...okay, at this point I'll let you start flaming me for extreme OOCness...just don't make it that I delete the story altogether like my last one...

I sighed, watching Sierra and Lima training with each other, thinking about what had happened a few days ago.

"I love you."

"Hey…Delta?"

"Wassup?"

"Did you…whisper 'I love you'?"

"…no…."

"…I swear that you…."

"You must've been hearing things, Rubes."

"…"

"Ruby?"

"Never mind…."

I couldn't help but feel a little bit of regret creeping in as I failed to notice Hotel standing next to me.

"Hey, Delta," I could faintly hear, too busy with my battling thoughts. Suddenly, my daydream shook as I snapped back to reality, seeing Hotel looking down at me as he asked, "You alright? You've been out of it since you woke up."

"Y…yeah…," I replied.

I haven't talked a word to Ruby since.

I could feel a light blast of heat in my chest as Sierra and Lima walked over. Looking up, I noticed everyone's eyes were on me. Looking down at my feet again, I sighed and said, "Sierra, I think I need a day off or something."

"Huh? What for?"

"…"

I couldn't say anything. I didn't even know what to say. Do I tell her and have her laugh at how pathetic I am? Do I walk away, leaving them hanging?

"…Delta…."

I looked up to face Lima, who kissed my cheek, catching me off guard as she said, "…is it…Ruby…?"

I guess my partner knows what I'm thinking as well.

I slowly nodded, immediately catching Sierra and Hotel's attention. Sierra bombarded me with questions as Hotel put a headlock on me, giving me a knuggie. I quickly escaped his vice-like grip and said, "Look, I couldn't do it, okay?"

Sierra's questions stopped as I continued, "I…just couldn't say it…I mean, I like her, yeah, but…ugh…it's just…grrah!"

Sierra's eyes quickly changed from excitement to concern as she said, "Delta, relax. Take it one step at a time."

I could feel my chest flare up as I began, "It's just…so…hard…!"

"What's hard?"

I could feel Lima's arms wrap around me as I continued, "I…said it…okay? I can't…admit it to her though…!"

I could feel my eyes begin to water as I quickly buried my face in Lima's shirt, feeling her stroke my hair. Sierra sighed, then walked up to me, putting her body on mines as well. I could feel Hotel's hand pat my back as she said, "And…were you afraid that she'd say no?"

I nodded, my sobs now audible through Lima's shirt as Sierra said, "Hotel, find Ruby."

I immediately jumped at her and replied, "Don't…!"

"Delta."

I straightened up as she said, "I'm not making you do anything, okay? Just go back to our room."

*knock knock*

Sierra stood at the door of team RWBY, hoping that Ruby was in so she could leak some information from her. Knocking again, she began thinking about what he would've said that was throwing him into such a fro. However, when she looked at her pocket watch, she saw that some time had passed while she had stood there.

"Hmm…that's weird," she thought to herself, "they usually answer by now."

"Sierra?"

Sierra turned, seeing Pyrrha walking towards her.

"Pyrrha! Have you see team RWBY?"

"Oh," Pyrrha said, "you haven't heard?"

"Huh?"

"Team RWBY was sent on a mission just a little while ago," Pyrrha said, "I hear they won't be back for some time."

"Some time, huh," Sierra thought to herself, cussing under her breath. Pyrrha cocked her head to the side in curiosity as Sierra sighed and said, "Well, thanks anyway."

With that, Sierra left a confused Pyrrha behind at the door of team RWBY as she made her way to Professor Ozpin's office.

"Team RWBY is on a rendezvous mission with team MGNM," Ozpin said. Sierra raised an eyebrow in surprise as he continued, "They're scouting a remote area so that James, or General Ironwood, may send troops in."

"What for?"

Ozpin suddenly found himself stuck as Sierra's persistence stayed. However, right as he was about to answer, Ms. Goodwitch entered the room and said, "Ms. Hawthorne, I believe your team is waiting on you."

Turning around, Sierra shot her a look, then sighed and said, "…okay."

As she left the room, Sierra closed the door behind her, but didn't leave immediately. She froze time and ran to the team room.

Swinging the door open, she could see Lima had finally gotten Delta asleep while Hotel was busy taking care of his weapon. Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, she quickly wrote a note to Hotel as she unfroze Lima's time, grabbing her and running back to the Headmaster's Office.

"Yes, but there's no guarantee that they'll succeed!"

Lima kept her hearing stout as she heard Ozpin interject, "Yes, but team MGNM needs experience."

"But how about team SHLD? They also need experience."

"Glynda. Team SHLD has been one of the more successful units to have ever been created under my time as headmaster. However, Team MGNM is underachieving, so I want them to get experience."

"But…!"

"…but?"

"When I suggested that you send team JNPR instead of team RWBY last year, you sent team RWBY regardless!"

"…which is why they are accompanying team MGNM. I trust that Ruby won't make any ill decisions."

"But…this is a matter of life or death!"

"Life or death, team RWBY has handled countless situations of life or death before."

"But with an inexperienced team hindering them!?"

"Glynda, this is a scout mission. Bullseye asked me to go personally. I granted his wish."

"Magnum!? He nearly killed Delta Ordance just a few months ago!"

"Yes, but in his eyes are the eyes of someone who wants to change. Change for the good. To be able to make people trust him."

Lima sighed, shaking her head.

"…rubbish…," she said, causing Sierra to sigh as well. Standing back up, Sierra stretched and said, "We should probably get going."

Lima nodded, but then twitched her ear. A curious sound filled the air. She could hear Prof. Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch shuffling their feet, almost as if something caught their attention as well.

"Lima?"

"…chopper…," Lima answered. But with the chopper, with the familiar smell of the fumes and gasoline, was something else. Something that had invaded her senses the day Delta was wounded. Blood.

"…blood…," Lima growled, running for the helipad. Sierra followed, then grabbed her faunus teammate and jumped out a window, slowing down time to soften their landing. Lima looked around, trying to locate the sound again, suddenly picking it up as the whirring chopper blades finally kept a consistent sound.

"…landed…," she said. Sierra nodded, both of them sprinting for the pad.

Their lungs began burning as they made a left, then a right, then left again, finally reaching the door to the pad. Kicking it open, they both gasped as medical staff, as well as Yang, surrounded a stretcher. In the chopper, team MGNM looked shocked as Weiss and Blake ran towards the doors, seeing the two of them.

"Move," Blake said, causing both of them to step to the side as the stretcher came through. Both girls were horrified at the sight that passed them as the girl in the stretcher was rushed to the hospital wing.