Look, I know what you're all thinking. 'Raging Archon, you said that the next update would be Saturday, but it's Sunday now!'… Well, there's a reason for that. You see, Friday night, me and my friends went out for our Christmas Do and some of us (aka me) had a little too much to drink, and I was extremely hungover on the Saturday morning. So I elected to prioritise my hangover meaning I had no time to write the next chapter. I'm sorry for this delay, but the hangover is cured and I'm ready to write! Quick review response now! Warmach1ne32; glad you liked it and thanks, now I don't have to worry about Genji's team name! Ashbringer36; I'm glad you pointed that out, hopefully this chapter will please you. Guest; you know, I was honestly thinking of doing a one-shot collection of Qrow and Genji's adventures but I never did it because I had no idea how popular it would be. Is that something you guys would want to see? Guest; maybe, maybe the death bot can have a part in the story. OutlastTheDark; yes, his brother might show up somewhere along the line. And Enth WhoaCreeper; glad to see I wasn't the only person who thought Dust Shurikens were a good idea. Now, on with the show!

00000000

Chapter 4- A Mission Of Dire Import

Corporal Erik Goldmane shivered as he rubbed his arms roughly, trying to conserve as much warmth in his body as possible. The City State of Atlas was well known for being the coldest place on Remnant, with freak blizzards such as the one currently playing out here being common. He slowly trudged forward as he continued his patrol, his boots rapping loudly against the metal walkway he was on. He admitted, he was confused as to the placement of this particular base, considering its import. The main base was located on a large plateau, with a natural gorge surrounding it, making the walkway he was currently patrolling the only point of access unless one was travelling by air. One could traverse up through the gorge, but considering the effort it took none ever thought it was worth the risk when an easily accessible walkway was nearby.

He stood still as he looked down into the gorge, blowing hot air onto his hands in an effort to further warm himself. As he considered packing in and returning to the barracks where he could get warm and relax, he spotted something. He blinked rapidly, wondering perhaps if the blizzard was starting to affect his mentality, but then he saw it again. Movement, down in the gorge.

He leaned forward, focusing his eyes down within the gorge when he spotted the movement again. He could faintly make them out now, nearly a dozen figures clad in black...and some of them were now traversing the other side of the gorge. He backed away rapidly, fiddling for the radio attached to his harness, the task made all the more difficult due to the numbness of the cold. As he struggled for the radio, he froze at the sound of hushed whispers behind him, turning rapidly as a stream of black smoke barrelled into him. He coughed and stumbled backwards as the smoke crashed into him, then froze as he felt a hand clamp onto his mouth from behind, another arm wrapped around his neck and clamped onto his shoulder.

He let out a muffled cry of protest as he grappled with his assailant, attempting to dislodge the hand on his mouth. Then, with a sudden jerk, his body went limp, his cries dying in his mouth as the assailant then carelessly threw the body over the edge of the walkway, where his lifeless body landed with a soft thump, already the snow slowly covering both him and the signs of a struggle.

Reaper growled in disinterest, twisting his neck until he heard it pop, before slowly moving forward, his body quickly turning into the infamous ghost-like smoke he was known for. He traversed the walkways, eliminating any more guards that he came across, swiftly and silently. The blizzard had provided ample cover so far, but the stronger it got the more likely it would hamper their escape. Which was why he was here with the best. The operatives he had chosen were all veteran members of Talon, and had completed tougher jobs then this. Compared to those missions, this would be a walk in the park.

As he came to the end of the walkway, he was greeted by the sight of the twelve operatives he had elected, all of them scanning the grounds for any sign of hostiles. As Reaper shifted into his corporeal state, the foremost Talon operative nodded a greeting, which Reaper returned almost subtly. The Talon operative, the elected leader of the operation, then held a clenched fist to his chest before pointing towards the main compound and pointing forward. Slowly, the operatives moved forward, Reaper shadowing them with the use of his Semblance.

As they approached the entrance to the compound, the lead operative held up a fist, the remaining operatives quickly freezing in place as they awaited the next order. He then turned and pointed to one of the other operatives, pointing at the door, the responding operative holding his hand up and arcing his index finger to his thumb, signalling he understood. The operative stepped forward, slinging his backpack off and fumbling inside it, pulling out a small detonation device. As the operative began arming the charge, the lead operative held three fingers up before waving to the other side of the door, six Talon operatives quickly making their way to the adjacent side of the door.

The Talon operative arming the device quickly withdrew as the charge began to beep rapidly before detonating. Within a flash, a hole was now present where a locked door had once been. The lead operative then signalled for the task force to move forward, Reaper continuing to shadow them from afar. As they ascended the stairs to the top, the lead operative held out a hand, signalling for them to stop. He then held up three fingers and clutched his wrist. Reaper slowly ebbed forward with his Semblance, growling in frustration at the sight of three Atlesian Soldiers chatting to one another around a brazier.

The squad leader held up two fingers and pointed high into the air before holding up one finger and thrusting down with a clenched fist, signalling that the enemy was armed with two rifles and a shotgun. He then drew a finger across his neck, the Talon operatives quickly fanning forward. By the time the Atlesian Soldiers spotted the Talon operatives, it was already over. The operatives were quick and ruthless, the only noise being the soft thumps of the bodies falling over dead, victims to the silenced rifles of the Talon operatives. Reaper grunted in slight satisfaction as he swept towards the group, who were now deposing of the bodies, quickly turning corporeal as the lead operative turned to face him.

"Orders, sir?" the Talon operative asked, his body rigid as he stared at the beaked mask of Reaper.

"Move out and cause as much mayhem as you can." Reaper ordered, before turning towards two other operatives. "Metzen, Kaplan, you're with me."

"Yes sir." the two operatives chorused as the rest of the task-force moved out, leaving only Reaper and the two operatives in the courtyard.

Reaper wasted no time, quickly ascending the stairs as the two operatives followed closely behind. As he continued up the stairs, he caught sight of his objective, a small bunker like building, with a smaller building connected via a tunnel. As he approached the door, he froze at the sound of gunfire and screaming. He growled in frustration, tensing as he turned to the door, awaiting for the inevitable response. But none came. Of course, the walls were no doubt thicker to conserve as much warmth as possible. He visibly slackened in relief, slowly approaching the door and laying his back against the wall, the two operatives doing likewise on the adjacent side.

"Get this door open, quietly." Reaper ordered, going down to one knee as he plucked a grey ball with purple highlights dancing on it from the folds of his coat.

"Yes sir." Metzen replied, turning around to face a console on the side of the door, brushing away the snow encrusting it as he carefully began to tamper with the device.

"Once the door opens, stay here until I say so, if you want to live." Reaper ordered, rolling the ball across his palm with his thumb, Kaplan and Metzen nodding their understanding.

"Got it!" Metzen announced in a hushed tone, the console suddenly turning green as the door began to open.

As soon as Metzen spoke, Reaper activated the device and threw it in the room, a cloud of smoke suddenly spilling out as the officers within suddenly began to cough and shout their protest. Reaper then plucked his new twin Shotgun's, Raven's Crown, from his coat, the two weapons similar in design to his original weapon's, Death's Vice, though with an obvious Raven motif to both fit his new attire and to accommodate their melee form.

He quickly sped into the room, stepping forward as he fired a blast from both weapons, felling two Soldiers immediately. He then spun around until he was facing the open doorway, firing two blasts from the Shotgun in his right hand at two Soldiers huddled in the corner, both falling to the ground dead. Arms wrapped around his waist from behind as he turned to see the defiant glare of an Atlesian officer, attempting to tackle him from behind. In response, he elbowed them in the face, hearing the satisfying crunch of metal against bone as he released his grip on Reaper, his hand immediately moving to cover his now broken nose.

He then raised up their right arm and thrust the nozzle of the Shotgun in his left hand up their armpit, firing a blast, slaying him too. An Atlesian Soldier then half charged half stumbled towards Reaper, who expertly dodged the blow before wrapping his right arm around their neck, using them as a human shield as he fired two blasts at another Soldier, the first staggering him and the second flooring him. He then pointed the barrel of his other Shotgun up against the chin of his shield, blasting his head off immediately.

He turned rapidly as an officer suddenly charged, swinging out with what was undoubtedly a swagger stick, Reaper ducking beneath the blow and thrusting one of his Shotgun's up against the officers chin, who's eyes suddenly went wide in panic. He then applied pressure to the trigger...only to be greeted by a clicking noise. He pulled the trigger again, only to be greeted by the same clicking noise. Of course, he had forgotten. His new weapons, whilst undoubtedly powerful, could only hold four rounds each, and he'd spent all four rounds on both weapons. The officer let out a relieved laugh as Reaper growled slowly, slowly withdrawing the Shotgun.

He then activated Raven's Crown's melee form, a wrist-blade fashioned into the design of a bird's skull. He thrust the now melee weapon upwards, the tip of the blade punching through the officer's chin and exiting through the bridge of his nose. He thrust down again, letting the corpse fall to its knee's before stepping aside as the body fell forward.

"All clear." Reaper announced, shifting his weapon back into its Shotgun form and reloading both weapons, Metzen and Kaplan moving forward into the room. "Do you have the files ready?" he asked, turning to face the two operatives.

"Yes sir." Kaplan replied, pulling out a data chip from his pocket.

"Good, start uploading them into the mainframe. Metzen, you start downloading everything Cinder wants."

"Yes sir, what about you?" Metzen asked, pausing only to plug in his own data chip.

"I have my own objective." Reaper replied, quickly raising the Shotgun in his left hand towards the door, firing a blast when he heard the door open, the sound followed immediately by the cry of pain from an Atlesian Soldier.

Reaper then sped forward, activating his Semblance as the door closed behind him, speeding through the corridor towards the door at the far end. As he approached the door, it opened as an Atlesian Soldier stepped through, who immediately staggered back in shock. Reaper shifted back to his corporeal form as he collided with the Soldier, sending both to the ground. Before the Soldier could recover, he fired a blast at their head, killing him instantly.

He looked up as two more Soldiers sped up the small stairway in front of him, rifles aimed and ready. He activated his Semblance as the two fired, weaving between the two Soldiers before shifting back behind one of the Soldiers, who spun around and swung out to strike him. Reaper backed away from the swing before shifting the weapon in his right hand to the wrist-blade form, thrusting it into his neck. The Soldier went limp as he lolled forward, Reaper using the body as cover as he fired the weapon in his left, striking the other Soldier in the head.

He then thrust the body off of him, shifting the weapon in his right back to its Shotgun form and reloaded both weapon's. He descended the stairs quickly, coming to stop in a circular room, a lift in the centre of the room. He stepped onto the lift and clicked the necessary commands onto the control panel, the lift shuddering slightly before descending steadily towards his objective.

He raised both weapons up to his chest, black smoke weaving around his body as he neared the floor level. A small group of Atlesian Soldiers were already waiting, but not for him of course. They stumbled back in surprise as they spotted Reaper, who quickly sped forward with assistance of his Semblance as a black swirling vortex appeared at his feet. His death blossom.

"Die! Die! DIE!" Reaper hissed as he slowly moved forward, firing his weapon's in all directions, each round finding their mark and felling the Soldiers. When he ran out of ammo, he simply shifted the weapon's into their wrist-blade mode, slashing at the necks at those foolish enough to stop him.

He then came to a standstill, the black smoke finally dissipating as the last of the Soldiers crumpled down, clutching their throats as blood spilled out of them. He shifted the weapons back into their Shotgun mode and reloaded them both, stepping forward through the door at the far end of the room. He paused as the door opened, Shotgun's aimed at whatever was on the other side. But nothing came to greet him, the only noise being the clanking of his feet on the catwalk, a seemingly bottomless pit beneath him.

"Something isn't right..." Reaper murmured to himself, lowering the twin Shotgun's steadily as he stepped onto the catwalk. He slowly moved forward, his gaze constantly shifting from side to side as he approached his objective on the far side.

A loud crashed came from behind him, shaking the catwalk as he turned around, weapons at the ready. But his arms slowly dropped to his side as he began to look up, until he was face to face with the 'head' of the Atlesian Paladin. He was quick to recover, aiming both weapons at the small window pane for the Paladin's pilot and fired, only for the rounds to bounce harmlessly off of a blue sheen that covered the entirety of the Paladin.

"New model..." Reaper remarked as the Paladin stood to full height, allowing him to get a full view of the new design of the construct. "This isn't good."

The Paladin then thrust out with its arm, ploughing into Reaper with tremendous force. Reaper grunted loudly in pain as he felt the wind being knocked out of him, his hands clutched tightly on his weapons lest they fly from his grip into the pit bellow. He grunted again as he collided with the wall on the far side of the catwalk, dropping down on all fours. His objective was through the door behind him, but he had to take care of the Paladin first. He stepped forward, activating his Semblance, only to gasp in pain as he clutched his side, shifting back into his corporeal form immediately.

"Dammit, not now..." Reaper hissed, slowly standing up.

Ever since Ruby had defeated him, he'd been weaker then he once was. He could still shift into his Semblance for unlimited amounts of time, but it was now taking a toll on his body. He looked up as the Paladin began to charge up its energy weapon, Reaper cursing as he rolled forward, a beam of energy passing over his head. He charged forward again as the Paladin slammed down on the catwalk, Reaper rolling beneath the swing and standing up behind the Paladin, firing more blasts until his weapon's went dry, though each round once again splashed harmlessly against the shield, seemingly doing no damage at all.

He growled in irritation as the Paladin spun around, swinging out with its arm as it did so, Reaper ducking beneath the blow. He had to find a way to deal with the Paladin and quickly, time was of the essence. He leapt backwards as the Paladin fired another beam at his location, cutting through part of the catwalk with ease. Immediately it began to groan in protest, both Reaper and the Paladin pausing to steady themselves. Reaper smiled behind his mask as a thought came to pass. He charged towards the handrail, flipping over it and grasping onto one of the beams that acted as the supports of the catwalk. As he suspected, the Paladin's weapon had cleaved straight through one of them and was now bending at an unnatural angle.

Grappling onto the beams like monkey bars, he moved onto the middle beam, plucking a small explosive device from his coat and placed it into a nook at the joint of the beam. Overhead he heard the Paladin move slowly forward, cautious now that its weight was perilous to the stability of the catwalk. He traversed to the opposite side of the catwalk, nearly in line with where the Paladin had severed the first beam. Upon jumping onto the catwalk, the Paladin turned around, firing the energy weapon immediately. Reaper dodged the beam and the catwalk once again began to groan in protest, this time louder.

Reaper waited until the shaking had stopped, the Paladin waving its arms backwards in an attempt to steady itself. He crouched low as the Paladin then charged forward, swinging an arm down, only for Reaper to roll between the open legs. The catwalk groaned once again in protest, this time even louder. Reaper chuckled coldly as he pulled a small trigger out from his coat, flipping it open and pressing the flashing red button on top. The explosive he had hidden in the catwalk detonated immediately, the shields of the construct flaring brightly. The beam only beam supporting that part of the catwalk finally seemed to give way, the catwalk shuddering as it dropped slightly. Whilst it did not break fully, the drop was enough to knock the Paladin off balance as it began to fall backwards, quickly falling over the edge and into the darkness. Reaper watched as the Paladin was slowly consumed by the darkness below, until a bright flash of flame flared out, before disappearing.

Reaper grunted in amusement, before turning to the door at the far end of the catwalk, where his objective was waiting. The door opened at his approach, Reaper finally holstering his Shotgun's as he gazed at his objective. Large sarcophagus shaped statue stood before him, blue highlights dancing around it with a large jackal like head with glowing amber eyes at the top. Reaper blinked in surprise at the large structure, the significance of the statue dawning on him immediately as he growled in anger. So this was what Cinder had sent him after? He would have a word about this when he got back, but first he would finish the mission.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small data chip, a white painted skull on the casing of the device. He plugged it into the console connected to his objective, watching patiently as the chip began to upload its contents into the statue. Then, in a sudden flash, the highlights and eyes of the statue flared violet for a second, before turning back to their original colour.

"Faithful as always, Sombra..." Reaper murmured, disconnecting the data chip before placing it back into his coat.

"Sir, we have everything Cinder asked for and have uploaded the files as well." the voice of Metzen suddenly cut in through his helmet radio, causing Reaper to pause in his tracks.

"Good, is everyone accounted for?" Reaper asked, stepping through the doorway and onto the catwalk at a quickened pace.

"Yes sir, but one of them managed to get a distress call and reinforcements are on their way." Metzen responded with a hint of worry in his voice. "Should we activate the bases defences to deter them?"

"No, let them come." Reaper ordered, stepping onto the lift as it slowly began to rise upwards. "By the time they arrive, we'll be long gone."

00000000

Shocking, I know. I've actually diverted from the Volume 3 storyline! But in all seriousness, can anyone guess what exactly made Reaper so angry about his objective? Does anyone know what it actually was? Leave a comment in your review as always, I like to see what you all think. No update next week, because it's Christmas weekend and I'll be spending time with my family.

Liked it? Leave a review and constructive criticism is welcomed. Any questions? Either PM me or leave in your review.

Raging Archon out.