Chapter Nineteen

Our Fortress Against The Stars

/-\ Ruby Xiao Long /-\

It started out as a fairly calm day in Engineering. By now, we'd long finished the laser rifle we'd started on, even if Weiss had transferred over to Security. We were assembling more power cells for the rifles – and I was trying not to be worried about my appointment in a few hours – when the base suddenly shook beneath our feet. I looked up, shooting a questioning glance at my mother who seemed just as confused as I was.

The base shook again, several wrenches sitting loosely on a bench rattling to the ground. "This is Central!" The intercom blared. "Security status RED! Repeat, sec-" A loud metal clank cut him off, but his message was clear.

What?! I thought, hands freezing in place. Security status red?! That- That means the base is under attack! What do I-

Mom shot upright, her stool tipping over. "Ruby, listen to me very carefully," she said, looking me in the eye. "We're going to be alright. We have to move, but we're going to be alright. Just follow my lead and we'll be fine, okay?"

I took a shuddering breath before nodding. "Y- yeah, o- okay. What do we do?"

She yanked open a hatch above the workbench, several camouflage-colored armored vests and helmets falling out. "We put these on. They'll be a little big, but they'll work."

I picked up one of the vests; it was bigger than my entire torso! As I slipped it on, I saw a tag calling it a Personal Armor System for Ground Troops. It only took me a moment to realize this thing was probably older than I was, though, as mom said, it was better than nothing. In a flash, we both had the vests on over our engineer-spec coveralls and she was leading me out of the room. Gunfire erupted just before we reached the door, coming from the other side. We paused before silently turning around and heading for the other exit – the one that led deeper into the Engineering wing.

Screams of pain reached our ears as we ran into the next workshop over. We were met by a dozen other engineers, all in their own PASGT vests and helmets – a couple even had laser pistols that briefly pointed our way. After just a moment, they motioned us over and continued trying to get the panic room open – one shouted about how it should've opened when the Code Red was called, but something was clearly wrong. Our respite was short-lived, however, as we heard something large moving around in the ceiling. We all went dead silent, every gaze slowly trailing upwards as the loud bangs and rattles continued.

Then, one of the vent covers popped off. In a flash, a Thin Man had landed right in the middle of the floor. Its head – and weapon – snapped up. The alien managed to get off a single plasma bolt before four red beams speared it in the chest. One of the engineers collapsed to the ground, gasping for air and struggling out of the melted vest that was rapidly fusing to his torso. A couple others jumped in to help him and got the vest off, but not cleanly. Even a dose of medical spray didn't stop his screaming, merely making it tolerable for the rest of us.

The door we came through – the one leading to the other workshop – slid open and four guns were immediately on it, but no one fired. To our immense relief, three members of Base Security ran through, slamming the Close And Lock button behind them. I recognized one of their number; Weiss, with her shortened hair done up in a ponytail that poked a few inches out the back of her blue ballcap.

One of the two men paused. "Why the hell aren't y'all in the panic room?!"

"Door's jammed shut," Mom said. "We can't get it open."

"Ah, shit," he said. "Schnee, you got a breaching charge?"

She blinked. "Even if I magically had one that couldbreach the very reinforced door of the panic room, that would defeat the entire purpose of said panic room."

"Well where the fuck else are we gonna stick the nerds?!" he shouted.

"We could go to Shen's office – he's got his own panic room," Mom said.

"That's in Main Engineering – Two-three and One-Actual are there right now with a few of us fighting off the main alien attack," Weiss said.

The security leader pressed a finger to his ear. "Central, this is Corporal Parks. We're in Workshop Three-Delta with a bunch of civvies – panic room won't open." He paused for a moment. "Not at the moment, sir, it's secure for now." Another pause. "Roger that." He turned to us. "We're spread thin, but there's a relatively secure passage from here to the Labs, Private Sanchez will bring you there while we back-up Main Engineering. Do what he says. Schnee, let's move out!" In a flash, he exited the workshop with Weiss right behind him. It was only a few moments after the doors shut again that more gunfire assaulted our ears.

We looked to the sole member of Security that had been left to us. He looked young – younger than everyone here except me – but he had an air of determination about him. He took a deep breath before turning around. "Alright, safest way to the Labs is back through here," he said, moving to the door they'd originally come through and locked. "We cleared it on the way up – shouldn't be too many X-Rays in there yet."

He smashed the door open button and had his gun at the ready, swiveling around to check corners as he moved into the hallway. "It's clear, let's go!" he shouted. In a moment, we were off. More explosions racked the base and the lights flickered. As we ran down the hallway, gunfire getting louder before fading several times, I could only hope that we were prepared enough to deal with this.

And that's when a vent cover popped open and a Chryssalid landed directly on Private Sanchez's head.

/-\ Weiss Schnee /-\

The sound of gunfire – both alien and ours – reached our ears shortly before the Corporal and I ran through the door to Main Engineering. The first thing that caught our eyes was the corpse of Two-Three, the Assault having clearly gotten too close to a Muton or a Berserker judging by the caved-in armor. We didn't have much time to admire the scenery, being forced to duck behind computer consoles for cover as a trio of Sectoids spotted us.

"This is Parks, Schnee and I are pinned down at the entrance!" he shouted over comms.

"I'll give you an opening!" One-Actual responded, her voice tinged with a Scottish accent. A single and powerful ruby-red lance speared two of the aliens at once. The third immediately changed target to the sniper, making it child's play for Corporal Parks to send a burst of gunfire straight into its head. We had no time for respite, however, as two Chryssalids popped out of the vents on the far side of Engineering. I stood up and engaged one while Parks took the other. We poured everything we had into them – in the end, it took half-a-mag from each of us to put the damn things down.

One-Actual's sniper rifle boomed once more just as the far door opened, spearing a Muton in the face. Both of us concentrated fire on the next one through, but it was smart enough to duck behind cover before we could finish it off. As I was reloading, a big meaty hand threw something through the door – something small and blinking.

"Shit, grenade!" Parks shouted. I barely reacted in time, diving out and away from the blast that consumed our cover. Still, my armor was singed and I had to scramble on my hands and knees to some industrial machinery for cover. "Schnee, status!"

I did a pat-down and found that, yes, it was only my armor that was damaged. I took out my pistol and cued my mic. "Down a weapon, but I'm alright!"

Another beam shot out and I heard a Muton yell in pain. "Central, where the fuck are those reinforcements?!" One-Actual shouted. "Two-Three is gone and Base Sec isn't enough!"

Normally, I'd be offended by that statement, but I had a perfectly acceptable outlet in the form of unloading my pistol into the nearest alien brute. It didn't seem to have much effect. "Roger, some units just came online; I'll direct one to you."

"One?!" she shouted. "Are ya fokkin' kidding?!"

Gunshots echoed over comms. "You aren't the only ones in a shitty situation, Actual."

As if to punctuate his statement, the base shook again, lights flickering. I ignored it, instead reaching for my belt and pulling out an AP grenade. Explosives got me into this mess; they could get me out as well. I kept in cover, tossing it over my head after pulling the pin. "Grenade!" I shouted before burying my head in my arms. The bomb clanked along the floor, eliciting growls of alarm from the Mutons before exploding. I popped up the second the shrapnel stopped flying and was greeted by a wounded alien squirming around on the floor with its leg amputated, just fifteen feet away. I raised my pistol and emptied the entire magazine into its writhing form – even then, it still held life, if barely. I ducked back down as another red streak shot out from Actual's weapon.

Just as I was slamming another magazine into my pistol, I felt something. Terror – mass terror coming from nearby. I fumbled the magazine, dropping it before it fully clicked into place. The terror only intensified, taking almost all my attention. What little bit wasn't focused on the terror had noted the feeling of death as well – the emotions getting no less intense, just less numerous. On top of that, there was one mind in there that I recognized, one that was running for her life.

"They're in danger!" I shouted, sprinting out from cover. Plasma bolts followed me and I just barely made it to some defilade – scooping up my fallen rifle on the way.

"Schnee, what the fuck?!" Corporal Parks shouted.

"No time! They're in danger! I feel it!" I didn't even wait for an acknowledgement, turning off my comm bead and scrambling towards the door; towards the ever dwindling terror. I was back to my feet the second the door opened, almost running face-first into Yang as she ran to assist us.

"Weiss, where the fuck are you going?!" she shouted.

"Ruby's in danger!" I shouted, not even looking back. I ran back through the workshops, reaching the appropriate hallway just before the greatly diminished crowd of engineers did. They ran and I raised my rifle the second I got a clear shot at the monster pursuing them. Bullets slammed into the chryssalid's carapace, diverting its attention just enough to turn the otherwise fatal blow into Ruby's back into one that merely knocked her down.

"Ruby!" Her mother shouted, transposing herself between the monster and her daughter. The chryssalid roared, raising its talons for a strike as I poured more and more rounds into its carapace. I succeeded in drawing its attention, but also its ire. It screeched, scuttling forwards with its pointy legs only narrowly missing Ruby's head as it effortlessly skirted around her mother. The monster drew closer and closer with every pull of the trigger. It was only a few feet away when it finally collapsed in a heap. The alien still twitched, however. I took aim and put the last couple rounds in my magazine into its mandibled skull.

By the end, I was shaking. The alien's corpse had stopped only a few paces from me. If it had kept going…

I didn't have time to reflect, as the bodies of those slain in the hallway began to stir. I grabbed the next magazine from my belt – it took a few tries to insert it once the spent one had dropped. In the very short time I'd taken to respond, over half-a-dozen engineers were killed and impregnated. Now, they all rose to their feet, little more than husks puppeted by the aliens inside them. "Get behind me!" I shouted as I started squeezing off rounds.

The girls, frozen in fear, finally moved. Summer helped Ruby to her feet before they did as I said, running back towards the workshop. The second they were behind me, I flicked my weapon to full auto and let loose. Instead of careful, aimed shots, I hosed the zombies down with hot lead. Still, it took most of my magazine to put even a single zombie down. I was forced to give ground as they shambled closer and closer, but just as steadily they went down. One, then two, then three zombies were down. My weapon clicked empty once more – I reached for another magazine and found it to be my sole remaining one.

I slotted it into place, took aim, and fired for center mass. The second-to-last zombie fell in a heap and I swiveled my sights to face the last alien puppet – the one wearing the same blue armor I did. Private Sanchez was clearly dead, his eyes blank and blood dripping from the puncture wounds in his chest. That didn't stop him from shambling towards me. I muttered an apology and squeezed the trigger. All of my rounds struck home, but they did little except stagger the man for a few moments. My blood froze, my weapon completely dry.

I backpedaled, but only got a single step before running into the wall. Just past the former private was the door to the workshop – I'd gone past it in my desperation. There was no way past him and he was only a handful of paces away. My hands shook as I dropped my rifle to the floor and withdrew my combat knife. I wanted to run – I wanted to run so badly, but I knew the hatchling would just catch up. Suddenly, he stopped, bent over, and vomited blood. I had less time than I thought – thirty seconds at most.

I lunged forward, sticking my knife into the puppet's neck and then into its back and into its-

The zombie roared, throwing its arm around in a wild sweep that batted me aside like a fly. I grunted, my head exploding in pain. At some point, I realized my eyes were closed; I re-opened them and raised my head, seeing the zombie look at me, completely still. For just a moment, I thought I saw it give a slight grin. Then the corpse started to… get bigger – the shoulders started to broaden and the stomach expanded. At first, the armor mostly held its shape, but then even the bulletproof kevlar began to rip and tear. Blood started spilling from Sanchez's wounds once more. Four spiked legs shot out from under the vest, piercing the metal floor.

The monster inside my former comrade let out an ear-piercing screech as it finally tore free. One half went one way, one half went the other as a fully-formed chryssalid emerged, still covered in the red viscera of its host. I scrambled away on my hands and knees, eyes wide in terror. It scuttled towards me in slow motion, every step deliberate with its mandibles forming an evil facsimile of a lecherous grin. It was faster than I was even on my feet. With a shuddering breath, I had a realization:

This was where I was going to die.

I'd just witnessed the future for myself – forced to walk as a zombie with one of those things inside me. With any luck, it would be killed before it could kill anyone else. Then, when the chryssalid was only a pair of paces away, the workshop door opened and Yang Xiao Long stepped through. She didn't hesitate a single second, raising her scatter laser and blasting the bastard in half.

Its decapitated head rolled on the ground, landing next to me. The mandibles gave one final twitch before the glowing eyes dimmed to a sickly yellow. I stared at the monster, looking my would-be murderer straight in the eyes and searching for any signs it could still finish the job. Slowly, it began to sink in. I was alive. I was alive and that thing wasn't.

"You good, Weiss?" Yang asked.

My gaze darted towards her. Now brought out of my own little nightmare, I noticed just how hard my heart was hammering in my chest, the shuddering breaths, the shaking legs… "I- I- I'm… here,"

She held out her hand towards me. "Good. We still need you here – Engineering is stable for now, but there's another wave coming. The Engineers are in Shen's panic room, you bought them enough time to get away. We just have to hold out for a little longer; just until Blake can clear out the armory and we can get more back-up."

I stared at her offered hand for a few moments before taking it. I... I had a job to do. Others depended on me. She hauled me to my feet and handed me my fallen rifle, magazines pilfered from Sanchez's corpse. My hands still shook as we marched back towards danger, but I couldn't let that get to me. I had to focus. I had to focus.

What finally got me was when I thought of baby Winter back home. I needed to be strong, not only for others, but for her. XCOM was Humanity's line in the sand; failing here would mean unspeakable horrors for her to grow up with, if she did at all.

I would be strong and we would prevail. There were simply no two ways about it.

/-\ Blake Belladonna /-\

I lunged forward, grabbing the Sectoid and throwing it out from behind a row of lockers. My other hand stabbed forward with my combat knife, slicing open its partner's jugular. At that same moment, bullets pierced the air, and the skull of the alien I'd thrown. I ducked behind cover, narrowly dodging the storm of plasma shot from the Cyberdisc at the far end of the armory.

The second I was out of sight from the biggest problem we'd yet encountered, I crushed one of the locks with my auric strength and tore open the locker. Inside were mostly personal effects, but there was also a beautiful laser shatterray and a few spare power packs. While far from ideal, it was a hell of a lot better than the ballistic pistol currently at my hip. I darted back out from behind the lockers, peppering the alien with laser fire while closing the distance. As hoped, I drew its attention once more, allowing the Security Team some room to maneuver.

I twisted and bent in ways most people could never, all to avoid the newest plasma barrage from the machine. My aura flared a bit from the heat, but I'd avoided the worst of it. Three grenades sailed through the air and I ducked back behind another row of lockers just as they rolled to a stop directly under the alien. I only stayed long enough to reload before charging out again; the alien had closed up and avoided the worst of the damage, but there were chinks in its armor – dents or even outright holes where the onslaught of ordnance was just too much.

As it turned towards me, I leaped up and stuck the barrel of the shatterray directly into one of the holes and held down the trigger. The weapon thrummed, only pushing back with a feather's touch as high-energy laser beams completely wrecked the machine's insides. The power cell was only half empty when it began to wobble – I held down the trigger for another few moments before leaping free, narrowly avoiding the resulting crash and explosion.

I paused for just a moment, taking a good long listen for any other surprises. To my relief, there were none – all the gunfire and plasma discharge was muted, the sound echoing through a not insignificant portion of the base. Satisfied, I cued my mic while I walked over to my own locker. "Belladonna here, armory's secure. Gimmie five and I'll be geared-up."

Gunshots rang through my commbead before Bradford answered. "Best news I've heard all day. Move to assist Five-Seven at Relay Alpha, it's just him there"

"Roger, I'll get there as soon as I can," I said, ripping open my own locker. As I threw on my phalanx armor, I saw other strike team members rushing in, stepping over the bodies of Mutons and Thin Men we had to clear through just to get this far. The Quartermaster was among them and inserted his key into the emergency override, opening all the lockers for everyone. They were all still getting dressed when I tightened the last strap on my own armor and grabbed Gambol Shroud. I'm never leaving you in some locker ever again,

Just as I was running out, I heard a Chryssalid scrambling its way through the vents. I pinpointed its exact location before leaping upwards and thrusting my blade into the ceiling. It gave a pained squawk and I twisted the blade, rending metal and chitin alike. Its yellow blood dripped down my sword as I felt it give a final twitch. It was out of my mind as soon as I withdrew the blade – I had bigger things to worry about than some bug.

I ran through the base, sometimes having to divert around a door that had been welded shut by plasmafire, and sometimes purposefully diverting through a battlefield to briefly assist Base Security and the few operatives that were geared up. Though I couldn't stay, I could kill an alien or two on the way through and that would hopefully be enough to tide them over until they got reinforcements.

Even with the diversions, it was only four minutes until I arrived at the satellite relay. The dish stood charred and with molten patches dripping onto the floor while plasma flew through the air. Five-Seven sat, crouched in a corner, his rifle sat burned to slag next to him but he still fought with his laser pistol. I immediately rushed forward, catching the lead Muton before it had any idea what was going on. As its head rolled to the ground, its two comrades snapped their fire towards me. I dodged, both conventionally and with a shadowclone while I ran towards them.

Other than the shatterray on my back and the pistol on my hip, I was practically useless at range. Gambol Shroud only had a single, irreplaceable dust round left and I was saving it for a very bad day. The Mutons kept firing and I kept dodging; after a few paces, I was finally close enough to strike at one. It reared its fist back, but I sidestepped its strike. I spun, burying my scabbard in its spine while I threw my kusarigama at its partner. It barely dodged, the blade carving off a slice of flesh from its scalp but doing no lasting damage.

The alien roared, reaching up and yanking me towards it with the ribbon. I kicked off the corpse of the other Muton, wrenching my blade free. Like its fellow, it reared back for a powerful punch that I had no doubt would punt me through the nearest wall, but instead of impacting my armor, the strike fell upon the wispy form of my shadowclone. It stiffened just a moment before my scabbard cleaved it in half from hip to shoulder.

Just as its body hit the ground, the doors at the far end of the relay slid open, revealing another pod of aliens – two Thin Men and three snake-like aliens. While the Thin Men wore what they usually did, the snakes had much less in the way of clothes – only a gleaming silver cuirass that conformed to their surprisingly feminine shape and a pair of matching gauntlets that clearly adorned sharp blades along their forearms. Black warpaint also tinged their otherwise tan hoods, matching the plasma pistol each held in their hands.

All of the aliens snarled before the snakes let out an ear-piercing screech. I flinched at the noise but my aura absorbed the damage that would otherwise have been done to my Faunus ears. They all raised their weapons and opened fire – I ducked behind a row of computers just quick enough, the plasma still getting close enough to leave some soot on the surface of my armor.

I rolled and made the most amount of noise I possibly could while crouch-running along my cover – I wanted it to be obvious where I'd emerge. When I finally did on the other side of the bank, I immediately kicked off a shadowclone, which absorbed the vast majority of the plasmafire sent my way as I leaped over the computers. By the time they'd adjusted their aim, I was already on top of them and kicked one of the Thin Men hard enough into the wall that its skull cracked open, spilling its inky gas everywhere.

I was just outside the cloud, but the snake aliens weren't – they would be poisoned, just like a Sectoid or Muton would. Then a massive tongue shot out from the cloud, wrapping itself around my scabbard. I reacted quickly, twisting my blade in an attempt to cut the slimy appendage, but it did nothing. As the fog cleared, I saw the tongue belonged to one of the snakes – all of whom were completely unaffected by the toxin. The other two slithered forward, pistols glowing, alongside the remaining Thin Man.

In a split-second, I made a decision. I dropped my weapon and leaped back just in time, a trio of plasma bolts passing through the space I just stood in. To my astonishment, the snake holding my weapon simply chucked it away, looking no worse for wear despite the scabbard's monomolecular edge. However, as it did so, I caught a faint glint of black lightning, only covering the spots where its tongue touched my weapon. If it was what I thought it was…

A ruby-red beam shot out from behind me, spearing the Thin Man right between the eyes. As it fell into its cloud of inky blackness, I dodged to the right, rolling behind the satellite dish and pulling out my laser shatterray in the same motion. It was awkward, holding a full-sized gun and a sword at the same time, but I could just about do it. When I popped up, I immediately opened fire. Several lasers struck home, but the snakes took no damage whatsoever. My fears were confirmed.

Another bank of computers served as a shield against the wall of plasma coming my way. The second it stopped, I ran back out, peppering the aliens more. This time, they too charged in, clipping their pistols to their belts and brandishing their forearm blades. My eyes narrowed – six blades against one. The numbers certainly aren't in my favor.

Just as my katana met the first forearm blade, another laser beam hit one of the snakes. I disengaged immediately, feinting a low strike when instead I laid a shadow clone to take the hit from its comrade and struck its right side. It let out a hiss, aura shattering. I couldn't immediately capitalize, instead having to dodge again from the third snake as it attacked from my rear. I leaped into the air, sailing over it and squeezing off several laser rounds into the vulnerable snake.

This time, it screeched in pain, wounds cauterizing instantly from the heat. But still, it was not down for the count; at least it wasn't until several laser rounds punched through the back of its head from Five-Seven, still sitting behind his cover and plinking away with his laser pistol. One of the aliens turned and spat poison at him while the other charged me. I could hear coughing and wheezing, but I had my own problems to deal with.

"Belladonna, come in!" Bradford yelled over comms.

"Really bad timing!" I shouted, deflecting the alien's slash.

The two closed in from opposite sides, both swiping at me. Instead of dodging away, I dodged into one, relying on my aura to take the hit before grappling with the snake. As it opened its mouth to hiss, I grabbed its foot-long fang and used it to lever around the alien, practically throwing the thing at its compatriot who was in the middle of lunging at me.

"Don't care, Engineering needs backup ASAP!" Bradford shouted.

To my surprise, the snake aborted its attack just in time, not even nicking a single scale on its comrade's hide. I shoved my katana forward, breaking through its aura and impaling the monster. It let out a pained wail as I replied on comms. "New X-Ray – snake-like, has a prehensile tongue that can grab things at a distance, spits acid, and uses aura! Rough strength equivalent to Yang!"

"Say again, did you say aura?!"

The snake didn't even seem bothered that its friend was just stabbed to death in front of it, but it did pull back, drawing its plasma pistol again. I dove behind more computers. "A-firm, Central, they have aura now! I can deal with them, just give me-"

"Negative, Engineering is isolated and you're the only one with a chance to get there in time! Shen and every single engineer we have are trapped down there! This organization cannot survive without them!"

"But what about-"

"Five-Three and Five-One are en-route, thirty seconds! They'll pick up the slack there, we need you at Engineering! That is an order, Belladonna!"

With a grunt of anger, I rolled out from cover, raising my laser shatterray and squeezing off as many rounds as I could while I booked it to the exit, snagging my scabbard out of the wall on the way. "Wilco, Central." The words felt like ash in my mouth. I had no idea if Five-Seven was even still alive, let alone if he'd live for those thirty seconds in the same room as that snake. I pumped my legs forward, passing Strike Five's Scout and Gunner along the way.

I had to leap over two makeshift barricades on the way, each manned by only the corpses of Base Security troopers. Some had plasma wounds, but others were clearly victims of a blade. Finally, the corpses changed from Humans to aliens – Sectoids, Mutons, even the odd Chryssalid, all gunned down in the hallway outside my destination.

Gunshots echoed from within. "Friendly inbound!" I shouted over comms. The first thing I saw on entering was just the sheer carnage. I'd been to Engineering once before, but now everything was just wrecked. Workstations were blown to smithereens, various parts were on fire, the robotic arms at the center were half-melted with plasma damage, there was shrapnel embedded in the walls, and there were several Human bodies strewn about.

But there were also two people still fighting; a Security Officer with a platinum blonde ponytail and a certain cat-eared Assault. Facing them were five – now four – Mutons, one having just had its chest cavity evacuated courtesy of a scatter laser. I wasted no time, peppering one of the aliens with my laser shatterray while I charged another, closer one.

It all went downhill from there… for the aliens, at least. My arrival shook up their formation and two re-oriented to attack me, leaving them open to fire from Weiss's assault rifle while Yang dispatched the last one. The last alien fell within a minute of me joining the battle, its body joining those of its compatriots as well as those of a dozen Sectoids I'd missed originally.

Just when I thought I had time to catch my breath, however, I heard someone clapping from just beyond the entrance I'd come through. I whipped around. "Hey! Get in here! It's not safe out there!"

"Oh, I am plenty safe out here," a man's voice said, tinged with just a bit of an echo.

A chill ran down my spine as I instantly recognized it, despite the distortion. I saw the sword first, its grip slowly coming into view as the wielder slowly walked forward. My hands started shaking as more and more of his black-suited form became visible. "No, no…" I muttered.

He wore a jumpsuit now, a symbol resembling a red double-chevroned arrow on his chest. His usual mask was missing, but the brand was clearly present, if glowing a faint purple which matched his very much new skin tone. Both eyes – even the functional one – were completely blank, missing the pupil and iris while leaving only the whites. And still, there was his ever-present smirk.

"Hello, my darling," Adam Taurus said.

(A/N) And Here. We. Go.

Couldn't have Blake just slaughter her way through hordes of aliens, now could I? You can only bisect so many Mutons before it just becomes routine, and despite how few fights have involved Blake so far in the story, it's probably already reached that conclusion. That's not to say that including Adam was a spur-of-the-moment decision – he's even hinted at being at the Yakutsk Massacre waaaaaay back in, what, chapter 1? 2? Somewhere around the beginning of the story. And yes, for those keen-eyed readers, his presence here will very much butterfly a bunch of shit on Remnant when we do get there. And oh boy am I looking forward to that part of the story. But for now, we still have the Act Two finale next week and then all of Act Three to get through.

Oh, and I mentioned that the first week of June would be a Bye Week so I could move… well, the bank were assholes and that's been pushed back now. So date for the Bye Week is now TBD, though likely sometime in mid-to-late June.

Anyways, that's all I had for now! See ya next week!