A/N: Had a few people ask me about the frequency of updates after I didn't post this chapter on Friday. I mentioned in my last A/N on RWBY Within that I'm currently going with a week-and-a-half posting cadence for this story, because the weekly pace I maintained for RWBY Within was a bit too stressful for me. After my first trial with this new pacing, I have to say that I really enjoy having an extra 3-4 days between updates. Feels like I have so much more time to look at my chapters, edit them, and get a better feel for the story's progression. So I'm planning on sticking with it, at least for the time being.
The moment that Ruby's confusion wore off, a goofy smile splashed across her face as she dropped her helmet and charged at her favorite (and only) uncle.
"UNCLE QROW!"
The hunter in question grinned as he watched his niece hurtle towards him at breakneck speed. Ruby launched herself into Qrow's open arms and giggled as he pulled her off the ground and into a hug. For a few happy seconds, all off the stress and worries in Ruby's world melted away as she let herself be a little kid again. With Qrow here, what could possibly go wrong?
"How've you been, kiddo?"
"Been better." Ruby admitted, "But I'm feeling pretty great right about now. Check out the wings on this thing! I just flew down from an altitude of…" she checked Vahlen's gyro, only to realize that it didn't have a numerical display for her to read, "… well, from really high up! Bet you're jealous, huh?"
Qrow chuckled and put down his niece before gesturing to the other three huntresses walking up behind Ruby, "Your team, I assume? The one on the right looks like she's a bit of a hot head."
"Nice to see you too, old man." Yang smirked.
Qrow looked over at Ozpin, "I think she was talking to you, because there's no way I could be considered an 'old man' in any sense of the word."
"Well, you certainly don't act like one." Ozpin quipped before nodding at the team of huntresses before him, "It's nice to see you all again. I trust that JNPR is safe as well?"
Ruby nodded, "Yep! It would've taken another couple of days -well, hours from your perspective- to make more of these suits, and Jaune didn't want to wait that long to see if the Hype…r… Waaaaave…" She trailed off and looked over at her uncle. As much as she loved Qrow, Ruby wasn't sure how he would take the news that his niece had dragged her team across dimensions and into a bloody war on another planet.
Qrow raised an eyebrow, "You gonna finish that thought, kid? Or do you seriously think that Oz hasn't told me about your misadventures on Earth?"
"Oh… well, that makes sense, I guess. Why else would you be here if you didn't know, right? Yeah…" A thought popped into Ruby's mind, and her eyes grew wide, "Wait, does… does dad…?"
"Nah. Ozpin didn't want to worry Tai about it." Qrow answered, shaking his head, "Knowing him, he wouldn't rest until Oz let him make the jump and join you guys on Earth. It was bad enough that those other friends of yours were already hellbent on coming to your aid, you know?"
"Would've been nice to have some extra support, though." Weiss grumbled.
"Too risky." Blake answered, "Especially since we didn't know if a return trip was possible. Speaking of which, our first jump was to test both these wing suits and the relay, and where we would appear after traveling through it. Since you said the portal stopped appearing in its usual spot after the relay was transferred to the Temple Ship…"
"… The new exit point had the potential to be dangerous." Ozpin finished, nodding, "Your doctors Vahlen and Shen have kept me appraised of the situation. Even though we were unable to confirm the airdrop theory one-hundred percent, I felt comfortable enough with their data to go ahead with the run. I believe Bradford informed you of this, yes?"
"He… uh… didn't." Blake said with a small measure of surprise, "He's just been saying that it's still dangerous, and that we don't know for sure where it'll spit us out."
Ozpin brought a hand up to his chin, "Interesting. Your Central Officer doesn't seem like the kind of man who would lie to your face, especially about something so dangerous, just to stop you from going through with the jump."
"Brad's been busy with the fallout of the war, so he might've forgot." Yang pointed out, "The damn council is giving him a hard time about the ship, making all sorts of demands for rules and sanctions and whatnot. Almost like they forgot that XCOM saved the Earth from total annihilation." She finished with an eye roll.
Ozpin sighed, "Well, I'll acknowledge that everything turned out alright in the end, despite the fact that you four weren't completely in the loop on the plan. Given that I myself am somewhat familiar with the joys of bureaucracy, I think I can understand and forgive Bradford's misstep. Especially if this council is as difficult as you say."
Ruby nodded, "It doesn't help that they remain anonymous. I think they feel like they can get away with being bossy and demanding since we don't know who they are, just what they represent."
"The intranet, while truly a testament to human ingenuity, is also somewhat of a cesspool for the exact reason you've mentioned, miss Rose." Ozpin said, taking a sip from his mug.
For the first time in the entire exchange, Glynda spoke, "Perhaps it would be better if we moved this conversation to somewhere more secure? While I'm sure the concept of cyber-bullying isn't a matter of national security, some of the other subjects of Team RWBY's debriefing surely have a more sensitive nature."
"Correct as always, Glynda. Come, we'll continue in my office." The headmaster swirled his mug and glanced at its contents, "It appears I need a refill, anyway."
"Central Officer, time and again you fail to give us the… answers we are looking for. Not only are you not forthcoming with the research developed by your scientists, but your unwillingness to allow a party of delegates onboard the Temple Ship is… disturbing. While XCOM still remains a vital ally in combating the new… supernatural threat you call the Grimm, this Council of Nations is disappointed with your actions, Bradford. We hope you will see the error in your choices before we are forced to resort to more… direct methods in these negotiations."
While he maintained his confident posture, Bradford groaned inwardly, "Is that all, councilor?"
"For now. Remember: we… will be watching."
The screen turned black, and Central Officer Bradford slumped into his chair. Despite what the counselor had said, their thinly-veiled threats seemed pretty damn direct from Bradford's perspective. What was the next step? Branding XCOM as international terrorists? Sending in an air force to bring down the ship?
"This is why I have trust issues." He complained to nobody in particular.
"Sounds like your meeting didn't go so well."
Bradford looked up to see Dr. Shen standing at the door to the Situation Room, "May I come in?"
"You're a sight for sore eyes, Ray. What can I do for you?"
"Just thought I'd lend some moral support." Shen glanced at the blank video screen, "Figured you could use it."
"Well, I suppose you could- hey there, Lily."
A young woman, head poking around the door frame, stepped out into full view and gave a slight bow, "Hello, Central Officer Bradford… sir."
For the briefest of moments, Bradford felt like he was meeting Ruby Rose for the first time all over again, "Just Bradford is fine." He smiled before turning to Dr. Shen, "Showing your little rugrat around the ship?"
"I believe I cleared it with you a week ago." Shen answered, eyebrow raised.
Bradford let out a small 'huh' while he tried to wrack his brain for the memory of the supposed conversation, "… You're probably right, doctor. Besides, I wouldn't have any problem with Lily coming onboard under your supervision anyway."
"Still… it's slightly concerning that you forgot." The elderly engineer pressed, "Seems like dealing with the council is taking a heavier toll on you than you expected."
Bradford nodded, "I'll have a talk with Vahlen when she has some free time. But for now, I think it might be nice if I joined the two of you on your tour of the ship." He glanced at Lily, who occupied herself with staring at all the technology around the room, "Provided you're okay with having more than one old geezer showing you around."
The younger Shen (was she in her teens now? Bradford made a note to ask Ray about it later) shrugged, "It's fine. Dad talks about you all the time and all the amazing things you accomplished, so it's nice to finally meet the infamous Bradford."
"Infamous?" Bradford asked, eyebrow cocked, "Yeah, well… he talks about you all the time, too. Why do you think I knew your face?"
"That's… uh... a good point, now that you mention it." Lily turned to her father a pointed look, "You only tell him the good things about me, right?"
Dr. Shen returned his daughter's look with a mischievous smile, "More or less. Now come on, let's take you over to the engineering labs."
"I dunno," Lily teased, "I've got a pretty cool machine shop at school. Are you sure your spaceship can beat it?"
Her father rolled his eyes, the smile never leaving his face, "That's a high bar you've set, my dear. I suppose you'll just have to decide for yourself whether a manufacturing floor staffed by twenty of the world's top engineers and two fully-functional AI's is better than your high school machine shop. Go on ahead, Lily. I need to talk to the Central Officer in private for a few minutes. We'll catch up at the elevator, alright?"
Lily nodded and ran off down the hallway, stopping every few feet to look at some fascinating piece of hardware or another. Bradford and Shen ambled slowly behind her in silence for a few moments.
"Y'know…" Bradford started, breaking the silence between them as he continued to watch the younger Shen, "For a kid that age, she's surprisingly well behaved."
"I like to think my wife had a hand in Lily's behavior before she passed." the Chief Engineer mused, "But I'm also thinking that, in this particular case, I've made the importance of XCOM quite clear to Lily. She is well aware of the fact that this organization and its staff deserves her utmost respect."
By this point, the two of them lost sight of Lily as they continued to amble along. Silence fell between them once more until Shen commented, "You don't look so good, my friend."
Bradford sighed, "You'd think life would be easier when I didn't have the fate of the world weighing down on my shoulders, but all of this politicking with red tape and subtle threats is just making me feel… really shitty."
"That's… slightly uncharacteristic of you." Shen admitted, "Even during our most dire hours during the war, I've never seen you this distracted."
"I guess I couldn't afford to be distracted. Maybe because this shit is so inconsequential in the grand scheme of things that my mind is allowing itself to crack under the pressure."
Shen nodded, "I suppose that makes sense. At least there's always Remnant when you need some time to yourself." A thought occurred to Shen, and he gave Bradford a hard look, "You have visited Remnant, right?"
Silence.
"You haven't." Shen sighed.
"You have to remember that two hours on Remnant means a whole day blows by here." Bradford said, trying to defend himself, "There's just too much to do, Ray. Too much bullshit to deal with."
The Chief Engineer shook his head, "That's what the chain of command is for. I know for a fact that Van Doorn would gladly take on some of the responsibilities that you seem determined to shoulder entirely by yourself. Annette, Beagle, Patterson, Zanakos… Being the 'Central' Officer implies that you have an entire staff of ranking operatives who are more than capable of fulfilling duties while you take some much-needed time off."
"I know, I know." Bradford said, "The only reason Ruby hasn't badgered me about this yet is because she's still too caught up with finally being on Remnant again. I received a message from Pyrrha, however, noting that it's been well over twelve hours and asking why I haven't come to visit. I gave her some excuse about how Vahlen is still calibrating the relay for regular use, but I'm pretty sure she saw right through it."
"It is frustrating that visits have to be short." Shen admitted, "The four hours I spent in Vale with Ruby flew by so quickly, they seemed like four minutes. But you owe it to yourself to spend some time over there. And if you need to find a reason to justify it to yourself, say that it's to meet with Ozpin. Let Van Doorn deal with the council for a day or two. He's recognized as an international hero, so I don't see him having any trouble without your assistance. And if an emergency arises? We can always send you a message and ask you to return immediately."
Bradford sighed. He knew that his friend was right. All of the million little reasons not to go, while they seemed significant as a group, fell apart as soon as he assessed each one individually. For whatever reason, he was dragging his heels about visiting Remnant, and Bradford realized that the only thing really stopping him from going was himself.
"I'll make time for it soon." He promised Shen, "But for now, I believe we have a visitor waiting for a tour of the ship's engineering facilities."
"Alright Annette, if you're to become a huntress worthy of any sort of respect, then you need to determine your weapon of choice."
Annette cast a confused look at Weiss as the two of them walked down the streets of Vale, "I already have a shotgun."
"Besides the shotgun." Weiss clarified with a slightly indignant huff, "Given that the Grimm seem to be more susceptible to melee weaponry than firearms, all huntresses and huntsmen are capable of fighting Grimm in close quarters combat. Ruby carries a scythe, I carry a rapier, etcetera. If you want to be taken seriously at all in this business, you need a melee weapon. Which is why we're going to the finest blacksmith in the city."
"Makes sense, I guess. What kind of weapon is easy to combine with a shotgun?" Annette asked.
Weiss shook her head, "That's not the question you need to be asking yourself. Formshifting is a skill that's been honed by Remnant's craftsmen for generations. Decide what kind of weapon speaks to you, and leave it to the professionals to develop a design that works. Here we are."
Weiss and Annette stepped into a small, unassuming building that Annette hadn't even noticed until Weiss drew her attention to the doorway.
"Before coming to Beacon, you would never catch me in an establishment as… quaint as this." Weiss explained, as if she felt the need to defend herself, "But ever since Ruby took me here once during our first semester, I've come to realize that there's sometimes more to a store than its exterior. Hello Gus."
A man popped up from under the counter in the back and waved cheerfully at the pair, "Hello miss Schnee! Haven't seen you around in a while. Was starting to get worried that something had happened to you."
"Yeah, well, eight mo-" A slight kick from Annette reminded Weiss that eight months hadn't actually passed from the shop owner's perspective. Weiss cleared her throat, "Never mind. My friend here is looking for a weapon."
Gus raised an eyebrow, both at Weiss's misstep and the fact that the woman standing next to her was a lot older than the average client looking for a first weapon. After a moment, he shrugged and cracked a toothy grin, "Well! better late than never, I always say. Do you have any ideas where you'd like to start?"
Annette cast a glance at Weiss, "I take it that people my age tend not to buy weapons?"
"Like most other skills, Hunters learn their craft at an early age," Weiss explained, "It's not unheard of to start late, but it's not common, either."
That made sense. Annette hummed pensively as she looked around the shop. The weapons on display ran the full gamut from simple to exotic, and they all looked like fantastic choices.
"I think I'd like something that's relatively simple." She decided, "I'd rather not spend a lot of time trying to learn the intricacies of something fancy like Crescent Rose or Gambol Shroud."
"Ah, I see you're familiar with the rest of miss Schnee's gang." Gus noted, "Yes, Weiss's friends do indeed have some… interesting tastes in weaponry. But I can proudly say that it's nothing I can't handle! More to the point, though, we have a nice selection of simpler armaments. Swords, axes, maces, staves… name any martial weapon you'd like, and we either have it available, or I can custom build one for you."
The XCOM Captain cast another glance at the racks of weapons spread out around the room before she came to a tentative decision, "I think a sword would be good. Like a… a short sword? Nothing too heavy."
"The heavier it is, the bigger the punch it can pack." Gus commented, "However, lighter weapons give you the advantage of better agility, so it's really just a matter of preference. Would you simply like a sword, or are you looking to integrate some ranged options into your weapon?"
"How hard would it be to integrate a shotgun into a short sword?" Annette asked.
"Not hard at all! Though perhaps something a bit larger would fit your needs better, like a bastard sword?"
Annette nodded, "A bastard sword, then. How expensive would that be?"
"Not a concern." Weiss cut in.
Annette sighed, "Weiss…"
"Nope! This is a very significant milestone for you, and I'm not going to let something as base as money affect your decision."
"Spoken like a true Schnee." Gus chuckled, "Still, I will do my best to keep the cost reasonable."
"Thank you, Gus. How long do you think it will take to have the weapon finished?"
"The Vytal festival is actually making me a busy man, believe it or not." The weaponsmith said with a chuckle, "But for you, my friend? I will make this a priority. I'll do my best to have it finished in a couple of days."
Annette flashed a warm smile, "I can see why Weiss speaks so highly of you. Thank you for your efforts."
"Of course! Farewell, and enjoy the festival!"
With that done, the duo stepped out of the shop and back onto the street. The entire exchange caused Annette to notice something interesting about her friend. While Weiss's behavior here would have easily fit with the Weiss that first fell through the Hyperwave Relay eight or nine months ago, it certainly didn't match the personality that Weiss had grown into over the course of the war. All this nonsense about money being no object? Letting the weapon 'speak' to you? Not getting caught in such a rundown building? Sounded like a slightly stuck-up heiress to Annette. She wondered if, now that Weiss found herself back in Remnant, the young huntress was trying to return to the way things used to be back before the war.
And while Annette couldn't blame Weiss for trying, she knew that something like that would be impossible. No matter how hard Weiss tried to act like a princess (or Ice Queen, as the case may be) again, Sergeant Schnee would always be lurking just beneath the surface.
"Ozpin, I still don't understand why you feel this is a good idea."
Beacon's headmaster closed his eyes and sighed as Ironwood continued, "You wish to induct a strange man, one that I've never heard of, into our circle and share with him Remnant's darkest secrets. You have given me no cause to trust you on this decision, yet you ask me to do so anyway."
"I dunno, Jimmy, but I'm a big fan of anyone that can simultaneously keep my nieces safe for three weeks while fighting for his squad's life in the middle of a goddamn war zone."
"Qrow…"
"A war?" Ironwood asked, surprise in his voice, "What war? I am the general of the largest military on Remnant, why was I not made aware of this sooner?"
"Maybe you should ask your precious Stealth Division why they didn't catch wind of it. Sounds like a pretty big oversight on their part." Qrow taunted.
"ENOUGH, Qrow." Ozpin said, planting his hands on his desk and standing up to glare at his subordinate. While he knew that Qrow held no love for Ironwood or Atlas, this sort of taunting was going to cause serious problems if something slipped about XCOM. The last thing Ozpin needed was to have Qrow needlessly tempt fate. He returned his attention to Ironwood, "Whether you know him or not is besides the point, James. I know enough about Bradford, as well as his credentials, to trust both his judgment and competency."
"But why haven't I heard of him?" Ironwood pressed, "We're talking about world-shattering secrets here, Ozpin. Revealing this information to a nobody simply because you say it's alright doesn't sit well with me."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow, "Are you trying to tell me that there aren't any Atlesian secrets that you hold close to your chest? That you've informed me of every division -research, combat, and stealth- currently employed by your government, and the successes they've enjoyed?"
Atlas's headmaster-general opened his mouth to speak, then closed it as the words became caught in his throat. Ozpin nodded, "Nor would I expect you to. It's simply a matter of politics and strategy: while it's important to keep your friends close, it is equally wise to have a contingency plan." The aging headmaster sat down once more and took a sip from his mug, "Bradford's division is one of Vale's contingency plans."
Ozpin watched as his colleague tried to come up with a counterargument, but failed to find one that was satisfactory. Eventually, Ironwood settled with, "So why does Vale get to be the only kingdom with a 'contingency plan' that is in the loop? With your talk of guarded safety, it seems like this move puts you at a large advantage over your peers."
"There's a lot at stake with the Vytal Festival, James." Ozpin began, choosing his words carefully, "The White Fang has become more bold in the last year, and I can't think of a more public stage than this festival for them to send a global message. I understand your concerns, but Bradford possesses a unique set of skills that could prove invaluable to the safety of the people during this international event."
"With respect, Ozpin… the council put me in charge of security for the festival after the Breach debacle which, I remind you, happened under your watch." Ironwood countered.
"And I am certain you are doing everything in your power to ensure the Atlesian security is top-notch." Ozpin answered before Qrow could come up with a snarky jab, "I am not trying to question your leadership here. I am, however, looking at what lays ahead after the festival. To that end, I believe it is important that we start revealing some of the world's greatest problems to a select few who are capable of making a difference."
"You speak as if there aren't already any well-known individuals with an established list of accomplishments." Ironwood said, "Specialist Schnee could easily-"
"Ah yes, Specialist Schnee." Qrow cut in with an eye roll, "Your favorite lap dog, that one."
A sharp look from Ozpin cut the grizzled hunter's tirade short. Beacon's headmaster took another sip from his mug before answering, "I am well aware of the wide range of talents your specialists possess, James. Perhaps you would like to bring miss Schnee to the table?"
"If you're dead-set on informing this Bradford of our purpose as well as our… situation, then I think it's only fair that I have the opportunity to do the same."
Qrow sighed, "Wonderful…"
Ruby and Yang glanced at each other as they approached the front door to a small, unassuming cottage.
"You sure you wanna do this?" Ruby asked, "You know he's gonna freak out no matter how you frame it."
Yang sighed, "It's better than putting it off and having him find out some other way that doesn't involve me telling him directly."
The two huntresses took a deep breath, followed by Yang tapping her metallic knuckles on the front door.
"Dad? It's me, Yang. Ruby and I stopped by to say hello."
"Don't forget about the cover that we agreed on with Ozpin." Ruby reminded her.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Yang answered, rolling her eyes, "We got sent on a mission that went south. We were stuck with a spec ops team for three weeks while we waited for extraction."
Ruby wanted to quiz her sister on a few more points, but their father opened the door and cut the conversation short by reaching down and pulling his two daughters into a sweeping bear hug.
"My girls!" Taiyang said, voice somewhat muffled as he buried his face in their hair. He held his children for a few seconds before releasing his vice grip and standing back to get a better look them, "You look so different since I last saw you! Then again, Beacon is the best there is, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you've matured so quickly. Come in!"
He ushered Ruby and Yang into the house while he continued to bombard them with questions about school, training, and life in general.
Yang glanced around the room, "Is Zwei around? I thought he'd be here."
Her father raised an eyebrow, "I sent him to stay with you at Beacon, remember?"
"O-oh… yeah, you did." Yang answered, exchanging a glance with Ruby. When they didn't see Zwei in their room after they got back to beacon, RWBY figured that Zwei found a way back home to Patch. Since it seems he hadn't, Ruby and Yang realized they had to find the whereabouts of their dog before Taiyang found out they lost him.
For now, though, their father seemed oblivious to the problem, "How are you doing with your partner, Ruby? I know your first couple of letters described her as… difficult to get along with."
'It's been months since I've had a fight with Weiss.' Was what Ruby wanted to say. Instead, she answered, "Oh, you know… Weiss comes from a pretty different background, but I think we're getting better at meeting halfway on things."
Taiyang nodded, "That's good to hear. I've met the Schnees before on official business for Vale. If Weiss is anything like her father, I'm impressed that you've managed to become friends so quickly."
"What about you, dad?" Yang asked, shifting the focus of the conversation, "Been up to anything exciting lately?"
"Eh, just teaching at Signal." He answered, scratching the back of his head while his face changed into an expression of mild discomfort, "Guess I'm kinda boring, aren't I?"
Ruby shook her head, "I wouldn't say that, dad. Passing on knowledge from one generation to the next is super-important, right?"
"Exactly!" Yang added, "I mean, hey: you taught me how to fight. And not to brag, but I'm kind've a badass now."
Taiyang smiled, "Sometimes I wonder if I'm taking care of you two, or if you're the ones taking care of me. So what brings you back home? Just a quick visit with your old man before you get ready for the Vytal Festival? I hear your team is competing in the tournament."
Ruby and Yang exchanged glances. It was now or never.
"Yeah, we are." Yang answered. It was her turn to look uncomfortable, "Listen, dad, there's something I need to tell you. Show you, actually."
The smile on Taiyang's face dropped instantly, "What's the matter? Are you okay?"
His eldest daughter chose her words carefully, "I'm… fine. Really. But, it's just that… well… I guess it'll be easier to just show you."
Yang rolled up the sleeve on her usual blouse and began to unravel the decorative scarves she had wrapped around her right arm. She watched with apprehension as her father's eyes widened at the sight of gleaming metal as the wrapping fell away. While Vahlen's upgrades to the MEC arms vastly improved their durability, she never had the chance to make any cosmetic improvements to the technology. Yang's shoulder joint made a few clicks as she fiddled with it before dislocating with a quiet hiss. As his elder daughter detached her right arm from her torso, Taiyang's jaw dropped. Yang gently placed her arm on the coffee table between them as stunned silence filled the room for a brief moment.
"Soooooooo yeah." Yang said, unsure of how to proceed, "That's kinda the main reason why I wanted to see you, dad. Thought you deserved to find out in person."
Taiyang blinked several times, his eyes glued to the prosthetic, "Wh-what… what happened?" He looked up at Yang, a mixture of terror, horror, and fury in his eyes, "How did you lose your arm? Who did this to you?"
"It's… not just my arm." Yang explained, the discomfort growing in her voice, "It's all four of my limbs, actually."
"What?" Her father stood up. His balance unsteady and his knuckles clenched white in rage, Ruby could almost feel the heat of her father's anger radiating from his soul. Here stood a man, abandoned by his first wife and a widower to his second, and the only remaining joy in his life came from his two daughters. The look on his face when he realized how close he had come to losing one if them without even knowing it… it crushed Ruby's heart to see him like this. The directionless rage mixed with anguish on his face, and Ruby didn't know what would happen if Yang hadn't spoken up first.
"And it was my fault, actually." Yang finished, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Show me." Taiyang hissed, still determined to find a victim upon which he could unleash his wrath, "Show me who did this, and I will erase him from existence."
Ruby chimed in so that Yang didn't have to keep talking, "He's already dead, dad. We went on a mission a few weeks ago with another team, JNPR. We…" Ruby paused for a moment, then corrected herself, "I… made a mistake." She took a deep breath. The fact that there was some truth in her words made it easier to lie to her father, "A mistake that not only did Yang and her partner pay for, but one that essentially trapped us in the region for two and a half weeks. I'm… sorry."
In an instant, the anger fell away from Taiyang's face. Numb shock quickly replaced rage, and Ruby watched her father teeter in silence for a moment before dropping back into his chair. The three of them sat in silence for a long time while Ruby and Yang waited for their dad to grapple with the situation. The emotions Ruby psionically sensed from her father had no rhyme or reason, each bubbling up and giving way to the next as Taiyang's mental faculties short-circuited. Finally, the dust in his mind seemed to settle, and a single emotion rose above the rest.
Despair.
He looked up at his daughters with tears rolling down his face before finally holding his arms out to them. Immediately, Ruby and Yang crossed the gap and buried themselves in his chest as he enveloped the two loves of his life in a crushing embrace.
"I'm sorry." Ruby repeated into Taiyang's jacket, "I never meant for this to happen."
Eventually, Taiyang found his voice, "I'm… I'm just glad you're both safe, that you made it back. Really, I am." They held each other for what seemed like an eternity before he spoke again, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."
Ruby stepped back and wiped her face, "It's not your fault. You didn't know, and…" She took a deep breath, preparing for the lie she was least comfortable with, "… and there was no way for us to tell you."
Taiyang watched his elder daughter step away from the hug and pick up the metal arm to reattach to the rest of her body, "It'll take some… getting used to." He said, eyes transfixed as Yang snapped the arm back in place, "How did you not panic in the moment? I mean, you're two of the strongest women I know, but how did you pull yourself together after something so catastrophic?"
"It wasn't easy, for sure." Yang admitted, waving the arm in front of her face, "Still isn't. But, I guess I couldn't afford to lose it while we were in danger, you know? We still had to survive and come home before I had the luxury of worrying about my, um… injuries."
The conversation slowly grew warmer from there, as Taiyang tried his best to simultaneous comfort his daughters and come to terms with Yang's new condition. Even though their reunion came with horrible news, it still felt nice to be a family and talk. Besides, Ruby was mostly relieved that her dad didn't think to ask how Yang managed to acquire such high-quality prosthetics so quickly in an environment that was supposedly both remote and hostile. She'd have to ask Ozpin for suggestions on how to handle that question if it came up in a different conversation.
"Relay is live in three… two… one…"
Even with five jumps under his belt, MacAuley still had trouble getting rid of the butterflies that always started fluttering around in his stomach seconds before making the plunge. His grip tightened on the gun in his hand as the Hyperwave Relay flared to life with a deep thrum.
"Move! Move!"
With Captain Beagle shouting at his back, MacAuley willed his legs to move as he charged towards the swirling, purple portal. He cleared the top of the small ramp with a leap, fell through the transdimensional rift, and once again felt the familiar sensation of free-falling at several miles in the air.
"Alright, team," Beagle's voice crackled over the comms, "Take a moment to orient, then deploy your wings on my mark."
MacAuley twisted himself around so that his chest faced the ground. Now that the 'hard' part of jumping through the relay was over, the Engineer could relax and enjoy the 'fun' part of the exercise.
"Mark."
The six operatives deployed the Kingfisher's wings in near-perfect unison, and MacAuley smiled as he felt his flight path level out. His opportunity to appreciate the simple joys of flying was cut short, however, as another giddy yell over the comms signaled the arrival of Strike Five's 'prey.' A fun-sized ball of pink and orange hurtled past the team of operatives, followed by green-and-black, crimson-and-gold, and silver-and-blue.
"Yeeeaaaaaahhhhh!" Nora shouted happily, "Good luck trying to tag this Valkyrie!"
"Nora," Jaune sighed, "The idea was to be sneaky."
"The power of Thor runs through my veins! If I wanted to be sneaky, I would've been born a descendant of Loki."
"Ren…"
"Not my fault that she found the superhero section of the Anthill's movie collection."
A small whine coming from his rifle caused MacAuley to glance down and see a little green indicator winking back at him.
"Weapons free, boys." Beagle called out to Strike Five, "Hunting Season is officially open. Don't forget, Vahlen wants us to field test the jump jet prototypes she added to the suits. Just don't go overboard and kill each other in a collision, alright?"
The six operatives peeled off from their tight formation and dove after their selected targets. MacAuley fell in with Beagle as the duo chased after Jaune. He locked eyes with his Captain, and the pair switched their comms to a private channel. Months ago, the two of them agreed that Bradford didn't need to hear all the operation chatter that went on between the members of Strike Five; that decision came in handy now and again.
"What's the play, boss?"
"I'll go low while you stay high." Beagle answered, "Try to keep to his blind spot if you can, and take the shot when you know you've got it."
MacAuley nodded and watched the Rocketeer sweep back his wings and dive bomb their prey. Beagle readied his rifle and unleashed a volley of minimum-power laser fire at Jaune. The hunter banked hard in response, evading the fusilade. From above, MacAuley tracked his friend but refrained from firing to avoid giving away his position. He saw laser fire light up the sky in his periphery as the other members of Strike Five zeroed in on their respective targets.
The dance of cat-and-mouse continued between Beagle and Jaune. MacAuley watched as Jaune would fake leveling out long enough for Beagle to line up a shot before he'd flare his wings and loop up to lose his assailant. Beagle managed to stay hot on his target's heels, thanks in part to the extra maneuverability provided by Vahlen's latest gift. This carried on for about half a minute, with MacAuley patiently waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. The moment eventually arrived when Jaune performed a displacement roll in an attempt to shake Beagle, putting the hunter right in MacAuley's waiting crosshairs.
"Gotcha." The Irishman muttered as he squeezed the trigger on his rifle. The instant his weapon spat out its ammunition, Pyrrha flew up from below to intercept the laser fire. MacAuley watched in amazement as Jaune's partner stalled her flight long enough to absorb the shots with her shield before dipping back down, igniting her jump jets, and speeding off.
"Where the fuck did her tail go?"
"Chasing after JNPR's resident ninja." Beagle observed, "Check your three o'clock."
MacAuley glanced in the indicated direction and sure enough, he saw three operatives tailing Ren while the last was, amusingly enough, being tailed by Nora. Even though all eight huntsmen showed impressive aptitude with the Kingfisher suits, Ren had turned flying into an art form. When the others were still learning various evasive maneuvers from XCOM's interceptor pilots, Ren was already elegantly dancing across the sky: impressive to watch, and impossible to catch.
"Can someone please explain to Hammertime the concept of predator and prey?" Five-three whined over the comms.
"Nora," Ren said, "Please stop chasing after the nice operative with Magnhild. It's not our turn to attack yet."
"Awww."
The aerial war game continued for another ten minutes, with the operatives enjoying marginal success in their efforts to tag JNPR. MacAuley noticed just how coordinated the huntsmen had become. Little things such as Pyrrha's stunt with her shield demonstrated an impressive degree of situational awareness and general cohesion.. Their ability to exploit the strengths and cover the weaknesses of each teammate was, in MacAuley's opinion, a large factor in their success against Strike Five.
Vahlen's voice, slightly distorted by transdimensional static, carried over the comms, "Final tally for War Game zero-zero-eight, Strike Five versus Team JNPR: thirteen hits scored on Lieutenant Arc; five hits scored on Sergeant Valkyrie; eight hits scored on Sergeant Nikos; and one hit scored on Sergeant Lie. Interestingly enough, this is the first time Ren has been hit. While it marks the end of his perfect run, I am now forty dollars richer than I was two hours ago."
The last comment elicited a round of laughter from the ten fliers before the doctor continued, "Please proceed to the coordinates for the rendezvous point, which should be illuminated on your visors' heads-up displays. Once I have confirmation from Captain Beagle that all operatives are accounted for, I will reactivate the relay."
"Sounds good, doc." Beagle answered, "We'll see you soon."
