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Qrow and Winter led the others off the ship once they had landed in a hanger in Atlas HQ. The group was ushered by a soldier into a nearby vehicle that would take them to the main offices, where Ironwood worked.

"Once we arrive, I shall have to turn in my report, as well as my… vacation request," Winter explained, wording 'vacation' as though the word offended her. "The rest of you shall be dropped off at our robotics lab where you can replace any weapons, dust and," she looked to Neo, "whatever else you may need."

The labs themselves were the resident weaponsmith's wet dream. The excitement in Reaper's eye almost reminded Weiss of another little girl in a red hood from long ago.

"I think I'm in love, Neo…" Reaper sighed, "Even Beacon couldn't afford weave-fabricators like this."

The multi-colored girl shook her head at her dark lover with a smile on her face. As silly as the scene in front of her was, it was nice to see Reaper smile.

"Hey, step back from that!" One of the lab workers tried to call Reaper back off the machine, "Do you even know how to use that!?"

"I'm a quick learner…" Reaper smirked, pressing various buttons with her eyes glued to the display. "What kind of gear are we making you, Neo?"

Neo stepped next to Reaper at an adjacent computer used to draw schematics. The time passed quickly as the pair laid out plans for Neo's new hand. It soon became common for Reaper to scrap a plan entirely whenever she had a new idea, and begin working from the ground up. When they finally settled on an idea that was both physically possible and met the approval of both of them, it was time to move on to replacing Brutal Thorn.

That also turned out more complicated that Neo expected. They started lining out the sniper components and nearly finished the blueprint before things got… weird. Reaper froze, becoming lost in her mind as she stared at the display. It wasn't a panic attack, to Neo's relief. The dark woman shook herself free from her thoughts and guided the curser to highlight the entire blueprint, promptly deleting it. "Bad memories…" she whispered to herself before opening a fresh document. Neo didn't need to ask.

They eventually finished their schematics. The lab workers told them construction would take a few days, especially Neo's hand. The pair returned to the greater group in time for Qrow to receive a message from Winter. "She sent me the location of where we'll be staying while we're here. Let's go."

Atlas developed pre-fabricated forward bases ages ago, to be dropped at a moment's notice and retrieved just as quickly. One of these pre-built bases had been set up in an area of Atlas HQ not commonly traversed by the daily routine. "Emergency Training" was the reason given for constructing it. The soldiers on the field guessed everything from visiting dignitaries to black operations, though no one was serious enough about their assumptions to try and find out.

The building had a meeting room, kitchen and common area, as well as bunks enough for a small squad, all powered by Dust generators. It was everything soldiers needed to live, whether it was a few weeks or a few months.

The bunks were two-to-a-room. Reaper picked a room at random and pushed the bunks inside together. "Well, I'm moved in," she shrugged and stepped back out into the hall. "So this is where we're staying, huh?"

"For the foreseeable future, yes," Weiss responded, "At least until we get our new equipment from the lab." She noticed Reaper grimace, "Is there a problem?"

Reaper ran a finger across the wall, rubbing imaginary dirt between her fingers. "This place just has that overbearing Atlas 'Discipline' feel to it…"

"Perhaps you can use a little of 'that overbearing discipline.'"

Reaper and Weiss turned to Winter, who had appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a white fur-lined coat, blue jeans and designer boots.

"Winter!" Weiss greeted, "You look… different."

"I can't take my uniform with me on 'vacation'," Winter pointed out.

"Of course," Weiss nodded, "I apologize, I was taken off guard."

Winter's face softened, "There's no need to apologize, little sister. To be truthful, it feels nice to be out of uniform. Nicer than I expected."

Reaper took the opportunity while the sisters caught up to step away. She returned to exploring their new base and soon found herself in the kitchen. She bee-lined for the fridge to find it disappointingly empty. A few more searched cabinets revealed what food had been left in here for them. MREs. Reaper groaned at the sight and spotted Ash standing awkwardly in the doorway as she rolled her eyes. "Here ya go," Reaper threw the meal package at her.

Ash looked surprised as she caught the box. "I can just… have this?" she asked as Reaper walked past her.

"Uh, yeah?" Reaper cocked her eyebrow, "What, were you waiting for permission?"

"Well…" Ash gripped the box.

"How long were you living on the street?" Reaper asked.

"Too long…" Ash frowned.

Reaper shook her head, "They gave us… well, what I hesitate to call 'food', for a reason. If you're hungry, eat."

"We'll need this strength if we're really going to fight this thing, huh?" Ash thought aloud.

"Sure, if that's what you're into…" Reaper shrugged. "Terrible fucking idea if you ask me…"

"Yet, here you are?" Ash pointed out.

"For now," Reaper nodded.

Before Ash could continue questioning what that meant, there was a knock on the front door. The entire building seemed to immediately become silent. Reaper and Ash slowly made their way to the common area, where the front door connected. Everyone also gathered in the main room, the same thing on all of their minds. If everyone was here, who was knocking?

Qrow was the one who stepped to the door to open it. On the other side was… a boy. A teenager with tanned skin and shining eyes.

"Qrow?" The boy asked.

"Who the hell are you?" The grayed huntsmen responded.

The boy continued to look around the room, amazed as he recognized each face. "Weiss, Blake, Winter… you're all real… which means he's right…"

"Who's right?" Weiss asked, "And who are you?"

Something seemed to click in Qrow's mind. "Ozpin?"

Everyone stared at the boy, who slowly nodded.

"This is unbelievable," Winter scowled at the boy, who had introduced himself as Oscar Pine.

"Is it?" Reaper challenged, "Ozzy being some immortal wizard, come back in the mind of this kid? Is that really the strangest thing we've come to accept this week?"

"It's awfully convenient," Winter pointed out.

"It's all awfully convenient," Reaper argued, "If my ass wasn't ridden like a damn horse and made to destroy Vale, I wouldn't believe any of this bullshit. The fact that any of you are surprised by this anymore is fucking adorable," The dark woman sighed heavily and began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Weiss asked.

"I feel like I haven't slept in a week," Reaper answered, "I'm fucking tired."

Weiss frowned watching Reaper retreat into the rooms. Neo frowned as well, though hers was full of concern.

"Is she all right?" Oscar asked.

"Who knows," Weiss sighed, "I wouldn't worry about her if I were you."

"So," Qrow cut in, looking Oscar's way "Where's your head at on this?"

"Huh?" Oscar blinked, not used to being addressed like this, like he was authority.

"Well, Oz?" Qrow pressed.

Right. I'm not the authority. "He says it should be obvious," Oscar relayed after listening to Ozpin, "We start with the maidens."

"We already have the fall maiden with us," Amber spoke up, "We would already know if the winter maiden was attacked. I haven't spoken to summer in ages and spring, well…"

"Spring is its own headache…" Qrow agreed, "We should probably check on summer first."

Oscar flinched, "About that…"

"What?" Amber sat up.

"Ozpin had me check a few things on my way to Atlas," Oscar took out his scroll, "and we found this."

He brought up an image of a newspaper on his scroll. It looked to originate from a small village in the Vacuo desert. The article was about a young woman found dead in the sands. The scars on her face looked familiar… "Oh my god," Amber realized, "They look like mine."

"Cinder left those scars when she tried to steal your power," Qrow recalled, "If I hadn't been there, she would have killed you and taken it all…"

Blake connected dots quickly. "Is that the summer maiden? Does this mean Salem already has the summer maiden's power?"

"I think that's the assumption we should make…" Qrow nodded solemnly.

"Ozpin says that, we should also assume that they already have Shade's relic as well." Oscar passed on.

The room went deathly quiet. Even Ash had had enough time by now to digest what this meant. Salem's endgame was to gather the relics and obtain their godly power… and she was already a quarter way to victory.

"What do we do?" Blake asked.

"We need to match Salem in power," Weiss deduced, "or we won't stand a chance at beating her."

"Why didn't we grab Beacon's relic on the way out, again?" Amber asked Qrow.

"Because it's safer locked away, especially while we know you're safe," Qrow explained, "We didn't know at the time. Besides, it would be dangerous to travel with a relic before we need it."

"Salem wants to consolidate her power," Oscar/Ozpin explained, "She won't attack us with the relic and risk losing it. The important thing is to get to the other maidens before she does. Then we can gather what relics we may need, and keep the others safe."

"You said we would know for sure if the winter maiden was attacked," Winter pointed out, "Who is the winter maiden?"

"Someone hiding in plain sight, who Ironwood could protect easily," Qrow answered vaugely, "the problem, the one Salem will likely seek out next herself, the one we need to look for as well, is spring."

"Do you not know who the spring maiden is?" Blake asked.

"Not exactly," Amber admitted, "but we do know who the spring maiden is with."

Amber and Oscar looked to Qrow, and eventually every last eye in the room followed suit. Once everyone was staring at him, he sighed heavily. "She's with the Branwen bandit tribe."

Winter grimaced, "As in Qrow Branwen?"

"As in Raven Branwen," Qrow corrected, "My sister."

"So, our next step is to locate a bandit tribe…" Weiss rubbed her forehead, "Anyone have any ideas?"

"A few years ago, I had an idea where she was camped," Qrow told them, "Now, though…"

Everyone fell quiet as no immediate ideas sprung to mind. Eventually, Blake stood and stretched, catching the attention of the room. "As strange as it is to admit, I think Reaper has the right idea right now."

"What do you mean?" Weiss questioned.

"R and R," Blake explained, "We won't come up with a solution in the next five minutes. Even if we could, we're still waiting on the labs for our gear. I think we could all use some rest."

"I'd hate to agree with Reaper," Winter mentioned, "So I'm glad in this case I can agree with you."

"Alright…" Weiss reluctantly settled, "I suppose I could use some sleep as well…"

"Then it's settled!" Qrow stretched as well, "I'll crash out here. Rather not share a bunk with someone."

"I'll be taking the Field Commander's quarters," Winter announced.

"We don't mind rooming, right Weiss?" Blake smirked. Her white-themed girlfriend blushed and nodded.

Everyone broke away and found beds for themselves soon after. Chamillia decided to follow Neo to Reaper's room. The small girl wasn't sure how Mimic, of all people, ended up more or less 'imprinting', for lack of a better term, on one of them. But she shrugged it off. As long as she wasn't there to stab them, someone with skills from both her and Reaper, even if they were just memories of skills, could only be a help.

And there were more important things to worry about. Even though Neo now know about the extent of Reaper's panic attacks, she still wasn't sure where her head was at right now. Reaper's behavior lately almost felt like… like she doesn't even want to be here.

Neo found the room Reaper had crashed in and saw the dark woman herself spread out on the bed. The smaller girl sat down next to her dark lover, looking over her peaceful sleep. Neo's eyes were naturally drawn to that distracting scar tissue. Her fingers reached out, dragging across the rough, red skin on Reaper's face. It felt hard and bumpy in weird places, a stark contrast to her still unscarred skin. Neo's thumb teased the edge of the burn tissue, eventually reaching the pale, intact skin.

The second Neo's thumb touched the undamaged flesh, Reaper's reaction was instantaneous. Her eyes shot open, and her hand was lightning fast as it caught Neo's wrist. The small girl was certain she saw rose petals in the blur. Reaper's eyes were dilated, her breath heavy. It took her a second to wake up and realize what had happened, after which point she slacked her grip on Neo's wrist. "Sorry… you took me by surprise."

I only took her by surprise after I touched her undamaged skin? Neo frowned. Is Reaper's entire right side blind? She watched over her dark lover, who seemed to try and return to sleep. She wasn't very successful. It didn't help when Chamillia laid down as well, shifted the beds around. What is she even doing here?

"Hey Neo?" Reaper called for her lover's attention, "now that I'm awake, I might as well ask. What do you want to do after we get our gear?"

Neo cocked her eyebrow. What do you mean?

"I mean what will we do, where will we go?" Reaper smiled, "All of Remnant will be at our fingertips. Once were back at a hundred percent, what's next for us?"

Neo gestured around them with a confused look on her face. We're kind of in the middle of something?

Reaper blinked blankly. "Seriously?"

The small girl crossed her arms and glared. 'Seriously' what?

"I don't think this fight is a good idea," Reaper confessed, "I met Salem and her allies, when Korruption had me. And I don't want anything to do with her."

Neo poked Reaper before spelling 'afraid' with her intact hand, trying to tease her.

"Yes I'm afraid!" Reaper admitted, surprising Neo, "I want to stay alive, a little fear is healthy for that."

Neo frowned before taking out her scroll. She needed full articulation now, and she was still down a hand for signing. 'What about our friends?'

"Neo, all of our friends are fighters. Weiss and Blake are adults that can handle themselves and make their own life choices, even if they are awful," Reaper argued. "Don't get me wrong, they are my friends. Even when Weiss and I are rocky, I would kill for her. Easily. But if they're intent on this suicide mission because they think they'll be doing some greater good, who am I to stand in their way?"

Reaper sat up in the bed and continued to explain herself, "They don't need our protection. And I'm not even sure they want my help. I'm certain at least one of them would be happy if I were to leave, maybe more than that. And the truth is, there's is only one person here – one – who I might feel lost without…" she looked up to Neo, "And all I want is to grab their hand, go somewhere, and live a life we can actually enjoy. Instead of whatever hell lies ahead in this 'war'."

Neo frowned in thought for a moment, typing out on her scroll. 'And what if they want to stay and fight?'

Reaper stared at the screen, her face indecipherable. "Then… I guess I would stay. But only for them."

Neo nodded. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not. It wasn't the most noble reason to stay, though to be fair perhaps Neo's wasn't either. She only wanted to help protect their friends here because, deep down, she wasn't sure this war was a good idea either. Reaper and I are cut from the same vein, after all, Neo smiled. Whatever happens, at least I'll have her here.

"Still think it's a terrible idea," Reaper clarified, laying back onto the bed, "But I'll back you up, Neo."

Neo laid back as well. It was time to get some decent rest, and what better rest could she get than snuggling up to her Reaper?