A/N: Alright, so first thing's first. I made a pretty serious party foul last chapter, so I need to get that sorted out before we get to the new stuff.
You probably noticed some new faces accompanying Ilia during her raid on the ADVENT precinct station during Operation Warsaw. Ciel is someone we've met in RWBY proper, but Ashton was a fellow reader's/writer's interpretation of one of the nameless finalists from the Vytal tournament, and RAPS (or 'Rhapsody') is the name of the Atlesian team they're part of in said writer's story where Ruby goes to train at Atlas instead of Beacon. Which is why I had Ciel's and Ashton's team leader missing in RU, because... well...
So anyway, I had Krionik's permission to include RAPS as one of the local Atlesian teams helping XCOM during Warsaw, and I'm extremely embarrassed that I forgot to give proper credit last chapter. If you'd like to give the work-in-progress story a gander, the available chapters are available on this site under the name 'Atlesian Rhapsody.'
As for the chapter below? It's probably one of the biggest I've written. 40 pages in Google Docs. Over 15k words of stuff for your eyeballs.
Enjoy.
"More contacts!"
"Grimm inbound! Lots of them!"
"Gonna need some of your heavier firepower, Ares."
"Nichole?"
"I am currently taxed by my work with Captain Beagle. You will, regrettably, have to pilot the vehicle without my help."
Pyrrha nodded.
"Are you ready, Jaune?"
Jaune flipped a switch that loaded one of several munition types into his vehicle-mounted gun and grunted an affirmative from the passenger seat. His hands firmly gripped the weapon mount controls, and his eyes were focused on the view in front of them.
"All set for big-game hunting."
The lightning Dust in the engine crackled to life, and the buggy lurched forward, leaving the safety of the trees behind as it roared to life to join the battle. Jaune immediately got to work unleashing a deadly stream of high-density Earth Dust rounds on the new Grimm targets. The frame of their vehicle shook slightly with every shot that Jaune ejected from the barrel of his gun. The caliber of the ammunition meant that Jaune's rate of fire was slower than if he'd selected a different Dust type. A quick scan of the field, however told Pyrrha that her partner had a very target-rich environment to work with.
The fields above Merlot's lab were littered with the time-washed stonework of ancient ruins. Ruins that XCOM wasted no time in using to entrench themselves and set up firing lanes, kill zones, and fallback fortifications. Pyrrha still had room to comfortably navigate her vehicle, and the Grimm had plenty of room to swarm in and charge XCOM's lines.
Perhaps it was Merlot's security force that had drawn in the Grimm. XCOM's Reaper-led ambush tactics were certainly a terrifying sight to behold when the hangar team kicked off the fight. Pyrrha had to sit tight in the opening minutes of the battle, but she lost count of the number of times she heard 'Contact neutralized' over the comms while she waited. There must have been enough human personnel mixed in with the mechanicals to draw in the Grimm.
"Manticores at two o'clock," Pyrrha called out, tagging the fliers with her visor. "Coming into view beyond the broken tower."
"Adjusting munition to compensate," Jaune confirmed.
She juked through a small copse of trees to dodge one of the still-living security patrols engaged with Strike Six. Jaune lined up his sights with the incoming Manticore horde and ripped into the Grimm with the buggy's turret. Each shot still launched a heavy Earth Dust round, but Pyrrha watched as the ammo fractured into small cloud of shards before it reached the fliers.
"A little dose of Air Dust," Jaune said with a grin. "Vahlen had me test the tech out in the Skunkworks a few days ago."
Pyrrha pulled them back into the open fields to give Jaune a better view of his targets. Fireballs splashed around them in response, and Pyrrha silently thanked Lily for keeping the vehicle lightweight and making sure that it could handle hard turns. The duo wove in and out of the ruins, allowing Jaune to fire a salvo of deadly rounds at the fliers before Pyrrha dipped back out of sight to evade fireborne retaliation.
"Air support would be nice," Jaune commented.
Pyrrha nodded. "I think several of the Albatross pilots were working on hijacking that escaping Bullhead. They're probably going to prioritize evacuating the wounded back to the Avenger, but hopefully they can offer a couple of strafing runs if these Grimm keep coming."
"Four-Seven is down!"
Pyrrha sprung into action at Otter's call for help. Pyrrha twisted the car in the direction of Strike Four and raced across the stone-littered, pock-marked field. More flying Grimm touched down around them, and Jaune did his best to thin them out. Earlier in the morning, several operatives had lamented the fact that they'd be stuck on 'guard duty' by being assigned to the topside of the lab instead of the hangar. Now that they had Grimm swooping, crawling, and galloping towards them from all directions, Pyrrha wished those operatives had kept their mouths shut.
Then again, with the sights, sounds, and scents of battle bombarding her, Pyrrha had to admit that she hadn't felt this alive in months.
"Deploying smokes," she announced, flipping a toggle on her dashboard to drop a cluster of protective grenades as she made her first pass by Strike Four. Pyrrha yanked on her VI-assisted steering wheel and whipped the buggy around. Jaune's mounted gun revved up again, providing suppressive fire with a lower-caliber ammunition while Pyrrha rolled up to the squad.
"Thank God for the cavalry," Fonseca greeted. While the rest of the squad continued to trade shots with Merlot's forces (and the encroaching Grimm), Otter and Cisneros lifted the unconscious soldier into the back of Pyrrha's vehicle and strapped him down to the medical bench.
"Take what you need from the lockers," Pyrrha said. "We've got ammo, grenades, medical supplies…"
"You're an angel and a lifesaver, Ares," Fonseca answered. "Do you think you can park here for a few minutes while I treat the damage?"
"I aim to please."
"Smoke's starting to clear," one of the operatives warned.
"Cargo," Jaune said, stepping out of the buggy and readying his sword and shield, "take the gun."
Master Sergeant Cisneros grinned. "Aye aye, El Tee."
Pyrrha smiled as she watched her partner step forward through the thinning smoke. The cloud flashed a bright white before dissipating to reveal one Lieutenant Jaune Arc, armored in the silver raiment of his aura. The Grimm charging in from the left hesitated for a moment at the sight of this new threat, and the last pair of Merlot's soldiers engaged with Strike Four glanced at each other before lowering their weapons and raising their hands.
"Six and Eight, secure the PoW's. Everyone else, engage the Grimm."
With an adrenal whoop, the Fours opened up on the abyssal monsters. With his shield raised, Jaune tilted forward and used his jet module to blast himself into the mass of Grimm. The lesser monsters scattered like bowling pins, which opened up the larger Ravagers to attack by Cargo's heavy gun. Pyrrha swelled with pride as she watched Jaune dance among the Grimm. He fought with a confident flourish, but never got carried away with his acrobatics to the point where he might leave an opening for the monsters to seize upon.
His strikes flowed from one to the next, and it was clear that he'd been practicing extensively with his jet modules. The way he skillfully manipulated them to enhance his movements, to keep himself out of harm's way while maintaining aggressive pressure against the Grimm… Pyrrha made a note to give him her compliments after this was all over.
"More Grimm coming in from the sides! Strike Six could use some support."
"Fuck! We've got diggers coming up from below! I thought there was a fucking lab below us."
"Maybe Merlot is releasing these bastards to clear us out?"
"Strike Teams, we're sending out Firebrand and Eightball for air support.."
"Central, be advised that we were able to hijack the Bullhead that brought Elsa to the lab. We are able to offer immediate air support, but the Grimm currently have air superiority with the presence of the Manticores."
"Noted. The Mako should be able to help with that."
"Strike Four has secured several POW's from Merlot's security force," Otter added. "Might be a good idea to do a ferry run with them and any critically injured operatives back to the Avenger. If these guys are infested, I'm sure the Docs would like the chance to run a trial on their equipment."
"We're on our way, Fours. Pickup in two minutes."
"Get settled in the back," Pyrrha called out, "I'm going to give Cargo a better angle on that horde."
Otter tapped on the side of the buggy to indicate that he was all set.
"Dakka is doing us a favor by pushing into the Grimm!" the Lieutenant shouted. "Let's give him a hand, shall we?"
A chorus of whoops and hollers answered him, and Strike Four advanced on the monsters. Pyrrha zipped forward, using the vehicle's superior mobility to flank the Grimm in support of Strike Four's frontal assault. Cargo kept the main gun revved while Otter tossed explosive grenades into the outer ranks of the Grimm. Several of the small, dog-like Garm peeled off from the pack trying to swarm Jaune and gave chase to Pyrrha's buggy. Otter's rifle chattered from the back as he picked off the dogs one by one.
"More contacts coming in from the east," Pyrrha warned.
Otter swore. "They just keep pouring in. What's drawing them?"
"Good thing we've got Merlot's forces neutralized over here so we're not dealing with those assholes shooting us in the back while we're dealing with the Grimm."
"Odd way to say 'Good thing we have the Major to be a force of fucking nature to counter the Grimm.' I can see how you'd make that mistake."
"Topside Strike Teams, this is Major Durand. Start converging on Strike One's location so that we don't spread ourselves thin fending off the Grimm."
Smart. Sure, it meant that the Grimm had a chance to ball up into a larger mass before engaging, but the benefits of having three Strike teams coordinating together outweighed that downside, in Pyrrha's opinion.
"You heard the Major," Otter said. "Tactical retreat towards Strike One. Dakka, pull out while we cover you. Cargo, let's give those bastards a little fire to play with while we back up."
"Aye aye, sir," Cargo answered. "Incendiaries loaded, Ares."
The HUD on Pyrrha's visor confirmed the soldier's statement. She looped around the back end of the horde while she waited for Jaune to extract himself with his jet gear, and she holographically aimed the mortar into the front end of the pack after her partner was clear.
"Fire in the hole," she called out, and the mortar ejected its payload with a low whump. Fire exploded in front ranks of the Grimm as they started to give chase to Jaune, and a second whump heralded an incendiary strike blooming in the center of the horde.
Pyrrha circled the confused and panicking monsters on her way to regroup with the rest of Strike Four. "Cargo. Give me two more."
A burning Garm yelped as it was crushed under the buggy while Pyrrha waited for the mortar to be readied again.
"You're all set!"
She scanned the battlefield for the largest cluster of Grimm, waited for her visor to develop a trajectory solution, and fired. The monsters were rocked by the explosion, and Pyrrha fired again.
"That should slow them down for a while," she said.
"They shoulda called you Prometheus," Otter commented, letting out a low whistle. "Because damn."
"Major, Strike Four is heading your way. Our Grimm friends have been dealt with for now, so we should be clear to focus on whatever party you're having."
Hopefully the Grimm would peter out soon. Pyrrha didn't want to even think about how XCOM would maintain its supply of ammunition if every fight was like this one.
"The Maidens?!"
"Ruby."
"Right. Asaru first."
Ozpin smiled, took a moment to collect his thoughts, and continued. "Annette and Asaru watched as humanity crumbled and died around them. The humanity that they worked tirelessly to save from the revenge of the Ethereals, and to protect as it sought to rebuild itself. They were desperate to find a way to preserve something from the moonfall."
"I'm guessing they found a way."
"Indeed, though whatever it was, it killed them in the process. Tore them into pieces. I'd kept myself up-to-date on Annette and Asaru prior to the calamity, and I was pretty well aware of the powers they had manifested. Asaru must have dug deep within himself to find whatever it was he used, because nothing I knew of would have been able to do what they did. Not to that degree, anyway."
"And what did they do?"
"They had to make an impossible choice and pick four pockets of humanity to be saved," Ozpin answered.
A power that tore them apart and allowed them to save four 'pockets' of humanity? "I'm guessing this is how the Maidens were involved."
Ozpin nodded. "I'm fairly certain that is the case. Powered by Annette's spirit, Asaru split himself into four pieces and used his quartered energy to allow four settlements of humanity from four parts of the world to survive the lunar impacts. Given that all records that I scoured between my first death and now never mentioned Annette or Asaru after the Calamity, I assume that they were consumed in the process."
"So what? Did he form giant protective domes over Los Angeles, Tokyo, Berlin, and Johannesburg?"
"Have you seen anything on Remnant that resembles Los Angeles, Ruby?"
"No…"
"Though it is interesting that you chose Los Angeles for your example, given that the people of that region did have a Guardian Angel of sorts. She ended up being the Fall Maiden."
Ruby blinked. "Los Angeles was actually one of the regions that Asaru saved?"
"The people of Los Angeles were one of the groups that Asaru saved," Ozpin corrected. "Partly, I suspect, because it was near where the Anthill and the Hyperwave Relay were located."
"What."
"Did you think that I gave my school the name 'Beacon' for no real reason?" Ozpin asked with a smirk. "But to get back on track…"
"Sorry."
"The Maidens were powered by Asaru's spirit, were able to protect pockets of humanity in four corners of the world as the skies fell around them. When the moonfall caused gale force winds filled with dust and debris, the Maidens shielded their people. When the skies remained dark for months on end, the Maidens provided both light and hope. When the creatures of Grimm preyed upon the fear running rampant across the planet, the Maidens fought them off. It was through Anette's and Asaru's sacrifice that humanity managed to survive the revenge of the Ethereals. Barely."
"What about Vahlen?" Ruby asked. "Was she still stuck on the Temple Ship?"
Ozpin nodded. "She and what was left of her team took refuge in the massive hulk of the dead ship. And as the world was shrouded in night, they waited for rescue."
"I'm guessing rescue didn't come."
"It did not," Ozpin said, sadly. "Before I died, XCOM was scrambling to provide aide and support to the regions that were hit by the first lunar impacts. As more pieces of the moon fell, I imagine that our resources continued to get spread thin. It's possible that a rescue attempt was mounted at some point, but I never discovered the details of how or why it failed. Regardless, Moira was trapped on the Temple Ship, cut off from everyone except for her team of technicians… and the Ethereals."
"The Ethereals saw it as their opportunity to make a move, didn't they?"
"They did. They ramped up their suggestions to Moira, told her that help wasn't coming, and that the techs would turn against her before too long. It was important, therefore, that she turn on them first. From the, admittedly biased, accounts I've heard from my friend over our various lives, it didn't take her long to decide that the voices were 'right.' And so for the remainder of the Calamity, Moira was completely alone, with nobody but the Ethereals and their research to keep her company."
"What did they do?"
"Plotted and planned. I mentioned that the Ethereals were sick. Their bodies were decaying, and nothing they tried worked as a means to stop it. They had grown psionically powerful enough, however, to leave their bodies behind and bind themselves to another."
"Like what Asaru did with Annette."
Ozpin smiled. "Exactly like that. However, it only took a few planetary conquests for them to learn that not just any body would be sufficient to withstand their immense psionic energy. Sectoids, Mutons, Vipers, Outsiders… they were all originally test subjects for the 'cure' for the Ethereals, and then they became additions to the invasion force of newer planets when it turned out that they were not usable for the primary goal."
"Annette proved that humanity would work," Ruby guessed.
"Indeed. However, the thousands upon thousands of humans that the Ethereals abducted and experimented on demonstrated that most humans weren't fit to be hosts. In fact, Annette was the subject that showed the most promise, partly because she was able to withstand much more experimentation and modification than the other subjects."
A wry smile crossed Ozpin's face as he added, "They were not at all pleased when we managed to steal the Field Commander away from them."
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Field Commander Durand? What happened to Van Doorn?"
"Died early on in the war, unfortunately. I was very pleased to hear that yours survived. Perhaps I'll get to meet him someday."
"Dr. Vahlen mentioned that the Faunus were an attempt at a 'solution' for her peers," Ruby said, suddenly remembering part of her conversation with Salem when she woke up after her abduction. "Did she create them to try and make humanity a better vessel for the Ethereals?"
"I assume so. My first reincarnation after the Calamity came 1200 years later, so a lot happened that I missed."
"Twelve hundred years?!"
"The Faunus were already existing by the time my consciousness returned. Moira had turned Earth into a mere Remnant of what it once was."
"Remnant…" Ruby mused. "Hilarious. But what did Dr. Vahlen do?"
"Uncovered a way to properly control the Grimm," Ozpin explained. "The Ethereals believed that humanity was still their best hope for a proper vessel. They saw what had been done with Annette. During the time they still had her in their possession, she was never quite able to safely support one of them as a host. But after the war? After the hardships and suffering and the will to survive came together like a crucible to forge her into something good enough for Asaru? They decided that the same could be done with humanity as a whole."
Oh shit. "Are you saying…?"
"That the entire history of mankind's progress on Remnant was entirely by the design of the Ethereals?" Ozpin asked. "Yes. Think about it: Grimm encompass the entire planet, save for the four Kingdoms. There are enough of them to wipe us out several times over, but that's never happened. Why?"
"Because the Ethereals need us…"
"With their control of the Grimm, Moira and her masters had all the physical power they needed to deconstruct Earth and turn it into Remnant. Under the cover of darkness afforded by the Calamity, the monsters worked tirelessly to erase everything humanity had built. Earth was effectively rebooted so that when the dust settled and the few, hardy survivors emerged from their shelters, they would have to fight for their survival.
"The Ethereals did not anticipate Asaru's last act of protection, but it worked well enough with their plans by ensuring a sizable population of humans survived the Calamity. In fact, it allowed them to systematically wipe out humanity everywhere else on Earth, since they knew that the four groups would still survive to carry out their plan. After the atmosphere grew clear, and light returned to the planet's surface, Moira's work began in earnest. Even with the assistance of their Maidens, the four settlements were pushed to the brink of extinction by the Grimm.
"Until the Ethereals allowed them to discover the gift of Dust," Ozpin finished.
Are you ready?
To hold the line against the Grimm?
No. Are you ready for her?
Annette didn't have an answer, instead choosing to drive her sword through the flank of a charging Beowolf before shifting it into a shotgun to give its buddy a new chest cavity.
She had to admit that Asaru's… development had taken her by surprise. It was only, what? A month ago that he wasn't even able to speak? A mere tickle in the back of her mind, a sixth sense that allowed her to dodge attacks before they happened.
Then, in the desert, it was one-word nudges that Annette had barely even registered as words, even though the essence of their intent came across loud and clear. She still didn't know who or what Asaru was at that point, only that she had some sort of "backseat passenger" riding in her head as she fought.
After that? When she had her conversation with Ruby? That was when Annette had really noticed Asaru speaking words into her head. It was also when Asaru had revealed his name to her. And his language development had only continued to grow since then. Simple phrases at first, then complete sentences a few days later. As if Asaru had reached a critical mass of sentience and was learning through osmosis of Annette's thoughts and memories.
And here they now stood, two fully sentient entities inhabiting a single body. Annette still wasn't sure how that was going to work in the long term, but the two of them had bigger things to worry about in the short term.
Things like her.
Right, so let's go over the plan one more time.
We fight Winter Schnee, regardless of whether she comes to us or we go to her.
Hearing complex sentences from Asaru was still going to take some getting used to.
Right. The moment she makes her way to the hangar or comes topside somehow, we engage. If she's controlled by some kind of psionic Grimm like that soldier was at the mansion, you're going to disrupt it.
Correct.
Ever since Asaru pulled his little party trick during the break-in at Jacques's private study, the two of them had been working with several of XCOM's other psi ops to confirm that Annette's co-pilot had the ability to dampen psionic signals and abilities, and to determine the extent and limitations of the effect. If Vahlen's theory was correct and Winter was being controlled by a psionic parasite, Asaru should be able to throw the damn thing off its game and give Annette a fighting chance at beating one of Atlas's best soldiers.
… Annette decided that she didn't really like her chances when she framed it that way.
You must stay in close contact with Winter so that I can isolate the psionic entity and try to protect Winter's psyche from it.
And so you can deliver a psionic burst or five to keep her off-balance.
Ideally.
Gunfire sounded on Annette's left, and she saw the main contingent of Strike Six fall in with Strike One. Pyrrha had arrived a minute ago as Strike Four's vanguard, and Fonseca had confirmed that the rest of his team wasn't far behind.
"Man, I thought shit would get more manageable up here after we cleared out Merlot's goons."
"This isn't anything we haven't handled before, soldier."
Both operatives were right. Three Strike teams could handle the Grimm pouring in. While the flow was steady, it wasn't overwhelming like Kuo Kuana. And there wasn't anything like the Gigas to throw a curveball at XCOM.
Knock on wood.
You know it creeps me out when you do that, right? Just a little.
Sorry.
Even so, Annette reached out and rapped her knuckles on the tree to her left.
"Central?" Annette asked. "Any chance of getting additional support topside? I know it takes a few minutes for bullhead support to arrive, so I really don't want to ask for help after we're starting to get overwhelmed…"
"Understood, Major. Our new Bullhead just finished delivering Strike Four's POW's, so we can send it back out with huntsmen support. Be advised that Firebrand and Eightball are still on their way."
Perfect. With Branwen and Goodwitch, they'd have an easy time holding the Grimm back. Oobleck and Port would be icing on the cake.
Now all Annette had to do was wait.
A small voice in the back of Winter Schnee's head kept trying to tell her that everything about this was wrong. That she shouldn't be reporting to Doctor Merlot and asking her sister to do the same. That XCOM was here to help her, not kill her. But the feeling was fleeting, like a fading memory of a dream that she slipped between her fingers as she came back to reality where a louder voice was telling her how absurd that idea was. She was an Atlesian Specialist. Atlas was working with Doctor Merlot to maintain the best security force ever fielded in Remnant, and Ironwood himself had no issues with this man.
Except… wait. Didn't he…?
No. Of course he didn't. If he did, he would have said something. It was Winter's job to protect Atlas's assets. And right now? Doctor Merlot was a High Value Target for these XCOM terrorists working to undermine Atlas's military superiority. Clearly, it was part of some larger power play in their shadow war against ADVENT. Well, there was a reason Atlas was working with ADVENT and not XCOM. It was foolish of Winter to let her sister talk her into trying to escape the lab earlier, especially now that those terrorists had come knocking on Merlot's doorstep. With any luck, Merlot's security could secure Weiss before XCOM did.
Why did Weiss have those ghostly XCOM summons, though…?
Because she had to kill them in cold blood, obviously. The family semblance had clear rules. Those soldiers were Weiss's enemies when they died.
"Winter."
Merlot's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and Winter focused her attention on the man she was charged with protecting. They were safe for now in one of the doctor's armored control rooms that looked like they were normally used to safely observe practical experiments. Merlot was huddled over a console, watching the fighting progress inside the lab.
Winter stepped to the doctor's side and waited for instructions.
"No video feeds from above…" the doctor grumbled. "Damn hooligans."
Winter made a small noise, and Merlot looked up and noticed his bodyguard standing there. "Ah. Right. It appears that, despite all the money I have invested in my security at the lab, they are still woefully underprepared for this XCOM. So naturally I'm going to be escaping from here. What I need from you, Winter, is to clear a path for me to the backdoor shuttle before going topside to mop up what's left of those idiots up above who managed to survive the Grimm I summoned."
Grimm he summoned? Merlot was aligning with the Grimm?
… No. The Grimm were a force of nature. The doctor merely found a way to harness that force and direct it in a way that was beneficial. It was no different than Winter summoning a Beowolf through her semblance. Remnant was evolving, and it was important for Atlas to stay on the cutting edge to maintain its place as a leader in security.
"Naturally, I don't expect you to fight these goons with your bare hands," Merlot said, drawing Winter's attention back to their conversation. She looked to see him gesturing to a pair of weapons a table to the side of the room.
"They're not the weapons that Daddy bought for you when you decided to get into the whole Huntress business, but you'll have to make do with them." Merlot returned his attention to the console. "Now go. XCOM is breaching my defenses faster than I'd like, and since they destroyed my surveillance mechs that were keeping an eye on the escape route…"
He sighed in annoyance and finished, "Just… go clear me a path and kill whatever terrorists you see along the way. You can use this scroll to make sure you're following the correct route."
There was that voice again, on the tip of her metaphorical tongue trying to tell her that this didn't feel right as she picked up the sword and pistol before leaving the safe room. But as quickly as she tried to grasp onto the thought and figure out why she felt like this was wrong, Winter's psyche remembered why that was patently ridiculous. This man was an Atlesian asset. He was doing work for the Kingdom. XCOM was breaking the law by violently entering Merlot's Atlas-sanctioned laboratory to disrupt the doctor's work and, in all likelihood, kidnap Weiss.
… Weiss. Shouldn't she be trying to secure her sister? There wasn't time, Winter reminded herself as she strode down the hallway. Merlot needed to be evacuated to safety. Immediately. If Weiss failed to immediately turn herself in to the doctor's security forces when Winter ordered her to, there was nothing she could do to protect her little sister. She'd told Weiss, time and again, that she wouldn't always be there to save her. It would be unfortunate if Weiss had to learn that the hard way, but there was nothing that could be done about it.
"Contact! It's Jadis!"
Winter looked up, and her eyes narrowed at the sight of the armed and armored soldiers that were clearly not base security.
"Uhh… she doesn't look happy."
Time to take out the trash.
… Trash?
After that slight blip of confused hesitation, the next few minutes seemed to blend together for Winter Schnee. She was vaguely aware of the fact that she was engaging with the XCOM soldiers, vaguely aware of how easy it was to dance around them as they tried to defend themselves, and vaguely aware of the blood getting on her clothes. However, it almost felt like she'd been ripped from the driver's seat of her body and was stuffed into the cargo hold while something composed of burning rage and hatred took the helm. She didn't have the capacity to question what she was doing, because Winter wasn't entirely sure she was the one actually doing it.
It was… uncomfortable.
"Well done, Winter," Merlot said, his face appearing on the scroll he'd given her, and Winter was suddenly thrust back into the cockpit again. She looked around, saw three lifeless bodies on the ground before her, and froze.
What… what had she done?
"Keep moving, dear," the doctor ordered. "I really can't afford to have you lollygagging right now. It appears that your little performance has done a good job of keeping the soldiers far away from our escape route, by the way. Lovely work."
Right. Keep moving. She had orders to carry out, and Winter Schnee would be damned if she didn't follow them. She left the bodies behind and proceeded down the path that Merlot had defined for her. It only took her another minute to reach a small hangar with a single Bullhead.
"No, don't get in the ship," Merlot said as Winter took her first steps towards the craft. "Take the service elevator to the surface and deal with whoever is up there while I make my way to the escape hangar. Don't want them shooting down my Bullhead, now do we?"
Made sense.
Winter took the lift to the surface, and saw all hell breaking loose around her.
"Well? How does it look?"
Multiple XCOM squads were engaged with a swarm of Grimm approaching from all sides. Angry yells and chattering weapons filled Winter's ears as XCOM maintained its ground against an onslaught that an Atlesian company would have struggled to contain. Everyone was focused on keeping the Grimm at bay.
Except one woman.
"XCOM appears to be at full strength," Winter reported, "though they are occupied by the Grimm you summoned."
"Bah!" Merlot groaned. "They'll be all over my ship the moment it takes off. I don't like the odds of that. Looks like I'll have to go with Plan B. Have you been seen?"
To Winter's surprise, the woman's shotgun formshifted into a sword, her eyes never leaving Winter as she touched a finger to her ear and said something that was lost to the Atlesian Specialist over the din of combat.
"Yes," Winter answered.
"Unfortunate. I don't want you leading those cretins back to my safe room, so I think an honorable death is going to have to be the last command I give you. Do try to take down as many of those imbeciles as you can."
The fleeting thought in the back of her mind cried out, more loudly and concretely than before, and Winter once again felt herself getting dragged back into the cargo hold of her psyche while rage and hatred took the helm.
"Hogarth."
"I'm working on it," the sniper growled.
Hogarth had been mentally kicking himself for the last few minutes. During Blanche's exchange with Cinder, he'd kept his rifle trained on the Fall Maiden so that he would be ready to strike the moment she tried anything to harm the Downside's spiritual leader. Cinder was obviously the largest threat, and so it made sense for him to focus on her.
Except not really. Everyone else supporting Blanche was already focusing on the Fall Maiden. Having one more scope trained on her was an egregious waste of Hogarth's attention when he could have been using his vantage point to scan the area and identify any other threats.
Such as the other marksman that shot Cinder.
Hogarth allowed himself a moment to watch the two Maiden's fight. He couldn't deny that the display was nothing short of awe-inspiring. ADVENT had released PR videos of Cinder fighting against the Grimm, but this? This was combat on an entirely different level. The combatants danced along the city streets, thirty or forty feet above the asphalt. They bounced off of building walls, dashed across sky bridges, and clashed amid the flickering lights of the Downside.
Gouts of flame were met with walls of ice as Blanche matched Cinder step-for-step. It didn't escape Hogarth's notice that Cinder was not concerned about human collateral damage during their fight. And by stark comparison, Blanche went out of her way to protect those below whenever they were threatened by the flames of her nemesis
Hogarth spotted Ilia's squad coming up one of the side streets on their way towards the main fight. He switched his comm to her private channel and whispered, "You have an ADVENT squad about to cross your 12 o'clock in five… four… three…"
He watched as Ilia leapt into action, readying her team for the impromptu ambush so that the ADVENT patrol was lit up with crossfire the moment they came into view. The stolen weapons from the precinct station were put to good use cutting down their previous owners, and the fight was over ten seconds after it had begun.
"Thanks."
Hogarth didn't respond. He'd already resumed his search for the mysterious marksman that ignited this powder keg. With how big the Downside was, though, and with all of the buildings that could serve to conceal the sniper's position, Hogarth's best bet was to hope that his adversary was cocky enough to believe that the freedom fighters weren't fielding any snipers of their own that were currently trying to hunt him down. But that went against one of the core tenets of their profession, so surely-
Crack.
The shot echoed across the slums, though it was easily lost to most who might have heard it as just another sound of battle. But the tone rang like music in Hogarth's ear, and he zeroed in on the direction of the sound. He still couldn't spot the sniper, so perhaps his adversary had some respect for the concept of, 'always assume you are being watched.' However, now he had a general direction to focus on. The bastard's life was now numbered to hours or minutes. Hogarth swore he would make sure of that.
Out of the corner of his eye, Hogarth tracked a pair of Bullheads carrying fresh ADVENT reinforcements to the sector being handled by CFVY. He took a moment to use his scope to check the occupants through the open side-hatch, and frowned when he noticed several soldiers dressed in a very different manner from ADVENT's usual style.
"Sasha," he whispered, keying his comm to Coco's channel, "you have ADVENT reinforcements on their way to your location. They are being supported by sanctioned huntsmen."
There was a brief silence, then, "We'll take care of it."
Seconds later, a hard light bolt lanced through the sky and struck the engine of one of the Bullheads, and a follow-up bolt punctured through it. Hogarth saw the huntsmen safely eject from the cabin, but at least Velvet's shooting was enough to split up the two transports.
"Give my compliments to Snapshot," Hogarth said, returning his attention to his original quarry, "and good luck."
All he needed was another shot from the marksman. Perhaps his target knew Hogarth existed after he took out that first Bullhead, and was very carefully choosing their shots to avoid getting counter-sniped. The marksman probably knew that the rooftop snipers deployed by the freedom fighters weren't nearly competent enough to hit a target halfway across the district, so it had to be Hogarth that was deterring the sniper from being more aggressive.
Well, Hogarth may have been patient, but the war raging in the slums below was not.
"Hogarth," his comm crackled with Jane's voice. "I could use some support down on Silver Street."
Fuck. Jane knew how important it was for Hogarth to keep his presence hidden until absolutely necessary, which meant that if she was still asking for help…
He pulled his attention away from his main quarry and scanned Silver street.
Ah. Yes, being pinned down by a team of heavies while a squad of lancers used the suppression to advance unhindered certainly explained Jane's comment that she could 'use some support.' No time to contemplate the risks. It was either do this, or Kelly's team died.
His rifle cracked once, and one of the heavies went down. The suppression faltered, as the havoc soldiers paused to figure out what happened. His rifle cracked again, and a second gunner fell to the street. The kills had their intended effect: the gunners scrambled for cover, which meant they were no longer dumping bullets downrange.
The first lancer reached Kelly's cover, and his sword arm was raised to strike just as Hogarth's rifle cracked for a third time. In one swift motion, Jane grabbed the stun rod out of the lifeless hand of the ADVENT soldier and raked it across the midsection of the lancer's fellow who was only a few steps behind the leader. Hogarth didn't bother to watch the effects of the lancer getting a taste of ironic justice, and instead lined up the third lancer in his sight-
Crack.
Hogarth's rifle dropped to the floor of his makeshift nest, and the man himself followed in short order. His world had turned blurry in an instant, his senses reeling from the shot that struck his chest. For a few seconds, Hogarth struggled to breathe. Was it just the result of his body armor transferring the impact of the shot? Or did the round punch through and pierce his lung? He raised a hand up to his chest to feel for the damage and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the bullet lodged between the alloyed plates.
He was alive, for now, but now Hogarth knew that he was being hunted. He also had a sneaking suspicion that his assailant was the same one who had shot Cinder. Whoever this person was, they managed to pull off a perfect shot on the first try. Twice. Blanche's rooftop snipers needed to be warned before the marksman picked them off one by one.
"Korea Squad," Hogarth croaked. "Active marksman confirmed. Hunker down until it is confirmed that the target has been dealt with. You are vulnerable from your vantage point."
Careful to stay out of sight, Hogarth rolled away from his nest and flexed his skin tone to help him blend into his surroundings. He needed to relocate before he could begin hunting his adversary in earnest.
"Korea Squad, confirming instructions," his comm piece crackled. "We'll lay low until instructed otherwise."
It only took Hogarth a few seconds to decide where to relocate. After a week in the Downside, Hogarth knew the slum's skyline like he knew every nut, bolt, and spring in his rifle. He had two dozen concealed nests set up in two dozen different structures, and he knew the sightlines offered by each. Given what he knew of where the marksman was situated, his options were narrowed down to three nests. Those options were further narrowed down to one after he considered which location would also give him the best view of Ilia, Jane, and Blanche.
"I'm on the move," he whispered on Lieutenant Kelly's channel. "Don't count on my assistance until after the sniper has been taken care of."
"Understood," Kelly answered. "You might want to hurry, though. Blanche is having some trouble keeping up with Cinder."
One problem at a time. Not much Hogarth could do about the Maidens while he remained in the crosshairs of the mysterious sniper.
"There's another blockade around the next corner," Weiss warned.
"Santiago?" Mac asked. "Wanna give 'em a taste of their own medicine?"
The EXO trooper winked and hefted his minigun. "Absolutely, boss."
At Mac's signal, several hard light grenades were tossed into the hallway intersection. Santiago dashed into cover behind them, snapped his weapon into position, and lobbed a trio of grenades into Merlot's blockade before following up with a storm of bullets. With the defenders thrown into disarray from Strike Five's opening attack, the rest of the squad took positions and began to fire upon the blockade. Yang used the explosive recoil from her gauntlets to launch herself at Santiago and use his EXO frame as a springboard to fling herself into the midst of Merlot's mercs.
To his right, Mac heard Weiss snort and caught sight of the Master Sergeant rolling her eyes at Yang's antics.
"Admit you missed it," he said before firing a burst at one of the guards.
"Of course I did," Weiss answered. She racked her shotgun, and Mac watched her charge forward to join Yang.
The engineer smiled. He'd been the first to reach Weiss when she was hiding from Merlot's men behind the pillar. Nobody else had seen the broken, haunted expression on her face when she first looked up and locked eyes with him. Now that she was back with a squad? Her teammate? Her family? Sergeant Schnee was back.
"Once you have made it past the blockade, please continue down the hallway and take a left!" Nichole chirped.
"Y'all heard the lady," Mac called out. "Let's get on with this and keep going."
It didn't take long for the full-strength Strike Five to break through where Weiss and Winter alone had failed. After scavenging the defeated soldiers and mechs for ammunition and weapons, the squad moved according to Nichole's instructions.
"More contacts are moving to stop you! They are heading down a hallway you passed thirty meters ago!"
"I'll take Four, Seven, and Eight to handle them," Yang said, slapping a fresh belt of ammunition into her gauntlets. "Keep going, and we'll catch up."
Mac and Weiss nodded, and they continued down the hall even as the sound of gunfire echoed from their rear.
"If the missing civilians are really in here, we need to get them out," Weiss said. "From the few times I've been able to talk with Odei in the last couple of weeks, she's told me just how much those people have sacrificed for their freedom… and just how much trust they put in me to help them."
"We'll find them, Elsa," Mac answered. "Swear to God we will."
The team reached a heavy set of blast doors leading to "Lab Thirteen," and the two operatives shared a glance.
"Is this our destination, kiddo?" Mac asked.
"It is. I am trying to determine if opening the doors will trigger any failsafes in the system. Please give me a moment."
"We've got another goon squad coming," Santiago warned, snapping his shield into position. "Looks like they really don't want us poking our heads in there."
"Siege positions," Mac ordered, "I'm not about to ask Nichole to rush her work, and we're not about to get overrun after coming this far."
"Aye, boss."
A flash of light pulled Mac's attention to his right, and he saw Weiss standing with her ghostly protectors.
"You sure that's a good idea?" Mac asked.
Weiss nodded as she tossed a pair of scavenged rifles to Eshragi and Conrad. "I'm going to sleep like the dead after this is all over, but for now? You damn well know I pull my own weight."
Merlot's latest detachment came charging into view, and the air was filled with bullets a moment later. Weiss and Yang rushed forward, flanked by Strike Five's evanescent warriors, while Mac stayed back with the door. The rest of the squad lashed out at the mercenaries from their entrenched positions to turn the hallway into a kill zone with overlapping fields of fire and forcing the attackers to halt their advance.
Mac keyed his comm. "How are we doing?"
"Almost ready. It was a good idea for me to check before accessing the door. Please give me a few more moments before I give you access to the laboratory."
"We're doing just fine down here, Nick-Knack," MacAuley answered as he fired a burst at a soldier trying to line up a shot on Yang. "Sounds like you've only got one shot at this, so take the time you need to do it right."
"Thank you, Sergeant. You are a good teammate!"
"Right back atcha."
Nichole was true to her word, and MacAuley heard (or rather, felt) a click in the door behind him, and the ground vibrated as large hunk of steel started to rumble into an open position.
"Two! Six! Breaching positions! Everyone else, let's wrap things up! We've got a lab to raid!"
Strike Five hollered in response. Weiss took up a position next to the opening door next to the other breaching operative, ready to attack any threats that might have been lurking inside. She stole a quick glance into the room once the gap was big enough to peek through, and signaled to Mac that there were no hostiles mounting a defense in the lab. Once the gap had widened a little more, she slipped inside with her squadmate to conduct a sweep.
In the hallway, Merlot's resistance was put down before the doors had finished rolling open.
"Five. Seven," MacAuley called as the rest of Strike Five started falling back to the doorway. "You're on door duty. Everyone else, we're going in. Eyes sharp, people."
"Yes, sir!"
Weapons ready, the squad stepped into the room and fanned out. The lab was cavernous. If this was Lab Thirteen, Mac wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know what Labs One through Twelve looked like. How long did it take for this asshole scientist to set up shop in here? The central area of the lab was empty, almost arena-like. As Mac's eyesight adjusted to the dim lighting, he thought he saw scratch marks in the floor of the arena, and a shiver ran down his spine as he speculated what it could be for.
After he moved past the main area of the lab and started to examine the back part of the room, it didn't take long for Mac to catch sight of what had caused Nichole to lead them here.
"Holy…"
Rows and rows of holding tanks lined the back half of the room, almost like the cell block of a prison. It wasn't obvious from the lab's entryway, as a wall had concealed the first row of cells. But Mac's jaw dropped when he realized just how many cells were present in the lab. Not all of them were the same, either. Some were filled with some sort of suspension fluid, while others were clearly cryo in nature. And several didn't have any kind of environmental or atmospheric control, and simply looked like cells meant to keep their contents restrained and held in place.
Almost all of them were occupied.
"Gotta hand it to you, kid," MacAuley muttered into the comms, "you get points for your stone-cold professionalism. Wouldn't have helped if you said they were being held in here like lab rats, but I'm not sure I could have kept that tidbit to myself if I was in your shoes."
"It… took a few moments for me to get over how disturbing it looked," Nichole admitted. "I didn't need to elaborate, since you agreed to redirect your Strike team ASAP to rescue these people."
MacAuley stepped up to the first tank, one with suspension fluid, and looked at the unconscious figure inside.
"Speaking of… any idea how to get these tanks open?"
"There appears to be a system override, though it is far more secure than anything else I have encountered so far. It might be easier for you to locate a manual release on the containment cells."
"We're already on it, Chief," one of the operatives confirmed. "Worst case scenario, Santiago can try using his drill."
"Just make sure you don't injure anyone who's inside," MacAuley cautioned. Weiss caught his eye from the other end of the room, and he added, "Looks like Elsa found something else. Keep working on those prisoners. They're our number one priority."
Mac pulled up to Weiss as she returned her attention to an observation window that looked into an adjoining room another set of holding tanks. Many of them were larger than the ones in the main chamber, and definitely not designed to hold humans. MacAuley's heart stopped when he caught sight of the first Grimm in one of the tanks.
"Oooohhh, I don't like where this is going," he muttered.
Weiss nodded in agreement. "Do you think he was pitting his prisoners against Grimm to test his enhancements?"
"That's a safe bet, and you know it."
The two of them continued to scan the room in silence.
"Mac."
"Hmm?"
"That Beowolf…" MacAuley followed Weiss's gesture towards one of the cells in the room. "That one doesn't look normal, does it?"
Mac looked at the one Weiss had identified, studied it for a moment, and frowned. The Beowolf was hunched over like all the ones MacAuley had seen so far… but it was different. More brutish.
"No," he answered. "No, it does not."
"It almost resembles-"
The bulging musculature, instead of the wiry frame of the usual Beowolves. The hulking movements.
The claws.
"A Berserker," Mac finished, looking at Weiss. "Something fucky is going on."
He keyed his comm to report back to the Avenger as he watched the Beowolf slam its fists together as it stomped moodily around in its cell. A closer look around the room revealed several other Grimm specimens exhibiting traits reminiscent of aliens from the Ethereal invasion fleet.
"Central? We, uh… we think we might have figured out how that tentacle Grimm was exhibiting psionic abilities. Looks like Merlot somehow got his hands on some alien specimens, and is splicing them with his Grimm lab rats."
Silence. Then, "When you say alien…"
"Yeah," Mac sighed. "Those assholes."
"Shit. Where the hell did he get those samples from?"
"Beats me, boss."
"Hold on," Weiss said, "didn't Tygan say something about the toxin that sent Sabretooth into a rage during the tournament? Something about how its pattern of cellular-level damage was at least a ninety percent match with the Berserker serum we used during the Long War?"
"… That is correct, Elsa," Tygan responded. "We never found an answer to that particular oddity, though perhaps your latest discovery explains it."
"Mac, we found the manual release controls. We're powering down the cells row-by-row, starting with the basic holding cells. Should be able to get everyone out in the next five minutes."
The lights in the room went out, before coming back on with a dull-red hue.
"Scratch that, boss. Whatever just happened, it powered down all of the cells."
"Mac," Weiss whispered, her voice urgent.
From their vantage point into the other room, Mac could see that all of the Grimm were wandering out of their cells as well.
"OH COME ON," he yelled. "Beags is the one who's cursed, not the whole fucking Strike team!"
"Unfortunately, it's not just Lab Thirteen," Nichole answered. "It appears that Merlot has performed a system override on every holding cell in the facility. While it appears that Lab Four had a block of Atlesian soldiers who were undergoing Merlot's enhancement procedure, the remaining labs all have… Grimm."
Oh.
Oh fuck.
"We gotta move people! This base is about to be swarming with Grimm, and I don't plan on being here when that happens!"
"There's still a few civilians getting their bearings, sir. They won't be able to move quickly."
"Strikes Two and Three," Bradford called out on the comms, "this is Central. Your new objective is to establish a containment perimeter to keep the Grimm in the lab. Strike Five is initiating a full retreat to evacuate the civilians. Elsa is with them, and Strike One has confirmed visual contact with Jadis topside. Repeat: dig in at the hangar, and don't let those bastards get out."
"What about-"
"Those are your orders, Three-Actual," the Central Officer answered, cutting off the question.
But the teams knew what the question was, and Bradford's answer was clear as day.
Shadow Team's mission remained unchanged.
It had to. Three Strike teams worth of firepower would not be nearly enough to contain everything indefinitely. They were buying Beagle and Blake enough time to finish rigging the lab to turn it into a tomb. Hopefully one for Merlot as well as the Grimm.
And hopefully not one for Shadow.
Are you sure about this?
Yes.
You heard how she cut down the operatives from Strike Three without a problem.
This will be different.
And why is that?
Because I am here.
Annette still wasn't sure if she preferred the current version of Asaru, or the one that spoke in one or two-word sentences.
Regardless, his words did have a calming effect as she approached the woman standing next to a clearing amidst the ruins. And even though his choice of words made him sound rather conceited, Annette knew that Asaru was right.
"It doesn't have to be like this!" Annette called out to Winter. The other woman glowered and gripped her weapons. "Weiss wants to see you-"
Winter let out a strained roar and zipped towards Annette like greased lightning. Annette instinctively raised a psionic distortion field, and muscle memory from countless hours training with Qrow kicked in to raise her blade and parry Winter's opening strike. A tingle in the back of her mind warned Annette to look out for the fluid follow-through moments before Winter raised her pistol hand and fired at where the Major's head should have been.
When I interrupt the link-
You'll be too busy to help, I know, Annette answered, telekinetically flinging a pile of stone chips at Winter so she could put some space between herself and her assailant.
"I am going to kill you," Winter said as she dashed forward to clash with Annette again, "and I am going to enjoy it."
You, uh… wanna start that connection interference now?
Beginning now. Good luck, Navigator.
Oh, she was going to need a whole lot more than just luck.
Still, she smiled for a moment at the nickname Asaru had given her. He never explained it, but their implicit connection allowed her to understand the meaning all the same. As a space-faring race, Ethereal Navigators were highly respected among their caste. They were the ones chosen to take up the responsibility of guiding the fleet, and to accept the implicit trust of the others to keep them safe. Annette may not have been leading an invasion force, but given that she and Asaru were sharing the same body? The name was Asaru's way of saying, "I trust you to keep us safe."
A flash of blue and white brought Annette's focus back to the matter at hand, and the two women threw themselves at each other. Sparks flew as steel clanged against steel, though Annette knew full well that she'd need to make use of every trick in her arsenal to hold up against Winter's discipline and swordsmanship. XCOM's fight against the Grimm continued all around them, but Annette shut those distractions out and focused entirely on Winter. Just as her teams had to trust her to keep the rampant huntress from getting loose and killing them, she too had to trust them to do the same with Remnant's monsters of nightmare.
Annette heard Taiyang's voice in her head as she dipped behind some of the stonework ruins to dodge Winter's next strike, instructing her to stay on the defensive and feel out her opponent before formulating a plan to go on the attack. She also heard Qrow's voice, reminding her that any huntsman worth their salt would know this basic tactic of combat, and would hold back some of their more powerful tricks to catch their foe off-guard midway through the fight. Once he'd found out that Annette had been selected for "Winter Takedown Duty," he'd pulled her aside and spent an hour with the Major to teach her everything he knew about the elder Schnee's fighting style. Already, many of the strokes and feints that Winter was using to attack Annette reminded her of what Qrow had said. She didn't recognize Winter's current weapon as the one Qrow said she'd be carrying, and she carried a pistol instead of a parrying knife in her offhand.
That didn't make the woman any less effective, however.
Even through Annette's psionic distortions, the telekinetic projectiles coming from odd directions, the jump jet acrobatics, and the combat reflexes picked up over a year of fighting in the Long War, Winter still managed to zero in on her target. Memories of training lessons with Pyrrha onboard the Temple Ship came flooding back, and Annette recalled her instruction on the importance of choosing which attacks needed to be blocked completely, and which she could afford to let slip past her. Trying to block everything would simply lead to Annette being thrown off-balance, forced to stay on the defensive, and never give her the opportunity to counterattack. Here, Annette needed to let her Aura put in some work so that she could strike back and keep the flow of combat from falling too heavily in Winter's favor.
So the nicks and pokes started to whittle away at Annette's reserve as Winter continued her merciless onslaught. Annette made sure to land a few hard blows on the Specialist as well, keen to take advantage of every moment that Winter made a mistake and punish her for it. Winter's fluid fighting style meant that those opportunities came less often than Annette would have liked. It reminded her of fighting against Pyrrha, where no matter what Annette did, Ares was able to flow into another attack. Pyrrha had held back in the early days of Annette's training, though. Winter, of course, was not.
A small voice in the back of Annette's head congratulated her on holding her own this well against one of Atlas's best. She reminded the small voice that it wouldn't matter unless both women made it back to the Avenger alive.
Their battlefield became awash with fire, and Annette suppressed a yelp as she dodged away from an explosive blast that crashed between her and Winter. After confirming that Winter was likewise distracted by the interruption, Annette took a moment to look around and realize that the Manticores had chosen to intrude on their duel.
"Shit! A few of them got away from us, boss!"
It worked in Annette's favor, in all honesty. Winter was starting to build up a tempo, and the advantage in the fight was slowly but surely slipping further and further into her favor. Having some outside interruptions meant that the Specialist couldn't build up momentum and pummel Annette into dust. She'd have to adapt as their battle kept shifting.
And besides… Annette could work with fire.
I have located the psionic source.
Annette swung her free hand in an arc out in front of her, and the nearby fires from the Manticore attack lashed out at Winter like a whip.
Fantastic. Find me an advantage.
It is in her neck. Give me time to learn more.
Lines up with what Vahlen suspected. Annette caught sight of Winter trying to use the chaos of the flames to slip away and attack one of her Strike teams.
Hell no.
Her jump jets fired, and Annette launched herself through the sky to land ahead of Winter and dumped half of the ammunition left in Volonté into her foe. The attack, coupled with another Manticore fireball, caught Winter off-guard and forced her back towards where she had originally emerged from the lab.
Your fight is with me, Annette thought, willing the words into Winter's mind. Evidently, the Specialist hadn't yet realized that Annette was one of XCOM's psi operatives, because she froze for a moment at the sound of another voice in her head.
"Central," Annette said, circling around her foe as Winter regained her composure, "The neck parasite theory is right."
"Copy that, Major. We have several of Merlot's mercenaries en route to the labs to attempt an extraction. The Docs will appreciate the preemptive confirmation, though."
Volonté came up just in time as Winter grew weary of Annette's attempts to evade her.
"Cease these games, and give up," she snarled.
"And let you run wild among my brothers in arms?" Annette countered. "Not a chance."
The sound of chattering gunfire roared overhead, and the two women looked up to see a Mako strafe through the fliers with a Bullhead close behind. Annette used the momentary distraction to deliver a headbutt, and she smirked when Winter reeled back from the trick.
The look on Winter's face made it plain as day that she wanted to deliver some biting retort, but she instead raised her handgun and forced Annette to juke to dodge a trio of shots. The Major responded with gunfire of her own, and the two of them danced around each other while looking for an opening.
Overhead, Eightball hunted down the rogue Manticores and provided close air support for the ground teams as they held back the abyssal tide. He also kept an eye on Annette's duel with Winter, and the Specialist quickly learned to respect the pilot's accuracy with his nose gun the next time she tried to retaliate against Annette by moving away to attack one of the other operatives instead.
Winter finally broke through Annette's delaying and defensive tactics when the Major fell for her feint and allowed the Specialist to move inside the shotgun's threat range before planting a boot on the Major's chest to send her stumbling. A crack echoed in the air, and Annette winced as the shot struck her square in the shoulder.
ASARU.
Delivering a psionic shock to give you an opening in three, two…
Annette shook off the effects of Winter's assault just in time to see the huntress recoil as though she were shot by an invisible round to the chest. In a flash, Annette dashed in and swung at Winter, allowing the momentum of her blow to carry through into a pirouette that brought her sword back down for a second strike that caused to Winter stagger back.
"What…" Winter gasped, "was that?!"
"Bad news, boss," one of the operatives warned. "We're having trouble keeping the Grimm contained. They, uh… seem to prefer you guys."
One thing at a time.
Well that worked really well. Can you do it again?
No. Further psionic attacks risk permanent damage to Winter.
Shit. There went Annette's ace-in-the-hole.
"You will pay," the Specialist growled, spitting blood before clutching her sword and launching herself at Annette again. "I will make sure of it!"
"We're doing our best to gun them down before they get to you, but… well, we'll make sure we prioritize the ones that seem to be going for you instead of Jadis."
Tell me she's in there, and that she's just being puppeteered by the parasite.
I am still working to find out. It is possible that the parasite has altered her personality to be more suitable as a willing soldier. I need more time, Navigator.
Or a slave.
Winter clashed with her foe again, cutting off Annette from that dark thought. Almost instantly, the Major noticed a difference in Winter's fighting style. Where before she was methodical and merciless, the Specialist was now throwing herself into combat with a raging recklessness that crashed against Annette's defenses with a burning, almost rabid hatred. The strength of her blows was noticeably different than before.
Inhuman, even.
While the added danger was absolutely a concern, Annette noticed that Winter had also become sloppy. Almost as though she were trying to fight slightly drunk.
In fact, Winter almost didn't notice the Beowolf coming in to take a swipe at her from behind before she backhanded it hard enough to crack a pillar in two.
I'm not sure if I should be thanking you or not for whatever it was you did.
It is helping in my efforts against the parasite.
Annette couldn't argue with that.
Their fight raged on, only now with a raging Winter and Grimm thrown in to provide opportunistic distractions for Annette. She ducked under a sword swipe from Winter before using her jump jets to leap up onto a decaying colonnade and flinging more Manticore fire at the Specialist.
Eightball's Mako screamed across the sky as he danced with the Manticores, and the Strike team Snipers were doing their best to take down any Grimm that were starting to swarm the ruins to get to Annette. On the one hand, Annette was glad the Strike teams themselves were in less danger. On the other, it made her job that much harder.
Annette almost lost her footing in the ruins when Winter literally broke through the floor and sent shattered rock exploding across the platform like a grenade. The enraged Specialist threw Annette's dirty trick back at her when she followed up a blocked sword strike with a hard headbutt to the Major's face. Annette howled in surprise, and Winter pressed the advantage to land an open-palmed slap to her foe's unguarded flank. Annette tumbled off of the colonnade, desperately throwing out her Aura to shield her landing.
She recovered from her fall just in time to see Winter hurling large chunks of broken stone down at her, and Annette jetted away moments before the rocks exploded in the ground behind her.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK.
Focus.
Annette rolled out of the way as Winter herself slammed down into the ground next to her, and the Major brought her sword up to block the opening strike in Winter's attack. The Specialist seemed unfazed by the defense, and flowed into her next swing, but Asaru's guidance had given Annette's mental state the edge it needed to regain her razor focus on the unfolding combat. She dodged Winter's attack, causing the sword to run itself through the flank of a surprised Beowolf. With Winter preoccupied by the sudden counter, Annette chained her motion into an elbow strike that forced Winter to back off for half a second. The respite from the Specialist's pressure was enough for Annette to regain her footing and ready herself for whatever came next.
BIRD.
Despite the puzzling instruction, Annette could easily sense the intent behind it and ducked just in time to dodge the spectral summon whiz overhead.
Starting to break out the big guns. Have you figured out her mental state yet?
Three more ghostly summons appeared from thin air and flung themselves at Annette. The earth churned behind her as Eightball took a moment from his fight with the Manticores to mulch Winter's pets and prevent them from swinging around for another pass at the Major.
If Winter is in there, the parasite has buried her.
Keep looking.
Of course.
Now that Winter was using her semblance to harass her and counter her dodging game, Annette wondered if she'd be able to respond in kind. She and Asaru had tried to recreate the Auric Charge that they'd done during the Kuo Kuana fight during some of their downtime on the Avenger while in Atlas. Whatever trigger had been present in the desert, however, just wasn't there during practice. Even if she knew how to activate it, though, Annette wasn't even sure if she had enough Aura to power her Charge.
Glyphs winked into existence all around them, and Annette groaned inwardly. She dreaded this part more than having ghostly Grimm thrown at her. The Schnee Acrobatics were all well and good when it was Weiss doing them to cut down aliens or Grimm, but the Major was not looking forward to being on the receiving end. She dropped into a defensive stance and waited for Winter to make her move.
She didn't have to wait long. Winter leapt from one glyph to the next, using their gravity-affecting capabilities to propel herself with inhuman speed over and under the ruins as she charged at Annette. The Major deflected the first strike, ducked under the second, used an Ursa as cover to block the third, and staggered as she failed to track Winter's trajectory long enough for the Schnee to score a hit on her fourth attempt.
The rapid-fire assault continued. No matter what Annette tried to throw in Winter's way, the Specialist made her way around it… or through it.
Ruins began to shatter around Winter, and it took Annette a moment to realize that they were being destroyed by bullets rather than Winter's explosive force.
"Major, this is Eightball. I'm trying to slow down Jadis's game of pinball by knocking shit down around her glyphs." Annette didn't have a chance to respond when Winter exploded through Eightball's latest pile of rubble and flung herself headlong at the Major.
"... Doesn't look like it's helping too much, though. Fuck."
After that, more and more nicks slipped past Annette's faltering defenses. Her only consolation was that Winter must be burning through her reserves of Aura to keep up her destructive whirlwind of unfiltered force, but that wouldn't matter if Annette couldn't stay in the fight long enough to take advantage of it.
"Boss! She's moving too fast for us to track!"
"How is she acting like the fuckin' Juggernaut? Jadis is more of a finesse fighter than a brute, isn't she?"
"Boss!"
The first splatter of blood took Annette by surprise as the vital fluid stained Winter's sword after she scored another hit against Annette's leg. Pain shot through the Major's body, and she struggled to keep a cry from escaping her throat. Winter glanced at her sword, then back to Annette with an evil look.
"This is it for you," she said. "You're all out of Aura, and I'm just getting started. Give up, and I can make it quick."
Asaru.
I think I've found something, but I'm not certain. You need to give me more time.
We might not have more time.
You can do this, Navigator. You must do this.
Annette gripped her sword and returned Winter's glare.
"I will drag myself through hell and back if that's what it takes to rip your puppet strings off of Weiss's sister."
Several cracks rang out, and Winter whipped around to deflect the shots XCOM's Snipers had taken to capitalize on the lull in the duel, and she raised her gun to fire back. A shot from Volonté forced Winter to bring her attention back to Annette.
"Your fight is with me," Annette spat. "Show me what counts for fury among your misbegotten kind, Monstre. I assure you that I've been through worse."
Winter was all too happy to oblige. Her assault resumed, and the Aura-less Annette did the best she could to hold for Asaru. For Winter. For Weiss.
Without Aura to support her, Annette had to rely fully on her stamina, conditioning, jump jets, and psionics to stay in the fight. Adrenaline from the pain flooded her system, giving Annette a much-needed boost to keep her competitive with Winter. More Grimm were making their way into the ruins, and more operatives were taking opportunities to fire on Winter as they saw Annette struggling to keep up.
Each slash from Winter's sword weighed heavily on her, as if Annette was trying to block a greatsword instead of a light blade. Each second she bought for Asaru was paid in blood. The pain began to pile up, and despite the best efforts of her squadmates to help, the cuts Winter rained upon her started to burn like plasma. Her eyes started to swim, but Annette willed herself to focus.
"I am a Specialist of Atlas!" Winter roared as she danced around Annette in search of another easy strike. "I have trained as a huntress for years, and have served my kingdom with distinction! Compared to that, what are you?"
"Still standing," Annette gritted, firing off another blast from her shotgun to buy herself a second to breathe.
Winter yelled in frustration and threw herself back at Annette. Her attack was sloppy, and the Major was able to deflect it and counter with a hit to Winter's exposed flank. Eightball flew overhead in another strafing run, cutting down a cluster of Grimm and sending stonework tumbling towards Winter. Annette unleashed another wave of psionic fire to box her foe in and force Winter to expend more of her precious Aura to break through for another attack.
The victory didn't last long, however. Despite Annette's efforts to use every last shred of an advantage against Winter, the woman still forced her way through to assault the Major. Perhaps Winter's desperation to win was as great as Annette's to survive. A combination Winter's skill and Annette's steadily fatiguing state allowed the Specialist to regain the advantage. The pain was beginning to drown out Annette's focus, and it was all she could do now to properly block every other hit Winter threw at her.
The fire in her legs made it hard to stand. The weight in her arms made it hard to hold her weapon. The throbbing ache in her sides made it hard to breathe. She clung to her directive to survive, to hold out against Winter's storm. But each cut wore down her will, and each pommel strike rattled her resolve. This… she couldn't hold out any longer against this. She had a good run, a respectable one, but that didn't change the disparity in skill and power between the two women.
One final kick sent Annette tumbling to the ground, Volonté clattering as it fell from her hand.
"Boss!"
"Central! The Major is down!"
"Do not let Jadis kill her."
"I can't get a lock on Jadis to neutralize her without bringing the structure down on the Major."
"It's all we can do to keep the Grimm back."
"Durand, this is Bradford. Get out of there."
A lot of people saying a lot of words in Annette's ear that she really didn't care about.
Annette.
Huh. Asaru was saying something.
Annette.
Maybe he was going to tell her to fall back. Or just… lay down.
Annette!
A sliver of Annette's focus returned. She saw Winter standing there, smirking as she took one slow step towards Annette. Then another. Behind her, Grimm paced back and forth, readying themselves for an easy meal.
What… is it, Asaru?
She is in there.
She… Winter?
She is in there, Navigator. She is in there. She is in there she is in there she is in there.
Annette up at Winter's face. The cruel, twisted sneer it wore did not belong to Weiss's sister. Something else was holding her hostage.
"Bullhead with huntsmen support is hauling ass to get here. Hang in there, Boss!"
Get up, Navigator! She is in there! We must help her!
"What's this?" Winter scoffed as Annette staggered to her knees. "Still trying?"
She needs us! We can do this!
The edges of Annette's vision grew clouded, though not because her sense of sight was slipping away from the pain. Rather, her mind grew razor-focused on Winter Schnee. The woman who was a prisoner in her own body. The woman who Annette was determined to save.
Annette could feel Asaru's righteous energy flowing into her as she pulled herself to her feet and Winter looked on with amusement. Psionic barriers flowed around her hands, forming shimmering gauntlets of pure force of will that burned with Annette's fury. As she stared at Winter with her own two eyes, ones that had looked into the abyss and barely bat a lash, she let a confident smirk spread across her own face.
"Holy shit! She's back in the fight!"
"How?!"
"Until my dying breath, I will fight for Winter," Annette said, feeling the power of her conviction pool inside her. "I will exorcise your filth from her body, and give Weiss the chance to see her sister again. Now fight me!"
Winter's lips curled into an evil smile, and she lunged forward to put Annette down for good. Except the Major found that she was able to move her body like never before. The pain was gone, replaced by legs and arms that were all-too-eager to respond to Annette's will. Her senses were sharpened, as though the blood in her veins had been replaced with pure adrenaline. And fatigue? Annette felt like she could run five hundred miles as a warm-up for running five hundred more.
Just to be the hero that runs a thousand miles to bring Winter to Weiss's door.
Is now really the time for that, buddy?
Annette ducked under Winter's opening strike with ease and planted her foot in the ground to reverse direction and deliver a punch to the woman's back. Winter recovered from the strike with ease, but the surprise on her face was plain as day. No point in waiting for her to recover, though. Flowing from one strike to the next, Annette dipped around Winter's attempts to mount a counter-attack and continued to hammer away at her with speed and skill that would have made both Ruby and Yang proud.
The Grimm poured in, sensing their easy prey slipping away. A supercharged telekinetic blast launched an Ursa back into its brethren while a firestorm ignited a pack of Beowolves. As Annette struck down the oncoming horde, she felt energy and purpose surging from her soul.
She needs you. Do not give up, and do not hold back.
The battle continued, with Asaru giving Annette encouragement each step of the way. Every punch that connected bolstered the Major's resolve, and every cut from Winter's blade was shrugged off as though it were nothing. Annette could feel the power in her enemy's strokes, but they paled in comparison to the goal of saving Winter from herself.
Winter summoned a glyph that flung her back to safety several meters away as she asked, "What are you?!"
Behind her, several more glyphs appeared, clearly to give her an escape route if Annette tried to pursue her.
The Major grinned, and answered, "La Voie et La Volonté."
Move.
Asaru didn't shout it as he had during the desert fight, but he didn't have to. Annette willed herself towards Winter, and one second she was ten meters away…
FWOOM.
… And the next, Annette was crashing into the Specialist and sending her sprawling into the dirt. Winter's Aura shattered in a flash of icy blue.
Finish it. I will stop the parasite from self-destructing and killing Winter.
Annette dashed in and delivered a final knockout blow to Winter's head just as she was sitting up and scrambling to run away. The woman slumped over in Annette's arms, and the Strike teams immediately reported the fight's status back to the Avenger.
"Central, Actual has Jadis secured. We need evac ASAP to get her under Doc's knife."
"Probably want a medical team to look at the Major while we're at it."
"Copy that. We're scrambling all aircraft to get you out of there."
"Winter!"
Annette had just enough time to look up and see the bullhead slowly dropping in for a landing before the disheveled form of Qrow Branwen leapt out and slammed into the ground next to her. He took one of Winter's arms and slung it around his shoulders to take some of the body's weight off of Annette.
"I'm fine," Annette snorted. "Thanks for asking."
Qrow turned to Annette to say something, but whatever words he had were caught in his throat after taking one look at the Major.
"I don't look that bad, do I?" she asked with a tired laugh. Annette still could feel the adrenal energy flowing through her, but she was starting to feel the onset of post-combat fatigue.
"N-no, it's not… I…" Qrow stammered.
"We gotta move!" one of the operatives shouted as the Bullhead landed. "Get Jadis on the ship, and get out of here!"
"What about the Lab teams?" Annette asked.
"There have been some… developments," Qrow said as he helped Annette get Winter into Firebrand's cargo hold while Port and Glynda provided covering fire. "We'll get them out after we've extracted the topside teams."
That does not sound good.
Central knows what he's doing. Our job is to get Winter on the operating table. How's the parasite?
Trivial to quarantine in its present state.
Good. One step at a time.
One step at a time. Well done, Navigator.
Until the Ethereals allowed humanity to discover the gift of Dust.
Ruby let that last comment sink in. She knew very well that the legends of mankind's origins said that they were pushed nearly to extinction by the Grimm, but the story had always then stated that Man discovered Dust. She was always enthralled by the idea that it was humanity's fierce drive for survival, the idea that necessity was the mother of invention… that was how her ancestors had learned to fight back against the darkness with Dust.
And now Ozpin was saying that Dust was just… given to them?
"Explain, please," she whispered.
"I told you that the crash of the Temple Ship scattered Elerium across the globe, didn't I? Also consider all of the landed and crashed UFO's that were sitting in various countries after the war. Consider all of the Elerium that they had onboard as well. And consider that they were pulverized by the Calamity. Has your Dr. Vahlen ever explored the long-term effects of Elerium deterioration?"
"Weiss would be able to better answer this," Ruby said, managing a small laugh in spite of the circumstances, "But uhhh… I know that the Elerium degrades to the point where it's no longer usable. Is that what you're talking about?"
"Sort of. It becomes useless when it degrades in a vacuum. Has Vahlen tried to let it degrade while exposed to any natural element? Like, for example, some dirt or water, or next to a heat source?"
Ruby's eyes grew wide. "No way…"
"Your Doctors shared with me some of their research wherein they were able to enhance the Dust I supplied to them by combining it with Elerium. Did you wonder why Elerium meshes so well with Dust?"
"This is crazy," Ruby said. "Dust came from Elerium, and Dr. Vahlen gave it to humanity so that they could evolve in a way that suited the needs of the Ethereals. What's next? She gave us the power of Aura to protect ourselves and grow stronger?"
Ozpin said nothing.
"Are you fucking kidding me."
"I don't know how she did it," Ozpin said. "Because she never told me. And perhaps she was lying altogether when taking the credit for the advent of Aura. Maybe it was Asaru's doing when he and Annette sacrificed themselves to save humanity during the Calamity. It would explain my ability to reincarnate, at any rate. But it makes sense for the Ethereals to want hosts with a stronger soul, does it not?"
"Yeah, except psi powers and Aura do not mix," Ruby answered flatly.
"What about you?" Ozpin said, quirking an eyebrow.
Ruby didn't have an answer for that.
"It does seem like the two powers naturally reject each other," Ozpin mused. "Then again, is it not fair to say that a human body would reject the redundant heart of a Muton, were it not for Meld to act as a biological liaison between the two entities? Perhaps Moira has discovered a Meld equivalent for the issue of allowing psionic and Auric energy to mesh."
A thought occurred to Ruby.
"Annette — that is, our Annette. Major Durand — also has both psionic and Auric powers. I told you that she's got her own Asaru, yeah? And that we unlocked her Aura so that we could help her re-stabilize the ship. Before I got abducted, she was doing fine while training both her psionic and Auric energies."
"I'm not surprised," Ozpin said. "Perhaps, then, Asaru is the metaphorical Meld that Moira is seeking. It would make sense, given how hellbent she is on bringing the four Maidens under her control. It might also explain why she opened a connection between Remnant and a mid-war Earth in the first place. She was probably hoping to trap Major Durand and Asaru on Remnant as a backup plan if her plot with the Maidens failed."
"That's… creepy. Why is she obsessed with the Maidens, though?"
Ozpin looked slightly disappointed by her question. "The Ethereals know that Asaru was able to successfully bond with Annette. They know that the Maidens are the four component pieces of Asaru's essence."
Ruby's stomach flipped. "… Oh."
Ozpin nodded. "The Ethereals firmly believe they need an Asaru that they can either interrogate or corrupt to develop a solution to their bonding issue. Because even after all this time, the only humans that are even partially suitable to serve as hosts for the Ethereals have silver eyes."
Oh. Right. Silver eyes.
"So do these silver eyes do something crazy?" Ruby asked. "Like can I shoot laser beams out of them or something?"
That got a chuckle out of Ozpin. "Sadly, no. From what I've learned of 'Silver Eyed Warriors' that I've had the pleasure of knowing over the years, the eyes themselves are a side effect, rather than the source of the power. When triggered, the power provides the warrior with a sort of 'second wind,' or a general burst of energy that allows you to exceed your usual limits.
"I'm told that the Ethereal puppetting Summer managed to goad a Silver Eye'd reaction out of you during your battle on Patch," Ozpin added. "Do you recall anything that might have triggered an adrenaline rush type of reaction, but to an extreme extent?"
Ruby knew instantly what he was talking about. The moment that thing put her father down for good, Ruby recalled flying into a rage the likes of which she'd never seen before.
She nodded.
"I see. No wonder Moira was so excited to see you. There have been times when the powers of a Silver Eyed Warrior have not yet manifested, which makes them less-than-useful for the immediate needs of the Ethereals. I had hoped that your youth would have kept you safe… but I suppose the Long War forced you to grow far more quickly than any of us would have liked."
Ruby considered Ozpin's words, then remembered something.
"You got a Silver Eye reaction out of me too, didn't you?" she asked. "When you needed me to break through the front door during our escape. You reminded me of my teammates, and how they needed me…"
Ozpin smiled. "Technically, I was just maintaining the reaction that Moira had already elicited, but… yes." His expression grew more serious, and he continued, "Ruby, think about the common thread between all three instances. When Summer drew the power out, it was because she was threatening your father. When Moira drew it out, it was because she was attempting to destroy a very personal link you had with someone very dear to you, and when I drew it out…"
"... It was because you forced me to focus on the people depending on me," Ruby finished.
Ozpin nodded.
Ruby grew quiet as she thought about what Ozpin had told her. She didn't realize how serious he was when he said that all of this would be a long story, and she had no idea that it would just be world-shattering bombshell after world-shattering bombshell…
Literally, in some cases.
But there was still one question she had from the last bit of their conversation. She suspected she knew the answer, especially when she thought about his explanation of what triggers a Silver Eye reaction, but she almost didn't dare believe that her suspicion was right. She needed to hear it from Ozpin.
"You said that the Silver Eyes were a thing starting all the way back from the start of Remnant's history."
Ozpin smiled, as though he knew what Ruby was leading up to. "I did."
"Then there must have been a first, right?"
"There was."
"And it sounds like you know who it is."
"I do."
Ruby's heart started to beat faster. "… Who was it?"
Ozpin's smile grew wider. "Ruby Rose, who else do you know of that has silver eyes?"
… No way. No fucking way.
"I don't know."
"I think you do," Opzin said. "But I'll humor you and tell you anyway…"
The ride aboard the Bullhead was quiet as Firebrand raced back to the Avenger to get Winter into the care of Doctors Vahlen and Tygan. Despite Asaru's assurances that everything would be alright, and despite the fact that Annette could sense how easily her partner was restraining the parasite, the Major still felt uneasy.
Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that one Qrow Branwen kept stealing glances at her.
The other huntsmen stayed behind to provide fire support for the Strike teams, but Goodwitch had asked Qrow to accompany Winter and the evac'd soldiers back to the Avenger. Ostensibly to provide huntsman support in case something bad happened during the flight, but given that his semblance didn't really make sense for that kind of role? Annette suspected it was because Qrow wouldn't be able to focus unless he knew that Winter was okay.
Which made it all the more surprising (and uncomfortable) that he kept looking at her.
"Alright Qrow, spit it out," she said, getting fed up after the glances continued. "Is a chunk of my face missing or something? Did I catch some kind of Grimm Cooties from Winter? You're starting to freak me out, which -congratulations- is more than I can say for the damn Ethereals I fought back on Earth."
Qrow froze, embarrassed that he'd been caught in the act. He averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck as he mumbled out an apology.
"Qrow."
The man realized he now had the attention of everyone in the cargo hold, and sighed.
"Look, it's stupid," he started. "It doesn't even make sense, because you're from Earth, not Remnant. But the resemblance is uncanny, and ever since I saw you at the end of your fight with Winter, I can't shake the feeling that… that it's more than just a coincidence."
Annette raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about."
"It's…" Qrow sighed again. "It's your eyes. They were glowing when you first looked at me after you knocked out Ice Queen."
"She's a psi op," one of the other operatives answered from the end of the hold. "Glowy eyes is kind of their thing."
Qrow shook his head. "It wasn't the usual purple glow that I've seen from you psi ops."
What?
"... It was silver."
A/N: Alright, so that's it for the Ozpin Info Dump. Warsaw and Gatecrasher are very obviously not over yet, so there's going to be another chapter left to resolve that. I think I will be including a Ruby/Oz scene in that one, too. After that, there will be an aftermath chapter aaaaaaand... that should wrap up the Atlas arc. Damn, this has been a pretty wild ride.
So now that the info dump is done, and the core lore of Remnant Unknown is out in the open, I think it's time for another QnA on the Discord server. I'll start it next weekend on Saturday, most likely. Actual details will be on the Announcements channel of the server. If you haven't stopped by to say hello, I wholeheartedly recommend that you do!
Until next time, y'all have a safe and enjoyable holiday season.
Doc
