A/N: Two things two note before we begin. First, an astute reader pointed out last chapter that it would be physically impossible for the Temple Ship to drop off Beagle and Lily at Alpha, given that Earth and Remnant are spacially synced and Alpha's exit point is the old Anthill. So I made the decision to tweak the RWBYCOM's lore a bit by modifying the chapter to show that the old Hyperwave has been rebuilt and is still live. Given that the war is over and the Anthill no longer needs to be the central hub for humanity's defense against extinction (and probably with the help of some tech from the Temple Ship), it's possible for them to divert all of the base's power to opening the portal for a few minutes to allow for an Earth-to-Remnant jump. And since LW has multiple alien bases instead of just the one from vanilla, it should also be mechanically reasonable for additional relays to be constructed.

Second...

HOLY SHIT GUYS, LONG WAR 2 DROPPED YESTERDAY. If you haven't read through the list of new features included in the overhaul (and it really is an overhaul), then I highly recommend you do. Because the changes are ridiculous. New missions! New classes! New weapons! There's actual strategy involved in the strategy layer now!

In all seriousness, though, this does segue nicely into stuff I planned to bring up sometime in the next couple of chapters. We're getting close to the end of the Vytal arc, for reals this time, and I'm planning on taking a few weeks 'off' so that I can spend more time planning out the next section of the story (in addition to playing ungodly amounts of LW2). One thing I'm looking forward to during this period is spending more time conversing with you guys and bouncing ideas off of each other, since some of you have likely noticed that I don't respond as quickly to PMs as I used to. But we have to get through the next couple of chapters first, and I've got a feeling that they're gonna be a doozy.

For Bradford & Friends, anyway.

Lily watched Ironwood look up from the scroll in his hands and study his guests carefully. The exasperated expression he wore as he stared at Beagle told her that the General was already familiar with the Captain (no wait… Sergeant) and his antics. Well, they were here on serious business this time, and it looked like Ironwood could see that as well.

"First, thank you for bringing this to my attention." Ironwood said, handing the scroll back to Beagle, "I know that your Bradford and I view things… differently, but it appears his decision was smarter than I had originally given him credit for."

"I'll be sure to pass the sentiment along." Beagle answered with a surprisingly respectful nod.

The General nodded. "Second, have you reported this to Ozpin yet?"

"No sir. While the VRD is a Valean entity, Bradford made it clear to all of his operatives that you are the Head of Security for this event and that any intel we acquire should go through the chain of command appropriately."

Lily doubted that Bradford said anything like that. From what she'd heard from her father, she thought it was more likely that XCOM couldn't afford to piss off Atlas more than it already had, and that olive branches should be extended whenever possible.

"I… see." Ironwood said, "Well, I actually have a meeting with Ozpin shortly, so I'll bring him up to speed when I see him. Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do at this stage other than keep our troops on guard. Ozpin and I have come to an agreement that shutting down the tournament at this stage would likely have consequences that far outweigh the benefits."

"Consequences that far outweigh the mass pandemonium that follows a terrorist attack?" The Captain asked.

Dammit Beagle. Ironwood narrowed his eyes at the subtext of his guest's question, but gave no further sign of his disapproval. "It's a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' scenario, Sergeant. The four kingdoms have consistently held this event every two years for the better part of a century. Gutting it now would ignite a wave of rumors and conspiracies that have the potential to last for an insidiously long time. I agree that a terrorist attack would likewise be a disaster," Ironwood acknowledged, "But that is why you are here, is it not?"

Score one for Ironwood, though Lily knew Beagle to be levelheaded enough to avoid rising to the General's bait. Instead, he offered a salute and said, "That's the idea, sir, though you know what they say about plans and the enemy."

"The former never survives first contact with the latter." Ironwood answered with a dark chuckle, "I guess that one gets around, doesn't it?"

Beagle laughed at the irony of the General's words. "More than you know, sir. If we're done here, I should go brief my people."

"I have nothing more to add if you don't. Thank you for your time, Sergeant."

Lily and Beagle were barely out the door of Ironwood's office on the Colosseum when the former stopped dead in her tracks. Standing patiently (and with a scowl on his face, Lily noted) among the crowd of people meandering about the hallways and plazas of the Amity was quite possibly the last person she wanted to see.

Dr. Raymond Shen.

When Arslan's team first got knocked out of the tournament, she assumed that was it. Spend a week loafing around like a failure and watching her classmates continue to the Doubles and Finals rounds before shipping back to Mistral with her proverbial tail between her legs. Of course, that was before Ruby broke up her pity party, yelled some sense into her, and generously offered to train her team. Arslan had her doubts at first, and after that merciless smackdown of a match, who wouldn't? But by the end of their first scrimmage, Ruby had handily changed the Mistrali's opinion.

RWBY didn't go easy on her team (Arslan probably would have been too insulted by the patronizing attitude to continue if they did), but the tone of the fight felt different all the same. Rather than a cold, calculating onslaught, Arslan felt an air of passion and energy in their scrimmages. More important than that, though, was the sense of camaraderie. Despite working hard to beat the hell out of ABRN, anybody watching their practice matches could tell that RWBY wanted their new friends to succeed. Both sides traded playful taunts alongside the blows, and Ruby never failed to point out whenever Arslan's team pulled off a particularly impressive display of coordination.

It would probably be a stretch to call them good friends, but Arslan had a much higher opinion of Team RWBY now.

The company they kept was… well, Arslan didn't quite know what to make of RWBY's apparent military connections. The Valean Recon Division, wasn't it? Sure, having friends in high (or low, depending on where the VRD got its information) places was helpful, but Arslan thought it was a bit weird that a team of freshmen huntresses were close friends with a SpecOps division. Then again, they apparently had that whole bonding-over-life-and-death-for-three-weeks thing going on, and Arslan had no way of truly knowing how much of an impact that had. If Sergeant Durand was any indication, though…

She hadn't seen that particular member of the VRD in a while, come to think of it. Arslan frequently thought about the words of wisdom the Sergeant had given her in the auditorium while SSSN fought, and they remained one of the primary reasons she worked so hard to train with her team even after they got kicked out of the tournament. Because Durand was right. If the huntsmen gave up fighting because it was too hard, who would take their place? Atlas had a military, sure, but the other three kingdoms spent much less time and capital on homeland security. And, as Ruby pointed out during one of their conversations, the nature of huntsmen made them incredible force multipliers. Their adaptability, their unique semblances, and the four-man team structure meant that they could drastically enhance the efforts of any conventional fighting force that they chose to support. Militaries and militia could probably hold off the Grimm for a while, but Arslan wondered how long before a crack in the armor broke open and the unending tide of darkness came through.

"You look like you are deep in thought, miss Altan. Is everything alright?"

Arslan looked up to see the inquisitive face of Penny Polendina staring back at her. Another one of Ruby's friends. At first, their friendship seemed even more strange than RWBY's relationship with the Recon Division. At least both parties were Valean in the latter case, but befriending a strange girl from Atlas? In the time that Arslan had gotten to know Penny, though, the girls friendship with Ruby made sense. The two were awkward, almost painfully so, and so they got along like two peas in a pod.

"I'm fine." Arslan answered, "These last few days have just given me a lot to think about, that's all."

"I see. Is it something you would like to talk about?"

There was that awkwardness again, though Penny's naivete made it seem almost endearing. "That's alright. Thank you anyway."

"Of course!" Penny said cheerfully, "Any friend of Ruby's is a friend of mine."

And there it was again. Were they really friends? There was a difference between being friendly enough to willingly train with each other and actually being friends. Arslan cast a sideways glance past Penny on her left at the young team leader sitting another seat over. Apparently she saw potential in Arslan's team and actually gave enough of a shit to try and do something about it. Was it because she felt bad about their first match? Or would she have done it regardless?

"'Scuse us! Make way! Team JNPR coming through!"

Arslan's thoughts were interrupted (again) by the loud Nora, though the distraction pulled her out of her thoughts long enough to come to a realization about the present. Here Arslan sat, her team talking animatedly with those boys from Mistral on her right and her newfound acquaintances joking cheerfully on her left as the newcomers settled down with comically oversized buckets of junk food from the concession stand. It didn't exactly matter what Arslan thought about her relationship with Ruby's team. Here they all were, gathered together at the Colosseum to have a good time.

The intricacies of friendship could wait for some other time. For now, she should try to relax and enjoy the fight.

Lily glowered at her feet as she sat next to her father in the Colosseum. She should have known that getting away with Beagle's little plan was too good to be true. The only plus side was that she got to avoid the brunt of Raymond Shen's wrath because she could honestly say that she had no idea Beagle was up to something when he convinced Dr. Shen to let her go with him to Remnant. Still, she was still considered complicit in the scheme when she didn't demand to be returned to the Temple Ship immediately upon discovering the Captain's true intentions. So Lily got to enjoy the crushing weight of her father's disappointment when he marched her over to sit with him, Bradford, and their guests in the stands. Evidently the bald man sitting next to Bradford was someone important, because her father changed back to his usual pleasant attitude once they reached their seats. Lily knew better than to make a scene and embarrass her father, so she played along with it and watched the combatants get ready down below.

The worst part, though? Lily didn't know either of the huntsmen in the match. Granted, Blake had already fought, but Lily was hoping to see either Pyrrha or even Penny fight. Nope, it was some chick with a dinky-looking purse and an evident passion for designer clothes facing off against some other kid who fancied himself as Remnant's version of Ezio Auditore. Sure, the fight would probably be cool and all, but it would've been nice to have someone to cheer for. Lily looked down at the journal in her lap and idly flipped through the pages. She took Beagle's instructions seriously and actually spent some time trying to sketch out the various huntsmen weapons she saw on the way over to the Colosseum. Maybe if she could do the same for the fighters down below when the match started. Or something. She just really didn't want to be here right now.

A thought came to her. One that might get her out of this situation, even. It carried its risks, though, because it involved a sacred trust between her father and herself. No matter how badly she wanted to be exploring the Colosseum or hanging out with her friends, no matter how many half-baked ideas she cooked up to get out of here, the mere thought of misusing this one, sacred rule and forever breaking her father's trust gave Lily pause. Even if she was in a lot of trouble now, it would be ten times worse if she screwed this up.

But it also presented the opportunity to make amends with her father, and so Lily felt it was worth invoking the agreement that had existed between the two of them for as long as she could remember.

"Hey dad?" Lily quietly asked, so that only Dr. Shen could hear her, "I'm hungry, do you think they have any kimchee outside?"

Dr. Shen studied his daughter, eyebrow raised. But there was no hint of suspicion in his expression, nothing that questioned the intentions of his daughter using their oldest safeword.

"The match is going to start soon, but we can go look."

No matter what had happened between them, no matter where they were at the time, no matter how angry they might be with each other, asking to go look for kimchee marked a request for a truce between them that both parties were required to honor. Neither of them had ever disrespected the Kimchee Pact, and Lily had no intentions of starting now.

Father and daughter stepped out into the outer ring of the Colosseum, and Dr. Shen turned to Lily. She could tell he had a lot of fatherly scolding pent up inside him that he wanted to let out, but his words came out in a neutral, almost comforting tone. "Is everything alright, Lily?"

"I… just wanted to talk to you away from Bradford and his friend. I don't think he needs to hear an apology."

"It would be the second he's heard today, from what I've been told." Dr. Shen said with a chuckle, "But very well. You won't hear any complaints from me."

A small part of Lily wanted to ask what her dad meant by that first part, but she knew she had more important things to say. "I know you're upset because you care about my safety. I know you think that Remnant is a dangerous place, and I also know that you're probably right. I know that you're keenly aware of how badly I've wanted to come here since you got the Hyperwave Relay working, and I know more than anything that you want me to enjoy Remnant when the time is right."

Her father smiled, knowing what was coming next. "But…?"

"There is no but." Lily answered, and she could see the mild surprise on her father's face. "I let my burning desire get the better of me, and… I made a mistake. I'm certain that Captain Beagle wouldn't let me come to any harm, but I still did something that caused you worry, and I know that it was wrong."

Dr. Shen's eyes shone as he held his daughter's gaze. "I cannot tell you how many times your mother told me that we raised you into a fine, young woman. You remind me of that every day, my dear."

Lily blushed slightly, not expecting gentle praise from her father. There was only one thing that remained. "... Dad? I know you want to keep me where you can see me while we're here, but… can I go find Ruby? I want to see her again, and… well… the adults are kind of… boring."

"Even Captain Beagle?" Dr. Shen asked.

"Except Captain Beagle." Lily said, rolling her eyes.

Dr. Shen sighed. "You're right, though. Keeping you on a short leash is high among my priorities right now."

Lily looked glumly at her feet. She knew it was a long shot, but she dare not risk the goodwill she'd just earned and press the matter further.

"However, I trust Captain Rose a great deal." Her father said with a faint smile, "While I'm certain you were in good hands with Captain Beagle, I can't imagine a safer place on Remnant than with Ruby Rose."

Dr. Shen looked down with mild surprise as his daughter latched herself around his midsection and buried her head in his chest. He gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders as he heard her whisper, "I love you, dad."

"And I you, my dear." Dr. Shen answered, holding the hug for a few more moments before letting go of his daughter. "I need to get back to Bradford now. Please do not waste time finding Ruby. I'll feel better when I know you're in her care."

"Of course, dad." Lily said before turning around and dashing down the hall. She had no idea where Ruby was watching the match with her friends, but a quick message on her scroll would fix that. Lily smiled as she imagined Ruby's reaction to finding out that she was on Remnant.

Her day was starting to look up again.

So it was all true. Everything Bradford told him about the Hyperwave Relay acting as a dimensional door to another world, the people who lived there, and their way of life as they learned to survive in the face of the Grimm. Sure, there were plenty of statements that Bailey couldn't verify by sitting here in a stadium seat, but he could sweat the small stuff later. At the end of the day, nothing changed the fact that Earth now had access to another world. The diplomacy would take some time, to be sure, but a world full of huntsmen like Ruby, Blake, and Pyrrha simply could not be ignored in light of the fact that hostile life existed in the dark reaches of space. Even if it took some time to cultivate a relationship between Earth and Remnant, the benefits would certainly be worth the effort if an invasion like that of the Ethereals came knocking again.

And this Ozpin fellow seemed fascinating. Very soft-spoken and courteous when Bradford introduced them, and very interested in listening to what Bailey had to say. They shared a cordial exchange where Bailey conveyed his desire to act as an ambassador for the nations of Earth alongside Bradford's role as representative of XCOM. Ozpin greeted the offer with a warm reception, and the three men continued speaking on the docks of the Colosseum. Bailey quietly took note of the headmaster's social decorum and compared it to the Councilman's experience with Bradford (the awkward couple of months post-war notwithstanding). He didn't find it hard to believe that the two developed diplomatic ties with relative ease; in some ways, the headmaster almost seemed like an older version of the Central Officer.

The Councilman's only regret was that Ozpin could only spare a few minutes to meet with him and discuss interplanetary politics. It made sense: the festival was winding down with the tournament working through its last few matches, and so Ozpin likely had to pay due attention to a multitude of other ambassadors and delegates from the three foreign kingdoms. With ties to Earth already established thanks to Bradford's hard work, a more formal discussion between Bailey and Ozpin could wait until things quieted down a little. Besides, the tournament itself offered plenty to keep Bailey distracted for his first visit to Remnant.

"Thoughts so far, Councilman?" Bradford asked, clearly pleased with the events of the last half hour.

"Vermillion does not even… begin to describe this." Bailey muttered, "And while the matters of Aura and Semblances aren't particularly… accessible for applications on Earth, Dust more than makes up for it.

Lieutenant Kelly grunted in agreement. "I heard reports of XCOM's experimental ammunition during the war. Magic-in-a-gun sounds pretty damn accessible to me."

Jane looked grumpy, and Bailey couldn't exactly blame her. As much as Bradford tried to finagle an agreement with security at the docks, Atlas personnel was adamant that Kelly surrender her shotgun. It made sense, as civilians wandering around armed and dangerous was a likely recipe for disaster. Even the huntsmen, who Bailey could easily spot with their expressive attire and confident attitudes, didn't seem to be carrying their equipment that Bradford spoke so highly of. After seeing the difficulties with Kelly, Bailey surrendered his pistol without prompting. "As a gesture of good will and trust in the Atlesian security force," he explained as he handed over the weapon to the dock guard.

While the Lieutenant was visibly upset over the loss of her weapon, she still tried to relax in the stadium seats. She leaned back as far as the seat would go with her legs crossed and her arms behind her head and let out a quiet, comfortable sigh. Bailey watched as his security officer took on a persona that was equal parts lazy and unconcerned: the quintessential tournament-goer. He noted that while her posture conveyed a relaxed attitude, the alertness in her eyes and the slight tension in her muscles told a different story. Without a doubt, Bailey made the right choice in picking Lieutenant Kelly as his security chief.

"The crystal formation suspending the Colosseum is of particular interest to me." Tygan said, adding his two cents to the conversation, "The data I briefly reviewed with Dr. Vahlen on the Temple Ship relates to Dust in small quantities. The… magnitude… of Amity's source is truly remarkable."

"With any luck, you'll have plenty of time to research to your heart's content, Doctor." Bradford assured the doctor. In a way, the young man reminded Bradford of his own Chief Scientist at the start of the war: optimistic and full of excitement at the prospect of what research the near future had in store. Granted, scientific excitement seemed a lot more appropriate at the discovery of a new world rather than an extinction-level event for humanity but… Bradford already knew that Vahlen was an odd duck.

"I have to admit, your description of the… dire situation in Vale doesn't quite line up with what we've seen so far." Bailey commented.

"You weren't here before Sergeant Belladonna's match." Bradford pointed out with a sigh, "Though people are definitely excited for the upcoming match and the conclusion of the tournament, the general air is definitely subdued since the last time I was here. Ozpin has his work cut out for him repairing the damage from that unfortunate incident."

"And we will offer what resources we have… available to help." Bailey answered, "You have presented the people of Earth with a… golden opportunity for newfound prosperity and growth after we were pushed to the… brink of destruction."

The Councilman had a point. Before Bradford could respond, Port's voice boomed over the stadium speakers.

"And now, let's find out who our next combatants will be!"

The holographic display winked into existence to show the two familiar slot machine wheels that contained the faces of the remaining contestants. As the wheels began to spin, Bradford could pick out both Pyrrha and Penny among the four faces, though neither of them showed up when the display stopped moving.

"Coco Adel and Orryn Crohm! Will the two fighters please report to the staging area to begin the match!"

Coco. Bradford felt like he'd heard Ruby mention her before. Well at least he could cheer on a Valean competitor, even if it wasn't someone he knew personally. He turned to Bailey and grinned. "Now comes the good part. Strap yourself in, Councilman: you're in for an interesting ride."

The Finals, huh? Coco would never in a million years have admitted it to anyone else, but she was surprised to find herself representing her team in the final round. Sure, no other team at Beacon had a fanbase like CFVY's, but that didn't really count for much for something like this. Hearts could be won just as easily by a flair for the extravagant as they could by a solid performance in the ring of combat… perhaps even more so. And a top-notch fashion sense was the one area Coco could claim technical superiority without a shadow of a doubt. But combat? Her kickass minigun excelled at mowing down those brainless Grimm that seemed all-too-happy to line up for her, but a one-on-one fight in relatively close quarters with a fellow huntsman did not play to her strengths at all.

But her fans had been vocal. Very vocal. The amount of fan mail Coco received after her victory in the Doubles Rounds was staggering, and almost every one shared a common theme along the lines of "Can't wait to see you kick some ass in the Finals!" So rather than advance Yatsuhashi, who actually had melee as his strong suit, the team agreed that Coco should push on. And in light of the slightly somber mood following that Belladonna kid's unfortunate match, it looked like the people of Remnant could use a bit of flair from Beacon's resident fashionista. Even if Coco didn't win the match, she could certainly put on a show.

Just as it had already done several times today, the Colosseum's lights went down while central platform of the stadium rose up, elevating Coco and a huntsman hailing from Vacuo. From the looks of his attire, the kid probably favored agility over raw power. Opening up with her minigun at the start of the match would probably be a poor idea. Better to dance with him first, try to smack him around a bit with her purse, and then find an opportunity to open up and really tear into him. If anything, the sight of the huntsman running around as she swept her cone of fire across the arena would look really fucking cool. And that's what this tournament was all about, right?

"Hey, Orryn." Coco called out, grinning when the kid across from her looked up from his final equipment check, "You ready to get these people pumped?"

Orryn twirled a pair of daggers in his hands and returned the grin. "Ready to kick your ass."

"Hah. I like you already."

"Well hey, what's the point of doing something like this if you're not having fun, you know?" He gripped his weapons and lowered himself into a fighting stance. "Glory is empty if it comes without satisfaction."

A fair point. Sure, some could say that Coco was in it for the adulation from her fans, but she also enjoyed giving them something to be excited for in the first place.

"And now, let's begin with the next match in the Finals Round!" Port boomed, "Ready? Begin!"

Vahlen wasn't a fan of lying to Bradford, but she also knew better than to put undue stress on the Central Officer's shoulders with a minor hiccup. The situation with Tygan was different because she had a professional colleague to corroborate the possibility of a problem. The quirk she saw in her CCTS scan, though? Not quite as credible. Even so, due diligence asked her to take it seriously and follow up on it. If more evidence of funny business came up after a second pass, she could be more confident when she brought it to Bradford's attention (ideally after everyone was back on Earth).

It was a small thing, a mis-match between the results of her scan and the registry provided to her by Grayson. Her scan seemed to have missed a couple of items, a hiccup that the software caught when it cross-checked the results with Grayson's data. Not that big of an issue, since she could simply run the scan again and tweak it to specifically focus on the blacked out area. Still, she sent a message to the Atlesian technician after she reviewed her results and found the issue. What troubled her more, however, was the existence of an item that popped up in her scan results that wasn't on the registry. The file size was only a few bytes, and a quick scan didn't reveal anything malicious… just strange.

Through her experience analyzing Remnant software on RWBY's scrolls and at the CCTS programming architecture, Vahlen had to get used to a programming structure that didn't use ASCII code. It got easier once she figured out the standards used on Remnant, but now she was surprised to see an ASCII format pop up in this file, along with an extension that she hadn't seen anywhere else on Remnant. Vahlen had set up a quarantine zone and opened the file to see what it contained, only to be surprised once again: an array of ASCII symbols arranged in the shape of what looked like a chess piece. It looked like something a couple of script kiddies back on Earth would be inclined to make, thinking they were being cool or something equally stupid. Did Remnant have a similar programming culture that resulted in oddities like this? So her curiosity about software 'graffiti' led Vahlen to wonder if she could find a similar calling card on the Colosseum, and maybe some answers to what it could possibly mean.

With a little scroll call from Grayson at the CCTS, Vahlen was able to satisfy the on-duty technician's request for credentials and set herself up at an empty station.

"Alright, let's see what we have here…"

Searching for a single filename should take a lot less time than running a registry check, so hopefully Vahlen could be in and out of here before it was time to head back to Earth with Bradford's group. She heard the sound of a horn in the distance, which likely marked the start of the next match in the Finals. Well, she better hope her program worked quickly if she wanted to get this thing wrapped up before Bradford wanted to leave with the Councilman. She uploaded her sniffer program, defined its search parameters, and sent it hunting.

"Right, that's done. Let's see if there's anything else we can do in the meantime."

"Can I… uh… can I help you, miss…?"

Right. She wasn't alone. "Vahlen. And it's Doctor, actually."

"Oh." The tech rubbed his shoulder uncomfortably, "Err, sorry. Didn't… didn't realize…"

He couldn't have been more than twenty-five years old, which made Vahlen think of her own (embarrassingly awkward) college years. "It's quite alright. But perhaps you can help me after all. Do you mind answering a few questions for me?"

The young man looked surprised at Vahlen's query. "S-sure, I guess. What do you want to know?"

"Well, I'm running a software sweep in your system, and I'm looking for something… I guess 'curious' would be a good word for it." Vahlen said, pulling up a screenshot of the ASCII Queen on her scroll to show the kid, "Have you seen anything that looks like this?"

The tech studied the image carefully before slowly shaking his head. "No ma'am. What is it?"

"I'm not quite sure." Vahlen admitted, "I found that one in the CCTS system, so I was curious if there'd be something like that elsewhere. How often do you encounter cyber graffiti?"

"Cyber graffiti? That… I've never heard of something like that, especially in a system as classified as the CCTS. Atlas keeps a tight leash on who gets access to what when it comes to digital IP." The technician dug a card out of his pocket and handed it to Vahlen, "Heck, it took me two years before I could even be considered for this position on Amity. I only let you in here because Grayson said you had clearance, and Grayson said you had clearance only because Specialist Schnee said you had clearance."

That was mildly concerning. Vahlen handed the card back to the tech (Technician Foresta, according to the printed information) with a quiet sigh. "So there's no chance that some hooligans hid this file in the CCTS library for fun?"

Foresta shook his head. "And even if they tried, they'd be caught. There are a lot of proprietary firewalls used to protect the CCTS, and only techs like Grayson know how to work around them. Like I said, Atlas takes this stuff very seriously."

Vahlen didn't remember getting flagged with any firewalls when her program first ran a few days ago. She made a note to thank Grayson for handling that the next time she saw him. Even so, that didn't change the implications of Foresta's statement. If the CCTS was truly as impenetrable from the outside as the technician claimed… could it have been an inside job. Now that… that was a horrifying thought.

"Hey…" Foresta brought Vahlen out of her musings, and she noticed the kid pointing over her shoulder back at her work station, "Is it just me, or does that look like the little figure you were showing me on your scroll?"

Sure enough, the image flashing on Vahlen's screen was unmistakably a Black Queen.

Coco gritted her teeth as she handbag-blocked another swipe from her foe.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Orryn turned out to be a fast little rascal. Someone who had armed himself with little more than a pair of daggers didn't exactly come across as the slow-moving power-hitter type. Coco felt like she made the right decision by holding off on bringing out the big guns, because Orryn would have simply danced around the bullet barrage and kicked her face in. Still, she needed to come up with a way to give herself an advantage and create an opportunity to play to her own weapon's strength. She could hold her own on the defensive (though only just), but there's no way she'd win this without bringing down some sweet minigun justice.

"C'mon." Orryn said as he flipped over Coco's shoulder and thrust his dagger at her neck, "Thought you wanted to get these people pumped."

Coco twirled out of the way of the strike and deftly spun her handbag to deflect the followup strike. "Just giving you a chance to… show off your acrobatics." She answered, skidding backwards as she blocked a kick mid-sentence.

"Well you better do something soon." Her opponent teased, "Don't want your fans to grow bored."

To Coco's surprise, Orryn put some distance between himself and his prey. Maybe he was taking a moment to try and find a better way to take her down. Well, she hadn't come up with any ideas for seizing the upper hand, so she might as well take this opportunity. There was enough distance between them now where she had time to react if he tried to rush her, anyway. Halfway through her weapon's transformation, Coco had to suppress a yelp as she ducked under a flying dagger. She straightened out and readied her gun, wondering why Orryn would throw away one of his weapons on a telegraphed attack like tha-

She actually let out a small gasp this time as she felt the dagger slice through her flank on its way back into Orryn's waiting hand. She remained unharmed physically, but she couldn't say the same for her designer clothes. Her very expensive designer clothes.

Welp, time to waste this little fucker.

Coco's minigun revved up with a low, guttural whine. The bullets came half a second later, each barrel spitting out its payload with the venomous anger shared by its wielder. Orryn dodged, flipped, and dashed to evade the fire, but Coco noticed with some satisfaction that he couldn't get close. Her cone of fire was simply too great for him to reasonably dodge if he came within a certain distance. One or two bullets probably wouldn't do much to him, but a weapon like hers thrived on the law of large numbers. He tried his little dagger throwing trick again, and Coco had little trouble shooting it out of the air with her saturation fire.

And the crowds loved it. Over the building roar of her beloved gun, she heard the cheering of fans as she unleashed on her unfortunate foe. Orryn's acrobatic flips and twists to dodge the leaden hurricane only made the developing scene all the more impressive.

"This is what we've all been waiting for, ladies and gentlemen!" Port boomed.

"Indeed!" Oobleck agreed, "Many a foe has tried to stand up against Miss Adel's terrifying power, and only a select few have lived to tell the tale! To see it in top form… truly a sight to behold."

The beauty of the whole situation? With her Semblance, Coco was in no danger of running out of ammunition anytime soon. The barrels would overheat long before the belt ran dry, and that could take hours.

She could literally do this all day.

A small thrill rushed through Lily's body as she considered her current situation of wandering around the Colosseum without any supervision whatsoever. She wouldn't dare go back on her word to her father and run off to explore the new and exciting city of Vale, but she couldn't see any harm in taking an extra minute or two on her way to see Ruby. The sounds of combat from the arena meant she was already missing the main event anyway, so why rush when the fight would probably be over by the time she found her friends? Not to mention that Amity was pretty huge. The journey would probably take at least five minutes even if she sprinted the whole way.

So even if she couldn't go off and explore, Lily decided to do a little bit of casual people-watching as she meandered towards the section of the stadium that Pyrrha had directed her to. Lily felt pleased with herself when she came up with the idea to keep her visit a surprise from Ruby and chose to contact Pyrrha instead. The huntress was more than happy to keep Ruby out of the loop, and expressed her own personal excitement at the prospect of seeing Lily again.

The thought of seeing Pyrrha Nikos again made Lily's head feel a little fuzzy. Ruby was super-awesome (obviously) and Lily was ecstatic to hang out with her, but the rest of Ruby's friends from Strike Eight were just as awe-inspiring. Lily had the opportunity to personally watch Pyrrha train with Major Durand, but she'd also watched some combat logs of XCOM's operations thanks to her father. Nora's raw power, Blake's grace, Pyrrha's perfection… Lily would have to make a conscientious effort to not completely embarrass herself.

But first… a small candy shop caught her eye as she walked along the hallway towards her destination. Beagle had given her a little bit of Remnant cash (Lien?) when they'd first arrived on Amity so that she could buy some food, but then the whole thing happened with her father and she never got the chance to use it. Now, though? It'd be nice to surprise Ruby with a small gift of chocolate when she caught up with her friend. There was a small line at the shop, but there were so many delicious-looking options.

A five-minute detour couldn't hurt, right?

Vahlen rushed back to her work station, heart pounding, and mashed the Remnant equivalent of the escape key. To her relief, the chess piece vanished from the screen and was replaced with the live readout of the doctor's search software. That didn't bring Vahlen much comfort though, as this Black Queen thing had moved far beyond the realm of curiosity. It had somehow hijacked her terminal to post that image, and it definitely wasn't a piece of ASCII art this time.

"I recommend you pull out any and every diagnostic software in your toolkit and run them on the server." Vahlen told Foresta, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

The technician froze, his jaw barely functioning to stammer out a response. "B-but… I thought… weren't you looking for that thing?"

"Yes, but my software doesn't just automatically open up whatever it finds. Whatever this Black Queen program is, it's live." Vahlen answered tersely. She felt bad for the boy, she really did. He was clearly not prepared for the idea of something going wrong (despite that being part of his job description), but the doctor needed his help. Now. "The anti-virus suite, if you please."

Vahlen's firm voice finally snapped Foresta out of his funk, and he got to work at his station. On her end, Vahlen canceled her previous search query (no point in trying to find the graffiti when it had already found her) and searched through the Colosseum's digital framework for some sort of runtime summary of the active systems on Amity. She knew there had to be one, as she remembered watching Grayson use something similar during the time they worked together at the CCTS. She wanted to scan the LabView-esque program and get a bigger picture of how all the different systems on Amity worked together.

"Foresta, can I borrow you for a moment? I'm trying to find the software that displays a visual representation of all the interacting functions within the Colosseum. I saw Grayson use it back at the CCTS, and I think it might be helpful for our current issue."

The technician looked up from his work and Vahlen could see the unease written all over his face. "That's… nobody's supposed to have access to the live map except for qualified technicians. I don't think it would be a good idea."

"Do you know what else wouldn't be a good idea?" Vahlen asked, irritation slowly leaking into her voice, "Causing an international incident because we weren't able to catch this issue quickly enough because we weren't cooperating at one-hundred percent efficiency."

"I… okay. Just don't spend too much time in there, okay? I could probably get fired over this." Foresta complained as he opened up the system map for Vahlen.

Vahlen rolled her eyes. "Or you could get a promotion when we avert a crisis, but let's mistake the forest for the trees, shall we?"

"Was… was that supposed to be a joke?"

No. Vahlen hadn't realized her pun until after her associate mentioned it. "Never mind. Thank you for your assistance, Foresta."

Her first glance at the map told Vahlen what she had already expected: the entirety of Amity's system was massive. The block diagram method of displaying information certainly helped Vahlen parse all the data being thrown at her all at once, but it still took her breath away for a moment when she realized just how complex this station truly was. Sure, this thing probably paled in comparison to the Temple Ship, but that didn't help Vahlen with her upcoming task of finding a needle in a digital haystack.

The sound of an automatic weapon carried through from the stadium, followed by uproarious cheering as the Chief Scientist got to work. She started with the propulsion systems, since that would cause the greatest damage if it went down. Anti-gravity output looked static for the last day, and the local registry reported no changes in at least that long. Unless this malware had burrowed into the system a long time ago and was waiting for the worst time to strike…

"Rebooting the system isn't an option, I take it?" Vahlen asked, half joking.

"Unless you want a stadium full of people to crash into Beacon when the power systems run through their startup cycles… then no." Foresta answered before gesturing behind him at the sound of the minigun. "Not to mention that those hard light shields are the only thing standing between that and the audience."

A shiver went down Vahlen's spine as she realized the truth in Foresta's words. Killing the propulsion was the obvious choice for sabotage, but shutting off those hard light shields in the middle of a pitched arena fight could be equally catastrophic panic-wise.

As if the Black Queen was reading her mind, a warning message popped up on Vahlen's screen.

Are you sure you want to power off arena shielding?

Rather than waste time trying to stop the program (it had taunted and teased her up to this point, so why assume this instance would be any different?), Vahlen keyed her comm piece.

"Stop the fight immediately. There is a virus in the system that is trying to shut down the safety shields. Stop the match."

Bradford's blood ran cold at Vahlen's words, and he felt as if time moved in slow motion as he stood up to shout. He screamed for everyone to get down, but the roar of the audience as it cheered Coco drowned him out. He saw the light shield flicker once, then twice, and could only fear the worst. Finally, Bradford's stomach dropped as he watched Orryn leap high into the air in another attempt to get an angle on his opponent, and Coco, unaware of the deadly change that took place, swept her weapon across his arc as she tried to nail her target.

As the exuberant cheering turned to terrified screams Bradford contacted Van Doorn aboard the Temple Ship.

"This is Central. We have Security Status RED. Initialize the REMCOM Project."