"Hmm, hmm, hmmmmm….hmm, hmm, hmmmmm~" Sonara hummed happily, skipping in front Rosalie as the two of them advanced through the halls. The brunette moved with vigorous purpose, so much that her friend had to hurry to keep up with her.

A few minutes earlier, Sonara had felt the urge to check out the selection of books at the school library. Initially she'd asked Kyra to join her because of all the novels the girl read in her free time, but the invitation had been declined. So, as per usual, her partner and best friend agreed to go on her little adventure.

"Hey, ya think they have the story with the white rabbit and the disappearing kitty?" Sonara asked hopefully, skipping backwards to look at Rosalie.

The rose haired girl shrugged, smiling warmly. "Dunno. Guess we'll have to find out, won't we?" she ventured in a light tone.

"Mmm, I guess," Sonara replied, turning forward again.

The pair soon arrived at the library entrance. Sonara was positively bursting with anticipation, her feet fidgeting sporadically. She hadn't visited this part of the school much, and it was really exciting! Anything new was always fun to explore. At least to her it was.

Just as Sonara reached for the bronze handle of the door, it abruptly swung outwards, almost smacking into the short-statured Huntress-in-training. She barely managed to jump out of the way without getting hurt. On the other side, four boys walked out of the library laughing and bragging about something the two girls couldn't quite make out. Sonara growled angrily at their obliviousness to what they'd almost done.

"Hey! Watch it!" she shouted heatedly, snapping at the four boys.

The four members stopped, looking at the small girl with blank stares. The tallest one, a boy with short brown hair and blue eyes, scoffed at the hostility.

"What?" he asked, annoyed.

"What d'ya mean 'what'?! You almost whacked me with the door, you big jerk!"

"Tch, did not. You just got in the way, short stack."

"What?! Why I…" Sonara growled furiously as she moved towards the boy, only to be stopped as Rosalie put out her arm.

"Look, we don't want any trouble," her pink haired partner stated, a look of stern calm etched onto her face. "Just be more mindful of what you're doing, please."

All the boys looked at the two of them as if they were crazy, and their leader scoffed again in annoyance.

"Pfft, whatever," he mumbled. The tall boy then motioned for the other three to follow. "C'mon, let's get out of here. See ya later, ya broads."

"BROADS?! Grrr, that's it!"

"Don't bother… " Rosalie said, halting her partner as she watched the four boys strut away. "They aren't worth it."

Hot steam shooting from her ears, Sonara glared daggers into the backs of the four young men, sticking her tongue out in defiance. She rustled her muted brown hair before entering the library, any lingering anger melting away when she saw the inside.

"Woooooooooooow….." the brunette breathed in awe, her sapphire eyes sparkling. It was ginormous! Rows upon rows of shelves chocked full of books, tables with holographic computers, and an entire second floor filled with wonders she couldn't even fathom! It was truly spectacular!

Rosalie giggled softly upon seeing her partner's awestruck face. "Shall we go check it out?" she asked, a light smile gracing her features.

With an affirmative nod from her partner, the duo went their way through the forest of literature. In a matter of minutes, they managed to locate many stories they were familiar with, as well as a plethora of new works. After an hour, the girls decided to take a break, delving straight into the worlds of fantasy and fiction they had found. Sonara instantly tore through the story she and Rosalie grew up on; the tale about a little girl who stumbles into an upside down world of whimsical chaos. As for Rosalie, she'd found a novel about the plight of twin princes who had conflicting ideals on how to rule, apparently filled with excitement, drama, and adventure.

The late afternoon turned to evening before either of the girls decided to stop, the lights in the library providing illumination in place of the sun. Softly closing the musty book she was reading, Sonara stretched as far as she could go, her joints popping. It was definitely getting late, and Val n' Kyra were probably making something for dinner by now…

Rosalie mimed her partner, relieving the stiffness in her body as she finished reading. "Wanna head back now?" she asked.

Sonara nodded firmly. "Yep," the brunette responded, getting to her feet and grabbing the books she'd checked out. "Imma do one more look, though."

Nodding, Rosalie followed after Sonara as she scanned the shelves one final time. The young girl zipped lightly around the aisles, following a path she'd made after the first few times she browsed. But as she made a certain turn, something, or rather someone, abruptly caught her eye.

"Huh?" she asked herself, recognizing the person instantly.

Sitting at one of the tables alone, piles of books in front of them, was Gayle. She looked spaced out, distractedly fumbling with an intricate paper bird in her hands.

"Gayle?"

Upon hearing her name, the girl snapped out of her daze with a jolt. She looked around in alarm, only to relax after realizing who had called her.

"O-oh, um, hi," she greeted quietly, sitting up straighter as Sonara and Rosalie approached .

"Hey!" Sonara responded, smiling brightly. She then noticed the paper bird, and drew in closer to observe it. "Woooooooah…. That looks awesome!" she gushed, stars in her eyes. "Did you make that?!"

"Y-yeah," Gayle responded, awkwardly stumbling for words. "I, uh, yeah, I did."

"That's. So. Cool! Can you teach me how to do that?!"

Gayle smiled a little at Sonara's enthusiasm "Oh, sure! Honestly, it's a lot easier than it looks."

"Awright!" Sonara cheered, giggling happily.

Just as she was about to join the faunus, she remembered what she had been doing previously. It also helped when she noticed her partner behind her, waiting.

"Oooh, but maybe not right now. We need to head back," she said with a hint of disappointment, only to hop back into her normal, energetic tone. "But you'll definitely teach me later, right?!"

Gayle leaned her chair back nervously, as Sonara was literally staring her in the face, and nodded. "Of course. I'll show you whenever you'd like," she replied with a friendly smile.

"Awesome! Thanks, friend!"

"You're wel-hrrk!" Gayle was suddenly captured in a vice-like hug, catching her completely by surprise.

"Can't…breathe…" she gasped, wriggling to escape the embrace, and nearly falling out of her precariously tilted chair.

"Alright, let her go," Rosalie instructed calmly, and Sonara released on command. After catching her breath, Gayle let a faint chuckle escape, grateful to be free.

"So why are you all by yourself?" Rosalie asked the faunus girl.

"Huh? I'm not."

"Then where is everyone else?"

"They were just…" Gayle trailed off as she noticed the items around her table, all belonging to her. "Oh. They must've left while I was still, uh, studying... " she mumbled absently.

Rosalie raised an inquisitive brow. "Gayle, how long have you been studying here?"

"Since, well, since school ended. Like usual."

"And how long ago was that?"

"Class only got out a few hours ago." Gayle looked confused now. "Why?"

"A few?" Sonara interjected. "It's nighttime!"

"What?!" Gayle scrambled to the nearest window, deflating when she saw the last golden rays of light disappear below the horizon. She let out a sigh, slumping back into her chair and beginning to gather her notes.

Sonara and Rosalie exchanged a glance.

"Hey… are you okay?" asked the former, at the quietest volume she'd displayed the entire encounter.

Gayle smiled faintly. "I'm fine," she replied quickly, "I just really lost track of the time. It's not the first time, probably won't be the last. You know how it is sometimes, you just lose track of things when you're, uh, distracted, and all. Don't worry about it, I'll just finish up here and be off. Just gotta, y'know, grab my things and whatnot..."

As she rambled, voice growing quicker and quieter with each word, the other two girls shared another glance, this time followed by a moment of silence.

"Well, okay!" Sonara spoke up, smiling cheerily. "If that's all, then we won't worry." She looked up at her partner. "We going now?" she asked.

Rosalie nodded, but her eyes were on Gayle. She studied the young faunus, and couldn't fight her growing hunch that there was more to this than the girl was letting on. After all, she and everyone else on the team had begun to notice how unusually Gayle had been conducting herself recently. Regardless, Rosalie decided to follow her partner's example and give Gayle. If she wanted to talk about it, she'd probably go to her own team.

"Yes, we should," Rosalie responded to her partner. "It was nice to spend a little time with you, Gayle. You're heading back too, right?"

Gayle nodded.

"In that case, why don't we lend you a hand with those books? Seems a little much for just one person. Not to mention all of your spectacular little paper creations."

"Huh? Oh, no no no. I can take care of it," the faunus hastily replied. "Really, I've got it."

"Aww, don't be silly!" Sonara stated, "We'd love to help! Friends help each other, no matter what the problem!"

Before Gayle could protest further, Sonara stacked a good three-quarters of the faunus' books and hoisted them off the table, grinning happily as she walked to the exit. Rosalie felt her own smile widening and gathered all the remaining notes, leaving Gayle to carry her paper creations. They followed after Sonara, Gayle's tail swaying limply and her feet dragging tiredly.

"You know…" Rosalie started as she saw the girl lagging behind. "If you want to talk about anything, Sonara and I are always willing to listen. I bet the same goes for Valerie, and even Kyra. We've got your back," she said, smiling to hopefully lighten the girl's spirit.

Lifting her head, Gayle responded with a quiet "Sure, yeah, thanks," before returning her gaze to the ground.

"Aaaand that's the last of it."

Sonara finished recounting her story to the assembled members of both her team and team KRME, who all took it in silently, faces grim.

"Hmmm..." Rember frowned, ears slanted back unhappily.

"That's why she showed up with you guys last night…" Jad mumbled.

"So I guess everyone knows for certain something's up, huh?" Valerie asked, glancing across to the empty gap in KRME's row. Gayle was absent from lunch. Again. It was becoming increasingly difficult to find her at all outside of class, and everyone was worried.

The three present members of KRME all nodded. They'd all known for a while Gayle was troubled, but still she wouldn't open up, even after Jad and Azure (as well as Sonara and Rosalie) had tried talking to her. So now they were left without a hint at what was causing her such distress.

"We've tried to get her talking," Jad answered, disappointed. "Maybe she doesn't trust us enough."

"Maybe she wants to deal with her problem alone," Kyra suggested dispassionately. "Deducing from what you've said, she probably doesn't feel that she needs help. From what you've told us about her, she's been homeschooled, had private tutors, and is socially awkward. Doesn't seem like the kind of person that relies on others. Or am I wrong?"

No one argued with Kyra's logic. But as the drawn out silence continued, Rember's ears perked up, and she looked to Sonara inquisitively.

"Question," she began. "Who were those four people you mentioned?"

"Hmm?" The short brunette perked up. "Oh! Um…" She looked around the room in a quick sweep, trying to locate the four boys from her story. "They're riiiight…there!" she exclaimed, pointing across the hall.

Everyone at the table glanced over to where Sonara pointed.

"Yes. That's them," Rosalie confirmed.

"Anyone know who they are?" Valerie asked.

"Oh, I do," Rember answered with a hint of hostility, fox ears lying flat. "That's team CRDL."

"Beacon's boy band, I'd wager," Jad commented, mirroring his teammate's darkened look.

Rember's flinty gaze hardened. Across the room, the four members of CRDL didn't seem to notice the several glares directed at them. Azure was privately sizing them up, trying to get a good read on them. From what he could see, they were...arrogant, at best. The four of them may as well have been the poster boys of stereotypical belittling jocks, always holding their power over any of the other students. Not to mention they were all extremely prejudiced, especially towards faunus. Now that he thought about it, Azure did recall them picking on numerous different faunus students since the beginning of the year. And the more he thought about it, the more his neutral expression began to crack. He'd never liked those kinds of people.

"Hrmmm…" Sonara grimaced, "I really don't like them."

"For once, I agree with you," Kyra mumbled, prompting her teammate to stick her tongue out at her.

Suddenly, CRDL left their seats, swaggering off to who knew where. As they left, Rember picked up bits of their conversation, fox ears twitching every which way as they caught sounds. Azure caught the sight, and looked to his partner with questioning eyes.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I...I don't know," she answered, "It was hard to hear 'cause of all the noise, but…" Rember trailed off to listen, but quickly finished her statement. "I think someone's in trouble. I know enough about those...idiots to know that they aren't good news."

Azure immediately honed in on how uneasy she sounded. Valerie, Kyra, and Rosalie caught the fox's foreboding tone too, but Sonara and Jad missed it, the tall boy too occupied with lunch while he tried to figure out what was happening with his partner, and the young girl still giving CRDL the stink eye as they left.

"You don't think...they're going after Gayle, do you?" Rosalie whispered worriedly.

"Say that again?"

Azure and Rember flinched upon hearing the deadpan tone beside them, cautiously glancing sideways at Jad. The tall young man was paying attention and had stopped eating, a literal dark energy surrounding him. AMBR were taken aback by the sight, and Rosalie cautiously spoke again.

"I...I said you don't think it's Gayle-"

"Yeah, I got it," Jad replied, cutting her off.

Without another word, he stood and made his way out of the dining hall, the black energy intensifying as he left.

Everyone still seated was frozen for a good moment as they watched Jad depart.

"Rem?" Azure posed, looking at his partner.

"On it!" the fox girl answered, springing after Jad.

Azure followed closely, leaving his incomplete lunch behind. They also left a very concerned and confused team AMBR, unsure of what they should do.

"Jad, just hang on a sec," Azure urged as he and Rember blocked their teammate's path.

They'd finally caught up to him. The tall young man halted, eyeing them both.

"What?" he asked in a flat voice, an unsettlingly neutral look on his face.

"Look, just calm down," Azure insisted, holding firm.

While he understood Jad's anger, they needed to handle this tactfully. His friend's typical 'break things first, ask questions later' approach would only get him, and probably everyone else on the team, in trouble.

"I am."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I doubt that. Look, before you go off and destroy everything, have you at least thought about a different angle to go about this?"

"I have."

"How hard?"

"Very."

Azure paused. "So...?" he asked.

Jad let out a short, angry breath. The expression he wore spoke volumes for his determination.

Azure and Rember shared an incredulous glance.

"You're not stopping, are you?" Azure asked.

"Surprised?"

"No. But if we let you go, what are you going to do?"

Jad took a moment to think, shoulders tense, fists clenching and unclenching.

"I'm gonna … poke em," he answered.

Azure felt his brow furrow with doubt. Whatever Jad wanted to do, it most likely involved violence. No matter what Azure thought of, he couldn't calm down Jad, and the young man sighed in defeat.

"Is there any way we can get Gayle and NOT have bloodshed today?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Jad's eyes focused on the hall ahead of them, the black energy growing darker.

"Get to them before I do."

Rember looked at Azure and said "Honestly, I can't argue with that logic."

Gayle sighed as she slowly walked the school halls alone. The weight in her arms seemed heavier than usual today, which was odd as she was carrying the usual amount of notes. She did feel a bit tired, but that wasn't going to stop her today. Soon as the food she'd had earlier kicked in, she'd be feeling better...right?

Her mind began to wander, as it often did. The others were probably having their own lunches right now, likely talking about what was happening with her. Gayle knew they were all wanting to know why she had been so...quiet. But everything was fine. If she was patient enough, if she continued to do her best, she would get through this. The situation would resolve itself. It always did. There was no need to get them involved with a problem that wasn't theirs. It wouldn't be fair to them, expecting them to fix everything for her. Just like it wasn't fair to...

Without warning, she felt a push from behind and stumbled forward. She lost her balance and fell to the cold floor, dropping her books everywhere.

Ow... Gayle thought distantly, rubbing the pain in her right arm away. She looked up to see who had pulled the unprovoked move, and anxiety instantly ignited within her stomach.

It was the four boys who had been hounding her.

"Hey, bookworm," the tallest one said, smiling smugly. "How's it going?"

Without a word, Gayle went about collecting her things. She knew she wouldn't accomplish much by stooping to their level, but maybe if she didn't play into their spectacle they'd go away.

Her silence didn't deter them.

"Hey, I'm talking to you."

It wasn't until they aimed a kick her way that she responded.

"I heard you," she mumbled, refusing to face her aggressors. She redoubled her efforts to grab her scattered items. At the very least, once she gathered her things she could make a break for it. She knew for a fact that she was much quicker than them.

The lead boy huffed in satisfaction. "Good. Then I also bet you remember hearing about those notes from Oobleck that me and my team needed for tomorrow. You wrote a copy for us, right?"

"What? No. You should have written your-"

Gayle was hoisted off the ground and forced against the wall. The move took her by surprise, and her breath rushed from her lungs as her back made contact with the harsh stone. Her spines grated uncomfortably against the unrelenting surface.

"No talking back," he growled. "Now I'm getting kinda sick of all your dodging, so I think you need a crash course on how this works. You do what I say, and life goes on. But if you refuse, or you blab about this to anyone, you'll get yours, plus interest."

Gayle said nothing. She tried squirming free, tail thrashing and flexing anxiously as she writhed, but physical prowess had never been her forte.

"Heh, nice try," he snickered. The other members went through her spilled belongings and quickly found what they were looking for, tucking the notes away. Curse her impeccable organisation! "Thanks. Now, ah, how 'bout you make a copy for us next period? The boys and I have a busy schedule, and we wouldn't want to cause you any extra trouble."

The small faunus felt her face scrunching into a frown. "Excuse me?! No way! That is a violation of the academic integrity expected of-" Gayle was cut off as the grip holding her up tightened. Her tail curled defensively, but otherwise she held still, mouth tightly shut.

After a tense moment the boy let go, and Gayle slumped back down to the floor. She did her best to control the shaking in her body, trying not to appear as scared as she felt. She was outnumbered, outmuscled, out...well, just about everything by herself.

For weeks they'd taunted her, mocked her, snatched at her tail or yanked on her spines. They'd made grabs for her books or tried to cheat off her in class, and frankly none of that was new. She was no stranger to any of the disgusting drivel that would spill off their tongues when they'd strut past her in the halls. But never had they been so outright aggressive in their campaign against her, and dammit, she couldn't bring herself to fight back!

She was frightened, and alone. Again.

"Cardin, we got what we need. Let's go before-"

"HEY! COCKBREATH!"

Cardin, his teammates, and Gayle all jumped at the enraged voice. Looking past the quartet of boys, the short girl felt her heart skip a beat, a surge of relief engulfing her.

Jad?! Guys?! Gayle thought in disbelief.

Azure, Rember, and Jad had come looking for her. All three of them carried an air of hostility. Even Azure, as collected as he usually was, had a dark look. Jad appeared ready to kill everyone; a black energy surrounded him and siphoned away the light to form a dark halo.

"SOME RATS GONNA DIE TONIGHT!" Jad roared, wisps of the black energy breaking off before dissipating like steam.

One member of CRDL backed away in fear, and Cardin raised an eyebrow.

"And what's your deal?" he asked, acting tough. "Am I supposed to be scared of one scraggly team defending a faunus?"

"Um, excuse you! That's our friend." Rember snarled, her eyes narrowed into green slits. Her fists were balled at her sides, her ears were flattened angrily, and she'd taken an offensive stance. "And nobody bullies our friends."

"Is that what you think this is? You shouldn't be so quick to judge. But I guess I should've expected you faunus freaks to stand up for each other. That's all you've got, after all."

Rember hissed, the temperature in the room rising.

"They're talking when they should be counting their teeth…" Jad growled darkly, cracking his knuckles.

"Wait," Azure commanded, calmly stepping in front of his teammates to face off against Cardin. "Let her go," he ordered the tall human boy, eyeing him sternly face to face.

"What?"

"Let. Her. Go," he repeated slowly, articulating clearly. "I don't care what you have to say. You'll let her go, and you will leave her alone."

Cardin ground his teeth together, refusing to crack under Azure's cold stare. Without another word, Azure walked past the bully, helped Gayle to her feet, and led her over to Rember and Jad.

Cardin scoffed again. "Are you kidding me? You're protecting her? Why would you or this tool in a hat even bother defending something like her? They're animals! Filthy Therions!"

Azure stopped in his tracks. It was then that CRDL noticed a change in atmosphere. A darker, more foreboding energy surrounded the white haired boy. It might have been the sudden and drastic drop in temperature that sent chills down their spines, but also might have been the icy stare of the archer.

"Jad..." Azure spoke up, not moving. The tall redhead wouldn't break eye contact with his target, but he was listening.

"Poke 'em."

Team CRDL hardly had time to be confused before a miniature explosion sent them into the far wall, cracking the stone and leaving impact craters. The black energy Jad had been collecting as his rage built was released, swirling around him as he laughed maniacally.

"MUAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Here I COME!" he yelled with zeal as he ran toward CRDL and leapt into the air, the surrounding light seemingly sucked into the blackness around him. As the four young men recovered from getting blasted into solid rock, Jad descended. He slammed back down to the ground directly in front of his victims, and the entire school shook with an ear shattering explosion. The rest of KRME shielded themselves as best they could.

It took a minute, but the ringing inside everyone's ears eventually stopped, and the lingering dust settled. Cautiously, Gayle ventured a peek at the aftermath of her partner's outburst. Her jaw dropped.

A large section of wall was demolished, with at least two more farther down also sporting wide holes. The air had a sharp odor to it, crackling with energy like it was on the verge of a lightning storm. Wisps of darkness mingled with faint trails of smoke, and amid the mess stood her partner.

Cracking his neck, Jad let out an angry but semi-satisfied breath. "I was almost too pissed to enjoy that," he growled. With that, he turned back to look at his team.

Azure hummed and closed his eyes. "Well, he finally pissed me off. I don't care anymore what Goodwitch will say."

Jad grinned, and picked up his partner off the ground. "What did I tell you?" he gestured to the rubble behind him. "About heavy lifting. How about you start letting us back you up a little bit more? I'm always ready to break something or someone if you need it, Pipsqueak!"

"Damn straight!" Rember added, handing the lizard girl the belongings that had been strewn about. "You're our friend, Gayle, and part of this team. Don't ever think you can't come to us for something."

Gayle looked at her teammates. Azure chipped in a simple nod and a smile, and the combined boosts perked the lizard faunus right up.

"Okay," she replied, smiling. "Thanks, you guys."

"You betcha!" Jad beamed. The young man then turned on his heel, adjusting his hat whilst strutting towards the administrative offices. "Now let's go find Goodwitch! Oh, she's gonna be so proud of us!"

"By the way, meathead, make sure to let us get a hit in next time! I've been wanting a shot at Cardin for weeks!" Rember huffed, following behind.

Azure and Gayle were right behind them, listening to the continued banter of their partners. The young leader slid a glance in Gayle's direction, catching a small grin on her face.

"What's up?" he asked calmly.

The young faunus softly shook her head. 'Nothing," she replied quietly, and Azure let her be. Out of the blue Gayle stopped dead in her tracks, remembered something extremely important. The small girl turned and ran as fast as she could into the wake of Jad's destruction.

"Hey!" Jad hollered when he noticed Gayle running off on her own, "Where the heck are you going?!"

"My notes!" Gayle shouted over her shoulder, "They still have them!"

Jad ran to catch up to her. She looked at him slightly puzzled.

He smiled and told her, "No more running off alone because you forgot something. From now on, I'm with you."