The entire school begins to shake, rumbles coursing through the halls as students exchange fearful glances. The overhead lights begin to flicker sporadically.

In a hidden room, Lady Beat observes from below. She slams a button on her control panel.

"Evacuate everyone immediately," her voice steady as she eyes the monitor, noticing Trivia advancing slowly down the corridor. With each step, the ground cracks like spiderwebs.

Within seconds, Lady Beat's staff floods the area, swiftly moving to escort the students and guests to safety. Parents who had been chatting with their daughters or meeting new headmasters moments ago are now shepherded out.

Jacob, just a few steps away from approaching Trivia's parents, is blocked by a staff member. He stops in confusion as the ground trembles beneath him. He licks his canine tooth and his eyes focus.

"Neo…" he mutters under his breath.

"Did you not hear us? Evacuate now!" A staff member's voice cuts sharply through his thoughts.

Snapping back to reality, Jacob nods quickly. He rises to his feet, blending in with the others as he's guided out with the rest of the crowd.

—

The evacuation process goes surprisingly smoothly, helped due to the students' training. Despite the circumstances, everyone keeps their composure. Afterall, these girls were trained to hide emotions, to wear a mask over whatever troubled them. This was simply another test for every girl under Lady Browning's rule.

Even students visiting from other schools, aspiring huntsmen and huntresses, maintain a calm demeanor. Still, a question lingers in everyone's minds: 'What caused this, and why the urgent need for evacuation?'

Confusion stirs when students are suddenly instructed to leave with their families. They'd been told to leave due to incoming storms, and though the sky had darkened, bringing an unexpected downpour, something feels off.

Meanwhile, Jacob sits alone under the stormy sky, no family waiting for him, and no home to return to. Raindrops soak his straightened hair, curling it into a wild mess that clings to his face. His bag of belongings rests against his shoulder, as the world seems to walk away without him.

He looks up, sensing a familiar energy. His eyes widen, breath catching as he turns back toward the school.

"What's going on? I've never felt her aura like this… but why now?" he mutters, his heart pounding as he bolts back towards the building.

—

As he neared the school, Jacob noticed the doors were sealed shut, the surrounding area eerily empty. He backed up, inhaling deeply, then charged forward, slamming his shoulder into the door. It flung open under the impact, and he stumbled inside, gritting his teeth against the throbbing pain in his shoulder as he broke into a sprint down the dim, deserted hallway.

Finally, he skidded to a halt where he sensed Neo would be. His eyes widened as he took in the splatters of blood on the floor.

"What... happened…?" he muttered.

He crouched down, examining the blood stains, then turned to see two deep indents in the wall nearby.

"It couldn't have been her…" he murmured as he eyed every corner.

Standing, he looked down the long hallway, deciding which direction to take. Feeling Neo's energy pulsing stronger in one direction, he dashed down that path. Reaching a door, he grasped the knob. Only to recoil as a sudden, searing pain shot through his hand. He flinched back, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead as his aura protected him from any lasting harm. His hand trembled slightly, but he was certain he was close.

Steeling himself, he rolled his shoulder, then charged at the door again only to slam into a shimmering pink barrier that sent him crashing hard against the wall behind him.

—

Neo stood in the center of the room, her pink jacket shredded to pieces, her black shirt beneath rumpled and torn.

Facing her were the Malachite twins, their clothes equally disheveled as they braced themselves.

Neo raised a hand. Before Melanie could even react, a blast of aura shot out, slamming into her stomach, knocking the wind from her lungs and sending her skidding across the floor.

Miltia staggered, clutching her shoulder as both twins glared up at the girl before them. The room lay in ruins. Beds torn apart, accessories and clothing reduced to scraps.

Suddenly, the ceiling caved in. Both twins looked up, startled, as a figure dropped into the room, before rising to her feet. She dusted herself off, pulling her glove tighter over her fingers.

"It's you…" the twins murmured in unison, recognizing the woman who now stood before them.

Lady Beat, dressed in a brown dress unlike her usual attire, gazed at Neo with eyes like blades. Neo's face was cast in shadow, void of any emotion.

"It took considerable effort to crack through that barrier. Fortunately, the top wasn't as fortified as the sides," Lady Beat purred, walking forward slowly.

She rolled her neck, letting it pop before turning her back to the twins. "I suggest you both retreat the way I came in,"

As the Malachite twins scrambled to their feet, they climbed to escape through the hole Lady Beat had made. Meanwhile, Beat charged forward, throwing a punch at Neo.

The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the room, and steam billowed from the force of the strike. Yet, Beat's eyes widened as her fist met an invisible barrier. With a snarl, she darted around Neo, attacking from every angle.

Finally, she pulled back, noticing blood dripping from her knuckles.

Beat watched as her own blood hit the floor, but in that split second, Neo was on her, closing the distance faster than she could imagine. Neo's uppercut swung with terrifying speed, narrowly missing Beat's jaw, yet the air around it ignited with pink aura, causing a large explosion.

The room shook from the impact, and outside, Jacob could sense it but found himself helpless.

As the smoke cleared, Lady Beat remained standing, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She looked at Neo with an amused smirk. "Do you know why I wear brown?" she asked, removing her glove slowly.

Neo stayed silent, her expression as unreadable as ever.

"Because it's the color of blood once it's settled and oxidized. You'd be surprised how hard it is to get that stain out after a job. Brown makes the perfect cover, don't you think?" she purred, letting the glove fall to the floor.

'One touch could end this,' Beat thought, 'But this damn barrier… how does she have enough aura to sustain this?'

Beat lunged, but Neo intercepted with a single arm raised, and Beat was thrown back, colliding with the wall. She crumpled to her knees, looking up just in time to see Neo standing above her, her hand extended menacingly.

In an instant, Neo's pink aura intensified, descending like a force of gravity that cracked the floor beneath Beat's knees. Lady Beat clenched her jaw, the weight pressing her down mercilessly.

'A student against an assassin,' she thought, teeth gritting as she struggled to stay upright. 'How is there this much of a gap?'

Neo's hand began to close, the weight pressing down on Lady Beat growing crushingly heavy. Beat clenched her eyes shut until a sudden, loud thud caught their attention.

Jacob tumbled into the room, catching both women's attention.

Neo froze, turning towards him, her eyes lost and almost animalistic. She extended her hand toward Jacob, and he dodged on instinct, moving closer to Lady Beat.

"What the hell is going on?" he panted, glancing at Neo with confusion.

Lady Beat rose to her feet. "It's clear she's lost all sense of balance if she's targeting you." She brushed off the dust coolly. "But here's the question: how did you get past her barrier?"

Jacob and Beat exchanged glances before he shrugged. "I didn't. I charged in again, but it was like the barrier wasn't even there."

Lady Beat held her chin thoughtfully. "So that means—"

"Yeah. She doesn't have enough aura to keep all this in check. She's aware of her limits, using certain abilities strategically but pulling back when she has to. That blast she hit you with, she dropped the barrier then."

Lady Beat raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know that?"

"Her semblance creates illusions powerful enough to hit all senses, but maintaining them drains her, even with my training helping her. This magnitude? She's sacrificing control in certain areas to amplify her attack power."

As he finished, Neo's hand shot up again, releasing a blast of aura that slammed into Lady Beat, sending her sprawling. Jacob's eyes widened in panic. "Hey, you still with me?"

Beat stood up, brushing herself off with a smirk. "I'm fine, sugar. I've been letting her land a few hits to test her… and now that I know this is all just illusion, it's like a twisted little fairy tale." She winked.

Jacob stepped beside her. "So, what's the plan?"

"Endurance." She threw off her gloves. "We push her until she burns out. She might be conserving, but she can't last forever."

A grin crossed Jacob's face as he pulled the hilt of his katana from his pocket, watching it extend in his grip. He got into stance, holding the blade with one hand. "Alright. Let's see what you can do."

—

The drive back home should have felt like a relief, but Carmel seemed lost in thought, her eyes fixed out the window, while Jimmy appeared unusually calm. Away from the chaos of the school, it was quiet, serene even, as they stopped at a red light.

"What did you think of Trivia's performance?" Jimmy said, breaking the silence. "I admit, it surprised me. That was the first time I saw her so... happy." A small, satisfied smirk played on his lips. "Maybe sending her to that school wasn't such a terrible decision after all. Could be exactly what she needed."

He waited, but Carmel didn't respond, her eyes fixed on the clouds above. He glanced over, frowning. "Is something troubling you?"

Carmel's voice was distant, tinged with a sense of worry. "Our daughter… She's in trouble."

Jimmy raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"

"Call it a mother's intuition, or perhaps a gift from the Brothers," she murmured.

"Did you notice the weather? That aura we felt? As soon as we moved out of proximity to the school, the storm cloud around us faded. But look behind us." She nodded toward the rear view mirror. "That cloud, it's still hovering there. That's… not natural, Jimmy."

Jimmy's face paled as he gripped the steering wheel tighter.

Carmel continued, her voice now sharper. "And then there's Neo. That 'imaginary friend' I shattered… I felt something disturbingly familiar in that rain. And didn't you find it strange that we, unlike other parents, weren't given a choice to leave with our daughter? We were ordered out. Forced."

The light turned green, and Jimmy hesitated, glancing down the road.

"Turn the car around," Carmel demanded, her voice growing in aggression.

Jimmy stiffened, until she yelled again

"I said, turn the car around!"

Panicked, Jimmy nodded, veering into the next lane without hesitation and spinning the car back toward the school.

Carmel turned back to the window. 'If that song… that tale of Neo was true,' she thought grimly, 'then I shattered more than a fantasy. What we're seeing now is the hate, the fury, everything she's bottled up, all breaking free.'

—

In the wreckage of the room, Carmel grabbed whatever small items she could find and hurled them at Neo, who dodged easily.

Jacob circled from the back, swinging his katana, but the barrier around Neo was thick as steel. Before she could retaliate, Carmel sprang forward with a knee to Neo's face, launching her upward. Neo slammed against the ceiling, rubble tumbling down around her.

A shockwave of pink aura flared, and the rubble lifted, hovering for a moment before scattering around her. Jacob, stunned momentarily but rushed back in. Neo's eyes narrowed, and with a mere glare, the entirety of the room flashed white.

The dorm room was a ruin of shattered walls and smoking debris. Jacob's sword was chipped, his clothes torn to ribbons. Kneeling, he steadied himself by plunging his sword into the floor.

"We're cornered here... Her defenses are tight," he gasped. "If she wasn't constantly countering, we might stand a chance, but I can't predict her next move."

Neo walked toward her parasol, the only thing left unscathed. She snapped it open, grabbing the blade inside, and dragging it along the ground as she advanced on Jacob.

Then, without warning, her body convulsed. Veins bulged along her neck, and her eyes flickered between pink and brown as her hair flashed between colors. A struggle raged within her, one that left both Jacob and Lady Beat stunned.

Lady Beat stepped forward, not wanting to waste this opportunity. "Get out of here, kid. Let me handle this," she stated as her fingers twitched with excitement.

Jacob gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand. "Not gonna happen."

Lady Beat raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. "Why not? Do you want her to keep tearing this place apart?"

"Didn't say that." He straightened, though his body quivered. "Your idea of 'handling' things is killing her. Mine is figuring out what's going on."

Lady Beat's face darkened as she regarded him with a tilt of her head. Her voice was polite, almost mocking. "Don't be ridiculous. Me, kill a student?"

Jacob scoffed. "I've got ears, lady. Currently her illusions aren't fully immersive; that barrier of hers doesn't block sound. And I'm a Faunus. Did you forget that on my file?"

Her jaw tightened, her mask slipping for a moment. "Your file had…many errors. And I don't mean to sound insensitive, but which part of you exactly is Faunus?"

Jacob smirked, baring his sharp, canine teeth. "A human mother and a faunus father. Not all my teeth are pointed, but a few of them are sharp enough for the label." He squared up, blocking her path to Neo. "I've got night vision, sharp hearing, enhanced smell—all the perks. Lucky genes, huh? Keeps me out of Faunus-only trouble."

Lady Beat's mask shattered. She tilted her head down, finally showing her true colors.

"Do you know what my semblance is, boy?" Lady Beat's voice was a chilling calm.

"If I touch you with each finger of my right hand," she paused, her eyes gleaming with sadistic thrill, "you'll die. One finger strips away your emotions. The second leaves you starving. The third? Dehydrated. The fourth deprives you of oxygen. And the fifth…"

Without warning, she lunged. Her fingers traced their path up his neck: index, middle, ring, pinky, and just as her thumb grazed his throat, her hand landed on something solid. She looked down and saw her fingers touching not skin, but the cloth of his choker, hiding his Adam's apple.

In the split second she realized, Jacob swung his katana across her chest, forcing her back as her aura flared in defense. She staggered, but recovered, her eyes locking onto him, seething with hatred. Jacob's gaze held a flicker of relief.

Heavy footsteps thundered down the hallway, closing in. Lady Beat clicked her tongue in frustration, glancing toward the doorway before casting a sneer at Jacob. She leaped up, pulling herself through the hole she'd entered from.

"I'd love to finish you off, mutt, but I've had enough setbacks today. Never again will I trust a dog."

Her last words echoed as she disappeared.

Jacob watched her go, then turned back to Neo. He reached out, but the barrier seared his hand, forcing him to pull back with a hiss of pain.

"Damn it… I can't take her with me." He muttered under his breath.

He weighed his options, darting looks between Neo and the window as the footsteps drew closer. 'If she'd trusted whoever's coming, she wouldn't have left. There are no sirens, so it's not the cops. Huntsmen and Huntresses were likely told off because of the weather. If I get caught, they'll pin this whole mess on me.'

With a final glance at Neo, he clenched his teeth and dashed to the window, diving out just as the footsteps reached the door.

The door, barely hanging on its hinges, creaked open, revealing Jimmy.

"I never thought things would turn out like this,"

He scanned the wreckage of the room, then his gaze moved upward to meet his daughter, her body standing still as if frozen in place.

"I feared this," he continued, stepping forward.

"I was terrified of you losing control of your semblance. Of losing control of who you are."

He paused, his voice catching, a bitter mix of guilt and regret surfacing. "I tried... I tried everything to prevent it."

He gripped his collar, eyes momentarily closing as he gathered his thoughts. "It scared the hell out of me. A father, terrified of his own child. Can you imagine that?"

He shook his head. "But not anymore. I brushed off parts of you like they were nothing. But they weren't nothing. They were just parts of you I didn't understand. Parts of you I should've let roam free, let guide you, instead of shutting them down completely."

He took a tentative step forward, extending a hand, as if hoping to bridge the gap. But his daughter remained motionless, her posture stiff as if she were fighting something invisible. Suddenly, she turned, curling into herself, and without warning, she created a solid brick wall of aura around her.

Jimmy's eyes widened in shock, but then something in his expression softened.

He swallowed hard, "I get it," he murmured, his hand dropping to his side.

"I failed to see the signs... and I'm guessing it's too late for me to get back in, huh?"

His voice wavered as he looked at the wall between them. "Is that what this wall is? How you want to be closed off?"

He reached out again, his fingers brushing lightly against the barrier. He could feel the feelings it radiated.

Inside the wall, Trivia and Neo were in a constant tug-of-war, each moment flipping between one another as she curled tighter into herself. Her body shook violently, her tears streaking her cheeks constantly.

She let out a quiet sob, trying desperately to stifle it behind gritted teeth, but it was no use. Her hair shifted, darkening to the familiar shade of brown, then it unraveled, turning pale pink as it fell loosely around her back.

Outside, Carmel stood just out of view.

Jimmy continued, "I never understood the signs. What you were trying to tell me, what you needed... If I can't hear it from you, it's hard for me to believe it. And that... that's such a limited way of thinking. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for not understanding you." His voice cracked.

Inside, Trivia's fists clenched, her knuckles white as she hit her own head in frustration. Her left hand covered her face, but through the gaps in her fingers, her eyes glowed pink, her hair shifting once more, now cascading in waves of pink.

"As a father... I only wanted the best for you. That's why I pushed you to speak, to make friends, to get out there and show yourself to the world. But I could see you started to resent me. And... truth is, I started resenting you too. I stopped taking you out, stopped caring about what you needed, and got lost in my business. Not even bothering to check in on you..." His voice grew heavier. "I've been a terrible father... What kind of nerve do I have to stand here and tell you that?"

He chuckled bitterly, running his fingers along the brick wall, the touch as tender as it was self-loathing. "But I do love you, and it doesn't have to be now. Whenever you're ready... let's talk. Just... let me know when."

With a last, lingering glance at the wall, he sighed, a resigned smile on his lips. He rubbed the wall gently, before turning to walk away.

Inside, Neo's shoulders sagged, her pink eyes dimming with a flicker of sadness as tears welled up.

'Why couldn't he have realized this sooner?' she thought, her hand drifting to her side. Her fingers slowly curled into fists, each breath tight and shaky.

'Some apology won't erase what he put me through. Those years of abuse... they can't just be wiped away,'

'He has to pay... we'll make him—'

She stopped herself, 'No. I'll make him pay.'

In an instant, a blinding flash erupted from her, the aura surrounding her crashing down in a violent wave that shattered the wall she had built. The force of her aura sent Jimmy soaring through the air.

"Jimmy!" Carmel screamed. She leapt forward, catching him mid-air and gently lowering him to the ground.

Meanwhile, Neo stood tall, her expression one of rage.

Carmel remained unfazed by the pressure of the aura, rising to her feet and facing her daughter. Jimmy slowly pushed himself up, beads of sweat dripping down his face as he tried.

"Thank you," he muttered softly.

"It's fine," Carmel replied coolly. "But I suggest you head back to the car."

Suddenly, Jimmy reached out, gripping her hand tightly."Sorry, but I've got this. Let me handle this one on my own."

Carmel's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you stupid!? I appreciate the time for bravery, but this isn't one of those times!" she snapped.

Jimmy smiled softly, turning to face his daughter. "As parents, we have to send a message. What kind of message do I send if I can't do this myself? If I have someone else play my role for me? You shouldn't have to be both mother and father, and I shouldn't have anyone step into my role but me."

Carmel stood frozen, then slowly, she nodded. A smile on her lips and her cheeks tinted with a hint of blush.

Jimmy began walking towards Neo. But somewhere in the depth of her mind, a voice screamed at him:

'Father, stop! Don't come any closer!' But the thought remained unheard.

Jimmy continued to speak as he neared her. "In that room, I let you suffer, didn't I? All I wanted was the chance to talk things out... to force you out of your shell?"

He continued walking. "And that semblance I grew to hate? It was just a manifestation of your loneliness, your true desires. And there I was, telling you to hide it away, suppress it…"

'If he gets any closer…' Trivia thought desperately. 'I can't control myself... I don't want to kill him, but…'

Once close enough, chains erupted from the ground, wrapping around Jimmy's body. They coiled around his neck, his arms, his legs, and pinned him to the floor, his body jerking in shock as the chains cut into his skin.

Inside her own mind, Trivia trembled in horror, watching helplessly as Neo's eyes fixed on her father.

Carmel watched in alarm, her body tensing in readiness to act. Neo's hand gripped the hilt of her blade, dragging it across the ground once again.

Knowing what Neo was capable of, and the danger Jimmy was in, Carmel sprang into action.

But as she moved, the same voice that had echoed in Trivia's mind screamed out once more: 'NO! DON'T DO IT!'