A/N: So as you may have noticed, I made like an XCOM Rookie and lost control of the situation. It was equal parts real life getting in the way and me not being happy with the first draft for several scenes. I used to have a backlog of buffer chapters for this sort of situation back when I wrote RWBY Within, but I burned through all the ones I had for Remnant Unknown a couple of months ago. The upside is that I'm quite pleased with the end result, and I think it sets up the rest of the BoB quite nicely.

Enjoy.

Coco Adel kept the bullets flying for a solid ten seconds before she realized that something had gone wrong. The roar of her gun coupled with her focus on the frustratingly agile Orryn meant that she had very little attention to spare for the audience. Eventually, however, the screams grew loud enough where she could hear them over the hail of bullets, and that's when Coco took a moment to glance away from her opponent and towards the stands. Confusion set in when she saw people scrambling for the exits, trampling over one another in a bid to leave as fast as possible. That confusion turned to horror when she noticed that the people who weren't racing to leave the stadium were, in fact, not moving at all. Bile rose into the back her throat as she caught sight of bloody, mulched bodies frozen in unnatural positions. Some survivors tried to limp to safety while others found themselves trapped and helpless beneath the slick carcasses of the less fortunate.

This… this was bad. A small part of Coco's mind warned her that with so many people dead or dying (and the gore… even from this distance, Coco could see so much ripped flesh and viscera), the panic had already set in. And since people knew that panic was the Grimm's siren song, they were scrambling to escape this floating death trap before that happened, thereby creating even more panic despite the fact that the deadly hail of dust had stopped. Coco watched as law and order crumbled all around her, a stark realization hit her like a truck.

This was her fault.

When Coco let her beloved weapon fall to the ground, Orryn glanced over his shoulder to see what had shaken his opponent.

He said nothing, but fell to his knees and painted the floor with vomit instead.

Van Doorn's response crackled over the comms almost instantly. "Acknowledged, Central. We have two Strike Teams standing by for immediate dispatch and five others getting prepped. Give me a drop zone, and I can send in the cavalry."

Which drop zone? Bradford watched Jane Kelly pull the councilman to the floor while he tried to think. Charlie wouldn't need backup, since most of the huntsmen were already here. Besides, a purple portal appearing in the center of the recently-compromised arena spewing out armed operatives probably wouldn't be Remnant's best first impression of XCOM.

The Grimm hadn't arrived yet, though Bradford knew that would change in a matter of minutes. The city was probably in greater danger of being overrun than Amity, honestly. Bradford would be mindful of the Nevermores, but he needed boots on the ground to get a handle on the situation at Beacon.

"Timmons." Bradford called out to the operative manning the comm room, "What's Alpha's status?"

"About to be overrun, sir." Timmons answered, "Perimeter sensors are picking up a lot of Grimm, and they're moving fast. Most contacts are smaller, but there's a couple of big ones. A Strike Team wouldn't have much time to dig in before the mob hits."

"Foxtrot?"

"Lot of friendlies and lots of movement at the fairgrounds. I'm guessing they saw the video feeds."

The people at the fairgrounds were in the most danger, by Bradford's estimation. Perhaps he could mitigate the negative press of deploying the hyperwave portal in plain sight by timing it so that his teams come out and immediately engage the Grimm. And as cold as it sounded, more targets for the monsters meant that Bradford's operatives could worry less about their own safety and more about taking out their targets.

"Peter, prep the ship for deployment to Foxtrot and coordinate with Timmons. I want Gunners, Infantrymen, and Assaults armed with Gauss weapons on the ground shredding those Grimm apart as soon as they break the tree line. Medics on standby to patch up any friendlies that take a hit. No explosives. No need create even more of a panic. Once we've established a secure foothold, we can deploy Scouts and Snipers to spearhead efforts to expand the safe zone."

"Understood." Van Doorn acknowledged, "Should I get the MECs prepped?"

"Prepped but not deployed. Whoever orchestrated this is probably watching the mayhem carefully. No need to play all of our aces at once. No Titan or Archangel armor for the fireteams, either. We'll roll those out on an as-needed basis. What's the status on the Odin?"

"Out on an operation, Central. They're due back in two hours."

"Hopefully we won't need that kind of firepower, but I want Penny ready to go with the rest of the armor as soon she gets back with Gidjit. Beags? We need to sync up with Ozpin and Ironwood ASAP."

"Already on it, boss. I'm headed to the General's quarters now."

As Bradford made preparations to mount a defense, Shen was desperately trying to get through to Ruby on his scroll.

"Dr. Shen?" The huntress finally replied, "I don't mean to be rude, but now is a really bad time-"

"Believe me, I know." Shen quickly answered, "I just want to make sure Lily is alright."

"What do you mean?"

Ice slowly filled the Chief Engineer's veins as he heard the confusion in Ruby's voice. "I'm on Amity with Lily, and I sent her to go see you about five minutes ago. You… you have her, right?"

"… No, Doctor. I don't."

Lily Shen didn't know why people were screaming and pouring into the hallway like a swarm of insects, but she knew that it meant something bad had happened in the match. She quickly pushed herself back against the candy shack to avoid getting caught and trampled in the oncoming stampede, but she knew that she couldn't stay here for very long. This sort of thing is what her father was afraid of when he hesitated to let her go to Remnant, and she knew that it wouldn't take long for things to go from bad to worse.

Was that blood on some of the people spilling out of the vomitorium? She needed to let Ruby and her friends know she was trapped out here. She pulled out her scroll and started pounding out an SOS

Pyrrha I need help. Im out by th-

Lily cried out as a panicking tourist crashed into her and sent the younger Shen tumbling to the ground. The scroll fell out of her hand and clattered into the stampede. She pushed herself back against the wall away from the danger of the crowd and felt the panic slowly eat away at her. Nobody knew where she was, nobody knew where to look for her, and soon the Grimm would be the bigger problem on everyone's mind. Lily didn't know if she should just go with the flow of the crowd and wait by the docks for someone to find her or if she should just sit here and try to catch a glimpse of someone she recognized in the crowd.

The screams from the audience drowned out anything else that Lily might hear, and Lily watched in horror as the escaping civilians grew more desperate. Children and elderly alike that failed to keep up with the violent motions of the crowds were pulled underfoot, and nobody seemed to care enough to stop for a moment and pull them back to their feet. The cries of mothers screaming for their children hit a little too close to home for Lily, and the younger Shen drew her knees closer and felt her eyes glaze over as the reality of the situation slowly began to set in and stifle any semblance of hope or logic.

"Dad…"

As her mind continued to shut down, Lily felt a pair of strong arms pull her up into a standing position. She vaguely heard a confident voice say something about a safe zone as its owner helped her into the crowd and towards the outer docks. A small part of her screamed that she needed to resist and find a way back to her father. The rest of her, however, refused to break free of its shell-shocked mental stalemate. Wherever this 'safe zone' was, maybe she could find her father there.

Then she could apologize for being so careless.

Amid the backdrop of screams, a multitude of voices flowed in and out of Arslan's head.

Commanding. "Everyone, call in your weapons. Now!"

"Please, everybody stay calm! Everything is under control!"

Determined. "Don't need to tell me twice, boss. Scroll's estimating that they'll be here in about a minute and a half."

"Let's hope that the Grimm take longer to get here."

Terrified. "Arslan? W-what do we do?"

"Make your way to the docks in a safe and orderly fashion!"

Analytical. "If those shields are still down, then it means that we should expect fliers to come straight into the arena from above."

"Ren, get to the wounded and see if you can do anything to help."

"Right."

Concerned. "Arslan? Hey… you alright, boss?"

"Atlas security is probably trying to handle perimeter security, but I'm certain they could use some help."

"My boys and I are on it. We'll send our weapons to the docks and support the security detail however we can."

"Thanks, Sun. Penny? What's your status?"

Optimistic. "You know me, friend. I'm always combat ready!"

"Say something Arslan. You're starting to freak me out."

"Somebody needs to get down to the arena floor before the Grimm arrive and get Coco out of their. She looks pretty shaken."

Blunt. "She just massacred a crowd of people, or worse. I don't blame her."

"Hey, is Arslan alright? She's looking a little pale."

"Hang on, I've got a call from… Dr. Shen? Weiss, handle Arslan."

"Arslan. Arslan!"

ABRN's team leader blinked as Weiss grabbed her shoulder. "What… what just happened…?"

"Shit just hit the fan is what happened." Weiss growled, "Grimm are going to be bearing down upon us in seconds, and we need to keep these civilians safe as they try to reach the ground. So pull yourself together and get your team coordinated."

You need to have the strength and resolve to command your squad when everything feels like it's falling apart around you.

Suddenly, the world snapped back into focus. "Right. Where do you need us?"

"There are a lot of people trying to escape all at once." Jaune said, his eyes locked on Coco, "They could use some help doing it safely. Your team is good at staying mobile, so try to move in and assist wherever you see an opportunity."

"Pyrrha." Ruby said, and Arslan noticed a hint of real terror in her voice, "Lily's lost somewhere in the Colosseum."

Lily? Arslan glanced at Pyrrha and saw a horrified expression splashed across her face "Shit! She messaged me about coming to see you about ten minutes ago. I… I completely forgot."

"We need to mount a search and rescue. Shen isn't leaving until we've found her."

"Situation just got a whole lot worse, Ruby." Jaune interrupted, "They're here."

"Central, this is Strike Six." Captain Eduardo 'Otter' Fonseca announced as he made the jump through the relay, "We're groundside on Remnant."

"And we've got contacts. Lots of them." Leo 'Desperado' Ward called out, raising the Gauss Rifle to his shoulder and popping off an opening volley at a Beowolf charging the fairgrounds.

"Your instructions are clear, Sixes: secure the fairgrounds and establish an FOB. Protect any civilians you encounter, and keep me appraised of the situation."

Fonseca raised his own rifle and dropped another Beowolf. "Understood, sir. We're going to have our hands full, I think."

"A wise man once said 'it will take many bullets to win this war.' I suggest we use them."

That got a chuckle out of Desperado. "Seems fitting to quote the old Colonel at a time like this. Squad, form up on the Captain and advance."

With no Nevermore on the horizon, the operatives had little reason to take cover against the melee-restricted Grimm. Even so, XCOM's experience with the Grimm had allowed Strike teams to develop tactics and formations attuned specifically to combating the soulless monsters. The Assaults took point, Alloy Cannons at the ready to eviscerate any Grimm that got past the rain of fire. Infantrymen filled the mid-line while they surgically lit up approaching contacts. Gunners hung back as their LMGs swept across the enemy ranks to light them up with holo targetting. Fonseca and his fellow Medic stayed in the middle with the other riflemen, weapons locked and medkits at the ready when things invariably took a sour turn.

Several Atlesian soldiers glanced at the newcomers with shock before realizing they didn't have the luxury of questioning why a purple gateway dumped a team of soldiers into their fairground. The team methodically spread out along the edge of the AO in an effort to expand their foothold against the horde and maximize their overlapping fields of fire. They were holding the Grimm at bay for now, but Fonseca knew that could change in an instant.

"Who are you people?" One of the Atlesian soldiers asked as he fell back to Desperado's position. "Identify yourselves immediately."

"Armed and trained soldiers here to save your ass." Ward growled, "Your boss is going to get a nice, long debriefing after this mess is cleared up, but you need to shut up, nut up, and shoot these goddamn Grimm."

The Atlas soldier didn't know how to respond to that.

Over the chattering of their weapons, piercing screams among the tents and food stalls bore into the soldiers, and Ward saw the two Atlesian guards exchanged nervous glances. What about the rest of the security detail? Surely there weren't so many Grimm that the regulars had become overwhelmed already.

"Tusks." Fonseca warned, "We're about to have some up-close-and-personal company."

Desperado swore under his breath before giving the guards a stern look. "You've got two options: stick around for this bloodbath, or make yourselves useful by helping those civilians trapped in the fairgrounds. Choose quickly."

The situation finally clicked for the guards, and they nodded at Desperado before turning and dashing off into the sea of tents. One of the guards even offered a salute, a gesture that almost made the Captain laugh. The Boarbatusk charge, however, wiped any hint of mirth from his thoughts. Both Gunners did their best to shred the armored skulls of the hogs and soften them up for the other operatives, but every second spent focusing on chargers meant a second less tearing down the multitude of Beowolves.

"Assaults." Fonseca called out.

"Weapons locked and loaded." One of the frontliners called out, and the underslung bayonet flipped into position and quickly took on a red-hot glow, "We're ready to receive."

The first Boarbatusk that reached close-quarters was instantly blasted back by a blast from Six-Five's Alloy Cannon while the second succumbed to concentrated fire from Desperado. The third, however, slipped past the withering gunfire long enough to close into melee with one of the Assaults.

"Christ, that was close!" Six-Eight cried as he rolled out of the way, blasting the Boarbatusk from the rear as he pulled himself into a kneeling position.

"Mind the flash." Fonseca warned as he chucked a grenade towards the treeline. It exploded with a burst of blinding light, disorienting the fresh Grimm so that his team could focus on the closer threats. Six-Five speared another charger and killed it with a point-blank shot from his weapon. With his attention on the squealer, a Beowolf managed to come up from behind and swipe him in the back.

"Fuck!"

Ward quickly put down the offending monster, but the damage was done. Not only was Six-Five shaken from the attack, but the squad's second Medic had to stop shooting to render aid for the injured operative.

"Hang in there, team. We've seen worse than this in Sao Paulo." Fonseca said, slapping a fresh magazine into his rifle, "Gunners, I want full-auto sweeps to suppress as many of the Grimm as possible. The rest of us will prioritize targets on a closest-to-furthest basis. Use Flash if they start to get too close."

"Ammo reserves are okay for now, but that's gonna change soon." Desperado reported over the comms, "Commander, when can we expect reinforcements?"

Van Doorn's voice came through loud and clear from the other end of dimensional space. MacAuley's comm center was a godsend. "Getting prepped as we speak. I'm sending two Engineers with the team, and they're loaded up with ammo instead of explosives. Should keep your team stocked and happy."

"The extra firepower will be more than welcomed. We're barely holding against the flow of Grimm as it is. Hard to secure the fairgrounds when we're barely keeping a foothold around Foxtrot." Fonseca answered.

"Understood, Sixes. Until Central gives the go-ahead for explosives, you're stuck dealing with the Grimm by conventional arms. Gunners will have to do for now."

Gunners would be just fine by Fonseca, though he wondered if Strike Six's current situation was just a prelude of things to come. With this many people fearing for their lives, how long would it take before the Grimm ran out of motivation to stop their onslaught?

And when would the bigger Grimm decide to show up?

Coco looked up and numbly acknowledged the darkened sky as a horde of Griffons poured into the arena. Not that she was surprised, what with all the carnage and havoc she'd just brought down upon the Colosseum. How could she have been so careless? She'd focused so hard on trying to shoot down Orryn that she didn't notice all of the people behind him that were now injured (or worse) because of her. It didn't matter that it all happened so quickly. She was a huntress, dammit. Trained to be the best of the best, and this is all she had to show for her efforts? The blame for the whole catastrophe rested squarely on her shoulders.

A small voice of reason in her head angrily countered that it wasn't fair to say something like that. How could she have known that the shields would fail? Should she have spent the entire match paranoid that disaster would strike at any moment? Who would possibly benefit from an attack like this? Too many faunus sat in the Colosseum for it to be a White Fang plot. Anarchists? Surely the academies would have been informed of such a threat, and Ironwood would have taken steps to put them down. And whoever was behind it, how did they manage to take the shields down? During this internal struggle, a second voice of reason tried to point out that the Griffons were getting closer.

Oh, right. The Grimm.

Coco looked down at her weapon, the culprit of the atrocities she'd just committed and the reason for the position she now found herself in, and acknowledged that picking it up would probably be a good idea. She registered the almost-muted cries of Velvet and Yatsuhashi in the background, screaming at her to get out of there. Why? She caused this mess, it only seemed right that she try to fix it. Her limbs moved like molasses as she reached for her gun. Then again, what good would it do to fight? Those people were already dead, and shooting down a few Griffons (who would probably dissipate and rematerialize elsewhere) wouldn't change that. And what if she screwed up and shot some more people instead? The first time, though horrific in magnitude, was an accident. Making a conscientious choice to pick that fucking thing back up even though she knew the risks this time around? That toed the line with murder.

And yet, 'That fucking thing' was an inseparable part of her identity. It made the feeling of betrayal all the worse: a weapon that she had learned, mastered, and loved through training and determination that had suddenly become an instrument of destruction. Did that make her an avatar of death? She was always amused with the idea of becoming a beacon of hope, meting out justified punishment against the hordes of Grimm clawing at the proverbial gates, but never had she considered the idea that her skills could just as easily take the lives of those who depended on her. Would she have to live with this burden for the rest of her life?

Even so, she still had a duty to serve and protect those very people even now. Her friends and teammates dropped into the arena to try and come to her aid, but without their weapons, what could they really do? Orryn's daggers may as well have been safety pins for all the help they would be in this fight. Whether she liked it or not, she needed to pick up that gun and stop the Grimm from doing anymore harm. Coco grabbed her gun (was she imagining things, or did it feel heavier?), turned to face the descending flock, and pulled the trigger. The roar of her gun, which once brought her enjoyment and comfort, now sounded cacophonous and unsettling. What scream or cry for help was she drowning out this time? Her aim felt shaky as she tried to track the Grimm and shoot them down in turn, with none of the usual style and flair her fans had grown to love. It would only be a matter of seconds before the Griffons reached her, and then-

Something collided into Coco with a grunt and sent her tumbling sideways. Her head smacked into the ground and caused her vision to explode into stars, but her hearing remained perfectly intact.

"Orryn!" She heard the voice standing above her shout, "Fall back! Pyrrha! Gun me!"

Still dazed from the surprise tackle, Coco looked up in time to see her minigun levitate and fly into the hands of JNPR's team leader. He swung it around to bear down upon the approaching Grimm and the wave of bullets resumed. The way he carried her gun, his knees bent and his arms relaxed, Coco would have sworn that someone with his finesse had been using heavy weapons for years. And yet, all he ever fought with in the tournament was that sword of his. Orryn knelt down on her right to try and help Coco to her feet.

"Did you know he could do that?" Orryn asked, glancing at Jaune.

Coco's gun roared in his hands, and Jaune let loose a gutteral scream to match as he shot down the Grimm with an intensity that reminded Coco of the first time her team accidentally walked in on JNPR practicing for the tournament. And yet, the rage was focused… controlled. Jaune didn't wildly swing the minigun around and aim it at anything that moved. His motions were crisp, and his targeting methodical. Rather than focus fire on one Griffon for long enough to fully destroy it, Jaune let his aim linger just long enough to wound it and draw the monster's attention before switching to another. The Griffons flew rings around the stadium, but they all seemed to only have eyes for Jaune. Of course, that's when the ammo in the drum dried up.

"Uh, Coco? How do you reload?"

"I don't." Coco groaned, "It's a semblance thing."

Before they could worry about how to solve their new problem, the answer came raining down in the form of rocket lockers. A few unlucky Griffins flew in the way of their trajectory and found themselves pinned to the floor while the huntsmen made a mad dash for their weapons. Jaune tossed Coco's gun back to her with a grin. "C'mon, let's turn this fight around."

"Jaune's skill with that firearm is… impressive." Bailey remarked as the XCOM party watched the Griffon attack from the safety of one of the stadium's arched exits. The stampede of terrified civilians still flowed past them, but the number of people still stuck inside the arena was dwindling by this point. Bradford had asked Kelly to go out into the lobby and search for Lily. While she tersely pointed out that her job was to protect the councilman, she didn't have much of an argument to stand on when Bailey himself instructed her to agree to the request. That left Bradford to look after Bailey, Tygan, and a devastated Dr. Shen while pandemonium erupted all around them.

"If you'd seen him a few months ago, you'd be singing a different tune." Bradford commented wryly before the rocket lockers started dropping into the stadium's center. "Good, it looks like the situation here should be under control soon. One moment, Councilman."

Bradford keyed his comm to the channel reserved for officers. "Beags, tell me you've found Ironwood."

"About a minute ago. We're on our way to the security lockers so I can get the gear back that you had to give up on the docks." Beagle reported.

"Excellent. We'll meet you in the arena with Captain Rose."

"Understood."

The screams of terror in Amity, which had died down over the last few minutes as people evacuated to the docks, renewed itself with a sudden and drastic increase in volume. Bradford let out a reflexive groan. What now?

Captain Beagle supplied the answer. "Uhhh, sir? Grimm don't know how to pilot Bullheads, right?"

"My comm link must be broken." Fonseca said over the channel, "Unless the Curse of Beagle carries over between worlds."

"Fuck you too, Otterman."

"Spit it out, Beags." Bradford cut in. As famous as his operatives were for their black humor, the Central Officer didn't have much patience for it right now.

"It's just like it sounds, boss. Bullheads are flying up to the outer walkways and docks, dropping off a package of wolves and bears, and getting the hell out of dodge. Ironwood is absolutely livid."

"One thing at a time, Beagle. Get us those weapons." Bradford said, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration before turning to Bailey. "This… isn't how I envisioned your first visit to Remnant, Councilman. We need to get you out of here."

"We need to help those in need." Bailey countered, "These people, the friends and families of those who… sacrificed much for our world, the kingdoms that you have worked so hard to build alliances with… what sort of… message would it send if a man who comes representing Earth's Council of Nations prioritizes his personal safety over their… extinction?"

Bradford kept an eye on the fight unfolding in the arena as he argued with the Councilman. "I appreciate the sentiment, sir, but with respect, I need you to come out of this alive. You have seen the existence of another world with your own two eyes, and you understand the importance of what's at stake here. If you die here and now, diplomacy with the Council on this matter is going to be nigh impossible. That is not an option I am willing to entertain." Bradford turned to his Chief Engineer, "That means you too, Shen. I can't afford to lose you in the upcoming firefight."

Dr. Shen looked at Bradford, and for the first time since the Central Officer had known him, fiery rage and determination burned in the aging engineer's eyes. "If you think I'm leaving without my daughter, you are fucking mistaken, my friend."

"I agree." Tygan added, with a glance at Dr. Shen, "Though in slightly less… colorful terms."

"If I must go, Bradford, I… implore you to let my staff remain. You have already heard the… conviction straight from Dr. Tygan's mouth, and I can assure you that Kelly will be no different." Bailey locked eyes with Tygan, who responded with an affirmative nod. Bradford sighed.

"Very well. But we are getting you out of here as soon as possible." Bradford keyed his mic, "Pete, you dropped off Strike Seven at Foxtrot yet?"

"About a minute ago, sir. I've got two more teams on standby ready to move on your order."

"Redeploy to drop zone Charlie. I've got a package to deliver, and then I need a squad that's a mix of recon and anti-air. Additionally, get a team prepped for an Icarus drop. Don't need it yet, but it's nice to keep my options open."

"Understood, sir. I believe Major Durand is heading that initiative, though."

"Then it's a good thing she trained replacement pilots for the Temple Ship. We could use her skills in this mess, anyway."

With no other options, the small party continued watching the huntsmen tear through the Griffons in the arena. Bradford took a little comfort in the fact that Bailey could now see huntsmen fighting in their natural habitat: against the forces of Grimm. Ruby and Jaune coordinated the efforts of their teammates (though Blake and Yang were noticeably absent), as well as those of CFVY and ABRN, while the various huntsmen and huntresses worked to safely evacuate the remaining civilians and contain the aerial assault. Bradford had never seen this variant of Grimm back on Earth, and they looked to him like a more mass-produced, footsoldiery alternative to the Nevermore. He didn't doubt that those razor-winged bastards would be making an appearance at some point, but was thankful for the delay.

Bradford could see why Ruby took a liking to the students of ABRN. Their leader (Arslan?) worked quickly and efficiently to protect the panicked tourists. He had no idea how she managed to use a small wire as a grappling hook, but it allowed her to quickly move around in the stands if one of the Grimm got too close to one of her charges. Her hoverboarder provided an impressive defensive screen against the fliers while the two men of the team provided ground-based support.

As the battle began to wind down, Beagle appeared in the entryway with Kelly (and her shotgun) at his side. "Here, boss." He handed Bradford his Gauss sidearm before running a last check on his own rifle.

"Ironwood couldn't join us. Had other issues to attend to, as I'm sure you can imagine." The Captain added.

Bradford answered with a dry, mirthless laugh. "I don't blame him. Come on, we need to take advantage of this lull in the fight and head down to the center of the arena to connect with Captain Rose. We're also dropping off the good Councilman so he can safely report back to Earth and help us stay on good terms with the Council."

"I'd rather stay here in a… show of solidarity with our new friends, but I understand the tactical importance of your decision, Bradford." Bailey conceded.

Bradford's party made its way towards the center of Amity as the Central Officer brought the two soldiers up to speed on the new plan. Halfway down to the bottom floor, a wire-slinging Arslan landed in front of Kelly to halt their advance. "This is a combat zone. You should head to the docks with the rest-" The huntress's eyes widened when she caught sight of the insignia on Bradford's chest, "You're… you're with them. With her."

Beagle casually waved his rifle. "Yeah, and we're armed, kiddo. C'mon, let's move."

Arslan nodded and followed the group down to the center, and Bradford noticed that she kept stealing glances at his uniform. One of the fliers strayed too close when the team nearly reached the bottom, prompting Beagle and Kelly to shoot it out of the sky. At the sound of Gauss weaponry, Ruby whipped her head around and beamed at the Central Officer.

"Bradford!" She greeted, rushing over and stopping in front of her friend with a sharp salute, "I'm so glad you're here, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

"You and me both. I don't believe you've met the Councilman." Bradford said with a chuckle.

"Oh!" Ruby bowed at the VIP on Bradford's left, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, mister Councilman, sir."

Bailey dipped his head in response. "Just Bailey is perfectly acceptable, Captain. I owe you a… thank you on behalf of the people of Earth, though it appears that will have to wait for another time."

"He's on his way out." Bradford explained, "And I'm bringing more operatives after he's through."

Ruby sighed. "We can definitely use the help. These are just the faster Grimm that managed to get here first. It won't be long before the bigger ones show up to join them. First thing's first, though. HEY!"

The group of huntsmen in the center of the arena looked over at the sound of Ruby's yell. With their attention momentarily on her, Ruby continued. "I need you all to clear out for a moment. Captain of the Valean Recon Division needs some space in the middle."

The students returned their focus on the Grimm, gradually moving towards the edges of the arena per Ruby's request.

"They're in for a weird light show." Beagle muttered before keying his comm, "Alright Pete, VIP is ready for extraction. Light 'er up."

A second later, and a purple vortex of energy warped into existence with a low thrum. While Ruby, Weiss, and JNPR continued to attack the fliers, the other huntsmen couldn't help but focus on the alien spectacle with wide-eyed amazement. Bailey turned to Bradford and held out his hand. "It pains me to leave you here and now, Bradford. Know that the Council values your… continued efforts to fight on humanity's behalf."

Bradford accepted the handshake. "It's who I am, Councilman. I don't think I'll ever want to stop."

"We'll be… in touch, Central." And his final words, Bailey disappeared through the portal.

"Package received." Van Doorn reported, "Recon team is headed your way, sir."

Even as the audio of Van Doorn's message still played over the comms, eight fresh operatives poured out of the relay.

"Strike Ten reporting, sir." The lead marksman greeted with a salute, "The Field Commander pulled us from several teams, since you said you wanted recon and flier-killers."

"We're expecting bigger company." Bradford explained with a gesture to the last couple of Grimm still flying around the arena. "There's a lot of civilians on board, and we need to keep them safe."

"Understood, sir. Tell us where you need us, and we'll get this hunting trip rolling."

"Okay, hold on," Coco interrupted, "So a portal swallows up one guy and throws out eight more, and we're going to act like it's business as usual?" She pulled her glasses down to look straight at Bradford, "Who are you guys?"

Jaune came up behind Coco and nudged her in the ribs. "It's… kind of a long story. I'm sure Bradford will be happy to tell you about it when we're done dealing with this mess."

"Lieutenant Arc is right." Bradford agreed, "There's a lot of change coming to Remnant in the near future, and hopefully for the better. Suffice to say that we're on your side in this battle, Miss Adel. One hundred percent."

"Lieutenant…?" Coco sighed and shook her head, "Okay yeah, the story can wait. But it will happen at some point. Murder monsters first, mysterious portals later."

Yatsuhashi hefted his sword. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Let's drive these monsters out."

"Okay seriously, what is the deal with Earth and Remnant sharing all these idioms?" Beagle muttered.

Bradford rolled his eyes. "Worry about it later, Beags. We have a Colosseum to retake."

He keyed his comm to check in with Vahlen. His Chief Scientist had been strangely quiet ever since her warning that marked the start of this chaos, and Bradford wanted to find out why.

"Oz."

Ozpin sat in his office, staring at the screen projected by his desk, and watched as the battles unfolded both in the air and on the ground. He wasn't being idle, however. The view from the top of his emerald tower allowed him to try and coordinate efforts by Valean security and local huntsmen to repel the Grimm onslaught. The defenses were sporadic and unprepared, however, and Ozpin knew that the survival of Vale was up to Ironwood's military… and XCOM.

The headmaster looked up from his musings to see the concerned faces of his two most trusted allies, Goodwitch and Branwen.

"You know what I've always told you, Qrow…" Ozpin said, voice barely above a whisper as the chaos unfolded on his screen.

Qrow sighed. "'We can't cause a panic.' Oz, I've never… this is bad. The worst I've ever seen."

"That's because, for all the spying and scouting you've done for me, this is the first time she has made a real move in your lifetime." Ozpin answered, making several keystrokes on his desk as he spoke.

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "… I'll overlook your ominous-as-shit choice of words there and go straight for the important stuff: what do we do now?"

"What we should do." Ozpin answered, his voice unnervingly calm, "Protect our citizens, fend off the Grimm, and keep Amber safe."

"Agreed." Glynda said.

Qrow pulled out his flask, looked at it, and shoved it into his pocket with a slight grimace.. "So where do you want the two of us, specifically?"

"The fairgrounds, I think. Our friend from Earth seems to be coordinating a response to the attack on the Colosseum while Ironwood struggles to keep his troops organized, so I think it is best if we secured the fairgrounds with XCOM's ground team."

"'We?'" Glynda asked. "Does that mean you're coming?"

Ozpin shook his head. "No, my friend. As I said, someone needs to stay here and keep an eye on Amber. Now go."

His two subordinates turned and left the room while Ozpin made some final arrangements on his computing station before powering it down and following after them. It was obvious that Amber was her target, but why make a play this big? With this, there was no turning back, no more manipulation from the shadows. Why shift the board so drastically just for a single maiden?

Well, Ozpin had no intention of letting his adversary promote one of her pawns into a queen. He stepped into the open elevator and swiped his scroll over a small, unassuming scanner.

"What are you planning, my friend?"

"Talk to me, Doctor."

Vahlen frantically battled with her terminal, trying to find something, anything that could give her an advantage against this digital foe.

"The intrusion hasn't taken any other systems offline, I don't think, but it keeps blocking my efforts to access anything beyond a broad overview of Amity's functions. Whoever wrote this Queen Virus is very skilled."

"Queen Virus?"

"The program uses a graphic of the chess piece as its calling card." Vahlen explained, "I saw it for the first time when I scanned the CCTS, and now it's popping up every time I get denied trying to navigate Amity's system."

"It's… making my work difficult too, by the way." Foresta called out from across the room, "Like, it's managed to shut down three of my four virus sweeps. Wait…" He groaned, "Make that four."

Vahlen groaned. "I thought Atlas was on the cutting edge of technology. Who could possibly be knowledgeable enough to outmaneuver your software?"

"I… uh… can't think of anyone."

"Keep trying, Doctor. At the very least, you can give us a warning if more problems arise."

"Of course, Bradford."

Vahlen returned her focus to the console. What could she even do at this point, honestly? Her experience with Remnant programming was almost entirely restricted to the scroll's software, and while some of that carried over to Amity's functions and navigation, Vahlen still felt woefully unprepared for dealing with the crisis at hand. Still, the last twenty minutes of trying to wrangle with the Colosseum's digital framework did provide the doctor with some useful experience in terms of navigational shortcuts and program behavior. So while the virus continued to stymie her at every turn, Vahlen had become a little more adept at quickly searching for another entry point.

"Hey… ummm…"

The uncertain sound of Foresta's voice caused Vahlen to look up at the young technician as he slowly voiced his fears. "Do you think we're gonna be… you know… okay?"

Foresta's tone gave Vahlen pause. Despite living in a world overrun by Grimm, it seemed like Atlas's security meant he'd never dealt with a situation as dire as this before. Vahlen remembered the first time the Anthill came under attack during the war, and she remembered how terrified she felt when the war suddenly became a lot more personal than she'd been accustomed to.

"We will." She assured her associate, "But only if we work to make that happen. Is there another way we can try to regain control of the stadium? A physical mainframe perhaps?"

"There is a mainframe, of course. But… like I said, a full system reboot would be catastrophic. Even if the arena fight is over, we'd… we'd still lose power to the propulsion systems, and Amity will fall long before the power cycles back on again."

"What about performing select shutdowns?" Vahlen asked, "Can we leave propulsion alone while rebooting the others?"

She had no idea if it would help, but at least it was something they could try. The look on Foresta's face seemed to indicate that he agreed. "I'll… I'll do it. I can go down there and see if there's something that will help us. We can use the intercom to stay in touch while you keep trying to get through up here."

Vahlen smiled. "Thank you Foresta. Your supervisor would be proud of your commitment to work under pressure.

"You don't know my supervisor." The technician grumbled as he left the room.

Back to banging her metaphorical head against a virus-shaped wall. Well, it looked like she had the room to herself now. At least Vahlen could scream in frustration and not have to worry about eliciting a response of concerned looks. As she continued to navigate through the files, processes, and systems, something caught the doctor's eye. Vahlen was certain she'd pathed through this section of the digital architecture before, and yet she was likewise certain that she hadn't seen this particular folder before.

After all, a folder with the name "Main" would be pretty hard to miss.

Well, no harm in trying. She punched in the access command and expected to see Access Denied in response. Instead, however, her screen filled up with a sea of new files and executables as she somehow found her way into an entirely new section of Amity's systems.

"These look important." Vahlen mused as she tabbed through the filenames. Communications… Docking… Propulsion… Protocol… Somehow, she'd gained access to what looked like the driver programs for all of the Colosseum's functions. Even minor functions like Lighting and Vending showed up. Vahlen's heart skipped a beat when she caught sight of one of the drivers near the bottom of the list.

Xcom.

All Sun could think about as he navigated the outer ring of the Colosseum was how much of a logistical nightmare it would be getting all these people safely onto the ground. Everyone panicking and trying to make their way to the outer docks, and then realizing that the passengers far outnumbered the seats to safety. The shrieks of the Griffons as they poured into the stadium and flew laps around its perimeter certainly didn't help, either. The Atlas guards and their Knights fought valiantly to keep the fliers away from the civilians, and it worked, for a time.

Then, Bullheads appeared and dropped off Beowolves, Ursa, and Creeps onto the Colosseum's walkways.

SSSN's armaments arrived before the dropships did, thankfully, but the presence of a new and immediate threat only caused the stampede of civilians to worsen. Sun's team had to be very careful with how they engaged the monsters because of all the people. Ranged attacks were totally out of the question, and even melee required constant awareness of innocent bystanders unlucky enough to get trapped by the wall of terrified people.

Ruby's training sessions paid off in spades, however. Sage and Scarlet focused on the larger Ursan threats using the former's raw strength to lock down the Grimm while the latter's high mobility allowed him to rapidly reposition and strike at the creature's exposed flank. More than once, Scarlet used his partner's large blade as a springboard to leap over the panicking crowds and attack another target before it could cause anyone serious harm. Sage followed shortly thereafter with a mighty leap and would crash down onto the unsuspecting Grimm while Scarlet had it distracted.

Sun and Neptune enjoyed similar success on their end as they focused on the smaller (but equally dangerous) targets. Sun's agility allowed him to lash out at multiple targets to keep their attention on him and off of the crowds, and he used his semblance (very sparingly) to throw out an astral projection when one Sun absolutely wasn't enough. Neptune stuck close to his partner, following up with a thrust of his trident whenever Sun leapt out of the way to attack another Beowolf. Whenever a group of Grimm tried to use superior numbers to gang up on them, Neptune swung his Guandao in a wide sweep to keep them at bay while he worked with Sun to take down their current target.

"Reaaaally wish those jackasses would stop dumping more Grimm on us." Neptune complained as the third airdrop flew by and unloaded another sortie of Creeps and Boarbatusks.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Sun asked as he cracked the skull of a Beowolf, "Who would possibly be teaming up with the freaking Grimm?"

"Hell if I know. But we gotta keep these guys distracted long enough for the civilians to evacuate."

The plan was working, for the most part. Casualties couldn't be avoided, but the huntsmen and Atlas soldiers managed to hold the majority of the hostile attention. Still, blood splatters slowly started to grow along the floor and walls as more and more people poured out towards the docks. Despite their best efforts to keep everyone safe and reign in the panic, the crowds seemed to only be capable of focusing on the negatives of the situation instead of the positives. The constant fighting started to take its toll on the defenders, as well. Injured security personnel was forced to fall back while Sun noticed his team's aura reserves slowly dipping when he checked his scroll.

Scarlet and Sage found a moment to rejoin their teammates, and the former expressed the concern on all of their minds."This isn't looking so good anymore. The baddies keep coming, and there's still the Griffons on the perimeter to worry about. What do we do?"

"Whatever we can." Sun said, his voice determined, "Even if it's not enough, it's better than nothing."

"Help! Oh dust…. HELP!"

The boys turned around in time to see an Alpha Beowolf swipe a man clear off his feet and send him crashing into a group of terrified bystanders trying to escape the monster.

"Where did that come from?!"

"No time to worry about that, we have to take it down!"

"N-Nevermores!" Cried someone in the crowd, " Nevermores!"

"Where is security? Somebody help us!"

Sage looked around as panic washed through the crowd once again. Was this really the sort of thing Ruby and her friends had to deal with for three weeks? "This just keeps getting worse…"

A loud crack rang out from down the hall, and the Beowolf staggered forward clutching its head. Before it could regain its composure, another shot cleanly tore through the beast's skull. The screaming quieted down for a moment as people stood awestruck, wondering who had taken down the Beowolf.

"CLEAR THE PATH. SECURITY COMING THROUGH."

A team of four soldiers dressed in foreign combat gear dashed down the hall. Several of them carried impressive-looking long rifles, and Sun guessed they were the ones responsible for taking down the Alpha. The others had large tubes strapped to their backs, which Sun didn't recognize as any weapon he'd seen before. The civilians must have felt the air of authority in the barked order, as they pressed against each other in an effort to make a path down the hallway and towards the docks. Sun caught the eyes of the rest of his team, and they silently agreed to fall in with the newcomers as they jogged past.

"No idea who you guys are, but we're not complaining." Sun said, "We've been trying to hold off the Grimm attacks while the people evacuate the Colosseum."

"Sergeant Farouk with XCOM's Strike Ten." The nearest soldier answered with a glance at Sun and his team, "You guys are huntsmen, right?"

Sun nodded. "We've managed to keep the situation on this side of the Colosseum under control for now, but it was starting to get out of hand when you showed up." Then, almost as an afterthought, "Who's XCOM?"

Another wave of Bullheads flew up and discharged their monstrous cargo. Sergeant Farouk grunted. "Later. EVERYBODY DOWN."

The tournament-goers didn't need to be told twice. Enough of the civilians had made it off of Amity by this point to where the remaining people had enough room to quickly drop to the floor and allow a clear firing lane for the newcomers. The marksmen targeted the Ursai standing heads and shoulders above their smoky brethren while the rest of the soldiers knelt down and fired at a slight upwards angle into the main body of Grimm. Even with civilians within closer reach, the monsters prioritized those who were actively putting holes in them. Whatever bullets those soldiers had seemed to work way better against the Grimm than the dust rounds Sun knew, but there were more targets than could be cut down at range.

"Alright, team, let's keep the Grimm at bay so Strike Ten can stay focused on the bigger threats." Sun ordered.

"Rocketeers," One of the XCOM marksmen added, "Set up on the perimeter and be ready to shoot down any Nevermore contacts that get close. These Griffons can be taken out with small arms fire, but those ravens are whole other ballgame."

"That's my cue." Farouk said to Sun, putting away his rifle and pulling the tube off his back. "Time for me to go duck hunting."

Rocketeers. Huh. Those tubes suddenly made a lot more sense. The two operatives carrying launchers fell back from the hallway firefight and moved towards the archways that opened up into the evening sky. Griffons circled the Colosseum, but the Atlas soldiers (what was left of them, anyway) managed to keep the lesser fliers at bay with their rifles. As he surged forward to keep the Beowolves and Creeps off of the marksmen, Sun watched the Rocketeers take up positions and steady their weapons as they kept watch for the Griffon's larger brother. Some of the civilians had spotted the Nevermores earlier, and so Sun knew they were out there.

With a loud hiss, Farouk fired his payload and Sun watched it streak into the sky and explode amid the cloud of Grimm. The pained shriek of a Nevermore pierced the air, followed by a low chuckle from the Rocketeer.

"Heh… did you see that?"

"West squad has linked up with SSSN and is pushing back the Grimm."

"South squad reporting in. We've reached the professors and are mounting a counteroffensive against the hostiles."

"East squad, here with CFVY. Situation is pretty well in hand."

"North squad. ABRN's doing a damn fine job keeping those critters off us while we go big game hunting. Reese is sending some wounded your way."

"Well done, Strike Ten." Bradford said as he watched JNPR set up a triage station off to one side of the arena floor. Blake and Yang, Bradford found out, had been dispatched to search for Lily, while Ruby and Weiss positioned themselves on the top of the stadium perimeter to provide a supporting view of XCOM's efforts to retake the Colosseum and jump in if one of the combat zones started to grow too hot. Tygan had left with Beagle and Kelly to find Vahlen and provide technical assistance while Shen stayed with Bradford. The Central Officer sighed as his friend gave him another pleading look.

"All teams, any sign of Lily?"

"Still nothing, sir. There's still a lot of people around, and the Grimm are making it difficult to mount a serious search effort."

"We haven't found any sign of her either." Blake reported.

"There shouldn't be a need for a search party." Shen said, his voice quiet and shaky, "She can recognize the sound of Gauss fire and should have sought out our operatives, not the other way around."

"She's a smart kid, Shen. We'll find her." Bradford said, trying his best to comfort his broken friend.

The issue with Lily aside, a feeling of hope and confidence began to grow within Bradford. This whole thing went to hell in a handbasket real fast, but his operatives had pulled through in a big way. The ground teams reported that they had secured a small safe zone within the fairgrounds, though the fighting was fierce against the hordes. Though the Grimm showed no sign of slowing down their assault, several huntsmen had joined their fight and offered his operatives enough breathing room to secure a solid foothold. Here in the sky, the students had little trouble taking to the combined leadership of Bradford, Ruby, and Jaune to turn things around on Amity and keep the civilians safe while transports arrived to bring them safely to the ground.

He soon remembered why too confidence was a terrible idea in his line of work. Just as he thought the tides had turned, a thunderous explosion rocked the sky.

"RWBY, report."

"Uhhh, maybe I'm misunderstanding how Atlas's military structure works," Yang said, "But it looks like one of the General's cruisers opened fire on another one."

"That's not normal, and you know it." Weiss defended hotly.

A second, larger explosion caused the Colosseum to shudder. "Well, the second one just collided with the third after it got hit." Ruby said, "Whether this is normal or not, our air power against the Nevermore just took a heavy hit."

The Colosseum shuddered for a third time. "Another explosion, I assume?" Bradford asked.

"Nein." Vahlen answered, "That one was the worm. It's trying to shut down the Colosseum's propulsive systems."

Bradford swore. "What's stopping it?"

"An Atlesian technician who's been helping me." Vahlen explained, "He's down with the physical hardware trying to lock down the virus. While that seems to be an impossible task, he is succeeding in slowing down its work. But we won't be able to hold it off forever. The civilians need to get off this station immediately, Bradford."

"As do we…" The Central Officer agreed.

"One more thing." Vahlen said, the uncertainty in her voice evident even through the comms, "I found a repository of files within Amity's database. One of them… one of them was named Xcom. I'm not sure how, but I think we've been compromised."

Of course, because why wouldn't the situation get worse? The Central Officer keyed his mic to the Temple Ship's frequency, "Van Doorn, I think it's time to deploy the first Icarus team."

"Understood, Central. Would you like flight support as well?"

"Vahlen, have the Albatross suits been tested?"

"Yes, sir. They're not perfect, but our pilots have had several opportunities to test them already."

"Then flight support is more than welcome, Pete. Get to drop point Beta and let's turn this clusterfuck around."

"Language, Central." Van Doorn chided with a laugh, "We're moving to Beta now, sir."

It seemed as though the longer this battle wore on, the worse things got. If the ground literally opened up and swallowed Beacon in the next twenty minutes, Bradford couldn't honestly say he'd be surprised. Still, he needed to take this one step at a time, the same as he always did. No matter the odds, his operatives always managed to pull through for him, and he needed to believe they'd do it again now.

"That's XCOM." He sighed.