"Squad Two in position at the evac site," Jaune said into his earpiece. He paused for any kind of response from the other primary teams, only to receive dead air instead. Satisfied that he had at least properly notified the other parties, he let his fingers drop from the device and shook his head. "The others must still be in transit. I think I'm going to throw up from all the stress…"

"What a throwback that would be," Ruby said as she drew her standard-issue Atlesian gunblade from the borrowed sheath strapped to her back. It was a rather unimpressive model with a triangular blade not unlike the one her uncle used, though without any transforming capability or moving parts. The insignia of Atlas Academy was etched into the steel, and to Ruby, holding the implement just felt wrong. She managed a wry smile despite her disappointment with the weapon and flicked her eyes sideways to Jaune. "You know, you're still Vomit Boy in my scroll…"

"I'm sure I am…" Jaune said hesitantly as he gave her a nervous grin. "At least I haven't thrown up since Haven, so that's something, right? How are you coping with all of this so far, anyway? It sounds like you've been through a lot more than we have up here the past few months."

"By constantly making mistakes and feeling like I'm dead inside," Ruby answered all too easily. "I'm just… I don't know how to feel about anything anymore. I'm exhausted in every sense of the word, I'm pretty sure Nora's fed up with me, and my mind is in a hundred different places. I probably shouldn't have even come down here like this, but it's my duty as a huntress…"

Ruby let out a yelp of surprise as she was pulled into a hug from behind. Upon looking down, she found a pair of familiar yellow bracers squeezing her tightly around her stomach.

"We're pretty much all at that point, whether you know it or not," Yang commiserated. "But we've gotta make it through the day by leaning on each other. Focus on what little good we've got right now… and on each other. I know you feel like dog shit, Ruby, and you think you've screwed everything up… but I still love you. All of us do, in our own way."

Ruby let out a tired sigh and closed her eyes as she let Yang continue to hug her.

"I guess. I'm sorry for fighting with you about Mom…"

"We can deal with that later," Yang advised as she tightened the squeeze. "Right now, no more tension between us. We can't afford it. Only good, sisterly thoughts."

"…while keeping your attention on our surroundings," Corsac reminded as he looked around at the rest of their assigned zone. "We are partially concealed, but so too would be any enemies. We must treat this assignment as though the fight has already begun. For all we know, it has. Lack of response from the other squads is not exactly encouraging."

All around the quartet were tall coniferous trees and contrastingly short shrubs and hedges blooming with hardy blue flowers. The hedges coalesced into a manmade maze taking up the northern half of the area, while the southern portion was home to a perimeter of trees and park benches around a wide clearing of tundra grass. The Frostflow Park was one of very few bastions of life amid the neon billboards and decrepit brick buildings of the rest of the city of Mantle, and despite the early morning hours, several people were milling about its expanse walking dogs, going on morning jogs, or practicing photography. Its clearing was wide enough to land several aircraft out on the open field, and the tree line easily defensible with some tactical planning. The park was the perfect place to stage an organized evacuation… or an all-out desperate battle for survival.

"Don't worry, my head's in the game, even if my mind is all over the place," Ruby reassured as she leaned back into Yang's neck. "I'm honestly trying not to actively think about anything. The more I do, the more awful I feel. Thanks for stepping up and taking the leader role in our team, Jaune. I don't think I could really handle it right now. I'm not sure I've ever really handled it well…"

"Don't start with that," Yang warned. "Now's not the time, and you did a great job at holding us together at Beacon, no matter what you say…"

"Let's just drop it," Ruby muttered as she broke free of Yang's embrace. "I don't want to fight again on top of everything else that's probably about to be thrown at us."

"No fighting until we have to," Jaune agreed as a sudden noise from above caught his attention. The boy tilted his head back to see a small fleet of transport vehicles coming in overhead. Something close to half of the procession began a descent into the park using their mounted vertical thrusters, while others continued their flight paths toward the other sectors of the city. "Those must be our Academy reinforcements. I… was expecting more to evacuate an entire quadrant of Mantle…"

"Reinforcements who just found out about the situation they're being thrust into, mind you," Corsac warned. "In fact, we have no idea what they do and do not know about the situation. I would suggest we keep them at arm's length in terms of discussing anything to do with Salem or the evacuation itself. Ironwood would not be pleased if we cause any additional panic."

"I'm with Corsac," Yang agreed as she checked the bullet chambers of each of her gauntlets. "We're taking the lead on this one, and everything sensitive is on a need-to-know basis… as much as I hate that idea. I just hope Ironwood hurries up with his announcement about what's really going on. A military presence like this won't go unnoticed by the public, and I doubt the citizens of Mantle will take kindly to it. The total silence from Watts is also a little… unnerving. I'd have expected him to have made a move down here by now…"

"Any reason you say that?" Jaune asked as he watched the cluster of transports touch down a good amount of distance away.

"Hm?"

"You've been spending time with Dr. Polendina over the past few weeks, right?" Jaune asked as he looked in Yang's direction. "Has he said anything to you about this Arthur Watts guy?"

"Not as much as you might think… but he's made it very clear that he can't stand him," Yang let on as she snapped her gauntlets closed once again. "They used to work together, and Watts apparently got snubbed by Ironwood over his lack of ethics in experimentation… whatever that means. He and Dr. Polendina worked together to design the primary security features and heating grid of Mantle, but it's been updated since then. Hopefully, the updates are significant enough that he won't be able to tamper with it too easily. Dr. Polendina thought he was dead, so there was never a total overhaul as a precaution…"

"Great," Jaune deadpanned as a crowd of Academy students began to make their way across the grass and toward the group of four. "So there's a possibility the heat could go down…"

"Perhaps it is…" Corsac began, only to stop himself and shake his head as the three other pairs of eyes fixated upon him. "…forget I said anything."

"…nuh-huh. Out with it," Yang demanded as she balled her fists and put them on her hips. "No bottling shit up and keeping it to ourselves. We've been over this as a group before."

Corsac let out a sigh and met Yang's eyes. She could tell that there was no pleasure or satisfaction to be had in the point he was about to make. There was only regret and a miserable acceptance.

"…if people are to be stranded here after the transports go up to Atlas, then freezing to death is likely preferable to being torn apart by grimm or taken by Salem. It would almost be a mercy, once the last ships leave…"

Ruby's eyes widened in horror as she looked the man over, unable to cope with the idea. She scrunched up her face and let out a full-body shiver despite their proximity to one of the aforementioned heating bars sticking up out of the grass.

"…I wish you hadn't said anything…"

"My apologies," Corsac offered with sincerity. "Perhaps… my mind isn't completely free of dark thoughts."

"Squad One in position," Sun called over the group's earpieces. "Sorry, we got… held up a bit. My fault. I had a… I needed a minute."

"Squad Three still in transit," Taiyang added. "We've got a bit of a hike to our defense point since there was nowhere open enough to land. ETA ten minutes."

"Dad's leading their team?" Yang asked rhetorically.

"Not like Ozpin is gonna step up and do something," Ruby muttered as she folded her arms across her chest. "He's been acting shady for weeks now, and I'm beginning to wonder if h-"

"Yang? Is that you…?"

The blonde turned her attention toward the crowd of approaching students to see a familiar and rather shocked face at the head of the pack. Neon Katt stood wearing a white hoodie and deep blue pants, her pink feline tail flicking excitedly behind her. Her hair had been done up into double cones that echoed giant cat ears, and her outfit was adorned with several rainbow accessories.

"Neon?" Yang asked with an equal amount of surprise in her voice. "I didn't even realize… gods, it's been a long-ass time!"

"Over a year!" the faunus replied as she threw herself into a tight hug. "When did you get here? What's going on? We were told we need to be on standby in case of an evacuation order, but this all seems really unusual…"

Jaune and Corsac exchanged a knowing look as Ruby stepped forward to receive a hug from Neon as well.

"We got the same orders," Ruby answered in Yang's stead. "We've been here a while, just… helping out when and where we can."

"Schnee with you?" a deep male voice asked from behind Neon.

Yang walked forward and offered a hand to Flynt Coal, who was dressed in a classy suit as usual. Not much had changed about his style of dress or style overall in the year that had passed, and something about the sight was a small comfort for her.

"She's in another quadrant," Yang answered. "All of RWBY's here. We should… go for food and catch up when this is all over…"

Neon hiked a brow at the odd inflection in Yang's voice. Flynt also seemed to pick up on the awkward pause as he drew back his hand and offered it to Jaune.

"Yeah, we should. Is everything alright? You all seem kinda…"

"Tense," Neon finished for Flynt as she looked Corsac up and down. "You're new…"

"Corsac Albain," the man answered. "Former White Fang and friend to RWBY. It's quite a tale. We are all simply tired."

"Yeah. Tired," Jaune agreed as he accepted the handshake and looked out over the crowd of 20-something assembled hunters ready and waiting behind Neon and Flynt. "Are they sending those mechanical soldiers too, or…?"

"Nah. The General said we need to keep this small-scale," Neon explained as she put her hands on her hips. "We're all supposed to just be extra security in case something goes south with the election, I guess? This is all super weird."

"Weird is one way to put it," Ruby agreed. "Speaking of… were you told to follow orders from someone down on the ground, or…?"

"The boss man said we'd have some experienced hunters directing us," Flynt answered. "Looking forward to meeting 'em."

"Yeah… that'd be us," Yang replied with a smirk. "The four of us are in charge. Ruby and I will be out on patrol while Jaune and Corsac hold down this staging area."

Neon let out a long whistle, flicking her tail for emphasis.

"Quite a promotion you got there, Xiao Long."

"We've arrived at Robyn Hill's election party," Daisuke said over the private line. "We… may have a serious problem on our hands…"

All four of the squad members stiffened, but it was Ruby who replied first.

"Talk to me," Ruby offered as she pressed two fingers to her earpiece and began to walk off into the trees. "Do you guys need help?"

"We might," Daisuke answered. "Arresting Robyn might be an impossibility…"

Author's Note:

It can never be simple.

-RD