A/N: Okay, so I know I promised Remnant!Penny in this chapter, but me getting carried away with Dr. Shen meant that didn't end up happening. Hopefully a bit of PennySHIV will make up for it.

Dr. Shen double-checked the contents of his pack as he prepared to step through the Hyperwave Portal for the second time since its construction. With things quieting down a bit around the Temple Ship, Dr. Vahlen agreed that now would be a good time for Shen to slip away for a day or two to spend some more time on Remnant, introduce himself to some of Ozpin's staff (as well as the headmaster himself), and start working with MacAuley on determining the nature of the technology they would need for Bradford's operations. Shen smiled as he recalled the Central Officer arriving back at the Temple Ship a day ago with his mind filled with ideas for XCOM's presence on Remnant. The Chief Engineer had half a mind to scold Bradford for not taking his vacation seriously, except the sharp upswing in his superior officer's mood and a refocused gameplan told Shen otherwise. Even though he obviously failed in his efforts to separate business and pleasure, at least Bradford's time on Remnant did him some good.

At this hour, the only other people in the Hyperwave room with Shen were Dr. Vahlen, several of her subordinates, and Penny. The Chief Scientist stifled a yawn as she double-checked the readings on the main control panel. Ordinarily, she would trust the techs to do this, but Vahlen preferred to personally see her friend off through the relay. Not only that, but Major Durand left for Remnant half a day ago, and her replacement pilots were still a bit shaky when it came to controlling the ship's power systems during a Hyperwave event. And since Penny spent about half of her working hours on the ship assisting Vahlen (the other half was, of course, spent with Shen), she happily came along to help double-check the doctor's work.

"Do you have everything you need, Ray?" Vahlen asked, having satisfied herself with the numbers on the main panel.

Dr. Shen nodded, "I believe so. Beagle's shipment of Tim Tams arrived shortly after his return with Bradford, and he was adamant that I bring a tray for Ruby's enjoyment. Other than that, I'll only be gone for a few hours, so I don't need to pack too heavily. Ever since we figured out how to tighten up the transmission of data packets between worlds, Weiss has reported that our standard datapads are surprisingly effective at retrieving information from our shipboard database."

"I wish Weiss would come and visit us sometime." Penny said, "She was a good lab friend whenever Vahlen was busy."

A brief silence followed as Shen attempted to stifle a laugh at his colleague's visibly offended face.

"Are you calling me boring, Penny?" Vahlen asked, eyebrow raised.

"Oh no!" Penny rushed to explain, "But sometimes you look so busy, I don't want to bother you! And if Weiss was in the labs during those times, I could go see her and ask what she was working on. Her research with Elerium Dust was quite interesting."

Shen wiped away a stray tear of laughter, "Yes, well… remember that it's only been a day or two from their perspective. I'm sure that our friends will make time to visit us once the Vytal Festival is over."

"And in the meantime, we just have to visit them!" Penny did her little airflip, "I wish I could go with you, Doctor Shen."

Shen patted Penny on the 'head' and gave her a smile, "I do too, my dear, and you will soon enough. But for now, it's in everyone's best interest that you remain here. At least you have Gidjit to keep you company, right?"

"Absolutely! I did not mean to imply that I am unhappy at XCOM. I am quite proud of the work that Gidjit and I have accomplished, and look forward to showing our friends when I finally get to meet them again!"

Showing off that 'work' would only happen if catastrophic events occurred during the festival, of course. Dr. Shen highly doubted that Bradford would be willing to deploy the Odin just so Penny could show Ruby all of its new bells and whistles. And once the Vytal Festival came to a close, it would be time for Shen's robotic friend to return to Atlas and reintegrate with the other Penny. The Chief Engineer still adamantly believed that the Penny he knew deserved to be more than a memory for the 'original.' His little robotic friend remained adamant in her decision, however, and told Shen on several occasions that she would not dishonor the original agreement that allowed her to come to Earth in the first place. Bradford himself had a talk with Penny once (during one of their numerous games of Civ), and informed Shen that Penny had given him the exact same answer.

With a sigh, the elderly engineer decided to shelve that thought for another time and returned to the matter at hand, "Well, no sense delaying any longer. If you would be so kind as to do the honors, Doctor?"

As much as Dr. Shen understood his associate's need for professionalism in the workplace, he wished that Vahlen wasn't so anxious about him using her first name outside of private conversations between her closest circle of friends. He remembered when Moira told him that she'd given her full name to Weiss as part of the young woman's plan to help XCOM's Chief Scientist come out of her social shell. Sadly, the idea didn't seem to progress much further beyond Weiss itself (though Shen did notice how quickly Vahlen became comfortable around her new friend after they were on a first-name basis). Still, just as he respected Penny's wishes, he would do the same for his colleague: Moira in private and Vahlen in public. The Chief Scientist tapped a few keys on the control panel, and the Hyperwave Relay thrummed to life.

Dr. Shen gave Penny one last smile and said, "Keep an eye on my Lily, will you? She's a little grumpy with me right now because she couldn't come along, but I'm sure there's plenty for her to do onboard the Temple Ship while I'm away."

"Yes sir! Gidgit and I have already spent quite some time with Lily down in Engineering. Gidgit has taken a particular liking to Lily, and it seems that the feeling is mutual."

"Gidgit is lucky that Lily has never seen a hostile Cyberdisc." Vahlen said drily.

Satisfied with Penny's answer, Dr. Shen straightened his shirt, picked up his bag, and stepped through the relay. Just as soon as he entered through the Temple Ship, he came out in what he could only assume was Ozpin's office. Dr. Vahlen and Annette's team had become very adept at pinpoint portal operations over the past week, and so deployments to specific coordinates on Remnant had become much easier to accomplish as the process became more and more refined. Dr. Shen glanced around the room (as well as the night sky beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows) before settling his eyes upon a man in green sitting patiently behind a rather ornate desk. Standing behind him, Shen saw four other people: a stern woman with a curious purple cape; a tall, lanky man with a bright yellow tie, who seemed to struggle with standing still; a short, stout man in a deep burgundy suit whose face was hidden by bushy eyebrows and an impressively large mustache; and a middle-aged man slouching against the wall whose red cape immediately reminded Shen of Ruby. The green gentleman in the chair stood up, his eyes glistening as he made his way towards the Chief Engineer.

"Dr. Shen," The headmaster said with a curious amount of emotion in his voice, "It's good to finally meet you."

The two shook hands and Shen answered, "Ozpin, I presume? I'm humbled by your warm welcome, though I'm not quite sure why I deserve it."

Ozpin smiled, "If you'd seen the things Ruby has said in her reports, you might understand why I have as much respect for you as I do. And beyond that, any guest from XCOM can expect the utmost hospitality from both myself, and…" He gestured at the four individuals waiting patiently behind his desk, "… and my staff."

Shen nodded and followed Ozpin back to the table, "Bradford sends his thanks for arranging this meeting at such an… inconvenient hour for yourselves."

"And yet, it is convenient for the nature of what we plan to discuss, I am sure." Ozpin answered with a smile. Shen took a seat in front of Ozpin's desk while the headmaster opted to stand behind his usual chair next to his faculty and began with introductions.

"Miss Goodwitch is both a professor and deputy headmistress of Beacon Academy. She is an invaluable resource for students and staff alike, and will be more than happy to assist you with anything you need."

Perhaps it was the way Dr. Shen naturally came across as an adorable old man (or he was simply to be a future workmate), but Glynda stepped forward and offered the Chief Engineer a sincere handshake, "Ozpin has impressed upon us the importance of XCOM's work, along with your personal ability to improvise and innovate. If it is within my power, I will do what I can to help you."

Ozpin stared at Glynda in surprised silence for several seconds before moving on, "Dr. Oobleck is a historian and scientist as well as an accomplished huntsman. While I'm not certain if his knowledge of Remnant's past will be helpful in your endeavors, his passion for education certainly will."

Oobleck zipped forward faster than Shen's eyes could track and began to rapidly shake his hand up and down while almost shouting at him.

"Very good to meet you, doctor! It is nice to meet someone who shares my interest in the sciences! So many people are happy to go through their daily lives, never stopping to think about how everything works around them!I look forward to working with you to unlock the…" He hesitated and took a deep breath before finishing, "Secrets of the universe!"

"It's good to meet you, too." Dr. Shen answered, relieved that Oobleck had given him his hand back, "I'm not sure about unlocking the mysteries of the universe, but it is refreshing to meet someone so fascinated by them."

"Absolutely!" Oobleck exclaimed, "There is so little we know, even about things integral to our very survival! Dust, for example: its use is everywhere, but it's fundamental structure-"

"I think there will be plenty of time for that sort of talk later, Barty." The shorter man cut in with a jovial laugh, "Why don't we at least finish with introductions first?"

As Dr. Shen was left looking forward to witnessing the first meeting between Dr. Vahlen and Dr. Oobleck, Ozpin continued, "This is Professor Port, our Grimm specialist. More than anyone I know, he takes enjoyment in the study and hunt of these dangerous creatures that plague our world."

"And rightly so!" Port exclaimed, "To be pitted against such dangerous foes, to be a symbol of hope in such dark times, could a huntsman truly ask for any greater honor?" He smiled at Shen (probably… the Chief Engineer had a hard time seeing past the mustache), "Of course, it couldn't be done without the skill of researchers and manufacturers such as yourself. Without our highly-specialized equipment, there's no doubt in my mind that we'd fall to the Grimm in short order."

Dr. Shen bowed, "I am glad you appreciate the fruits of our labor. We will continue to do our best to provide you with the resources you need to succeed."

"Glad to hear it!" Port answered in his jovial tone.

"And finally," Ozpin said, "We have mister Branwen. Though he technically belongs to the staff of Signal and not Beacon, I rely on him a great deal for his skill at information gathering and reconnaissance."

"I'm a spy." The man said, rolling his eyes as he shoved his hands into his pockets and smirked at Dr. Shen, "And Ruby and Yang's uncle. Nice to finally meet you, Santa."

Shen laughed, "I see my reputation precedes me. The pleasure is all mine, Qrow."

With introductions concluded, Ozpin took his seat across from Shen and steepled his hands before asking, "So… where shall we begin, Doctor?"

"I take it Bradford has informed you about his plans?" Shen asked. He reached into his pack and pulled out his tablet, preparing to get down to business with Ozpin's team.

"He has, though the details are somewhat vague at the moment." Ozpin's eyes twinkled as he looked at his companion, "I believe that is partly why you are here, is it not?"

"Indeed. First order of business is a short-range, 'off the grid' communication network. It's our only real concrete objective at the moment, as it will enable a lot of other options for us to investigate." Shen passed his tablet over to Ozpin, which showed a rudimentary display of the idea he and Bradford had put together so far, "I believe he is working with Dr. Vahlen on developing some followup projects after the network's completion."

"Sounds pretty fancy." Qrow commented, glancing over Ozpin's shoulder at the image.

Shen shrugged, "At the very least, it will be useful to have an isolated, and therefore secure, communication channel. After having time to examine the scrolls of Team RWBY, it's evident that Earth and Remnant have different information transfer protocols, so having this system in place and independent of Vale's infrastructure is top on Bradford's to-do list."

"Do you suspect vulnerabilities in our security?" Glynda asked, eyebrow raised.

"After dealing with setback after setback at the hands of EXALT, we have learned to trust very little." Shen answered, "Though you bring up a rather interesting point, Miss Goodwitch. Do you have any reason to suspect vulnerabilities in our security?"

Glynda and Ozpin shared a look, which told the Chief Engineer quite a bit. Ozpin took a sip from his mug before answering the question, "We had an intrusion at our CCT tower about three weeks ago. Given the tower's importance to Remnant's global communication network, we immediately conducted a sweep of the systems for any viruses that may have been introduced by the mystery infiltrator. After the scans concluded, our software detected and eliminated several malicious programs. We've been watching the CCT more closely over the past weeks, and haven't noted any suspicious activity since."

"So the worm has either been rooted out, or it's really good at hiding." Shen mused, "I'll have to talk to Bradford about possibly conducting an investigation of our own, though it might not turn up anything. An examination of RWBY's scrolls has given us some insight into Remnant software architecture and protocols, but I would imagine that the CCT is a lot more complex than a handheld device."

"Your twelve-to-one time ratio is rather convenient." Ozpin mused, "Despite how much work you are cutting out for yourself, the luxury of time is still on your side."

Shen laughed, "Which is funny, because a lot of us were concerned that it would be an inconvenience. In the time that it takes for our friends in RWBY and JNPR to graduate beacon, twelve years will have passed on Earth. Friends will have passed away, XCOM's future will likely be in a state of flux, and then there's the sociopolitical implications of Earth discovering Remnant's existence. With opinions and bureaucracy moving twelve times as fast on Earth, do you think the governments of Remnant would be able to keep up?"

"I'll find a way to make time." Ozpin said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Considering how much Ruby and her friends respect you, I have little doubt of that." Dr. Shen agreed, "For now, though it might be best if we start getting down to the nuts and bolts of the communications project. While it's primarily technical in nature, I believe I can use the unique expertise of everyone present."

While he would be relying mainly on XCOM's own engineering team to actually set up the system, each of the five individuals before him had a role to play in its success. Oobleck, if his scientific expertise was as strong as Ozpin claimed, would be his primary liaison between XCOM tech and Remnant tech, making sure it interfaced properly where it needed to while remaining separated in critical aspects. Qrow, with his skills in espionage would ensure that the system's existence would remain a secret from everyone but those involved. Port, admittedly, had the smallest part to play, but his knowledge of Grimm would allow the system to be designed and implemented in a way that minimized its risk of damage from Remant's resident monster population. Goodwitch's skill with running a huntsman academy could be applied to helping all the various project teams work smoothly with one another. Ozpin, of course, needed to give his blessing to the project (and all that came after), as well as play the political song and dance if Qrow's efforts failed and others did find out about XCOM's efforts.

The headmaster, for his part, had little trouble fulfilling the first half of his role. With a sip from his mug, he gazed evenly at Shen and said, "Very well. Shall we begin?"

Weiss sighed as she stared at her scroll, the sun casting a glare on the screen as it peeked over the horizon. True to his word, her father froze her accounts and locked her card, making the youngest Schnee effectively broke. Weiss saw right through his ploy to convince her to return to Atlas with her metaphorical tail between her legs. To be the good little heiress that daddy wanted, who would happily accept a nice, cushy job at the SDC where he could always keep an eye on her. Well unfortunately for him, Weiss knew there was more to living than just money and power. Maybe the old Weiss would have gone back and done what her father wanted, but not this one.

She closed the banking statements and pulled up a different folder. Pages of notes, tests, and graphs opened up, detailing her research with Dr. Vahlen on synthetic Dust. Weiss remembered being so excited when she opened up Vahlen's gift at Christmas. Her first thought was to take their findings and show her father, to show him what she managed to accomplish on her own. Sure, she'd have to wait for XCOM to become publicly known on Remnant, since her father would question how she managed to do this research out in the boonies of the Valean continent while fighting for her life. She wouldn't have been able to explain Elerium while Earth remained a secret, either.

As her initial excitement wore off, though, Weiss began to think about what would happen after she showed her father the research. A direct competitor to the SDC's Dust mines? One that anyone with a laboratory and a bit of Elerium could manufacture? He would make it very clear to Weiss that she never bring that research to light. Well, it was lucky for him that XCOM only had a limited supply of Elerium. While the Temple Ship had massive stores of the stuff onboard, Weiss doubted it would be able to sustain Remnant's Dust economy for very long if Bradford decided to sell it. Enough to support XCOM's military and research efforts (as well as the Temple Ship's power plants) for years to come, sure, but probably not more than that.

So in the end, what would her research prove to her father? That she had a deep understanding of the physical and chemical nature of her family's lifeblood? Her father derided the idea of her becoming a scientist as much as he did her dream of becoming a huntress. Weiss recalled the time in Shen's office when Ruby taught her how to solder, weld, and generally manufacture equipment and modifications. As expected, Weiss was terrible when it came time for her to practice Ruby's techniques, and it made her wonder if her father had intentionally deprived her of these (and other) skills in order to have a greater control over her life. Despite all of his flaws, Weiss still loved her father. She believed that he really wanted what was best for her, but his perception of 'best' differed wildly from her own.

She let out another sigh as she put away her scroll and looked around the streets of Vale as the city slowly woke up from its first night of the Vytal Tournament. There were still lots of first-round bouts to get through today, but the city partied long into the night after the fair grounds closed down for the evening. After Bradford returned to Earth with Beagle and MacAuley, Ruby remained in contact with the Central Officer to remain in the loop on his reconnaissance plans. Despite having 'Phase One' finalized a few hours before midnight (so after two or three days on Earth, by Weiss's calculations), Bradford decided not to wait until morning to send out his first set of operatives. Apparently he sent Shen over several hours ago, but Bradford made it clear that the Chief Engineer had to get through some important work before visiting RWBY and JNPR at the festival.

True to his word, however, Bradford promised to send Annette over as one of the first operatives on reconnaissance detail. She and Weiss made plans to meet up in town to check on Annette's sword before meeting up with the rest of RWBY. True, it had only been two days since they placed the order (Weiss thanked her lucky stars that she paid upfront), but Gus had been known to work small miracles in the past. Weiss checked the time on her scroll and glanced around once more before her eyes settled on the familiar figure of Major Durand.

"Well don't you look gloomy?" Annette asked with a slight smirk, "Am I really that much of an eyesore?"

Weiss managed to let out a small laugh before shaking her head, "No… It's something else. Family business."

"Ah. Say no more."

"Gladly." The younger huntress quipped with an eyeroll, "Shall we head over? I saw Gus open up his shop about ten minutes ago."

The two entered the familiar storefront and were greeted by the cheerful proprietor, "Ah, Weiss! I saw you waiting outside, and so I assumed that I'd be seeing you shortly." He looked over at Annette, "And hello again to you, as well! I am ashamed to admit that I failed to ask for your name last time, Miss…?"

"Durand." Annette answered.

Gus's smile grew even wider, "Well, Miss Durand, I am happy to say that I have something very exciting to show you. If you'll wait right here for just a moment."

Gus ducked into the back room of his shop and Annette found herself looking around the room once again. Some of the weapons in here looked downright ridiculous and unwieldy, yet there had to be some sort of demand for them, or blacksmiths like Gus wouldn't bother producing them in the first place. Still, she felt good about her choice for something simple. While a sword wasn't the flashiest weapon in the world, she at least had plenty of reading material available to learn how to use one without making a fool of herself.

The back door opened once again, and Gus reappeared with a sword in his hands. Annette's eyes grew wide as they roved over the details of the blacksmith's creation. The sword boasted a modest (though thick) pommel and grip, with a gilded cross-guard. Annette suspected that Weiss needed to spend a little extra somewhere to satisfy her personal pride, though the Major was happy to see that the gold inlay erred more on the side of subtle than gaudy. The blade's length was about what she expected, given the other long swords on display in Gus's shop, and Annette assumed that the blade's thickness was intended to add some extra weight to each swing. The metal gleamed in the light, and a familiar inscription along the sword's fuller caught the Major's attention as she took the weapon from Gus.

"Vigilo Confido?" She asked, glancing at Weiss with a smile.

"Miss Schnee asked for that to be etched into the blade." Gus explained, "Though I'm not quite sure what it means, I assume it bears some significance for you."

Annette nodded in confirmation while she continued to examine the sword. After a short while, she looked back up at Gus, "I have to admit, even after seeing the form-shifting capabilities of weapons like Crescent Rose and Gambol Shroud, I'm not sure how you managed to fit a shotgun into this."

"Why don't you lend some Aura to your blade and find out?" Gus asked.

Right, Aura manipulation. Annette had spent some time practicing this with Ren over the past month. Even though he claimed she caught on quicker than a fair number of other students he knew, Annette still felt a bit shaky with its execution. She focused on the energy that rested in her chest, her 'soul,' and tried to draw some of it up to her arms and out through her hands. At first, nothing happened, and so Annette redoubled her efforts to call upon her Aura. Blocking out all else, she turned her senses inward and tried to connect with the energy pooled within herself.

There. There it is.

A familiar sensation clicked into place, and this time she felt the soul force begin to flow. Her sword reacted almost immediately: previously imperceptible segments unlocked with a click and the already-wide blade became even thicker. Segments at the tip retracted towards the hilt as the sword's expansion made room for the retreating pieces. The hilt also sprang to life, its own segments starting to curve while a small trigger guard grew out of the hilt and connected with the cross-guard. After a few short seconds, Annette held a shotgun in her hands.

"I did not have enough time to integrate an extended magazine with this setup, unfortunately," Gus explained, "So you will have to reload by hand if you wish to walk off with it today. However, the weapon is able to carry ten shells as is, which is hopefully plenty for your needs. If not, you can always come back for modifications. Alternatively, I assume your familiarity with miss Schnee's companions means that you are friends with Ruby Rose? If I know anything about that girl, it's that she would be more than happy to perform the redesign for you as well."

Annette shook her head, "No… this is magnificent."

"Well, now that you're happy with it," Weiss said, clearly pleased with her friend's reaction, "It's time to give it a name."

Ah yes, the moment Annette had been expecting the moment Weiss expressed interest in getting a weapon crafted. Anyone at XCOM familiar with RWBY or JNPR could tell that huntsmen took great pride in their freedom of expression, and the naming of a weapon was an extension of that cultural practice. The Major spent a fair amount of time over the past couple of days trying to decide on a good name for her new sword before finally settling on one that felt right.

"La Voie et la Volonté." Annette answered almost immediately, recalling her epiphany from yesterday, "The Will and the Way."

Weiss could practically feel the beauty and passion radiating from her friend's words as they reached her ears. At the same time, that name was quite the mouthful, and Weiss doubted if she or her friends would be able to repeat it without butchering the pronunciation.

"It's lovely." Weiss breathed, "Why don't we call it La Volonté for short? The full name rolls off of your tongue beautifully, but I don't know if the rest of us could do it justice."

"Of course." Annette smiled.

Gus coughed quietly, "If you don't mind my asking, what language is that? It sounds exquisite."

Weiss jumped in with an answer, "A very old Atlesian dialect, from back when the kingdom was still known as Mantle. Annette's community is one of the few that still keeps it from being lost to the tides of time."

"How remarkable." Gus said, "Hopefully my craftsmanship does justice to your sword's name and heritage."

With another surge of Aura, Annette form-shifted La Volonté back to its melee form, "I'm sure it will. Thank you for everything, Gus."

The cheerful blacksmith waved as he once again watched the two huntresses walk out of his shop.

"Sun!"

The boy in question grinned and waved at the energetic Ruby. She ran up to greet him ahead of her team as he stepped off of the airship with his own.

"Hey Ruby, good to see you! You guys looked awesome yesterday!" Sun said.

"And you guys kicked butt today!" Ruby answered. She looked past Sun and gave a thumbs-up to the rest of his team, "Nice job showing those Vacuo girls what for."

Sage nodded, though said nothing. After his early elimination from the match, Ruby didn't blame him for being upset. Still, she knew that there'd be plenty of opportunity in the future for him to show off his true range of combat acumen. His partner, Scarlet, looked much happier with Ruby's congratulations, however.

"Enjoyed our demonstration of skill, did you?" He asked, trying (and partially failing) to adopt a suave pose, "Don't blame you, honestly. There's a reason we're fan-favorites of the girls back home."

"I'm guessing Neptune's hilarious fear of water isn't part of that reason?" Yang asked with a smirk as the rest of RWBY caught up.

Neptune's cheeks burned at the playful insult, "I'm not afraid of water! Just… acutely aware of its combat applications."

"Almost lost the match for your team because of it." Annette said as she sauntered up behind Weiss, "Not exactly a shining moment, if you ask me."

Sun looked at Annette, noted the confidence in her posture and the large sword strapped to her back, and asked Weiss, "Another friend from your super-secret mission?"

"Tech Sergeant Annette Durand." Weiss said, "Annette, these are our friends from Mistral: Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias with their teammates Scarlet David and Sage Ayana."

Annette nodded, looking over the boys with a critical eye. As a whole, they did a pretty decent job in the fight she watched (Neptune's stupidity notwithstanding). Sage was caught off-guard and eliminated early, but Sun and Scarlet did a commendable job of playing off of each other and trying to juggle their opponents.

"You guys have skill," Annette admitted, "But you lack the discipline and coordination to really maximize each other's strengths. There's a reason your academies put you into teams of four. Each one of you has the potential to be a force multiplier for your allies, but you need to develop the teamwork to capitalize on it."

It was Neptune's turn to look at Weiss, "Where do you find these people?"

"In a place where working together meant the difference between survival and death." Blake answered, "I suggest you take the Sergeant's advice seriously."

Annette looked at Sage, who wore the same look of surprise as his teammates, and grinned, "Nice sword, by the way."

"Uh… yeah." He answered, sounding almost dazed, "You too."

Ruby clapped her hands, "Well, now that introductions are over and done with, let's get some food!"

The group casually walked towards the fairgrounds while an animated Ruby maintained a lively conversation with everyone else. The boys from SSSN expressed a great deal of interest in Annette's skills and background, and while she had to be careful about the information she could reveal, the Major enjoyed telling stories about her exploits with RWBY and JNPR. Sun kept an eye on Blake as Annette talked, but picked up no signs of awkwardness or fear like he did when he and Neptune first ran into her. He guessed that Annette was familiar with her issues and probably picked stories that Blake would be comfortable with.

The conversation fragmented after a while, and Ruby watched various huntsmen split off into their own personal chats with one another. Neptune was keen on talking with Weiss, who saw no reason to refuse. Sun and Yang, with their cheerfully gung-ho dispositions, talked about their favorite fights in the tournament so far. Interestingly, Sage seemed to gravitate towards Annette, and Ruby listened as the two of them discussed his performance in the fight.

"It still makes me upset thinking about how quickly I got eliminated." Sage grumbled.

"As it should," Annette agreed, "But the bigger point is: did you learn something from it? Outside of a tournament setting, the first mistake for many people often proves to be a fatal one, so you should take advantage of your situation and make the most of it."

Sage raised an eyebrow, "What's there to learn? It was over so quick, I don't know what I could have changed."

"That's an easy one. You don't know what you could have changed because you didn't know the abilities of your foe before diving right in. An alpha strike is often a good tactic, but only against enemies you already understand. When you're up against an unknown? It's better to play it safe before going on the offensive. You'll notice that both RWBY and JNPR displayed this tactic rather well."

"I guess." Sage said, "I was so caught up in the moment, I wanted to prove myself to everyone watching."

As they reached the fairgrounds, a familiar head of green hair caught Ruby's eye. She formed a mental bridge with Annette and relayed her discovery.

Don't look now, but Emerald is at our ten o'clock.

"There's always an opportunity to prove yourself." Annette said to Sage, "You just have to recognize when caution is more prudent."

I see her. If we get closer, I can have a shot at picking up her thoughts.

"Candy!" Ruby squealed, her eyes wide as she saw one of the booths up and to the left, "I know we're getting lunch, but can we scope out the dessert first? That way, I can figure out how much room I need to save."

Scarlet nodded in agreement, "Good idea, love. Always good to be thinking one step ahead."

Got you covered, Major.

With a murmur of assent from everyone else, the group veered towards the candy stand (and Emerald) while Annette simultaneously kept up her conversation with Sage and tried to see what she could dig up on Emerald.

"You sound pretty experienced out in the field, if you don't mind my saying." Sage observed.

Annette laughed, "I don't mind at all, and you'd be correct. What of it?"

Alright, here we go.

"Well, maybe we could spar sometime? You could give me pointers on my technique and help me get better."

Ohhh, bad idea. Even though she'd started to practice swordplay on the Temple Ship, Annette needed to avoid actual demonstrations of combat until she got better at the whole huntressing business. She made a show of pondering the question, buying her time to come up with a reasonable side-step while also focusing a little more on Emerald. Her initial attempts at picking up mental impressions came up empty, much to her surprise. Given that she only had a few moments of close proximity before the other woman passed Annette's group, she needed to focus more on that than Sage.

"An interesting idea…" She stalled. Even as she covertly increased her efforts, she only got idle thoughts like, 'I could really go for some food right now,' and, 'I wonder what Mercury is up to?' She could put even more energy into the reading attempt to try and get more out of this kid, but then she'd risk drawing attention to her actions from both Sage and Emerald.

Got nothing, kiddo. I'm not sure there's anything nefarious hiding in her psyche if she's wandering around wondering about whether she should have tuna or tacos for lunch.

"I think it would be better if your team had a scrimmage with RWBY, honestly. Like I said, we emphasize squad cohesion in my division, and so I think it would be a better use of your time if you gained experience mastering that aspect of fighting." Annette explained, "That being said, I'd be more than happy to watch and provide feedback about both your individual performance and how well you work with your team."

Really? Well, that actually makes me feel a bit better. She seemed nice when she first walked up to us yesterday, and I wondered if that was some sort of ruse to cover the fact she was lying. Guess I just made her nervous or something. Also, it looks like somebody's got a little crush.

Sage looked slightly crestfallen, "That makes sense. A scrimmage is probably good practice for Sun and Neptune, at any rate. Unless Nep gets a water biome again, those two are our best chance at making it to the finals."

Shut up, you.

"I'm sure Ruby would be happy to agree to a friendly match as well." Annette said, nudging Ruby's shoulder as the group finally reached the candy shack.

Ruby nodded cheerfully, "You bet! And today's a great day for a training match if you're up for it, since the tournament isn't starting the doubles rounds until tomorrow."

"Yeah, I think we'd be fine with that." Sage said, looking at his teammates eying the desserts behind the counter, "Just gotta get some food in us and a chance to relax for a bit, first."

Before Ruby could respond or start looking at the desserts herself, she heard a quiet "Hey" from behind. She whipped around and saw Team ABRN (complete with a mildly-bandaged Reese) looking back at her.

The members of SSSN exchanged confused glances when their friends from RWBY grew quiet, with a few icy stares thrown at the newcomers. Sun remembered watching the complete shutout yesterday. He felt bad for ABRN, since they seemed like a pretty competent team from what he saw during the school year at Mistral, and was pretty surprised when Ruby's team trounced them so badly. From the looks of it, there was some bad blood between the two teams in the aftermath.

Arslan sighed at Ruby's raised eyebrow before explaining herself, "So it's not a scroll call, but I heard you guys talking about tactics and practice matches. We… got off on the wrong foot."

"That's one way of putting it." Yang snorted.

Ruby shot her sister a glare before turning back to Arslan, "Go on…"

"Well, it's obvious you guys know your stuff." The Mistrali continued, "And if you're offering to help those guys from SSSN… I think we could use the help, too."

The amount of effort it took to admit to her team's failings came across clear as day to Ruby, "Takes guts to say something like that. We'd be glad to help." She glanced at Yang, "Won't we?"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am." Yang said with a half-hearted salute.

"Great." Ruby returned her attention to Arslan, who looked considerably less nervous than she did ten seconds ago, "Well, we're about to get something to eat with the guys. Would you like to join us?"

"Yeah…" Arslan answered, glancing back at her team for confirmation, "That sounds great."

There was no mistaking it this time. It happened so quickly yesterday that Emerald almost wondered if she imagined it. But just in case, she blanked out her mind at the sight of Ruby and continued to walk by casually and sure enough… she felt it. For as long as she had learned of her own semblance that preyed on the helpless minds of others, that distorted and warped their perception of reality into one that better suited her needs, she had discovered that her ability came with an interesting byproduct: it didn't like other abilities that worked in similar ways. Now, whether her semblance had its own sentience or the rules of the game simply caused it to clash with mental abilities, Emerald neither knew nor cared. What mattered, however, was the strange, almost painful feeling she felt in the back of her skull whenever someone else tried to mess with her head the way she did with so many other poor saps.

Emerald had once chanced upon a wandering huntsman who taught her the trick of blanking her mind as a self defense against mental attacks. She didn't even have to manipulate him for it or anything, just steering their conversation towards the subject was enough to get him talking. He seemed surprised that she was so worried about that sort of thing, and probably thought he was doing his good deed for the day by helping her steel her will against psychic assaults. And while the ability only came in handy once in a great while, it was pulling its weight once more. That subtle prod into her psyche that she hadn't felt in years once again wormed its way into her skull, and that could only mean one thing.

Ruby, or someone on her team, was a mentalist.

This, Emerald realized, could put a serious fork in Cinder's plans. It was lucky that she found out so quickly, though: Emerald shuddered to think what would have happened if she never realized Ruby's ability and the stupid girl gleaned information that she she wasn't meant to know. When did this happen, though? Emerald didn't remember this when her team first ran into Ruby. Sure, the kid and her friends disappeared for a few weeks, but huntsmen go on missions all the time. Besides, people don't just magically get powers out of nowhere. This was real life, not some sort of bullshit fantasy world.

Cinder needed to know about this development ASAP. Emerald always hated being the bearer of bad news for her mistress, but the presence of a mentalist could cause some serious setbacks. Fortunately, the problem could be handled if Cinder took certain precautions and made some modifications to her plan. Step one was to report the issue, though. Emerald made for the dormitories, where she knew Cinder was resting.

During the entire journey, she tried to think of solutions she could present to her boss that would turn this problem into an advantage. Could she try to use false thoughts to plant misdirection into Ruby's reading attempts? No. Filling one's mind with superficial blather was one thing, but trying to replace certain thoughts with contradictory ones rarely worked. The mentalist could usually pick up on the intent to conceal and dig a little deeper for the truth. Other than avoiding Ruby and her friends, nothing clever came to Emerald's mind.

For better or for worse, their mission just got a lot more interesting.

A/N: Regarding the name of Annette's weapon, I literally chucked "The Will and The Way" into Google Translate and pasted the output into the chapter. If any of you actually know your way around the French language and can give me a better translation, I will happily change the name accordingly.

Speaking of changes, several of you noted that Bradford discussing security and covert ops in a public setting was... odd. I agree completely, and just as I dialed back Ironwood's aggression in chapter two after some feedback, I have adjusted the scene between Bradford and JNPR to better reflect the Central Officer's awareness of his surroundings.