The Mistrali airship soared high above the clouds as it glided towards Beacon Academy. A single spire that resembled a giant ivory tower extended far into the air, looking almost as if it were reaching toward the new arrivals. A pulsating green glow illuminated the top of the obelisk.

Platina and Tiffany wondered at the academy through the window; admiring the vastness of the school grounds. A large pool of water encapsulated much of the courtyard, although many smaller structures grew out of the basin and resembled a white stone garden. Looking past the towering structure, they could see the sprawling City of Vale stretching for miles. The bustling concrete jungle felt alive with the amount of movement the group could make out; even the streets themselves seemed to actively weave in between each other.

"Holy crap, look at this place!" Platina exclaimed with stars in her eyes, pressing her face against the glass.

"Everything looks like little ants all the way up here!" Tiffany exclaimed. "This makes Mistral look like a ghost town."

"Makes sense, right?" Tina looked back at her. "The whole city is preparing for the Vytal Festival."

"Hey May, have you ever been to a Vytal Festival?" Tiffany asked as the two of them shifted their gaze over to the pink-haired girl, who was sitting on a bench with Lukas.

"There was one time a few years back my mom took me and my sister into town for one." She smiled reminiscently. "God, it was so fun. I think my favorite part was all the food stands."

"You're from Vale?" Lukas asked as he turned to her.

"You would know that already if you paid attention." She laughed lightly as her gaze trailed away.

"How well do you know the city?" He asked.

May shook her head in response. "Not that well, I lived on an island called Patch - it's just west of Vale. My dad works in the city though, since there's better business there."

"Oh, really? You'll have to introduce us!" Tiffany suggested.

May chuckled in response, "I planned to." She agreed.

The airship swayed slightly as it prepared for landing. It descended slowly and gently, then rocked slightly as it made touchdown. A mix of jetting steam and mechanical whirls filled the air as the massive loading door opened and a ramp extended down to the ground.

May and Lukas pushed themselves to their feet and grabbed their bags. Platina reached beside herself for her bag, but Tiffany bent down and swiped it from the ground.

"Allow me." She bounced up with a smile as she hefted the bag onto her shoulder.

"Oh, thanks." Tina smiled back at her.

All of Team PLTM marched off towards the exit. A few holograms sparked to life within the interior and began giving instructions meant for the students, but its voice was largely drowned out by the passing students. Team PLTM took their first step onto Beacon Academy's grounds; a large grassy field towards the front entrance of the school.

"This place is gorgeous!" Tiffany exclaimed as she gazed upon the scenery with awe.

"I bet the inside of the building looks nice too." May added, "We should go see if our dorm is ready."

"That sounds nice, I need to lie down." Platina sighed and stretched her arms. "You know what the worst part of this whole trip is going to be?"

"Don't dwell on the negatives." Tiffany scolded her. "We should enjoy our time here."

"Can I guess what the worst part's gonna be?" Reese's voice suddenly cut into the conversation as she pulled up on her hoverboard, crouching low to the side of the group. May, Platina, and Tiffany all jumped slightly at her sudden appearance.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that." Lukas shook his head.

"Hush now, I'm thinking." Reese waved her hand at the boy. "Hmm, is it the fact that you're going to have to meet new people?" She teased.

Platina covered her face to hide her embarrassed expression. "You know, it's funny because you don't know how to make fun of me for anything else." Her laugh was a muffled blend of defeat and self-pity.

"That's because it's always meeting new people with you, Tina. I don't have to be a mind reader to know that's what you're thinking." She retorted.

"Hey, new people aren't always so bad." May turned towards her friend. "I was a new person to you once."

"Sure, but you made it pretty clear you wanted to be friends." She sighed.

"Well, since you have us, you shouldn't have to go out of your way to meet new people anyway." May shrugged. "I'd say you're lucky you don't have to run in to people you already know."

"That's something I actually agree with." Lukas nodded. "People you know have more capacity to hurt you."

"Lukas, please don't get depressing on us already." Tiffany pleaded with him as she hung her head.

"Sorry." He said quickly. "Anyway, I wouldn't say that's the worst part. The worst part of the whole trip...is going to be the wait."

"The wait?" Reese repeated. "What are you waiting for?"

An awkward silence was shared among the group. Platina was the one to pick the conversation back up.

"If he's here, we'll find him, Lukas." She attempted to reassure him.

"There's nothing that we can do until we find out when Lazurite arrives, anyway." Tiffany added. "We just need to have a little patience."

An individual with dark skin and a toned body approached them from Reese's side. She tied her hair into a knot and then leaned over and gazed at Lukas with her green eyes.

"If there's nothing you can do at the moment, there's no reason to worry about it." Arslan spoke in a soft, deep timbre.

"I'm not worried so much as I am anxious. Whatever cosmic coincidence allowed this, I'm thankful for it." He explained.

"Lukas, cosmic coincidences aren't a thing." Arslan disagreed. "It's called 'fate'."

"Whatever it is, I wish it let this trip be a vacation; give us a break from the whole 'Coal obligation' thing." Reese whined. "Anyways, the flight made me hungry. We should go get something to eat."

Team PLTM and Team ABRN sat huddled around a lone wooden table adorned with plates of rotisserie chicken, various sandwiches, vibrant fruit, salad, and fish.

"So, hold on; how do you guys know that your brother is gonna be here?" Bolin asked after taking a swig of his soda.

"It's not that my brother is here," Lukas explained quietly, "but there's a member of a mafia organization here who's supposed to receive a flash drive with some info that could help us. Either it'll tell us where Coal is, or where he will be soon. We're waiting for his ship to get here."

Platina quickly stood up and placed her feet on her chair. Crouching on the seat, she raised her scroll high and put up two fingers, forming a peace sign.

"Everyone, say cheese!" She beamed with a toothy smile.

Despite almost everyone smiling and striking subtle poses, no one aside from Tiffany repeated the phrase. The scroll gave off a quick flash of light accompanied by a loud click. She sat back down and placed her scroll in the middle of the table.

"What are you doing?" Lukas asked her as he shook his head.

"Giving us a memory to look back on," she answered, "it's the first time you've sat down at the lunch table with us!"

"I didn't have much of a choice, since we're planning everything out right now."

"Don't be mean!" Tiffany lightly hit the boy next to her.

Everyone stared down at the photo that Tina had just taken. While everyone involved at the very least gave a half-hearted smile, Lukas sunk into himself and was looking away slightly.

"Dude," Reese looked back up at him with a concerned glance, "you look miserable."

"So, wait, why is your brother working with a pirate?" Bolin asked after quickly choking down his food.

"What?" Lukas stared at him quizzically. "Nobody said he was a pirate."

Arslan held her hand to her mouth and giggled. "Well, he's a gangster on a boat; sounds like a pirate to me."

"He didn't look like a pirate..." May pondered as she swirled spaghetti with her fork. Turning to Platina, she asked, "Do pirates from Mistral look different from regular pirates?"

"We're getting off track here." Lukas sighed.

"I feel so out of the loop when it comes to you and your brother." Nadir muttered. "Not that I think I could help much, anyway. I'm just thankful I have a decent older brother."

"Yeah, it might be best for you to stay away from Coal." Reese commented through a mouth full of food. "You might actually die."

"Please don't wave any death flags over my head." Nadir laughed. "I'll stay out of the fights, but I guess I'm willing to help where I can."

"We'll see," Lukas shook his head in response, "but for now, it's a waiting game."

There was a short moment of silence as the two teams continued eating their lunch. The quiet clatter of silverware was eventually interrupted by Tiffany's voice.

"Hey guys, do you think the cafeteria is always in this much disrepair?" She asked, looking around her.

The group of them shifted their gaze outwards to the borderline warzone that shocked them when they first walked in. Many of the tables were tossed around and in broken pieces on the ground. The splattered remains of various foodstuffs covered almost every inch of the walls. There was a looming, student-sized hole in the roof, and the back wall was cracked beyond repair and stained with what appeared to be soda.

"It seriously does look like a tornado came through here..." Platina murmured.

Everyone looked at the only other person in the room with them; a middle-aged woman with blonde hair tied in a bun. She was waving a black wand around, and through the use of what seemed like a Semblance was telekinetically lifting the tables and assembling them back in an organized manner.

"That must be the janitor..." Reese commented with a pitiful look, "poor lady probably doesn't get paid enough."

The echoing sound of shoes squeaking against plywood flooring and the occasional smack of a rubber ball bouncing off of bodies resonated in the gymnasium. May and Platina stood next to each other wearing gym shorts and light, baggy T-shirts, lost in conversations and occasionally stepping out of the way of a stray dodgeball.

"So, leader, what are we gonna do when the Umibozo's ship pulls in?" May asked.

"Heh, 'Umibozo', that's a good one." Tina snickered. "Um, that depends. Honestly, I'm not too sure if picking a fight is the right move."

"Because of what he said about your dad?" May gave her a worried look.

Platina gulped, "Well, that's one of the reasons." She confirmed. "I'd like to think he's bluffing, but if he's not, he really might send someone to hurt him. I don't suppose you could just beat him up and turn him into the authorities here?"

"As much as I'd like to kick his ass, I don't think I can do it by myself." She sighed. "Have you ever tried to fight someone with the perfect counter to your Semblance? It's not fun. Aside from Hawk, I've never had that much trouble in a fight."

"I guess we could always try sneaking onto the boat." Platina pondered out loud as she placed a hand on her chin. "I think we would have to split the team for that, though."

Their conversation fell to silence. May caught a dodgeball that was haphazardly thrown at her, then she shot it at another student to eliminate them. Platina awkwardly looked up at her friend.

"So, um, what do you think of the professors wanting to help us?" She asked timidly. May bent down and picked up another ball, then she beamed it at another teenager on the other team.

She stood up and sighed, "Hawk's a pretty smart guy, and I know he'll have our backs. As for Arsenic, I'm not sure; I don't know what to make of him."

"I think I'm thankful for both of them. It feels so crazy that we'll be doing Huntsman work with Arsenic Myrtle himself, and Professor Valenzuela is really strong too.." Platina's mood brightened as she talked about the Huntsmen.

"Why didn't you tell them about what you found out at Upper Mistral Port?" May questioned.

Platina averted her eyes from her friend's stare, suddenly unsure of her decision. "Well, Professor Valenzuela seemed pretty decided that he was gonna stay in Mistral. I guess it's a good way to cover more ground, in case there's more going on there that we don't know about. Once we get this flash drive, we'll have more information to share with them."

Platina saw a red blur shooting towards her. She held out her hands and firmly grasped the rubber ball, stopping its path. She looked up to see Reese shaking her hands in frustration.

"Aw, come on!" The green-haired tomboy whined from across the court, barely audible to the pair.

Platina gazed over at the bench to see who was returning to the game. Nadir bounced to his feet and began jogging back onto the playing field.

"You know what the scary part is?" Tina asked. May simply nodded in agreement, already knowing to what her friend was referring. "The informant that Lazurite mentioned knew we were going out that night. There might be someone spying on us."

"Do you think it's a teacher?" May proposed.

"Maybe, but he said something else that I can't shake." She responded. "That girl who was with him, he said that she's around my age. If someone that young is working with Yokai, then the informant could be a student."

"A traitor at the school..." May muttered as the thought simmered in her head.

"Thanks, Platina!" Nadir waved at her as he jogged by.

The sounds of him rushing by were suddenly cut off by a loud "prhnng" sound of a rubber ball crashing against flesh. Platina and May jerked their gaze behind them, where they saw the pink-haired boy flattened on the ground and curled into a ball of his own. A large red spot stood out against his dark skin. The pair looked for a culprit to the slaughter, and across the field, they spotted Lukas and Tiffany. Lukas passed a red dodgeball back and forth in his grasp while letting out a taunting laugh. Tiffany held her head with her hand with many different expressions sharing a spot on her face; ranging from disappointment to embarrassment.

"That jerk." May groaned.

She bent down and grasped a ball near her, then she bent low and whipped it towards the boy. Lukas stepped to the side and his hair whipped around as the dodgeball whizzed past his face. He gripped the rubber ball in his hand and glared at the two girls.

He planted his foot on the ground and swiped up another ball, then he teleported high into the air with Chase. He reeled his arm back and launched two consecutive blurs of red towards the two Huntresses. They both rolled out of the way of the attacks soaring their way, and they equipped themselves with two dodgeballs each as they regained their footing.

Platina threw a calculated strike just below Lukas, but he quickly disappeared in a flash and reappeared on the ground. May gripped the rubber tightly and used her Semblance to set fire to it. She focused all her strength into her arm as she catapulted the dodgeball towards the boy. He twisted his body around as the ball blitzed past him. The flame-engulfed rubber ball continued its path and careened towards Tiffany. She held a ball outwards in defense, and the ferocious strike ricocheted off and out of the way. She skidded backwards from the blast of the attack.

Tiffany reared back and flung a ball from across almost the entire court at May. The hot-headed teen defended against the attack, but as her guard was knocked aside, Lukas pressed on by throwing another ball at her. Tina leaped in front of her and guarded her against Lukas' throw. The blue-haired girl retaliated with two carefully thrown blows, but both of them were evaded by her targets.

She narrowed her gaze at Tiffany and created a Telepathy link with her. She mimicked the motions of a throw, and Tiffany's thoughts revealed which direction she'd evade. She put a bit of spin on the ball, causing it to curve to the right. Tiffany started to leap away, only to quickly realize she was playing into Platina's hand.

She quickly snatched a ball and barely defended herself from the attack. She rolled on the ground and raised her guard again, successfully blocking another attack. May stepped forward and beamed a blindingly fast attack at Tiffany, but she again managed to block it at the last second.

"Has she always been this quick to react?" Tina wondered at the girl's reflexes.

She switched targets and patiently waited for Lukas to make a move. As soon as he reared back to launch an attack at the pink-haired girl, she reposed with a strike of her own. Just as the ball was about to crash into the boy, it was intercepted by another ball thrown by Tiffany, causing it to be knocked away. Platina once again focused Telepathy on her teammate, and her eyes widened as she realized what was happening.

"Her Semblance slows her perception of time too? She didn't tell me that." She thought.

May and Platina attacked the other two in tandem, keeping up the pressure to try and break the other's guard. The two girls ran quickly to more dodgeballs and kept on their onslaught. Lukas and Tiffany were both careful to sidestep and block the barrage of red rubber.

As May and Platina reached for more ammunition to keep up their flurry of blows, and realized they had spent all they had on their side of the court. Tiffany and Lukas retrieved two dodgeballs each from the ground. They flowed in unison as they launched an unstoppable bombardment of attacks at a singular target. Platina's eyes widened as her doom hurdled toward her at blistering speeds. Knowing this was the end for her, she raised her arms and braced for impact.

The rubber ball's din echoed multiple times throughout the gymnasium, but Platina felt no impact. She opened her eyes to see May's outstretched figure boldly standing in front of her. Slowly, May stumbled and began to collapse. Platina lunged out, caught her, and held her head off of the ground.

"May...why?" She dramatically whispered to her fallen ally, using all her might to keep herself from weeping.

May gave her a weak smile. She unfolded her arms to reveal she had caught one of the balls. Platina gasped at her sacrifice.

"At least I got Tiffany out..." She let out a chuckle. "The rest...is up to you."

She closed her eyes and let her body fall limp. Platina held her just a moment longer, then she slowly let her slide to the floor. She looked up at the Huntsman across from her. Tiffany stepped off to the bench with a low gaze. Tina softly took the ball from May's grasp and stepped over her body.

"I'll finish this," she growled, "in one blow!"

She marched towards the dividing line of the court. Lukas teleported closer as well and sent a flurry of dodgeballs hurdling towards the approaching girl. As Tina pressed forward, she weaved in between the barrage; just barely dodging each strike. A bead of sweat formed on Lukas' brow; anticipation welled up inside him as he analyzed his opponent. She raised her arm and began channeling all her strength into one attack. Lukas dashed to the side in a feint, but he looked back and activated Chase to teleport away. Every move that he tactfully considered, every step he called forth, was already discovered by Platina's mind's eye.

She delayed the throw and redirected her attack to where Lukas materialized. A mesh of red and black energy soared through the air towards the boy, who wore a face of shock and panic. The rubber careened into his abdomen; lifting him into the air and sending him crashing into the wall behind him, the force of which cracked the concrete walls of the gym and created a powerful shockwave emanating from the impact. Lukas' body fell to the floor with a loud thud and the whole room went quiet.

"I did it!" Platina jumped up and cheered.

She looked around while laughing heartily, only to see the benches had suffered collateral damage from the high-intensity game, and many of the students had fled the room. A small fire had sparked to life from a flaming attack of May's that was knocked astray and hit a banner on the wall. A metallic creak echoed as a mounted basketball hoop broke from its hinges and plummeted to the ground with a loud crash. Team ABRN remained in a secluded corner; all of them either shaking their heads or facepalming. Platina's chuckles died down into an awkward muttering and the room returned to quiet.

Team PLTM's presence shifted to another room; a square space with basic furnishing and a small kitchen area. Platina and May sat at a small, low-set table covered with a blanket in the middle of their new dorm. Lukas was lying down at the foot of one of the four beds, and Tiffany was brewing tea in a small designated kitchen area.

"It was a good idea to bring the kotatsu, Tiffany!" Platina beamed at the girl from across the room.

"Thanks, Tina!" She beamed back and laughed. "I like to think I'm full of good ideas!"

Ceramics clinked together as Tiffany lifted four small, white plates with green flower designs. On each plate rested a matching ceramic teacup that had steam emanating from the top.

"Lukas, come sit with the rest of us." Tiffany demanded as she walked towards everyone else.

Lukas rolled his eyes, but complied with the request.

"Alright, Earl Gray for Lukas...apple cider for May." Tiffany listed off the requested drinks as she set the first two cups down. "Chamomile mint for myself, and a hibiscus raspberry tea latte for Tina." She smiled as she handed Platina her drink.

"Thank you." She beamed up at her teammate as she sat down. "Hey, how come you never told me your Semblance can slow your perception of time?"

Tiffany stared at her with a bit of a startled expression. "Wait, how did you find that out?"

"Oh, I used Telepathy during gym to try and eliminate you." She said in a sort of nonchalant way.

"Oh...sorry, I didn't mean to keep that from you." Tiffany apologized, shrinking into herself slightly. "I just never thought to bring it up."

"S-sorry, I know my power can sometimes be a serious breach of privacy if I'm not careful!" Platina suddenly felt guilty as she took notice of Tiffany's demeanor. "I just thought since we were all using our Semblances against each other it was okay."

"Don't worry, it's okay." Tiffany seemed quick to forgive her leader. "Anyway, what's on the agenda for the rest of the day?" She changed the subject, blowing on her tea.

"Um, I was thinking of running and grabbing our schedule for the semester." Tina tilted her head.

"I wanted to go into town and pick up some more Dust." Lukas commented.

"Oh, I need some more too. I'll go with you, if that's okay?" She turned to Platina as she finished the thought. Platina stared at her for a second before responding.

"Um, you don't have to ask me, you know. Do whatever you want."

"What about you, May?" Tiffany turned and asked. "Were you going to visit your family today?"

"Well...not today, I think." She hesitated before answering. "I'm tired from the trip, so I might take a nap."

The group shared a moment of peace as they simply sat and sipped their tea. After the short minute of quiet, Platina looked up at Tiffany once again.

"H-hey Tiffany, I don't assume you have my toast going?" She asked timidly. Tiffany's eyes widened slightly at the reminder.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I-I forgot you asked!" She stuttered.

"No, it's okay, Tiffany. Let me get it; you just sat down."

"No no, I was supposed to get it for you in the first place." She quickly scrambled to her feet and turned away to hide her flustered expression. "I'll have it in just a second."

Platina looked into the kitchen at her teammate preparing the snack she requested along with her tea. Her face twitched slightly, and a concerned look came over Platina's expression. She leaned in and whispered to the two others sitting at the kotatsu.

"Does it feel like Tiffany's been acting weird to you guys?"

"Weird, how?" May questioned.

"Well, she's been really nice to me lately."

"You're seriously complaining about that?" The pink-haired girl cringed slightly.

"I don't know, it feels like she's been kinda pushy with it. Also, it just seems kinda out of the blue." She rubbed her arms as she explained.

"It's a process, Tina, it's called 'making a friend.'" May whispered before taking a sip of her cider.

"Well, if she was pushing so hard to be my friend, why'd she sit next to Lukas of all people during lunch? No offense." She glanced at the quiet boy.

"None taken." He shrugged and sipped from his cup.

"I guess that's a little strange, but he's part of the team too, right?" May added.

"Well, that's not all; during dodgeball earlier, I read her mind a bit. She specifically didn't want to get me out." Tina retorted.

"Okay, that is more than a little weird." May finally agreed.

"I knew she was throwing!" Lukas whispered.

"Do you think something's up?" May asked with a small amount of concern in her voice.

"Well...I have an idea." She hesitated.

Platina placed a hand on her knee and pushed herself up. She quietly stepped up behind her team's sniper.

"Tiffany," She spoke up as she approached her. The white-haired teen jumped slightly in surprise and turned towards her leader.

"Y-yes?" Her voice cracked a bit.

Platina analyzed her body language for a moment. Her emerald eyes jittered slightly as she stared at her, and her pupils dilated as they met Platina's gaze. All the while, her lips curled into a nervous smile.

"D-don't worry, I have the bread toasting. Dial set to six; just how you like it." She took a step back and raised her arms ever so slightly.

Tina paused as she watched the girl. Something about her demeanor felt so familiar to Platina. She sighed as a faint wave of sadness washed over her. Suddenly, she reached out and grasped the hand of her friend. Tiffany sharply inhaled and ripped her hand free from Tina's grasp. She retreated and shuttered in surprise. Tina's sorrow poured out and washed over her face.

"I knew it..." she said in a near whisper as she stared at Tiffany, "you're afraid of me."

Tiffany took another step back at the accusation. The tangled mess she felt in her gut tightened as the realization swept across Platina's grimace.

"I'm...I'm sorry." She stuttered, "I didn't want to..."

Before she mustered another word, she whipped around, flung the door open, and bolted out of the room before Platina could even react. Tina gasped and stumbled towards the doorway after her.

"Wait, Tiffany!" She yelled after her as she watched her flee. "Please talk to me!"

Before she knew it, her teammate disappeared down the hall. Slowly, she sunk to her knees as May and Lukas stepped up behind her.

"What just happened?" May questioned.

"What always happens." Platina sighed. "She's afraid of me. I'm never going to be able to lead this team..."

A dead silence filled the room and the connected hall. Platina sat clinging to the doorframe, wishing she could simply fade away. May sat on her knees along with her friend and put a hand on her shoulder, but no words came from her lips. Lukas came down to one knee and stared intently at the sulking girl, who weakly returned the look.

"With that attitude, no one will ever take you seriously as a leader." He stated bluntly.

Platina expected to be hurt by his words, but as she let them marinate in her thoughts, she felt strangely uplifted. A moment of resolve brought her to her feet and she nodded at the boy.

"You're right; I can't mope right now. I have to find her and talk this out." She breathed out deeply as she looked at her two teammates, who both rose to their feet as well. She smiled and asked, "Will you two please help me find her?"

The two of them simply nodded in response. Platina took the first step down the hallway, and the other two closely followed behind her. They first retraced their steps to the gymnasium and the destroyed cafeteria, but they did not find her in either place They searched the halls of Beacon for around an hour, but considering they were new arrivals, they got lost in the halls easily. After a while, they agreed it best to search the outside of the school - thinking their teammate might have gone out for fresh air. They found themselves circling the central structure of Beacon Academy, weaving in between crowds as they searched for her.

"Tiffany!" Platina shouted through cupped hands. "Where are you?!"

Lukas took a moment to scan the crowds, to little success. Platina sighed as she ruffled her hair into a mess.

"I can't believe this is happening!" She whined.

"What about Team ABRN?" Lukas asked, "Maybe they've seen her?"

"I'm way ahead of you." Platina answered, "I messaged them a little bit ago, they're on the lookout too."

They pressed forward in silence for a moment, then Platina cuffed her hands to her mouth and called out once more.

"Tiffany!"

She waited for a moment with bated breath. The wind gave her no response.

"May," Lukas spoke up so the girl behind them could hear, "is something wrong? You've been quiet ever since we landed."

Platina and Lukas turned towards the pink-haired girl. She stared back at them with a nervous expression and took a step back.

"He's right," Platina eyes widened in realization, "are you okay?"

"I'm...I'll be fine, guys." She tried to reassure them.

"Are you sure?" Tina inquired.

"Yeah, I am." She responded. "There's...just someone here that I don't really want to run into is all."

"Someone you don't want to run into?" Lukas repeated.

"May?" A voice behind the group gasped. May froze for a second before turning to face the source.

A small-statured girl stood mere feet away from the group. She had dark purple hair that was tied into a braid that hung over her shoulder. She stared at them with soft reddish eyes, and she shrunk into herself; keeping her arms held tight against a black hoodie that had red sleeves.

"Livi," May addressed her back in an odd, reluctant way.

"Y-you're back..." Livi fumbled with her words as she looked away slightly.

"Yeah," May shifted uncomfortably, "h-how have you been?"

"Um, I've been good, I guess." She shrugged as she hugged her arm to her side.

"You two know each other?" Platina cut in as she stepped forward. "Is she your friend, May?"

A steady footfall began nearing the group, and from behind Livi appeared another girl sporting Beacon's school uniform. She stepped up to the side of the shy girl, took hold of her arm, and pulled her slightly away from the group of them.

The new girl turned to Livi, and in little more than a whisper, the group heard, "Let me handle her, Livi. I'll catch up with you, okay?"

The purple-haired girl nodded nervously at the new arrival and scuttled away from the group. The new girl turned towards what was present of team PLTM with a frown. She had hair that was a light, almost caramelized shade of brown tied up into a ponytail. She had white swirls of dyed hair that resembled creamer mixing together with coffee. Her eyes of the same brown shade glared at May. She blew a bubble of pink gum that burst as she approached.

"May," she began as she stepped closer, until she was just about face to face with the pink-haired girl, "stay away from her."

"Hey, what's your problem?!" Platina growled and rushed forward.

May threw out her hand and held Tina back. She bounced off her palm and looked at May in agitated confusion. May stared back at her with a saddened, almost defeated look in her amber eyes.

"Tina, please stay out of this." She pleaded quietly.

Platina stared at her, confused and hoping for an explanation. May's bangs fell over her eyes as she turned back to the girl in front of her.

"So, are they on your team then?" She asked as she crossed her arms. "How much have you told them?"

May glared at the girl in front of her, and though it seemed she wanted to say something, she grit her teeth so hard she couldn't open her mouth.

"Still have nothing to say, huh?" The girl mocked. She stepped up and pushed her face even closer to May's. "You ruined that girl's life. She still hasn't gotten over what happened."

"May...what is she talking about?" Platina asked gently.

The girl smirked and took a step back. "So, they really must not know about the real you." She laughed. "I'll leave you to it, then."

She bounded back from the group and turned around before continuing. "But I'm serious, don't you ever go near her unless you're coming to apologize." With the final message, she stormed off.

May tensed up as she watched the other girl leave. Slowly, licks of flame sparked to life on her arms and crawled their way up to her shoulders.

"May," Tina gasped as she rushed closer to her friend.

"Get away!" May swatted her hand at the girl; the heat of the surging flames keeping her at bay. May glared at her for a second before turning away and holding her head in her hand.

Platina's gripped her jacket where her heart was as she imagined what was running through her friend's head. For just a second, May's thoughts were projected into her mind.

"Caramella..." May growled within her thoughts, "You have no idea what was happening with me back then...what I was going through-"

The inner dialogue slowly faded into white, as if burned away by the fire. Platina flinched as she realized what she was doing. She shook her head to expel the thoughts from her mind. May stumbled away from the group.

"Just...give me some time." She choked out. "I need to be alone." She began to storm off without looking back at her team.

"May, wait!" Tina reached out a hand as she called to her, "Let's talk this out!"

She watched as May disappeared into the distance. She dropped her outstretched hand and sighed in exasperation as she hung her head. A long moment passed where she could feel the world falling apart around her. Lukas gazed down at the defeated girl and shuffled awkwardly.

"I know I might regret asking this, but are you going to be okay?" He mustered a bit of sympathy.

Platina looked up at him and studied his gaze. After a moment, she nodded and gave him a weak, forced smile.

"Well, my Huntress career feels like it's crumbling before my eyes, and two of my teammates don't even want to look at me. Also, I feel like a loser." Her face turned more and more bleak as she went on.

"So..?"

"Probably not; the answer is probably not." She snapped at him. She sighed and continued, "Sorry, I know you're trying your best. I'll be fine."

"Those two don't seem like they'll hold a grudge." He commented. "Things'll be back to normal soon."

"I want to believe that, but that look that Tiffany gave me; I've seen it before. I'm gonna have to get used to having a teammate who's terrified of me."

"Maybe you're right. By the looks of it, you might be on the best terms with me at the moment." He gave a quiet, awkward laugh.

"Yeah, that's an even more depressing thought." She commented as she dropped her head again. "If that's true, Tiffany and May must really hate me right now."

"I wouldn't say that I hate you." Lukas let a moment of silence pass before responding.

"Are you joking?" She looked at him in disbelief. "Do you not remember all the arguments we've had since we met?"

"I might have hated you for the first couple of months or so," He admitted.

"Thanks," She said sarcastically.

"And I might dislike you at times, even now."

"Dude,"

"But you could be worse." He shrugged.

"Well, do you still hate me for taking your leadership position?" Platina asked with a sigh.

"Honestly, I didn't want to care about being the team's leader." Lukas admitted. "All I cared about was honing my skills, but because I had worked so hard at that, I was admittedly jealous that you were chosen. I ended up taking it out on you...but you are improving. I guess Tiffany was right; you really do have resolve. Thanks to you, I'm closer to finding Coal."

"Tiffany said that?" Platina's eyes widened.

"Yeah, she made a passing comment about it." He confirmed. "Granted, that was before she found out about your secret."

"Well, thanks for the false sense of hope." Platina spiraled into a feeling of defeat. After another moment of wallowing in self pity, she gingerly looked up at Lukas again.

"Listen, about Coal..." She spoke to him through a Telepathy link, "if you end up killing him, I don't think it will feel how you think. It might not give you whatever closure you need."

Lukas returned the gaze for a bit, then he closed his eyes and soaked in his thoughts for a moment before responding.

"The person that you killed," He presented the thought quietly, "it was someone that you knew, wasn't it?"

Platina shivered at his words. She looked away and nodded in confirmation.

"Who was it?" He asked. Platina hesitated for a long moment.

"My dad took me out behind my mother's back. She went out to try to find some natural remedy or cure. She was in the same area when the Grimm was rampaging through me. I..." She trailed off before taking a deep breath and regaining her composure. "I still have nightmares about it. I can still remember her blood on my hands. I don't want that for you, Lukas."

Lukas gazed off for a moment before continuing. "Was your mother a bad person?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"Was she an innocent woman?" He pressed on.

"...She was a kind lady, and everybody liked her. She didn't deserve what happened." She answered.

"Then it's a different situation. I don't expect you to understand, but I don't see any other way to end this. Like I said before, he's my blood." Lukas argued.

Platina sighed, "I'm still not so sure. There has to be a better way," She said out loud, "but I'll drop it for now."

The two stood in silence with each other momentarily before Platina sighed and continued.

"Listen, May's problem isn't so much with me as it is with that girl. I want to mend things as soon as possible. Can you find May and talk to her for me? That would be a big help."

"I don't really think-" Lukas started, but Tina shot up and smiled at him.

"Thanks, Lukas! I knew I could count on you." She laughed.

"But-" He began to protest to no avail, as the girl began to walk away.

"Good luck! I'll meet you guys back at the dorm!" She waved as she disappeared.

"Hey!" He called after her, but she was already gone. He ruffled his hair and groaned, "I didn't agree to this..."

Location Notes #4 Beacon Academy; residing atop a cliff at the eastern edge of the City of Vale, Beacon Academy is the primary Huntsman Academy of the Kingdom of Vale. The Cross Continental Transmit Tower resides in the middle of the school grounds, and is vital for communication between the four kingdoms. The school was selected to host this year's Vytal Festival and Tournament.