The scream of a Nevermore snapped Blake back to her senses following the shock of teleportation. The giant bird was silhouetted against the sun as it plummeted towards the mass of intruders.

Blake attempted to move, to unclip Gambol Shroud from her back, but they were all pressed too tightly together. She could barely raise her arms from her side. Some of those on the outer edge started to scatter, but she was a sitting duck. She poured power into her Semblance.

Noise and heat washed over her. A blur streaked skyward, trailing flames in its wake. A heartbeat later the missile exploded into a cloud of shrapnel. The high velocity chunks of metal tore into the Nevermore, shredding its wings and burrowing into its flesh. The bird didn't even have time to scream. Its corpse plummeted downwards and disappeared into the murky water of the ocean.

"Don't just stand there!" One of the sergeants of the Vacuan troops shouted. "Get in position!"

The steady voice of an authority figure broke any final vestiges of shock. The soldiers moved in to their preordained formation, their weapons pointing outwards. Though technically in the same command structure, the hunters had more free rein. They were to act as a floating force, reinforce the defensive lines wherever there was the danger of a breach, and range out beyond them when necessary.

With a quick glance Blake took in her surroundings. They were on a flat shelf of basalt. There were no trees near enough to hide Grimm, but none to provide them cover from the air either. Waves crashed down on the short beach a few hundred yards in front of her. As long as they didn't venture too close, they should be safe from that direction.

The forest behind her was unlike any she'd seen before. The coastal gales had stripped the trees of all but their smallest spines. The trunks were as black as the rest of the island. It looked like a fire had ripped through it and it had yet to recover. As forests went, it was the most menacing one that Blake had ever encountered.

Unease hung heavy in the air. It clawed its way inside her and sat in her stomach. There was just something wrong. Some sense that they shouldn't be here. That they were intruders who would only be made to pay.

It wasn't just her feeling that way either. The soldiers were twitchy, their rifles jumping at every errant sound. Yang had Ember Celica deployed and ready, but her lower lip was caught in her teeth, an unconscious display of her nerves. Qrow was white, his hand clenched tightly around the hilt of his sword. He'd warned them all about Menagerie, and they weren't even on the island proper yet.

They were tasked with securing a safe area before the reinforcements arrived. In that sense it was lucky ̶ ̶ or perhaps more likely planned ̶ ̶ that Juno had deposited them on this small island off the coast. They wouldn't have to deal with the undoubted hordes of Grimm that roamed Menagerie; instead, only whichever ones lived here or had the power of flight.

The anti-air missile may have killed the Nevermore before it got close to them, but it hadn't been quiet. In the far distance, specks rose from their roosts on Menagerie. They soared on the updrafts in the air, their distant cries audible over the roar of the sea. They were angry.

The missile launchers automatically tracked any that ventured too close. They would take a terrible toll on the airborne Grimm but, as always, a battle against the Grimm was one of attrition. And it was one they would inevitably lose. They didn't have remotely close to enough missiles. After that, they would have to fight them the old-fashioned way.

Gunfire erupted from behind her. She spun around, ripping Gambol Shroud from its sheath. A swarm of Creeps thundered from the forest, charging straight towards them over the flat ground. The thick armour sheltering their heads served them well against the rounds from the rifles, but it proved poor protection against the Janissaries. Where the Grimm were targeted by the huge rounds of the mechs, they fell torn and broken to the ground.

Faced with overwhelming firepower, any sensible force would have withdrawn to lick their wounds. The Grimm weren't sensible though. For perhaps the first time in their lives, they were experiencing hate. The hate that had made their kind hound society to the brink of extinction throughout history. Their primal instincts cried out at them to rend, to kill, and they attempted to do just that.

The Creeps charged across the killing fields in their peculiar gait, leaving their fallen brethren behind. Though the guns of the mechs caused great casualties, they weren't enough. The lead Creep bowled over the nearest soldier, and leapt on top of his form with jaws snapping down.

A bang louder than any so far smashed into Blake's eardrums and rattled the organs in her chest. A great cloud of acrid smoke engulfed her. She coughed, her eyes burning, and blindly pushed her way out of it. That's when she saw Port finish reloading.

He levelled his blunderbuss and pulled the trigger. There was another bang and another plume of smoke, but this time she was able to see the effect. Her observations only confirmed what some of his students had said about him. Port was mad. She'd always assumed the blunderbuss hanging on the wall in his classroom had been merely aesthetically superficial, that inside it would be as advanced as any modern firearm.

It wasn't. Port had merely poured raw Dust powder into the barrel and added a couple of other pouches. She wouldn't be surprised if they contained bent nails and shards of stone. The result had been a cone of fire, steam, lightning, and who knew what else. The Creep caught in the blast's epicentre twitched a dozen feet away, its flesh melted and boiled. Port laughed as Grimm bore down on him in the middle of wind-scorched island, he actually laughed.

"Gods I've missed this." He shook his weapon in the air. "Come on! Move yourselves!"

Yep. Port was definitely insane, but quite right. Blake used her Semblance to appear in front of a Grimm. She diverted its momentum to the side with Gambol Shroud, before thrusting her blade into a gap between its armoured plates. It came out red, but the Creep didn't stay down.

The ones on this island were larger than any she'd ever seen before. Even the smallest were the size of a pack leader back in Vale. It shouldn't have been possible. Out here on a small island, in the middle of the ocean, there couldn't have been much wildlife or food; the Grimm definitely wouldn't have been able to feed on their preferred prey of people. They should have starved, or at least had their growth stunted. Instead they were thriving.

The Creep shrugged off what should have been a mortal wound and charged straight back at her. Blake dove out the way, rolling on her shoulder, her sheath scraping uselessly along bone. The Creep roared at her, exposing its maw and fangs. A Grimm on the mainland would have known better; it would have had an understanding of ranged weaponry. In a flash, Blake transformed Gambol Shroud and emptied her magazine.

The Grimm staggered, blood pouring from its mouth. A pair of huge fists delivered a hammer blow to its back. The Creep's spine snapped under the spiked metal gauntlets. Blake offered a nod of thanks to Taiyang, before turning back to the battle.

Their defensive line had entirely collapsed under the swarm, morphing into dozens of running skirmishes. Where they could, the hunters assisted their less-able comrades, trying to give the soldiers the space to use their rifles.

Qrow was barely more than a blur, Murder fully deployed and being wielded with almost unmatched skill. For a moment, Blake's heart leapt at the belief Ruby was fighting alongside them once more. They were so similar in their styles; it was easy to see who'd trained her.

Oobleck darted around. He wasn't concentrating on killing the Creeps, but instead batting them away to buy time for everyone to regroup. SSSN fought as a single unit, instantly recalling the time they'd spent together at school. The mechs used their weight, stamping down where they could, striking out with the swords built into their arms if they couldn't.

A pillar of light, barely wider than a fist, formed in the midst of the largest group of Creeps closing in on them. A whine emanated from it. A whine that got steadily louder and more high-pitched. It reached a crescendo. Blake threw an arm up to shield her eyes while covering her ears. Few others recognised what was about to happen.

Light stabbed around her arm, a shockwave slammed into her, and a thirty foot circle of basalt was turned molten. There was no sign of the Grim that had been inside. The explosion brought a moment of silence to the battlefield, both man and beast stunned by the sheer ferocity. More whining filled the air.

Blake let out a triumphant laugh. Velvet had joined the fray. They had been right to invite their friend. In the past two years she'd done little other than study Dustcraft. It might have been impossible, but Velvet had just become scarier.

With their reinforcements being annihilated before they got remotely close, the Grimm were easier to handle. Some of the soldiers had set up heavier machine guns; they concentrated on the few Creeps that managed to run the gauntlet of erupting elements.

Dispatching her latest with the help of Yang, Blake took a momentary breather and attempted to gauge the progress of the battle. It was going well. The vast majority of the bodies on the ground were black, and most of those in uniform were still moving.

A triplet of missiles shot skywards. Blake didn't want to follow their progress. She did anyway. The flock of Nevermores and Griffons that had been gathering since they'd arrived had decided their numbers were enough. The missiles blossomed, and a few Grimm fell from the sky. But it was only a few. The rest dived towards them.

Blake gritted her teeth, ignoring the acid in her muscles. It was going to be a long day.

Blake glanced behind her just in time to see two dozen people appear out of the dawn air. That was still weird. No matter how many times she'd seen it, she couldn't help but think there should be smoke, or light, or just… something. Something that would help her mind comprehend how there could be nothing there one instant, and then something there the next. That's how it was in books. But it appeared Juno didn't take much inspiration from fiction. Or actually, considering her age, fiction didn't take much inspiration from her.

There was that same expression of shock on the faces of the newcomers, just as she was sure had been on hers the first time she'd been teleported. They looked around, awed at the new sights. Though what they could see was very different from what she'd found over a week ago.

As mankind did everywhere it went, they'd made some changes. She was currently off-duty, lounging against one of the thick rock walls that bordered their compound. It turned out that if Velvet ever got tired of being a huntress, being an instant architect was right up her alley.

Her creation wasn't quite a fortress, but it had come close, and more importantly it had come quickly. It had only taken her ̶ ̶ and a couple of other hunters who could help ̶ ̶ a few short hours to provide them with defences against the near-constant Grimm attacks.

Back when they were evacuating Vale, Velvet had shown that she could quickly build a simple wall from Earth Dust. But that paled in comparison to what she could do with some time to prepare. 'The Bunny Bastion' as one of the soldiers had called it ̶ ̶ and much to Velvet's embarrassment the name had stuck—had four walls that were a dozen feet high and wide enough to walk on, a small barracks to take shelter from the elements, and even a watchtower in one corner. It might not have been a fortress, but it would have put many ancient lords to shame.

It had been needed. The Grimm had been close to incessant in their ferocity, attacking time and time again. The walls and pits in the killing fields proved sufficient to allow the soldiers to make use of their firepower without being threatened. Still, by the carpet of black corpses that surrounded them, they must have come close to wiping out every Grimm on the island.

Securing a foothold here was meant to have been the easier task. Menagerie still loomed over them, and no one had any misconceptions regarding just how difficult was going to be to force their way onto it. Already there were Grimm on the beaches, just waiting for them.

Without a doubt, Blake knew it would be the hardest fight of her life. They would have to carve their way, inch by inch, through an uncountable mass of beasts, to the centre of the island where the thousand spires rose. Even under black clouds and shrouded in mists the formation was incredible.

The name might have been poetic; there might not have been a thousand thin spires spearing into the clouds, but there were hundreds. They were impossibly thin. They should have collapsed under their own weight, or been toppled by the storms that raged, still they remained. Geology wasn't her strongest subject, and she simply didn't know what natural process could have caused something like that. To be fair, from her research, neither did anyone else. The Grimm weren't exactly going to allow a scientific expedition to find out.

Even the force they'd brought would struggle. That was why every new arrival of reinforcements was treated with great cheer. They must have numbered several hundred now, and the supplies they'd so diminished had been replaced. Not everyone had arrived yet; apparently even Juno had limits, and only one or two long range teleports were the most she could make in a day. Despite leaving her vulnerable, Blake found it comforting. Juno, Cinder, Ozpin, and the rest might have been fantastically powerful, but they weren't all-powerful.

Still, this arrival of reinforcements was different, and Yang had looked up from her porridge long enough to notice too. "What the hell is that?"

"Umm…" Blake wasn't sure. In the middle of the additional troops sat a tracked vehicle approximately the size of a truck. It was military in origin, but it had no visible weapons. "A missile launcher?"

"Maybe?" Yang sounded sceptical. Blake didn't blame her. If was really a launcher then the missiles would be several stories in length. "Hey, Emerald!" Yang shouted, waving her arm in the air.

She might have been two dozen feet away, but it was still possible to see her roll her eyes as she realised who had called her name. She and Yang still really didn't get along, and neither was an innocent party in their mutual animosity. For a moment Emerald considered just ignoring them, but eventually she resolved herself to walking over.

"What?" She did not sound happy.

"Nice of you to join us. Don't worry, you missed all the fighting." Yang couldn't help but take the opportunity to antagonise her.

"Some of us rate slightly higher than grunt work."

"Ha!" Yang laughed. "You know what Emmy? You're such a joker." Emerald's brow furrowed in an attempt to stay in control. "We both know you would have lasted about three minutes before someone had to rescue you. Instead, you conveniently arrived too late. Again. At least you bothered to get changed this time. I bet you wouldn't have if Cindy was here."

The attacks against her may have annoyed Emerald, but mentioning Cinder was a sure way to make her boil over. Yang knew this, of course. Blake decided to intervene before the pair of them tried to kill each other.

"Yang." Blake laid a warning hand on her shoulder.

"What? We're just having fun. Aren't we Emmy?"

"Not yet. Why don't you put your pathetic little gauntlets where your mouth is? Then we can see who'd have to rescue who?"

"Bitch!" Yang jumped to her feet. There were few things that Yang revered more than Ember Celica: Ruby definitely, her dad, the rest of her family, and her girlfriend—though that was probably a maybe. "Let's go!"

Blake put herself between them. "Let's not. As much as everyone here would like some entertainment, I don't think you two beating the crap out of each other is a particularly good idea."

"It sounds good to me." Yang clenched her fists.

"Me too."

Blake held them both out at arm's length. "Well unless you want to hit me you're not going to. Yang, apologise."

"Fuck no."

"Yang!" Blake turned her back on Emerald, facing her girlfriend completely and staring into eyes that were tinged with red.

"She started it."

"Really? Are you twelve? We're on the same side." It wasn't much of an argument, but it was all she had. "Just say you're sorry. Please."

Yang almost refused, almost released some of the malevolent energy that had seeped into her from the very air of the island. Almost, but she didn't. There was enough in Blake's tone to temper her irritation. "Sorry." It was barely audible, but Blake knew it was all she'd get.

Emerald laughed. "I guess we all know who wears the pants in your relationship."

Blake rounded on her, the waft of heat from behind telling her just what Yang wanted to do at the moment. "Grow up. Unless you want me to tell Cinder why the two of you were fighting and jeopardising the mission."

The threat was enough. Emerald glared at her. "Fine. Did you actually want me for something? Or did you just call me over to piss me off?"

"Actually, we were wondering what's in there?" Blake pointed at the truck.

Emerald's glare morphed into a broad smirk. "You mean you don't know?"

"No," Yang said. "That's why we were asking. That's how it usually works."

After weeks of feeling threatened by Yang's appearance, Emerald finally had something over them, and she wasn't going to give it up quickly.

"I don't know. I'm not sure I should tell you. If you don't know, it's probably because it's above your pay grade."

"We're not getting paid. You're not either."

"Yes I am." Emerald revelled that Yang had just revealed another weakness. Blake could only wish they were getting paid. Sure Cinder might have given them some cash if they asked, but there definitely hadn't been a direct deposit to their accounts. "That's just tragic. I'm really not sure I should tell you then."

"Emerald… please." Blake gritted her teeth. She was starting to think Yang's idea of throttling her wasn't such a bad one. They could do it together. Make it a nice bonding session.

Emerald made a big show of deciding, stroking her chin with her fingers and pursing her lips. Blake was about a heartbeat from just walking away when Emerald opened her mouth. She recognised that they would just go and ask someone else and she would miss out on the satisfaction of the reveal.

"It's a bomb."

"A bomb?" Blake glanced at the truck. It was massive. Surely Emerald had meant bombs, plural.

"Just one?" Yang had clearly had the same thought.

"Yes. King Badr has most graciously donated his stockpile of White Dust."

King Badr again. Blake had seen him from a distance a couple of times while staying in the palace. By all accounts he was a strong leader, but for some reason he had thrown his full weight behind this expedition. Scores of troops, military hardware, and now White Dust. He either believed in their cause entirely, or Cinder had him wrapped around her little finger. After knowing her a little while and seeing the state Emerald was in, Blake was willing to bet on the latter.

Still, White Dust was nothing to be trifled with. Unlike Yang, she'd paid attention in Dustcraft class, but they hadn't covered White Dust ̶ ̶ that was final year material. All she knew was that it was expensive in the same ways countries were, and it really wasn't to be trifled with. There were stories of fantastical weapons built towards the end of the Great War but never tested. Weiss would probably know if there was any truth to them. And maybe Velvet would be able to tell her what a bomb made of White Dust would do. Blake made a mental note to ask her.

"What's it for?"

Emerald hesitated.

"You don't know do you?" Yang said with a laugh.

"Well… technically not," Emerald half-admitted. "But that's only because no one does. She hasn't told anyone."

"What's your best guess then?" Blake asked. She wasn't surprised Cinder was acting on a need to know basis. She didn't seem to do anything else.

"When it goes up, it's going to go up big. If for some reason we can't get what Cinder wants, then she's probably going to make sure no one can."

That made sense. Whatever Cinder wanted ̶ ̶ of course she hadn't told them ̶ ̶ was important enough to arrange this entire expedition. By that logic, it was important enough to ensure no one else got their hands on it either.

"You're probably right." Blake decided to offer an olive branch. They would be relying on each other soon enough. "Thanks Emerald."

It wasn't graciously accepted, but Blake got the sense that it was accepted. The slight sneer was likely for nothing more than appearances. "Right. Did you want anything else or can I get back to work?"

"Work?"

"Of course. I need to get everyone ready."

"Ready for what?"

"What I hope you've all been preparing for. You have a couple of hours. The moment the next wave arrives, we're beginning our assault."