Umbra Hart

Throughout the entirety of Glynda's class, Umbra didn't bother paying any attention. While it might have looked like Umbra was watching the sparring sessions that occurred, he was actually watching the members of Team AZID out of the corner of his eye.

As he spied on Team AZID, Umbra was doing his best to keep his anger in check. Not because of Team AZID, but because Jaune kept distracting Umbra with his lame attempts at asking Weiss out. Apparently there was some stupid dance happening tonight, and Jaune was desperate to go with Weiss. Eventually it became too much for Umbra to handle and he snapped at Jaune.

"Can you just shut up Jaune? Weiss obviously doesn't want to go to the stupid dance with you. If you really want to keep harassing her about it, do so when I'm not around." Without taking his eyes off the current fight or Team AZID, Umbra finally made his annoyance known. Feeling someone nudge him, Umbra didn't have to look to know it was Yang.

"Is that jealousy I detect? You and Weiss do go back and forth a lot. It's almost like you enjoy the attention." While Weiss had a problem with what Yang said, Umbra didn't let it get to him. Since Weiss was too busy trying to come back with a proper response, Umbra did it for her.

"I enjoy making her angry. In fact I…" Trailing off mid-sentence, Umbra watched as Zaffre reached into a pocket. Tensing up, Umbra got ready for anything. When he saw that it was only a Scroll, Umbra relaxed. Running a hand down his face, Umbra decided it was probably best to just ignore the members of Team AZID until it came time to deal with them. They said they weren't going to pull anything until the tournament, and that was still a few days off.

Before Umbra could continue what he was saying, the bell rang. With more important things to do, he decided that letting the members of Team RWBY and Team JNPR know he hated them. As he was leaving, Ruby called out to him.

"Are you going to come to the dance Umbra? It'd be nice if we could get everyone to show up." Holding back his laughter, Umbra couldn't believe what Ruby had just asked him. You would have better odds seeing Umbra smile over seeing him attending a dance. Waving Ruby off, Umbra didn't even turn around to give his answer.

"You should already know the answer to that question." Having nothing more to say, Umbra left.

After leaving Glynda's classroom, Umbra waited out in the hall. With his arms crossed, Umbra waited for a specific person to walk by. When Team's RWBY and JNPR walked out Umbra avoided eye contact hoping that they'd get the hint that he didn't want to talk. It worked, and they walked right on by. Though not without a wave from Ruby that is. Not far behind them was Team AZID. As Zaffre walked by, he too waved at Umbra with the fakest of smiles on his face. Eventually the person Umbra was waiting for walked out with his team. Stepping up to them, Umbra motioned for Silver to follow him.

"Silver, you and I have to have a talk. Now." Crossing his arms, Silver scoffed.

"First you don't want to even look at me, now we have to have a chat? Is this some sort of joke, or maybe a trap?" Not in the mood, Umbra didn't take the bait.

"No, it's not. By the way, the rest of your team stays behind. What I have to say stays between the two of us, and the two of us only. Got it?" Looking at his teammates, Silver took a moment to decide if he could trust Umbra or not. Sighing, Silver shrugged.

"Fine, you got me. I guess if this is some sorta trap, they'll know who was responsible." Once again ignoring Silver's bait, Umbra led the two of them somewhere more secluded. Along the way Umbra led them in circles a few times to make sure that no one was following them. He kept in eye out for the members of Team AZID and anyone that looked like they were trying too hard to blend in. "Can we hurry this up Umbra? It feels like we aren't going anywhere and I've got things to do before the dance tonight." Once Umbra was sure they weren't being tailed, he took the two of them outside. Finding a nice empty location, Umbra turned to face Silver. Taking one last look before talking, Umbra made sure no one was around.

"Silver, if it meant saving Beacon, Vale, and possibly all of Remnant… what would you be willing to do?" Laughing, Silver threw his head back. When he was done, he looked back at Umbra.

"Are you kidding me!? Is that all you wanted to ask me!? Anything of course!" Angry that Silver wasn't taking him serious, but figuring he could have started things better, Umbra snapped at Silver.

"Keep your voice down! What I have to say could get the both of us killed you idiot." Just like that, Silver went from laughing to a straight face. "There are people currently attending Beacon that plan on destroying Remnant as we know it. This isn't some kiddie shit Silver." Completely losing the attitude he had before, Silver was fully serious now.

"Those are some very, very serious allegations Umbra. Since we've already established that I don't trust you, you've got some proof of this... right?" Staying silent, Umbra wasn't so sure if his plan was going to work anymore. However, he had to at least try. If he didn't, he'd be all alone against Team AZID.

"No. I don't." Silver gave Umbra a doubtful look. "Listen, if I could have gone to anyone else, literally anyone, I would have. Do you honestly believe that you're the first person I would have turned to for help otherwise? No. I would have gone to Coco and Velvet. But I didn't." Silver shook his head.

"I'm honored. Really… But that's not proof of anything Umbra. Do you have a video, some audio recording, or at least a photograph? Anything?" As a last ditch effort, Umbra figured he'd drop the names of those involved.

"I have names. Aero, Zaffre, Ice, and Dawn. Team Acid." Umbra was fully aware that just saying their names could potentially put a target on both Silver and Umbra's back, but he had to say something to try and hook Silver. Holding his arms out, Silver hung his head and sighed once more.

"Now I know this was all just a waste of my time." Looking back up at Umbra, Silver was now angry. "I've met the members of Team Acid Umbra, and you know what? They're all pretty cool people. Next time you try and lie, at least make it somewhat believable." Turning to leave, Silver waved. Desperate, Umbra shouted at Silver as he was leaving.

"If anything happens, the blood of everyone killed will be on your hands!" Stopping in his tracks, Silver froze. "I know that we are the farthest thing from allies, but that's what makes you the only person I can go to. Right now, I can't trust anyone. Not Coco, not Velvet, not anyone… I've told you that Team Acid is going to destroy the city. You know of their ill intentions, so by not doing anything about it, you're just as responsible as they are. People will die Silver… People will die, because you refused to do anything to protect them!" Time seemed to drag on as the two of them stood in silence. When Silver spoke, it was barely above a whisper. However, Umbra could still clearly hear the anger behind his words.

"And why do you care? Huh?" Clenching his hands into fists, Umbra was worried about getting into another brawl with Silver. "Wouldn't that be better for you? If Beacon vanished? That everyone here died? I'm sure you'd just love that… If you're so worried, take them on yourself. Just don't expect anyone to come running to your aid if you do." Instead of starting a fight, Silver chose to walk away.

Watching Silver leave, Umbra felt truly hopeless. Out of the few people he fully trusted to not be allied with Team AZID, Silver was the only person Umbra felt as though he could go to. The whole reason Umbra trusted Silver was due to their bad blood. Unless he was the worlds best actor, there was no way Silver would side with Team AZID. Ozpin was of course a safe bet, but just like with Silver, if he didn't have any evidence then Umbra could forget about going to him. Either way they'd most likely talk their way out of any half-assed investigation Ozpin would conduct. In the end, all Umbra would accomplish would be getting himself killed.

Rather than stand around outside, Umbra decided to head back indoors to think. On the way back, he felt his hopelessness turn to anger. Each step Umbra took made his anger bubble more and more. By the time he reached Beacon, Umbra felt his anger finally boil over. Lashing out, Umbra let his frustration out on the building in front of him. Yelling as he punched, Umbra swung with all his strength. Every punch sent shock waves of pain up his fists, but he didn't care. It wasn't until he broke his Aura did Umbra calm down. Leaning against Beacon, Umbra panted.

The only possible way Umbra could stop Team AZID was if he chose to abandon his mission of making the last remaining member of Team SHDE pay for what they did. Doing so didn't sit right with him. At the same time, neither did sitting back and allowing history to repeat itself. No matter what Umbra did, he felt as though he was in a lose lose situation. Kill Eliza and allow Team AZID to destroy Vale, and possibly all of Remnant… Or stop Team AZID, and let Eliza go free. Standing up straight, Umbra figured there had to be someway to do both by himself. He just wasn't seeing it yet.

Returning to his room Umbra shut the lights off, sat on his bed, closed his eyes, and thought up ways he could kill both Eliza and the members of Team AZID. One possible route was getting all five in the same place and just fighting all of them at once. Seeing as how Eliza was an ex-Huntress and now trained soldier, that would be on the bottom of Umbra's list. Fighting possibly four people as strong as him, and one that was even stronger, just didn't seem possible.

Another option was to once again gather them all in one place, and overheat his new sword. If he got enough Dust and made the explosion large enough, it was possible that he could take out everyone that was present. The problem with that plan was that there was a chance anyone of them, or even all, could survive. If Umbra himself didn't die in the explosion, it would still leave him injured to the point he couldn't fight. While it was risky, it had a higher chance of success over fighting five people at the same time.

One other possibility was th-

"Hey, Umbra, you there?" Recognizing the person knocking at his door as Coco, Umbra opened his eyes. Going to the door, Umbra flicked on the light as he opened it. While he was expecting Coco, Umbra was surprised to see Yang next to her.

"Yo Umbra. Look who I brought to get you to open up." As Yang said this, her and Coco fist bumped. "You know, we tried calling you on your Scroll a bunch, but you never picked up. You had everyone worried." Rolling his eyes, Umbra scoffed.

"I can tell you right now that Ruby was the only one worried. You and the others however, weren't. For the record, I silenced my Scroll exactly for situations like that. Now tell me why you're here so I can go back to what I was doing." Laughing, Coco took the lead.

"Well Umbra, to tell you the truth, I'm here to cash in that favor you owe me." Feeling his heart begin to beat faster, Umbra wondered if Coco had found out about Team AZID. "You see, there's a dance going on tonight, and Yang told me that you don't want to go. So, if you go, even just by yourself, I'll consider us even from back then. Deal?" Coco held her hand out for Umbra to shake. Not even knowing how to respond, Umbra just stared at Coco. When he finally broke free from his stupor, Umbra had to bite back his anger.

"You're telling me, that you want to cash in your favor now… Not because you need my help in a fight… Not because you desperately need lien… But because you want me to show up to the stupid dance…" Nodding her head, Coco kept her hand out for Umbra to shake. "Well, allow me to point out a few reasons as to why that'll never happen. The first is I don't even have a suit. Do you just want me to show up in my normal clothes? How about my uniform?" Coco was going to say something, but Umbra cut her off. "The second thing is, I hate nearly everyone here. This lead me into the final, and most important part. Nearly everyone who'll be there hates me just as much as I hate them." Finished, Umbra let Coco say what she was going to earlier.

"Well I never said you had to talk to anybody. Just that you had to show up. As for a suit, I can take you to get one. Seeing as how I was the number one breaker of hearts back at Pharos, I know exactly what the ladies will like." Not exactly caring what anyone liked, Umbra wasn't convinced. Before he could shut the door, Coco reached out and took Umbra's hand. "Alright, you took too long to decide, so I'm doing it for you. Let's go!" Unsuccessfully, Umbra tried to wriggle out of Coco's grasp. As he was being dragged away, Yang laughed at him.

"You two have fun! We'll see you at the dance Umbra!" Ignoring Yang's taunts, Umbra focused his attention on Coco.

"Coco, let me go! If you take me outside of Beacon, I'll be the one to get in trouble!" Patting Umbra on the head with her free hand, Coco smiled.

"Oh, I already went to Ozpin. He said that hanging out with friends would be great for you." While Coco still considered the two of them friends, Umbra wasn't so sure he felt the same way anymore. That's not to say he hated her like all the other Hunters, but after everything that happened since his time at Pharos, Umbra's opinions on all Hunters, Coco included, had soured.

"You can't just go arranging things without letting the other person know! What if I already had something planned!?" Coco laughed at Umbra. At first he thought it was at the idea of Umbra having plans, but when she spoke he was once again reminded as to why Coco got under his skin so much.

"What? Like a date? Aww, are you trying to say that you and your date were gonna skip the dance?" Trying even harder to break free from Coco's grasp, Umbra grew even angrier.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" No matter how much he struggled, Umbra just couldn't seem to break free. Eventually he decided it would be easier to just succumb to his fate and allow Coco to drag him off. As stupid as it was, she had decided to use her favor on something so wasteful. He wasn't going to tell her this, but Umbra decided that he was still going to owe Coco after this. Because of what she did for Umbra back at Pharos, attending a dance didn't seem quite fair. They wouldn't be even until Umbra saved her life as well. If he could just find a way to deal with Team AZID, maybe then he could consider them even.