

"What's going on?" Cobalt asked.

"White Fang are attacking the power plant," he explained.

"Should we help?" Bái questioned.

"Thanks, but we can handle it," Neptune assured them. "You kids can head back to the school, last day, right?" His partner hit him on the arm before he turned and told them something and the car sped off.

"You heard him," Lykos said. "Guess we should get going then." Cobalt nodded and they jogged for the docks.

"Another minute or so and we'll be there with time to…" Cobalt began before the dock exploded, setting off a chain reaction. They stopped, shocked at the scene unfolding before them. Bái pointed and they all looked once more, the airship at Beacon had suffered the same fate and was falling down the cliffside.

"What's happening?" Bái asked frightened.

"Another attack on Beacon?" Lykos pondered.

"Why?" Tawney asked.

"It would explain the airships," Cobalt agreed. "Why else would you destroy them all, the only purpose of this dock is to travel back and forth to the school."

"Now what?" Tawney requested.

"We need to get to the school," Lykos said.

"How?" Cobalt inquired. "By the time we climbed the cliff, there would probably be no fight left to be had!"

"It would be risky…" Bái started. They looked at her.

"No," Lykos refused.

"It's the only way," she insisted. Cobalt called his locker, watching as it crashed into the pavement beside him.

"How's that going to help?" Tawney asked. "And Glynda is going to be pissed." He opened it to reveal his sword and a long crate. "We were supposed to have those cleaned out by now!"

"I was going to clean it out tonight," he noted. "What can I say, I'm a procrastinator!" He pulled the crate out and opened it, revealing a metal staff with a dark purple orb at the end of it. "I wanted to wait until tomorrow to give this to her, but today is probably better."

"What is it?" Lykos asked.

"I was given a good look at Orion's gauntlet," Cobalt informed them. "Using gravity alloy and a lens, or orb, of gravity Dust at the end, Bái can focus her ice through this staff and store it in the orb or use it immediately. I figured it would help focus her power and was safer than the bracelet." He handed it to Bái who looked it over with a sense of wonder and excitement.

"For once, you weren't a dumbass," Lykos said.

"Thanks," Cobalt replied flattered. "Hey wait!"

"Think you can do it?" Lykos asked. Bái stared at the orb hard for a moment before biting her lip and giving a nod.

"Let's make it a little easier for her," Tawney said. She shoved Cobalt into the locker without warning and activated it, sending him back to the school. The three of them looked at each other and Lykos nodded.

"Well…" Lykos began. "Let's see what happens." They raced through the burning docks, Bái quickly extinguishing the fires as the police arrived at the scene.

"What happened here?" An officer asked as Bái and Lykos prepared to leave. Tawney shrugged.

"You got us, man," Tawney told him. "The whole city is under attack, you guys might want to focus on Grimm once the attack on the power plant is over." Bái stretched out her staff, her ice swirling around the handle and climbing down it until reaching the lens and filling it, a focused beam spraying out before Bái found that by concentrating she could control how the weapon worked. She formed a large platform before them, stepping on and continuing it.

"Let's go, Tawney," Lykos called for her. "We're going to have to make a run for it." Tawney nodded as she joined them.

"I can do this," Bái told herself. She charged forward, making an ice path that led up to the cliff that seemed further away than they realized.

"So far so good!" Tawney exclaimed excitedly.

"You okay?" Lykos asked. Bái nodded as she focused, staring ahead, her eyes lighting up slightly.

"There's a lot of moisture in the air above the water here," She told him. "I think we'll make it!"

"I wonder how bad things are at the school?" Lykos mentioned.

"Hopefully not as bad as in town," Tawney noted.

Next week, Chapter 137 - The Battle Begins!

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 safe, stay healthy, and stay classy!