Chapter 17 (S875)

The shock of committing to the sparring tournament wore off as the matter was discussed. Though sparring was hardly the same as killing Grimm, it was of significantly greater difficulty, which appealed greatly to Rin and Azure. If they could defeat a sentient, intelligent, human on equal terms in combat, then they could outsmart and outplay any Grimm they'd encounter in the future.

Almost as much of a surprise was the unexpected visit from Team HOPE at their dorm several days later. Even in their sleep, everyone was figuring out how they were going to tackle the problem of an army of Grimm.

Picton knew from the start that he was going to get dispatched to perform reconnaissance - It was what he did best. There was Patience, who probably could've done just as good as a job as he, but she had been wounded in their first encounter. Assuming Team DSPR took to the forest after class, he could slip out of class literally unnoticed and trail them to wherever they were hiding.

But considering that Patience had already compromised their position, they might expect to be trailed, and as a result hidden their army elsewhere. If that was the case, then he would have to perform an exhaustive search of the forest, which would easy with the use of Pulse. There wasn't a chance that anybody or anything could spot him in the midst of the forest. His feet were swift, his hands were steady, and more often than not, he was the last thing his enemies never saw.

Azure woke up at the mention of an Elementa in the middle of the conversation. At first he thought he'd been captured, since he didn't quite recognize Hope's voice. Rin's gaze put him to rest, but upon listening further, his interest peaked.

An army of Grimm including Elementas? That sounded like the perfect opportunity to have fun and have a chance at a round 2 against Elementas. Excitement simmered in his chest at the very thought of steamrolling through them with Rin. Sure, they'd be overwhelmed if other people didn't help, but if there were as many as Hope said there were, then there'd be plenty of Grimm to go around.

Rin was less than enthusiastic at the mention of an army. Worst-case, a brawl would break out with CAPR and HOPE on one side, and DSPR and an army on the other. It'd be awfully expensive to be suppressing an entire army, not to mention incredibly dangerous to do so. Unless someone on HOPE specialized in ranged attacks like she did, she'd end up being the one shooting down the Nevermores.

But how was she supposed to do that on top of being shot at by Elementas and whatever else tries to bum rush her? There was no way she could expect Azure to hold off that many Grimm. They'd have one shot at the battle ahead of them - If things went badly, retreat wasn't going to be easy.

Celeste was delighted by how receptive the rest of her team had been to Hope. Even Azure and Rin offered their insights, and seemed willing to help. More so Azure than Rin, but it was better than anything she'd been able to get out of them. Picton was the quietest of them, but he at least seemed to be paying attention.

Getting them together was a good start. She'd told Picton to monitor Randolph after class, and all she needed to do now was wait.

Following Randolph wasn't as interesting as Picton thought it'd be. He ate, practiced, and did everything any other person would do. Pulse didn't reveal anything on his person that was out of the ordinary. The only thing that somewhat stood out was the walk he took on his own around the courtyard, but there wasn't anything of interest in there.

Did they even have the right guy? Had Hope not presented the video footage, he'd be calling this a hoax. Their dorm room was oddly decorated mess, but DSPR wasn't paying any particular attention to anything.

Curfew wasn't that far off. It wasn't necessarily an RTB for him, but after they fell asleep there'd be no point in any more surveillance. Another pulse returned to him, and his heart skipped a beat - Patience was at their door.

What for? Nobody mentioned this would happen. Patience was a member of DSPR until not long ago so there was the possibility she was working with them. However, it wouldn't make sense for her to agree to attacking people she was working for, unless of course she was intending to betray them later.

Der'mo.

Randolph and Patience left the room. He stood up in the bushes outside the dorms, and repositioned to the courtyard they exited to. As much as he wanted to get within hearing range, he couldn't bring himself to take the risk of being detected.

That's right, keep walking…

They were heading to the launch pads in the forest. If they jumped, he'd have to follow. There was too much distance between them and everyone else for him to run back and alert them. But instead of doing what he was expecting, they merely sat on the ridge like a couple.

He rolled his eyes as a romance scene unfolded before him. A half hour passed, and both returned to the dorm. How frustratingly unproductive.

Picton decided against searching the forest in the cover of night - If something went wrong, he'd have no backup.

"Patience decided to pay Randolph a visit. Did anybody know about this?" announced Picton as he entered his dorm.

Celeste sat up in surprise. "What?"

"They were talking on the ridge on top of the forest. Go figure. I would talk to Hope if I were you before we continue. It's starting to feel like we're being set up."