Eve, Celeste, and D'art sprinted through the trees, following the two members of Humanity. The forest was dense. It covered the ground in shadows, shifting in the slight breeze. They jumped over a long log and whipped past branches, breathless, until they finally reached a small clearing. A loud snap echoed throughout the trees. Eve, D'art, and Celeste stood back to back, panting as they observed the dense woods around them.

"Did they continue running?" D'art asked, taking a few deep breaths.

"No," Eve replied. Her hand tightened on her whip, "They're here." The three desperately scanned through their surroundings, searching for shadows, movement, anything. Celeste cracked her neck and lowered into a fighting position, her fists in front of her. D'art charged his tomahawks with electricity and Eve unraveled the remains of her chain, letting it fall to the ground. There was silence. Softly, one could hear the melodic chirping of a bird nearby, unaware of the chaos about to transpire. Suddenly, they felt a faint rumble beneath their feet.

"Move!" D'art yelled. The three broke apart in separate directions as a spear of rock split the ground, emerging from it like a pillar. A woman burst out of the treeline. Her hands brushed the ground before she made a sweeping gesture towards them. Dozens of earth shards formed from her fingertips like bullets. They spun like drills before honing on the three. With a grunt, Eve threw her chain into the air and brought it down onto the rain of shards, demolishing a few of them before she whipped it again, destroying the rest. D'art and Celeste sprinted past her. Celeste dodged a kick before slashing at her opponent who grabbed her arm and flipped her onto the ground. The woman quickly formed two swords made from rock and countered a strike from D'art. Electricity surged through his weapon, instantaneously shocking her and forcing her to stumble back. She looked down in surprise as a chain wiped around her foot, yanking her to the ground.

But before Eve could reel her in, a man ran in front of them. A large wave of fire burst from his weapon. Eve, Celeste, and D'art all cried out as flames licked the ground around them. The trees began to burn as branches fell to the ground. Taking the opportunity of surprise, the woman yanked her foot away and fell back, disappearing into the flames.

"Regroup!" Celeste shouted. D'art and Eve obliged.

"He has a flamethrower?" D'art snapped, irritated as he wiped sweat off his forehead. "Really!?"

"These two were at the faunus rally." Celeste snapped as her eyes scanned her surroundings. The clearing was now almost completely engulfed in flames, and their opponents couldn't be seen.

"The one guy has a flamethrower and the woman can use her surroundings to fight."

"Well I'm glad I missed this." D'art muttered.

"We should get out of here." Celeste muttered. She covered her mouth with her sleeve. "The whole forest is going to burn down at this rate."

"I recognize them." Eve whispered. Her teammates glanced at her. "From Humanity." She clarified quickly. "His name was Damon."

"So you do remember?" The three froze as they heard an unfamiliar voice. They looked around them, but all they could see were flames. "That was years ago I'm surprised." Suddenly, the fire extinguished, almost immediately, as if a bucket of water had suddenly been poured onto it. With the flames gone, the three could see clearly. They stiffened as they saw the man standing merely a few feet in front of them, smiling. His outstretched hand slowly closed, making the last of the flames flicker and die.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away there. I forgot this was a stealth mission." He said slowly. His eyes slid to Eve's whose were wide with recognition. "Yes I remember you. You were the girl who walked around like she owned the place. I remember you and your friend…Yukina was it?" Eve froze. "I can clearly recall the day you two made me look like a fool." He snarled. "But things are different now. Those years you spent sniveling like a child after running away, are years that I've used to grow stronger. And now I can finally have the vengeance I-" He was cut off as Celeste made an attempt to slash him. But before she could do so, he grabbed her arm and looked at her as she struggled to break free."How rude. Cutting a person off as they're speaking. Have you no manners?"

"Shut the hell up." Celeste snarled. She grabbed his arm and lifted herself up before kicking him in the chest with both of her feet, sending him stumbling backwards. "Don't talk to Eve like that." Celeste hissed as she recovered. "I don't care what kind of history you two share but you can take that vengeance you're talking about and shove it up your-"

"Celeste!" D'art yelled. "Don't get carried away. It's a diversion, the other girl is gone." Celeste's eyes widened. He was right. The woman was gone. Eve seemed to realize the situation and blinked several times. The man chuckled.

"Reina is long gone by now," He said as he grabbed his flamethrower off of his back and aimed it at them. "As for you three-" He was cut off once again as his eyes went wide. His weapon fell from his hands and landed onto the ground with a thud. Celeste, Eve, and D'art watched him, confused as he began to tremble. Slowly, he placed his hands over his ears and began to scream. The three froze, appalled as his screams increased in volume and terror until he was huddled on the ground, trembling.

"MAKE IT STOP!" He begged, his eyes bulging out of his sockets. He reached for them, shaking uncontrollably as his hand desperately clawing the air. D'art took a few steps back.

"What's going on?" Celeste demanded, panicked. Eve looked at the man, her eyes widening. Then she moved her gaze to her friends.

"It's...Yuki-" Before she could finish, a pink haired girl emerged from the underbrush, her blue eyes locked with the man's as she observed him with a pitiless expression. "-na…" Eve finished softly. Celeste immediately froze upon seeing her. Yukina looked away from the man and towards the others present, her eyes sliding to Eve's before staying there. As she did the man writhed on the ground silently.

"Guys, we have to go before Reina disappears completely." D'art said quickly, he glanced at the prone man and then at his friends. Eve was silent.

"Eve!" D'art shook his friend. The raven haired girl broke out of her trance and looked away.

Yukina stared at Eve for a few more seconds before turning and forcibly stomping on the arm of the man, driving it into the dirt. A sickening crack rang out through the clearing. The man continued to writhe in pain. No one could tell if it was from Yukina's semblance or his broken arm.

"Let's go. Now." D'art hissed, on edge.

"We can't leave," Eve whispered. "She'll kill him if we do." The man seemed to have come to his senses and was trying to crawl away.

Hearing Eve speak Yukina turned, "So now you care what happens to them?" She questioned, "When did that change?" Eve swallowed. Celeste stepped between the two with a determined expression.

"Go," She said. "I'll make sure she doesn't kill him." Yukina turned away in disinterest and started walking after the man.

"But Celeste-" Eve was cut off as Celeste glared at her.

"Hurry up and go before I make you."

"Celeste is right, let's go." D'art grabbed Eve's arm and yanked her backwards. Eve took one last glance at Yukina before turning around and following D'art into the forest.


The partners sprinted through the woods, ducking past branches and jumping over logs. They followed the unreliable path of broken sticks and twigs, hoping to find the other faunus who had run away a mere few minutes ago. D'art glanced at Eve. She was pasty, as pale as a ghost, with bags under her eyes and chapped lips. She looked like she was in pain.

"She'll be fine," D'art reassured, panting. "Celeste has always been a strong fighter." Eve was silent. She merely continued to sprint. "Don't you believe in her?" D'art questioned. Eve looked away.

"I do. It's just-" She broke off suddenly and stopped in her tracks. D'art also stopped, nearly tripping over a log before glancing back at his partner.

"What's wrong?" Eve's blue eye was locked on something past him. Her lips parted. D'art followed her gaze and froze. The faunus woman lay on the ground, still. Her white face was almost completely buried into the ground. But they could see one soulless, black eye that peered at them eerily from underneath the strands of her purple hair. D'art stifled a gasp. The shoulder of the dress she wore was ripped open, revealing the unmistakable tattoo of Humanity printed on her shoulder. Blood stained the leaves around her, making them a deep crimson. It was almost beautiful. If one could ignore the body in the middle of it. Her hand was a claw, buried in the leaves, as if she was reaching out for something. Or someone.

"Wha-what happened to her?" D'art stammered. Eve took a few steps towards the corpse.

"Yukina. She must have reached her while we were talking to Damon." Eve gingerly knelt beside her. "There's a claw mark on her back. I'm guessing we got rid of most of her aura during our fight, allowing Yukina to instantly kill her after she ran. She probably didn't even know what hit her." Eve's fingers hesitated before gently brushing aside her purple hair and closing her open eye.

"Well at least she didn't get too far," D'art whispered. "But still, this is awful." Eve stayed silent. D'art looked away from the body, feeling sick to the stomach. "That girl, Yukina. She kills so...viciously. Like an animal. I don't understand it. How could you be friends with her?" Eve didn't reply. Silence filled the air. And then, they heard the gentle, innocent chirping of a bird. It flew down from its tree and landed a few feet away from them, hopping a little. It sang so happily, unaware of the blood, the horror in front of it. Eve's eye lingered on it before flicking down to the woman.

"You know, I didn't hate her." Eve said finally.

"Wait what?"

"This woman." Eve said, still looking at the corpse. "I didn't hate her."

"What are you talking about?" D'art questioned.

"I remember her from Humanity as well. I only spoke to her once but she was nice to me. Or at least, nicer than most of the people there. We sat at the same table when we ate, back then. We wouldn't say anything. We'd just eat. Everyday. Without exchanging a word. And then one day, she dropped her spoon and I picked it up for her. And then she thanked me." Eve smiled a little. "That was it. That's the only thing she ever said to me. And a few days later she stopped sitting at my table and I never saw her again." D'art walked over to his partner and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Eve looked up at him and then smiled a little. He could see the trace of sadness in her eye. "Kind of sad, isn't it? That I would remember such a pointless exchange."

"I think it's nice," D'art admitted. "Sometimes it's the small things that count." The two exchanged another smile before they heard an ear splitting scream. With a panicked squawk, the bird that was resting on the branch flew away hurriedly. Eve abruptly stood up, the warmth leaving her eye as it was replaced with panic. D'art spun around. "Celeste," He whispered.

Fifteen Minutes Earlier

Owen, Olive, Riliane and Amelia dashed through the forest, chasing after the two shadows in front of them. A branch harmlessly scratched Owen's cheek as he activated his semblance. With the open telepathic gate, Riliane issued orders.

"Olive, cut them off. If you teleport in front of them you can give us enough time to catch up."

"Got it," Olive nodded and stopped running. She watched her teammates continue through the forest and took a deep breath before releasing it. Her eyes flicked up to the sky and narrowed in concentration.

The other three continued to sprint forward. Riliane nearly tripped over another log before Amelia gripped her arm and yanked her forward. Even with the pounding footsteps, it was difficult for the blonde to properly navigate the forest. She grabbed three arrows from her quiver before placing them on her bow.

"Amelia, you and Owen will execute a pincer attack and hit them from the sides while Olive distracts them. I'll back you all up."

"Alright."

"Will do."

Olive teleported into the air. She grabbed a tree branch with her free hand and swung off before diving towards the members of Humanity below her. One looked up, his eyes widening before he barely blocked her attack by holding up his spear with both hands. Olive's wakizashi clashed into his weapon as Olive landed on top of him, sword in front of her. She placed her feet on the spear and executed a backflip, instantaneously teleporting behind them and moving to strike. But before she could do so, a short woman appeared in front of her and kicked her in the chest, sending Olive flying backwards into a tree. The woman quickly pulled out a katana and snarled at her before Amelia burst through the treeline.

The scarf around her neck wrapped around the woman's ankle, throwing her onto the ground like a toy. Owen sprinted out across from them, spear in hand, as he kicked the man's side and slashed at his arm. The two of members of Humanity barely had time to recover before arrows flew through the air. The man dodged them but the woman was not so lucky. An arrow stabbed her arm making her cry out. She yanked it out and threw it onto the ground, breaking it in half as the wound healed itself. The man straightened up and looked at them calmly.

"Well, well, well," He tightened the tie he wore, placing the butt of his spear in the ground. "For a team of teenagers you're all quite coordinated. And yet, I didn't hear a single word spoken between any of you. So how'd you do all that, hm?" The woman next to him seemed to frown slightly. Her amber eyes narrowed. His question was left unanswered as Owen, Olive, Amelia, and Riliane took battle positions around their opponents, their faces filled with seriousness. The man's bright green eyes flicked between all of them before resting on Owen who swallowed nervously. Then his eyes slid to his wolf tail, "A faunus I see." Owen's grip tightened on his glaive.

"What about it?"

"And a fellow polearm wielder," He added thoughtfully.

Olive took the time to carefully observe the two members-something she hadn't had time for before. The man was tall and unarguably handsome. He had sharp cheekbones and black hair that acted as a stark contrast for his piercing green eyes. He wore a military-esque getup with several gold pins that gleamed on his chest next to his black tie. The spear in his hand was beautiful. A decorative silver snake spiraled around the long handle with a large neon green blade stemming from it's open mouth. She could see it's long silver fangs even from where she was standing. The man's bright green eyes slid to hers and narrowed. The woman beside her was quite short but exceedingly beautiful as well. She had short black hair that curled slightly and a pale face that made her red lips stand out even more. Her amber eyes were shadowed by long, black lashes that brushed her cheeks when she blinked. She wore a elegant green kimono that was cut above her thighs, tied by a violet ribbon that hung beside her legs. Olive could spot three weapons on her. One was in her hands, a katana. And then two more; a wakawazhi similar to her own, and a small tanto that was strapped to her thigh.

"I recognize these two," The blonde said confidently. "Eve told us about them." Amelia and Owen glanced at her, surprised. "Vincent," Olive added, glancing at the man before shifting her gaze to the woman, "And Jade."

"Correct," Vincent replied respectfully. Jade frowned more, not liking the sound of her name being uttered by an enemy.

"Let's hurry up and kill them," Jade said softly. Her voice was calm but cold, like a winter evening. Her amber eyes flicked to Vincent's and then back at them. "We're wasting time."

"You're quite right Jade. Though, it's a shame that we can't stick around; I'd rather like to hear how our dear Evelyn has been doing."

"How fortunate you won't be leaving here then," Olive said sharply. She disappeared and reappeared behind Vincent before swinging her sword towards him. But he easily dodged to the side. After taking a quick step back, he grabbed his spear out of the ground swiftly, spinning it in his hands before slashing at her. She moved her head to the side, watching the spear as it slid past her and then disappeared once again, switching her target.

Owen and Amelia ran at the two members while Riliane lodged three arrows on her bow once again. Jade ducked past their attacks and parried a blow from Amelia before looking back, her eyes widening as she saw the blade of Olive's wakizashi about to slice her stomach. It was mere centimeters from her before the woman activated her semblance. The blade ripped through her green kimono like paper before it clanged against her skin, making a loud hollow sound. The blonde blinked, surprised, as Jade spun around and thrust her katana forward, aiming for her chest. Olive, who was still caught off guard quickly retracted her blade, holding it up so the katana slid past it's edge towards her arm. It deflected against her aura. The blonde teleported behind her opponent and made a large swipe, once again striking what felt like metal, as her wakizashi sliced through Jade's back.

"What is that?" Olive asked Amelia as she teleported beside her. Amelia's eyes narrowed as Jade straightened and observed them camly. Her amber eyes narrowed.

"Her semblance. I'm guessing she can cover parts of her skin in armor. Or thick skin," Amelia observed.

Olive nodded, "Then even without aura… Blade damage is meaningless.."

Amelia nodded. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an earth crystal. Her eyes didn't leave Jade as the tendrils of her scarf reached for it, absorbing its contents and becoming rock hard, "Let's go."

Owen tilted his head to the side as the neon blade whizzed through the air, only a few centimeters beside his ear. He saw the individual strands of his hair get cut off. Owen stumbled back and dug his heel into the ground, tightening his grip on his glaive. Vincent gently tapped his spear on the ground. At first nothing happened. But then the large plasma blade seemed to move. It twisted and turned as it grew longer and sharper, the color of it turning from a bright green to an electric blue. Owen could see the energy pulmunating from it and swallowed nervously. He could hear the furious humming even from where he stood. Then Vincent lowered his stance and raised an eyebrow, waiting for him. Owen took a deep breath and activated his semblance.

It was extremely hazy. Vincent's thoughts weren't necessarily blocked off, but they were well contained. It was as if each of them were stored in their own compartment, only getting let out when their owner wanted them to. Owen immediately stopped, not wanting to give away his one trump card. He could only use his semblance once on him, and after that it wouldn't work at all. His opponent clearly had an excellent control over their thoughts and the only thing allowing Owen to see them at all was the fact that Vincent had no idea what his semblance was.

Sweat dripped down Owen's neck as he released a breath. Then he sprinted forward and spun his glaive in his hands before thrusting it forward. His opponent casually deflected the attack and made an attempt to slash at him. Owen leaned back. He saw the blue blade swing past his eyes as it made a loud hum. Then he attacked once more. It continued on like that. Swing parried by swing, thrust deflected by parry. Vincent's eyes narrowed as he picked up the speed. His spear seemed to fly across his hands at a speed that seemed to be inhuman, it flipped through his fingers with ease as he switched between striking and blocking. Owen was out of breath, barely able to keep up with the pase. He took a few shaking steps backwards as every parry he made became weaker and weaker, until he swung against Vincent's spear so feebly that his opponent was able to overpower him. Vincent grinned and kicked Owen backwards, making the boy fall against a tree. Vincent quickly followed up on his attack and grabbed his spear with both hands, pressing his opponent against the bark. Owen coughed as the metal slammed against his throat. His hands clamped around it and weakly tried to push it away but Vincent forced it closer and leaned in, his eyes enjoying the sight of his spear crushing his windpipe. Owen choked and attempted to push back, but it was fruitless.

"This was nice and all," Vincent said calmly, "But you should really know when you're in over your head. Jade and I have years of experience that you and your friends could hardly match. Even with your little team attacks. And as for your semblance? It wasn't hard to figure out." Owen's eyes widened. "Telepathy right? Or something like that," Vincent hissed. Owen choked again, his face contorted in pain as he looked away. His arms shook, trying to push the spear away. Vincent didn't budge, "That's a nice little trick. But it's useless on opponents who can control what they think. You know that right?" Owen's face started to become red at the loss of oxygen. He tried to call out to his friends but the metal against his windpipe prevented him from saying anything. "If you can't adjust your limits to new opponents that you face, you'll never grow."

Only a few feet away from Vincent and Owen, were Amelia and Olive who were currently engaged in combat with Jade, unaware of their teammate's struggles. Amelia sprinted forward. Her scarf unwound more and swirled in the air, like another limb, before forming a fist and slamming down onto the ground. Jade dodged it and blocked a strike from Olive, stumbling back from the electric aftershock, nearly dropping her weapon. The blonde disappeared and reappeared behind her. Jade felt a strong kick to her back and fell forward with a grunt in time to see Amelia's scarf headed towards her stomach. It clanged against what felt like metal as it slammed into her ribs.

Jade grunted, spitting out blood before yanking out her tanto and sprinting towards Amelia. The raven haired woman easily dodged a punch and proceeded to barrage Amelia with a series of stabs and slices. Her foot connected with Amelia's chest as she executed a roundhouse kick and the girl fell into a tree with a loud thud. Amelia fell onto the ground and rolled onto her side, groaning softly. A crimson wave washed over her body, signifying her loss of aura as she struggled to stand up and then collapsed. Jade slowly pulled out her katana and rubbed the blood off of her chin. She looked at the blonde calmly.

Olive grit her teeth. She teleported behind Jade and then again, and again, confusing her opponent until Jade understood the wind was her tell and could predict her position and thrust her blade forward. It cut past Olive's waist, making her stumble slightly before the blonde teleported above Jade and swung her wakizashi down. Jade parried it but she had no counter for the electrical after image of the blade and she was thrown off. Olive took the opportunity and sprinted towards her opponent, swinging her wakizashi. The blade ripped through another part of the kimono but once again, clanged against her skin. Jade parried another strike and then another before dodging a swipe and kicking Olive's legs from under her.

The blonde fell onto the ground and rolled to her right just before a katana viciously impaled the earth where she had been laying. Olive glanced at it and swallowed as she quickly stood up and teleported behind her opponent. But Jade was used to her movements. She easily spun around and swung her katana, slicing through Olive's arm. The blonde grunted and took a few steps panting heavily. The wound on her arm healed quickly.

Jade stared at her, silent, before sheathing her katana and bringing out a wakizashi. She cried out and stumbled forward as an arrow impaled her thigh. Jade looked her leg and then at the blonde archer who was already notching another string on her bow.

"Don't worry about me!" Olive called out. "Help Owen!" Olive sprinted forward and Jade's head snapped back towards her. The black haired woman quickly pulled out the arrow in her thigh and threw it to the side before she parried a strike. Olive proceeded to swing her wakizashi once more, as Jade did the same thing. Their blades clashed together. The metal screeched loudly as they struggled back and forth.

Riliane took a deep, shaky breath and nodded before searching for Owen who was pinned up against the tree, struggling against Vincent.

"You can do this," She whispered to herself. She carefully grabbed three arrows and notched them on her bow before pulling it back to her cheek and releasing a breath.

Owen was losing his strength. His eyelids fluttered shut and his arms trembled. Vincent continued to speak calmly, "But you can die at ease, knowing that you-" Vincent was cut off as he grunted in pain. Slowly, he looked over his shoulder, eyes widening as he saw the three arrows in his back. His green eyes slid to Riliane before narrowing. Taking advantage of the distraction, Owen used the last of his strength to kick Vincent away, gasping as the spear left his throat. He fell onto the ground and massaged his throat with his hand, coughing uncontrollably. Silent, Vincent yanked the arrows out of his back. He let them fall onto the ground before his foot snapped them.

"Attacking while your opponent has their back to you?" He questioned calmly. "And I thought they taught you about morality at that academy."

"They do," Riliane replied adamantly. Her grey eyes narrowed and she tried to hide her shaking hands, "But I would put them aside without a second thought to help a friend." She glanced at Owen who was still on the ground, "Sorry Owen. I was busy helping Amelia and Olive." Owen waved at her dismissively.

"I'll make you regret that," Vincent hissed as he sprinted towards her. Riliane's body tensed as she notched an arrow and fired. Vincent dodged it. Riliane grit her teeth and notched three more, holding her bow diagonally before releasing the string. The arrows flew straight and true but her opponent rolled onto the ground and they went right over him. Then he slashed at her. The spear was just long enough to scrape her arm and she stumbled backwards. But Vincent didn't give her any time to recover, he quickly sliced at her once more. Riliane dove out of the way and the plasma spear sliced through the ground effortlessly, creating a narrow crevice. She sprinted away before quickly shooting another arrow and transforming her bow into her staff. The arrow skidded off of his arm, completely ignored as he sprinted after her. Within seconds, he was able to grab her and lift her by the throat. Riliane choked a little before slamming her feet into his face. Vincent hissed and threw her onto the ground. Her staff fell out of her hand. Riliane looked around and raked the ground for her weapon, unaware that he was about to slice her in half.

But then an ear splitting scream echoed throughout the forest. Everyone froze, even Vincent who stopped mid swing and looked up. He frowned and looked back at Jade who was still engaged in combat with Olive.

"Jade." He commanded. "Enough." The two broke apart reluctantly, their weapons falling by their sides. Jade looked at him in surprise. "It's over. There's no doubt they heard that. Our cover is blown." Frustration passed over her face.

"Shouldn't we finish this?" She questioned. "They'll only get in the way later."

"They are finished," He said, gesturing to the students. "I don't like causing unnecessary bloodshed. It's not worth my time." Jade's amber eyes narrowed but she sheathed her weapon and curtly nodded. Olive blinked, looking between the two of them. Vincent's eyes slid to Riliane who was frozen.

"Celeste," She whispered. She recognized the voice quite well. Panic flooded her mind and she no longer cared about the spear that was a mere five inches from her skull. Vincent withdrew and sheathed his spear onto his back. He glanced at Owen who was still on the ground and then gestured to Jade. And then the two sprinted off into the forest. Olive was about to dash towards them but Owen stopped her with a meek croak.

"Olive...we can't afford to chase after them..." He gasped. Olive looked around her, exhausted. Amelia lay on the ground. Owen was keeling and rubbing his throat. He let out a sigh. And although Riliane didn't look beat up, she was frozen.

"But...they're going to get away," Olive gritted her teeth. She took a few steps forward before her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the ground. Her arms felt heavy-like metal weights. She clutched the leaves on the ground with her fingers. "Celeste," She whispered. "Someone...help Celeste."

Riliane shakily stood, leaning against the tree. She grabbed her staff and then looked at her friends worriedly. Owen looked up at her.

"Go," He strained, "Hurry." The blonde nodded and sprinted off in the direction that she had heard the scream. Owen watched her go and then let himself fall onto the ground completely, exhausted.

"Is Amelia okay?" He asked meekly. Olive glanced at Amelia who was unconscious. Her chest rose and fell slowly.

"She's okay." Olive replied. Owen let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God."

"Are you okay Owen?" Olive questioned weakly.

"I've been better," He complained. He leaned back and looked at the sky. "Actually, I learned something today," He whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," He closed his eyes, remembering the words Vincent told him. If you can't adjust your limits to new opponents that you face, you'll never grow. "I guess I never thought about it." Owen croaked weakly. "I just assumed that I could break through all mental barriers eventually with my semblance-that my raw ability with it would be enough. I never thought that I should practice it, or make it better because it almost always works perfectly. But he's right." Owen added softly. "If I can't make my semblance better I can't grow. If I can't find new ways to use it, I'll just be hindered by it." He tilted his head so his ear rested against the earth and let out a sigh.

Olive clenched her fist and trembled slightly, filled with frustration at her inability to chase after them, to help Celeste, or to do anything for that matter. She made another attempt to stand up but her legs shook and she collapsed on the ground once more. Eventually, she also closed her eyes, letting the aching wave of exhaustion take over her completely.


Following the sound of the scream, Riliane quickly arrived at its source. In the quiet clearing her semblance only illuminated a curled up Celeste, now whimpering to herself. Approaching carefully Riliane spoke, "Celeste? Are you al-" she was cut off abruptly as she tripped over something and landed in a puddle. The smell of iron was strong as she realized what she had fallen into and backed away from it and the prone mass next to it. Shaken, she continued approaching Celeste, "I-its Riliane, what's wrong?"

As she tried to comfort Celeste a voice quietly spoke out from behind her, "I can't see through you…" Riliane jumped and pointed her weapon towards the voice, "Yet you don't see me either… what a strange group of friends Eve has made."

"W-what do you want?" Riliane questioned, unsure why the person had not yet attacked.

The figure walked closer, the crinkling of leaves affecting Riliane's semblance and alerting her to the large pieces of metal running up the person's arms. "What is she to you?"

"What?"

"She fears losing you… and you came rushing to her aid… Why?"

Riliane was confused by the person's questions, "I… I don't know." In her confusion she hadn't noticed how close the figure had gotten before they leapt forward and yanked her weapon out of her hand sending her tumbling to the ground.

The figured tossed the weapon to the side before walking to a nearby tree and sitting down, "Did you win?"

Riliane backed away towards the still cowering Celeste, "Th-they fled."

The figure sighed, "Of course they did… they can't run forever though…" After that the conversation fell to silence. Riliane cautiously tried to comfort Celeste hoping the others would arrive soon.

Within a few minutes, Eve and D'art burst through the treeline. D'art flinched at the corpse on the ground but Eve seemed unsurprised. The two saw Yukina lying against the tree. She glanced at them silently. D'art froze but Eve grabbed him and tugged him forward. She ignored Yukina and hurried over to Celeste and Riliane who were huddled next to each other.

"What happened?" D'art questioned, breathless. "What's wrong with Celeste?"

"I don't know…" Riliane whispered. "I think it has something to do with her though." She timidly pointed across the forest at nothing. "Erm...the girl." They finally acknowledged the girl dressed in a dirty pink hoodie.

Eve's eye narrowed. "What did you do?" She demanded. "What did you do to her?"

"She got in my way," Yukina calmly replied. After a pause she continued quietly, "I didn't mean to." There was silence once more.

"Why are you still here?" Eve questioned. Yukina offered no verbal reply, simply looking towards Riliane and Celeste and then back at Eve. "That doesn't answer my question." Eve said quietly. But she moved on. "How did you know this was happening? Why were you here?"

"You and your friends are quite easy to follow." Yukina replied. Eve's eye narrowed and she stood up and walked over to the pink haired girl who watched her come over.

"Come with me," Eve said to her. She glanced back at D'art who had a confused expression on his face, "I'll be right back." Yukina hesitated and then also stood, following the raven haired girl into the forest.

"But-" D'art reached towards her but the two were gone. With a sigh, he glanced at Celeste who was still huddled and then a bewildered Riliane who was looking back and forth. He let out a sigh.


They wandered into the brush for a few feet and then Eve stopped abruptly and crossed her arms. Shadows from the leaves above fell across her face as she observed Yukina.

"Have you just been following us now?" She questioned finally.

"Something like that," Yukina stated.

Eve frowned, "Why?" Yukina stayed silent and looked away.

"Yukina, answer me. Please," Eve added quietly. Yukina looked up at her and then away quickly.

"I don't even know if I know myself."

The raven haired girl sighed, "Were you always so vague with your answers?" Yukina shrugged slowly. The two were silent once more before. "Alright. If that's all you're going to say then I'm just going to leave." She turned around and then stopped. "I'm still not entirely sure if you intentionally hurt Celeste or not, but I want you to know that if you touch her again I won't forgive you." A flash of hurt passed over Yukina's face as Eve began to walk back towards the others.

"Why do you stay with them?" Yukina asked suddenly.

"What?" Eve stopped and looked back at her, "With my friends?"

Yukina frowned at the word "friends" but nodded, "You're just dragging them into danger, you know what Humanity is like…" Eve looked down sadly and then back at her.

"Yes, I know. I know that very well," She paused, "I stay with them because I am selfish. But also because I am a different person, a better person around them." Eve added softly.

"Are they really that important to you?"

"Well at first I didn't think that much of them. I thought they were obnoxious and loud, and didn't understand how to work together and cooperate. But overtime I realized that it didn't matter. I grew to enjoy listening to their conversations and bickering. I grew to treasure the little things, as silly as that might sound to you."

"And yet I was nothing to you."

Eve shook her head slowly, "That's not true at all. Do you think I wanted to leave you? Do you think that I didn't try to bring you with? That I didn't tear myself apart from the guilt? How were you nothing to me, if you were all I could think about for the next several years of my life?" Her voice rose. "Even now, I can't go a day without thinking about you. Even after I tried to push you out of my head because sometimes the guilt became so terrible I couldn't bear doing anything at all!"

"And that makes it ok? Because you regret it?" Yukina snapped back. "Do you even understand what happened when you left? Do you even know what it is you supposedly regret? Do you know how I found out that you had left?" With every question Yukina's voice grew angrier. "I found out when they dragged me from my bed demanding to know where you went, and as they beat me the one and only thing I could think was that there was no way the one person I cared about would have left me." Eve stared at her silently. Her fists clenched and unclenched and she looked down.

"Nothing about what I did was okay." She whispered. Her voice cracked. "And I don't deserve to be forgiven. I don't even forgive myself. And I probably never will. When I left you I left a part of me too. I left our memories and I know that you are what you are today because of me." She broke off and looked away. "I-I don't know what to say. I can't say anything that can make up for it. All I can do is...apologize."

Yukina stared silently for a minute before continuing, "Its driving me mad… Everytime I see you I want to tear you to pieces… just like the rest of them… things would be quiet… the pain would be over… but at the same time." Yukina took a step forward, "You could come with me… We could finish them together… … …maybe then," She abruptly took a step back, mumbling to herself, and looked away from Eve who blinked.

"Come...with you? But I thought you hated me. Why would you...why would you want to be with me if it causes you so much pain?"

Yukina laughed unexpectedly, "Hate is the only non painful thing I have… it'd be so much easier if I could just hate…" Her last words did not seem to be directed towards Eve.

"Hate is a simple way out," Eve replied softly. "Hating someone is easy to do, but it won't provide anything meaningful in the long run. All it'll give you is spite." She shook her head. "I can't tell you what to do Yukina, I don't have that right. But loving is easy too. It can be painful sometimes, but when you love someone it happens effortlessly. Maybe...maybe that's what you need."

"If only it were that simple." Yukina backed away and it seemed like she was going to leave but she stopped once again. "Eve...do you still wonder what kind of Faunus you are?"

Eve blinked. "What?" She was silent for a little. "I...I guess?"

Yukina slowly replied, "I saw the files when I… escaped," the word "escaped" seemed forced, "...You are a fox."

"Oh," Eve said softly. "I see."

"Nothing about our parents in there though… not that it matters." Eve nodded sadly.

"I gave up the search for my parents years ago."

"I never bothered… Can't imagine they care anymore." Yukina started to walk away but called back one last time, "I didn't see that rabbit kid with y'all, probably best he wasn't here. Doesn't seem to have the stomach for it… When you see him though, tell him thanks for the meal again… and that I'm sorry I couldn't do what he asked." Yukina continued forward. Eve's eyes widened when she realized who she was talking about. She opened her mouth to say something but it was too late. Yukina was gone.

Eve hurried back to her friends. They were almost exactly where she had left them, but now Owen, Amelia and Olive sat next to the others. They looked fairly beaten up. Amelia had a giant bruise on her cheek and Owen had a red line across his neck while Olive had dirt all over her clothes. They looked up at her and smiled tiredly. Eve blinked, "Are you guys okay?"

"Never been better," Owen said weakly. He waved at her tiredly. Eve knelt beside them and sighed, relieved.

"You guys didn't come back so I was getting worried."

"What happened to Celeste?" Olive asked quickly.

"It was Yukina." Eve clarified, "She...I don't know, she said it was an accident. But even so...she might have-"

"I don't think she meant ill harm." Riliane added quickly, "At least...not when I got here. I think she was...guarding us."

"Guarding?" Eve inquired. Riliane nodded.

"She disarmed me but then she just sat there, saying nothing. I think she was making sure we were alright." Eve blinked and then looked down.

"So that's why she didn't say anything…" She whispered.

"I'm just glad everyone's alright," D'art said loudly as he let out a sigh. "I honestly didn't know what was going to happen."

"Meh, just a few cuts and bruises here and there," Owen shrugged. "Other than that, in perfect condition."

"You were nearly suffocated," Olive pointed out.

"What?!" A bewildered Eve and D'art asked simultaneously. Owen

laughed sheepishly and then clutched his throat and grimaced.

"Like I said, just a few cuts and bruises."

"You're crazy." D'art said with a shake of his head. "But I'm glad everything's okay now." There was silence. Everyone knew that it wasn't okay. The lingering feeling of dread still hung in the air. The knowledge that it wasn't over. The injuries on everyone was a relentless reminder. But eventually they got up and made their way out of the forest, exchanging their tales of battle and bravado.


After being reassured that Celeste was alright, the girls of team ROXA returned to their dorm, the tension from their encounter with Humanity and Yukina was still weighing heavily on everyone. Riliane closed the door behind her, "I can't wait any longer." She turned to face where she figured Xanthic was, "We need to talk."

"Wha-what about?" His voice helped correct her angle.

"Well… I do want to say I'm sorry about before. I know it wasn't your fault, I just… I really hate keeping secrets. Like, I can understand why you would need to sometimes, but-" She sighed to stop herself. "I'm sorry."

"N-no, you… You're fine I- I-it's my fault, really."

"It's not though, you never give yourself enough credit for how kind you are."

"Pl-please don't say that…" She could tell that he turned away from her.

"But it's true, you're a great guy and even though the secrets hurt they aren't the biggest problem... It's just… well uh..."

"What..?"

Riliane took a deep breath before continuing, "I need to talk to Nivens about it." After a short pause she added quietly, "Somewhere private preferably."

"Oh u-um…" He started mumbling, clearly towards his counterpart. "A-are you sure? I… I mean you- B-but…" With a sigh Xanthic agreed.

"Somewhere private?" Nivens repeated, she could tell just from his tone that he was smirking. "Sure, Lainey, lead the way."

She cringed at his typical mocking nature, but made herself calm down. "Let's go to the roof then."

When they exited to the top of the building Riliane turned to hopefully be facing her partner again. "So what do you want?" He asked in what she thought to be an overly relaxed manor.

"What do you have against being on this team?"

"Eh, guess I just wanna be a solo act."

"And what about Xanthic? Do you ever stop to think about what he wants?"

There was a long pause before a serious response came, "Are you an idiot? Of course I do."

"Really? Because it seems to me like all you want to do is cause trouble for him."

"And what would you know?" She heard a soft thud as he pushed off the door he had been leaning against.

"We are partners. I have seen plenty of times when you have only made things worse. All you try to do is antagonize and push everyone away from him," Riliane replied starting to get worked up again.

"He doesn't need any of your annoying pity. It's you people who will only make everything worse."

"Why do you think we would pity him? Xanthic is our friend and my partner, and friends help each other," Riliane stated adamantly, not realizing the phrasing of her words.

"Friend, partner or whatever, even if you were his wife I would still know him better. So you can just back off."

"No! I am the leader of this team and this is a problem that needs to be solved," she replied with a stamp of her foot. "Xanthic shouldn't have to keep making up for your actions!"

"And what actions are you talking about?" He leaned closer towards her with a clear challenge to his voice, "Do you mean when I tell the truth that you claim to love so much? Maybe that I attend most of his classes now so he doesn't feel sleep deprived? Or how I'm the one that has to explain everything because you just keep on pushing him past his breaking point?"

"I've only been trying to understand him so I can help. He clearly needs to be able to rely on someone other than you!" Riliane shouted back releasing all her pent up anger at Nivens.

"All you do is push and push! Over and over again! How much of it do you think he can take?"

"He gets so stressed out because you keep manipulating him into not trusting us!"

"Why should he trust you!? When I actually gave you a chance you failed miserably."

"One mistake isn't a reason to force everyone away!"

"One or one hundred doesn't matter. All that happened was you proved I'm the only person he can actually trust."

"The only person he can trust? You're not even a real person!" Riliane froze as she realized what she had said. She could barely sense as her partner's fist's tightened and his whole body began to shake

"What..? You… What's wrong with…" Nivens suddenly yelled out and reached up to punch Riliane. Sensing the movement she stumbled over from the surprise but he still made certain his words stung like knives, "Maybe I wasn't born, but I'd say that's far better than to have been born wrong. I doubt somebody as naturally incompetent as you could even begin to understand the first thing about either of us. Afterall, you're just some pathetic blind girl who literally stumbled her way into Beacon. So what do you think gives you the fucking right to judge me? If somebody like you has the right to live, then why the hell don't I!?" His final words echoed across the whole campus. Nivens' deep breathing was jagged as he attempted to calm himself down, not caring about the tears in the girl's grey eyes. He quietly repeated himself, "Why is it wrong for me to be alive too..?"

Wiping away her tears Riliane quietly spoke, "I… I didn't mean that…."

"People don't say things unless they mean it at least a little," He argued back. Riliane's only reply was silence. "What, you don't want to preach at me anymore? I thought you were supposed to know everything now. Well? Say something!"

"I just… I'm sorry, I-"
"No you're not. You just want to keep up your facade of being so kind-hearted and sweet, too cowardly to admit-" Nivens groaned in pain and stumbled. "Why not!? She-" He growled, "You're taking her side in this!? You would be rotting in pieces in Who Knows Where, Anima if it wasn't for me! So why!? Why am I the villain here..?"

The boy's legs gave out and he fell to his knees. Riliane hesitated in calling out to him, "Ni-nivens? Are you alright..? I… I'm sorry, I really didn't mean what I said and I definitely didn't mean it like that."

He wasn't listening to her and cried out in pain, "D-d-don't leave me… Pl-please… I… I'm s-s-sorry! Please… I-I need you… You promi-missed…"

"Xanthic..?" Rilliane kneeled down and pulled her partner into a hug. He stiffened at her touch, but otherwise didn't resist. She felt his tears soak through her shirt, how long had he been crying for? "I'm sorry."

"Let go…" Her partner mumbled. "I don't want you to touch me."

"Why not?" She asked, but complied regardless.

"Because there is only one person who's actually earned that privilege. Believe it or not, it is possible to earn my trust."

"Then how can I?"

Nivens stood up and she heard him brush dirt off of his pants. "Where would be the fun in just telling you?" He sighed and extended a hand to help her up. "Try looking at this a bit differently, I exist because Xanthic needs me to. It's literally my job to know what's best for him. So maybe you could stop trying to bust down our defenses and just knock on the door instead. Or did your parents not teach you proper manners after all?"

"They did, but you never open up." She accepted his help in standing.

"Would you, if there was just a sudden banging?"

"I…" He didn't let go of her hand.

"We have three more years ahead of us and I would like to avoid another scene like this. So what do you want in exchange for just letting me do my job?"

She had to think for a moment, "I only want you to at least try and be part of ROXA. For both of you to act like my partner."

"Hm… So all I have to do is try and be nicer?"

"I'd also like for you to actually talk to me about things."

"You know that part is more difficult," Nivens sighed. "But if that's what it takes to avoid getting these migraines, then fine." He shook her hand, "You have a deal Riliane."

"Really?" She asked, "Just like that?"

"I'd rather not be suffering here for three years, cause then I might as well of stayed home. So I'll try and deal with your terms. Just know that you're on a very thin rope now."

"It can't be that much worse than before, right?" She laughed nervously.

"You'd be surprised," Nivens said and opened the door for her. He was surprised to see Eve reaching for the handle. "Hm? What do you-" He remembered the promise he had just made and put on a very fake smile, "Oh whatever could it be that brought about this most fortuitous encounter?"

"What..?" Eve completely lost her train of thought.

"Nivens," Riliane scolded.

"Fine, fine. What do you want, Eve?" He slouched back.

"Something's been bothering me," Nivens was clearly biting his tongue, "And I need to talk to you about it."

"Oo, guess I'm popular today. And I'm assuming since you came all the way up here to look for me, you wanna talk in private too?" Eve ignored his snide remarks.

"I'd appreciate it." They all shifted so Eve could exit the building and nod at Riliane, "Sorry if I am interrupting something."

"No, don't worry about it," Riliane assured her. "We were actually just finished here. So I'll see you later." She closed the door after herself.

"So. You met Yukina?"

"Huh? I told you about the factory, didn't I?"

"After that."

"What do you… Oh, you ran into her again today?"

"Correct." Eve crossed her arms. "Why did you meet up with her Nivens? And more importantly, why didn't you say anything to me?"

"I had a hunch you'd be pissed about it, plus you never really asked." He shrugged then sighed, "Besides, I didn't meet up with her. Xanthic was doing an errand for Basil and we were unfortunate enough to run into her. Trust me, we both thought it'd be best to just run away, but she's unsurprisingly persistent."

"That doesn't change the fact that you should have said something," Eve said cooly. She took a deep breath and then sighed, "Well, were you two okay? What happened?"

"Some things were said and Xanthic managed to guilt trip himself into spending the day with her; she was hungry, so he bought her dinner and she said she didn't have a place to stay, so he paid for a hotel. There was a bit that got me worried, but despite her sadistic tendencies, she really is still just a child."

"I see," Eve paused, "Well… I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. I know she can be a little...too much at first. But thank you for accommodating her, I appreciate it. She's really not that bad once you get to know her."

"Seems like it, but really your thanks should be towards Xanthic. I honestly had to resist punching her the entire time. Child or not, I can't forgive her that easily for what she did to him…" Eve nodded.

"I understand. Mind if I talk to Xanthic quickly?"

"Give me a minute first," Nivens stepped back and closed his bright green eyes. "You okay for a conversation right now?"

"I-I…"

"I can always tell her no."

"N-n-no I… I can um…"

"We can talk about that later. Right now something else is happening."

"B-but you-"

"I never lie to you, and I promised before not to leave before you can really call somewhere home."

"Thank you…" He opened his eyes to reveal their deep blue color, "What um… What did you wanna talk about..?"

"Well...I wanted to apologize for the trouble Yukina caused you. And also thank you for being so polite to her, even if you didn't want to. She's not used to being treated so well, so I'm sure that was...different for her."

"Oh, um, do-don't worry about it. I was j-just doing wh-what my mom taught me to…"

Eve smiled a little. "You must have a wonderful mother."

Xanthic smiled in return, Eve thought it must have been one of the only genuine smiles she's seen from him, "She's amazing…"

"I'm sure… I was never able to experience that kind of love," She added softly before clearing her throat, "Anyways, I'm sorry for taking up your time but I should be going now." She gave him a little wave. "Goodnight Xanthic."

"G-Goodnight." After saying goodbye, the two made their way back to their dorms. After a few words were exchanged, the teens quickly fell asleep, exhausted from the strenuous day.