Once the light slowly fades, Wolf sits up, freed from the roots. Cole uncovers himself and Alston as Phoenix and Tadashi sit on the ground rubbing their heads.
"That was bright.."
Phoenix groans before opening her eyes and looking up to see Crystal slowly floating down before her. She looks much more calm now. Her jagged hair softer and her ragged cloak now more formal and even her skin seems more lively rather than like energy. She opens her eyes as her feet touch the ground and looks around at them. She smiles softly before collapsing to her knees. Phoenix rushes to her side.
"Hey, take is slow. I have no idea if what I did worked or what it actually did to be honest." Phoenix says with an awkward laugh. Crystal smiles at her softly.
"What you did for me… Is wonderful." Crystal says softly. Phoenix helps her stand. "You helped me see the error of my ways. You somehow touched my soul in a way I can't describe. That flame of yours, I've never seen anything quite like it." Crystal points out. Phoenix looks at her hand with a soft gaze.
"Is that a good thing?.." Phoenix asks timidly. Crystal giggles.
"Yes it is."
Crystal says warmly. Tadashi sighs with a smile on his face, leaning his sword against his shoulder between his arms as he sits on the ground. Cole watches them as a frustrated look comes across his face.
'I was right… Which means my whole thought process going into the mission was… wrong…' He thinks as his grip tightens on Alston a bit. She slowly opens her eyes and looks up at him. "Pathetic…"
Cole whispers as Alston sighs. Wolf sits a bit, away from the rest of the group and watches them with a frustrated look on her face as well.
"In the end… I didn't do anything…" Wolf says softly. Suddenly, there is rustling in the bushes nearby when Saika pops his head out and looks around before smiling a big smile at them.
"There they are! Hey gu-" Before he can finish, Yoko jumps on him and shoves him down before rushing to the others.
"Guys!" Yoko shouts happily. Saika quickly raises his face, now red and dirty, with an angry look.
"Is this what I get for saving you?!" Saika shouts. Tadashi stands up as Yoko rushes to hug both Phoenix and him but he quickly steps back out of their grasp.
"No." Tadashi says coldly as Yoko's smile drops just a bit before Phoenix hugs them back tightly and warmly.
"That's okay, I'll hug you! Hehehe!"
She giggles as Tadashi watches with sharp eyes. The rest of the team steps out with excited and relieved looks on their faces, Abalm still in tow. Crystal turns and looks at him before getting a shocked look.
"Abalm! You were actually beaten?" Crystal asks. He sighs and nods in defeat.
"Believe it or not, this team is smarter than they look." Abalm says to her, looking a bit smaller and less intimidating than before. Crystal shakes her head with a smile as Abalm looks at her. "I take it you had as much success as did I?" He asks.
"For the most part." Crystal says. Cole looks up, hearing her words.
"Success?" He asks. Tadashi gets a bit stressed.
"I don't like the sound of that.."
Killian releases the restraints from around Abalm and walks over to Wolf, who's still sitting on the ground and offers his hand with a smile. Wolf looks at it for a moment before smirking and taking it, getting to her feet.
"Not to worry. Abalm told us everything." Killian says with a smile as Crystal crouches down next to Cole and Alston.
"May I?" She asks while lifting her hand to Alston gently. Cole nods softly as Crystal places her hand lightly on Alston's chest. Using the same pastel yellow sparks as before, they gently spark from her hand and into Alston.
"Frequencies can be used for more than just power nullification. They can also be used to amplify the power."
She says as Alston's wounds start to heal much faster than before. She then places her hand on Cole's forehead and does the same to him. Cole, seemingly ashamed, takes the lesson to heart.
"That's why partners' Frequencies need to be in sync. The stronger the connection, the stronger each of you become. As long as you're together, there is no limit to what you can achieve." Crystal says, standing up and looking at the others.
"So what? We're just all good now?" Wolf asks, still a little confused and on edge.
"Technically, we were never not good." Moshiro says quietly but sharply.
"What does that mean?" Phoenix asks. Moshiro gets a frustrated and almost betrayed look.
"It means our teachers are big fat liars." Moshiro grinds her teeth in anger at them as Phoenix looks around confused.
"I'm so lost."
"Neither of you were ever evil, were you?" Tadashi asks with a frustrated sigh as Crystal smiles awkwardly and Abalm shrinks down a bit, shifting from his big monstrous form to a normal man, still quite large but human all the same.
"I'm sorry but it's true." Abalm admits. Wolf gets a shocked and almost offended look.
"What the Hell?? They just tricked us like that??" Wolf shouts.
"I'm afraid so." Killian says putting his hand on her shoulder with a smirk.
Back in his office, Southpaw giggles to himself.
"Huehuehue! Looks like they were found out! Those students did much better than I expected. And you thought they were gonna get hurt." He taunts as Lady Sharp smiles and shakes her head.
"You never know with you. Considering this setup was meant for the Reps, I still think my statement stands." She retorts as Southpaw smiles.
Back in the forest, Yoko shakes their head with a smug look.
"Poor dumb humans. Couldn't even figure it out on their own." Yoko says.
"What are you even saying? You didn't know until we explained it to you, like, four times." Dante says, drooping a bit. They think back to after Abalm was defeated…
"There's something else I must tell you…" Abalm says as they all face him with curious looks. He then speaks. "You passed!"
They look at him blankly for a moment.
"Huh?" They all sound in unison.
"It's true, you all did well! I'm surprised you even beat me. I thought for sure I'd just beat you up then explain the whole thing later." Abalm says with a confident look as Yoko gets angry.
"Shut up you stinky liar! You just want us to let you go! I should beat you up just for trying such a thing on me, Yoko the great dragon!" They shout as Moshiro holds them by the collar just out of reach of Abalm. He sweats with an awkward smile.
"But I am telling the truth." Abalm says. Killian steps back, staring at him, thinking about his words.
"This is a trick, right? We really didn't go through all that just for it all to be… a trick?" Saika asks. Moshiro sweats and droops, letting go of Yoko.
"No, that's something they would totally do…" Moshiro sighs.
"I'm sorry, Moshiro, I didn't mean to scare you so much. I was going to stop right there but then your Vanguard attacked." Abalm says.
"Yeah, and I'll do it again you ugly egg head!" Yoko shouts, swinging at him but this time Saika and Dante hold them back. Killian starts laughing a bit to himself.
"Kill, you okay?" Saika asks. Killian sighs in intense relief and puts his hands on his hips.
"Thank goodness. We passed." Killian says softly. The others stare at him for a moment before smiling too.
In the present time…
"Are you kidding me?! After all that, it wasn't even a real mission!?" Wolf shouts at them as Dante grabs her, holding her back.
"I assure you, the mission was very real." Abalm says.
"Your teachers and Southpaw wanted to give you all a good lesson in teamwork and partnership, which you needed severely." Crystal says with a laugh.
"We didn't mean to put you through all that but now you are better than you were before the mission, right? Now you won't be expelled!" Abalm says.
"Oh, but that part was real.." Phoenix grumbles with an upset look. Tadashi cracks his back also with an upset look.
"Maybe just showing us a professional partnership in action would have been more effective?" Tadashi says.
"Perhaps but where's the fun in that?" Crystal asks with a playful sadistic look before giggling, the others rolling their eyes.
Somewhere else in the woods, Professor Nobody sits, leaning against a tree with his leg crossed on his knee, his foot bobbing ever so slightly. Teach paces back and forth with a slightly worried look on his face as Nazuna excitedly watches some fireflies floating around with her big round eyes.
"This is a bad idea. Facing 3rd Tier agents by themselves? What if they get seriously hurt?" Teach says to himself, worried.
"Relax, you're making my head hurt. Do you really have that little faith in your students, that they can't handle this?" Nobody asks. Teach stops and glares at him.
"It isn't that, you know-it-all brat. I just… don't want my kids to get hurt." Teach says softly as Nazuna giggles and looks at him.
"Teach, you big softie! Hehehe!" Nazuna says. Teach blushes a little while exhaling and turning away.
"I can't believe I let you and South talk me into this…"
Suddenly, another portal, similar to the one they used to enter the forest but a different color, opens up as the students guided by Abalm and Crystal step through. Nobody turns and looks at Teach.
"See? They're perfectly fine, not a scratch on any of them." He says as Moshiro steps forward holding her arm, bruised and a little bloody.
"Moshi!!" Teach shouts in shock as he rushes to her.
"Well, I suppose we can all be wrong occasionally." Nobody says casually, looking at them.