Chapter 17
Day 4: Mid-morning
Atlas
Yang had to admit, the common area of the Atlas dorms she was sitting in had some pretty spectacular views. Outside the giant bay windows she could see the roiling cloud of darkness, occasionally laced with red lightning, that was the bulk of Salem's forces; it was terrifying but also oddly beautiful in a way.
The hordes of Grimm were holding position outside the city, waiting to see if Ironwood would hand over the relics, to see if he submitted to Salem's ultimatum. Honestly, Yang was just grateful for the break, they had been awake for almost twenty-four hours now and she was starting to feel it. Around her lay the sleeping forms of Jaune, Orscar, Nora and Ren; all of them stretched out on the much-too-comfortable couches. They had all been fast asleep since Ironwood had told them to get some rest about an hour ago. Sleep, unfortunately, still eluded her for the moment.
It wasn't her desire to talk to Qrow about Ruby's disappearance that kept her awake, nor was it Nora's loud snoring, she was very much used to tuning that out at this point. What was keeping her awake was the soft breathing coming from right next to her. For what had to be the dozenth time in the last ten minutes, she looked over at the common room's other amazing view: Blake, who was dozing on her left shoulder as they cuddled close together on the couch. It was the first real rest they'd gotten in at least twelve hours and Blake was taking full advantage of it.
Yang had plopped down on the couch after Ironwood's debriefing, Blake following suit and sitting next to her, close enough that Yang couldn't help but blush a little bit. After remarking on how tired she was and how there were no pillows she'd rested her head on Yang's shoulder and had been almost instantly asleep with a quiet, appreciative murmur of "Gods, you're warm."
Yang was legitimately trying to sleep but couldn't keep her eyes off her partner, all she could think about was how pretty she was, how silky and smooth her hair was, how damn cute it was that her soft snoring sounded a little like purring. She sighed happily, her anxieties were still there at the back of her head; her worry for Ruby and Weiss, Ironwood's plan for Mantle and just how powerless they were to stop it. But with Blake's head on her shoulder, she could allow herself to forget, just for a little bit.
Blake's hand was lying palm-up on Yang's thigh; smiling, she gently moved her hand to join Blake's entwining their fingers together. Yang was pretty sure she heard Blake humm contentedly in her sleep. "God's…how did I get lucky enough to have you as my partner?" she whispered quietly, running her thumb along Blake's hand.
Yang's eyes felt exceptionally heavy now. She settled back into the couch. "I suppose a little cat nap wouldn't hurt…" she murmured to herself with a small chuckle at her own pun. Lulled into a daze by Blake's soft 'purring', she drifted off to sleep.
Suddenly, what felt like mere seconds later, there was a tap on her shoulder. Her eyes snapped open again; looking behind her, she spotted Clover standing just behind the couch. She glanced at her Scroll and found out that she had been asleep for over an hour, and after glancing outside she saw that nothing had changed significantly, Salem's hordes still waited patiently.
She looked back at Clover and sighed, "You have a mission for us?" she asked sleepily, trying not to wake her sleeping friends. She winced as she felt Blake stir awake her at the sound of her voice.
"Not yet," he replied as Blake sat up, rubbing her eyes, "but I do need you two for something, come with me." he turned and set off down the corridor.
Yang sighed, saddened that the quiet cuddles they'd been having were over. She shared a concerned look with Blake before quietly getting off the couch and walking after Clover, leaving the rest of their friends to their sleep, quickly catching up with him at the elevator bank.
"What's this about?" Blake asked as they waited for the elevator to arrive, crossing her arms over her chest.
Clover gave a heavy sigh, "About half an hour ago, General Ironwood placed your Uncle and Robyn Hill under arrest…"
"What?" Yang exclaimed, "On what charges?"
"For daring to question his plan for Mantle, just as you did." he replied.
Blake looked at him incredulously, "That's not something you can just arrest someo-"
"It doesn't matter." Clover said, cutting her off, "He's about to declare martial law, which essentially makes whatever he says law. He can hold them as long as he wants if he deems them a threat to Atlas…"
Blake's ears folded back, and the muscles in her body tensed up. "Are-are you arresting us? Does he think we're a threat to Atlas?"
"No," Clover replied, as the elevator doors dinged open, "though I can guarantee that he's watching you like a hawk after the stunt you pulled." Yang and Blake both let out breaths they'd been holding. "I'm taking you to see the two of them," Clover continued, as they stepped into the elevator, "maybe you can talk some sense into them, help them see reason like you did." He looked at them pointedly as he pressed a button for the lower floors and they started downward.
Blake tilted her head slightly, he was trying to tell them something without saying it out loud but she didn't have a good enough read on him to tell what it was.
Yang frowned, "Once Qrow has his mind set on something, nothing's going to change it. And Robyn seems just as stubborn as he is." she said with a slight chuckle.
"Look…" Clover said tiredly, sighing again, "I'm trying to protect everyone. You just have to trust me. I know you don't really have a reason to right now-"
Yang rolled her eyes and scoffed, thinking back on how the rest of the Ace Ops had almost attacked them because they stood up to Ironwood.
"-but I'm on your side." he continued, as they stepped off the elevator, "I'll have to earn your trust back…I hope this will at least reestablish some of it."
Yang and Blake shared a look as they walked into the detention area and Clover spoke to the officer at the front desk.
A few minutes later, Yang and Blake found themselves sitting in an interrogation room as Qrow and Robyn were escorted in by Clover, gravity cuffs binding their wrists. They sat down at the table across the two huntresses.
Clover nodded at them from the door, "I'll be on the other side of the glass, you won't have to worry about…" he gave a pointed glance at the security camera in the corner. He closed the door behind him.
"Hey, Fisticuffs," Robyn said, greeting Yang with a slight smirk, "Good to see you again." her expression fell a bit, "Looks like you were wrong about Ironwood. Turns out that he doesn't want to help everyone, just Atlas."
Yang sighed, "Yeah we figured that out the hard way…"
"Wait wait wait…" Qrow said, holding up his hands, "How the hell do you two know each other?"
"Three, actually." Robyn said, "These two are the entire reason I even showed up at Jaques' dinner. They asked me to give James a chance." She shrugged, "Unfortunately they were wrong," Yang and Blake both looked sheepish and sad, "but their hearts were in the right place." Robyn said quickly.
"Well that explains a lot." Qrow said, "Also heard you two almost got arrested for standing up to Jimmy."
"It was a bit more than just standing up," Blake said, "We almost had a brawl with the Ace Ops…"
Qrow smirked slightly and glanced at Yang before turning back to Blake, "Well it's a good thing you held her back then, otherwise you both might be in here with us."
"Actually…" Blake said sheepishly, "Yang had to hold ME back."
Qrow's eyebrows went up in surprise and he looked appreciatively at Yang, "Proud of you kid, that's good thinking. Better than mine in any case."
Yang smirked, "Hey someone has to have a level head around here. Anyway Clover said you wanted to talk to us? I really doubt it was just to compare arrest records."
Qrow and Robyn looked at each other. "It's about your sister." Robyn said with a slight frown, "and Weiss."
"James knows more than he's letting on about their disappearance." Qrow said, his eyes narrowing.
Yang gave a humorless laugh, exchanging a look with Blake. "Funnily enough, we wanted to talk to you about the same thing."
Over the next twenty minutes the four shared everything they'd found out so far. Qrow and Robyn told them what Tyrian had said: that Ironwood knew about, or had perhaps even caused Ruby and Weiss' crash; they even told them about Watts' knowing smirk when Qrow had confronted him only an hour ago.
Yang and Blake showed them the suspiciously sparse mission briefing and the glaring omissions in the map Ruby and Weiss were given.
"So what now?" Yang asked, slumping down a bit in her chair, "he has to be stopped."
Blake nodded, "Thousands of people are going to die if he's not stopped."
Robyn sighed, "I don't know…but I can't shake the feeling that your team's disappearance and lronwood abandoning Mantle are connected somehow." She rubbed her forehead, "But I can't figure out how."
Qrow shook his head, "If Tyrian hadn't gotten away from us, we could have forced him to tell us the connection but…he's not here and this is all we have to go on…"
"We could bring this to the other council members, maybe they can do something." Blake suggested.
Robyn shook her head, "We have nothing. We don't have any real evidence, and he's going to declare martial law anyway. They'll have no power and be zero help to us."
"Even if you get JNRO in on this," Qrow said, "you all are still going to need help…" he was quiet for a moment, "You can't trust the Ace Ops…but you CAN trust Clover." Yang looked at him like he was crazy. "I know, I know." He said making a placating gesture with his cuffed hands, "But I'd trust him with my life, and he wants to get to the bottom of this just as much as we do. Plus he's heard everything already." He said, nodding his head towards the two-way mirror on one wall.
"Fair enough," Yang sighed, "and we've got the two of you of course, when are we breaking you guys out?"
Robyn and Qrow looked at each other, "You're not." Robyn said, "We're staying right here for now."
Qrow nodded, "Us escaping would bring too much suspicion onto Clover and the two of you." he leaned forward, "It has to be you kids, you and JNPR. Ironwood can't-"
"Time's just about up guys," Clover's voice said over the room's intercom, "I can't loop the security feeds much longer without them noticing."
Qrow sighed and stood up from the table, "I'm certain that James is watching the two of you, so try to be discreet ok?" Yang nodded before walking over and pulling her Uncle into a tight hug. "You two can do it," he said, "We believe in you." Robyn nodded in agreement.
"We'll try our hardest." Blake said.
Yang nodded in agreement, before looking right at Robyn, "Keep an eye on him, ok? He can be kind of a jerk, but under his crusty exterior he's alright." Qrow shot a playful glare at her.
Robyn gave a crooked smile as Clover came back into the room, "Oh he's alright. His perpetual brooding is starting to grow on me already." she said, gently socking Qrow in the arm. "Plus Ironwood doesn't like him, that's bonus points in my book."
Yang smiled as Qrow made a face at Robyn, she was beginning to like her more and more.
After putting Robyn and Qrow back in their cells, Clover met them back outside in the hallway. "If you want to meet up with your friends," he said as he pressed the call button, "I would suggest the entrance hall." he tapped his ear, looking at them both.
Blake easily picked up on what he was trying to indicate: the entrance hall was cavernous and with the entire city preparing for war, would be bustling with activity, meaning it would be very difficult to monitor and eavesdrop on anyone having a conversation.
Yang pulled out her scroll as they exited the elevator onto the main floor, messaging JNRO to let them know where to meet them.
"Qrow is right," Clover said, as they stood in the middle of the bustling main hall, "You can't trust the rest of my team…except maybe…" he shook his head, "No, they're all loyal to Ironwood. Normally, so am I but this…what he wants to do to Mantle… it's too far. I'll do what I can to help you, but you have to be careful, he's going to be keeping a very close eye on you two."
"We appreciate your help." Yang said, nodding, "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to see if I can sneak a few transports down to Mantle and continue the evacuation without Ironwood finding out. I'll make up about stranded squads or something. While I'm at it, I'll try to warn the populace to take shelter as well." He sighed, "I doubt I'll be able to get more than a few ships down there before they catch on but it'll be better than nothing."
Yang nodded, "Good luck!" She said with a slight smile, "Not that you need it, how about loaning us some of yours huh?" He grinned and headed off, back towards the elevators.
Yang's scroll dinged, displaying a text from Jaune letting them know that they were on their way.
Yang put it away in her pocket, she looked up to see Blake staring at her with a soft smile on her face, her head slightly tilted. Yang blushed slightly, not used to being looked at like that. "Uh, whatcha thinking?" She asked.
"I…" Blake paused a moment, "I was just thinking how much you changed while we were apart. How much you've changed since…since he…" her eyes almost involuntarily flicked down to Yang's mechanical arm.
Yang winced, the feeling of the bull Faunus' burning sword slicing through her flesh and bone automatically replaying itself in her mind. Her fists clenched and she closed her eyes, trying to push the swell of memories back down. She was so sick of that asshole. Even though they had put him in the fucking ground he still haunted the two of them.
"I'm sorry," she heard Blake say as mind came back to the present. Her voice sounded on the verge of tears, having clearly noticed Yang's expression, "I didn't mean-"
"It's ok." Yang said gently, as she opened her eyes and forced her muscles to relax, "Really. What were you saying?" A particularly loud group of soldiers came into the hall and she stepped closer to Blake to hear her better.
Blake swallowed, "I was just thinking about how you fought Neo was so different than the way old Yang would have handled her." She looked down, as if afraid of insulting Yang, "You didn't succumb to your emotions. You channeled your anger and kept your cool; you even got her flustered using that sleight of hand trick I showed you." She smiled, remembering the feeling of pride she felt when she watched Yang sneak the hat right off Neo's head.
Yang chuckled, "You should have seen her face, she was SO mad."
"I bet." Blake said softly. She sighed, seeming to withdraw into herself, "You've made all this progress and I…I just don't…I'm still brok-" she instantly felt the air grow hotter.
"If you dare finish that sentence," Yang said, her voice hard and unyielding, "I'll walk away right now. You're not broken. You never have been."
A tear rolled down Blake's cheek. "I still feel broken." She replied softly, staring down at her feet.
Yang's heart broke for her. "Hey," she whispered gently, "Look at me…" Blake slowly looked up, the air was still hot but Yang's face was soft and caring. "You never give yourself enough credit," Yang said softly, "You've opened up to us so much, opened up to me… Two nights ago, you asked me to s-sleep in your bed because you were scared," Yang felt her cheeks get hot at the thought of it, "The Blake that I met at Beacon would never have done that." She reached down and gently slid her hands into Blake's, "Even admitting to me that you feel that way is a huge difference. Beacon Blake preferred to suffer alone rather than confide in her friends."
Blake looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean?"
Yang looked a little embarrassed, "I-I heard you whimpering in your sleep sometimes, back then…not every night, but often enough." Her mouth became a grim line, "Sometimes you said his name. You sounded so scared…" Yang saw Blake tense up, "When we woke up, I'd ask you if you were ok and you always said that you were fine…"
Blake's eyes widened, a feeling of shame washing over her, "I didn't want to burden you with demons from my past." She gave a bitter, humorless laugh, "Look how well that turned out. He came back to haunt us anyway." Unconsciously, she ran her thumb over the top of Yang's mechanical hand.
"He's dead Blake," Yang said softly, "We killed him. Together. He can't hurt us anymore. He can't hurt anyone. You conquered your fears…WE conquered our fears." Blake looked into her eyes. "You might not be able to see it but I can. Trust me when I say you've taken so many steps in the right direction; and I know I have a long way to go too…" she gently brushed a stray hair out of her partner's face, staring deep into her golden eyes. "When I'm around you, I feel like I can be the person I want to be someday, do you know what I mean?"
Blake closed what little distance was left between them and leaned her head into Yang's chest, "You have no idea…" she said softly, "I know exactly what you mean."
Yang wrapped her arms around her partner's waist. She idly wondered how Blake managed to smell so good despite the endless battles they'd been fighting.
Blake raised her head up and Yang gazed into her golden eyes, her breath hitched and she was fairly certain she heard Blake's hitch too. They were so, so close together, when Blake finally exhaled again she felt her breath on her lips.
Yang saw something in Blake's gaze, and she knew. She knew that if she was to close the short distance between their lips now, Blake wouldn't stop her.
"Hey guys!" Jaune's voice rang across the hall.
'Of-FUCKING-course' Yang thought, her head snapping up and spotting his waving form coming towards them; Ren, Nora, and Oscar trailing behind a short ways. She quickly looked back down, and saw that Blake had averted her gaze, blushing bright red. She cursed again, the moment was gone.
"We came as quick as we could," Jaune said as Yang removed her arms from Blake's waist. "What did you guys want to talk ab-OW!" he cried out in pain as Nora came up next to him and punched him hard in the shoulder, "What was that for?"
"We'll tell you when you're older." Nora said, exasperatedly shaking her head. She winked at Yang and Ren offered an apologetic smile.
Yang sighed heavily, "We've got a lot to catch you guys up on…" and the two girls proceeded to tell them everything.
"Gods…" Jaune said quietly, trying to absorb all the information that had just been dumped on him. Ren and Nora both looked sick; Blake had little doubt that they were flashing back to the slaughter of their own village at the hands of rampaging Grimm. Oscar shook his head slowly, completely at a loss for words.
"They won't stand a chance," Jaune said after a moment, "without Atlas, Salem will tear right through them." Blake saw Nora's hands curl into fists, her knuckles completely white. "Where do we even start?" Jaune asked, "Mantle, or try to find Ruby and Weiss?"
"Well, I know what Ruby would say." Yang said with a sigh, "She'd tell us to save Mantle first." She gave a small laugh, "Ironically, out on the tundra they're safer than all of us…assuming they're still…" she shook her head, unwilling to even finish the thought lest her worst fears come true. "Mantle," she said, getting her thoughts back on track, "Clover is going to try to get a few more transports down to the evacuation points, but it's useless if the city ascends before then, so that's our priority: we have to stop the city from leaving, or at least delay it for a time." She paused a moment, looking at her gathered friends, "I hope you guys have some ideas, I'm not exactly the strategist on my team and a massive sleep deficit is doing me zero favors right now."
Jaune thought for a moment, rubbing his chin, "Winter." He said quietly, his brows furrowed. He looked up, certainty in his eyes, "Winter is the key, literally."
Blake's eyes widened, she saw where he was going. But Yang and Nora still looked a bit confused.
"The only person that can open the Vault is the Winter maiden." Jaune elaborated, "She should have…acquired…the powers by now, if we can get to her before Ironwood does, I know we can get her on our side!"
Blake nodded enthusiastically, "If he can't convince her to open it, he can't put his plan into motion. And I can't see him being able to physically coerce her to open it."
"Yeah!" Nora said loudly, her face lighting up, "This just might-" she stopped as she saw the hopeful expression on Blake's face fall, replaced by one of despair. "What?" She asked, fearing the answer.
"Talking to Winter is no longer an option, guys." Blake said quietly.
They all turned, coming into the massive hall; a medical team wheeled a gurney in, the battered form of Winter strapped to it. She had cuts, bruises and burns all over her body and her hair was completely disheveled. She was clearly unconscious, but the medical team wasn't rushing so Blake deduced that she wasn't in life threatening danger.
Penny walked at the injured woman's side, a worried look on her face, only taking her eyes off of Winter to look where she was going. Her face brightened a bit upon seeing the group of them. She gave them a small wave and walked towards them.
"Hello, friends." She said, her usual cheerful voice subdued and quiet, "Are you all well?"
"Us?" Jaune asked, taking in the robotic girl's appearance, her outfit was torn in several places and she had several new lacerations on her skin, "We're…ok, Penny. But what about you? Are you ok? What happened to you and Winter?"
Yang was wondering the same thing, the last they'd heard the two of them were responding to an intruder in the Maiden's room but had heard nothing since.
Penny paused for several moments before responding. "We…fought Cinder Fall." She said, fidgeting with a torn edge of her skirt.
"Cinder's alive?" Nora gasped, "And she's HERE?
Penny nodded, "Unfortunately, the Maiden, Fria, did not make it through the battle." She said sadly, looking downcast.
"So Winter has the powers now." Yang said, a feeling of relief passing over her. There was no way that she would be able to open the vault in her condition; her injuries had bought them some precious time.
"Actually…" Penny said slowly. The robotic girl opened her hand and Yang's heart dropped into her stomach. Several green-tinged ice crystals floated above her palm. "When she died," her voice was sad, "She passed her power on to me."
The entire group looked at her in disbelief. "You're the Winter Maiden?" Nora asked.
Penny nodded, an apprehensive expression on her face. She glanced in the direction that Winter had been wheeled. "I have to go, friends." she said quietly, "We can talk more about this later, Winter needs me with her and the General wishes to speak with me." she began to walk away.
Yang and Blake shared a look before Yang dashed after their robotic friend. "Penny, wait!" she called. She gently grabbed Penny's shoulders, leaning in so that only she could hear. "Ironwood is going to ask you to unlock the vault and retrieve the spear. You can't let him have it."
Penny's eyes grew wide with surprise, "W-why not?" she asked.
"He's going to do something with it that will get a lot of people down in Mantle killed." Yang answered.
Penny gasped, "He wouldn't. We're supposed to protec-"
"He WILL." Yang insisted, "You can't give it to him under any circumstances."
"I…" Penny's eyes grew distant, "he might…my programming…" her eyes refocused, a new intensity giving Yang hope, "He won't hurt Mantle on my watch. I'll try my best!"
Yang smiled and gently clapped her on the shoulder, "That's all we can ask Penny."
Penny turned and walked away, her face apprehensive but determination in her stride. Yang turned and walked back towards the rest of the group, letting out a long, nervous breath as she did so.
"I believe we are being watched…" Oscar said quietly as Yang approached, her eyebrows shot up.
Blake nodded in confirmation and gestured upwards with her chin.
Yang subtly looked up and immediately saw that more than half of the security cameras in the room were pointed in their general vicinity. "Well that's not a coincidence…" she muttered under her breath. She looked back down at the others and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Apparently no place is safe."
Nora shook her head, "So what do we do?" she asked, "Penny stalling is temporary at best…I think we all know that Ironwood is capable of getting his way in the end."
"We're in over our heads." Ren said, a look of fear on his face, "What are the five of us supposed to do against the whole Atlas military?"
"Our best." Yang said simply, "We do our best. We do what we can until we can't do any more." She looked at her friends and saw fear and apprehension on all their faces, "No matter what happens, I want us to know that we stood up for what is right and did what was needed to save lives."
"That was a pretty good speech." Oscar said with a small smile.
Yang gave a sheepish shrug, "Heh, I guess Ruby's leadership skills have rubbed off on me a bit."
Suddenly all their scrolls chimed and General Ironwood's image appeared on their screens. Across the entire hall, every officer and Huntsman's scrolls showed the same image.
"All military personnel: as of this moment, I am placing Atlas under martial law. You will all be receiving new orders momentarily." His scowl deepened, "Any refusal or disobedience of these orders will be considered treason and will be punished as such." Yang felt like he was talking to them directly. "This crisis is like nothing we've ever faced before, but I am confident that all of you will ensure that Atlas will endure. Ironwood out."
As the video cut off, all of their scrolls chimed as their orders were transmitted. There was a collective look of confusion in their small group.
"We've…been assigned to report to the basement of the school?" Nora asked, her voice laced with confusion.
"Just the six of us…" Jaune said, shaking his head, "Away from where everyone can see…"
"So we're all on the same page, then?" Yang said, "That this is a trap?"
"Absolutely." Ren said, everyone else nodding in agreement, "I think the question is, do we walk into it or not?"
"Do we have a choice?" Blake asked, "The General said that any dereliction of duty would be treated as treason, so if we didn't they'd just hunt us down and capture us anyway. If we go, we might have a chance to talk our way out of it, get whoever he sends after us on our side." the others nodded their assent.
Oscar shook his head, "I doubt it'll be that easy… I'm going to go and try and talk to him, maybe I can convince him to call off his goons, I might have better luck reasoning with him than you guys. He seems to trust me because of my connection to Ozpin."
Yang nodded, "Good luck. If you fail be sure to come visit us in jail!" she gave him a good-humored smirk.
He grinned, "Somehow, I don't think he'll let me walk around free if I fail." He waved, and took his leave of them.
Yang took a deep breath, "Ok gang, let's get this over with."
As they set off for the elevator banks, Blake slipped her hand into Yang's, giving her a worried look.
Yang smiled, giving her hand a squeeze, trying to assure her that they were going to be ok. Though, if she was being honest with herself, she had no idea how this was going to go.
As they boarded the elevator, she looked around at all her friends, their faces were worried but she could still see the determined fire in their eyes. A small smile played across her lips; she knew that no matter what they faced down in the basement, they'd face it together.
To those of you who stuck around after the tragic angst-fest that was the previous chapter, welcome back! I'm fairly certain we lost a few people after the last chapter, but I hope they'll be back someday! I'm so sorry for not updating for so long! The chapter before this took a lot out of me and I needed a bit of a breather. I also had trouble really getting into the swing of this chapter, but it really came together in the end I think.
I figured we could all use some adorable Bees content after the sadness of the last chapter. Something interesting actually happened when I started writing this: The paragraph where Yang and Blake are having an emotional talk about getting over their traumas was originally supposed to just be a conversation about how cool the fight against Neo was, but my angsty brain had other ideas. Coming up next is another Yang and Blake/Atlas crew chapter that I'm super excited to start working on!
Oh, if you guys are interested, you can follow me on Twitter! I'm Strudol. I retweet lots of RWBY content and occasionally some She-Ra stuff as well! Every once in a while I'll post progress on the fic I'm working on.
I think updates are going to be more sporadic for a while. I'm getting married in a few months and things are starting to ramp up. I hope you guys understand! Massive shoutout to AkAkumu43 for making some amazing fanart based on the last chapter! It's so good!
Leave a comment letting me know what you thought! As always, thanks to V for being a wonderful editor/beta; and, of course, thanks to all of YOU for reading!