Guess who got a positive test two days before his family was supposed to fly to Disney? This guy!... Did everything right and I still got it. Hid behind the cough I always get at this time of year and it's only gotten worse since I tested negative. Other than that, I was asymptomatic and no one else in my family tested positive. Rescheduled for early/middle of next year. Didn't get much writing done that week. That was split between depression and Halo Infinite.

Onto something a little less depressing.

"And that's the plan." Ruby shrugged as she finished her explanation. "Coulson likes it and he'll be refining it and working on this with the three of you."

Ormr hummed and brought a hand to her chin. "Network building and recruitment from the inside." She spoke in perfect Vytalian, with only the slightest emphasis on the 'r's and 's's. "Interesting. Though I don't know how we will work around not being a part of the psionic network and computer systems."

"For the first, Coulson said that he'll work with the Templars on that. Apparently they have experience. For the second…" Ruby sighed. "I wish Yaela was here too. Angel too, but that goes without saying."

"I understand. I miss my own hatchlings." Ormr let her arm fall. "I'll tell the others as soon as I-" Two thunks hit the door to the squad's barrack in half a second. Ruby whipped around to face it, instinctually grabbing her compacted scythe. Ormr laid a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "It's no threat." She sighed. "It's just Nalia and Ariana."

Ruby gave Ormr a look. "What?" She opened the door and stared at the ground. Sure enough, Nalia lay sprawled on the ground with Ariana sprawled over her. "What?" she said with a little more force. She stared at the bundle of limbs for a few more seconds before shaking her head. "What happened? That sounded a little too hard for slipping and falling. Did you forget how doors work?"

"Quickwing challenge…" Nalia moaned.

"This door should have been open." Ariana rolled off Nalia and pushed herself up into a sitting position. The sides of her head fell as she shook one of Nalia's shoulders. "Did I hurt you?"

"You just knocked the wind out of me." She raised her head and looked over Ariana. "You're not the one with spikes all over your body. You don't have acid blood either. Are you okay?" Nalia's 's's were no longer dragged out.

Ariana blinked and checked herself for injuries. "I'm okay. It felt like I just bounced off you."

"Same with the door. These bodies are a lot less rigid than our old ones." Nalia gave the best smirk she could as a Viper. "But I won."

"Yes, you did." Ariana sighed and smiled. She 'stood' up and offered a hand to Nalia. "You have the quicker wings this day."

"Until ours meet again." Nalia took it and let Ariana haul her up to her coils. Ariana took it a step further and hugged Nalia with a hum, which made the Bio Viper stiffen. "I… take it you do this with your Nalia?"

Ariana sighed and let go. "Yes. You're… she's my aunt after all. Not by blood, but… you get the picture."

"So who won?" a high-pitched voice asked. Ruby turned her head to the door to the rest of the ship. Sunny stood in the doorway, smiling innocently. "Ariana was in the lead when they passed me."

Ruby sighed and faced Nalia. "How much of the ship did you go through?"

Nalia shrugged. "I took Ariana on a tour."

"You…" Ruby shook her head and looked around. A few other soldiers and crewmen mingled around the barracks. Only a couple of them stared at the spectacle. Well… it wasn't like this was the most exciting or out there thing that occurred on the ship in the past week. There'd probably be a new rule though.

The ship's intercom buzzed. Nalia and Ariana winced. "The following soldiers, report to the armory. Lieutenant Bob Davis, Sergeant Yang Xiao Long, Sergeant Ruby Rose, Sergeant Nalia Quickwing."

"It sounds like we're going on a mission." Nalia slithered to the door without another word.

Ruby blinked. What the heck was that about? At least they were going to the same place. She looked over her shoulder at Ormr. "Read these two in on the plan?"

Ormr bowed. "Of course, Shadeslayer."

"Thank you." Ruby followed Nalia out of the crew quarters.

In the armory, only Yang hadn't arrived of those called. Their mom and Captain Sall were there as well. Summer made sense. The only people called were her squad. But why was XCOM's most experienced soldier on the mission too. They'd explain in due time.

Ruby approached the armor station where Nalia was putting on her own plates. The Rider decided to help the dragon in disguise before donning her own set. "Do you have any explanation for why you slithered away so quick?"

Nalia winced. "We… may have knocked someone over who was carrying a box of ammunition."

"Okay, what's up?" Ruby took a step back and crossed her arms. "I'm not the only one acting weird. You've been off since Ariana showed up."

"No… I've been the most on in years." Nalia turned around, a sad smile. "I've missed the Challenges so much. It wouldn't be proper for me to challenge my students. But a Quickwing in the family..." She hummed. "I haven't felt more alive in years."

Ruby let her arms and jaw fall. "What about when you and Aaron commanded the Vale station?"

Nalia shook her head. "I need to set the example. Frankly, I'd given up." She snorted. "We already know there are two Weiss' out there. If we ran into another me, I think I'd be in heaven twice over." The Bio Viper locked eyes with Ruby. "Let me help with your armor."

"…Okay." Ruby pulled her plated vest over her head. "Just promise me you'll challenge someone when you get back. I'm sure Aaron would love to see you with that spark back." She blinked as she grabbed an armor piece that partially served as a pauldron. "Wow. I just said that like he's waiting for me back home."

"He's here somewhere." Nalia pat Ruby's back as she sealed a clasp. "You'll see him soon, too."

The two continued armoring up as they felt the Avenger descend from cruising altitude. Yang joined Ruby and Nalia while Bob, Summer, and Sall worked on their armor and weapons in another part of the armory. From the bits and pieces Ruby caught from the others' conversation, they weren't talking about the missing, or if they were, it was about some bit of hacking gobbledygook that Ruby didn't understand.

The deck shook and Firebrand stepped out the back of the Skyranger. "That's the signal. Load up, Menace. We got work to do. Try not to scuff the paint on your way in. It's fresh."

"I guess we're up," Yang said. She adjusted her gauntlets before walking to the transport.

Ruby followed her sister and looked over the Skyranger. It had been painted a shiny black. That might help at night, but a light shining on it would certainly reflect. That's when she noticed extra shielding on the engines and a new bulge hanging on the transport's tail. Ruby tried to scan it with her bionic eye, but the results came up… blank. She was getting less information than if she scanned a rock from the same distance. Her eye didn't even have a material estimate. She looked at her sister's back. Yang's height, armor, and weapon information popped up right away.

"Oh." Ruby nodded at the bulge on the Skyranger. "Looks like we got a new jammer." Yang turned her head to give her sister a confused look. "I can scan you, but not the Skyranger." She gave the hull of the transport a skeptical look before she stepped onto the ramp. "Not sure about how shiny the paint is though."

"Something Mercedes Romero came up with," Sall said. "The Commander showed her some old movies, said retro-reflection panels were in the works and we would have had them by now." He shrugged. "Once engaged, we'll be invisible."

Ruby felt like she'd heard that term before, but she couldn't place it. Still, invisibility without magic or a Semblance sounded like a good thing. "Did we need the panels for this mission, or did they happen to be ready for it?"

"Bit of both, from what I hear." Summer nodded at Bob. "I think you have something for Nalia?"

The Specialist nodded and picked something off his belt. He waved it at the Bio Viper. "A new bit of active camo. Slap this on your armor and you'll blend right in." He underhand tossed it to Nalia.

The displaced dragon grabbed the box and stared at it. "I take it there's a reason behind this?"

"Like I said, the Commander will explain in the air." Sall sat down and secured himself. "Strap in and let's get in the air."

"The eggheads better be right about their new gear," Firebrand called back. "If not, this mission will be over before it starts."

"Where are we going?" Ruby asked as she sat in one of the crash seats closest to the door. "City 52?"

Sall and Bob snorted. "We're crazy, but we're not that crazy," Bob said. "I haven't been here long, but I know we need a lot more intel before we even think about going into that place."

"I don't know," Yang said. "Get rid of whatever's jamming our Auras and the thing in Ruby's head, there's not much we can't take down."

The engines of the Skyranger spun up and the transport lifted off the deck. It banked and flew away from the ship, though there was a lot less force to it. They weren't going that fast, so whatever the mission was, it wasn't time-critical.

"Two days ago," the Commander started, "we received an old radio frequency on the AM band, something we haven't seen since the first five years of the alien's takeover. At first, we figured it was an enthusiast that built their own transmitter in their building, then Captain Sall recognized an old SAS code from before the original invasion. It turns out our new radio tower in France intercepted a call for help from a multinational task force of special operatives. The British Secretary of State for Defense has been seized in Munich, Germany.

"We don't know who they were originally trying to contact, but Captain Sall responded for us. Your mission is to infiltrate the ADVENT facility and get him out. Travis Beck is the highest ranked member of a European government that remained hostile to the aliens after the invasion. As far as we're concerned, he is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, if not the entire European Union. Get him out and back into allied hands. This is the deepest we have flown into ADVENT territory since my own rescue mission. The quieter this can be done, the better. We don't want all of New Western Europe Command dropping down on top of us."

"That explains some things," Yang said, "but why us? Alpha squad still out?"

Sall grimaced. "The rest of my squad is still recovering from the Sectopod on top of Shen senior's factory tower."

Summer cocked her head at Yang. "Didn't you just say that we're a badass' badass?"

"Yeah," Yang nodded, "but I know our standing. We're not exactly the elite squad of XCOM yet."

"No, but we have me." Nalia looked at the box in her hands. "Just press it on my armor?" Bob nodded. The Bio Viper cocked her head before pressing it onto her chest plate. Something clicked and blue light flickered over her armor. Her XCOM plate disappeared, replaced by sickly green scale armor covering her torso and arms and shiny, sleek plates on her shoulders. A silver tiara-like piece of metal also appeared above her forehead. More spikes popped out of her armor. "Oh, this is interesting."

"Your gun should take the appearance of one of theirs too. You'll be able to blend right in." Bob paused. "But you just take that appearance. You'll notice there are parts where your hand goes right through that projection and others where it's stopped before. So try not to get too close to anyone."

"But you will be able to pass off as an ADVENT soldier," Sall leaned forward. "You said when we first brought you in, they did something to you so you could understand what they are saying. Can you speak it too?"

Nalia blinked and cocked her head. She made several hissing, growling, and clicking noises and nodded. "I don't like it and I'm not sure about the grammar, but yes."

"Good." Sall looked at everyone else. "I spoke with Summer before the call went out. How good are the rest of you at staying concealed?"

"We can be silent if we want to." Yang shrugged. "Ended a war in a matter of months because of that… and superior firepower."

"If we were at full strength, we could make all of us invisible," Ruby said. "That makes silence and covering our tracks even more important."

Bob shifted in his seat. "I'm sure the rest of you will make up for me. I'm the brains, not the legs."

"That'll have to do." Sall didn't sound too happy about that. He turned his head to the cockpit. "ETA to Munich?"

"If all goes well, thirty minutes," Firebrand called back. "If this tech doesn't work as advertised, longer, if we don't turn back and catch the Avenger in the sky. No idea where I can set down either. I'll try to get as close as possible, but I might have to land on the other side of the city."

"If all else fails, there's the Metro." Sall nodded at Summer. "This is your squad, Rose. Just put me where you need me."

"Well then," Summer crossed her arms, "what do you know about this city?"

Most of the rest of the flight was spent by Sall going over a map of Munich on a tablet. The problem was he didn't know how recent it was. XCOM generally used outdated maps to avoid using ADVENT systems. It was safer that way. Viruses couldn't get into an isolated system.

The city itself looked… pretty darn big. It could have been one of the biggest cities on Remnant, in population and size. There weren't that many tall buildings, and those that were looked like churches or something similar. But Ruby was more interested in the subway the city had. They way her mom pointed things out, she noticed them too. If nothing else, they could provide a place to avoid ADVENT patrols. That is, if they weren't in use like so many other subways around the world.

"We're entering Munich airspace," Firebrand's whispered voice came out of the Skyranger's speakers. "Keep it down. I'll believe we're silent and invisible when we fly behind one of their UFOs and they don't see us." The lights in the crew compartment turned red. Nalia grabbed her rifle. As Bob said, the weapon appeared to transform into one of the plasma rifles all of ADVENT's Vipers carried. She made a pleased expression. Yang smirked and Summer smiled and nodded. Evidently there was a joke Ruby couldn't hear.

The Skyranger slowed down and the lights turned green. "I'm putting you on a building about a block and a half away from the facility. Looks like you've got good sight lines to it. Good luck, Menace."

Ruby freed herself from her restraints and stepped out the lowering ramp. She crept across the roof and looked over the edge. They were close all right. She might be able to throw a rock that far with her bionic arm. A road, a parking lot between two buildings, another road, and a park separated the squad from a black and red monolith. Compared to the surrounding buildings that appeared a few decades old at least, that thing stood out like a sore thumb.

Nalia hissed beside her. "What are you looking at, terrorist?"

"Your pretty building I want to demolish, logicalist." Ruby scanned the area. The road directly beneath her was empty of all traffic except for a few parked cars. There weren't even that many people down there. She didn't see any cross traffic on the next street over either. There were flashing red lights all over though. "They've got this area blocked off."

"Our contact didn't say anything about that," Summer glanced at Sall. "You say we can trust these people?"

"Unless they've been compromised, absolutely. Even then, they didn't use the right codes for that." Sall crossed his arms. "This happened after they contacted us, or this is above what they could have gotten access to."

"At least they don't know we've got a Bio Viper with us." Summer nodded at Nalia. "Big Green, you're up. Can you switch your translator to transmit only?"

Nalia tapped her head a few times. "Did it work?"

"Loud and clear," Yang said.

"Good." Summer stared out at the facility. "Big Green, go low and call out hiding places. Shadeslayer, get up to that roof and provide overwatch." She pointed at the green slanted roof across the road. "Call anything out Big Green can't see. Zuch, keep Shadeslayer from being ambushed and disrupt any tech ADVENT has in the area." Ruby blinked. 'Zuch?' Most nicknames she got. Not so much that one. "Everyone else, advance when the coast is clear. Let's try to do this without making a sound."

"I'll catch people." Yang jumped over the edge of the roof, making Bob jump forward to stop her. He looked off the edge and his jaw dropped. Yang stood on the ground staring up at them.

"Can everyone from where you're from do that?" he asked.

"Just those with unlocked Aura." Summer jumped off the roof too.

Ruby followed right after and into the arms of her sister. She didn't waste another moment before running across the street, putting all her weight on her bionic leg, and jumping to the roof of the other building. She had to haul herself up to the roof with her bionic arm, but she still made it. She ran along the thin, flat ledge between the green, metal roofing and open air until she reached a decorative roof access tower. From her new angle, she could see two foot patrols on the street… though one of them had a wrinkly alien floating with what had to be a levitation pack on its back. She saw pictures of that kind of thing before, but those Celetids were a different color and a little less wrinkly.

About a minute later, footsteps pounded behind her, accompanied by hard breathing. "What the heck…" Bob breathed as he set up beside Ruby. His Gremlin flew in beside him. "How can… you jump… that high?"

"In this case, bionics and balance." Ruby unhooked Íss Bláto from her belt and expanded it to rifle form. She keyed her mic as she scanned the area again. "Two patrols of four on the street. One Celetid, two Officers, one Viper, one… Trooper guy with a bunch of wires on his back and arms, two Vipers, and a Trooper. Searching the park now."

Ruby trained her scope over the open areas of the park. She didn't see anything in the grass. She gave the area another once over and again saw nothing. ADVENT wasn't big on booby traps so there probably wasn't anything there. The sniper reported that in, then focused her attention on the facility itself. She picked out two turrets and a Bio Viper accompanied by two other Vipers on the roof… one of the others saluted the spiked, green one.

"Big Green," Ruby whispered into her mic, "you might be able to impersonate an officer here. There's a Bio Viper in that facility that at least holds some rank."

"Is that so?" Summer's thoughtful voice said over comms.

"If you want, I'm willing to try," Nalia said.

"Sall, advice?"

"We've never tried this before," Sall said. "Then again, this is out of the Liberated's territory and we've never had a Viper on our side… Commander? You listening?"

"It's a good trick…" the Commander paused. "This is our one shot at this. We're not going to get another one. Make it count."

"Copy that. Going in." Ruby looked off the edge of the roof. Nalia slithered out from behind cover like she owned the city. From above, it looked like she scowled at everything around her. She made it out of the parking lot and into the street separating the park from the buildings. The patrol with the other Vipers noticed her and moved toward her. None of their weapons pointed at the Bio Viper. The Officer among them brought a fist to his chest.

"That's something you don't see every day," Bob whispered.

"No, but I'll take it." Ruby stared through her scope once more at the facility. She checked for entrances, turrets, and other forces she may have missed and called whispered everything she found on the comms. Just as she was about to return her attention to the ground below her, she noticed something on the ground in front of the facility. "Mama Bear, it looks like they've done some digging in front of the facility. I'm counting three dirt piles and what looks like five fillings with the same dirt. The land's almost completely flat out front. Not so much on the sides."

"We'll have to come in on the flanks then," Summer whispered. "You and Zuch go right. The rest of us, we'll see what Big Green does with these guys."

Ruby returned her attention to the Bio Viper on the ground. Both patrols gathered around Nalia and spoke to her like she was giving a briefing. She pointed at the two Vipers then hit that palm against her chest. She gestured at the rest, then a building further down the road. One of the Officers said something only to be cut off by a hiss. The two Vipers looked at each other but stayed silent. The Officer who spoke stared for another second before waving a finger in a circle and walking away. All but the Vipers followed him away.

"I've got an escort to the facility," Nalia said. "Thankfully these two never met the Viper in charge. Still, keep your guns on these two in case they notice something's wrong." The trio of Vipers slithered toward the facility out in the open.

"If we had suppressors," Summer started, "I'd drop them now. Lookouts, let us know when the street's clear."

"Copy that," Ruby said. She tracked the ADVENT squad through her scope. One of the Troopers opened a door on the building across the street and held it for the rest. The sniper waited until they all disappeared inside before speaking again. "Ground team, you're clear. In case you can't see them, there's trees to the right. You have cover most of the way in."

Summer, Yang, and Sall sprinted across the street and into the tree cover. Yang called that it was safe for the others to cross, so Ruby and Bob dropped to the ground, Bob much more carefully on window ledges and pipes. All of Menace made it across without attracting attention.

As those in the trees crept toward the facility, Nalia kept them updated on what her escorts were saying. Most of it was just recanting what she said to get the others away. "Here's something interesting. One of my escorts said the area's clear because the prisoner is being airlifted out of here. The area out front has been cleared since there's no place inside for a transport to touch down…" There was a long pause where she was actively speaking with the other Vipers. "They want to know why such a large area was cleared and city blocks cleared of traffic. The latter, well, us. But the area… that's a good question, and obviously classified."

Sall stared at the cleared area. "Might be an invasion era Scout UFO, but that just makes sense for the landscaping. I've seen those things crash and take off from skyscrapers. Why make everything so level?"

"It looks comfortable, I'll give them that. We're almost in." The Vipers passed through the gap between metal barriers without incident. Nalia opened one of the doors and slithered inside. "I feel the mind of the VIP. I'm close."

"Don't move yet,"Summer whispered into her radio. "Wait till we're in with you."

"I'll try, but we aren't alone in here."

Ruby kept her eyes on the turrets on top of the building and noted their tracking, their elevation… there was a window. Just as she opened her mouth, Sall said, "Wait…" Ruby glanced at him. His eyes were locked on the turrets as well. "Hold… now!"

Menace sprinted out of the tree cover and to the facility. Ruby got there first and opened the door for the rest of the squad. She swung in after Bob and closed the door behind her. She shifted íss Bláto to scythe form and scanned the room… only to let her arms and weapon hang. Nalia stood over her two escorts, two other Vipers, as well as the officer Bio Viper. She gave Yang what had to be the smuggest smile a Viper was capable of making.

"How did…" Yang breathed.

"My claws are natural weapons," Nalia waved her left hand at Yang and wiggled her fingers. "You were merely trained. "I was trained to hone my natural instincts."

"You two can flirt later," Sall said. "Where's our guy?"

"Third door on the left." Nalia jerked a thumb toward it. "The other two prisoners deserve to be in here so don't let them out. There's a computer lock on it so I couldn't do it myself."

"Understandable." Summer nodded at Bob. "Do your thing, Zuch."

"Yeah… on it…" Bob panted as he sent his Gremlin to the door. "I'm a… damn… computer tech… not a… Seal…"

"Big Green, you're the… slithering GPS. Do you have a route out of here?"

"If we can't get Firebrand to land out front, I've got several, including subways if necessary."

"You and Shadeslayer scope them out... assuming no alarms are triggered." Summer glanced at Bob. "He can get the job done, but it's not always silent."

"We'll make sure it's clear away from here," Ruby said. "The problem will come if and when we need to cross ADVENT's perimeter."

Nalia faced Sall. "Are we delivering the VIP to his friends or are we taking him out first?"

"His friends are out of the city. We'll get him there through the air."

"Got it." Nalia nodded at Ruby and slithered to elsewhere in the facility. Ruby followed her through and out of the building. They made their way to another set of trees and set up there. While Nalia searched the streets and the landing area in front of the facility, Ruby kept her covered and looked for potential sniper nests.

About a minute into the search, Ruby's ears started to tingle. Something was making her ears… not quite pop, but it was close. There was an intentional rhythm to it. She felt an unintentional smile forming on her face. The sound reached her ears a second later. Wingbeats, ones that she would know anywhere. There was just one huge problem.

Nalia was standing right beside her.

Ruby whipped her head to the facility. The rest of the squad and the VIP were just halfway to the trees. Yang and Summer also looked skyward. "Get to the trees and get down!" Ruby whispered through grit teeth. Yang and Summer pushed the others along and flung them to the ground right by the trees.

Before they could protest, Ruby felt wind blowing straight down. Leaves rustled and branches fell around her. Reflected green light found its way through the gaps in the treetops. Two flaps later and Nalia's body crashed down into the field. It had an unfriendly scowl on its face, one that would normally be reserved for Grimm, criminals, or politicians that annoyed her. It didn't have Nalia's normal saddle either. This one was black and red metal with the straight, brutal lines like all their designs. Someone in red and gold armor sat on its back. Whoever it was, it wasn't someone Nalia would approve of.

Nalia hissed beside Ruby as she glared at herself. "That thing doesn't even know I'm in my own head." She raised her rifle and aimed it at the imposter on her body's back. "I've got a clear shot."

"Don't." Yang crept over and pointed Nalia's weapon at the ground. "We know what you can do, and we can't stop whatever's in you without killing you. Now just-" Yang cut herself off as the thing in Nalia's body looked their way. It stared in their direction for only a second before turning away. "Just keep a cool head. We'll get you back in you come other time, however the heck we'll do that."

"Why the hell is there a Viper here?" an unfamiliar voice demanded in a whisper. Ruby looked over her shoulder. A man in an orange prison uniform glared at Nalia.

"That's our insider," Sall said. "Without her, we wouldn't have gotten you."

"She's saved my butt more times than I can count," Summer said. "And we need to move before that dragon gets us. We didn't exactly leave a clean house. Big Green, where's our exfil?"

Nalia hissed once more. "That thing doesn't know how to use my ears or nose. We'd all be roasted otherwise." She pulled her glare off the thing using her body and faced the squad. "One block north. We'll still be inside the perimeter and hopefully out of that thing's smell and hearing range."

"Call it in. Menace, let's move." Summer crouch ran toward the nearest road. The squad followed behind her with Sall keeping the VIP's head down. When they made it to the road, they sprinted across as one. Ruby thought she heard the Skyranger fly overhead. No enemies were in sight. They actually might make it out undetected.

As soon as that thought crossed Ruby's mind, Nalia's roar filled the air. Her body initially reacted with the instinctive elation that would come with the dragon swooping in to save the day. Then her mind caught up and she fought back a shiver. "They found the bodies…" she whispered, not that she needed to anymore.

"Run!" Sall ordered as he did so himself. "Firebrand, lower the rappelling lines!"

"Already on it," Firebrand's voice said in Ruby's ears. "That thing's sniffing the air. Let's get out of here before it smells my emissions."

Ruby sprinted ahead, grabbed one of the lines, pulled it, and rode the way up. She stepped onto the lowered ramp of the Skyranger and stared back at the dragon. Everyone else was on their way up when Nalia's head stared right at her. The impostor roared and spread its wings. A few windows in the area shattered and car alarms sounded. It jumped over the facility and started running up the road.

"Son of a bitch! We're leaving!" Firebrand's voice carried from the cockpit. Ruby had to pull Yang and Bob in as the Skyranger banked away. Everyone held onto the rails above them as the transport sped away. The last thing Ruby saw before the ramp closed was the dragon tearing the roof of a building off and breathing green fire into the air.

For a long time, the only sound in the crew compartment came from the engines and Nalia's indignant hissing. Ruby was still trying to process seeing her gentle, little Cerise tearing apart downtown Vale. Seeing Nalia rip the roof off a city building was just as unsettling.

"What the hell was that?" the VIP asked in a whisper.

"That, mister Prime Minister," Sall started, "is a body snatcher. The thing in that body is not supposed to be there. We need to figure out how to get our Viper back in there."

The VIP blinked a mile a minute. "I… I'm sorry. I don't believe I heard you right. That Viper is supposed to be the dragon? Prime Minister?"

Sall shrugged. "To be honest, I had a hard time believing the dragon part until I saw it. And, yes, Prime Minister. You are the highest-ranking public servant XCOM has tracked down in Europe that hasn't devoted themselves to ADVENT. As far as we're concerned, you are the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, if not the European Union."

"I… I'm sorry. None of this makes sense."

"The former governor of Oklahoma is now the President of the United States with the capital in the ruins of Lincoln, Nebraska," Bob said. "It might not make sense, but you and her were in the government and kept the fight up as long as you could." He grimaced. "Even if Stacy was batshit crazy before the war…"

Ruby returned her attention to Nalia. The Viper's face was set in a pained and depressed hiss. No sound came out of her peeled lips. Her left eye turned to Ruby before she jerked her head away. The Rider patted the displaced dragon on the back. "If you want to punch something without breaking it, my bionics are open." Nalia didn't say anything, but the tip of her tail flicked to wrap around Ruby's right leg and stayed there for a while.

At least they found one dragon. Now how the heck were they supposed to ground Nalia's body and put her own mind back in it?

It had to happen at some point. Fake Nalia is in the field.

And now, it's been a couple years since I've done this... If there are any JMU Dukes here, you were a heck of a playoff rival. Good luck in the Sun Belt... but THE BISON ARE GOING BACK TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP! SEE YOU DOWN IN FRISCO, MONTANA STATE! (Football bowl game fans, check it out. These two teams could get a mid-level bowl game at least. Gonna be a heck of a game)