First off, I know the time between chapters is getting loner and longer. I'm just burnt out and forcing myself to write isn't working out. Even prepping a chapter for upload is getting hard... Maybe I should take a break for real, go outside for once, play video games that I've wanted to for a while... Speaking of video games, for those that know what I'm talking about, I now voice the Boarding Shuttle in the Thrawn's Revenge mod for Star Wars Empire at War FoC! I also submitted lines for the Nebulon B2 but I haven't played enough of the recent version to know if it's still in.

Among all the commotion on the Avenger's bridge, Ruby could only stare at the ship's location on the hologlobe. They were currently over 'Ohio' after starting out in 'Iceland.' While most of the bridge crew was trying to ascertain the situation in that hellhole in Iowa, she ran through mental calculations on if the Avenger could make it before the whole encampment was destroyed. Judging by how long it had been since last contact, they were already too late.

"Any word from the Reapers' scout?" the Commander asked one of the comms officers.

"I've got her now," the woman said. "She says the Lost are all over the place. No gunfire coming from the camp. She's going in but she's not hopeful."

The Commander sighed and faced Central. "Mark it down. Resistance encampment lost. Assume the Lost have moved that far south across the entire state. Slow our speed and find us somewhere to set down. I'll review the list of rumors we've been provided."

"Copy that," Central said. He began carrying out the Commander's order while the Commander himself disappeared into his own office.

Ruby found she had to hold back a smirk. She hated that place. They shot her husband's dragon and they didn't punish those gunmen. They were all guilty of attempted murder. Since there were no prisons available to receive them, their elimination was a good substitute. An annoying part of her brain said she shouldn't think like that, but she tuned it out. Those people got what was coming to them.

Ruby looked over her shoulder at the Viper in question. Nalia had recovered completely from the incident, though the scientists onboard hadn't developed a healing chemical that didn't dissolve her acid blood. The best substitute they had at the moment was a fast-acting painkiller and the same medikit. "Looks like we're not getting poetic justice after all."

Nalia scowled at the hologlobe. "That would have been nice. Maybe then they would respect us… though I would have preferred to keep them alive." She couldn't quite speak even passable English yet, so she kept using her translation button to communicate.

"At least one of us thinks like that." Ruby shook her head and stared at Nalia. The Viper stared back with an expression Ruby couldn't place. "What?"

"It's… nothing." Nalia shrugged. "Let's get back to the mess hall. I'm-"

"Central," a different comms officer called, "we're receiving a priority one transmission from the Wolverine camp in Michigan."

Central nodded. "Commander to the Bridge." He crossed his arms and clenched his teeth. "Another raid so soon? ADVENT's getting aggressive."

Ruby cocked her head. That sounded interesting. "Stay until we hear what's going on?"

Nalia shrugged. "Might as well."

The Commander emerged from his office. "What do we have?"

"Priority transmission from one of our camps in Michigan." Central nodded at the comms officer. "Let's hear it." A few seconds passed before static chirped on the bridge. "Wolverine camp, this is Avenger, what's your status?"

"Avenger, one of our salvage teams has come under major ADVENT attack. They were returning to base with their salvage and they need backup. If they are stopped, our best soldiers could be captured or killed and that would compromise our location."

Central and the Commander glanced at each other and nodded. "Help is on the way, Wolverine. What is their status?"

"They're moving fast and are holding ADVENT off, but their ammo isn't going to hold out forever. They don't know how long their trucks will hold out either."

"What is their salvage?" the Commander asked. "Did they take something ADVENT wanted?"

"Eh… no…" The woman on the other side of the line cleared her throat. "Unless I'm wrong, ADVENT doesn't use Old World… tanks. We have a few soldiers who operated them overseas before the invasion."

"A tank?" the Commander almost yelled. "Who thought operating a tank in your circumstances would be a good idea." He scowled and faced Ruby. "You're our combat engineer. You and Nalia get down to the hangar. The rest of the squad will meet you there." He faced one of the screens again. "Tell me exactly what happened."

"Well, you heard him." Ruby pat Nalia on the shoulder then walked toward the bridge's exit. Nalia slithered right behind her. Ruby caught Orchid peeking at the other two from around the corner and Nalia whimpered. Ruby glanced at the Bio Viper. Maybe her injuries weren't as healed as she let on.

Once in the armory, Ruby walked to where she normally kept her weapon but stopped short. Instead of her normal sniper, a white and red rifle sat in its place. Either side of the barrel was open to the air, showing a glowing red tube inside. The scope had a bit of an upgrade too. At least three zoom settings, better than the one before. "Huh. Guess we got enough supplies." She picked up the rifle and judged its weight. "A bit heavier than expected, but as long as it works." She slung the weapon over her back and picked up her usual sword. Looked like they weren't completely good with their supply chain. Her armor locker also had new armor. This stuff looked like beefier versions of Valan spec ops armor. If Ruby still had her Semblance and Aura, she wouldn't bother with it. Without them, the extra protection was worth the slow down.

By the time she and Nalia had armored up, the rest of the squad had arrived. Henry "Google" Anderson, the Specialist and therefore medic, Cosette "Frapper" Dallaire with the shield, Elena "Outrider" Dragunova the Reaper and scout, and Captain Fahim "Brick" Sall. This was a different squad than she was used to, then again her normal squad went out while Nalia was recovering. They fought off Chosen Hunter in… Madrid, was it? They couldn't kill the guy, but they all made it back. Ruby wished she could have put a bullet in that bastard's head.

The descent alarm sounded and the squad filed into the Skyranger. They took their seats and strapped themselves in as the Avenger began its controlled fall. Captain Sall faced Nalia. "I take it your arm's healing well?"

"I believe so." Nalia rolled her formerly injured shoulder out. "I'm used to legs a lot bigger than this one. I can move it through its full range of motion but there's a bit of a pinch when it's about here." She held her arm out to the side with her elbow at a right angle. She didn't wince though.

"That's to be expected. Even Invidia can't do everything." Sall faced the ceiling. "Commander, do you have any more information for us?"

"The situation is still developing," the Commander said. "We are in contact with the convoy and the camp. We will update you when possible."

"In other words," Anderson started, "we have no idea what's going on."

"We know a resistance convoy is under attack by ADVENT forces," Sall said. "That's enough for us to work with." The Skyranger jolted and came to a stop, then started to raise. A few seconds later Ruby was pushed into her seat and the transport lifted off the Avenger.

A few minutes into the flight, the Skyranger's intercom chirped. "Here's the situation," Central started, "as you know, a resistance group in Michigan managed to capture an Old World tank and their convoy has fallen under attack. They're taking hits but are pressing on. The camp has sent a flatbed truck ahead to secure the tank and move it faster than it can safely move on its treads. Your job is to destroy the ambushing ADVENT and divert their attention away from the resistance."

"There is another problem," the Commander said. "We have a Blackhawk helicopter on radar. Their IFF code marks them as Japanese army. We have heard from the Reapers and Skirmishers about another group out there that uses those codes, and they have less than benevolent intents. We've heard they call themselves MOCX."

Ruby cocked her head. "That's original."

"Could confuse people that don't know us," Sall said. He faced Dragunova. "You know much about these people?"

Dragunova shrugged. "They are fairly new to the area, yet they are making their mark. As you said, they claim to be XCOM. The time my people observed them encounter another camp that had heard about XCOM, the camp was massacred. We believe them to be the remnants of the EXALT terrorist organization from the old world." She nodded at Sall. "I believe you know all about them."

Sall grimaced. "We had enough of them back in the original invasion. If you're right, we have another problem." He looked around the Skyranger. "Anyone here have a problem with killing other humans?"

"I've taken out terrorists before," Ruby said. "I won't have a problem doing it again." She caught Nalia's brief glance and turned her head toward the Viper. "You know it's true. You probably have a higher kill count than I do." Nalia's eyes flicked to her and she nodded. Ruby stared for a second longer before she turned her attention to the other soldiers. Something was up with Nalia but now wasn't the time to address it.

About a half hour later, the Skyranger slowed and the lights turned red. "Looks like the LZ's hot, Menace," Firebrand called back. "I'll drop you as close to our allies as we can." She paused. "I can see the Blackhawk. You won't have a minute before they join the battle."

"Keep your heads on a swivel." Sall stood up and grabbed his weapons. "Gear up. We're dropping as soon as the ramp falls." The rest of the squad did as their leader did. Maybe it was a good thing Ruby hadn't installed the gimbal gun yet. It would have made it that much harder to drop quick. As it stood, Ruby and Sall were set to be the first two out.

The Skyranger slowed to a stop and the ramp hissed open. The lights turned green and Ruby jumped for the ropes before the hatch had lowered halfway. She made her quick search of the area again. They were in a wooded area with a few houses scattered. The tan tank trundled on the ground with five people around it. They all took fire from the trees and one of the houses. A small cliff looked over it all. A road lay about a quarter mile away. That had to be where they would meet the friendly reinforcements.

Ruby touched down and stepped out of the way for Nalia to land behind her. She caught motion in the trees and raised her rifle. She sighted in on the ADVENT Trooper and pulled the trigger. To her surprise, the gun recoiled. She held back a curse while she sighted up her target. The Trooper fell to the ground with a hole in its helmet. She'd need to work on her weapon. Her lasers had no recoil at all unless she ticked the option on her guns.

"Shadeslayer," Sall pointed at the short cliff. "Get up there and do your thing. Quickwing, keep her safe and try not to get shot."

Nalia hissed, her tongue flicking out. "Just make sure the people we're helping aren't the ones shooting at me." She slithered toward the cliff with Ruby right behind her. They found some vines that stretched from the top of the cliff to the ground and climbed them one after the other. Once up top, Ruby caught sight of a helicopter of all things. Those things had been phased out of pretty much everywhere on Remnant before she was born. Not even the White Fang or Nevermores used any of them. The rotors just weren't as efficient as gravity dust, not to mention nearly impossible to balance right, and loud.

Ruby keyed her comms. "This the Blackhawk you mentioned?" She sighted up the pilot but didn't pull the trigger. She just heard rumors and speculation on the Skyranger, not enough to down the entire craft with who could potentially be friendlies.

"Yes, it is," the Commander said. "Are there any identifying marks on it?"

Ruby scanned the hovercraft for things that could signify who they were with. As she watched, people dropped from the sides, one of them with extremely long hair. The side doors closed on the helicopter and turned away, finally revealing the emblem on them. It was an exact replica of XCOM's logo, only flipped upside down with only the words right side up.

"That's them," Central said. "Menace 1-5, it's confirmed. MOCX is in the AO. Be prepared to fire on humans."

"Well, that's that." With the Blackhawk flying away, Ruby no longer had a shot at the cockpit and she didn't want to test her weapon's armor piercing capabilities on a noncombatant, even one confirmed to be an enemy. She swung her weapon back to where the current firefight took place. As she watched, Anderson put a short burst into a Stun Lancer's torso. Those ADVENT looked a lot like Valan Special Forces… and the armor Raven wore when she was killed. It was a little unnerving, but she forced it down. The soldiers in front of her were evil. Not so much the ones she knew back home.

Ruby turned her attention to the tank itself. She finally realized why this thing needed a flatbed. Few of the tread wheels she could see functioned properly. A huge gap revealed where one should have been. Others were locked in place or had large chunks or burns taken out of them. At least the treads themselves were intact. Numerous other burns and bullet holes covered the armor… As she continued to stare at the tank, she realized that the one she stared at was nearly identical to the N1 tanks that Vale used. What was that about?

More gunshots from the trees caught Ruby's attention. She swung her rifle toward the source and caught sight of an ADVENT soldier in white armor. It looked up at Ruby and pulled something from its back. A ball of purple light glowed from it. She'd seen that before, right before she was taken captive. Ruby pulled her trigger and blew that glowing weapon in half. She pulled the trigger once more and blew a hole right through the 'Priest's head.

"Nice kill." Nalia shot at something in a house close to them. She hissed at something as she reloaded her weapon. "I really need more time in the range."

"You're used to claws and teeth. I can't blame you." Ruby turned her attention to the house as well. A Viper slithered toward it at a sprint. Ruby shot at it and hit the oversized snake right below the torso. It fell forward and tried to stand back up. A three shot magnetic round burst from Ruby's side ended the Viper. Ruby stared at where the Viper charged toward. "Hey Nalia, think you can get in there and confuse the ADVENT inside?"

Nalia gave her a look then turned her head down. "I think I might be able to." She keyed her comms. "This is Quickwing. I'm going to take that house." Without waiting for a response, she sped off toward the building.

Ruby caught movement behind another house and aimed at it. A human, one in military armor, aimed right at Nalia. She clenched her teeth and hoped it wasn't one of the Resistance. She pulled the trigger and a laser plunged straight into the man's chest. He yelled and pulled back behind a wall. Ruby checked the charge on her magazine. Three shots and she was out. She scowled. Why the heck didn't Shen ask for help? She had mags for Crescent Rose that had fifteen shots a mag and it was about the same size and the ones she was given.

As she ejected her current mag, Ruby heard something from her left. She fought the urge to look toward it. No one said anything over comms saying they were coming up and it came from the exact wrong direction from where the Resistance fighters were stationed. While she reached for a new mag, she bumped the sword on her back, loosening it. It would be that much easier to draw in a hurry.

Ahe resumed firing, this time focusing more on suppression than hitting her targets. Ruby also called out targets for everyone else to take out. At the same time, she listened for something coming from her left. Whatever it was, it wasn't focused on stealth. It crushed leaves, branches, and might have even kicked a few rocks. At least it didn't sound too heavy.

Out of nowhere the footfalls came fast, hard, and heavy, right toward her. Ruby waited a few more seconds before she dropped her rifle and reached back for her sword. As soon as her hand gripped around the hilt, she heard a very familiar yell. "AAAAHHHH-" The footfalls stopped as Ruby brought her head up to defend herself. Her eyes met her attacker's. recognition flashed in those lilac eyes immediately.

"AHHHH!" Yang's yell rose an octave. Both sisters had too much momentum to slow their swords much. The metal clashed with Ruby forcing her sister's blade away from her body. Yang stumbled off to the side and Ruby fell onto her butt. Yang turned around with her mouth hanging open. "Ruby?"

"Yang?" Ruby hooked her weapon to her back again and jumped to her feet. Both sisters ran at each other and slammed together in a right hug. This felt so right. Ruby would have held on much longer if an explosion didn't sound behind her. "Good to have you back, sis. We need to…" Ruby trailed off as she noticed the logo on Yang's chest armor. Her jaw dropped this time. "You're with MOCX?" She gestured at the upside-down pentagon.

Yang blinked and gestured at Ruby's own emblem. "You're with XCOM?" Her eyes narrowed, but there was no hostility in them.

Ruby stepped back and looked her sister up and down. She froze in place as she noticed one huge thing that Yang would have never allowed. "Why is your hair blonde?" The silver streak was still there and in the same position, but the Halcyon gold was gone. This time Yang gave her a confused look. Ruby drew her sword and glared at the fake. She'd heard that the Vipers used to be disguised as people. She'd seen a Faceless morph from a civilian. She wouldn't be tricked this time. "Whatever you are, you aren't my sister. She'd never let anyone touch her hair," she said in the Ancient Language.

This time suspicion filled Yang's eyes as she drew her own sword. "And my sister would know exactly why I have this silver streak."

Ruby was about to charge when she noticed the sword. Dawnbreaker, the sword/shotgun she forged for Yang years ago. She knew her own work. There was no way it could be a fake. The Invidia, Orchid, and Nalia with XCOM weren't the ones she knew. Could it be… "Why are you with MOCX?"

Yang scoffed. "I'm not. These guys were shifty when they picked me up. I read their minds. MOCX kills civilians and blames it on XCOM." Her emphasis was… weird. Her gestures didn't match what she was saying either. "I was planning on taking down these bastards from inside but this kind of changes things." She began to circle.

"Sergeant Rose, what is your situation?" the Commander asked in her ear.

"Trying to figure that out now." Ruby muted her comms after that and started circling her 'sister.' "Trying to take them down from the inside? Then why did you attack me?"

"I was told to take out an ADVENT Sniper. Them, I have no qualms about killing."

"And when did you realize I wasn't one of them?"

"When I saw your emblem on your shoulder. I hoped you'd block. Make this look more convincing."

"You didn't think far ahead, do you?"

"To be fair, you did have a Viper escort."

"True…" Ruby was slowly convincing herself that the person in front of her was her sister, at least a friendly version of her anyway. Through that whole conversation, they yelled at each other, and not in their friendly sparring banter tone. They probably convinced some people that they weren't friendly.

Yang cocked her head. "Why can't I feel your mind?"

"Because ADVENT put something in my head that cut me off!" Ruby screamed and leaned forward, feeling and hopefully looking defeated. Yang stopped in her tracks. For a second, her face dropped into a look of horror before she put her mask back on. "Magic, Aura, telepathy, I've got nothing. I don't even know if Cerise is alive or dead."

Yang sneered and inclined her head. Her eyes held none of that hostility. "Ruby, I am so, so sorry." That was probably the most hostile those words had ever been said.

Ruby tried to put on a sneer of her own. A lens flash caught her eye. She glanced there for half a second and saw the person and weapon behind it. "Yang, you've got a sniper trained on you."

"Whose side?" Yang tightened the grip on her sword.

"I'm XCOM's sniper. It has to be with MOCX!" Ruby emphasized the two organization's names to throw off anyone who was listening.

"Well, it looks like I've been made." Yang fell into an offensive stance. "Make it look real while you get back to your sniper?"

Ruby keyed her mic back on. "Avenger, hold everyone else back. This one's mine." Ruby charged Yang and swung at her neck. Of course, Yang blocked with ease. Even if Ruby didn't have the benefit of Aura, the sisters knew how each other fought. They could fight hard, not giving ground, and just be sparring. No dangerous hits came close, though Yang did elbow Ruby in the nose. That felt like it broke. Their 'fight' didn't last long either. Yang shoved Ruby away and toward where the laser sniper lay. Ruby rolled, grabbed the weapon, and came up in a firing position. Through the scope, she saw the woman's jaw drop. Ruby pulled the trigger and sent a laser bolt right into the woman's mouth. There was no coming back from that.

"And by mine, I meant that sniper." Ruby's voice sounded a little weird to her ears. She spat out a bit of blood and glared at her sister. "You're going to pay for that at some point."

"Fair enough." Yang stepped forward and clamped her hands on Ruby's shoulders. "As soon as we're alone, you and I need to talk."

Ruby relaxed her shoulders. She knew she missed Yang, but she didn't know how much she missed her big sister until that moment. "You don't know the half of it. Frequency 98.5 for our comms."

"Got it." Yang pulled away and hit a button on her own earpiece a few times. "Huntress Yang Xiao Long reporting for duty. It feels good to be back with the good guys."

"Sergeant Rose, what is going on?" the Commander demanded.

"My sister infiltrated MOCX on her own, she was made, now she's with us." Ruby reloaded her gun. "I can explain more later. Right now, let's just worry about getting that tank out of here."

"Glad to have you back, Goldmane," Nalia practically purred over comms. "ADVENT is in for it now."

"Nalia?" Yang blinked then smirked. "Three of us together, we're practically unstoppable." She shifted Dawnbreaker into shotgun form. "Let's crack some heads."

Ruby glanced at the tank. It looked like it was finally moving. The thing clanked and grated but it still lumbered forward. Right now, she could only guess what was wrong with the thing. Three Resistance fighters walked alongside it. The other two lay on the back of the tank beneath the turret. Considering it was in the same position it had been in when Ruby first saw it, they weren't in danger of getting squished.

The Rider raised her rifle and aimed at where she heard the most gunfire coming from. Through the scope, she saw a human she didn't know fall over from a plasma shot. Ruby tracked where that shot came from to a Viper about a hundred feet away. She pulled the trigger but the shot went low and into the rock it hid behind. Somehow, the shot didn't burn a hole through it, but destroyed the rock completely. A flurry of magnetic autocannon fire from the ground plunged into that Viper, leveling it.

"Rose, we're good here," Sall called over comms. "You and… your sister move up to the road and provide cover for the incoming truck."

"Copy that. We're moving." Ruby nodded at Yang and they jogged toward the nearby road. They heard a few more gunshots behind them but none were aimed at them. The road itself was silent and clear. A few cars laid in the ditches to either side of the blacktop. About a mile down the road, a single semi truck drove toward them.

"We're on location," Yang said into the comms. "Everything's clear for now and we see the truck. We'll roll out the red carpet and keep any super fans off it." Ruby's throat let out a laugh before she knew it was coming.

"Understood," Central said. "Looks like the ground is clear for now but there are enemy transports inbound. You have one minute before the first arrives, five before the next wave."

"Then we need to get these people out of here before they get here," Sall said. "Rogers! Get that bloody metal head moving or leave it behind."

Ruby looked skyward. "I hear it, but I don't see it." She glanced at her sister. "Think you can still throw me over the trees?"

Yang nodded and raised her right arm. "Give me a bit of a powerup and it won't be a problem." Ruby reeled her bionic fist back then launched it into Yang's arm. Her sister's Aura flared yellow. "Good enough." Yang stepped behind Ruby and grabbed her sister's sides.

With a yelling grunt, Yang heaved and threw Ruby into the air. Ruby twisted her body toward the sound of engines. She sighted in on the dropship's pilot and pulled the trigger. A red laser bolt plunged straight into the soldier's head. Ruby smirked at the shot… then it fell away as she fell away. No Aura. No wards. Crap… She flailed her arms as she plummeted. "Catch me! Catch me! Catch me!"

After another couple seconds of falling, Ruby landed on two relatively soft things that gave way a little bit. She found herself looking at her sister's grimacing face. "Let's not do that again until you've got your stuff back," Yang said.

"Agreed." Ruby climbed out of her sister's arms and keyed her radio. "First transport is down. ETA on the tank?"

A long few seconds passed before she got an answer. "ETA one minute," Central said. "I hope you have something special for those other ones."

"Unless I can get an angle from the ground, no. We're not doing that again." Ruby looked back down the road. The truck was only a few hundred feet away. As she watched, the truck and trailer made a wide U-turn, crossing the grassy median to the other lane of traffic, and stopped facing the way it came. The flatbed trailer itself had several extra wheels but no other reinforcement. It might take the weight of the tank for a while, but it might not be usable after this trip.

The driver's door on the cab opened and the man inside jumped out. He ran to the back of the trailer and fiddled with the controls near the back. Foliage crackled from the battlefield and Ruby swung her weapon back toward where she came from. She didn't see anything until a Bio Viper charged out of the brush with a person over her shoulder and her weapon dragging behind her. The person Nalia carried was missing a leg.

"A sniper got him," Nalia answered the unasked question. She slithered up to the cab and helped the wounded man inside. The Resistance fighter screamed but he still managed to force himself into the passenger seat. Nalia whipped around to face Yang. "Can you do anything for him? The medikit stopped the bleeding but he's still in a lot of pain."

Yang nodded. "I'll see what I-"

"Save it," Ruby interrupted as she searched the sky. "Even small spells drain Invidia." She faced Yang. "He'll live. You're the only one who can use magic to stop those ADVENT ships from trailing us back and you'll need the energy."

Yang winced. "I'll do what I can." As she climbed onto the trailer, the tank and the rest of the friendly forces emerged from the trees. Three other Resistance fighters carried their own people. Dallaire's shield had been reduced to a scrap of metal that wouldn't cover one of her forearms. She also favored her right side with a streak of red down that leg. The tank had a few more bullet pockmarks but nothing that looked like it would impede its operation.

With security on the ground taken care of, Ruby jumped up to the top of the truck and searched the sky. She saw a few transports several miles out, but tracking their movement, they flew toward where XCOM originally joined the fight. She keyed her radio as she kept her scope on the enemy. "They don't see us yet. We might have another few minutes."

"We'll be out of here before then," an unfamiliar voice said. "That is if Devin's truck doesn't die."

"It's in better shape than your armored bathtub, idiot!" Ruby heard the voice in her earpiece and in front of her as the tank lined up with the ramp onto the trailer. The tank's treads hit the ramp, shaking the whole thing. Before it climbed up, its turret spun around so it faced backward. The trailer creaked and something snapped but it held as the tank rolled onto the flat top. At the center of the trailer, the engine powered down.

"All secure," Sall announced. "Everyone get on board. Unless we run into more trouble, Firebrand will meet us at the camp." Everyone remaining on the ground piled onto the sides of the trailer, their weapons facing up or the sides of the road. The driver jumped into the cab and the engine started up. After some groaning and grinding, the truck started forward.

Ruby looked down from her perch at her sister. Yang stared unblinkingly at the sky. Nalia stood right by her with a hand on the Huntress' shoulder. Yang cast the spell and Nalia lent her energy to sustain it. Considering Ruby could still see the truck and everything on it, the spell just made them invisible from the air. That would save energy.

A few minutes later, Ruby saw the transports dip below the trees. She reported it as such. A little after that, Yang fell sideways forcing Nalia to catch her. Ruby jumped down from the cab to help steady her sister. "Avenger, please tell me we're not being followed," she said.

"It looks like you're in the clear, Menace," Central said. "The tank is secure and no ADVENT are in pursuit. Mission complete."

Yang sighed. "Good. I couldn't hold that for much longer." She smiled up at Nalia. "By the way, hi. Did you lose weight?" Nalia snorted and gave Ruby a look. No words were needed to convey her meaning. As one, the two dropped Yang onto the trailer. The blonde laughed. "Man, I missed you two."

"We missed you too Yang." Ruby crouched by Yang's side and laid a hand on her sister's shoulder. Nalia hummed from above them. "We've got a lot to catch up on."

Ah, sisterly love back again. Love it.

Random thing at the end, and I have to say this, my college's spring football season starts later this month! Been waiting over a year for this! GO BISON!