Author's Note: Might have to miss next weekend's upload due to work stuff, not certain yet but be warned.

Pyrrha ducked low, narrowly avoiding a point blank shot, as she kicked her legs out to sweep the Knights legs out from under it. Another moved to take its place, aiming its rifle down at her head before Winter's saber pierced through its face plate; showering sparks down on Pyrrha as the machine quickly began to falter. The moment that her blade was withdrawn from its head the android collapsed, finally putting an end to the sounds of battle within the fort.

A part of her had hoped that, after cutting the power to the bunker, the Knights would turn back to their side, or at least shut down. Sadly, whatever had been done to them didn't seem to be tied to the fort's power system, and so they fought on long after the fort had fallen.

A small fleet of Bullheads had landed to start taking wounded back to the fleet; whatever that had been jamming their communications at least had failed when the power was finally cut. Retaking the walls had been a bloody battle, and Pyrrha felt sick. Were she not so exhausted she thought she might have thrown up, but the mere thought of it had her body aching. Keeping her eyes away from the worst of the injured seemed to help.

Atlas had managed to win against their own weapons, thanks mostly to the Specialists that had stormed back up the walls, but now they had to deal with those who had been injured in the fighting. She knew from first hand experience that the Atlesian ships had well stocked medical bays but, looking out over the groups huddled around the sparse landing zones, she doubted they would have enough room for everyone; there were easily more wounded than not.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Pyrrha looked to Winter for what to do next. The former heiress was covered in filth, her white clothes stained with oil from the androids and blood from both the White Fang and their own troops. She breathed heavily, her hair slick with sweat as she took in their surroundings.

"I need to report back to the General." Winter said firmly, sheathing her sword. Pyrrha made to follow, but Winter shook her head. "Go find Qrow, make sure he's all right."

Pyrrha nodded, the two Specialists going their separate ways. Qrow had stayed behind to help the soldiers pinned in the courtyard, but said courtyard was currently being used to land Bullheads to gather the wounded, and he was nowhere to be found. She couldn't find him on the walls either, and a small amount of fear began to build as she realized he might have been hurt during the fighting dawned on her. As she looked up at the battleship hovering above them however, she saw him sitting on the roof of the main bunker; his legs dangling over the edge as he looked down on the wounded.

For most the trip up there would have been difficult; while she was sure there was a way to access it, she couldn't see it, and most would need to take a Bullhead up. Which, considering the need to move the wounded, was a low priority. For the two of them it was easy though. Magic really did trivialize certain things sometimes. Taking a deep breath, Pyrrha launched herself up onto the bunker, landing only a few feet away from him.

"Show off." Qrow mumbled.

"Winter sent me after you." Pyrrha sat down next to him; crossing her legs rather than letting them hang over the edge, but she nudged his shoulder all the same. "I think she wanted to make sure you were okay."

Qrow smiled at that, but it was short lived as a Bullhead left in a hurry, only to be replaced by another that was quickly filled up with wounded.

"This sure went to shit."

"Yeah…" Pyrrha replied quietly.

"You okay?"

Pyrrha nodded her head. "A little tired, and my Aura is a little lower than I'd like, but nothing to complain about."

"Better than most." Qrow said. "Was it this bad before?"

She shook her head. "It was worse. At least here it was soldiers. They knew what to do. Amity was filled with almost fifty thousand civilians." Atlas had tried to evacuate most of them safely, but with the Grimm and the turn of their Knights, the loss of life would have been horrible. Not that Pyrrha had ever learned just how poorly it had gone. "Why are you up here?"

"Figured it's best I keep my distance." He nodded down to the groups of soldiers waiting to be treated. "A lot of them will be fine with a bit of good luck, didn't see any reason to tempt that."

Pyrrha hummed but didn't know what to say; instead, reaching for the flask attached to her hip. Taking the cap off she offered it to Qrow. He took a long drink before handing it back, allowing her to do the same. The burn helped distract her from how sore she felt, and from the sites below them.

"Was Winter ok?"

Pyrrha put the flask back on her belt before nodding. "She went to speak with James."

"Best not to keep 'em waiting." Qrow pushed back from the edge, standing and stretching with a groan. "I want to see just how that bastard managed to pull this off too. Hopefully it's something Atlas can figure out before the festival."

They'd have too, or else they would have to change the entire way they planned to run it. The Knights would be useful if they could be trusted, she just hoped that whatever they learned from Watts proved useful. Hopefully he would have another lead on Cinder as well. Before they could leave the roof however, she spotted the General and Winter exiting the main building with a small squad behind them as they headed to the nearest Bullhead; carried between the soldiers was a body bag that Pyrrha looked away from, hoping it wasn't another one of theirs.

"You what?!" Qrow yelled back at the General, though he seemed remarkably unfazed by the sudden increase in volume. "James, what the hell?!"

"He was a threat." Ironwood didn't bother looking up from the holographic display in front of him. "He was able to hack into our systems with ease, he could have broken out of any prison we put him in given enough time."

Qrow wasn't pleased by that response, pacing back and forth in the small confines of the battleship's briefing room. They had been directed to meet with him there, Winter already having been there before they were, to receive an update on the mission. Pyrrha hadn't been expecting anything that they had been told however.

"Did he surrender?" Qrow stopped, keeping his back to the General now.

"Atlas doesn't kill prisoners." Winter answered quickly. "The General never-"

"He couldn't be trusted." Ironwood cut her off before she could continue; the odd tonelessness to his voice not helping the vague nature of his words.

"James…" Qrow growled under his breath. "Tell me you at least got something from him first before you killed him!"

"I did." Ironwood nodded. "He confirmed that Cinder wasn't here." His words were like a punch to Pyrrha's gut, succeeding in driving the air from her lungs. "It was a false trail, meant to lurer us in and eliminate our newest asset." He looked up briefly from the terminal; locking his eyes with hers. "They know about Specialist Nikos to some degree."

"To what degree?" Qrow asked.

"Unknown at this time."

Qrow whipped around instantly, glaring at the General. "If only we had a prisoner to interrogate!"

Ironwood paid him no mind, looking back down to whatever report he was reading. "He was too dangerous to be left alive."

"And now we don't know anything about what they're planning!" Qrow correctly summarized. All of their leads, all of the evidence they had managed to gather, had pointed them here. And it had all turned out to be fake.

"It's a risk we have to take."

"You aren't the one taking the risk!" Qrow slammed his hands down on the table in front of the General before pointing at her. "She is! They've already made moves against her and her friends, what's next?"

Pyrrha swallowed heavily, waiting for the General to speak. Qrow's words were true, and they terrified her. Emerald and Mercury had attacked Coco and were still somewhere in Vale. What if they had waited for Pyrrha to be away again and made another move? She hadn't had time to message her friends since leaving the city and she had to resist the urge to pull out her scroll then and there.

Ironwood didn't look up from his report. "We will take precautions, but the risks are less this way. Nikos is a Specialist, a Maiden, and she has the might of Atlas at her back; she is in no danger." Though she very much doubted he meant anything by it, she couldn't help but notice how he hadn't mentioned the safety of her friends; and the cold tone of his voice sent a shiver down her spine. "She will be kept safe un-"

"Leave." Winter interrupted the General, holding a hand over Qrow's chest as the man had moved to step around the terminal. It took several long seconds for him to even acknowledge her, but eventually he did. Whatever message passed between them went unspoken, but it seemed to calm him somewhat; or at least get him to back down. She waited for him to pull back before turning to look at Pyrrha. "You should both leave for now, you need rest and the trip back to Atlas will be short."

Qrow moved towards the door but waited for Pyrrha to follow before exiting.

"I can't believe him." Qrow muttered to himself. "I should kick some sense into his metal ass!"

"He's stressed." Pyrrha defended him. "The battle went… poorly. I'm sure he did what he thought was right." It was a weak argument, but it was the best she could come up with. He had earned her trust and proven that he was a good man; she didn't think for a second that under normal conditions he would be so heartless.

"That's the part that worries me." Qrow replied. "I just hope that Ice Queen can talk some sense into him." If anyone could, it would be Winter.

Qrow reached up to unclip the small red medal that signified his rank as a Specialist. He looked at it for a long moment before sighing, but he kept it in hand as he led the way to the section of the ship where their rooms were located. They went their separate ways, though not without a promise to meet up in a few hours to eat, before moving off towards their respective rooms.

As the door shut behind her, Pyrrha allowed her shoulders to fall; the full weight of their victory finally falling on her. Salem had lost another agent, Cinder, an ally, and now Atlas might have a chance to prevent their Knights from being hacked in the future, but they had lost so much to achieve it that it didn't feel like a victory. The fact this had partially been the enemies intended outcome made it all the worse.

Cinder had never been there, despite all their evidence pointing towards that being a fact, and now they didn't have any idea where to start. She was gone, off somewhere scheming their demise from safety as they frantically tried to shore up the defenses. The Vytal Festival was quickly approaching and would once again offer her the perfect opportunity to attack. Atlas had already been given control of security for the event and would be there in force; if word of what happened here eventually made it out, and Pyrrha knew that it would, then the same distrust that had been there in her time would be even worse now.

There was also the very possible fact that her friends were currently in danger. If Emerald and Mercury were both in Vale, she had little reason to not believe Cinder was as well. Pyrrha pulled up her scroll and called Coco, waiting only a few seconds before the call went through.

"Sup?"

She sighed in relief, sliding down the door she had pressed her back against. Coco was fine, with no visible signs of a fight from what Pyrrha could see, and if she was then so were the others; if even one of them had been in danger she felt confident in saying Coco would have been right there with them. Her actions didn't go unnoticed.

"Um… is everything all right?" Coco took a second to look over Pyrrha. It would have been impossible to miss the clear signs of exhaustion and battle; she hadn't had a chance to clean up yet so probably looked like a mess. "The hell happened to you?"

"Robot uprising." Pyrrha chuckled at the shocked look on her friend's face. "I'm fine. I was just worried. Nothing happened while I was gone?"

"You've been gone for like three days, even we can't get into trouble that fast." Coco joked, but the look in her eyes made it clear she was worried. "I did have an interesting conversation with the mini-Ice Queen though."

"Weiss?"

"Yeah. I guess she's helping Jaune plan your date." Coco said. "Wanted to know what kind of stuff you were into."

"What did you tell her?"

Coco smirked, a look that instantly sent a shiver down Pyrrha's spine. "Wouldn't you like to know~"

"Pyrrha groaned. "Coco, please…"

Her friend rolled her eyes. "I just gave her a bit of advice. Nothing too romantic but made it clear what you wanted."

"Romance is good…"

"Yeah, but you still have to get him to know you as well as you know him, remember?" Coco said. "Go in too strong and you'll flounder. Well, if you had the courage for it I would say pounce him and drag him back to your dorm-"

"Coco!"

"-but I know you don't, so slow and steady." Again, the look in her eye made it clear Coco was trying to rile her up, hidden just below that was the same worry from before. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

Pyrrha smiled and shook her head. "No, it's not, but I'll be fine. We'll talk more when I get back."

"...Take care of yourself Pyrrha." Coco replied. "We're worried about you."

Pyrrha smiled as best she could, though judging by the way Coco's worry only seemed to grow, she had done a poor job of it. "I'll see you in a few days. Tell the others I said hi."

The call ended a moment later, and Pyrrha moved over to the drawer to recover her spare clothes, before heading down the hall to the showers. Winter had said the trip back to Atlas would be short, so she didn't have much time to work with. While she badly wanted to sleep she refused to while covered in sweat and dirt. After that, she had to get food and probably meet with the General again so that they could plan what to do next.

Arriving back in Atlas was a hectic event. The wounded had been taken off the ship first, being rushed to hospitals for proper treatment, while the rest of them had been forced to wait. If Pyrrha had known of any way that she could help, she would have, but as things were, she left it to the professionals. She had some medical training, all Huntsman and Huntress' in training had to some degree, but they were only meant to act as a stop gap. First aid meant to hold someone over until a real doctor could be found and treatment administered. As such, they had been forced to wait on the ship.

Pyrrha scratched her elbow in an attempt to relieve the uncomfortable feeling there. Her Magic had suddenly started feeling uneasy, though she wasn't certain why. Thankfully, she was offered a distraction as General Ironwood and Winter approached her and Qrow.

"I've been looking for you two." The General said, greeting both of them with a small smile, though he did wince slightly at the look Qrow sent him. "I had hoped to speak with you again before we landed."

"What about?" Qrow's voice had an edge to it, but he crossed his arms over his chest rather than moving for his weapon so Pyrrha let herself relax just a little; even if the itching didn't subside.

"I still believe eliminating Arthur Watts was the right decision." Ironwood held up his hand to stop Qrow from interrupting him as he continued. "But you are right, I am not the one most at risk as our operations falter." He turned towards her. "I didn't mean to make it seem I value your life so little, nor the lives of your friends. If they are ever in danger, know that I will do everything in my power to save them."

"Huh, and where'd that change of heart come from?" Qrow muttered, glancing over the Generals shoulder at Winter who stood only a few steps behind.

"Nothing changed." Ironwood stated. "But I realize how my words could have been taken." After a pause, he smirked slightly as if remembering something, and looked over his shoulder. "Someone took me to task over it, actually."

Winter stood just a little taller beside him. "I was simply pointing out the obvious, Sir."

"Hmm, was it necessary to yell to do so?"

Winter coughed into her fist. "I have no idea what you mean, Sir."

Qrow, despite how mad he had seemed only moments ago, couldn't fight back the grin that came over his face. "Oh, did the perfectionist lose her cool?"

"Qrow…" Winter warned, though her threat went unsaid.

"You seem to have had an effect on her, Qrow." James turned towards the man in question.

Winter pretended to be offended by the accusation, but despite her discipline, she couldn't stop a blush from creeping up her neck. Pyrrha tried to hide her laugh behind her hand, but the look Winter gave her was proof it didn't work.

A moment later she was back to full professionalism, her moment of weakness forgotten as she turned away from Qrow.

"Oh come on." Qrow stepped up to warp an arm around her shoulders, she stiffened but didn't pull away. "Just a bit of teasing to lighten the mood before I kicked tin-mans ass."

James chuckled softly. "I would like to see you try, Qrow."

"Any time, copperdick." Qrow didn't seem to be over his anger, but he was at least willing to move past it for now.

Rather than retort, Ironwood shook his head softly with a smile. It was a stark contrast to the way he had acted earlier; Pyrrha would gladly admit she preferred him like this.

"There was something else." James stiffened his shoulders, though he waited for Qrow to turn back to him before continuing, his attention was solely on Pyrrha. "I wanted to apologize, but I also wanted to warn you before you saw her. I thought it would be easier that way."

Pyrrha scratched idly at her arm. "Warn me about what?"

"Fria has died." He delivered the news quickly, and now she understood why he looked so uncomfortable. The Winter Maiden was gone. Pyrrha hadn't known her well, but she had felt a sort of connection with the older woman. Maybe it was because they were both Maidens, or maybe it had just been because of how friendly she was, but learning that she was gone hurt. It was one more loss to pile onto the rest.

"Fria was always strong." Qrow closed his eyes and sighed. "Do you have any leads on the next Winter Maiden?"

"She's already been located." James turned slightly. "You can come out now."

The itching grew worse as Penny stepped around the corner, and Pyrrha was finally able to identify it as the wild nature of an untrained Maiden. She hadn't recognized it at first because Fria had had such strong control over her powers that it hadn't felt odd to be around her.

"Hello, friend Pyrrha." Penny's voice was quiet, somber. "I… hope you are well."

Pyrrha smiled as best she could, working to ignore the uncomfortable itching that she felt as she looked at her friend. "I'm fine Penny. I'm sorry that you have to do this."

"It's okay." Penny said. "Fria said I shouldn't be sad, that this was a good thing. I just…."

Pyrrha rested her hand on her friend's shoulder. "I know, Penny. I know."

Penny reached out to hug her and, despite the initial discomfort, Pyrrha returned it without hesitation. The itching slowly subsided to something far more bearable.

"Penny will be going with you to Vale, to train her powers under yourself and Ozpin." James said.

"Fria explained it." Pyrrha smiled and nodded. "It would be my honor to teach her."

Penny returned the smile. "I've always wanted to visit Vale!"

"I'll be staying in Atlas for a time." General Ironwood said. "Until Amity is ready to be moved. Winter and Clover will still be in Vale, as will Qrow of course. If you need anything, don't hesitate to contact me. I can have additional forces in the city within a day."

"What will you be doing, Sir?" She wasn't certain whether or not she was allowed to know, but considering everything that had changed over the last few days, she felt no harm in asking.

"Trying to track down any leads on Cinder." He sighed, bringing a hand to his face. "Watts lead us on from the start, which means the trail will likely be cold by now, but I have to try."

"She's in Vale." Pyrrha said. All evidence they still had pointed at it. That was where she had attacked before, that was where Emerald and Mercury were, and that was still where the Vytal Festival would take place. Beyond that… Pyrrha just knew, she couldn't quite explain it.

"I've already moved up my time table." The General said. "And I've requested additional forces for the festival. Before long, we'll have an army to bring down on her."

Pyrrha nodded. She would enjoy that, even if others might have called it overkill. Most people didn't know how dangerous she truly was, they would need all the help they could get.

"What's Beacon like?" Penny asked after the others had left to make final preparations.

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile as she told her friend about the famous academy; her words causing the girl's eyes to sparkle with excitement. As much of a failure as she felt the mission had been, they would at least be returning to Beacon with more than they had left. She'd like to see Cinder fight her way past two maidens.

Author's Note: This chapter gave me issues. I started with a plan but had trouble getting it to land as I wanted and some of it felt way too forced for my liking. I don't know, let me know what you think in the review.

I hope you enjoyed it and as always don't forget to review and let me know what you think.

Sincerely, SE