A/N: Uploading a few hours early, because I won't be able to get to my computer later today and I'd rather post early than tomorrow.

Before we get to the chapter itself, there's something I wanted to talk about. It's come up more than once in reviews now, so I felt it was worth addressing for readers who feel similarly but haven't had the inclination to put their thoughts into words. If I've already responded to you personally about this, feel free to skip to the chapter, as I don't think I'm adding anything you haven't heard from me previously.

Basically, the concern has come up regarding why I have removed RWBY's access to Aura and their personal weapons. It is, in my opinion, a perfectly valid question, as the ass-kicking that the hunters dish out is half the fun (or more) of the show. Why, then, did I take it out? The answer is a product of trying to balance the canon of both XCOM and RWBY. In RWBY, the characters are superheroes who beat face and take names. Any mistakes that result in retaliation from their foes are simply absorbed by the defensive power of their Auras. In XCOM, the soldiers are not unstoppable heroes, and are always faced with the possibility that the next shot from a Thin Man or Outsider will crit and drop them faster than you can say "well, shit.". That fear of what's around the next corner is, in my opinion, critical to the core of what XCOM is.

So no matter what I did, I would be going against one of the two canon's I'm playing with. In the end, I felt that having four Rookies who could wipe the floor with a pack of Mutons and completely annihilate a pod of Heavy Floaters, while hilariously awesome for a chapter or two, would not make for a very interesting story in the long term. So I went the other direction and opted to power down the incredible strength of our main characters. If this does not appeal to you, I am truly sorry. I had to make a choice, and this is the one I went with. I can, however, assure you that the characters of RWBY will not simply be re-skinned XCOM soldiers for the entirety of the story. The locks will slowly come off as the stakes get higher, and they will have the opportunity to curbstomp the alien invaders. Just... not yet.

With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this update.

After the events at the auto body shop, the mission quickly wrapped up. A thorough (but very careful) sweep revealed no more contacts, so Strike Eight packed up and left. The local authorities would take care of city cleanup after the abduction attempt, which meant XCOM's job in the area was done. The ride back to base was very quiet and tense. After the adrenaline had worn off and Ruby had time to think, the impact of Biggs's death hit her like a truck.

Ruby didn't know him very well, so it wasn't so much that she had lost a friend. She had failed him. He had entrusted her with his life, and she had failed him. For the first time in her (short) career as a leader, someone had died while following Ruby Rose, and that affected her more deeply than she anticipated. Vance, the kind soul that he was, handled the transportation of Biggs's corpse without the help of any of the huntresses. Ruby wasn't sure how she would have reacted if she had seen the Corporal's headless body. Instead, Vance told them to sit down and take a breather while he carried Biggs back to the Skyranger and secured him safely out of sight before coming back for the rest of Strike Eight.

So while the Skyranger flew them back to base, Vance watched as Ruby wore a thousand-yard stare. Weiss had managed to fall asleep next to her partner while Yang and Blake looked like they were having a full conversation with just facial expressions and body language, which left nothing for Ruby but introspection. And if Vance had learned anything from his own experience with losing soldiers, it was that introspection was the last thing Ruby needed right now.

"Hey."

Ruby glanced up wordlessly at the Major. There was a hint of curiosity in her expression, but it was hard to detect behind her blank face.

"It wasn't your fault."

The young girl before him still said nothing. The silence dragged on for another minute before Vance tried again with a different approach.

"Has anyone shown you the memorial wall at HQ?"

Ruby shook her head.

"I'm sure you've heard of it even if you haven't seen it. It's a complete record of all the men and women we've lost in XCOM's fight against the alien invasion." He paused to see if Ruby would react. When she didn't, he continued. "There are thirty-four names on that wall, spanning the sixty-plus operations we have undertaken since XCOM's activation." Still no reaction." With few exceptions, every one of those names had a squad leader who had to come to terms with the loss of a soldier under his or her command."

When Ruby's expression still didn't change, Vance leaned across the space until their faces were inches apart. "For seven of those names," he whispered, his voice barely audible above the dull thrumming of the Skyranger's engines, "that squad leader was me."

That succeeded in getting a reaction out of the young girl. Ruby's eyes widened in surprise as Vance shared with her his confession. The motion was so slight, but Vance noticed it nonetheless. "I lost three of them in one abduction op, two in a terror attack, and one each in two different landed UFO sites." He closed his eyes as he thought about the faces of his dead comrades. "The abduction op hit me the hardest. They were my first losses, and I can't even begin to tell you what it was like to return to HQ with a half-empty Skyranger."

The two sat in silence for a solid minute while Vance tried to wrangle his next thoughts into words. "It was hard coming to grips with the fact that they were gone and I was responsible for it. It affected me in a bad way, and the next two only compounded the problem." Vance frowned as he realized that his this train of thought was probably counterproductive to his goal. He paused once more as he attempted to marshal his thoughts in a way that would help the young woman sitting across from him. "Eventually, enough was enough and Bradford pulled me aside to talk to me. He told me something that resonated deeply with me and helped fight off the guilt that was slowly taking over my mind and soul."

He noticed that he now had Ruby's undivided attention. The curiosity on her face was slowly overcoming the blank stare she had been wearing for the past hour. "He told me that, had those soldiers gone into their last op knowing they wouldn't return… had they known that their life was to be sacrificed for the safety of their mothers, fathers, husbands, and sisters… nothing would have changed. They would have still stepped aboard the Skyranger and performed their duty to the very last breath."

Vance smiled at Ruby. "XCOM doesn't draft soldiers. We get volunteers from organizations all across the globe. Humanity's best, brightest…" he halted for dramatic effect and gave Ruby a meaningful look.

"… and bravest. We do what we must because we must, and Corporal Biggs was no different. A chance to save the whole world from total and utter annihilation? And the only cost is possibly losing your life in the line of duty? Every soldier here has weighed the worth of their life versus the billions they're protecting. In their minds, the choice was a no-brainer."

Vance's expression took on a contemplative tone as he posed a question for Ruby. "You and you friends made the same choice, did you not? To become huntresses that fight off the forces of darkness that plague your world?"

"… Yes."

Victory. Vance smiled at his success in starting to pull Ruby out of her shell. It was a single word, but it was a word all the same. "If you knew that tomorrow you would have to die to save the lives of your entire nation, would you still do it?"

The wait between the end of Vance's question and Ruby's response was agonizing as each second was punctuated by a loose harness quietly rattling in the cargo hold, but the huntress eventually answered.

"… Yes."

Vance nodded. "Then honor Biggs, and the rest of the soldiers on the memorial wall, by moving forward and striving to learn from their sacrifice. There is nothing more that they would ask for."

A small tear formed in the corner of Ruby's eye and silently fell down her cheek. Vance watched as she stared at her hands for a long time, and almost missed it when she spoke next.

"Thank you," Ruby said, barely above a whisper.

They rode the rest of the way to HQ without another word, though there was no longer tension in the silence.

Dr. Vahlen didn't bother to look up from her console when she heard a quiet knock on the open door to her personal lab. She had just finished her first meeting with Ruby Rose, and figured she had one more question for the doctor or something similar.

"Forgot something, Miss Rose?"

"No, though I passed her on the way here." Vahlen's head shot up upon hearing a voice that was definitely not that of the bubbly girl who she had been talking to five minutes before. Instead, she saw a young woman dressed entirely in black and white staring at her with piercing golden eyes. The last of the newcomers to stop by and allow Vahlen to interview them.

"Ah, forgive me. You must be Miss…" She checked her tablet for the woman's name, "Belladonna?"

Her guest nodded without saying a word. When Vahlen waited for her to speak, she was met with uncomfortable silence. Well, uncomfortable for Vahlen, as Blake Belladonna seemed perfectly content to just stare at her. Vahlen remembered that this was the "quiet one" that Weiss had told her about, and figured that unprompted speech was probably not one of her strong points.

"Am I to assume you're here for the interview that the rest of your companions have already completed?"

"Yes." Well, it was better than a nod.

"Excellent." Vahlen pulled up the interview form on her tablet as she rose from her seat. "You should know that the interview is not strictly verbal. As you and your friends are not from Earth, I would like to examine your biology to complement the information you provide by answering my questions." When Dr. Vahlen noticed Blake looked uncomfortable with this new information, she added, "Is this acceptable for you?"

"It… depends on what you're examining."

Vahlen shrugged. "Genetics, bone structure, tissue composition… standard testing procedures, really. You all look human, yet you're not of Earth. This raises questions that I hope my data can answer. None of the tests are invasive, I assure you. The equipment and facilities provided by XCOM are very advanced. You won't have to do more than change into the patient gown I'll be providing for you and lay down on a table."

Where Blake had looked uncomfortable before, she outright froze at the mention of changing. "Is everything alright, Miss Belladonna?"

"It's just Blake," the girl mumbled, "and everything's not really alright."

Curious. Dr. Vahlen noted that the other three girls were perfectly fine with the patient gown and the tests, and yet this one was uncomfortable with the prospect. Maybe Blake had some sort of odd phobia?

"Very well, Blake. Would you mind telling me what's not alright about this? Perhaps we can reach some sort of compromise."

"I'm not a fan of changing out of my clothes." Blake mumbled, eyes looking off to the side to avoid meeting Vahlen's. The doctor sighed at the revelation. While the machinery used in the tests was not invasive, it was easily disrupted by most standard materials. The patient gowns she had on hand were specifically designed to avoid such interference and maximize the accuracy of data collected. While this certainly wasn't the most uncommon phobia in Vahlen's experience, the gown was unfortunately non-negotiable.

"If you're uncomfortable with changing in front of me, that's quite alright. We have some privacy curtains in the back, or I can simply leave the room until you're done." This was likely not the issue, but it was at least worth trying. Even if the problem went deeper, Vahlen had learned that showing some degree of compassion or understanding was oftentimes enough to get the patient over their fear and comply.

"It's… not that."

Damn.

"Well, could you tell me what it is?"

"I'd rather not."

Vahlen wracked her mind for a solution to this problem. She could just drop the tests and leave it at that, but not only would the information likely prove valuable, the doctor was curious now. First, though, she needed some caffeine. It was starting to get late when Blake had decided to drop by. She put her tablet down on the table and started walking towards the back of the room.

"Do you like coffee, Blake?" She asked over her shoulder.

"I prefer tea, actually."

Vahlen chuckled. "Then you're lucky that Dr. Shen shares a similar preference. He keeps a personal stash in here for when we spend long nights working on a particularly difficult piece of research. Have a seat while I make you some. Is jasmine tea alright?"

"Probably, I'm not picky."

Blake found an empty chair and sat down while Dr. Vahlen went about preparing their drinks. The doctor noticed that Blake was perfectly content to wait in silence, opting to pull out a book she had brought with her instead of talking with Vahlen about… well… anything. She wondered if Blake was here of her own accord, or because her team leader had asked her to visit. When the tea was finished, Vahlen shut the only door to her lab and circled back to hand Blake her cup. She noted that the book Blake had was about American history.

"Surprising that you would interest yourself with the history of a country you've never heard of before."

Blake shrugged. "It's interesting to observe a nation that seems to struggle with its identity. It claims to accept immigrants of all kinds, yet mistreats citizens of foreign nationalities for, as far as I can tell, no reason." She looked up at Vahlen questioningly. "It almost tore itself apart over the subjugation of an entire group simply because their skin was dark."

The doctor swirled the tea in her cup while she thought of a response. "If you jump ahead another hundred years or so, you'll read of another war where one faction was murdering civilians by the millions, and the only reason was because their religious preference." She took a sip of her tea and set it down. "Major Vance is an American, and he does not consider himself superior to those of African origin. I am German, and I do not believe in murdering people for their practice of Judaism. I take it this subject is something that resonates with you?"

The nod Blake gave her was so slight, Vahlen almost wasn't sure if it was real or imagined. "This… wouldn't have anything to do with our previous discussion of clothes, would it?"

Blake looked Dr. Vahlen dead in the eye and spoke in a low tone. It wasn't menacing, but it was the tone of someone who had a lot of anger frustration pent up and was carefully, very carefully, letting it out. "Dr. Vahlen, have you ever been the victim of racism?"

"I admit, I have not. I've been called a 'mad German scientist' upon occasion, likely a reference to some of the atrocities committed by my aforementioned countrymen, but that's not quite the same, is it?"

"It's not." Blake responded, dropping her eyes to the cup of tea sitting next to her, so far untouched. "My whole life has been spent having to deal with this issue. Even when I joined an academy for hunters, a place where all the students were training to work together towards the common goal of protecting our kingdom, I still witnessed it. These students are supposedly the best of the best, and yet they're still ignorant enough to enjoy tormenting others for being different." She set her book down and tried the tea. Vahlen was pleased that, even if their conversation wasn't enjoyable, Blake seemed to appreciate the jasmine flavor.

"When my friends and I found ourselves here and discovered we were no longer on Remnant, I was curious to see if racism was something present only on our world. Instead, it seems to be a blight on intelligent life no matter where you look."

Vahlen let out a thoughtful 'hmm' while she considered Blake's words. The enigma that called itself Blake was starting to slowly make sense. "It's true, you will almost assuredly find racists and bigots wherever your travels take you. Sadly, Earth is not quite as free from such issues as you or I would hope. However, I think you will find that most people you encounter do not accept such practices. Those are the people you work with, while the others you must simply ignore."

She took a sip of her tea and savored the flavor. Vahlen thought of herself as more of a coffee girl, but she had to admit that Dr. Shen knew his stuff when it came to this tea business. Every now and then, she'd sneak a cup when the idea of coffee didn't sound as appetizing as it usually did. "One good thing has come out of this alien invasion business. With such a dangerous common enemy, the people of the world have come together to work towards our survival as a species. While there are still some who remain distrustful of their fellow humans, even in this dire hour, I feel that I can confidently say that this is not the case for the vast majority, especially here at XCOM."

Dr. Vahlen gave Blake her best warm smile. Considering she never did much smiling anymore, she hoped it came out right. "You and your friends are doing a very noble thing by joining us in our fight for survival. Whatever racism you may have had to endure in the past, I'm almost certain you won't find it here."

Blake stared at her for a long time. Vahlen would by lying if she said it didn't start to make her feel uncomfortable (again), but it seemed like she was the first person here at XCOM that Blake trusted enough to talk about this matter. If it was truly important, the doctor was glad to endure such discomfort for her patient's sake.

Finally, Blake stood up and walked over to the door. For a brief moment, Dr. Vahlen's heart sank as she though the girl was simply going to walk out. Instead, she locked the door and turned back to face Vahlen. "Just so we understand each other: not a word of what I'm about to show you is to leave this room."

Dr. Vahlen smiled, and for once the gesture came easy to her. "I don't know how medical practice works where you come from, but here on Earth we have what is known as 'Doctor-Patient Confidentiality Laws.' Your secret is absolutely safe with me, and will not be revealed unless you decide to do so yourself."

She watched as Blake let out a deep breath before reaching up and untying the bow she seemed to always wear. As it fell away, Dr. Vahlen was unable to suppress a brief look of shock when a pair of cat ears could be seen sitting atop her head. Even in her surprise however, Blake's look of apprehension was not lost on the doctor.

"Fascinating…" she breathed, her eyes glued to the ears as she approached Blake, "May I… may I touch them?"

Blake nodded, though she was still staring at Vahlen, gauging her reaction. The doctor reached out with a single hand, taking extreme care to be gentle with Blake's ears. As one would expect from a cat, they were very soft to the touch, and twitched reflexively at Vahlen's touch.

"Are they vestigial, or do they actually provide you with superior auditory senses?"

Blake removed Dr. Vahlen's hand from her head before nodding. "They work." She pulled her hair back, revealing her "human" ears. "I have both kinds, but my faunus ears are more effective. My eyes are also better at seeing in the dark "

Though Blake hadn't explained what a faunus was, it didn't take a genius like Dr. Vahlen to understand. "Are all faunus like you? With cat ears and eyes?"

"No, we vary greatly in the traits we possess." Vahlen could see a look of pride on Blake's face as she thought about her people. "Some have the tail of a monkey, others the ears of a rabbit…" Just as quickly as it had come, the pride vanished, replaced by sadness. "All of us looked down upon."

Dr. Vahlen sighed. "And that is a true tragedy. All too often, people look at something different from themselves, and the only thing they can see is a threat. Their fear is so powerful, it blinds them to the possibilities that such differences can offer."

The doctor walked back over to her desk and sat down behind her console. "Are you familiar with XCOM's genetic modification program, Blake?"

There was a slight pause as Blake considered Vahlen's words before responding, "No."

With a tap, Vahlen brought up a hologram image between the two women. It showed an innumerable volume of strange, triangular mechanisms that seemed to be floating freely in some sort of liquid. Small bolts of electricity arced from one triangle to another, and the devices started to pull together to form a rapidly glowing chain.

"Early on in our fight against the aliens, we discovered this resource that we decided to call 'meld.' Using meld, we are able to attach one of two things to the organic material of our soldiers: cybernetic structures, allowing for interface with mechanized constructs; or foreign organic material, allowing us to safely implant genetically altered adaptations of an alien's own systems into the biological structure of our combatants." She looked up at Blake. "Rather than simply declaring the aliens to be abominations that must simply be annihilated, we have decided to use our research and understanding of their biology to adapt ourselves in a way that lets us use their own advantages against them."

The hologram changed, becoming a full-body representation of a human. Small "blips" appeared on the hologram's brain, eyes, heart, arm, and legs. "We have developed gene mods that allow us to enhance our soldiers in these areas. With every new alien life form we encounter, we have been able to determine a new modification to add to our list of options.

Dr. Vahlen nodded towards Blake's ears. "While you are no alien, your faunus genetics could easily be adapted to provide XCOM operatives with yet another advantage against the invaders we face. Relax," she added when Blake stood up sharply, "I told you before that we have Doctor-Patient Confidentiality Laws, and I meant it. There is absolutely no way I would engage in this research without your express permission and the Central Officer's approval. Your secret is one-hundred percent safe with me unless you decide to reveal it. I only ask that you do, in fact, give the idea some serious thought before returning to me with an answer." She walked around her desk and sat down in the seat directly in front of Blake.

"Now, after that… enlightening conversation, would you like to start the interview that you came down here for? The physical and biological scans can wait until after we've finished." She once again pulled up the questionnaire on her tablet when Blake nodded in agreement and returned to her seat.

"Alright, let's begin."

Professor Ozpin looked up from his desk as the doors to his office were opened and five figures stepped through.

"Ah, Professor Goodwitch. I take it that you have completed your little expedition with Team JNPR?"

His friend and colleague nodded as she pulled out her scroll and tapped it twice. "I'm forwarding to you the report of all the compiled information I was able to gather. Mister Arc led us to the location of the… ah… incident he witnessed, and I spent two hours running a full gamut of tests while JNPR made sure I was not disturbed by wandering Grimm."

With a few more keystrokes, she brought up some data on her scroll and slid it towards Ozpin. "While I found definitive evidence of residual aura in the area, I was unable to confirm anything other than the fact that Team RWBY had recently been present. Whatever this portal was that Mister Arc speaks of, it is certainly not aura-based."

Ozpin hummed as he pondered the new information. "This is both comforting and concerning. On the one hand, Professor Goodwitch's extensive testing can confirm that Team RWBY was not kidnapped by a captor with a powerful teleportation semblance." He exchanged a meaningful look with Glynda as they both silently understood exactly who Ozpin was referring to. "On the other hand, this does not rule out the possibility that your friends are in very real danger."

The headmaster stood up and started pacing, lost in his own thoughts as he weighed his options and considered the best course of action. He noted the nervous looks Jaune and Pyrrha were giving each other. Ozpin wasn't surprised: he was known for being this unflappable bastion of knowledge, the man who always had a plan that he could immediately pull out of thin air and put into action. Seeing him like this was probably a new experience for the students, though hopefully one that they wouldn't have to deal with again after today.

"Very well." He said as he sat back down, breaking the silence that had gone on far too long for his liking. "Here is how we will handle this issue. Mister Arc, have you told any of your classmates about Team RWBY's disappearance?"

Jaune shook his head with such vigor, Ozpin was worried he would have to send the young hunter to the hospital wing after they were finished here. "No, sir! I went straight to Pyrrha, and we went straight to you. We've been with Professor Goodwitch and our teammates ever since."

Ozpin nodded. "Good. Under no circumstances will there be any discussion of this with your peers. Our faculty will be informed of the situation for obvious reasons, but your team should not even acknowledge the fact that RWBY is absent."

Glynda rolled her eyes when the young leader of JNPR raised his hand. "What do we say if people ask? It's not really a secret that our teams are really good friends with each other. If people notice they're gone and get curious, we'll be the first source of information they'll consider."

In his defense, Jaune's point was valid. Ozpin considered the question before replying. "Feign ignorance. If they persist, 'assume' that they're on some mission for me that they didn't tell you about. That should be enough to avoid suspicion."

Ozpin was hardly surprised when Glynda interjected, "It may be better if Miss Nikos does the talking, considering how worried you are about inquiring minds, Mister Arc." One of these days, he really needed to sit down and have a talk with his friend about her contempt of Jaune Arc. While it was true that his classroom performance was less-than-stellar, Ozpin had full confidence that he would improve in leaps and bounds.

"In addition," he continued, "I have a mission of sorts for your team. It is, as you say, no secret that your teams are very close. It would not surprise me in the slightest if, should Mister Arc find himself staring at another portal, he jumps through without a second's hesitation in an effort to come to Team RWBY's aid." He cast his eyes over the four students as he spoke. "It would not surprise me if any of you would make the decision to do so. As such, it would be foolish, perhaps even negligent, on my part if I did not require you to be adequately prepared for such a possibility."

He steepled his fingers and looked over his spectacles directly at Jaune as he spoke. "Requirement one: your team is to remain together at all times. Under no circumstances are you to split up until I allow it. Your rooftop training with Miss Nikos will simply have to include your companions from now on. And yes, Mister Arc," he added, seeing the question on the tip of Jaune's tongue, "you will have to wait for each other outside of the restrooms whenever one of you has 'the urge.' As you may have guessed, this is to ensure that, should another portal present itself, you will all go through together. Hunters operate as a team. It would not do well for your team to become fractured in your efforts to help your friends."

"Requirement two," Ozpin continued, "is that your team is to carry adequate supplies wherever you go. And by 'adequate', I mean 'standard for a month-long operation.' This includes ammunition, dust, medical equipment, and wilderness-relevant sundries. We don't know where Team RWBY has gone off to, and we don't know what state you will find them in if an opportune portal crops up. And again, if people start asking you questions…" Ozpin smiled, "I think a good answer would be that it was your idea of 'conditioning' for a mission, and that I approved of it."

Jaune's reaction was one of the many little things that lent credence to Ozpin's theory of the hunter's improvement. His expression was one of uncompromising resolve, not wavering even slightly at the prospect of lugging around heavy equipment all-day-every-day until Ozpin told him to stop. Truly, it was a sign of the bond between RWBY and JNPR that the latter would undergo such stiff inconveniences for the mere chance at joining the former in whatever perils they may face.

"Finally, I am preemptively giving you a mission in the event that your team does come across another portal. Your mission orders are thus: locate Team RWBY, assist them in whatever capacity you can, and bring them back safely. The Vytal Festival is in three weeks, and I am hoping we will have a happy resolution to this issue before then."

Ozpin stood up, taking his ever-present coffee mug in one hand, and nodded at the team of hunters before him. "I wish you all the best of luck."