In the following weeks, the members of RWBY spent most of their time at the anthill. Bradford dispatched Strike Eight on only one mission during that period, mostly as a gesture to give them time to grieve the loss of Vance, but the huntresses chose other ways to contribute to the war effort. Ruby kicked herself into overdrive down in Engineering, providing Shen with countless hours of work developing new designs or manufacturing approved hardware. More than once, the Chief Engineer found himself telling Ruby to go get some sleep in the barracks. To him, Vance's death put the devil inside of his friend, and the only way she believed she could seek atonement was to produce as many mechanical advantages as possible for the operatives of XCOM. While it made Shen happy to see the young girl so passionate about engineering, it saddened him to know that Ruby had seemingly forgotten her potential as an incredible morale boost for XCOM's operatives. For now, he decided to let her work out her issues in a way that made her comfortable, but he decided that a talk might be necessary if her current habits persisted for much longer.

Weiss, as the heiress of Remnant's most powerful Dust company, lent her knowledge and expertise to Vahlen's efforts in researching the mysterious resource. Truthfully, while her family held a ridiculous amount of information regarding the extraction and use of Dust, she encountered few, if any, texts or references on the subject of Dust composition or manufacture during her years of extensive education. After Vahlen gave Weiss a full tour of all her analytical equipment, Ruby's partner quickly set to work running tests and scans she believed to be the most beneficial for timely research. Her own professional curiosity spurred her onward just as much as the need for a new advantage against the aliens. By using her experience and intuition to act as Vahlen's premier expert in Dust analysis, Weiss allowed the Chief Scientist to focus on other critical avenues of study, such as the all-important Hyperwave Event.

Blake and Yang split their time between adapting to their new MEC hardware and offering their own brand of in-house assistance. Together, the partners learned how to pilot their MECs and adapt to their new classes, with Yang catching on much faster than Blake. Despite the latter's sour attitude towards her present condition, Yang's optimism and incredible patience certainly helped Blake adapt to MEC warfare. Only days after the start of their training, the two learned how easily their new skillsets synergized with one another. As a Pathfinder, Blake filled the role of a mobile spotter and hit-and-run unit. Even though Blake's old biological form easily outclassed the multi-ton hardware in terms of mobility, technical advances and Ruby's research into improved systems drastically improved the MECs mobility over the first few variants Shen manufactured in the early days of XCOM. Yang's sturdier, but slower, suit helped her fill the role of long-range bombardment. While she missed the comforting feel of her old rocket tube, the new grenade launcher and proximity mine thrower more than made up for the loss. The duo practiced using Blake's scouting capabilities and targeting hardware to spot for Yang and determine the best location to strike for maximum damage. After the Archer did her work, the Pathfinder would move in to mop up whatever managed to survive the initial salvo.

In between MEC training sessions with Yang, Blake utilized her knowledge as a master infiltrator from her time with Adam and the White Fang to offer advice and instruction to Scouts and recon operatives slated to spy on EXALT cells. XCOM's soldiers enjoyed reasonable success thus far without her, but Blake noticed several areas that could use improvement when she began spending her free time reviewing operation tapes and audio. While her new augments prohibited her from joining covert ops herself, she found that training with extraction teams in the live fire facilities allowed her retain a small aspect of her old fighting style.

Yang, more accustomed to using her physical strength to help solve problems, joined Shen's manufacturing crews on the Engineering floor. While automation served as the primary method of fabrication, certain processes required a manual touch… or punch, as the case may be. Careful to avoid damaging her augments from excessive strain, Yang happily spent her non-lounge time cutting, hammering, and melting components in accordance with Shen's instructions. Yang didn't quite have the mechanical aptitude of her sister, but her skills as a machinist sufficed for the work given to her. More than once, she used her pull with Bradford to greenlight the use of her MEC suit to help with heavy lifting down in Engineering. As a side benefit, Yang got to spend more time with her sister, who seemed to never leave Shen's facility.

Despite all of the work, the progress, and the improvement, Ruby still fell deeper and deeper into her little world of weapon design and modification. As time wore on, she spent less time with her friends and more with her work. From Ruby's perspective, finding solutions to mechanical problems in Engineering provided a perfectly good outlet for relieving stress. Why spend time drinking in a loud bar when she could be doing something productive and enjoyable? Dr. Shen's concern for Ruby reached a breaking point when the Lieutenant nodded off to sleep while operating a high-speed mill. Fortunately, one of the technicians on duty noticed before anything catastrophic happened, but the event prompted a private meeting between Shen, Vahlen, and Bradford.

Vahlen joined the Chief Engineer and Central Officer at the table in Dr. Shen's office, handing her friend a steaming cup of tea before turning to Bradford, "This is dangerous, Bradford. Why haven't you been sending Strike Eight out on more missions?"

Bradford noted the irony in the idea that leaving an operative in the base was more dangerous than sending her on an operation against deadly aliens, "I've tried, doctor," Bradford defended, "When I do manage to get the attention of Lieutenant Rose, which is becoming rarer and rarer, she contradicts me once I request her team for an op. She'll cite that she's really close to some sort of design breakthrough, or that she needs to oversee the production and testing of a new upgrade, and end the conversation by saying she'll happily volunteer for the next op after this one. Rinse and repeat. I made the mistake of giving her a week to grieve for the Major, and she spent that time getting caught this mental spiral to the point where she's failing to escape."

Shen took a slow sip of his drink and savored the flavor, contemplating what he should say, "This is indeed troubling. However, I do not think you have yourself to blame. You did what any compassionate soul would do, and let Miss Rose attempt to handle the loss in her own way with ample time. I don't think any of us could have forseen this as the result." He looked down into his cup and frowned, "Of the three of us, I think we can safely say that I know her the most, and I certainly didn't see this coming."

Bradford sighed, "The question, then, is what do we do? This can't go on any longer. Even if we had no tactical motivation to pull her out of this funk, I feel like we'd still have a moral obligation to do so."

"You mention motivation, Bradford." Shen commented, stroking his chin, "That may be the answer to our problem."

Both of his companions gave him a curious look, but Vahlen spoke up first, "What do you mean, Shen?"

"It is evident that the Major's death hit Ruby hard. We can all agree on that. However, this is not apparent to Ruby herself, nor to her companions. They have followed her lead, and found ways to contribute to XCOM outside of operative duty. While their level of dedication to their new roles is more… reasonable than the Lieutenant's, they do not have an outside perspective to realize how dangerous her condition is. Like us, they believe they're doing the right thing by giving Ruby time to sort out her own emotions. What we need," Shen continued, "Is to provide an outside perspective for our young friends and help them realize that where they can help us most is on the battlefield."

"And how, pray tell, do you intend to do that?" Vahlen asked.

Shen sighed, "I'm not quite sure yet."

"I might have an idea," Bradford cut in. "Over the past few months, I'm sure we've all had our fair share of conversations with the Remnant huntresses. We know they go to a combat school known as Beacon, we know that all students at Beacon are split into teams…" He stared directly at Vahlen, "And we know that Ruby's team is especially close to another freshman team known as 'Juniper.'"

Silence briefly reigned over the room, and the faint whirrs of manufacturing drifted in from beyond Shen's office. Vahlen picked up on the implications of Bradford's words almost instantly, but she was hesitant to believe the sincerity of his plan, "You're asking me to pull another group of teenagers through the relay, when we haven't even reached a point where it's possible to send the first group back?"

"I am, Doctor," The Central Officer answered evenly, "And I will tell you why in a moment. But first thing's first: can you do it?"

Bradford's blunt admission left Vahlen somewhat flustered, "I… well, yes. With the Lieutenant doing so much to advance our capabilities in the war, I've had plenty of time to continue my research on the Hyperwave Event. Ruby and I successfully transmitted and received data streams from one of her contacts on Remnant a week and a half ago, and my research since then suggests that pulling physical entities from Remnant to Earth is well within our current capabilities-"

"Then why can't we send Ruby and her associates back through?" Shen interrupted. "I understand that they have promised to help us until the end, but I'd rather not have their deaths on my conscience if I knew we had the capability to return them to their own world weeks or months before their demise."

Vahlen sighed. "It's not that simple, my friend. Think of the relay as one half of a magnet sitting at the bottom of a small well. If the other half is sitting at the lip, a small magnetic tug is enough to tip the entity over the edge and let gravity do the rest of the work. Conversely, if the mobile half lay at the bottom of the well with the relay, and we switched the polarity so the two halves repulsed one another, our half would have to output considerably more magnetic force to overcome the gravitational component acting against it. Unless I find a way to reduce the 'gravity' of the Hyperwave Relay Event, the power required to send more than data or atomic particles through would be… immense."

"I see," Shen answered. He understood Vahlen's explanation perfectly, but did not like what it meant for their mutual friends in Strike Eight. With the war taking up so much of XCOM's resources, sending Ruby and her friends back through to Remnant was impossible until after the invasion could be totally dealt with. He turned his attention back to Bradford, "You said you have a valid reason for wanting to drag this 'Team Juniper' into our fight?"

Bradford nodded, "I do. After Ruby and Vahlen made initial contact with Remnant via digital comms, Ruby continued to trade data with her friend on the other side. Of course, unmonitored communication could potentially result in a security breach, so the Lieutenant agreed to have her communications recorded and closely watched for any piggy-backed signals."

"I see," Vahlen replied, "And am I correct in assuming that your justification lies within this communication?"

"You are," Bradford confirmed, "I think you'll find this to be rather interesting."

He pulled out a datapad and opened up a file, allowing his associates to read the conversation contained within.

Jaune! Oh, I'm so glad you received that message.

Where are you, Ruby? Ozpin has given my team permission to assist and extract you from that portal if the opportunity ever came up. Can you help us find you?

Well… the answer is a little more complicated than you think, Jaune. We're safe, though!

"Interesting how she completely leaves out the situation with Sergeants Belladonna and Xiao Long." Shen observed, "I doubt that Jaune would consider that to be 'safe' by any means."

Ruby. Can you help us find you?

You're serious, aren't you?

I am.

Well, there's nothing you can do at the moment. But I'll let you know as soon as I hear differently! Honestly, though… while I miss you guys, we're doing fine on our own. I don't want to drag you into the mess we're in.

Doesn't matter, Ruby. Friends help each other out no matter what. If you figure out a way to help us reach you, I want you to tell me first thing. We'll be there as soon as possible, okay?

I understand, Jaune. And thanks… it means a lot to know we've got friends like you.

"Well…" Shen mused, "I've heard Ruby talk about Jaune once or twice, but I had no idea he was this… dedicated as a friend. Maybe his interest goes beyond friendship?"

"Nope." Vahlen answered, "Trust me, I've also heard about Jaune from Weiss. He's been trying to get her to date him since the two first met. She admits he dialed back his efforts considerably in the last month or so before she came to Earth, but he's still got eyes for her, it seems."

"Either way," Bradford interrupted, "The point is that Jaune seems to speak for his team when he says they're ready and willing to help Ruby as soon as the opportunity arises. And from what Vahlen has just told us, it sounds like that opportunity is finally here."

Shen scratched his head, his expression conflicted, "I'm still not entirely certain I agree with this plan, but Jaune does seem to be very intent on helping Ruby and her team. I'm hesitant to admit it, but he also just might be the motivation Ruby needs to get out of her slump, which was the whole point of this meeting in the first place."

Vahlen shared Shen's sentiments about the moral ambiguity of the plan, but could not deny the logic behind it, "Very well. I have spent enough time studying the huntress's scrolls to send communications of our own to one, and my test with Ruby has given me the digital address of Jaune's device. Shall we get this over with?"

Bradford nodded. "We'll have a small contingent of soldiers present at the Hyperwave Relay to greet JNPR, but it won't be anything like our first contact with Ruby and her friends. Make the call."

"Mister Arc, it's three in the morning, so I trust your reason for calling me at this hour has something to do with our mutual friend?"

"Yes, sir," Jaune answered, as he watched Ozpin's face appear before him on his scroll's screen, "Remember yesterday when I told you about the communication I had with Ruby? Well, I've received another message."

The headmaster raised a curious eyebrow, "Oh?"

"It said my team should go back to the clearing where I first saw RWBY disappear through the portal, and that we should see it again. If not, we just have to wait two hours before they pulse it open. We miss that pulse, and we wait another two for the next, and so on. From the sound of it, there's a really heavy energy drain required to keep the portal active, so there's only a small window in which we can go through."

"Then I suggest you gather your team and make your way to the clearing as soon as possible, Jaune."

"We're already here!" Nora shouted cheerily in the background, "No portal yet, though."

Ozpin smiled at Nora's enthusiasm, "Excellent. From the sounds of the last communication, RWBY isn't in any imminent danger, but I am sure they could use your help in returning safely. Is that all, Jaune?"

"Just one more thing, sir. The message I got wasn't from Ruby."

Ozpin's eyes narrowed on Jaune's screen, and the young Arc winced slightly, "You probably should have led off with that information, Jaune. Who sent it?"

"Someone called Bradford. He said he's with a group called XCOM, and that they're working with RWBY."

"Interesting…" Ozpin mused, his expression softening slightly, "Well, we heard from Ruby yesterday, which tells me that her team is safe under this XCOM's care. Be cautious, Jaune, but the mission remains the same. When that portal opens up, do whatever it takes to help Team RWBY return safely."

"Thank you sir."

"You can count on us!" Nora added with a salute.

"Indeed," Pyrrha chimed in, "Jaune's a great leader. I'm confident that we'll get Team RWBY back in no time."

Ozpin nodded, offering a small salute back at Nora, "Very well. Good luck, JNPR. Something tells me that you may need it."

"It's been six hours, sir."

"Patience, Corporal McAuley," Bradford responded, "It's not like you've been standing here the entire time. Standing ready for five minutes every two hours isn't exactly tiring work."

Secretly, Bradford also began to worry about JNPR. Considering how adamant Jaune seemed about helping Ruby and her friends, the Central Officer assumed the young man would be stepping through that portal the moment it opened. After the first five minutes without any newcomers, Bradford wrote it off as the team failing to reach the portal in time. Surely they could make it to the clearing in two hours though, so he once again prepared himself for first contact when Vahlen opened the portal for the second time.

And then again for the third time.

Now he stood before the Hyperwave Relay with his Chief Scientist and Engineer and six operatives hoping that the fourth time would be the charm.

"… Jaune did get the message, right?" Vahlen asked hesitantly. It seemed like a foolish and obvious question, but worse things had happened due to a lack of double-checking. Like when Bradford lost half of Strike Three due to the elerium cores in their grenades getting swapped out with potatoes, for example.

Bradford nodded in affirmation, "Yes. I received a response from him before asking you to start the process of firing up the Relay. He said that his team would head there ASAP."

"Maybe the field is a lot further from Beacon than we previously anticipated?" Shen suggested, "What if Ruby's team was sent there on a mission, and it's actually a day's journey from the school?"

"It's possible, but I'd like to think that this Jaune would be smart enough to advise me of such a delay once I told him we'd start pulsing the portal half an hour after confirming he received the message."

The aging engineer shrugged, "Then all we can do is hope for the best. Something must be holding them up."

"Indeed. Let's hope it doesn't hold them up much long-"

The coloration of the portal above the Hyperwave Relay shifted from a dull purple to a much more vibrant hue. Shortly thereafter, Bradford's staff heard the sound of a young woman excitedly squealing before two figures came tumbling out of the aperture and crashing on top of one another while their bags and cases clattered across the floor. The Central Officer winced slightly when the young woman sandwiched a lean-looking boy between herself and the concrete floor. A moment of stunned silence followed while the two worked to untangle themselves from each other and the ground, followed by the energetic half of the duo leaping to her feet and punching a triumphant fist into the air.

"See Ren? I told you we'd beat Pyrrha and Jaune through the portal thing! How could we lose when you've got me on your side?"

Bradford gave a slight nod to McAuley, who quietly slipped out of the room.

"It wasn't a race, Nora," Ren groaned, a hand gingerly massaging his face as he slowly got to his feet and scanned the room for his lost belongings, "You only assumed it was when Jaune said 'there it is!' and pointed to the portal." He pulled his hand away from his face, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise when he saw blood on his fingers.

"Semantics," responded Nora, "Besides, I'm excited about seeing our friends as soon as possible! Beacon's been so boring without them. Oh look! People!" Bradford couldn't help but smirk slightly when Nora pointed at him.

"Took you long enough to notice." He nodded in turn at both of the newcomers, "Welcome to XCOM, Miss Valkyrie, Mister Lie."

The young man, still intrigued by the sight of his own blood gave Bradford a slight bow, "A pleasure, sir. If you don't mind, though… Nora and Ren will be sufficient."

"Fair enough. If I may ask, Ren… is the other half of your team on the way?"

Ren raised a curious eyebrow, "You're rather well-informed, Mister…?"

"Bradford, Central Officer here at XCOM."

"They should be right behind us, Mister Bradford!" Nora interjected.

Ren cast a glance back at the portal still open above the Relay, "I'm surprised they haven't shown up yet." The young man returned his attention back to Bradford, "Are you sure this portal is safe?"

Bradford cast a glance over at Vahlen. Do they tell the truth? The Central Officer decided that starting off XCOM and JNPR's relationship with dishonesty would be a bad idea, "To be frank, we're still learning about the Hyperway Relay ourselves. It ended up in our possession about five months ago, and we've been working to unlock its secrets ever since. However, we've had three 'transfers,' if you will, and all were successful, so I doubt your friends are lost. Maybe something happened on the other end that caused them to hesitate?"

Nora, who busied herself with checking over their bags while Bradford talked, pointed back at the portal, "Hey, is it supposed to change color like that?"

Bradford looked up, saw that the portal had indeed shifted to a brighter variant of purple, and smiled, "Unless I'm gravely mistaken, that should solve our present issue."

The portal spit out two more figures before reverting to its usual dull shade of violet. The pair fell to the floor, and while the young man with a head of messy blonde hair slammed unceremoniously into the concrete, the woman with him gracefully landed on her foot, knee, and fist. Bradford noted that the spear in one hand and shield in the other, along with the stylistic choices in the armor she wore, reminded him of an ancient Greek warrior. Upon further reflection, Ren's attire was reminiscent of traditional Chinese culture. He quickly reigned in his thoughts while he watched the Remnant huntress stand up before standing up to brush herself off. He had more pressing matters at hand than occupying his thoughts with the cultural origins of his guests.

The Central Officer let out a low, impressed whistle at the young woman's graceful landing, "You must be Miss Nikos…?"

Pyrrha nodded, "Indeed I am!" She stowed her armaments and offered a hand to Bradford, who took it in a firm shake.

"Central Officer Bradford. A pleasure to meet you." Bradford looked over at the groaning mass still laying on the floor, "Will he be alright?"

The huntress let out a small 'oh!' when she realized that Jaune hadn't recovered yet. She quickly rushed to his side and helped him to his feet, "Jaune! Are you okay?" She gave him a once over before her eyes widened in shock, "Jaune, you're bleeding!"

"Hurray for Team Y Chromosome." Ren muttered with a sigh.

"I'm alright, Pyrrha. It's probably just a scratch." Jaune dusted off his pants before standing up to his full height and turning to greet the Central Officer, "I'm Jaune Arc. I'm guessing you're the one that messaged me?"

"Yes," Bradford confirmed, "Lieutenant Rose is… a bit caught up with some work right now, so we-"

"Lieutenant?!" Jaune exclaimed, "I'm not exactly surprised, but wow, that's still pretty quick!"

"Getting a little jealous, O' Fearless Leader?" Nora jabbed playfully while she took stock of the new bags brought in by Jaune and Pyrrha.

"N-no! Just impressed is all."

"Now that you mention our friend," Pyrrha interrupted, "Where is team RWBY? You told Jaune that they're working with you…?"

"Yes. Lieutenant Rose is currently getting some much-needed rest, but the others…" Bradford trailed off and checked his watch. The sound of thunderous footsteps signified Ruby's team rounding the corner, bringing a smile to Bradford's face.

"Pyrrha?"

"Jaune?!"

"Weiss!"

"NORA!"

Ren gave Nora a firm jab in the ribs, "Stop that."

"Seriously, though," Yang said with a slight hint of awe in her voice, "What are you guys doing here? How did you guys get here?"

"We're here to help!" Jaune answered, his puffed chest reminiscent of the last time RWBY saw him before this whole mess began, "Whatever problem you've got, we're here to help you solve it and get you back to Beacon."

The three huntresses from RWBY exchanged glances with Bradford, "You haven't told them yet, have you?" Weiss asked accusingly.

Bradford held his hands up in defense, "Hey, they just got here."

Blake sighed and turned back to address JNPR, "The problem we've got is twofold: first, this is not even Remnant, but a planet called Earth; second, Earth is in the middle of fighting off an invasion, and Dr. Vahlen back here," Blake jabbed a thumb over at the Chief Scientist, "is unable to devote enough time and resources to a return trip for us until the invasion has been dealt with."

A glazed expression crossed over the faces of each members of JNPR by the time Blake finished, though not for the reason she expected, "Blake… uh… your, umm, arm… it's…" Jaune stammered out.

"You got… robot arms?" Even Nora, usually chipper to the point of annoying her companions, looked confused and concerned. "Why do you have robot arms?"

"Oh, that!" Yang exclaimed, stepping up and hanging an arm around Blake's shoulders, "Couple of weeks ago, Blake got stabbed by a venomous, hate-fueled alien abomination in the gut, and the only way we could save her was to cut off her arms and legs!" She held up her own arm as if she was flexing it, "As you can see, I figured it'd be wrong to let Blake be the only one to have robo-limbs, so I got myself a set too. Pretty neat, huh?"

Jaune's expression shifted from confused, to worried, to downright terrified. "Ruby said you guys were fine when I talked to her yesterday! This is not fine! This is very much far from fine! Why didn't she mention stabbings and limbs and stuff?"

"There's a bigger issue than that, I think." Pyrrha interrupted, "You said this happened several weeks ago?"

Yang raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, why?"

The members of JNPR traded looks with each other before Pyrrha spoke again, "That's… not possible, Yang. Your team has only been gone for seven days."

Silence fell between the two groups as everyone tried to process this new information.

"Aaaaaaaand by seven days, you actually mean three months. Because we've been here for three months." Weiss stated, though her words were full of uncertainty.

Jaune shook his head, "Seven days, Weiss. You guys have only been gone for a week."

"But that's impossible!" Weiss cried, "We've been here for three months! Three months of fighting aliens and being away from home! You can't honestly tell me that eleven of those twelve weeks have been a figment of our imaginations, can you?"

"If I may," Vahlen cut in, "While this development is certainly interesting, it's not at all outside the realm of possibility. We'll investigate the anomaly in more detail when we have time, but for now I believe it's very likely that you're both right."

"… Right. Weirder things have happened, I guess." Yang admitted, "In any case, to answer your original question, Jaune: we're fine. The stabby thing was pretty bad, I'll admit, but the MEC treatment came with some pretty sick perks."

Jaune still didn't look convinced, but he decided to drop the matter for now, "Alright. So are you sure we can't see Ruby? Officer Bradford said she's getting some rest, but it feels kinda wrong to have this little reunion without her."

"Yeah!" Nora interjected, "I miss my sugar rush buddy! And she can brag to Jaune about all the cool stuff she did to become a Lieutenant!"

Bradford suppressed a smile. Their conversation steered itself onto his desired topic without any intervention necessary, "I have to give Miss Rose credit: she's an extremely driven young woman. The only downside is that she's sometimes a little too driven, and she's currently under orders by me to get some rest after working herself too hard for the past few days. However," he added, seeing the disappointed looks on the faces of JNPR, "I suppose she's slept long enough to warrant a visit from some friends she hasn't seen in months."

Even if he had no ulterior motive to do so, the Central Officer knew he made the right choice once he saw the genuine smile on Jaune's face. Romantic feelings or no, Jaune certainly held Ruby in high esteem. After working with the young woman for three months, Bradford had no trouble understanding why. The newcomers grabbed their bags, slung them over their shoulders, and turned to Bradford.

"Lead the way."

"Ruby?" Yang nudged the pile of blankets hiding her sister. Only an unruly mop of dark hair stuck out, proving that it was indeed the young leader of RWBY buried within.

"Mmmphh."

"C'mon, Ruby."

A hand shot out to smack Yang's finger away, then immediately retreated back under the blankets, "Mmmmm g'way, Yang."

"You've got some friends here to see you, Rubes."

Ruby rolled over, eyes still shut, "Weiss can g'way, too."

"Hey!"

Even though she remained prone, Jaune realized Bradford wasn't kidding about how fatigued Ruby looked. Bags under her eyes, a weary expression… and were those tears? Something didn't seem to add up for the youngest Arc, and it started to worry him.

"What if I told you that JNPR was here to see you?"

Ruby pulled the blankets up higher, once again burying her face beneath the warm fabric, "… Liar."

"Nope! The only Lie here is Ren."

"Yang, why do you do this."

"She's right, though, Ruby. Ren is here."

Ruby's bloodshot eyes flew wide open at the sound of Jaune's voice. She bolted upright and looked wildly around at the ten faces staring back at her, a mixture of amusement and concern on each. Along with Bradford, Shen, Vahlen, and Ruby's teammates, she saw all four members of JNPR standing at the foot of her bed.

Ruby, still struggling with the spectre of sleep, failed to form a coherent sentence, "I… umm… what?"

"Ruby!" Nora shouted happily, launching herself at the sitting girl. "We're here to help!"

"I see." Came Ruby's muffled reply from under Nora's chest, "Can I breathe, Nora?"

"Sure!" Nora pulled back and sat cross-legged at the foot of Ruby's bed. "So how can we help? We brought a month's worth of supplies," Nora started counting on her fingers, "Ammo, spare parts, medical equipment, food rations… we're pretty well equipped to go hunting!"

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "A month's worth of supplies? It sounds like you guys were expecting to come through and meet up with us."

"Well, yeah." Jaune answered, as if stating the obvious, "I told Ruby that the moment you guys find a way to get us through, we'd be here in a heartbeat." He kicked the heavy case resting at his feet, "We've been carrying this stuff around for six days now. Ozpin's orders."

"Should've guessed the old coot would suggest that." Blake commented, "After all, he did bend the rules for us on our first official mission. While probably a little more dangerous, this situation isn't really all that different."

Nora returned to questioning Ruby, "So what? Do we go out and find bad aliens? Do we hunt them down and kill them? Do we get to break their legs?!"

Ruby rubbed her eyes, winced slightly at the dampness that came away on her hands, and answered Nora, "Uhh… sure, yes, and probably not."

"Great! When do we get started?"

"Well… you probably have to spend some time training with XCOM's tech."

Nora laughed, "Pfft, no we don't! We told you that we came prepped for a month! You think we would've brought food, medical supplies, and dust while forgetting our weapons?"

"Actually," Weiss cut in, "There's a problem with Earth that sorta-kinda wrecks our Aura. Anything and everything that you used Aura for on Remnant is out of the question here." She glanced over at Vahlen before adding, "At least for now."

"That explains the bloody nose." Ren observed.

Nora rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Okay fine. So we'll train with their weapons for an hour. Then can we go kill some aliens?"

Ruby sighed, "It'll take more than an hour… but sure, Nora. Then we can go kill some aliens."

As the friends continued to catch up with each other, Shen leaned over and whispered to Bradford, "That was almost too easy."

Bradford shrugged, "Well hey, looks like Strike Eight won't be needing to borrow other soldiers for their ops anymore. And it looks like Nora is the shot to the arm Ruby needed."

"Looks that way." Shen agreed, a smile crossing his face. He'd miss having Ruby in his shop every day, but he knew that bringing her back onto the field signaled the first step on Ruby's road to mental recovery from the loss of Vance.