Julia finally made it, and boy, was she exhausted.

In her preparation for going back to the academy, she accidentally set her alarm an hour earlier than intended and woke up in a daze, before resetting it to the correct time and ending up waking up an hour later instead. She fumbled out of her room, nearly stubbing her toe on the kitchen counter while going to grab her bags and a quick breakfast. She passed her dad, Milo, in the kitchen, nearly banging her head on an open cupboard door, before heading out the door to the Flash-Rail station, where she actually stubbed her toe on the front door.

Fortunately, the station was decently close to their house, as she limped her bags there, before finally taking a seat on the train and letting out an earned sigh, right as it started racing down the track toward Detu City.

Before she could get too comfortable, she felt a tap on her shoulder from behind, before turning and being greeted by a welcome smile.

“Wasn’t expecting to find you here.” Chops exclaimed, just as she sat across from Julia in the few empty seats available.

Julia lit up once she saw her. “I should be saying the same to you. I thought you were staying on campus over the break.”

“I was, but I started feeling cooped up. Makes sense since I was a drifter before coming here.” Chops clarified. “So, I went out on an artist’s retreat and took in the local nature. You know, helped me appreciate the world around me.”

“That sounds fun.” Julia said. “What did you end up doing?”

“Eh, just drew some shit.” Chops said, underwhelming Julia. “I don’t really go for those sorts of experiences, anyway.”

“Tell me about it. I just stayed home the whole break and binge watched old Team Spectrum stuff.” Julia admitted, nervously laughing afterwards. “It’s good comfort food.”

“Don’t make me think of food. I missed Joleicia’s cooking so bad…” Chops expressed, leaning back in her seat, and getting a giggle from Julia. “It’s always so nice to have someone else cooking for you.”

“I miss cooking for the team.” Julia replied. “Wess has such a refined palette…especially compared to my dad…”

Chops sat back up. “And Saxin’s sexiness. That was sorely lacking from my break too.”

Julia blushed to herself and looked away. “I…don’t think I can say the same for my team…”

“What? Come on, there’s got to be someone in the team you fancy.” Chops pointed out. “What about Harley?”

“N-No, of course not! I-I’m the leader, that would just be weird…” Julia argued.

“Hey, don’t be mean to my ex. She’s a real catch.” Chops added, causing Julia to get more flustered.

“…I-I guess I just don’t see them…like that.” Julia said, touching her fingers together. “I mean, I do find them all attractive on some level…”

“Oh, I knew it! You’re smitten! Admit it!” Chops bragged, getting no reaction from Julia, just as they passed the majority of the city, catching the Venator Academy in the skylines.

Julia couldn’t help but stare at its majesty, still standing strong after all it had been through. Considering it had been through two attacks in the same year by a newly discovered Wailing breed, each time taking very heavy damage, the fact it was still standing was a testament to its tenacity.

But, of course, Julia knew the real reason it was still standing…

The reason she tried to stop the attack all together…

The reason she failed…

…

“You okay?”

Julia lifted her head, before realising Chops was talking. “S-Sorry?”

“I asked if you were okay.” Chops clarified, as Julia laughed it off.

“Y-Yeah. I’m just excited to see the team again.” Julia insisted, only somewhat convincing Chops, just as the Flash-Rail pulled into the academy.

Chops split off from Julia to meet up with her team, as Julia waded her way through the crowd, dragging her luggage behind her, slowly being intimidated by the sheer mass of people all greeting each other. However, it was pretty heart-warming to see, considering the last time she’d been this close to the academy entrance, there was a Behemoth Wailing parked out front laying waste to the walkway. And considering the volume of damage, the walkway had no right looking as good as it did.

Principal Faller really pulls his weight around here. Julia thought, finding a relatively open place to stand, peering out into the crowd for anyone in her team.

“I figured Essex would be here by now.” Julia muttered to herself. “I hope she didn’t mind staying here by herself over the break.”

Julia thought it over. “I guess she could’ve hung out with Chops…”

“Julia!”

Julia was ripped from her thoughts in an instant, as she spotted an excitable blonde leaving her bags behind and running up to her, before embracing her in a welcoming hug.

“It’s so good to see you!”

“You too, Harley!” Julia replied, hugging her back. “How was your break?”

“Awesome! I got to hang out with Angie back home, Sola texted me a bunch of great stuff, and my dads even let me take care of some pests with my Venator skills.” Harley let out. “All in all, pretty perfect.”

“That’s good to hear.” Julia grinned. “Sounds like you got up to some fun action.”

“Sure did.” Harley said, before leaning in and winking. “In more than one sense.”

Julia realised what she’d accidentally implied and shied her face away, as Harley laughed to herself at Julia’s cuteness, only to be interrupted by a groan coming from behind her.

“I’m assuming these lazily thrown about bags are yours?”

Harley turned around and walked back over to her luggage. “It’s good to see you too, Wess, my very dear friend.”

“Oh, cut it with the attitude.” Wess insisted, adjusting her dress before heading over to Julia and hugging her. “Honestly, she can be so sassy sometimes.”

“Tell me about it.” Julia agreed. “How was Mareau?”

“Heavenly. Every time I go there, I’m reminded of why I love home so dearly.” Wess gushed, holding her hand to her chest. “Once I was able to free myself of my parents, I explored the city to my leisure along with Graham. I took in as much as I could, and I even caught him crying during a performance of ‘Richard Falinks and the Wayward Sun.’”

“You got to see that?! Lucky!” Julia exclaimed. “I loved that book back in high school, but I could never afford to go see the play.”

“Well, if we both happen to be in Mareau at some point, how about we go see it?” Wess suggested, as Julia jumped on the spot, before hugging Wess again instantly.

“Seriously?! Oh, thank you thank you thank you!” Julia exclaimed, surprising Wess with her excitability, as Harley clapped from the sidelines.

“Way to go, Wess! You sure know how to pull ‘em!” Harley remarked, drawing a couple stares from onlookers, and Wess herself.

“Wait, I know that clapping!” Cried another voice, as an energetic girl in a large jacket jumped Harley, spinning her around in an embrace. “Harley!”

“Sola! Hey!” Harley insisted. “You haven’t changed a bit!”

“I didn’t need to!” Sola replied. “You’re just as beefy as I remember.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Harley bragged, flexing a little, as Sola spotted Julia and Wess and tried to hug them as well, only to be held back by Wess.

“Wess! Let me welcome hug you!”

“No, thank you. Just seeing you is enough.” Wess insisted, only for Julia to embrace the hug openly.

“Julia, you won’t believe it.” Sola started. “I found an old Team Spectrum mug back home!”

“No way!” Julia cheered, just as Sola rushed back to her bags with Julia to grab it.

“They’re just a couple of dorks, huh?” Harley remarked, as Wess sighed out.

“At points, yes.” Wess replied, before feeling a set of eyes on her from behind and turning.

“Cali.”

Wess jumped suddenly at the voice, before seeing who it was and groaning.

“Essex, don’t do that. I nearly had a heart attack.” Wess insisted, as Essex realised her mistake and bowed.

“Relias. I did not mean to startle you. This crowd has been difficult to navigate, and I had not considered my entrance.” Essex explained, bumping into a few people around her accidently. “Moving my scythe out of the way was especially hard.”

“I hope you weren’t bored out of your mind stuck on campus.” Harley said, as Essex shook her head.

“The time allowed me to catch up on training, when I was not minding our equipment and attempting to use my tablet to communicate with you.” Essex clarified. “Chops was also appreciated company.”

“Essex, you’re here!” Julia realised, her and Sola joining back up with the others. “Considering you had to navigate this crowd, I’m surprised you made it out in one piece.”

Essex stared down at her suit, before cocking her head. “One piece?”

“Unharmed.” Wess clarified, with Essex understanding what she meant.

Quickly, she bowed to Julia. “I can assure you I have taken care of myself and minded our weaponry without incident.”

“Nice one, Essex!” Sola exclaimed, looking around them hurriedly. “I don’t know about you guys, but I wanna get out of this crowd.”

“Yes. Let’s make tracks.” Julia encouraged, grabbing her stuff. “I wanna plan some stuff out for our second year.”

“Lead the way.” Harley said, as the team followed behind Julia, heading over to the academy dorms, as they navigated the halls around several other teams reacquainting themselves with their rooms.

“Rooooooom…374.” Julia said aloud, as she reached their room, scanning her card to let them in.

The team familiarised themselves with the space, each setting down their bags and getting comfortable, as Harley checked over their calendar.

“Busy year, huh? We’ve got the annual tournament for the last half of it.” She realised, as Essex joined her side.

“This will be opportune for fighting opponents.” Essex declared. “Let us try our best.”

“The balcony’s still great.” Sola let out, staring out over the training grounds, and spotting her potted ficus behind her. “Hi, Aubrey.”

“Oh, Belvedere.” Wess cooed, holding her sword within its scabbard to her. “I missed you, friend. Apologises for not bringing you back, but you know how mother and father are…”

Wess quickly noticed Julia looking back at her and smiling, as she tried to hide Belvedere away, only causing Julia to laugh in response.

“Alright, before we get too comfortable…can you guys take a seat?” Julia asked, pointing to the lounge area, as the rest of the team took in the request and did so. “Okay…”

Julia took a deep breath before talking. “Last year didn’t go…well. I think that’s a generalisation, but a pretty accurate one. Both the attacks were rough, to say the least.”

The rest of the team stayed quiet as to give Julia enough room to address them.

“And, well, we came pretty close to getting seriously hurt. Some of us…” Julia said, briefly glancing at Wess’ scar on her shoulder, before shaking her head. “So, with all that said…”

She sighed out again.

“I think we need to put some rules in place.”

The team stayed silent, as Harley squinted in Julia’s direction. “Do you wanna be more specific?”

“Just…a buddy system. So we don’t go out by ourselves and get ambushed.” Julia reasoned. “…and maybe a curfew.”

“Buddy system?” Essex asked.

“Curfew?!” Harley yelled, standing up straight. “Come on, Julia. I just got back to Detu City. I can’t go out partying with some curfew in the way.”

“But we have to think about our safety, Harley.” Julia argued. “We don’t know who’s out there looking for us, so we can’t just go wandering about without some kind of protection.”

“Don’t her muscles count as protection?” Sola asked, Harley flexing to prove her point, as Wess rubbed her forehead.

“Julia, we’re training to be Venators. If we were just civilians, I might agree with you.” Wess pointed out. “But if something arises again, I think we can hold our own.”

Julia shook her head and clenched her fist. “…you and Essex nearly got hurt by that...figure during the attack. She melted your shield to nothing.”

Wess recalled the attack and quieted herself, along with the rest of the room.

“I don’t want to think about it either, but if anything happened to you guys…” Julia started, trying to put on a brave face. “I’m not saying we do it forever, just until I know we’re safe for good.”

“…yeah, okay.” Harley agreed, kicking the floor.

“We will do what is required.” Essex added, presenting her scythe. “On this, you can rely.”

“Thanks, guys.” Julia said, resting her hands on her hips. “As long as we get into a routine, we should be golden for the rest of our degree.”

“Degree?” Sola said, whispering to Wess. “I thought it would only be for this year.”

Wess looked back at Julia, before sighing to herself. “She plans ahead, that Julia.”

———

“What do we have up first?”

Julia looked over her schedule listed on her tablet while the team traversed the academy halls, watching as other students headed to their first classes for the year. “…well, me, Sola and Essex have our new Whil class…‘An Application of Whils and their…Principled Practicality.’”

Julia stopped walking. “They made the name even worse somehow.”

“Is Ferris still teaching?” Sola asked, leaning over Julia’s shoulder, before spotting Ferris’ name and groaning. “Oh no…”

“Yeesh.” Harley let out, before pointing to herself. “Well, I know I’ve got my ‘How the Conflict Shaped Architecture’ class in a bit, so that just leaves Wess.”

Wess displayed her palms. “Unfortunately, I’ll be spending some precious time with myself. Head Engineer Jovie’s teaching ‘Weapon Technique: Bladed Melee’ later today. Just me and Belvedere…”

Julia looked a bit worried. “I don’t like the idea of you two on your own. Maybe we could come with yo-“

“Nope, no need to worry.” Harley said. “Lenin’s sharing the class with me, so that should be enough.”

“And I’ll be equipped for mine.” Wess pointed out, tapping Belvedere by her side. “Especially since I’ll be getting my replacement shield.”

Wess looked elated just saying that, only assuring Julia’s concerns so much, before Wess felt a gentle tap on her shoulder, and turned around to spot Joleicia smiling back at her.

“Hiya.” She greeted. “How’s my second favourite team doing today?”

“Joleicia, hey.” Julia greeted back, just as the rest of Team Vanguard filtered in behind Joleicia, minus Chops. “How was your break?”

“It was so great! I finally got to go back to Aceoro and see my folks. They were so happy to hear about everything we’ve gotten up to!” Joleicia exclaimed. “And I totally forgot how fun sand-surfing through the Altatafi desert is too.”

“You should have heard her once she was back.” Saxin added, her hand around Lenin’s waist, before she went over and personally greeted Team Valiant. “She wouldn’t stop going on and on about it.”

Saxin hugged Julia joyously, flustering Julia in an instant, before stopping in front of Harley and placing a finger to her cheek.

“Should I hug you? Considering how far we’ve gone, it might be a little to-“ She started, before Harley went and hugged her anyway, surprising Saxin.

“You big tease. Bring it in.” Harley said, as Saxin laughed and freed herself, before stopping in front of Essex.

“Oh, how I missed this.” Saxin insisted. “How do you always fill out this suit so well?”

Essex looked down at her clothes. “Physical training and routin-“

Saxin hugged her anyway, taking a little longer than the other hugs, as Harley felt herself getting jealous.

“Now, come on, Saxi, don’t overwhelm them.” Lenin insisted, as Saxin returned to his side. “They just got back, you know.”

Lenin leaned into the others. “Sorry about her. We didn’t spend the break together, so I think she’s a bit frisky.”

“Leni!” Saxin exclaimed, chuckling into her hand. “Must you be so crass?”

“Am I wrong?” He asked, as Joleicia found herself laughing as well.

The teams chatted amongst themselves, enjoying their reunion, before a fresh, but familiar face for the team made himself known, as he waved to Team Valiant.

“Oh, hi Nathaniel.” Sola greeted.

“H-Hi!!!” Nathaniel let out, trembling a little.

He cleared his throat, before trying again. “F-Funny…seeing you here.”

Harley cocked her head. “At the academy?”

“O-Oh yeah…” He quivered, as Joleicia grabbed his shoulders.

“Isn’t he great? This’ll be our first semester with him as part of our team!” Joleicia exclaimed, turning to Nathaniel. “He’s already super good at fighting, he can play the trumpet, which is great for our band, and we’re already gelling super well! Isn’t it exciting?”

Nathaniel nodded frantically. “Sure!”

An idea hit Joleicia, as she turned to Team Valiant. “Oh! And this year, we get to compete in the academy tournament! I’m already so ready!”

“That’s right. I’d almost forgotten.” Wess admitted. “Isn’t there a formal coming up too?”

“So much to plan, so much to do.” Saxin said, grinning happily. “I can’t wait.”

“Hey.”

In the midst of their conversation, the teams realised that from the sidelines, Baron had joined them seemingly out of nowhere, attempting to look charismatic, with his right arm noticeably in a sling.

The teams went quiet once they acknowledged his presence, save for Joleicia, who suddenly hurried over and greeted him.

“Hi, Baron. How’s the hand doing?” She asked, as he rubbed his neck.

“About as good as it could be. I’m just lucky I’ve still got it.” He clarified. “Hey, if you’re free, I’ve got some time this afternoon to hang out.”

“Yeah! I need to reacquaint myself with Detu City, so this is a great excuse.” Joleicia replied.

“Good to know. I’ll see you then.” Baron said, waving her off, as he got looks from the others, before turning his nose away from them and continuing down the hall.

Joleicia turned back around, before getting a collective stare from Team Valiant. She tried to make out their reaction.

“What?”

“…w-why were you talking to Baron just now?” Julia tentatively asked, as Essex nervously checked to see if he was still there.

“To…hang out?” Joleicia said, smiling. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

“She means why were you two so chummy?” Harley clarified, as Joleicia blushed.

“That’s right. I forgot to tell you guys.” Joleicia prefaced. “We’re dating.”

Team Valiant went silent, taking in the very sudden, and very alarming news, as Saxin and Lenin stepped in to mediate.

“It’s…relatively new.” Saxin explained. “We only just heard about it a few days ago.”

“And…well, I think Joleicia should explain.” Lenin said, as Joleicia popped to attention.

“Don’t worry, it’s not like a big thing.” Joleicia assured. “We just happen to cross paths over the break. I went to Mokuddo for a few days to meet up with a couple of my siblings, and he was there on a vacation, and…we sorta got to talking.”

Team Valiant were still struggling to process how Baron could even land someone like Joleicia, as Joleicia tried to hold back her joy. “Oh, it feels so silly looking back on it! I was a total nervous wreck then. But it worked out, fortunately.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“It sure did. And we’re all very happy for her.” Saxin said, facing Team Valiant. “Right?”

“O-Oh..yeah. Yeah.” Julia tried, getting a similar reaction from the others. “That’s…it’s good to hear you’re happy, Joleicia.”

“Aww, thanks guys!” Joleicia cheered, before remembering what they were doing. “We should really head to class. Don’t want to miss stuff on the first day.”

She started leading the pack, confidently striding down the hall, as the others all hung back just out of earshot and whispered to each other.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?!” Julia let out, as Saxin looked just as frazzled.

“Don’t you think we would have if we could?!” Saxin retorted. “We had to process this too!”

“How the hell could she date Baron?! He’s like a less sexy devil!” Sola exclaimed, almost too loudly, as everyone nervously checked to see if Joleicia had noticed.

“How should we know? All she said was that he apparently mellowed out a little while his hand’s been recovering.” Lenin cleared up.

“Why’re we whispering so much?” Nathaniel asked, getting looks, before it hit him. “Oh, right! So she won’t hear.”

“Will this be an issue?” Essex frantically asked, going for her scythe. “Does Baron need to be eliminated?”

“Don’t…come on, Essex.” Harley insisted, before thinking it over. “…we’ll keep that on the back burner.”

“She’s…okay though, right?” Wess asked, getting an assuring nod from Saxin.

“He’s been a perfect gentleman, as much as we’ve heard.” She said. “And she seems genuinely happy.”

“If he hurts a single hair on that sweet girl’s head…” Harley suggested, pounding her fist.

“Regardless, we’re keeping an eye on her.” Lenin said, giving a thumbs up. “Baron’s gonna be on his best behaviour. And if not, we’ll force him to be.”

Julia sighed out, before holding her head. “What a way to start second year…”

———

Quickly after, the team’s split up and headed to their respective classes, with Wess excitedly heading off to her class alone. The creature comforts of studying and lectures were surprisingly needed after what had transpired during last semester, and considering how Julia was acting…

A break from that might be needed. Her stressing’s only making me stressed… Wess admitted, just as she arrived at her classroom, casually taking her seat by the side of the class, happy to see no one else taking up the seat beside her.

She took out her equipment in preparation, as the last few students filtered into the class, taking any spot they could. While I do enjoy the team’s company, quality alone time can always be appreciated.

Wess’ comfortability was quickly interrupted by someone occupying her neighbouring seat, as she let out a sigh, looked over, and was greeted with an unfortunate smile.

“Hey, boo.” Chops grinned. “Looks like we finally get a class together.”

Wess found her gaze lowering, as she tried to return to preparing her workspace.

“What, no greeting?” Chops tried, leaning over to her. “Come on, it’s me.”

“Greetings, Chops.” Wess said, barely giving her any attention. “There, are you happy?”

“I’m always happy.” Chops remarked, proudly sitting up in her chair, as Wess focused her attention on the board. “Sorry I didn’t meet up with you and the rest of Team Valiant sooner. I had to reorganise my room once I got back.”

Don’t you mean organise it in the first place? Wess thought, trying to filter Chops out.

“So, whatcha been up to over the break?” Chops asked, kicking her feet. “Losing more fights?”

“Oh, you’re hilarious.” Wess let out, staring directly at her. “Are you going to be like this the whole class?”

“Maybe.” Chops smirked, shrugging playfully. “Who can say?”

Wess had a feeling she could, before reaching down to grab her equipment, only for Chops to quickly swap out the pencil on Wess’ notebook with one from her pocket.

As Wess popped her head back up, she quickly noticed something off and let out another sigh.

“Chops?”

“Yes?”

“Where’s my pencil?”

“I dunno.” She replied, pointing to the book. “But you can use that one.”

Wess glared at it, before picking it up and going to write.

“Oh, wait, I forgot.” Chops interrupted, trying not to laugh to herself too much. “I did use that to pick my teeth earlier. It’s still usable, if you can stand it, so you might no-“

Just as Chops said that she was immediately thrown off by Wess ignoring her taunting and using it anyway, stonefaced and clearly focused.

Whoa. Chops thought. She’s totally unfazed…

Their attention was stolen away by Miss Jovie rushing through the door, to the best of her ability, considering she was dragging a giant, heavy container behind her. She made it about halfway to the front desk, needing a minute to catch her breath, before managing the last bit and dropping the container on the desk, letting out a well-earned sigh and collapsing into her chair.

The class gave her a minute, before she got back up and started signing.

[Good morning.] Jovie started. [Welcome back to the Venator Academy. I hope your breaks were far less stressful than last year.]

“I think they were by default.” Chops commented to Wess, who gave a light chuckle, surprising Chops again.

[Before we start any class work, I’ve got repaired weapons here for anyone who was waiting on those. If you’ve got teammates who…]

Jovie was interrupted by the class sprinting up to get them, which fortunately gave her a chance to sit back down and properly rest.

Wess headed up as well, standing back while most of the class pulled out their weapons, looking over them carefully. Finally, someone lifted out one of the larger items, before holding it above their heads.

“Hey, is this anyone’s shield?”

“Yes, yes, that would be mine.” Wess quickly answered, taking it swiftly and heading back to her seat, inspecting it carefully, while running her hand over the metal beam built through the middle.

“Cool shield.” Chops said, staring right at it, as Wess held it back from her.

“Don’t you dare touch this. Knowing you, you’d go up and throw it off the building just to spite me.” Wess pointed out, offending Chops.

“I wouldn’t!” She professed, before miming a ramp. “I would use my Whil to form an ice ramp at the bottom of the building, THEN throw it to launch it even further.”

“My point exactly.” Wess said, keeping her shield with her. “Joking or not, I just got it back after it was ripped in half, and considering how Julia’s acting, this is e-“

“Wait, what?” Chops asked, interrupting Wess. “How’s Julia acting?”

Wess turned back to her in surprise. “Well, she’s been a bit frazzled after the last attack. She’s insisting on a curfew and buddy system to keep us safe.”

“Buddy system?” Chops wondered, before looking down at her lap. “She did seem worried on the train yesterday…”

Wess caught a glimpse of Chops’ face, legitimately worried for Julia’s safety, before deciding to keep working.

“Well, I’m sure she’ll pull through. She’s pretty badass.” Chops pointed out, before a thought came to her. “By the bi, what’s your type?”

Wess was thrown for a loop and blushed, as she turned away from Chops. “W-Why are you asking that?”

“I dunno. I’m curious.” Chops said, leaning over. “I wanna get some specifics.”

Chops locked eyes with Wess. “Is it someone like Harley?”

“No.”

“Baron?”

“Don’t make me gag.”

“Juli-”

“Alright, now you’re just being obnoxious.” Wess interrupted, now in Chops’ face. “I want to pay attention today. No more distractions, or Belvedere starts talking for me.”

Chops glanced back at her, before smiling. “Is it me? Cause you’re pretty close to my face right now.”

Wess bit her tongue and returned to her seat, as Chops decided to lay off of the teasing during the class, if only for a little bit.

———

After leaving their Whil class with Ferris, Julia forgot she had a solo class on industry practices and unfortunately had to go to it alone. Obviously, she insisted to Sola and Essex that she would skip it instead of going off alone, but they insisted she should go and meet up with them after.

Finally, the class had finished, as Julia was briskly hurrying down the hall to join the others in the study area.

I don’t want to be away too long. She thought. How would they feel if I’m the only one not following my own rules?

During her rush, Julia caught Vice-Principal Coatsworth in the corner of her eye, heading down a nearby hall. He looked to be moving a few heavy looking boxes by himself, just as he was about to drop a box on his foot.

She decided to give him a quick visit, as he just barely managed to catch the box himself, before Julia came into view, trying to face him around the stack of objects he was holding.

“Julia…Alpine.” Coatsworth let out, briefly letting the boxes down. “What a pleasure.”

“H-Hi, Mr Coatsworth.” Julia said, trying to let herself be comfortable. “How’s it going?”

“Do you mean moving these boxes or in general?” He asked.

“In general.” Julia clarified.

“…well, it’s been somewhat frustrating.” Coatsworth admitted. “Unfortunately, when that assailant stole my car, it meant I had to carpool with Seears for a few weeks. Lovely fellow, but his taste in music…”

Coatsworth indicated to the boxes again, while tugging on his suit sleeve. “I had to move most of my work during the attack, so now I’m moving it back. The process was much easier when going downstairs.”

“I…can help with that, if you want.” Julia offered, as Coatsworth looked surprised, before nodding in acceptance, as Julia grabbed a box and helped him up the stairs.

During their walk, Coatsworth looked over and realised Julia was barely struggling, especially compared to himself.

“Is your…lack of difficulty with this…from physical training?” Coatsworth remarked, as Julia blushed and shook her head.

“Actually, my Whil lets me slow down velocity.” Julia explained, readjusting her box. “So, I’m just using that a little to hold the box up and make it lighter.”

“…very…clever.” Coatsworth admitted. “I must say…it’s unfortunate I was never given a Whil. Regardless of what it was…I can only see it being a benefit.”

“I dunno. It might be weird for a Vice-Principal to have one.” Julia remarked, as they reached Coatsworth’s office and let the boxes down.

Coatsworth let out a sigh. “…how are you feeling after the attack?”

Julia shrugged a bit. “Okay. The break was really appreciated, and it’s good to see the team again. Seeing the academy in one piece is also pretty reassuring.”

“It was for me too.” Coatsworth agreed, opening his office, before stopping himself. “…how about after the confrontation with the assailant?”

Julia jumped a little, before her nervousness started to return, freezing her in place.

“…I’ll be honest, I’m pretty scared.” Julia admitted. “I don’t know who they were or what they wanted, or even if they were working for someone or not…I heard them mention the name 'Wicker' at one point, but that’s as much as I can go off of…”

Julia stopped herself and shook her head. “I-I’m sorry, I’m just venting at this point.”

Coatsworth smiled. “It’s no problem. Thank you for the help. I shouldn’t hold you up, as I’m sure you have classes to attend.”

“Oh, right.” Julia remembered, going to leave. “I…hope we can be less awkward around each other this year.”

Coatsworth chuckled. “One step at a time.”

Julia let out a reluctant smile, as she was glad to see that Coatsworth had forgiven her after everything she’d assumed.

I still don’t feel like he should be so forgiving. We lost his car, and he nearly got killed… Julia thought, before shaking off the guilt and heading back down the hall. I promise, I’ll keep my team safe no matter what.

———

“…can not is can’t.”

“Yep.”

“Are not is aren’t.”

“Yep.”

“And…” Essex stopped briefly, before reading over the page again. “…will not is won’t.”

She pointed back at it. “Would it not be ‘win’t?’”

“Wouldn’t it, and no, it’s won’t.” Harley clarified, patting Essex’ back. “That one’s pretty tricky.”

“Contractions are more complicated than I suspected.” Essex realised, before clearing her throat. “But I am sure…I’ll will…understand them soon.”

Harley chuckled at her effort. “Close, but not quite.”

“It’s okay, Essex. Language is pretty dang complex.” Sola said. “It must be hard since you’re used to speaking the Segaru Clan language.”

Essex shook her head. “We speak multiple languages within the Segaru Clan. This is not a problem for other members. However, due to the year I spent trapped within the Aishanara Forest, I had to relearn to speak once finding the clan. This is why I only know two in total.”

“Huh. I guess that makes sense. Most of the forest animals wouldn’t be much for conversation.” Harley remarked.

“Or the clan, for that matter.” Wess added in. “From what we’ve heard of them.”

“What have we heard?” Sola asked, as Wess put down her lunch on the team's shared table.

“Apparently, the Segaru Clan doesn’t allow creative expression, or storytelling.” Wess said. “So many languages, but hardly a way to utilise them…”

“We utilise them to avoid language barriers. This is a way to avoid distraction, or unnecessary actio-“ Essex explained, only for Wess to block her ears.

“Lalala, I can’t hear you.” Wess said, taking her fingers out. “I refuse to listen to you call art unnecessary or a distraction.”

Essex glared a bit at Wess, before Sola got her attention. “Wait, so you don’t know about any recent events?” Sola said, with Essex shaking her head. “What about the Northern monarchy disbanding? Or the Tragedy of Team Ballistic?”

“Oh, don’t go down that rabbit hole.” Harley insisted, as Essex cocked her head.

“Are they a Venator team?” Essex asked.

Harley scratched her head, before sighing. “...well, they were one, a few years back. A pretty famous one, actually. Almost everybody liked them, they were touring all over Daysend, and they worked really well together…”

“…but then they did a job at Mt Cavalier.” Sola continued, nervously recounting. “There was a Wailing stalking this ski lodge, and nobody wanted to step inside cause it knew the place inside and out. The owner got really worried after a while.”

“So, he hired Team Ballistic. And…” Harley said, before trailing off, as Essex was now leaning forward in her seat.

“And?”

“…only one of them made it out alive.” Sola finished. “Commander Major. She managed to get out.”

“She kept declining interviews, and everyone started speculating that something went down that she didn’t want to talk about.” Harley clarified. “Then she disappeared without a trace. A lot of people say she just wandered off to who knows where, or got killed by another Wailing, or became some kind of Favour junkie, but no one…”

Wess scoffed at Harley’s remarks, as Harley turned to her. “What?”

“You needn’t be so dismissive toward Favour addicts.” Wess pointed out. “Considering she most likely witnessed her whole team get killed, it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what happened.”

Wess leaned over to Essex. “As tantalising as Team Ballistic’s tale was, I’m sure the reality of it is far less interesting than what you might think.”

“Favour?” Sola asked out of the blue, as Wess faced her.

“Oh, you poor sweet thing…” Wess said. “It’s this horrid drug that dulls the senses until you’re basically catatonic.”

“I’m pretty sure it makes it so you stop feeling negative emotions.” Harley added in, only to get a dismissive look from Wess.

“It makes it so you stop feeling anything.” Wess clarified. “It’s been running rampant somewhat recently, especially within the Western Wayside. My guess is the Behemoth Wailing have been weighing on people’s minds.”

“Kinda hard for them not too…” Sola pointed out, just as Essex squinted at the page on contractions again.

“How does ‘am’ and ‘not’ shorten to ‘ain’t?’” Essex asked, before Harley let her head collapse onto their table.

“How should I know? I love dissecting language, but that stuff can be so stupid.” Harley commented, as Essex lowered the page.

“My apologies, Harley, but I do not think I will be able to understand these. However, despite this, I’ll continue to attempt a-“

“Wait, you just did it! You said ‘I’ll!’” Sola exclaimed, as Essex tentatively touched her lip.

“…huh.” Essex said, before standing up. “I’ll…understand contractions in no time.”

“Yeah, you will!” Harley added on, high fiving her joyously, just as Julia entered the study area, spotting the others gathered around one of the larger tables.

“There you are! I nearly got all turned around.” Julia said, joining them at the table. “You guys stayed together after I left, right?”

“Dadoy. We’d be pretty dumb not to.” Sola reasoned, as Julia looked at Harley, who rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. I walked with Lenin here. No Wailing found on the way, captain.” Harley teased, getting a giggle from Sola, as Julia sighed in relief.

“That’s good. I’m glad it’s already working.” She started, before pulling out a notebook. “Because I think I’ve got a good schedule down for the next few months.”

The team looked at each other, as Wess peered over to her pages. “For training?”

“Yeah, training’s included.” Julia clarified, pointing to the page. “Of course, I had to move a couple things around to compensate. We’ll be training together most nights, but with a-“

“Wait, nights?” Harley asked. “We train during the day.”

“Yeah, but night’s when we’re all free. That way we have each other’s backs and don’t risk training on our own.” Julia said, as Wess finally read over the finer details.

“Julia, I’m asleep at these times. I’ll be completely exhausted in the morning.” Wess reasoned, passing it around to the others as well.

“Bathroom times?!” Sola let out, as Harley and Essex scanned over it as well.

“Oh, come on, this is too far!” Harley expressed, as Julia grabbed the book back.

“We might get ambushed if we’re not careful! What if someone shows up with a Whil that lets them move through walls?” Julia argued, writing over a couple things. “Fine, I’ll change that, but I still think the train-“

“Julia.” Wess said, resting a hand on her arm. “Don’t you think this is too much?”

Julia looked wide-eyed, before getting similar looks from the others.

“The planning is excessive and needless…we’re still within the academy, with security, and with our weapons.” Essex reasoned. “This is not safer.”

“We’ll be ready if something comes up.” Harley said. “But not if we’re sleep deprived and constantly working around some schedule.”

“Even if it’s for the best…” Sola mumbled, as Julia tried to take in what they were saying, before huffing out, grabbing her things, and getting up.

“…I’m sorry for worrying about you guys.” Julia let out. “Clearly, the attack hurt me more than you.”

She trudged off out of the study area, not looking back, leaving the team to soak in the uncomfortable silence that was left behind. Nobody said a word, just as Joleicia walked by the study area, happening to catch the tail end of the whole thing.

———

Honestly, what is Julia playing at? I can’t keep making sacrifices just for an artificial safety. If we’re not careful, she’ll have us tied up and gagged to a chair soon enough.

Wess kicked her feet as she walked, clearing her head while travelling to her class on ‘The Wailing Conflict and its Artistic Presence.’ She only had one more until the end of the day, so at least she could focus on something comfortable.

“At least Chops i-“

“Why’re you saying my name?”

Wess already let out a groan before turning around, only to come face to face with Chops again, quickly remembering something.

“That’s right. I forgot you’re an art fanatic.” Wess realised. “Oh, woe is me…”

“Harsh. I have a great artistic eye.” Chops reasoned, skipping alongside Wess. “How’s your day been?”

“Bizarrely stressful.” Wess said, refusing to elaborate, as Chops glanced her over, before noticing her shield still folded up and hanging by her hip.

Chops leaned in. “Can I get a look at it now?”

Wess eyed Chops up, trying to guess her intentions, before noticing she was blocking the way forward and sighing out, handing it to her anyway.

Chops held it above her, checking every crafted edge with a fine eye for detail, before handing it back.

“Artisan.”

“I know. Jovie did a wonderful job with it.” Wess said, as Chops snickered.

“No, no, I meant for a name.” Chops said. “It doesn’t have a name yet, right?”

Wess eyed Chops up again, before squinting. “Why are you suggesting that?”

“Is it such a shock that I’d help you with that? I already gave Julia the name for her Whil.” Chops said, pocketing her hands. “It’s just, I know names are really important in Northern Waysider culture and Artisan, was, like, the first king or whatever…”

Chops turned away. “Fine, don’t use it. Doesn’t bother me.”

Wess glanced over Chops again, noticing a humility she rarely ever saw in her, before holding up her shield again.

“I have been struggling to come up with one…” Wess said. “Artisan, you say?”

Chops turned back excitedly. “You’ll use it?”

Wess tapped her chin and smiled. “Why not?”

“Really?!”

“As a placeholder.” Wess corrected, before holding it out with her sword. “Until I think of something better. Belvedere and Artisan, warriors in arms.”

Chops realised she’d been played, before growing a proud smile. “Well done, Wess, you got me.”

“When don’t I?” Wess pointed out, before continuing down the hall unimpeded.

“I think you’ve softened up a little since first year. I used to really hate you.” Chops admitted, grinning. “But now, I can just tolerate you.”

“That’s what I strive for.” Wess joked, sheathing Belvedere. “…to be honest, I wasn’t my best self last year. I’m just…fortunate I had people like Julia looking out for me.”

Chops tried to make out Wess’ expression, before walking backwards casually.

“You’re a good friend.” Chops admitted, following alongside her. “I know you’re worried for yourself after the attack, but it’s clear you’re worried about your team even more.”

Wess held her shield to her chest. “…I can’t help it, really. They’ve become one of the most important things in my life right now. I don’t want to risk losing that. But I also want to take full advantage of that.”

Wess folded her shield back up and hung it on her side. “I never used to be able to act on my own, and now I can finally do that. There’s no way I’m relinquishing that freedom, but at the same time, indulging in that might mean I lose it anyway. How can I choose?”

Wess slowed down again, now just trudging through the hall as she thought on her opportunities, as it looked like Chops was about to weigh in, only for her to poke Wess’ forehead.

“You think too much.” Chops said. “If you wanna enjoy life, go for it. Go get drunk, get some action, fall in love, start some fights. Do something out of left field and don’t regret it. What’s the point of being alive if you aren’t living?”

Chops stared up at Wess again. “There’s no point in having independence and then using it to mope.”

Wess raised an eyebrow, before looking back down at Chops and, admittedly, smiling to herself.

“You’re an odd one.” Wess remarked. “But I’m starting to tolerate you too.”

With that, Wess passed right by Chops, who was still reeling from Wess’ brazenness, before catching up to her in order to share their class.

———

Julia finally made her way back to the team’s room just as the day was nearing its end. She hadn’t seen any of the others for the rest of the day, but she knew that wouldn’t last long, as she pulled out her card to open the door.

Before she could, Joleicia arrived from down the hall, before noticing Julia’s agitation and stopping by Team Vanguard's dorm door, just opposite of Julia’s.

“Hi there.” Joleicia started, leaning on her dorm door. “I saw you and the others in the study area earlier.”

Julia looked a bit sheepish, as Joleicia bobbed back and forth.

“I’m worried about my team too, you know.” Joleicia empathised. “We were at that attack as well. We didn’t even sign up to fight off the Wailing, and we ended up doing it anyway.”

“But that doesn’t mean that has to happen again.” Julia insisted. “If I can keep my team out of danger, I will. No matter what.”

“How? You’re one person. You of all people should know not to shoulder all that on yourself.” Joleicia stated. “We work in a dangerous industry. You can’t stop everyone from getting hurt forever.”

Julia didn’t want to admit to Joleicia’s point, but still refused to enter her team room, as Joleicia looked back at her.

“You know, it’s not enough to make your team as safe as possible if they don’t feel safe.” Joleicia pointed out, opening up her team’s door. “Panicking and trying to keep an iron grip on everything won’t help anyone.”

She glanced back at Julia warmly.

“I’m sure you’ll make the right call.” Joleicia said, closing the door behind her, as Julia was left standing in the hallway, her hand stuck on the team’s doorknob.

“…do you think we should apologise to Julia?” Wess asked, leaning forward on the team’s couch, as Harley and Essex worked away at dinner in the kitchen.

“Maybe. She did seem more upset than usual…” Harley agreed, grabbing the countertop. “I want to go along with it, but…”

“That may not be the answer. It would be just as reckless to be overly cautious.” Essex reasoned, handing off a few vegetables to Harley, as Sola kicked her legs on her bed.

“I don’t want to have to hide away forever. I wanna take the fight to them!” Sola exclaimed, before settling back down. “Once we find out who they are.”

“Well, that’s not happening anyt…” Wess started, before being interrupted by the dorm door opening, as Julia made herself know again. “Julia.”

“Hey, you made it just in time for dinner.” Harley said, putting their roast in the oven. “The chicken just needs a few more minutes.”

“Yeah…thanks, Harley…” Julia let out, as she joined Wess on the couch, slumping into her seat.

“Do you want to watch anything?” Wess asked, flipping through channels. “I think I saw a Team Spectrum documentary a few…”

Wess heard a loud sniff and noticed Julia was now crying beside her, trying to wipe away the tears as soon as they formed, as she quickly got the attention of the team.

“Julia? What’s wrong?” Sola asked, jumping up from her bed, followed by Harley and Essex, as Julia tried to look presentable.

“…I-I’m sorry, I-I shouldn’t have f-forced you guys to…I just…” She tried, getting a pat on the back from Wess. “I was so scared…a-and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do…and I don’t even know who…”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. We’re all fine.” Wess assured her, leaning down to look her in the eyes. “You don’t have to be worried for us.”

She sat back up to address her. “We should have gone along with your plan, at least for a while. I know it’s not ideal, but at least you’d know we’re safe.”

“But I wouldn’t…I c-can’t keep you guys safe forever.” Julia realised, wiping her nose. “W-We’re only going to keep coming up against threats…and I can’t fight every Wailing or…sword wielding assassin alone…”

“Nobody said you needed to.” Harley pointed out. “You’ve got our backs and we’ve got yours.”

“But that shouldn’t stop us from living our lives.” Sola said. “We’ll take on what hits us, and we’ll just hit ‘em back!”

“Harder, ideally.” Essex added, smiling gently back at Julia, as Julia went to wipe her tears away one last time.

“…if only we knew who we were up against…” Julia muttered. “Then we could ask for help, or at least know what to look out for…”

The team continued comforting her, letting her finally breathe, as Harley put her arms on Julia’s shoulders and stood up straight.

“Well, then let’s figure out who they are!” Harley proclaimed, surprising everyone.

“Sorry…” Wess asked, rubbing her temple. “…what?”

“If we keep wandering around without any idea who might be looking for us, we’ll just keep jumping to the worst conclusions.” Harley reasoned, circling the couch and standing in front of it. “So, let’s try and figure out who that assailant from the attack was and go from there.”

“Yeah! Then we can take them down!” Sola cheered, joining Harley’s side.

Harley turned to the others. “So, what do we know about them?”

Wess rolled her eyes. “Well, if you insist. She had a woman’s voice, and showed a lot of physical prowess, considering how often she scaled up walls.”

“She…knew how to use a sword too. With both hands.” Julia added, sitting up a little more.

“She also possessed a Whil that allowed her to heat up her body.” Essex informed. “There were also discussions over the phone to someone, and she briefly mentioned the name ‘Wicker.’”

“Wicker? Maybe that’s who she was talking to?” Harley deduced, as she started to think. “So that’s a fair bit to go off of…”

In an instant, Sola gasped at a sudden realisation, catching everyone’s attention, as Harley turned to her.

“What?”

Sola stared back up at her. “I just thought…do you think…”

Harley turned her head, before the idea hit her too, giving a similar reaction.

“No…”

“What? What is it?” Julia frantically asked, now on the edge of her seat, as Harley and Sola turned to her.

“I just had a thought…” Sola said, trembling a little. “…what if it was Ferris?”

The room was dead silent, as the team pieced together things in their head, before Wess scoffed a little.

“Oh, come on, that’s ridiculous.” Wess argued. “Ferris? Of all people?”

“I’m with Wess. How could Ferris be the assailant?” Julia wondered, as Harley started counting on her fingers.

“Well, we know she has a sword. And considering she’s teaching us how to fight, she’s probably damn good with it.” Harley said, Sola nodding beside her.

“And she’s teaching a bunch of classes on Whils, but we don’t even know if she has one!” Sola exclaimed. “So, she could totally be hiding hers!”

“She also has tendencies towards discussions over the phone, most notably with Faller.” Essex added in, now deep in thought. “Could she really be…?”

“No, no, she couldn’t be the assailant. Sola and I saw her with Faller just before the attack.” Wess reasoned, starting up Sola again.

“But we didn’t see her during it.” Sola pointed out, as Wess realised she was right. “She disappeared once we showed up.”

“…huh.” Wess let out, scratching her chin. “…well then.”

“And, and!” Harley continued. “She totally admitted that Ferris was a fake name during class, remember? Totally suspicious.”

“But, wait…” Julia started, as everyone focused on her. “So, if Ferris was…the figure at the attack, then does that mean that…”

Julia gulped before she spoke. “…Wicker…could be Faller?”

“No way! I hadn’t even thought about that!” Harley yelled, grabbing her head. “Holy shit!”

“But it…does make sense.” Wess begrudgingly admitted. “Ferris and Faller are often having private discussions about this and that. And we know that whoever was behind the attack has to be working within the academy.”

“Cause of the listening bugs.” Julia worked through. “And so they could get past the academy’s security…”

“Wait, no!” Sola interrupted, now arguing back. “We were with Faller once he found the bugs. He was really upset to see them.”

“He could have been acting, Sola. At least to cover up his connections to it.” Wess pointed out, as Julia lay back into the couch once more, now exhausted instead of agitated.

“I never even liked Ferris, but the idea that she was at the attack, stealing something while the fighting was going on, and attacking me…” Julia tried to rationalise, getting sympathy from the rest of the team. “And that Faller might have manufactured the attack just to cover it all up…”

“This is an uneasy realisation.” Essex admitted, before turning to Harley. “But I thank you for this suggestion. This is something we may work with.”

“Now we can start investigating ourselves. We might actually figure out who these people are that keep ‘attacking’ the academy.” Wess said, before shrugging. “Or it’s all a horrible coincidence. Who’s to say?”

Harley looked back at Julia and noticed how visibly tired she was, before realising the roast was still in the oven.

“Oh, dammit!” She let out, hurrying over, before turning back and calling to Julia. “You look like you need something to eat. Want me to just bring you something?”

“Yes, please.” Julia thanked, getting another reassuring pat from Wess. “So, I guess what we do next is investigate Ferris and see if she really is that person from the attack.”

“And then we check out Faller.” Sola added. “If that’s the case, we can always ask some Venator teams to help us bring them to justice.”

“Well, we know two professional teams already, so that shouldn’t be too hard.” Wess mentioned, as Essex brandished her scythe.

“And we shall contribute our skills as well.” Essex declared, staring off, before looking back at Julia. “To keep us all safe.”

“…thank you…” Julia let out, trying to avoid blushing too much, as the rest of the team found her attempt to be far too cute, before Harley handed off dinner to her, and she was reminded of just how nice it was to have someone else’s cooking.

———

“Hey, Jojo?”

“Yeah?”

“What do you think of Team Valiant?”

Joleicia put a finger to her chin. “No complaints from me. They’re great.”

“Alright.” Chops said, leaning against Team Vanguard’s couch.

Joleicia slowly watched her meal rotate in the microwave. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s just…I dunno, don’t they seem pretty close to you?” Chops pointed out, as the microwave dinged.

“Well, we’re pretty close.” Joleicia replied, bringing her dinner over to join Chops on the couch. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, I guess…” Chops said, looking over at Saxin and Lenin in their bunkbed, as well as Nathaniel in his. “…I’m just curious, is all. I wanna see what comes of it.”

Joleicia looked back at her, before wiggling her fingers. “Ooo, so mysterious.”

“Shut up.” Chops laughed, grabbing the remote. “You wanna watch anything?”

“Whatever works for you.”