The Grimm Tale of the Ace Ops

by LongSean22

The Ace Operatives. The most elite Huntsmen force in the most prestigious kingdom on Remnant. The best of the best. That’s what they’re expected to be. So then, why did General Ironwood just appoint a seventeen year old girl to the team? One that seems to have a strange sort of connection to the Grimm? As well as the General himself?

A/N- Hey! Let me just preface this story by saying clearly and concisely:

No, I do not want to get a comic or art commissioned for this story. Please do not leave a review to this story with a link to your discord so I can contact you. If I wanted to give you money, I would seek you out myself. Please do not advertise your services in my reviews. Especially when I know damn well you didn't actually read my story in the first place.

Seriously, it just ruins my entire god damned week when I get all excited to see I got a review, only to find it's some souless, cut and paste comment. If you do this, I will contact you and ask you to delete the review. And I will be much less polite in my asking.

Because I think you are scum.

OK, rant over.

Anyways... To anyone out there who actually WANTS to read my crap; How do you feel about the found family troupe?

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(Ten years ago)

The metal of the airship creaked under the cold of the frozen tundra in flew through. It's passenger and driver were unbothered though. Safe and warm inside the transports climate controlled interior.

Up front, the driver- clad in the typical prestigious Atlesian captain's uniform- stared straight ahead, steadily focused on the ships instruments guiding them through the darkness the ship flew through. The occasional specs of white from the light snowfall happening outside were blown out of his field of vision as quickly as they appeared, doing nothing to impede the nine tons of steel soaring through the sky.

In the back, strapped safely onto one of the many seats lining the walls of the carrier, was a broad chested, tall man, with short jet black hair, whose blue colored eyes browsed the dossier in his hand with a critical expression on his face.

His pristine, pure white uniform made it clear he was a higher rank than the man flying the airship. His long, immaculate waist coat gave off a sense of style and authority befitting the man who had a hand in running the most advanced kingdom on Remnant.

"We'll be arriving shortly, General Ironwood," The pilot said over the PA system.

The general's eyes darted off the papers in front of him just long enough to give the other man a curt nod, before they immediately went back to the folder spread open in his left hand.

Not many documents were stored in physical form these days, but when its contents were this important, Ironwood couldn't help but appreciate it. There was just something the old soldier trusted about simple, traditional, ink and paper. A scroll could break, get hacked, or simply fail after years of use, but a single sheet of paper could be locked away, preserved, under lock and key, as many as it took, stored with no digital record to be weaseled into from the outside by the hackers of the world. It was safe, secure, and confidential, and given what was typed out on this especially old looking document, those kinds of things were paramount, too important to skimp on.

After reading for another moment, the tall man's right hand went up to his forehead, absentmindedly tracing the edge of the small metal piece embedded in his temple on that same side, just above his eyebrow.

He was still getting used to the cybernetics, even after all these years, but they were worth the trouble. His comprehension and processing speed were off the charts now, easily digesting the heavy file multiple times on the ride. It was a welcome upgrade overall, as were the rest of his implants. His job required him to be in top form, not just as a Huntsmen, but as one who would lead the next generation of them well, and sometimes his best just wasn't enough, that's where the enhancements came in, to make up the difference.

Eventually, the tell tale feeling of decreasing altitude had the general folding the folder closed. He studied the cover for a moment in continued silence. It read: "Project Grimmwalker," with multiple red stamps on the cover detailing just how "confidential" and "restricted" the contents were. Ironwood's brow furrowed a bit at the words, before he placed the entire document in one of the many pockets inside his jacket for safe keeping.

Right on schedule, the airship hit the sturdy concrete of the landing pad, rocking only slightly. Once it steadied itself, the general immediately unbuckled and rose to his feet, eagerly leaving the vehicle before the pilot even had a chance to get out and open the door for him.

A burst of cold, arctic wind blew against the man's clean shaven face the second he pulled the hatch up. Barely phased, Ironwood stepped out onto the landing pad towards the group of Atlesian mechs waiting for him. In the center of the group was a man, a scientist, one whom the mere sight of made the general's face harden.

"Good evening, General Ironwood," the bearded older gentleman said, his cybernetic left eye glowing an unsettling bright red. "Welcome to The Spire."

The man in the lab coat gestured to the large, tower like building behind him. It stretched up into the grey sky of the Mantle's tundra, about fifty stories tall. All sides were covered in security cameras, antennas, and mounted turrets, constantly armed, in case anything somehow managed to scale the massive walls surrounding the structure. Given it's appearance, one could easily assume The Spire was not a tourist destination. It was, in fact, the kind of place very few people actually knew existed.

Years and years ago, around the time of Ironwood's predecessor, it had served as an outpost, used for documenting and researching Mantle's massive tundra, the largest, unexplored region of Remnant. However, once that endeavor proved foolhardy and dangerous- the wildlife in the frozen wasteland making exploration too risky, not to mention expensive- the facility was repurposed by the Atlesian government into a laboratory. The kind that ran the sort of experiments too dangerous to be run close to the kingdom.

Or perhaps more accurately; the kind they didn't want their citizens to know about.

"Dr. Merlot," The general said cordially, offering the scientist his gloved hand.

The doctor shook his superiors hand with his own cybernetic one. The glowing parts on the artificial limb matching his bright red eye.

Everything about this man made the generals skin crawl (what was left of it, at least). To say Merlot had a few screws loose was an understatement. His screws had long since fallen off completely, but at the same time, he was the foremost expert in the Spire's primary field of research;

The Grimm.

"I must admit, your unscheduled visit has caught me a bit off guard," Merlot said, the stern look on his face clearly displaying his distaste with the surprise inspection. "What, dare I ask, brings you to my frozen little corner of Mantle?"

The general stared down the cold look with his own, clasping his hands behind his back, his posture imposing as it ever was. "I wouldn't be having to make 'unscheduled visits' if you'd kept to the terms of our arrangement." Ironwood stepped past the scientist and his security robots, making his way towards the facility. "Six months. It's been six months since I've heard anything from you. I told you I wanted updates every thirty days. Not whenever it was most convenient for you."

Moving quickly to catch up with the general, Merlot shuffled up beside the taller man. "I understand, and I do apologize, general," he said in a patronizing tone that made Ironwood sick to his stomach. "The research we've been doing here has been slow, but provided such exciting results, I'm afraid it merely slipped my mind."

Ironwood didn't even dignify that excuse with a response. He just kept on his way, into the large, ominous building.

A pair of heavy, mechanical doors slid open automatically as the two men approached, the scanners installed above the door picking up their ID's even through the light snowfall.

They entered the sterile looking laboratory. White walls lined both sides of the long hallway. Outside of the two men's footsteps, the only sound was a low hum of the generators that kept the facility running.

At the end of the hall, the two Atlesian's reached an elevator. The general held his scroll to the scanner there, Merlot doing the same, both while under the watchful eyes of a security camera. They boarded the lift, the back wall of which was made of glass, revealing the inside of the lower levels of The Spire as they traveled upwards.

It resembled a massive warehouse, full of crates and cages, with sturdy metal walls and doors meant to keep things in. Down on the floor, a few of the cages were being moved by the robotic personnel, their contents making the heavily strapped down boxes rock back and forth. Sometimes a black claw or a beak would stick out from between the grating of the cage, and one of the mechs would jab at the creature inside with a shock baton, which increased the cages shaking for a moment, but then it would go still.

"As you can see, we've made great strides when it comes to keeping the beasts in captivity," Merlot said with a clear sense of pride. "It's brought us a great deal more understanding when it comes to managing these magnificent creatures."

Ironwood shot his subordinate a side eyed glance at his choice of words, but remained silent.

"...And the more we are able to learn about the smaller, less impressive Grimm, the more likely we'll be able to contain something much more worthwhile."

The elevator ride continued in silence for several, long, agonizing minutes, before Merlot continued; "I don't suppose you got my requests regarding additional funding to-"

"I did," Ironwood finally cut in. "Funny how you were always too busy for an update, but never to ask for more lien."

Merlot wilted a little under the damning look his superior gave him, knowing he'd stuck his own foot in his mouth.

"... But that's not why I'm here, and you know it." The General said, his gaze turning back to the pair of doors in front of him, just before they opened with a *bing*.

The gray haired man sighed. "Of course," He admitted begrudgingly. "Regrettably, that particular avenue of research hasn't been nearly as fruitful. Despite our best efforts, the subject isn't being cooperative."

Again, Ironwood gave Merlot a look, having to suppress a grimace at the use of the word "subject."

The two men exited the elevator, entering another hallway. Another scientist stepped out of his own lab, eyes glued to his scroll, only to do a double take when they noticed General Ironwood of all people walking past him.

The Spire's staff was mostly autonomous, especially the security. Flesh and blood staff was kept to a minimum, mainly for security reasons, but also to keep the Grimm from getting riled up over any surplus negative emotions a full staff might bring. Only a handful of scientists- handpicked by Merlot, of course- and a few guards, in the unlikely case any of the highly advanced systems failed. That was all it took to keep The Spire running effectively.

Eventually, the general and the scientist reached Merlot's lab. They walked over to the bearded man's large, white desk, were the older of the two took a seat on his side. Ironwood opted to stand, hands remaining clasped behind his back in a show of constant professionalism. Under the surface though, the general was eager to get this over with. The less time he had to spend in the company of this madman under his employ, the better.

Almost absentmindedly, Merlot pulled up a hard light dust screen over his desk and began pattering away at the keyboard that appeared below it. Time passed, and the doctor remained silent as he tapped at the keys. It was like he'd forgotten Ironwood was even there.

Swallowing the aggravation growing in his chest, the often composed and collected general let out a quiet breath through his nose. He knew a stalling tactic when he saw one. Did Merlot really think that dragging this out would end well for him?

Not willing to waste another moment beating around the bush, Ironwood spoke;

"I want to see her."

The ice cold tone behind the words made it clear that this was a command, not a request.

That's what had brought the general all the way out here today. There'd been this gnawing feeling, eating away at the back of his mind for months now. About this place, the doctor, and the one he'd left in his care. So when he finally found a break in his always busy schedule, Ironwood had grabbed the first available pilot he could find and finally made the trip.

At first, it seemed like Merlot ignored the request, his bright red, cybernetic eye continuing to scan the screen in front of it. Just as the generals patience began to reach its end, the scientists finally answered.

"I know you do," He replied without looking up at his superior. "But it's not that simple, James."

"General," Ironwood corrected immediately at the use of his first name. The last thing he wanted was to get chummy with this man.

The white haired scientist shot his superior a look that bordered on exasperated, which had no effect on the stone faced leader of the Atlesian military.

"It's not that simple, General," Merlot rephrased, but not without a tone that made the temper of even someone as composed as Ironwood start to flare like a bonfire. "The subject is incredibly volatile on a good day. I'm not about to just let you walk in there to undo all the good work we've done here simply to sate your 'curiousity.'"

The general's brow furrowed further, his teeth clenched, he tightened his fist to the point he could practically hear the servos inside whine under the stress. His mouth opened, a fiery hot retort on the tip of his tongue, but this time it was Merlot who cut him off.

"However, now I've had the proper time to pull up the logs from our experiments, perhaps viewing a few of them will help put your mind at ease?"

Ironwood stared down the bordering on insubordinate scientist for a few cold seconds. He wanted so badly to slap the insincere olive branch out of the other man's hand, but relented. No one got to his position in life- the headmaster of the most prestigious combat school in the world, as well as the leader of its strongest military force- without making compromises. Indulging the clearly deranged, manipulative, and poor excuse for a man before him for a few minutes wouldn't even make the list of the worst ones he's made in his life.

Besides, the only thing that had brought him here today in the first place was concern; unprompted, unrequited concern. Not the kind of thing he'd usually make a fuss over, but as stated, for some reason, this problem had been weighing heavy on his mind as of late. The general reasoned that if the tapes helped put his mind at ease, then he could be out of here all the faster.

"Very well," Ironwood said calmly, "but if I find them lacking, in any form, then you can bet there will be consequences, doctor."

Merlot gave the general a smile that would make a Beowolf heave up its breakfast. "In that case...," the bearded scientist pressed the floating display in front of him with his robotic arm, making it transfer onto the nearby wall and expand, "I suppose we'll begin with the first trials. That way you can see how far the subject has come since you left it in our care."

The screen flickered, then showed what appeared to be some kind of sterile environment for testing... or a maybe cell. Honestly, the difference between the two was negligible in this kind of place.

Ironwood firmly believed that in his long life, he'd seen enough horrors of the world to make himself relatively numb to them. Decades of work for the Atlesian military, nose to the ground Huntsman work, surviving the kinds of pain and injury that would have crushed lesser men, all of it had hardened him into the kind of leader and teacher Remnant needed.

He was unbreakable. The steel armor he'd surrounded himself with had no seams or cracks, no weaknesses to be exploited. It was impenetrable...

That's what he thought at least...

However, when that thin, frail looking, clearly malnourished, and mistreated, blue haired child shuffled on screen, he knew right away that image would stay with him forever.

It was too subtle for the general to notice it at the time, but it was in that one moment, that everything changed.

---

(Present day)

"Ugh... early... too early..." Marrow whined, his wolf tail hanging low in exhaustion, "no time for coffee, because... too early..."

"And hey, guess what? You complaining about that every three seconds? Isn't exactly making it any better for us," Harriet responded in aggravation from just to the left of the canine faunus.

"You know, if you kept to a proper sleep schedule you wouldn't be so exhausted when you woke up," Vine informed, looking as stoic as usual with his arms neatly folded behind his back. "Right, Elm?'

Unfortunately for the thin, pale Huntsman, his giant of a partner next to him had somehow fallen asleep standing up. Elm's posture was slouched to the side and her head was sagging onto her right shoulder, and there was a small trickle of drool coming out of her softly snoring mouth.

Vine sighed quietly, closing his eyes, before raising his hand and snapping his fingers in front of the muscular woman's face.

The brunette woman's eyes shot open immediately. "HUH!? WHAT!? WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!?" she said, flailing her arms at the air around her. Then the broad shouldered Huntress noticed the exasperated looks Vine and Harriet were giving her, as well as Marrow letting out a tired sounding snicker, and realized she'd been caught. "I, Uhhhh... I was... just resting my eyes?..."

"And even more of your brain than usual, I bet," the wolf faunus quipped. Even if he was still half asleep, he still couldn't resist roasting his own teammates.

Harriet gave an exasperated eye roll at the antics of her fellow Ace Ops. She'd only joined the team a little over three years ago, but it'd felt like forever, and she didn't mean that in a "old married couple" kind of way, where every day was just so magical and fun filled that the time seemed to fly by. No, she was already pretty much sick of all this.

The speedy Huntress hadn't even wanted to be on a team again after graduating from Atlas. Not to say Harriet hadn't gotten along with the one she'd been assigned during her time at the academy, she'd just... never really clicked with any of them is all. Then again, most of that might've been her own damn fault. The short haired Huntress wasn't so conceited that she couldn't admit that at times she could come across as a bit... abrasive. But whatever, she hadn't enrolled at Atlas Academy to make nice with anyone, she came to train with the best so she could become the best. Nothing else mattered.

Regardless, by the time her final year of training had begun, the quick footed girl had been counting down the days till she was out on her own. But then all that went out the window when General Ironwood himself had approached and recruited her for the most high profile, and prestigious, group of elite operatives in the kingdom, his Ace Operatives.

What was she supposed to say to that? No? Yeah, right. That was never an option for the competitive woman. She wanted to be the best, and what better way to do that than to be placed on a team with "Ace" literally in the name? It was the opportunity to stand with the elite of the kingdom- of the world even, and Harriet figured that if she could manage to stand out among them, then she'd finally get the recognition she deserved. Of course, had she known what she was getting into, maybe she wouldn't have been so quick to sign up.

She thought she could tough this out. Put up with these people for a decade or so, earn a few medals, then use that prestige to move on to something else, something even bigger- and ideally, solitary- but this was proving to be a trial all it's own.

Marrow was too young and annoying, Elm was boisterous and loud, Vine was almost infuriatingly calm literally all the time, and Clover?... Ugh. Not enough hours in the day to get into the issues Harriet had with him.

Then again, she supposed things could be worse. The others could all handle themselves in a fight at least. Enough to keep her alive, to watch her back, and so she offered them the same kindness. That was about as far as the pleasantries went though. Aside from that, they kept to themselves, stayed out of each others hair once they were off the clock. It was an arrangement Harriet was more than happy to keep up.

Every day, with each successful mission, the people were talking about them. They were finally starting to build up some notoriety around the kingdom, even in Mantle as well. All in all, it wasn't a bad gig, not at all, just not the kind of thing someone as ambitious as Hare saw herself doing forever.

Especially on days like today. When the General had ordered them all to report to the training room of the academy at the crack of dawn for an "important announcement" pertaining to "the future of the Ace Ops." One that, for some unearthly reason, couldn't wait until the sun was a little higher in the sky.

As much as it pained Harriet to do so, she had to admit, Marrow had a point. She hated getting up so early just to stand around waiting for some boring meeting. At least if there was a mission she'd have a fight to look forward to. Something to get her blood pumping first thing in the morning.

That didn't seem to be the case however. All the four of them had been told was to be ready, suited up in their uniforms, and wait for the General in the observation deck above Atlas Academies high tech training room. Which they had been, for almost ten minutes now, waiting for the General to arrive to a meeting he'd only labeled as "classified."

The lightning fast Huntress began tapping her foot impatiently as the seconds dragged by and she was forced to listen as Marrow and Elm continued their childish bickering back and forth. She tried closing her eyes to block them out, as per usual, but between the wolf faunus' annoying tone, and the giant of a woman's loud voice, it was a futile effort. She wanted to butt in, tell them both to put a sock in it, but Harriet knew from experience that would just be throwing more dust on the fire.

She looked to Vine for any sign he was as annoyed as she was, that he might be willing to put a stop to it. The lanky Huntsman's eyes met Hare's for a moment, before he offered a noncommittal shrug, and went back to standing at attention, waiting for his superior to arrive. As unhelpfully calm as always. Why wasn't she surprised?

The quick footed woman couldn't believe she was thinking this, but she wished Clover was here. At least their "illustrious" leader was usually able to reign these two in.

Come to think of it, where the hell was Clover anyway? Typically, he'd be the first one to arrive to a meeting like this, with a spring in his step and that insufferably cocky smirk on his lips, but he was suspiciously absent from the usual line up of clowns that Hare tolerated this morning.

Before she could dwell on the mystery for too long, the lights above the elevator on the eastern side of the room lit up with a *ding* which mercifully ended the bickering between her coworkers. The metal doors swooshed open and out of the lift strode General Ironwood himself, followed closely by- speak of the devil- Clover.

The instant the two men left the elevator, all the waiting Ace Ops stood up straight and offered their commanding officer a salute, an act that had been drilled into their heads since their first day at Atlas Academy. However, much to Vine, Elm, Marrow, and Harriet's combined surprise, a third figure exited the elevator after Clover.

It was a girl, a teenager by her appearance, with short, messy looking, striking, sky blue hair ending just above her shoulders. However, by far the most shocking aspect of her appearance were the markings on the young woman's face. Curving lines covered her cheeks in matching patterns, meeting across the bridge of her nose, with two thin lines going down from her eyes, as well as a pair of small spots on each side of her chin. The bizarre looking markings color was just as vibrant and blue as her hair- with both matching her eyes to boot.

Harriet raised an eyebrow as the girl hurried to catch up with the longer strides of the two men she'd arrived with. Was she a student? Possibly, but she wasn't wearing the academies typical uniform. Instead she was wearing what looked like a white duster jacket, grey pants, some kind of wrappings around her arms, black gloves, and a pair of dark blue boots.

Also, she was armed. Not huge surprise considering the line of work the academy specialized in, but that was just the kind of thing a professional Huntsmen always made sure to take note of. In holsters on each side of her coat were; in the left, an obvious pistol, and in the other was what looked like the hilt of a collapsible blade of some kind.

Okay, yeah, probably a student, if Harriet had to guess. That just raised bigger questions though. Chief among them being; Why was she here? What business did a girl her age have at a meeting that had been dubbed "Classified" by the leader of the worlds strongest military?

But it was the markings that really stood out to Harriet. The mere sight sent an odd chill down her spine. The curves of the lines, the symmetry, all of it felt eerily familiar. She'd go as far as to say that- aside from the color- they almost looked like... well, like the kinds of markings you'd see on a Grimm.

"At ease, everyone," the General said, taking his place front and center to his team, Clover standing to his left, and the mysterious girl settling into the spot on his right. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I called you here this morning. Well, without further ado, I want to introduce you all to Skye Volare."

Ironwood gestured to the mysterious girl, who stood up straight with her hands clasped behind her back, matching the General's pose and posture, trying to look professional. "Trying" being the key word. Harriet could tell from a mile away how nervous this "Skye" was. Hell, she was practically shaking in her boots. Also, now that she was viewing this girl from the front, Harriet saw she was wearing what appeared to be some kind of harness under her duster, that was giving off a bright blue light over her sternum. There was also a strange, out of place looking, golden hairpin holding back the blue locks over her left eye.

Just then, the cerulean haired teen happened to make eye contact with the quickest of the Ace Ops. Harriet gave the girl a scrutinizing look which immediately made Skye look away.

"...Though I admit, for some of you here, the introduction might seem a bit redundant," Atlas' headmaster went on.

Marrow, Vine, and Harriet looked at each other in confusion, until all their gazes drifted to Elm who was smiling like the cat that'd swallowed the canary. The tall brunette never did have much of a poker face.

"Heh heh heh," Elm chuckled nervously at her teammates, "Surprised?"

"That you managed to keep a secret for so long? Definitely," Marrow said, mildly impressed.

The muscular woman gave her faunus teammate a short glare, before turning her attention back to the focus of the conversation. "Hello, Skye," she said cheerfully.

The blue haired girl smiled shyly before mumbling out a quiet, "Hello..." in response. Her voice betraying her anxiousness.

Elm gave a toothy grin, before a light bulb went off in her head. "Oh! Is today finally the day?" she asked General Ironwood excitably.

"The day... for what exactly," Vine asked, genuinely curious about what had gotten his partner so riled.

"Yes, Elm," Clover interjected, "I'm proud to say that today is, in fact, the day." The leader of the Ace Ops looked to Skye and smiled fondly. The girl with the blue markings fidgeted a bit under his gaze, looking apprehensive, but also eager.

"Okay, okay, okay," Marrow chimed in, a hand massaging his temple as he looked exhaustedly at Elm and Clover, "are you two going to get to the point, or just exchange cryptic statements back and forth all morning. Because I can guarantee you it's way too early for me to have the mental power to deal with both of those options right now."

General Ironwood cleared his throat, regaining the attention of the room. "As I was saying," he began again, "This is Skye Volare," he said gesturing towards the girl in question with his hand, "and as of today she will officially be working as a part of the Ace Ops, on a provisional basis, that is."

There was a long silence in the room, before Harriet finally spoke up, "What?" she asked, sounding slightly incredulous.

This girl? This scrawny kid- that looked like she'd fallen asleep early at a slumber party and her friends had drawn on her face as a joke- was about to join the most elite group of Huntsmen in Atlas?

The rest of the Ace Ops -aside from Elm and Clover- had similar reactions to this news. "Uhh... no offense, sir, but... exactly how old is this girl?" Marrow asked skeptically.

Ironwood seemed to hesitate a bit before answering, "She's 17."

The silence returned as the three uninformed members of the team reeled from this new information. "That's... even younger than Marrow was when he was recruited," Vine said, a hint of surprise, and maybe even concern sneaking into his usual indifferent tone.

Said wolf faunus gave his teammate an unamused look, he was never a fan of being singled out as the youngest of the Ace Ops.

Skye rubbed the wrappings covering her left forearm uncomfortably as the members of the team she was supposed to be joining continued to voice their objections.

Surprisingly, aside from her initial outburst, Harriet remained quiet, simply staring at the blue haired girl in disbelief. There... there was just no way this was for real. This was supposed to be the most prestigious Huntsman team in Atlas. They only sought out the best of the best for their spots, and now Ironwood was adding a school girl to the mix? The quick footed Huntress had never once questioned a decision from her superior officer, the man who'd once been her headmaster at this very academy, but this one was proving very difficult to swallow.

"C'mon you guys!" Elm said boisterously, as she walked across the room, joining the General and Clover at the bizarrely marked girl's side, "Skye here's been training for years for this day. I can guarantee she's ready for this. I've seen her in action firsthand. She's definitely got my vote."

Elm offered Skye an approving thumbs up, brightening the blue haired girls mood a bit. Skye smiled in response, but did her best to hide it and remain professional.

"Elm's right," Clover cut in, "I've also been tutoring Skye personally for several years now, even the General himself has provided input in her development. She's passed every test we've given her just for the chance to be a part of this team. She's ready."

This time, Skye wasn't able to suppress the look of adoration and appreciation at the lucky Huntsman coming to her defense.

"I understand you apprehension," Ironwood interjected before the conversation could derail further, "And I also know that expecting the three of you to just blindly accept such a decision is a lot to ask. So what do you say to a little demonstration?"

This got the attention of the unconvinced Ace Ops. "Why do you think I asked to hold this meeting here of all places," the General went on, gesturing to the floor of the training room visible out the long window behind him. Atlas' headmaster turned to his blue haired pupil and gave her a confident smirk. "What do you say, Skye? You want a chance to show what you can do?"

The blue haired teen nodded solemnly. "Yes sir," she said softly but clearly, before stepping back into the elevator she'd arrived in and heading down to the lower level.

Marrow, Vine, and Harriet all exchanged glances before stepping up to the glass looking down into the empty, grid lined, training room, joining Elm, Clover, and Ironwood. Down below, Skye walked out towards the center of the arena as cubes of hard light dust started to form stacks around her.

"Clover," Ironwood said, "remind me, what's the recommended training level for new recruits at this school?" he asked, already full well knowing the answer.

"Five, sir" Clover said back with a grin.

"Hm," the General hummed thoughtfully, "set it to ten."

"WHAT!?" Marrow shouted, looking at the two as the leader of the Ace Ops set the difficulty of the session to the headmasters specifications, and then he looked down to the poor girl about to experience it.

Even Harriet couldn't resist giving her superior a skeptical look. Level ten was about as close to real combat as the sims here provided. Usually there were safety settings in the system to end a simulation once a cadets aura fell to a certain level. However, at the highest difficulty, those settings were all disabled. Only the General himself had the codes for such a level of training, for good reason, obviously.

Despite her admittedly sour first impressions of her, Hare couldn't help but hope this girl was tougher than she looked.

Down in the training room, across the floor from Skye, shutters on the wall opened up revealing several AK-130 droids whose bodies immediately lit up red as their visors slammed down over their heads. The robots all set their sights on the girl before them, as their arms morphed into heavy machine guns and they began advancing on her.

Skye was unflinching as the AK's approached, her cold blue eyes locking onto the mechs. She reached to pull out her weapons. Her sword unfolded itself in her grip, electricity covering the edge of the short blade. While her other hand reached for the high tech looking pistol holstered at her hip, it's grip fitting perfectly in her palm.

Once they were in range, the droids opened fire, round after round tearing through the air headed at Skye. The blue haired teen rolled nimbly to the left, returning fire with her pistol, taking the heads off two of the robots before they could reestablish their aim.

"Not bad," Vine said nonchalantly. The other two observing Ace Ops gave him a perplexed look. "Well, it wasn't," he responded, equally as nonchalant.

Ironwood never took his eyes off the blue haired girl as she continued to side step bullets from the last remaining AK unit.

C'mon, he thought, you can do this...

Skye got closer and closer, just barely dodging the rounds as they fired past her. Once she was close enough, the remaining robot switched out the machine guns on its arms for twin blades and dashed at its opponent. The blue marked girl raised her own sword and the two met, both slashing as they rushed past one another. For a moment, neither moved, until electricity surged through the robot and it fell to the ground, split cleanly down it's middle.

Marrow whistled quietly at the display, earning a glare from Harriet. Had everyone else here lost their minds? It didn't matter how well this weird girl disposed of a few tin cans, she'd have to do a lot more if she wanted to impress the fastest of the Ace Ops.

Suddenly a hail of gunfire started raining down on Skye from across the training room. Eight more AK-130 models appeared from behind the shutters, some firing, while others advanced, blades drawn.

The cerulean girl narrowed her vision, the years of harsh training she'd endured coming to the surface as she held up her blade, swinging it and deflecting the bullets she needed to as she ran to cover behind one of the many stacks of blocks filling the room. As she retreated, Skye fired off a few rounds of her own, but since she was more focused on defending herself, none of them did much more than dent the uncaring metal her opponents were comprised of.

Once behind the stack, Skye pressed her back against the pile of blocks. She took a moment to catch her breath, but the bullets didn't stop. The mechs combined fire was quickly beginning to tear through the hard light display she was currently resting against. She knew she didn't have long until her cover crumbled and collapsed back into nothing.

The blue haired girl closed her eyes as she tried to focus. She didn't get the chance however, as a pair of the robots appeared from around the corner and both swung their sharp appendages at her. Skye leapt into the air, landing on top of one of the AK's blade arms which had embedded into the cube she'd been leaning on. From her new perch she fired a bullet at one of the robots which blew it's head to pieces and sent it crumbling to the floor, then she leapt off the stuck blade and spun in the air before slicing down with her sword and cleaving the other in half.

Even then she didn't even get a moment to rest, as two more droids appeared trying to run the small girl through. Skye blocked the firsts ones attack, before ducking under the seconds, then back flipped over the other AK, kicking it in the back of the head as she did and making it stumble towards it's fellow droid. As the two of them got close, their friendly fire protocol's kicked in and they held their arms to their sides to avoid impaling one another. The two droids stared at each other for only a moment, before one fire dust charged round tore through both of their heads, destroying them.

Bullets still continued to pour down on the nearly destroyed pillar of boxes, the hard light dust they were composed of flickering away as it was slowly destroyed. Skye checked how much ammo she had left. Two bullets, and there were currently four robots, with two guns each, firing literally hundreds of rounds a second at her. Not great odds, but not impossible either.

Skye took another, quick breath, before she pressed a button on the side of her pistol's grip, changing the ammo type, before aiming at the floor directly beneath herself. With unflinching resolve in her eyes, she pulled the trigger.

At that same time, the AK's indomitable strategy of ripping away their targets cover finally achieved it's objective as the stack of boxes began to disappear, the bottom one being the first to go. However, in the moment the box fell away to nothing, it revealed only an empty space behind it, before the cube above it fell into it's place.

In the second it took for the droids AI's to comprehend this anomaly, Skye reappeared above the stack of hard light dust constructs, her pistol's muzzle still giving off a crackle of purple energy from the gravity dust shot she'd fired downward to launch herself into the air.

The AK units began to readjust their aim, the barrels of their machine guns already spinning and starting to fire again. Sky threw her electrically charged blade towards the one furthest to her left. The weapon stuck in the robots right shoulder, the force making it involuntarily turn in that direction, and it's already firing weapons tore into it's comrades. The closest two went down instantly under the assault of dust and metal, the third was badly damaged and spun helplessly in place.

The impaled AK finally regained control of it's body and went to face it's true target, but Skye had used the time she'd earned to rush in, grab the exposed hilt of her sword in the robots shoulder and tear it out through the droids side, dismantling one of it's arms. Then she pulled out her pistol and fired her last bullet into the other remaining AK, before spinning around and slashing the final one into pieces, ending the training match.

From above, the Ace Ops and General watched in silence. Of the three that had been questionable about the idea of this girl joining them, two gave slightly impressed looks.

Clover smirked at Marrow and Vine's expressions, gesturing with his hand towards Skye as if to say, "Told you so."

Harriet however, was still doubtful. "Sir, with all due respect," she said to the General, "robots are one thing, but you didn't bring us into this group to fight our own drones," the quick footed woman did her best to keep her tone civil, although she was still pretty livid at the idea of this teenager joining their ranks.

"She has a point," Marrow agreed, crossing his arms, "There're things out there that training bots just can't compare to. Like-"

"Grimm?" the headmaster interrupted, raising an eyebrow coyly. "You're right, so why don't we get to the real match." Ironwood stepped up to the console and activated the speaker system. "Well done, Skye," the General said into the microphone, his voice echoing loudly into the room below, "but are you ready to move on to the main event?"

Skye looked up, her expression difficult to read, but looking somewhere between reluctance and resignation. The blue haired teen nodded, and Ironwood pressed a few buttons on the controls ahead of him.

Down in the training room, another shutter opened, but behind this one wasn't an AK unit. No, instead an inhuman roar filled the large room as a pair of black arms reached out of the darkness, long white claws at the ends of their fingertips gripping the edges of its cage.

"What the crap!?" Marrow yelled. "Is that a-"

"A Beowolf? Yes," Clover clarified.

Sure enough, the wolf like Grimm crawled out from it's temporary prison, shaking it's head as if disoriented, before it's red eyes settled on Skye a few meters away. The Beowolf growled lowly at the small girl, crouching low and preparing to pounce.

Harriet looked on in disbelief, as she turned from Clover to Elm to Ironwood, all of whom were wearing the same unworried expression. They were joking, right? There was no way this was real, right?

"How did you even manage to capture a live Grimm?" Vine asked, looking more surprised than Harriet had ever seen him.

Ironwood smiled. "An excellent question. Keep watching, and I believe you'll find the answers yourself, Vine," he said cryptically.

In the training room, Skye stared down the Grimm. Then, to the surprise of the onlookers, she holstered both of her weapons.

Marrow looked like he was about to faint. Vine's hands were no longer clasped behind his back in quiet contemplation and were now out in front of him, as if he was confused as to what to do with them, genuine worry flashing across his face. And Harriet... didn't know what to feel about this turn events.

Sure, she wasn't thrilled about having some teenager join the team, but that didn't mean she wanted to watch this poor girl to get herself killed. The fastest Ace Op knew she was a bit of a jerk sometimes, but she was still a Huntress at the end of the day, and it was her job to protect people. Right now every fiber of her being was screaming at her to use her semblance and race down to the training room in a flash of lightning to end this madness, but even Harriet knew she'd never get there fast enough. It sucked, but at this point she knew that all she could do was watch.

That, and pray that whoever this kid was, she had a few tricks up her sleeves.

The Beowolf leapt towards Skye, claws out, ready to rend flesh. However, the blue haired girl didn't retreat, in fact, she moved towards the beast, bypassing it's razor sharp appendages as she pressed both her palms against the Grimm's black, fur covered chest.

What happened next was surprising to say the least. The Beowolf stopped moving, almost appearing to be frozen, before a soft blue light began to shine from where Skye's hands touched the beast. That light grew and grew, slowly overtaking the Grimm, as the cerulean markings on the girls face lit up.

Everyone watching had to shield their eyes from the light as it grew too strong to bear, all except Ironwood that is, his cybernetics allowing him to maintain focus on his pupil.

That's my girl, he thought proudly.

The blue light faded, revealing Skye and the Beowolf still in the same spot they'd been in, with one key difference between the two. The Grimm, once black with red lines on the bone like mask covering it's face, was now sporting a silvery white coat of fur, with the markings on it's skull matching the brilliant blue ones on Skye.

The transformation had all three of the uninformed Ace Ops jaws on the floor. "Yeah," Elm said with a chuckle, "it's pretty insane seeing it for the first time."

The Beowolf finally began to move again, though it's demeanor had completely changed. It regarded Skye almost... familiarly, leaning in close and sniffing at the blue haired teen. Skye held out a hand to the once savage beast, and to everyone's further surprise, the Grimm... licked it affectionately.

Marrow made a collection on unintelligible noises at the sight, and while Harriet would normally have been more than happy to see her faunus teammate at a loss for words for once, she herself was still trying to process what was going on.

Before she could though, Ironwood spoke, "Alright, let's start round two." Then he pressed another button on the control panel.

More shutters opened in the training room, and out stepped three more Beowolves.

At this point, Marrow, Vine, and Harriet didn't even know how to react. They could only watch as Skye and the Beowolf she had somehow "changed" both turned to face the quickly approaching Grimm. The beast with the blue markings roared at it's fellow monsters before rushing towards them with the same ferocity it had at Skye just moments earlier. The cerulean girl wasn't far behind, as she held her sparking blade out to her side and followed the Beowolf.

The clash of claws and sword lasted only a few minutes, the pale Grimm slashing and biting at it's kin while also making sure to protect Skye at all costs. The odd Beowolf suffered multiple wounds from the others as it tried to keep it's new partner safe, while Skye was always quick to counterattack with her electrical blade, lobbing off dark colored body parts from her opponents until only she and the Grimm she'd "turned" remained, the rest of the Beowolves mangled bodies disintegrating into dark smoke. The sole remaining Grimm's body was covered in cuts, its skull plating cracked in several spots, as it hunched over at Skye's side, breathing heavily.

Over the PA system, Ironwoods voice came through. "Excellent work, Skye," he said proudly, "now take care of that last one and meet us upstairs."

Skye didn't answer, she didn't even look towards the source of the voice, she just stared at the pale Beowolf, almost as if in a trance herself now. Slowly, she started to reach out to it...

"Skye?" the General said, a hint of worry entering his voice, "Skye... you know what has to happen next." Harriet gave her commanding officer a perplexed look out of the corner of her eye.

The blue haired teen snapped out of her stupor. She took one last look at the creature before her, then closed her eyes as the markings on her skin flashed briefly.

As if the color melted away from it, the Grimm returned to its black and red color scheme almost instantly. It raised its head to look at Skye, its crimson gaze locked onto her as it began to growl before it leapt towards the teen.

Fortunately, the damage the Grimm had suffered left it weak, and all the blue haired girl had to do was raise her sword ever so slightly and the beast inadvertently impaled itself on it, quickly disappearing after. Skye watched as the black smoke faded into nothingness with an unreadable expression on her face. It bordered somewhere between guilt and regret. Then she turned around without a word and made her way back to the elevator leading to the observation room.

"T-that was..." Marrow began, but the words seemed to fall out of his head halfway through.

"Awesome?" Elm said.

"Impressive?" Clover added.

"Classified," Ironwood interjected, turning back to face his team.

The wolf tailed faunus scratched the back of his head as he stared wide eyed at the training room. "I... was actually going to say really freaking weird, but yeah, those too."

"I'm afraid I have to concur," Vine chimed in. "That was... quite unlike anything I've ever seen before."

The headmaster sighed. "I know what you just saw might have been a little... jarring, but I assure you, Skye's particular set of skills will make her an asset to this team," the General explained. "We've spent years honing her gifts. I know she's young, but rest assured, I wouldn't be making this decision if I didn't have absolute faith in her ability." General Ironwood spoke proudly before his elite operatives.

"She's wanted this for years," Clover said, taking out his scroll, and with a flick of it towards the wall, set his display to take over the space. "She's struggled and endured so much, just for this chance..."

The screen the lucky Ace Op set up was full of smaller windows, each displaying a video of Skye participating in some form of training. Some were testing her endurance, running through a quickly changing obstacle course. Others had the blue haired girl practicing hand to hand with Clover himself, managing to actually keep up fairly well as the two clashed with practice batons. And sure enough, a few had the girl squaring off against Grimm. There were Beowolf's, Saber's, and even a larger than usual Ursa. The skinny looking girl was running circles around all of them, before sneaking in and changing them with a simple touch.

"... But we finally think she's ready to start working with us," Clover finished, a confident smirk on his face as he looked to his teammates for their response.

Vine, Marrow, and Harriet all watched the scenes before them in continued silence. None of them knew what to say to any of this.

"What exactly... is she?" Vine eventually asked in a tone that could have been misconstrued as tactless, but honestly? It was the question on each of their minds, and there really wasn't a polite way to ask such a thing.

Ironwood took a moment before answering. "She's... just a girl. Deep down, that's all she is." The general looked away, then continued his answer. "And she's suffered more than anyone her age ever should."

Clover and Elm shared a sad look while the others waited for clarification.

"As far as her... condition, is concerned, that is a bit more complicated to explain." Ironwood walked over to the display still playing on the wall, and tapped it with his own scroll. Immediately the training videos were replaced with documents and photos with multiple names, words, and faces blacked out.

"Skye first appeared on our radar a little over a decade ago. She lived in a small town in Mistral, called Chrysallium."

A few of the photos zoomed in closer, showing pictures of a small, unassuming town in the middle of nowhere. Mistral was full of them. They popped up almost as quickly as they were torn down. Many of the faces were covered with black spots to conceal the identities of the people that lived there, but aside from that, the photos were fairly normal looking.

In the corner of the screen, a picture of a much younger looking Skye appeared. It looked like a school photo of some kind. Her hair was longer, shaggier looking too, going down past her shoulders, and the curved markings on her face seemed slightly less prominent.

"From what we can tell, she was born with some sort of innate... connection to the beasts. Whether it's a semblance or otherwise, she has the ability to subjugate any Grimm she touches. They also seem to be... attracted to her presence as well. And it was this power which led to an unfortunate incident that destroyed her home town. An incident with the Atlesian government has since covered up for her own protection."

The photos of the small, unassuming town switched over to a much darker version. Buildings destroyed, plants and trees uprooted, and not a single person to be seen. A report was written in the margins of the photos, but much of the text was blacked out as well.

"The reports say that she simply lost control of her power, and in the process, inadvertently drew in a massive horde of Grimm that wiped the town off the face of Remnant. Skye was the only survivor, but to this day says she can't remember what exactly happened there. With no other options, the team handling the case took the girl in to be studied in the hopes of getting a better understanding of her abilities."

"She was sent to The Spire, a now defunct, top secret military installation in Mantle's tundra." A photo of the facility appeared on the screen, with the words "Inoperative" in bold red letters stamped over it.

"That was when her case first caught my attention," the general said, his steely gaze locked into the picture of The Spire. "I contacted one of the scientists there and he... I... once I found out about her, I..."

Uncharacteristically, the cybernetically enhanced headmaster seemed to trail off. He almost looked a little haunted for a second or two, before a quick shake of his head brought that same steely focus back into his usually cold looking eyes.

"I knew she could be an ally, an invaluable one. One that could very well change the course of all conflict on Remnant. So I took her under my wing, and with the help of Clover, Elm, and a few select others, we've kept her existence more or less a secret here in Atlas."

With another tap of his scroll, the display changed once more. This time revealing documents and photos, these ones much more forthcoming with their information. Not a smudge of black covering up a single word.

There were pictures of Skye, taken over the years, charting her growth. One of them showed that the markings on her face weren't the only ones she had. That, and they were apparently growing more and more, spreading out over her body, every year.

Another photo showed the blue haired girl getting her vitals read by-

Wait... is that Doctor Polendina? Harriet thought, immediately recognizing the crab-like contraption the Atlesian doctor used to get around these days. Before the she could ask about it though, the general turned around to address his team of elite Huntsmen;

"All of this was done in preparation for today. So feel free to think of her recruitment to your team as a kind of... trial run. A final test to see if she's truly ready to do what she was born to."

Harriet couldn't resist an eye roll. How very like Ironwood, answering a question by creating several dozen more. But she knew better than to dig for more info from her always tight lipped superior. If there was something more that they needed to know, he'd tell them. All she could do was trust him. That's what was called being a good soldier.

"So what, we're guinea pigs for her then?" Marrow said, lacking in the tact that Harriet had been exuding in not questioning Ironwood's judgment... or at least she hadn't been stupid enough to do it out loud.

"I say we give her a shot," Vine suddenly said, bringing the conversations focus to the thin Huntsman.

Marrow again tried and failed to stammer out a response while Elm 'whooped' loudly in response to her partners acceptance.

"Alright! I knew I could count on you, Vine!" The tall woman marched over to the thin man with her hand up, expecting a high five. Vine merely looked past the hand, at his partners face with a raised eyebrow, before redirecting his focus back towards Ironwood.

"I'm not going to say that I'm entirely comfortable bringing one so inexperienced into battle," the pale man continued, his neutral gaze falling onto the picture of the girl in question on the wall, "especially one with so many unknowns attached to them..."

The always composed Huntsmen let out a quiet sigh. "...But I agree with you on the point that her abilities may prove useful in the field, sir. So by that merit, I say she deserves a chance to prove herself."

Left hanging, Elm slowly lowered her hand. "Uhh... okay... Harriet?" She asked, turning to the smaller woman with a hopeful look in her eyes.

The quick footed Huntress looked between her teammate and Ironwood. She contemplated a moment before asking; "So, what exactly was all that about at the end there?" referring to Skye's hesitation in dealing with the Grimm she'd seemingly taken over.

"Nothing you need to worry about," the General replied sternly. "I promise, you don't have to concern yourself with anything like that happening in the field with her. Skye's a professional. She knows what's at stake out there, and I wouldn't be sending her out with you if I didn't think she was up to this mentally."

Harriet put her hands on her hips before sighing loudly. She closed her eyes in exhaustion, trying to block out her teammates expectant looks. It seemed like she was outvoted no matter what her opinion on this was. "Then fine," she said with minimal conviction in her voice, "I'll trust your judgement, sir. Like I always do."

She was still far from thrilled about any of this, but it was all out of Hare's hands at this point, and she knew that. The whole presentation they'd just sat through made it clear this wasn't really about asking any of the Ace Ops for permission, this was going to happen whether they wanted it to or not. It was obvious Ironwood had already made up his mind, and Harriet could either get on board, or get out of the way, and the latter wasn't an option for the always determined woman.

Honestly, this whole conversation still had Hare's head spinning. The things she'd seen in the last few minutes alone had torn apart and rewritten everything she'd ever known about the Grimm. All she knew for certain now was that they'd better not come crying to her when this poor kid got herself hurt... or worse.

"Then we're all in agreement then?" Clover said, looking over his team.

"Uh, hello?" Marrow said waving his hand in the air, "Everyone forget I'm here?"

Most of the time, yes. Harriet thought with a smirk.

Of course Marrow was going to whine and make this more difficult. The newest member of their team was always eager to share his opinion. Usually loudly.

Gods, he's so annoying sometimes. Never had to put with this stuff with Tort-

There was a bitter flare of something in Harriet's chest as the name entered her mind, but she quickly smothered it, along with the feelings it brought along. It wasn't worth thinking about, just like it wasn't worth getting into an argument over Marrow's belly aching.

Fortunately, it looked like Vine and Elm had a much more proactive solution to the faunus' complaints. The two had been working together for a long time, even before joining the team officially. So all it took was a shared look for the two for them to be on the same page about how best to get the young Huntsmen on board.

"I'm surprised you're fighting her appointment to the team this much, Marrow," the thin Huntsman said, the tiniest traces of a smile hitting the edge of his lips.

"Yeah, I thought you'd jump at the chance to not be the youngest on the team for once," Elm added, playfully nudging Vine slightly with her elbow.

"What're you-" the wolf faunus' eyes grew in realization. "Oh... OHHHHHH!" he said excitedly, an enormous smile blooming on his face.

Just then, the elevators door swooshed open again and Skye reentered the room. She barely got two steps in before Marrow leapt in front of her.

"Welcome aboard, newbie!" the wolf faunus said enthusiastically, his tail beginning to wag as he held out a hand to shake with Skye.

After recovering from the shock of Marrow's sudden approach, the blue haired girl studied his outstretched hand with a reluctant look in her blue eyes. Then she slowly reached out and gently gripped the edges of his fingertips, before awkwardly shaking them, with a just as awkward chuckle.

"U-um, thank you?" Skye said uncertainly, bowing her head slightly, before stepping around Marrow and returning to Ironwood's side, where she stood at attention, without another word.

The wolf man watched the odd girl walk away, then looked down at his still outstretched hand in confusion. "Was... it something I said?" he asked no one in particular.

"Yeah..." Elm answered in a low, discreet voice, as if Skye, Marrow and herself didn't have the attention of the entire room. She rubbed the back of her neck with a nervous smile before continuing, "Skye's still not great with the whole 'meeting new people' thing... Oh! But just give her some time though, I'm sure you'll all grow on her eventually."

Marrow gave his taller teammate a strange look, then turned to Skye who seemed to be doing everything in her power to not meet his gaze. Eventually, the dark haired faunus shrugged it off and returned to his spot alongside Vine, Elm, and Harriet.

Thankfully, before this situation could get much more uncomfortable, the General stepped in, "Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, I can get to the other reason I called you all here this morning."

The digital mural charting Skye's development was wiped away, switching to a diagram of a familiar looking piece of Atlesian technology that everyone in the room immediately recognized as Amity Colosseum.

"As you all well know, the Vytal Festival is only a little over a year away, which means it's time to start fueling up the old girl here-" The general gestured at the screen, "for the long trip to Vale. Which, in turn, means we'll need dust. A lot of it. Which brings me to.."

The screen changed again, now to a few reconnaissance photos of what looked like an old mining site, littered with equipment and trucks half buried in snow. Along with that, a couple more pictures featured some far away shots of Arctic Grimm prowling around the entrance.

"Tungsten Mine," Ironwood explained. "It was lost to the Grimm a few years back, one of many mining sites, I'm ashamed to admit. Which is why I decided it was time we took this one back. The raw, unmined dust inside should provide us with more than enough fuel for Amity's operation next year."

"But, sir," Vine interjected, "Doesn't the committee running the festival have an ongoing contract with the SDC in regards to this sort of thing?"

"Usually, yes," Ironwood explained, "however as I'm sure you've all noticed, tensions with the Schnee Dust Company and Atlas Academy have become... strenuous over the years."

"To put it mildly," Marrow muttered under his breath quietly, though not quietly enough to escape an elbow to the gut, courtesy of Harriet, that had the wolf faunus doubling over in pain.

Having either not heard the tailed Huntsmen's remark, or simply choosing to ignore it, the general went on, "Jacque has decided to play coy about renegotiating the terms of those contracts. So I've decided to hell with it, and to go over his head. The mine has been closed for so long its ownership has defaulted back to the kingdom, and with the council already having given its permissions, the mission is good to go. Plus, it will serve as an excellent test run for our newest recruit."

The general placed one of his gloved hands on the shoulder of the young girl at his side. Sky looked up at the imposing figure and offered the headmaster a determined nod, her tightly pressed lips making it clear she was trying her best not to smile too enthusiastically.

Removing his hand, Ironwood's gaze returned to the rest of the Ace Operatives. "So, tomorrow morning, the six of you will be undertaking a mission to retake Tungsten Mines, eliminate the Grimm that have taken up residence within, and reclaim the dust inside."

"Tomorrow?" Harriet asked, not quite able to disguise the surprise in her voice. "With all due respect, sir, don't you think that's a little short notice?"

The fact that all of this was essentially being forced upon them was bad enough, but to see the wheels were turning this fast, that they'd be thrown into a mission with an inexperienced rookie without taking the time to see if she was even a good fit for the team, it was a bit much, even for her.

"I understand your trepidation," Ironwood said calmly, "but I'm more than confident that each and every one of you is up to the task. Besides, our initial investigation revealed the Grimm in the mine to be low level at best. It should be a simple in and out. Nothing any one of you couldn't handle on your own, let alone as a group."

And there it was again. The "Iron" wall. A nice seeming way of telling Harriet that none of this was up for discussion. This was going to happen. All she could do was react to it now.

After letting out a quiet huff of air through her nose- pressing down her own frustration at the situation in the process- Hare gave her superior a nod.

"Yes, sir," she said obediently.

There were times to fight, and times to let things play out as they would. This was the latter. Best case scenario? They go on their mission tomorrow, and "Skye" here finds out she's in over her head. Then the general will realize his mistake and take her off the team, and things will go back to normal. That's the best Harriet could hope for.

"Alright then," Ironwood said, taking out his scroll one last time and pressing the screen a few times.

Each of the Ace Ops own device beeped as they received the same information the general had displayed.

"Take the time to go over the missions specs, and I'll meet you all for the debriefing at the scheduled time in the morning, bright and early. Dismissed."

The group Huntsmen and Huntresses all saluted before leaving the room, while also ignoring the long sorrowful groan Marrow didn't bother trying to contain at the prospect of another early morning ahead of him.

Elm turned back as she left, offering Skye a smile and enthusiastic wave on her way out. Vine exited alongside her, without so much as a glance backwards. Harriet, being the last to leave, stopped by the exit, giving the girl one final appraising look, before shaking her head and walking away, the door closing behind her.

That left Clover, the headmaster, and the blue haired girl alone.

Immediately after the doors *wooshed* closed, Skye's posture slumped forward, her mask of confidence and professionalism falling just as fast.

"Well, all things considered, I think that went pretty well," Clover said with a grin.

Skye looked up at the lucky Huntsman with a less than convinced stare. "Umm, just to be sure, we were at same meeting just now, right?" she asked.

Clover let out a quick laugh in response, before reaching over and tussling the short girls azure colored hair. Skye let out an annoyed shriek before batting away the taller humans hand. She glared up at the leader of the Ace Ops from beneath her- now somehow even messier- mop of hair, pouting slightly.

"Don't get me wrong," he said with a shrug, his grin growing even more amused at the sight of Skye trying to look intimidating, "I had a feeling it was going to be a disaster, but as far as disasters go, this one definitely could have been worse."

Skye turned away, crossing her arms, still not looking convinced. "They don't want me..." she muttered off to the side.

"They do," Ironwood corrected, crouching down to the marked girl and putting his hands on her shoulders, guiding her gaze back towards the two Huntsmen in front of her. "They just don't know it yet."

"The generals right," Clover concurred, "Besides, with the show you put on back there? How could they not want you on the team?"

A tiny hint of a smile crept into Skye's lips at the praise. "... I was nervous... I'm sure I messed up a few times..." she said, her eyes falling to the floor.

"You did great," the lucky Huntsmen said, hunching over so he was at both Skye and Ironwood's levels, "and you're gonna blow them all away tomorrow. I just know it."

This did get a genuine smile out of the downtrodden girl. Clover gave Skye a wink, before standing up straight. "I should get going to," he said, making his way towards the exit, but turned himself around halfway and began walking backwards out of the room, "Get some rest, kiddo," he said back to Skye as he walked, "and don't sweat about the mission too much. Elm and I will be right there with you tomorrow. We'll get it done."

The lucky Huntsmen turned to leave, but was stopped when he felt General Ironwood's heavy hand land on his shoulder.

"Clover," He said, giving the other man with a complex expression. " I... just... promise to keep her safe tomorrow."

Clover gave his superior a confident smile, and then a salute, before turning away again and leaving the room.

Ironwood stared at the closed door for a moment as he recollected himself, then turned back to Skye, who seemed to be fidgeting slightly, but still wore a tentative smile on her face.

"Did I... really do okay?" she asked, absentmindedly picking at her wrappings covering her arms.

The general couldn't resist the proud smile tugging at the ends of his lips. "Better than okay," He said, walking past Skye and over to one of the big consoles below the wide window talking up most of that side of the room. "You were nervous, I could tell, but when push came to shove and it was time to show your stuff, you performed beyond everyone's expectations. I'm proud of you, Skye, and you should be too."

The girl with the Grimm-like markings beamed at her longtime teacher, but her look quickly shifted to confusion as the general began reaching behind one of the consoles on the other end of the room.

"In fact, you did so well, I think you deserve..." Ironwood continued rooting around for another second or two, before he finally reached what he was looking for. "... Something special," he finished, pulling out a thin, plain brown, cardboard box, with a lid that looked like it was taped on, to keep its contents inside.

Skye's eyes widened at the sight of the box, clear wonder and excitement on her face.

"Clover may have had his 'doubts,'" Ironwood joked as he crossed the room back over to the blue haired girl, "but I never did."

He crouched back down to the short girls level, easily severed the tape holding the box closed his fingers, before presenting it to Skye. The girls bright eyes darted from the box to the man holding it, as if silently asking of it was really okay.

"Go on," Ironwood said, an eagerness in his voice as well.

With no further prompting necessary, Skye grabbed the lid and pulled it off, and it immediately fell from her hands and onto the floor as she saw what awaited her inside.

It was red. That was the first thing she noticed. Made from a thick, warm looking wool, folded over itself to fit in the box. The frayed edges gave its identity away almost instantly. It was a scarf. A blood red scarf. But Skye knew it was so much more than that.

Every Ace Op uniform followed the same color scheme. It was mostly all the white, blues, and blacks one typically associated with anyone that worked in the Atlas military, or attended the academy, buy there was one part of their attire that stood out among those drab, wintery colors. A streak of warmth in the cold, a tiny dash of red that stood out in each members appearance. There weren't really any strict guidelines on how they wore it exactly, it just needed to be included in the uniform, to stand out and let people know just who they were and what they represented.

Ever since starting her training, Skye had always wondered and fantasize about how she'd represent that color. As well as how it'd feel to finally wear it, to be working along the best of the best, to finally be able to use these accursed "gifts" of hers to help people. Now, it seemed like that day she'd long anticipated was finally here.

She eagerly went to accept, hands reaching towards the tantalizingly bright piece of cloth.

"...But first,"

Ironwood's interjection made Skye quickly retract her hands, looking like she'd been caught with them in the cookie jar.

"I need to tell you something," the general continued, his look suddenly getting very serious.

"This thing- this part of your new uniform- you need to understand, this isn't a gift. It's a responsibility," he explained. "Like I told you when we started; The Ace Operatives are the most elite and renowned Huntsmen in all of Atlas. People look to them when their lives are in jeopardy. They have to be better, faster, and stronger than the rest."

The broad shouldered man set the box on the floor between the two of them. He reached inside and gently lifted out the scarf, holding it in front of himself and Skye.

"What you've been through up to this point- the training, the testing, all of it, I know it's been... hard," he said, keeping his focused gaze locked on the young girl in front of him, "but because of that, I have to warn you; That everyday you face out there, will only be harder."

"This isn't a gift," Ironwood reiterated, his tone deadly serious, "It's a burden. One not to be taken lightly. Do you understand?"

The blue haired girl looked from Ironwood to scarf. She studied the outstretched piece of cloth a moment longer. Then, with zero apprehension, she put her hand on it, running it across the smooth material, before gripping it. She took a deep breath, and lifted the scarf from the generals hands.

She put the crimson cloth over her head, resting it on her shoulders, and then loosely wrapped it around her neck, its two ends hanging down in front of the pale blue light radiating off the harness on her chest.

Skye looked the general dead in the eye, and after another quick breath the settle her nerves, she said;

"I'm ready."

Ironwood studied the teenager before him and smiled fondly, before rising back to his full height, tucking his hands behind his back, and trying to settle his face back into his usual professional, stoic expression.

"Well then, allow me to be the first to say; Welcome to the Ace Operatives, Skye Volare."

The girl with the Grimm-like markings stood up straight and saluted her general, just like she'd always been trained to do, but as she stood at attention, the hand at her forehead began to tremble. Soon after, the rest of her body followed suit. Her wide, blue eyes squinted as she tried to hold back the happy tears.

Eventually, the dam burst. The serious expression Skye had barely been managing to maintain was replaced by a massive, toothy smile. A few stray tears slipped out as the teenage girl lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the generals torso.

"Thank you, Dad," she squeaked out, her face buried in the man's long overcoat.

Ironwood was a caught little off guard by the sudden embrace. His face betraying his surprise for only a moment, before it melted back into a gentle smile. He brought a hand up and placed it on the back of Skye's head.

Then, as if she'd suddenly realized what she'd done, the blue haired girl immediately backed away.

"Er- I mean- Thank you, sir," Skye said, quickly correcting herself and returning to her earlier saluting pose, after taking a second to wipe away at the corners of her eyes.

The general laughed. "It's alright, Skye," he said, his tone switching to one he rarely used.

There was a gentleness in it. The kind of voice you used when talking to someone who you'd known a majority of their life. Someone you'd helped to raise.

"You can call me whatever you like when it's just the two of us," he said adoringly. "Just try and keep things professional around the other Ace Ops, okay?"

Clover and Elm were already more or less aware of the... familiarity between Skye and himself. Ironwood had never really gone out of his way to keep it a secret, but then again, it had never really been a part of the plan in the first place. It'd just sort of happened.

Regardless, the General could already sense the other Ace Operatives apprehension when it came to their newest member. Revealing the connection the two of them shared would only make that worse. It would be best if Skye proved what she could do first. If they found out later down the road, it would be one less hurdle to deal with.

"Yes, sir," the marked girl replied with a cheerful smile.

Skye looked down at the scarf around her neck, taking it by one of its loose ends and rubbing it gently with her thumb. "The other Ace Ops..." she said thoughtfully, "so it's official now? This is really happening?"

"It is," Ironwood answered confidently. "You've earned this."

The blue haired girl beamed up at him, before- with much more restraint this time- she stepped forward and embraced the man one more. This time, Ironwood returned the hug with zero hesitation, tightly wrapping his arms around what was quite possibly the most important person in his life, someone who made him feel in a way he thought he'd abandoned a long time ago.

They'd been this way for years now. The pair shared a familial bond that went beyond genetics. In every way that mattered, Ironwood saw the blue haired girl as his own flesh and blood. More than that even. Skye was his heart, in a manner of speaking, a living manifestation of everything about him that was still good and decent.

The excited girl eventually let go, the smile plastered across her face as priceless as ever to the man receiving it. "Thanks again, Gener- ... Dad," she said sweetly.

"OH! I should go tell Penny!" she added before turning and starting to bolt out of the room, but stopped halfway. She turned back, standing up straight and looking professional again. "May I be excused, sir?"

The General smirked once more. "Go," he said with an eye roll, "I still have some work to finish up here, so I'll meet you back at the living quarters for dinner."

Skye nodded, before hurrying away.

Now alone, Ironwood let out a content sigh. He turned towards the display on the wall, brought out his scroll and began to close the multiple windows he'd opened during the presentation. However, when he got to the picture of the destruction of Chrysallium he paused briefly. He looked at the deserted streets and homes, all either crumbling or completely destroyed. Then he looked down to the corner of the screen, to the picture of the scrawny, innocent looking, seven year old girl that had been at the epicenter of all that destruction.

It wasn't her fault...

The General let out a massive sigh. Sure, he knew that. He was one of the only ones that did. But he could never tell her. If Skye knew what had really happened that day... Well, one look at the destroyed city still on the screen gave away what would happen.

He loved Skye like a daughter...

That's why it broke his heart to keep so many secrets from her:

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A/N- Well, there that is. Now for the inevitably long author notes...

I originally wrote this story back in 2020. Mainly just to get the premise out of my brain. It did surprisingly well back then. Probably because volume 7 had just come out, and we'd just been introduced to the Ace Ops. So appeal was high. So what better time than five years later- during the hiatus-iest of haitus' RWBY has ever seen- to revisit this idea?

I spit shined the story the best I could to get that 2020 stank out of it. Still not entirely in love with it. But I guess I'll leave it up to you guys whether or not this becomes a thing. Because god knows what I need in my life is to be flip flopping between uploading chapters of stories again.

Speaking of which, on the topic of Show Me How You Smile... look man, if the rant at the beginning of this story wasn't any indication, the bot reviews have me severely burnt out. Seriously, I'm like one or two more of those away from just burning the whole thing down.

I want to finish it. I really, REALLY do, and I probably will. I'd say I'm about where I was at when Ballad of Oreonna was wrapping up. I'll slog through. Somehow.

In the meantime, let me know what you think about this premise. And I hope I can do more soon. Reviews help!

Unless you're gonna copy and paste an ad for your commissions, in which case, die in a fire!

Okay, Later!