Chapter Twenty

Our Alamo

/-\ Blake Belladonna /-\

"Hello, my darling," Adam said, his voice echoing.

My weapons shook in my hands. "Adam, what are you- how did you-"

"The same way you did," he said. "The Elders have a plan for all of us, Blake. You have spat in their faces by fighting against them, just like you spat in the faces of your brothers and sisters when you left us. But they are much more forgiving than I am; surrender and you shall be allowed to fulfill your purpose!"

I snarled, ears pulling back. For just a moment, I was thrust back to Beacon – to the last time I'd met him. I saw my partner trying to save me in vein… and her unconscious body falling to the floor in pieces. I won't let that happen again. "Yang, Weiss, get the engineers out of here. I'll hold him off as long as I can."

"What?!" Yang shouted. "We're not leaving-"

"That man has put fully licensed huntsmen in the ground. Either you leave, o- or you'll join them."

"But what about-"

"I'll be fine!" I lied, hefting my blades up into a ready stance. "I've fought him before."

"And just how did that go for you, Blake?" he asked.

"Yang, just go!" I shouted, a lump forming in my throat as I considered my next words. "You… you and Weiss will just get in the way if you stay."

Adam glanced behind me. "Oh, is that the Schnee of this world? When I'm through with you, I will have fun with her."

In my comlink, I heard Bradford direct more security personnel to the brig, where an unusually large alien attack was taking place. Yang took a deep breath. "...I'm so gonna beat your ass when we're done here." She turned around, leading Weiss back towards Shen's panic room.

I stared into Adam's glowing purple eyes as my friend's footsteps echoed down the hall, melting into the background thrum of distant gunfire. He simply smirked, showing off teeth that were far more pointed than I remember them being. "You know how this ends, Blake. Save yourself some trouble. Lay down your weapons and join me."

"You already know my answer."

"That I do." He drew his sword and thumbed a switch that was very much not there the last time I fought him. Metal serrations jutted out from the otherwise smooth edge and something just felt a little off about its construction. "Your move, my love."

My eyes narrowed. Something was wrong with him; he was always the kill-first-ask-questions-never type, and he was letting me make the first move? I slowly circled him, stepping over the many bodies of Human and alien alike as he mirrored my actions with that damnable smirk on his face. We circled each other, each of us looking for any perceived opening in the other's defenses. After a moment, I saw mine – the heel of his boot had caught for just a split second on the head of a fallen Sectoid.

I lunged forward, katana going for his head while I swung my scabbard up from below. His hair flashed a neon red for just a moment as he moved, kicking the Sectoid's body at me and side-stepping in the same motion. I readjusted my blades, parting the corpse in half as I jumped through the new gap between the halves. Adam's blade was there waiting for me, already mid-swing. I barely angled my katana downwards in time, edges grinding as the swords slid on each other.

I broke contact before it could become a bind, swiping at him with my scabbard while his own sword was off-balance. He spun, using his own scabbard to propel himself sideways with a gunshot that impacted the wall next to me. I barely turned in time to intercept his next strike, holding my scabbard at an awkward angle to parry it. Instead of withdrawing and striking again, he pressed down, driving my arm towards the floor.

With a yelp, I twisted and brought my katana up in a haphazard slash which actually caught him in the chest, pinging off his aura. He winced and that was all the opening I needed. I pushed off my left foot into a lunge, sending a flurry of strikes his way. He blocked or parried the strikes, his single sword blurring even my enhanced vision as he struggled to keep up with my twin blades. As we dueled, I spied the corpse of a Muton just behind him and narrowed my eyes. I pushed forward once more, aiming to drive him back. His blade was longer than either of mine – he couldn't afford to let me in close, lest I turn his reach advantage into a detriment.

As predicted, he started giving ground, featherlight footwork gliding across the bloodied metal floor. After a few blows, his back foot clipped the Muton's arm, all sprawled out on the floor. I pressed forward, but then he did something unexpected; he responded in kind. Instead of being thrown off balance, he pushed off the corpse and shoulder-checked me right in the chest. Every breath of air was immediately driven from my lungs and I barely kept my footing.

He pressed his advantage, blade singing through the air as I struggled to parry it, regain my footing, and catch my breath all at once. Even with twice as many weapons, I struggled to keep up. I was forced to use several shadowclones just to dodge.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a jagged shard of one of the aliens' exploded weapons sticking out of the floor. Using what little freedom I still had, I directed our struggle towards it; dodging and weaving all the way. His crazed and glowing purple eyes gave no indication if he noticed the obstruction, neither did his ever-present smirk. Just as his blade swung once more, I kicked the shard towards his leg. A slight angling of his blade deflected the improvised projectile, but it still presented an eighth-second of an opening. My twin blades blurred, each attacking from a different angle. His sword was out of position to deflect both and I finally landed a solid hit.

He twitched in pain as my katana raked across his chest, taking a deep gouge out of his aura reserves. Now I advanced, attempting once more to get inside his reach. Just as before, he gave ground, single blade barely keeping up with my attacks as I varied my approach to every single strike. Every clang of metal, every scuff of our boots on the ground, it all had a purpose. This time, I sought to drive him against the plasma-scored wall, right next to the body of an operative.

However, he simply stopped part-way there, planting his feet. "Enough!" he shouted as his hair glowed. I barely had enough time to duck – even then, I was only saved by a clone. The energy tore through Engineering, bisecting the assembly line and one of the robotic arms. Our blades clashed once more before they even fell to the ground.

With every strike, I felt myself drawing more and more on my own auric reserves to fuel my hungry muscles. I hadn't fought like this in months – hadn't really had a training partner to even make that a possibility. I could see him flagging too, with his occasional forced breath, but it was clear he still had more in the tank than I did, even with the big hit I'd scored. That realization came alongside the echoes of plasmafire from the corridor behind me. He had friends coming, and I couldn't count on XCOM to bail me out of this one – they wouldn't last a minute against him.

I needed to end this now.

With a grunt, I mustered all of the strength I could, reaching deep into my reserves for a fast flurry of strikes. He adapted just as I knew he would, but the placement of my strikes was deliberate. I concentrated them on one side, and then with my last strike, I aimed for the other. The moment his sword was committed to blocking that blow, I dropped a shadowclone and both my blades plunged for his exposed si-

I gasped, strike halting mid-air.

The red glow from his hair faded and the shadows around him cleared. Wilt was gripped firmly in his hand, blood now starting to run down its edge. "You always were predictable, Blake." He withdrew the blade and for a moment, I just looked down at… the hole in my side. It was in the same place he'd already put one in me – the same place that had been fully healed by the time I'd awoken in that UFO. What little aura I had left started knitting the flesh back together, but I knew it would only be enough to staunch most of the bleeding. I'd used so much just to stay in this fight; this was a bridge too far.

My legs gave out and I fell to my knees. Finally, that shocked some action back into me and I started scrambling away, holding up my shaking katana to try and ward off the approaching monster. Finally, his smirk broke into a frown. "Why keep up this charade, my love?" he asked. "You lose, just like you lost last time. Soon, no one in this fancy little hole of yours will live. Then, and only then, will I take you to the Elders."

I kept scrambling backwards as he gained on me, eventually hitting the wall. To my right, I could feel the popped-off cover of a ventilation system, but there is no way in hell he'd let me escape while he was looking straight at me. The door behind Adam slid open and a trio of armored figures charged through. They only took a moment to assess the situation before all of them raised their laser rifles in unison and opened fire on him, dumping every single round they had in their powerpack.

I didn't even think about my next actions, I just dove inside the vents. I recognized the voice of the first one to be cut down – Six Actual, the man who'd led me and Yang on that mission to San Diego. He'd done his best to lead us and save every civilian he could there, and I'd just left him to die. I whimpered as I pressed on, hearing their screams of pain as they were dismembered behind me.

Raising my own blade in the confined space, I cut open a hatch into the next room just behind me, but didn't jump through it. Instead, I kept going through the vents, reaching a bend when I heard Adam's scream of anger. I'd heard that before too… at Beacon. Now I was running here, too, with no aliens to save me from his wrath. He dove into the vents after me, the banging and clanking of metal getting closer and closer. I readied my blade in case he didn't take the bait, but he did, dropping through the hatch and sprinting off through the base.

After a few moments, I continued onwards through the vents, doing my best to be stealthy.

Running was all I was really good at, I couldn't have it fail me now…

/-\ Weiss Schnee /-\

I ran, keeping pace with Yang as we led the others onwards.

Ahead, the sounds of guns, plasma, and lasers all mixed together. We slid to a stop, taking cover behind a corner just before our destination. "Seven-Actual," Yang said over comms. "This is Six-Five, I'm here with the Engies, how hot's the AO?"

"Missed most of the party, Five, just got a Muton and a Sectoid left," an exhausted feminine voice said.

"Roger, want us to lend a hand?"

The dying groan of a Muton reached my ears – a sound I'd become very familiar with in the past hour. "...Negative, just hold tight a sec – the little fucker's about to eat a nade." Barely a second after she stopped talking, an explosion rattled through the metal floor.

Yang immediately darted around the corner, shotgun at the ready with me not far behind. However, neither of us fired, the aliens having been handily dealt with. We lowered our guns; the only aliens here were very, very dead. Lab equipment lay around the room in tatters, the autopsy room having been broken in the battle. Monitors sparked with their screens shattered, but still, the three defenders of the main research lab stood tall. Two strike team members along with a security sergeant I vaguely recognized all looked us over.

I glanced backwards. "It's clear! Get out here!" It took only a moment for the engineers following us to start entering the room, heading towards the panic room which was only now beginning to open. We all kept a watch on them, making sure the civilians in their PASGT vests got to safety. There must have been twenty or so – enough to form a big line that stretched from the entrance of the panic room all the way out the narrow doorway we'd come through.

Just when I thought everything would finally go to plan, the base rocked once more. I barely kept a steady footing, catching myself on a lab bench as beakers rolled off and shattered on the ground. The lights went out, replaced entirely by the red emergency lighting you could barely see in. I heard screams from the engineers and turned just in time to see a vent cover on top of the crowd pop off, two Thin Men crawling out.

Right as I raised my rifle, I saw a plasma grenade sail past my face, bounce once, and then explode right in the doorway of the crowded panic room. The heat washed over me immediately, but I kept my weapon on-target. I ignored the writhing and shadowy forms of the civilians in my peripheral vision, squeezing the trigger before the Thin Men could do more damage than the grenade already did.

My aim was true and my bullets speared one of them straight in the head. "Weiss!" I heard, but I ignored it. The other alien was already shooting plasma into the crowd of engineers that we were supposed to protect – they had no cover! "Weiss!" More bullets rang out as more of their green plasma did. I drove the Thin Man away and at least a couple Humanoid forms escaped out the way we came. "Weiss, get the fuck out of there!"

I blinked, only now feeling a presence to my side. I turned just in time to see a hulking mass of muscle that vaguely resembled a Muton raise its meaty fists, neither holding their trademark plasma rifles, ready to pound me into the floor. But then I was wrenched to the side and I watched as the flooring was suddenly reshaped before my very eyes, metal squealing in protest.

My rescuer raised a scatter laser and sent every single bolt in its burst into the monster's chest point-blank. It stumbled, but was clearly alive, so she shot it again. Only as my would-be murderer fell to the ground did I realize I was still being dragged, and that plasma was only missing us by a few feet at best. Finally, I got my own legs to work again and I ran – I just ran out the door that I was being dragged to.

I tripped over a body – a burned thing that I couldn't get a good look at before I was hauled back to my feet once more and tossed into cover like I weighed nothing. It took me a moment to get my bearings, but I quickly realized I was thrown right next to a trio of engineers that were hiding here too. The first's identity was a complete mystery, but the other two? I could never forget their faces – Ruby and Summer were there, both shaking like leaves.

Shooting back to my feet, I spun around just as a scatter laser shot once more – it was Yang, the scorches on her armor evident even under this lighting. "You good, Schnee? C'mon, we have to go!"

"B- but what about-"

She didn't answer, leaning out from the opposite end of the doorway and shooting back into the room. I raised my rifle and peered in as well, looking for targets. And oh did I find them – five Mutons. I let loose, but I also saw that nobody else was shooting besides me and Yang. A quick glance to my allies' last known position sent my stomach plummeting. They were there, alright, just… not as whole as life demanded their bodies be.

One of the Mutons reached for its belt, pulling out another grenade. Yang didn't waste a beat. "Go, go! Run!" I turned, almost bumping into the others as they struggled to obey her commands. We ran for our lives, the sound of the grenade clanking on metal only spurring us on. Summer reached an intersection and ducked to one side, the rest of us following. The grenade exploded just as we got to cover – a split second later and…

"Central!" Yang shouted over comms. "The labs are lost; Seven-Actual is KIA along with most of the engineering team, where's the nearest safe room for three-times survivors?"

It was several seconds before he responded. "...negative. Get to any available escape route. The base is lost, Specialist."

"W- what?!" Yang shouted. "But my uncle is-"

"That is an order, Specialist. Link up if you can, he was last ordered to defend the brig. The nearest exfil route for you both is the motor pool, I suggest you take it. Over and out."

"W- wha- bu-"

"Yang!" Summer shouted. "They're getting closer! What do we do?!"

Only now did I hear the heavy footfalls on the metal getting louder and louder. "M- motor pool," I muttered. "We have to get to the motor pool."

She grabbed her daughter and started running. We weren't far behind, but the split second we'd hesitated allowed the Mutons to catch up. Just as we were about to zig-zag down another corridor, they got a few shots off. The heat barely scorched my armor, but one of their shots slammed straight into our third engineer's head. He was dead before he hit the ground.

I pivoted backwards, wildly shooting off rounds as we ran. I might've scored a hit, but a single standard bullet wouldn't do much to a Muton. So we just did the only thing we could – we ran. We ran like trapped rats in a burning building, scampering over bodies, next to sparking walls, and near overturned supplies used as makeshift cover.

We heard gunshots from ahead after five intersections – all in some state of catastrophic damage. All of us were dead on our feet, but the Mutons still on our tail kept us going. We finally found the cause of the gunfire – a couple Sectoids were in cover, firing at someone who had our ballistic rifles. We couldn't see who that was because of the angle, but we just happened to flank the aliens when we spotted them. In a moment, both lay dead and we approached the sight of the firefight. "Friendly!" Yang shouted.

"Holy shit," a gruff voice let out. In a moment, Qrow was around the corner and had already enveloped Yang in a hug. I nearly shot him – why the hell did he round the corner so fast without warning us?!

"Q- Qrow…" Summer whispered. He tried to draw her and Ruby into the hug as well, but she slapped away his hand. "We can hug later, right now we've got Mutons on our asses and we need. To. Go!"

He nodded, releasing his niece. "Good point, but there's someone else with me that I need you guys not to shoot at, 'kay?"

"We don't have time for this, let's just-" Summer started, but she immediately shut her mouth when a certain redhead in an orange jumpsuit wielding an XCOM laser strike rifle jogged out from behind the intersection.

My eyes narrowed. "You."

Her glare only stayed on me for a few moments before switching to Ruby. I saw her finger twitch towards the trigger for just a split second, but then it stopped, resting again on the body of the rifle. "As much as I would like to end this right here and right now, I also have no interest in dying pointlessly. We should get moving, I'd rather cooperate for as little time as possible."

"You let Pyrrha out of her cell?!" Yang shouted.

"She busted her own way out when we were fighting for our lives, picked up a rifle, and started helping. She might be a bitch, but she's also the only reason we're speaking right now."

Summer threw up her hands and marched forwards. "Then fine, we'll work together until we get out of here. Speaking of…"

Yang thrust a finger into Pyrrha's face. "If I so much as think you're about to do something stupid, then so help me God-"

She didn't respond, already moving past her. We gradually picked up the pace, moving through the intersections and checking corners at each one. It had been a while since we actually heard the Mutons, but we couldn't assume they'd stopped following. We didn't see any more aliens on the way to the motor pool, but we sure saw their handiwork… and a few of our men with cuts that were clearly made by a sword. I hoped that they'd been killed before Blake had engaged him, but my mind just couldn't put out the possibility that he'd… won their duel. I didn't have time to explore that horrifying thought, as we'd finally reached the motor pool.

I cautiously peered inside and my heart immediately sank. The great metal door was off its hinges and half-melted – the only gap was ten feet off the ground and the metal there was still red-hot. Several of the trucks burned, black smoke billowing out of them that escaped through the unintended ventilation hole in the door. Worst of all, a Cyberdisc hovered amidst the haze, escorted by a trio of Drones. The guard towers were either empty or blown to bits – nobody was here; nobody living, at least. The ground was strewn with bodies of security personnel, most still clutching their rifles even while their corpses were burned and charred beyond any hope of recognition.

Pyrrha hummed. "Browning, far left tower."

"What?" I whispered.

"Browning, M2. Heavy mounted machinegun in the far left tower. Looks intact."

I looked to where she indicated and sure enough, I saw the silhouette of a big gun sticking out one of the windows. There was no sign of anyone manning it, but there was clearly something there.

Qrow nodded. "I'll get it."

"It's all the way over-"

"Yang," he interrupted. "I'm trained on it, you aren't. I'm down to my last mag, you aren't. And without that gun, I don't know if we have the firepower to take that fucker down."

"So we sneak around it," I said.

"Do you want it chasing us? We don't even know if we can get a vic out through the civvie side of the motor pool – sure as hell can't here. We might be hoofing it from here on out, and I'd much rather kill that thing than have it stalking us."

She looked like she wanted to retort, but bit her tongue and backed down. "Fine. What's the play?"

He hummed. "I sneak around the HEMTTs, keeping low, you and Weiss follow me, but stop half-way. Nikos, you hide at the base of the tower right next to us. When the shooting starts, get the fuck up to the top and start raining death over those robotic fucks. Summer… keep Ruby out of the killbox."

We all nodded and started moving to our positions. The Drones buzzed overhead as we slowly crawled amongst the shattered wrecks of the army trucks. Most were hit by plasma, some by bullets, but it was clear that almost none of them were functional. Ahead of me, Qrow froze for a split second – one of the Drones just clipped the edge of a truck, two of its mandibles peering over top us for just a moment before the machine resumed its aimless flying away from us.

My heart was already beating a mile a minute when Qrow signaled us to stay put. As he crawled off, Yang and I got into crouching positions, ready to spring up when the time was right. With shaking hands, I checked how many rounds were in my gun's magazine – around half. I still had a few spares, but it was clear I wouldn't have much staying power in any firefights ahead.

Looking over, I saw Qrow reach the last row of trucks and get to a crouching position as well. He peered out from cover just a millimeter – enough to see what the enemy was doing. A split second after, he made a mad dash across the way and into the base of the tower. We waited with bated breath to see if any alien plasma rounds would follow, but none did. Slowly he began to ascend the ladder and we got ready for what was hopefully the last battle before we got the hell out of dodge.

And then a Muton's roar cut through the silence.

My head whipped over to the source and saw all five of the monsters that we'd clearly failed to lose. The first one to raise its rifle was rewarded with a spear of ruby-red light straight through its dome, courtesy of Pyrrha, but then the fight was on.

Both Yang and I dove between the trucks, avoiding plasmafire from half of the Mutons while the other half broke off to hunt our sniper. Just as I was about to peer out and take some pot-shots, a loud whirring above us made my blood freeze. Right there was the Cyberdisc in the middle of transforming to assault mode. We barely dove back out into the open – but away from the hail of machine-spewed plasma – before we had to scramble for new cover.

I raised my rifle, shooting off whatever I could at the Cyberdisc. My rounds pinged off its hardened shell, leaving little more than a scratch. I dove behind some crates while Yang just kept going, weaving in and out of various cover as she charged the Mutons. Loud but slow rhythmic pounding assaulted my ears and I saw the Cyberdisc just start disintegrating – huge sparks pinged off its exposed frame as it frantically retreated back into its shell. I put more rounds on target, but few managed to slip between the ever narrowing gaps.

Just as the Cyberdisc started lighting up Qrow's nest, I felt a searing hot pain in my side. I gasped, keeling over to find that my armor now had a massive hole in it and I now had an equally-sized burn. I looked up, seeing a Drone readying another shot and launched myself to the side, barely dodging its next attack. My rifle spat fire once more, but my aim was haphazard at best and completely missed the target. I scrambled backwards, screaming in pain as my burn brushed against the ground.

Out of nowhere, gunfire erupted and assaulted the Drone. Just as it fell to the ground, a useless hunk of metal next to me, I looked to my savior. Summer Xiao Long stood there with an assault rifle, already taking aim at a nearby Muton. Her grip was improper and she didn't even shoulder the rifle she seemingly pulled out of nowhere, but she'd also just saved my life. Yang stood over another Muton's corpse, but was batted away by the survivor, flying twenty feet before smacking into the wall and falling to the ground.

Summer roared, unleashing her fury with the rifle. I got up and braced my own weapon against the stack of crates, putting much more accurate fire downrange. I only got a few rounds into my burst before I had to switch magazines – I dropped it where I stood and inserted a fresh one. Just as the bolt closed, I saw the Cyberdisc crest over the trucks, already back in assault mode and with guns primed. Behind it, Qrow's guard tower lie in flames and melted metal.

I shifted my aim to that monstrous machine and let loose. I think I caused some damage, my little bullets ricocheting around in its internals, but all I really accomplished was drawing its ire once more. As it turned to me, I looked around. Yang was struggling to her feet, Summer was completely unaware a Drone was sneaking up on her like its fellow had done to me, and Pyrrha was nowhere to be seen, but neither were the remaining Mutons. I grit my teeth and just kept firing, hoping beyond all hope that I'd find something vital – some weakness in its front plate.

And then a miracle happened.

The slow, rhythmic chunk-kachunk-kachunk of the heavy machinegun. More chunks were ripped out of the Cyberdisc's side and it reeled, listing over to one side. I took advantage of its distraction and shot for the Drone about to kill Summer. I didn't kill it, but the noise drew her attention and she finished the job. I turned back to the Cyberdisc just in time to witness a ruby-red lance of light spear through its innards. The machine fell to the ground, exploding amongst the trucks.

But still, I didn't have time to rest – a Muton, battered and bruised, reared its ugly head and raised its fist to put Yang in the ground forevermore. I raised my rifle and shot – shot the rest of my magazine. It was just enough to put the bastard down.

There I lay for a few moments, hands shaking as I gripped my empty gun and looked for anything else that might kill us. The only motion I saw was Qrow's abused body falling out of the guard tower. I struggled to my feet and went over to him – I could only manage a fast walk, my side hurting far too much for anything else. When I got there, the others were right beside me.

Qrow laid, eyes half-lidded and burns covering almost every inch of his exposed skin. His armor was dented and charred, not a single part of its original blue color shining through. His eyes settled on his nieces. "Hey… girls…" he wheezed. "Looks… like you're gonna… have to… go on… without me."

"No, no!" Yang shouted. She didn't look much better, blood dripping down her face and parts of her armor being crumpled from the impact. Ruby, meanwhile, simply shook her head, tears dripping down her face. "We- we can't leave you!"

"I'll just… slow you down," he said. "Tell 'em, Sums. This… look survivable?"

A solitary tear rolled down her face. "Tell… tell Tai I'm…" I could practically feel the lump in her throat. "Tell him I'm sorry. For everything."

He nodded. "Prop… prop me up, against the tower. I'll… make sure nothing… gets past… while you go."

"No! We're gonna bring you with!" Yang shouted. "We'll- we'll get to a hospital! You'll- you'll be fine!"

"Nearest one is over an hour away," Summer said, bending down to grab what little remained of Qrow's shoulder straps. She dragged him over to the tower's walls and propped him up, just as he'd asked. "We'd… best get going." She started off, but paused for just a moment, frowning. "Qrow, I- I lo-"

"I know," he said. "If you… see Raven ever… tell her… tell her I owe her twenty bucks. And that I… don't blame her for what happened." He reached towards his neck and with a grunt of pain, peeled his dogtags free. "Put me… under a nice tree somewhere." She nodded, taking the tags and stuffing them in her pocket before heading out. Summer grabbed Ruby by the wrist while I shuffled Yang along and Pyrrha brought up the rear. "Oh father why… are you so sad…" Qrow began to sing. "On this… bright Eas-ter… morn'..."

As we passed through the short hallway connecting the military and civilian motor pools, his voice gradually faded. Yang grunted, ripping free from my grasp and darting back to her uncle, only to run straight into Pyrrha. "He's gone. Or will be very shortly, if he isn't already," she said. "Unless you want yourself and them to join him, I'd suggest we move forward instead of backward." She nodded to Ruby and Summer, who had paused at the closed door.

She stopped trying to push through Pyrrha, instead glancing back towards her last surviving family. After only a moment's hesitation, she turned around and stormed into the next room, killing the few Sectoids that were there and even beating the last one to death with her bare hands. There was no strategy, no plan, just pure anger kept her going.

It was lucky that they were the only aliens in this part of the motor pool. It was also lucky that Yang's truck had been one of the last worked on, and therefore easily accessible. Summer hotwired it and we drove away just as a squad of Mutons entered from one of the other sides. We dodged and weaved through the massive facility, Yang and I in the bed while Summer, Pyrrha, and Ruby were in the cab. We had to shoot our way out, but it was much simpler when there was no Cyberdisc and the only Mutons were seemingly miles away.

We got to the door and found it wide open, tiretracks already outside. We zoomed right on through and out into the cold night. We came upon some woods and quickly switched drivers, Yang taking the wheel so we could kill the lights and drive by her nightvision alone.

Just as we got going, we looked up to see the Skyranger ascending from the base, shooting off with a fighter-class UFO on its tail already. Looking even further up, an entire alien fleet revealed itself – several battleships, assault carriers, even a few destroyers and fighters pulling escort duty.

As I lay there, now beside the woman who took me captive not so long ago, I wondered if we could ever have truly won this war…

On A Planet Far, Far Away

/-\ Weiss Schnee /-\

I sighed as I sat in that damnable cage.

The mud was creeping in by now, the rain outside permeating the soil and even making a small stream flow directly through the center of my cell. This is exactly what I was waiting for. There weren't any Faunus in the camp – at least, none that I'd seen – meaning that the combination of the dark, overcast night and the loud, thundering downpour would make it easier to slip by anyone still awake at this hour.

I wasn't so delusional to think I'd have an easy time of it; stealth had always been Blake's strong suit, not mine. My tiny Arma Gigas finished cutting through the lock as well as my binds and I slowly pushed the cell door open. It squeaked a little, making me cringe, but I heard no indication that anybody noticed my impending escape. With a nod, I dismissed my bright blue and glowing summon; as much as it was a comfort, it would be a hindrance to the plan at this point.

And what was the plan? Why, waltz into the Chieftain's Hut and steal back my belongings… and maybe a few extras as recompense for my involuntary stay at Château de Bandit. So I crept along the line of tents and cages, being extra careful as I passed the one filled to the brim with sleeping dogs that each probably weighed more than I did. Between two of the cages, I froze, staring directly at the man who, by all means, should have caught me.

Were he not passed out and holding an empty bottle of liquor.

My heart was well and truly beating after that. The only reason I hadn't just alerted the entire camp was because these people had zero concept of discipline. I had to be more careful than that. Every footstep was more measured than before, I peeked around every corner, and I took care to avoid any footsteps that weren't drowned out by the rain and thunder.

Eventually, I made it to my destination; the big tent. The only problem was that there was a guard, sitting there and looking absolutely miserable with his cigar. I knelt behind cover for a while, trying to think of a way to get past him, but then a particularly strong gust of wind rattled the entire camp – it even shook the tent, making the hemline flap slightly. I saw a stream of light poke out from underneath. Suddenly, I realized I didn't have to get past the guard.

When his head was turned the opposite way, I darted over to the tent and rolled under the hem. It got my clothes even more dirty than before, but it did get me inside. Looking around, I found myself in a bedroom; cordoned off from the rest of the tent by raw animal furs hanging from ropes. The actual bed was very ornate; I'd honestly expect it to be one of those we had in the Manor, though it was red-colored instead of Father's preferred neutral and washed-out tones. Also, it held a naked man and woman, far too busy holding each other in their sleep to notice me.

I looked away quickly as heat flushed my face, but I did notice that the woman wasn't the Chieftain; no, it was her right-hand woman. On the far side of the bed, I saw part of what I was looking for. Myrtenaster, my chosen weapon. With breath held and the lightest steps I'd ever taken, I skirted the bed. The two bandits snored, deep in their slumber, and I wanted nothing more than for them to stay that way. After what felt like years of separation, my hand finally closed around my rapier's grip.

I gently lifted it from its place leaning haphazardly against a mahogany wardrobe and inspected it for any damage. I frowned when I found it had dulled a bit, but the actual blade was still intact. Inwardly grumbling at its mistreatment, I crept towards the wall of furs. I peeked through and saw a much more ornate main area of the tent. A table with an extinguished lamp sat in the center, four very comfortable-looking pillows around it. The walls were decorated with fine Mistrali silks, all studded with gemstones of various types. Strung beneath them were the dagger-like teeth of lions, wolves, sharks, and many other predators. And, of course, the room held many pieces of fancy furniture, some even gilded.

As I took in the unexpected splendor of this back country tent made from the skins of animals probably less than a hundred miles from this very spot, I had a revelation. This is the exact kind of naked wealth that Father would have showed off in the manor, albeit with a different aesthetic. I supposed they were alike in their banditry; one simply acquired their riches with the sword rather than the pen. As I finished my look-around, I spied what I was looking for; my white-painted and snowflake-branded suitcase, sitting right next to a suit of plate armor… that had a disturbingly large hole in its breastplate.

Just as I was about to step out into the tent's common area and retrieve my things, the Chieftain strode out from behind the furs separating what was clearly her bedroom from the common area. She wasn't dressed in the armor that I saw her in yesterday, no, now a loosely-fitting robe was all she wore. She strode across the room with a purpose, rummaging in one of the chests for a moment, before she found some pills and a big bottle of alcohol. As she turned around, I saw just how ratty and wild her hair was; it almost reminded me of Yang's mane back at Beacon. I blinked, taking another look at her face. She looked almost exactly like my teammate, just aged about twenty or twenty-five years.

That was Yang's mom, I was sure of it. And she was a bandit queen who kidnapped me.

As I was still grappling with this revelation, she gulped the pills down along with a quarter of the bottle. She grimaced as she tore the booze away from her lips, eyes happening to glance over to a picture frame depicting a blond man I'd never seen before. She muttered a few things under her breath before pressing the bottle back to her lips and staggering back to her bedroom.

I waited a few moments, still processing how complicated my life seems to have gotten. After some time, I came back to my senses and focused on the mission. I didn't have infinite time before even these debauched layabouts realized I'd broken free, and I wanted to be as far from the camp as humanly possible by then. As quietly as I could, I crept along the wooden floor and retrieved my belongings. I also swiped some fancy-looking jewelry that was on display right next to it, but didn't want to push my luck otherwise; turnabout may be fair play with banditry, but I didn't want to galvanize them into pursuing me to the ends of the world. Though I did also take an unassuming brown cloak from one of the hangars as well; I doubt they'd miss that.

I slipped out the back of the tent, thankfully not running into any guards posted on this entrance. From there, it was child's play to get out of the camp; a glyph did the trick. Beyond that, I ran far and fast, only stopping once I realized I could just ride my boarbatusk summon for an even faster getaway.

As night turned to day, I looked back on what I'd just experienced. I'd been put in a very bad situation, but kept calm and managed to get out. In a corner of my mind, I wondered if Blake had ever dealt with a situation like this in her past. I shoved the thought away; now was not the time to go down that road.

Only grief lay there, and grief attracted Grimm.

(A/N) And that's XCOM, baby! They've officially lost the war. That's not to say they're down for the count – obviously, given XCOM 2's entire plot – but the base is in ruins and most of the personnel are dead. I do want to clarify, however, that there were still high-ranking survivors from the Base Raid; basically everyone who survived in canon, though I did change how Bradford, specifically, survived. But we'll get to him in a while.

I'm sure a lot of people will be disappointed that not only XCOM fell, but also that Adam is still alive. His time will come, but for now, he's narratively extremely useful.

Speaking of deaths, there's Qrow. Sorry to the guy who wanted to see his semblance, buuuuut yeah, it just wasn't in the cards. I like to think he had a much better send-off here than in the original incarnation of the story, though. As for his semblance, I like having Earth people's rhyme with their Remnan counterparts, so I likely would've gone with something luck-based, though I wouldn't have made it an exact copy.

Also, we see yet another Butterfly on Remnant; with Yang going with Team RNJR (RYNJR now, I suppose) nobody was around to rescue Weiss. As funny as it would be, I wasn't about to let her get sold off back to Atlas; she's more than capable enough to escape on her own, especially with that broken-ass semblance of hers.

Oh, and we had a couple reviews!

GeneralSparda said: "Whats the point of having the Jaune x Yang tag if you just going to kill him ? Your writing and plot is good but the only reason i click this story was the dragonslayer tag , now i dont see any reason to continue."

I understand that and its a valid reason to move on. The only reason I tagged it as such was so it wouldn't just be a "surprise dragonslayer" moment and FFN's tagging system is extremely limited. The endgame is Bumblebee, but I can't tag both, so I chose to tag the one that appeared first.

Guest001 said: "Reviewer from chapters 6, 8, and 12: first off, a lot to cover apparently, starting with Blake getting on to Strike 6... me thinks Bradford won a couple bets with Blake joining X-COM. Also did not see terran Weiss signing up to fight, terran Yang getting gene mods based off reman Blake, or terran Blake entering the stage. Love a good surprise every now and then, but not surprising is Taurus leading the Ethereal assault team. Only request is that the bastard dies, screaming. And reman Ruby, you poor naive girl, aliens are real, and they stole your teammate and will soon render Salem and Ozma's lover's qurall irrelevant.

I look forward to the next chapter... and We will be watching..."

Oh he absolutely made bets with some of the other staff about Blake trying to join XCOM; kept him just a little bit more sane when dealing with the Council's bullshit. Glad I was able to have some surprises, though hopefully Adam's survival wasn't too bad of one; I hate the fucker too, but he's really narratively useful as a foil to Blake.

Anyways, that's all I had for today! Tune in next week to see how people deal with the Post-Invasion ayy bullshit!