Sorry about the delay, I wanted to edit some pieces and make them read more smoothly.

Aionion had just began on the paperwork that had stacked up in his office while away. It was a daunting task, considering Nebula was always with him and always ready with his perverseness.

His.. secretary for lack of a better term… Garnet, was incredibly beautiful, but that wasn't why she worked for him. It was her ability to multitask and competency with paperwork that got her the job.

She looked physically human too, having no noticeable characteristics that pointed her out as a faunus. Hers were microscopic, forming as thin silica that could stick her to any surface, enough that she could climb walls and ceiling and that she could secrete a venom, poisonous enough to paralyze a man in minutes.

Her black hair and golden eyes made her stick out though. She also hated having her hair long, always cutting it short, right at her shoulders.

She waved cordially at him from her perch on the ceiling - reading upside-down. "Hello! Are we doing anything new today or are we just filing more paperwork?"

"I need you to file some mission reports from the past few months and after we will be measuring your progress in technique. If you've made enough progress, I will consider taking you on missions with the new recruits."

She bobbed her head in agreement. "Well, how many papers need filed?"

Aionion handed her a small folder from his coat. "After that, we'll need to ensure that all of them are in the correct order."

Gar frowned. "I've filed them all away correctly and in the right spots. We also need more filing cabinets."

Gar crawled along the ceiling and opened a door in example. Stepping inside the room, Aionion commented on its design. "You really live up to your spider heritage. This room is designed to be a maze."

"There's three more rooms beyond that. More cabinets will be needed unless you finally decide you want all of them digitally filed, you paranoid bastard."

"Computers can be hacked, papers must physically searched through."

Gar muttered a "paranoid bastard" under her breath before dropping from the ceiling and moving to place the files where they needed to be. She returned within a minute or two, having crawled along the walls to save time. "Everything's filed away. Now about taking me on missions….."

Aionion left the room and Gar followed, after dropping from the ceiling. She bounced along beside him, attempting to start some conversations with him. Aionion led her outside, taking her to a large field behind the building.

He stood in the middle of the field and turned to face her. "You have three minutes to plan your attack. I will defend and grade your performance."

She nodded and stood still for a minute considering her options. 'I can't come at him from above, he'll expect that. Can't come from the sides… Only option is from below.'

Settling on her plan, she disappeared into the trees and brought her breathing under control. Utilizing her semblance, she phased into the tree and moved through the ground towards Aionion.

Aionion pretended not to notice her, simulating an unknowing target. Every once in awhile though, he would look up and around, keeping a constant watch around him. Gar grabbed his boots, making them intangible and pulling them down into the ground.

Stuck in the ground, Aionion split his attention between around him and underneath him, while Gar moved back through the earth to the tree again. She crawled further up it, preparing to leap at Aionion.

Aionion looked above him again, spotting her among the leaves of the tree. Bringing his rifle up, he fired a few times at her, most shots going wide or Gar moving out of their paths. Just as he went to reload, he noticed that while she had implanted him in the dirt, she stole the rest of his magazines.

Gar dived off of the tree, landing on Aionion's chest and placing the blade that came out of her bracelet to his throat.

"Dead."

"Dead as well. If there was more than one guard, you would have been found out. Now tell me what you did right."

"Disabling your mobility and stealing your ammunition." Aionion gestured for more. "Um… attacking from places that would not reveal my position."

"Good. Very good. I'm sure you'll do well in assassinating marks, though you do need to work on getting more tact."

"Will I be able to participate in the annual….?"

Aionion considered her question as he went back to the Phantom. "Maybe. I will speak with the others and consider their opinion."

Gar groaned in frustration and moved back into the filing building. "Let me lock up and then I'll join you."

"Just go to the remains of Cherno, we'll find you there."

Aionion stepped into a room that was completely dark, except for harsh, bright lights shining down upon three men wearing blank, black masks. They sat in silence for a few seconds until Aionion laid a commander's insignia patch upon the table between them. "Very well. We have more if you are willing to take them."

They laid three folders on the table, nondescript and plain vanilla. Aionion opened one folder, skimming the info before collecting all three. He nodded at the three employers before exiting.

Waiting just outside the building was Dantos, having parked his personal airship just outside uncaringly. At least he left its cloak on…

"We're gonna need some extra hands for these jobs. Gather up all the aspiring recruits, get them to Cherno"

"Oh for Monty's sake…. Why is it Cherno always the testing grounds?"

Ruins of Cherno

Cherno, better known as the ruins of Cherno, was a place devoid of Grimm. Most of them had been captured by Nebula, who had stored them in cages based on species of Grimm; almost like pets.

This was the initiation grounds for many of their "students." This year, they came from around the world: two from the mountainous area in Atlas, another two from Menagerie, Garnet from Mistral, and of course Scarlet from Vale.

Each one was given a one way scroll upon their arrival, as a means of assigning new tasks. Nebula had gathered all of the students at the edge of the town. They stood in a small huddle, gathered around a large box full of ammunition. Nebula sat nearby, babysitting the little ones while the others set up the course.

The ground rose up behind them, exposing a small cylinder with four pieces of paper. Nebula extracted the first four pieces and read the names on them. "Rust, Scarlet, Garnet, Makurro! Remove your blindfolds and come collect your assignments. Survive this, and you might be ready to take on full assignments."

Nebula stepped into the cylinder as it slid back into the ground. "The rest of you already have your assignments, so go….. And Scarlet, make sure you remember that, sometimes, help is closer than you think."

Aionion and Dantos oversaw their progress with the abundance of cameras throughout the town. Nebula stepped into the room, carrying six blindfolds. "Place my bet down. One of them dies."

Dantos chuckled heartedly. "My bets on two dying. Some of their flags require vertical and horizontal scaling. Aionion?"

Aionion was watching the cameras that were focused on Scarlet. "Place my bet on two deaths this year, I have faith in some of them. Though I do believe we need to increase the difficulty."

Dantos nodded in confirmation. "What should we release? We have a Beringel for those that attempt to climb the skeletons of buildings. Or those Jykells we captured…"

"Rust has collected his first flag. He scaled the building with his hook weapons. Second task inbound."

Nebula jumped into a nearby chair so that it rolled him into range of the table. "Let the Beringel loose, we'll direct it towards Rust-"

"Makurro has collected his first flag as well. Appeared behind the Grimm that guarded it, decapitated it, then disappeared. No traces. Second task inbound. Unfortunately, one the faunus' fell from his first flag and didn't have a large enough aura to take the impact."

"And now Makurro. Set their third tasks nearby the gate. And send a clone to clean up."

"Scarlet and Garnet tag-teamed the Grimm guarding their flags. Should we keep them together?"

"No, split them apart. We want their individual talents to shine through."

"Second tasks inbound."

"And now the waiting game. This is why I dislike holding this in Cherno."

Nebula set his feet on the edge of the table while watching some cameras on his scroll. "Ah, the joy of not having to climb up the side of that building to reach a third flag."

"All have collected their second flag and are regrouping at the gate."

Dantos moved over to the screen that covered most of the wall behind Nebula. He swiped away from the side and swept through the list of captive Grimm before releasing the locks on the Beringel's cage. "Beringel on its way out."

Aionion nodded. "Keep Rust and Garnet nearby the gate. Move Makurro and Scarlet to quadrant four. Move the other one away from the others, I want to see if his talents can hold up when alone."

Dantos swiped from the right side and set the tasks where they were required. "Done. Beringel's out of the gate and rampaging towards Rust and Garnet."

Nebula sighed and stretched in his seat. "The Beringel will keep them occupied for a while. Who wants some coffee while we wait? Keep us awake until they collect their third flags and direct them to the safe zone?"

Dantos grimaced while pointing accusingly at Nebula. "The last thing we need is you hyped up on sugar."

"Ah, come on! That last time was fun!"

"That last time caused a fire! With civilian casualties!"

"It just depends on your perspective."

Dantos spun around theatrically. "I'm done with this conversation."

Aionion moved to the screen and sent the locations of the third flags to the four participants. "Nebula, go check on how the Jykells are doing. I think we'll shorten this exercise to one full day of fighting Grimm. Once they've collected their third flag, release all the Jykells and they will be given the message to survive the night."

"Are you trying to make me win, Aionion? They won't survive a full night running from all of them."

Nebula was just putting in a second earbud when the four participants collected their third flags. "They've collected all three. Time to run with the bulls. Looks like you two assholes win."

Dantos turned to Aionion in shock. "We have those?!"

Aionion shook his head negatively, "No, we do not. Nebula saw fit to play matador for a while." He dismissed the task section of the screen and released all of the Jekylls they'd captured for training.

Dantos removed an imaginary hat and pressed it to his chest. "Oum have mercy on their souls."

Nebula removed one earbud and opened one eye. "I didn't take you for the religious type, Dantos."

"When you've seen and done some of the things I have, you tend to turn to larger beings for help repenting."

Aionion processed the ideological debate going on behind him as he sent the final task to the four participants.

Said participants were clustered together underneath the skeleton of what used to be a seven-story building. Rust had removed his fur coat and slung it across Scarlet and Garnet's shoulders, knowing that the temperature would plummet during the night.

They heard the howls before they received their fourth task. An eerie 'survive the night.' Everyone but Scarlet recognized the howls as those of Jykells. Makurro heaved a sigh of reluctance. "I can only take one person with me to the top."

Rust put his coat back on and stabbed his ice picks into the wall in preparation to climb. "I've got climbing gear. I'll carry your gear if you can climb Garnet."

"I can stick to the wall enough to climb. Scarlet, go with Makurro."

The last participant, unable to reach the group in time, ran off into a building to hide.

Set with how they were getting to the roof, the four took to climbing. Scarlet and Makurro merely appeared on top of the roof, though he was looking a little pale. Rust hauled himself up the building, one strike at a time. Garnet scaled the building swiftly, though her hands were slightly cut.

Rust looked over the edge to catch sight of hundreds of Grimm coating the city streets. He spun around and covered the two females in his coat again. "The cold is just as much an enemy as the Grimm. As long as we stay quiet and out of sight, the Grimm will not come up here."

Without his coat on, the others could see the numerous pouches that were strapped to his belt. Each was full of bolts for a crossbow, though he mainly used his ice picks. He attached the two pieces and pulled back on the hooks, creating an intricately designed crossbow. "Does anyone else carry silent, long range weapons?"

Makurro was the only one to nod affirmative. He spun his swords theatrically before attaching them at the hilts, forming a makeshift bow. He shifted his heavy robes to the side revealing four strange devices. One was selected and attached to where an arrow would normally be loaded. The bow looked large and unwieldy, but it functioned well enough.

Rust nodded appreciatively. "As long as we keep the Grimm off the rooftops, we'll be fine for one night. Two will be on lookout while the other two sleep, switching every three hours."

A blood-curdling scream set them all on edge, preventing sleep from claiming them. The scream carried out into the night, testimony to the relentless nature of the Jekylls.

Garnet and Rust volunteered for first watch, letting Scarlet and Makurro rest until their turn. Garnet would spot the Jykells that scaled the buildings, and Rust would eliminate them. After nearly a half hour of quiet, Rust missed a shot. He hissed in surprise when the Grimm spun around and sucked in a lungful of air before howling.

He cursed and spun around to wake Makurro. "Makurro, they've caught sight of us! Get up, we don't have time to thin them out anymore. There's too many!"

Makurro was up in an instant, bow in hand. "Shoot the ones at the top so that they hit others on the way down. My bow runs off of my aura so I can't fight ranged for long unless someone lets me sap some aura."

Scarlet moved to an edge of the building and began raining down fireballs in a panic. They exploded on contact with the Grimm, causing many Jykells to fall to the ground already fading into smoke. Rust pulled her back from the edge once she fell to one knee in exhaustion. "That's enough. I think we can handle what remains."

Scarlet managed a cry for help before a Jykell bit down on her leg, dragging her to the roof edge. Garnet was there in an instant, driving her bracelets blade into the Jykells side, causing it to relinquish its hold on Scarlet as it fell to its death.

Scarlet launched more fireballs over the edge until her body refused to do so. Still more Jykells flooded the building, scaling the walls and each other in their haste to kill the humans on top. Scarlet collapsed in the middle, utterly exhausted from using so much aura.

The others pulled back from the edge, engaging the Grimm in melee fighting. The Jykells swarmed them, and they did all the could to prevent too many attacks from hitting them.

Scarlet reached a hand into a hidden pocket, and removed a note that had crinkled when she fell. 'For that extra push to the finish line, swallow me.' A single crystal lay in the palm of her hand, glistening with overwhelming power.

Scarlet hurriedly swallowed the crystal, feeling it burn her throat as she did. Then she felt aura flood her body, overflowing her capacity for aura. Enough that she began to glow a bright red. She raised one hand and tried to create a normal fireball. Instead, a scorching, white sun danced in her palm, blinding with its brilliant intensity.

She lobbed it into the air, where it exploded in a shower of light and flames. She then spun the flames around the group, forming a protective wall. The Grimm were scorched and it burned inside, like the sun had decided that this morning it wanted to touch the ground it shone down upon.

The other participants stared in aw at the power she exuded, watching as she dismissed the flames with a simple hand movement before stumbling to the ground. Rust and Garnet caught her, though it upset the wounds that their aura was slowly stitching back together.

A five-man bullhead, which Dantos had lovingly named the Pelican, landed harshly on the rooftop. A voice rang out from within, urging them to get moving. "Get the injured in, keep the Grimm off the ship."

Garnet slung Scarlet over her shoulders and leaped into the ship, setting her against a wall while a swarm of Nebula in white coats fussed over her. Makurro leapt in next, rapidly firing away at the Grimm behind Rust. "Jump in, I can't keep that many off of you!"

Rust sprinted for the ship even as it pulled away from the edge and began to take off. The Grimm swarmed the building in his absence, chasing after him in a mass of teeth, claws, and black. He leapt at the edge of the building, smashing into the wall on the other side of the Pelican.

Grimm began to pour onto the Pelican, beginning to weigh it down. Several Nebula broke off from Scarlet and rushed out of the Pelican, grabbing Grimm and plunging with them as they went. The rest of the Nebula crumbled, tripling their numbers and sending another wave of Nebula out to remove the Grimm.

The Pelican began to lift back up, then shot up once half of the Nebulas jumped off again. The occupants all heaved a sigh of relief besides Scarlet, who groaned in pain.

Dantos stared up at the giant tower that threatened to intrude on the night sky in front of him. The Council had just called Ironwood out of his office, so it should be empty. 'Chains are too noticeable, and can't teleport inside until I find a shadow big enough; climbing it is.'

Resigned to his fate, Dantos began scaling the wall, using his scythes as handholds. What could have been an hours climb took three, having to steer clear of windows and to not let his shadow fall into the rooms he passed.

Dantos slithered onto the ledge outside the window and stretched his shadow as far into the room as he could before connecting it to the desk's shadow. He reached his hand into his own shadow, witnessing it appear from the desk's. Switching hands, he inserted the scroll into the desk, downloading all of the files he found.

Just as the files finished downloading, General Ironwood stepped back into his office, raising his pistol to destroy the incriminating scroll. Two shots were fired, but Dantos blocked both of them with his arm before pulling the scroll back and jumping off the building.

Dantos breathed easy once he was in an inconspicuous bullhead back towards the center of Atlas. Those bullets had packed a punch, having shaved him down to half of his aura. A few more bullets, and Ironwood might have gotten his data back. 'And my head…'

Ironwood flew angrily into the Council's chamber, going to reprimand them for pulling him from his office while an intruder stole military information. His anger dissolved though, when he found blood pooled at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the staggered seating.

Following the blood trail, he came across the sight of three out of the eight elders with their throats slit cleanly and efficiently. Ironwood crushed the scroll in his hand in anger, realizing that the entire intrusion was planned down to their murders.

Thoroughly infuriated, he stormed back to his office, assigning someone to search the entire Council chamber for anything he could use to identify the intruders. Ironwood refused to be humiliated like this, without proper retribution.

The search proved fruitless, besides a useless trail of footprints that stopped at a solid wall. Ironwood went to inspect the wall in question, unbelieving in coincidences. Intuition told him that this wall was significant, that this wall held another key to their plan.

After several fruitless minutes, Ironwood shot the wall in his frustration. When cracks spread across the wall, he shot it again and watched the entire left wall shatter into crystal shards that crumbled into dust. Stepping into the hole, he found the other five Councilors, bound and gagged expertly. He moved to the still-living Councilors to inspect them while a Specialist stepped in behind him, unknowingly breaking a wire that Ironwood had missed.

The Specialist caught eight crystal shards to the chest while General Ironwood took one shard to the shoulder. They crumbled soon after, leaving behind no trace but damaged aura. Ironwood let out a frustrated breath. "Whatever is is that they needed, they have it. Every single piece of development we've had in the last two years, they have it."

Temporarily, this story will go on a hiatus, while I work on getting my co-author back into being. I will however be uploading a Halo story soon, following the efforts of Echo-13. Also, if you would like to see more of the Destiny fanfic, please leave a message on either this story, or that one.