A/N: Well that took longer to complete than I anticipated. Still, the three sections of the chapter were all fun to write, and I'm happy with how they turned out. Next chapter should (hopefully) be a little easier, since it's going to be a lot of shooty-shooty-punchy-punchy. Maybe I'm part-Ork, because I find that easier to write sometimes.

In any case, enjoy.

"You are listening to the Vale News Network. I'm Lisa Lavender, your host, here to welcome you to our evening report."

Desperado looked up from the early morning campfire and his bowl of grits to glance over at the small screen currently occupying the attention of several nomads. While their lifestyle was much more simplistic than the cityfolk of Remnant, the XCOM operatives were relieved to learn that even they had a means of staying connected with the rest of the world (even if it was only one-way). If Bradford decided to send a message to the kingdoms of Remnant, at least Desperado and his team would hear about it.

The nomads had no objections to taking in the operatives, just as May had anticipated. The prospect of three additions to their group that promised to pull their own weight was far more important than the risk of harboring fugitives who would likely be hunted by this new 'ADVENT' faction. Even when Cinder went on to spew more of her propaganda about XCOM, the nomads simply turned to Desperado with curiosity and interest in what he had to say on the matter. Given his prowess in hunting Grimm and Quail alike, the nomads had taken his word over those of the angry lady on the vid screen.

"Tonight, we have more news regarding the ongoing reconstruction efforts in Vale. As the Fall Maiden promised, supplies and manpower from Atlas have arrived to assist the local engineers and security details while work on the wall continues. Joining the Atlesian military is the first contingent of Cinder Fall's 'ADVENT' peacekeepers."

Lisa paused to shuffle some papers on her desk as footage played of decently-dressed soldiers moving through the streets and shooting Grimm. They all sported a red armband on their right bicep, and they all had helmets that obscured the upper half of their face. As a clip played of two peacekeepers returning the salute of a small gaggle of children during a patrol, Lisa added, "Our reports so far indicate that their presence has been well-received by the locals."

"Guess these locals have never lived with an occupation force before," one of Desperado's operatives quipped. Given that Keo Kosal was born and raised in Cambodia, Desperado couldn't really blame the man's misgivings. "I give them two months at most before the welcome wears thin."

"In other news, we-" Lisa cut herself off, and Desperado raised an eyebrow as he watched the news anchor raise a hand to her ear while she glanced off to the side of the set. She nodded at someone (her manager, maybe?), nodded a second time, and returned her focus to the camera.

"My apologies for the interruption, but we have some breaking news. It appears that our channel has been contacted by the leadership of XCOM, offering a live interview by video conference."

All eyes turned to Desperado, who couldn't help but crack a grin. "Central, you sly sonuvabitch."

"Our dedication to bringing our viewers quality news, and to seeking out the truth, demands that we accept XCOM's request. Please stand by."

The screen split in half, with static filling the left while Lisa's feed was pushed to the right. After a few moments, a dimly lit room replaced the dead air, with the shadowy silhouette of a man sitting behind a table as its sole occupant.

"People of Remnant," the figure started. Desperado instantly recognized the voice as Bradford's, though it sounded slightly raspier than usual, "I have no... doubt that, through some manner or another, you have heard the name... XCOM."

Kasal glanced at Desperado with a look that asked, "Is he really…?"

Smirk still firmly planted on his face, Desperado nodded that yes, Bradford was indeed channelling his inner Bailey.

"There are those who know of our… sacrifices when we first made ourselves known to the world during the Vytal… catastrophe. Those who saw us fight and die for the innocent, regardless of… where they came from. They know of our compassion, our… unwavering loyalty to those in need, no matter the circumstances. They know of the true XCOM."

Desperado was pleased to see that the news anchor had chosen not to cut off Bradford's opening remarks. Indeed, while she maintained a professional expression, she leaned forward ever-so-slightly as she listened to what her guest had to say.

"And yet, there are those who seek to… discredit our deeds. To brand us as traitors in a bid to… advance some as-to-yet unknown goal. They conveniently ignore… all that we've worked to accomplish, both during the calamity and in its wake, hoping that the… passage of time is on their side as people slowly forget us while we fade into the shadows."

"So why hide in the shadows, then?" Lavender blurted, unable to wait any longer, "Why not work out in the open where people can see your deeds?"

The silhouette smiled. "You must understand, Miss Lavender: though we may do our best work in the shadows…"

The lighting in the room slowly shifted to reveal the familiar face of Desperado's commanding officer, dressed in his usual green sweater vest, "... we are not afraid to step forward into the light. I am Central Officer Bradford, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Lisa hesitated for half a beat before regaining her composure and answered, "Likewise, Central Officer. As I'm sure you can imagine, we have a lot to talk about."

"Of course."

"First, dramatic introductions aside, why don't you tell us about XCOM?"

Desperado chuckled. "She's got you there, chief."

Bradford's smile indicated that he agreed. "We are an organisation that is, shall we say… independent from the four kingdoms. Our motives are simple: protect humanity against any alien threat that it might face."

"If you're not affiliated with one of the kingdoms, then… where do you come from?"

"Honestly? You wouldn't believe me if I told you. The world might learn in due time of our origins, but for now, know this: XCOM is more than the sum of its people. It is an idea, that those who are capable must help those who are not. It is an idea that I can say with one-hundred percent certainty has inspired people across the continents of Remnant to strive to be more than what they are. In that sense, XCOM is not so different from what Cinder claims ADVENT to be."

Interesting play there, Bradford. What's your game with the comparison to the megabitch? Or maybe he was trying to steer the conversation towards the elephant in the room?

"Since you've brought them up, let's talk about ADVENT and the Fall Maiden," Lisa said, making a few taps on her scroll to bring up Cinder's face on the bottom of the screen, "Miss Fall has been very vocal in her condemnation of your organization. Do you have anything to say about that?"

Bradford nodded with a sigh. "I find it… perplexing. Given that Cinder has been equally vocal that she's fighting for a better tomorrow, why would she have a reason to lie about XCOM's motives? I don't doubt that the people of Vale are benefiting from her efforts, and I am thankful that they are getting the aid that they so desperately need." Bradford looked straight into the camera with a piercing gaze that caught Desperado off-guard, "But ask anyone who was there during the calamity: who held and evacuated the festival's fairgrounds? Who established the commercial district safe zone? And who kept the refugees safe as they travelled to Atlas's staging area so that they could return to their respective kingdoms? That was XCOM, miss Lavender, and more than a handful of good men and women lost their lives fighting so that others may live."

"And we'd do it again, given the chance." Kosal quipped, "Don't even need to think twice about it."

"Damn straight."

On the screen, Lisa Lavender had changed the bottom image from Cinder to that of the scrolling code she posted during her initial announcement to the world. The anchor looked up from her scroll and asked, "Then what of-?"

"All the damning XCOM files that our dear Maiden found on Amity?" Bradford asked with a raised eyebrow, "The data on civilian Aura levels? The incredibly precise Grimm count in Vale, and the operating procedures to create as much division and chaos as possible? I'm very curious where Cinder got those files from, too, because they're certainly not from XCOM."

"How would you know what's in those files if they're not yours?" Lisa asked, her tone impressively neutral, "As far as I know, the data hasn't been distributed by Cinder to anyone but me, and I have not conducted a segment on what I've learned."

"I had a team of operatives and scientists that remained onboard Amity to prevent it from colliding with Vale -another example of XCOM's valor, by the way- and they stayed with the wreck after it crashed to recover the data that we first discovered in the minutes after Amity's shields went down." Bradford shook his head. "From what I've seen of the files, I don't blame you for taking your time and being thorough before you release that information. It's quite shocking."

"I… yes it is…" Lisa agreed, slightly dazed. Desperado could practically see the cogs turning in her head as she tried to figure out who was telling the truth and who was lying.

"If you want to know what are real XCOM protocols, ask the refugees how we secured the safe zone with fireteams and Grimm killzones, how we took down the Beringels that attacked the fairgrounds with precision sniper fire and mechanized personnel to keep the monsters away from the civilians, or how-"

Bradford paused, and Desperado saw him cock an ear towards what he guessed was the door. The Central Officer put a finger to his ear, listened to whoever was on the line, and hissed, "They did what? Oh for-" Bradford looked past the camera with a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment, "Beags, can you, just... ?"

"Yeah, I've got it, boss." Came a familiar voice from off-screen, "Go deal with whatever's going on."

Bradford nodded, apologized to the news anchor, and dashed out of the room. As Lisa Lavender stared at the screen blankly, another figure stepped into view of the camera, his shit-eating grin stretching a mile wide.

"Sup, everyone. Brad doesn't realize this, but we, uh… cooked up some live entertainment. To keep him occupied for a while so I can have a chat with the rest of you."

"Live… entertainment?" Lisa asked.

Beagle shrugged. "Some of the engineers down in the mech bay figured out how to remote into the spare mechs we have laying around, so we did the natural thing and strapped chainsaws to their arms so we could enjoy a non-lethal fight ring. It's like Sock 'Em Boppers for nerds. Adult nerds." He added, with a cough, "Kids, don't try that at home. Seriously. Chainsaws aren't toys."

Desperado couldn't help it. The absurdity of Beagle addressing the whole world, talking about underground robot chainsaw fights, was enough to get him laughing. Leave it to Beags to show the… ridiculous side of XCOM.

"So, uhm… did you have anything specific you wanted to talk about?" Lisa said, still shocked by the abrupt change of tone in the interview, "Since you went to such great lengths to remove your commanding officer…"

"I've got a lot of words for Little Miss Fall Maiden, but it would be ideal if I could get invited back onto your programming in the future, so I'll regrettably have to pass on that. You know. For the children." Beagle cleared his throat and his expression changed from goofy to serious. "But you're right. There are a few things I need to say."

The Rocketeer leaned back against the desk, arms folded across his chest as he stared directly at the camera. "It's one thing for Cinder to throw shade at XCOM. Whatever, I can see how The Unknown might encourage a fearful reaction. But to go after the huntsmen? You know, the ones that put their lives on the line day in and day out to identify and neutralize Grimm threats, rescue people in danger, explore the infested wilds in the name of humanity… To treat them as treacherous, conniving con artists is horrifying."

Beagle pulled his shirt off to reveal a body pock-marked with the scars of warfare. He pointed to a bad gash on his shoulder and looked up at the camera. "This one came from a Beowolf that slipped past my rifle. A lovely huntress from Atlas bailed me out before the monster made a snack of my arm."

He looked down again and found a scar on his flank. "This one's from a Boarbatusk. Caught me off-guard. I'd probably be missing a chunk of flesh if it wasn't for a student from Vale."

Finally, he gestured to a long, thin gash across his chest. "Saved this one for last for a reason. As you've probably guessed by now, I have a huntress to thank that this is the only souvenir I've got from a run-in with a Nevermore. That huntress, however, is someone you're probably familiar with."

"And who would that be, mister…?"

Beagle flashed a sheepish grin as he put his shirt back on. "Sorry. Captain Teasdale. And the huntress would be Pyrrha Nikos."

"The Invincible Girl?" The news anchor said, surprised, "She's with XCOM?"

"Yup. But you wouldn't know that, since her message of comfort and hope on the night of the Vytal Catastrophe to the horrified people of Remnant never made it to the CCTS. Because Cinder tried to kill her at the top of Beacon Tower." Beagle shrugged again. "Turned the poor girl into a paraplegic, which is basically just as bad for someone like Nikos, so I guess… mission accomplished?"

Lisa gaped at the screen for a second before she remembered that she was a professional news anchor. "That's… quite the accusation, Mr. Teasdale."

Beagle smirked, "Yeah, that's what you said to Cinder, wasn't it? It'd be a real shame if I had some evidence to back up my claim. You know. Like a recording of the message?"

The left side of the screen turned black, but the recognizable voice of one Pyrrha Nikos filled the void seconds later.

"People of Remnant, I am Pyrrha Nikos, and I stand before you with an important message…"

Desperado listened with interest to the recording, as it was entirely new to him. He didn't know that Shen's team tried to send out a message, though the optimistic tone sounded pretty par for the course, considering that Pyrrha was the one speaking. To the anchorwoman's credit, she managed to maintain a neutral face as the recording continued to play. Some of Pyrrha's words tugged at Desperado's heartstrings, and his throat tightened ever-so-slightly when the Master Sergeant reminded the world that men and women stood waiting and willing to put their lives on the line to protect the innocent.

"We will bring an almighty fury down upon the Grimm to drive them back into the darkness from whence they came, and to where they belong."

XCOM's video feed returned after the recording finished, and Beagle was now sitting behind the table (his shirt back on) with a smirk on his face, "So tell me: why would Cinder fight tooth and nail to stop that message from getting out? Seems like trying to console a terrified world during its darkest hour would be right up her alley if she's 'striving for a better tomorrow,' don't you think?"

"As inspiring as that speech was, it still doesn't provide evidence that Cinder stopped it," Lisa answered, "For all we know, XCOM could have been the one that shut it down."

"Ah yes. We're the ones responsible for stopping a recording that we are now broadcasting to the world." Beagle sighed. "I get that it's important to remain impartial in your line of work, Lisa, but c'mon. In any case, I'd love to bring Pyrrha Nikos herself on here to tell you to your face that Cinder isn't what she claims she is. But like I said, our dear sweet Fall Maiden did quite the number on my friend, so we'll have to wait until another time to have that particular chat. For now…"

The lighting started to dim as Beagle continued to speak, "Take comfort in the fact that XCOM aims to do what we've always done: protect the innocent and fight for what's right. It's in our blood, and nothing will convince us to give up." Eventually, the room returned to its original condition, where the only thing that remained visible was a dim silhouette of the man behind the table.

"Keep fighting the good fight, people of Remnant. And remember… we will be watching."

The live feed disconnected, and the anchorwoman was left to follow up with an analysis summary for her viewers. The nomads, however, no longer cared about what was on the screen and turned to look at Desperado with curiosity.

"That man," one of them said, "That Central Officer Bradford. He is your leader, yes?"

Desperado nodded.

"He seems honest," The nomad decided, "He has a good soul. I wish to hear more about him."

At that moment, Desperado realized that he'd arrived at a crossroads of sorts. Here, he had the potential to tell the nomads exactly what Bradford was, which in itself was quite inspiring. Or, he could… embellish a little, to help spread the legend of XCOM among the people of Vacuo. He wouldn't be lying, since every word of what he'd say would have at least a grain of truth to it.

And besides, it would be badass.

Desperado conspiratorially looked from one face to the next before he said in a low voice, "There are tales too many to count about the Central Officer that describe his exploits and heroics. So great were his deeds, that there are some that refer to him only as… The Great Commandy One."

"C'mon, Blake! Let's go!"

A young woman, camouflaged in the evening shadows, gazed upon the waiting huntress as she stood outside the Belladonna manor dressed in a casual suit. The hidden intruder's eyes burned with a mixture of hatred and jealousy for the yellow-haired one, who stood lazily with hands stuffed in her pockets, and faint flickers of red danced uninvited across the watcher's skin. The huntress was dressed in fine clothing as she waited for one Blake Belladonna to appear. Who did this girl, this human, think she was? Leaning against a pillar, checking her scroll, as if she deserved to even be on the same continent as the first leader of the White Fang and the Chieftain of Menagerie, let alone living in his household? And she had the nerve to think she was friends with Blake? Blake Belladonna, who spent years suffering alongside her brothers and sisters in the White Fang, fighting for the very-

"Give me a moment, Yang."

The eyes softened at the sound of Blake's voice, and a pale melancholy washed over the intruder just as a wave of dull blue washed over her body. After all these years away from each other, after the vast expanses of space that had stretched between them when Blake ran away to Vale, and not one single attempt to reconnect? They'd gone through so much together in their youth, all the hardships and struggles to fight the good fight for their people. The number of times they'd saved each others' lives was easily too many to count. The number of victories they scored in the name of faunus across the world were equally legion.

They were comrades-in-arms, battle sisters… they had a history. And Blake didn't seem to care.

"Blaaaaaaaake." The annoying human whined, "We've gotta goooooooooo!"

Or maybe she'd been stolen. No matter what reassurances Adam had her about Blake "returning to the fold" after seeing first-hand the evils of humanity, the decision to let her run away to Beacon had been a bad idea. For whatever reason, Blake had forgotten her purpose, her people. The moment she'd had a taste of Vale's upper crust, and she allowed herself to consort with humans that didn't give care about the thousands of faunus suffering every day at the hands of their oppressors. Blake had been wooed by a false, romantic life just like the ones she'd read in her endless supply of novels, and had replaced her real friends with the likes of Yang.

Yang Xiao Long. Perhaps Blake didn't even know that her new best friend had savagely murdered Adam Taurus, Hero of the White Fang and Blake's closest mentor. If only Blake actually cared about the White Fang, she would have had the chance to learn of the recent tragedy from the Albain brothers. Maybe then she would realize that she was in the company of a cold-blooded killer.

The front door opened, and Blake stepped out in a gorgeous evening dress. She took Xiao Long's proffered arm, and the two of them started their walk towards the port city, evidently to have a night on the town. Of course. Beacon must have really done a number on Blake, as evidenced by her disturbing priorities. Why rejoin the fight for freedom and liberty when there was pointless fun to be had with a filthy human?

Well, perhaps her priorities could be rearranged if the cancerous influence were to simply be removed. Surely once the human was eliminated, then the haze clouding Blake's senses would evaporate, and she'd be reminded of the importance of all that is at stake for the Faunus.

And she would see why Lady Fall was the key to their victory.

"Sister Amitola," A voice whispered several feet behind her. She'd noticed Fennec's presence a few minutes ago, and appreciated his discretion in waiting to draw her attention until after Blake had left.

Ilia turned around to see her comrade looking at her with his usual serene smile, "The time has come to enact our plan."

"The time has come to avenge Adam." Ilia answered, drawing herself up to her full height and brandishing her weapon, "Lead the way. I'm ready."

"Good morning, Friend Nikos!"

Pyrrha had been lying awake in bed for at least half an hour, idly pondering the realities of her condition. Her thoughts weren't as dark as they used to be, given that Vahlen's success had given her a sliver of hope to latch onto. All the same, she thought of the doctor's warning that the surgery was a preliminary one: Pyrrha still couldn't walk, and it took a herculean effort to so much as lift her arm an inch above the bed. But the fact that she could even wiggle her toes to begin with was all the evidence Pyrrha needed to firmly believe in Vahlen's promise.

The sheer kindness and generosity shown by everyone else had also overwhelmed Pyrrha slightly. Maybe it had always been there and she had been too caught up in her own misery to notice, but so many people came to see her, and not to say 'awww, poor Pyrrha. We're sorry you're a cripple.'

Like her current guest, for example.

"Good morning, Penny. How are the repairs coming along?"

Penny flashed a cheerful smile as she started to unfold Pyrrha's wheelchair by the foot of her bed. "Quite well, thank you for asking! Nichole and Gidjit have been instrumental in the reconstruction."

"... Nichole?" Pyrrha asked with a confused frown. Was that someone from Patch that had joined the crew?

"Oh! My apologies, Pyrrha. Nichole is one of the names my counterpart and I have come up with to help distinguish us."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, though she couldn't stop the amused smile from slowly spreading across her face. "One of…?"

"We plan to cycle through the various names on a daily basis to see which one sticks." Penny explained as she rolled the wheelchair around so it was sitting next to Pyrrha, "Are you ready?"

Pyrrha nodded, and she let Penny lift her into the chair. The repairs had certainly been effective enough to make carrying the dead weight of a young adult look effortless. Her robotic companion gingerly lowered Pyrrha into the chair, and the two of them set off for their destination: The Skunkworks.

The Avenger's lower decks were massive and out-of-the-way from the rest of the traffic on the ship, a perfect place for Vahlen and Shen's more sensitive research, as well as projects that required more open space. Further, it provided a suitable area that the Reapers and Vipers could claim for their quarters. Given that their presence and tech opened up a multitude of research opportunities for Vahlen, it made sense to have them living close to the Skunkworks.

"I wonder how the Archon is feeling today," Penny mused.

"It still leaves me awestruck that he agreed to join us on the Avenger, and that he was willing to move the surgery and MELD equipment onboard." Pyrrha looked down at her hands and willed herself to twitch her fingers. "Am I really worth that kind of sacrifice?"

"Absolutely!" Penny answered as she rolled Pyrrha into the main elevator, "I've talked with the Archon several times, and he strikes me as a very wise leader. While Bradford made the request, the choice to come aboard with the equipment was ultimately up to the Archon. I don't think it's a decision he would have made lightly!"

The decision was also risky. Not all of the Reapers and Vipers joined XCOM on the Avenger. Many stayed behind in Mountain Glenn to maintain a base of operations. Without the Archon to protect and guide them, Pyrrha worried about the safety of the inhabitants. Would they survive being discovered by ADVENT? Or could they hide away so effectively to keep themselves from being discovered in the first place?

The elevator doors opened up and Pyrrha was greeted with the familiar dim lighting of the Skunkworks sector. Several islands of light dotted the darkness, faintly illuminating the silhouettes of several engineers and scientists working on their various projects. Intermittent flashes of light mixed with an electric crackle, the high-pitched whine of power tools, the deep clanging of hammers… it was amazing that the sounds didn't carry to the upper decks of the ship.

Through the darkness, Pyrrha saw a small object float towards her from one of the project sites. Her first thought was that a Drone from the Long War had somehow made it to Remnant, but she noticed several differences once the object got close enough for her to see through the dim lighting. While it was indeed some sort of flying robot, it looked a little boxier than the old Drones, and it looked like it had several gravity Dust crystals attached on the underside of its chassis to keep it aloft.

Before she could further analyze the hardware, a tinny, familiar voice echoed from the little flier,."Salutations, Pyrrha! How are you feeling today?"

Pyrrha smiled. "More cheerful than I've been in a while, I think. Thank you, Nichole." Pyrrha couldn't help but giggle as the little robot performed Penny's trademark flip. "Is that a new body for you? I would have thought something like one of the Atlesian Knight frames might suit you better."

"Oh, I have one of those, too! I am simply helping Lily Shen test the hardware for one of her projects."

"PYRRHA!"

Another figure sprinted over from the worksite where Nichole came from, and the beaming face of Lily Shen stopped a few feet short of Pyrrha's wheelchair. Hands riddled with bandaids and soot tried in vain to wipe the grease stains on her smock. Pyrrha noticed that her hair was slightly matted, a couple of light sunburns blemished her face… and were those burn marks on her shirt? Regardless of all the engineering battle scars, Pyrrha wasn't sure if she'd ever seen Lily looking happier than she did right now.

"Hello, Lily." Pyrrha greeted, "Looks like you're having fun down here. Staying safe, I hope?"

Lily laughed nervously, "Yeah, uh… Dad's already given me a couple of warnings about being more careful. But the stuff we're working on down here is just… it's so cool. C'mon, I'll show you."

Lily set off, and the two Pennies followed behind with Pyrrha as they walked, floated, and rolled towards the first project site. As they got closer, Pyrrha could see Gidjit working on some heavy-looking guns. Nothing as big as the primary artillery that Atlesian capital ships were known for carrying, but they certainly looked too big for operatives to carry into combat.

"So this is where you've been hiding for the last couple of months…"

Gidjit didn't stop working while he responded to Pyrrha's comment. "YES. MANY PROJECTS NECESSARY TO IMPROVE XCOM DEFENSIVE CAPABILITIES. THREATS TO AVENGER: CONCERNING."

Pyrrha glanced over at Lily. "His conversational skills seem to be improving."

"Really?" Lily cocked her head and paused to think about it. "Yeah, I guess so. Just never noticed, since we hang out all the time. He's been indispensable down here, though. Penny wouldn't be nearly as fixed as she is without his help."

"Indeed!" Penny agreed, "Thank you again for all your work, Gidjit!"

"HAPPY TO DO IT."

"But he's right about the Avenger," said the young Shen, "We had to ditch all the ship-mounted weaponry in Vale in order to get her airborne long enough for the jump to Patch, so she's pretty defenseless. Maybe someday we'll get something that resembles a primary weapon suite, but for now…"

Lily patted the cannon Gidjit was working on. The craftsmanship was excellent, no question about it. Pyrrha wondered where the raw material was coming from, though, since the scrap metal in the repair bay didn't seem like a good candidate for conversion into rifled barrels. Perhaps the Reapers had storerooms of supplies that they'd offered to XCOM? Either way, the teams in the machine shop and the Skunkworks were pulling off impressive feats of engineering.

"... We should at least get some point defense systems up and running," Lily continued, "If the business with Amity Colosseum taught us anything, it's that those Grimm fliers are a serious problem."

"Makes sense," Pyrrha agreed, "So what have you been working on? Nichole said that her chassis is one of your projects."

Lily flashed a grin and waved the group on to the next project site. "Couple of things. Dad asked me to work on some aerial drones that we could use to get eyes on the AO so that Central has more to work with than body cams. The scout drones were easy enough to make, with some help from Ruby and, surprisingly enough, Oobleck."

They arrived at a worktable with a bunch of robotic hardware and several computer stations spread out across the bench. Pyrrha couldn't see too much on account of her reduced elevation, but she did see that the drones varied in size by quite a bit.

"Smallest ones are for close-quarters stealth requirements," Lily explained, "Some of the bigger ones are capable of loitering at a combat zone for longer, and they've got enough lift to carry a couple of fun little extras. The biggest ones…"

Nichole rolled in place and cheerfully added, "The frames like this one will hopefully be used for combat operations!"

Pyrrha couldn't deny that a flying robotic companion equipped with a suite of combat tools sounded pretty useful. From what Ruby told her during the Long War, Gidjit wouldn't be part of XCOM if it weren't for Nichole's presence on Ruby's strike team.

"Will you be piloting them whenever they're used?" Pyrrha asked.

Nichole rotated the drone left and right. "Ideally not. Lily wants to create a basic VI program that knows to follow an operator and can carry out some basic commands and functions in the field."

Lily grabbed another chassis sitting on the workbench and started to fiddle with some of the joints and actuators. The frame looked simple enough, but Pyrrha could see that it easily had the potential to evolve into something greater.

"If the system is a success, we can start looking at adding more complex programming to the VI." Lily explained, "But we're going to start simple for now, and Nichole will be riding shotgun, so to speak, in case she needs to override the VI for whatever reason."

Pyrrha watched as Lily buttoned up the chassis and put it back on the table. "That's really impressive, Lily. You're certainly coming into your own as an engineer. Your father must be really proud."

Lily beamed. "And that's not even the best thing I've been working on. C'mon, we'll skip the Rapid MEC Deployment project so I can show you my other baby." She winked before turning around to lead Pyrrha to another section of the project bay. "I think you're going to like this one."

As they walked, Lily glanced over her shoulder and grinned sheepishly at her guest. "This one is… ah… the reason I've got all these cuts and burn marks, actually. Nicho is showing me how to weld, and I'm learning pretty quickly how dangerous that stuff can be."

"As long as you come out of the experience intact and with the understanding of what you did wrong the first time…" Pyrrha laughed, but now she was growing more curious. If this project of Lily's involved welding and the expertise of someone like Nicho, then it must be pretty serious. Pyrrha had spent enough time with Dr. Shen's daughter by now to know that Lily very rarely swallowed her pride to ask for technical help from anyone (with her own father and Ruby as notable exceptions) for her projects. What was she working on?

Their destination was an unlit corner of the bay, though Lily quickly fixed that with a light kick to the workstation's power switch. Several bright lights flashed on, revealing a large, boxy frame covered by what looked like a cloth blanket. Lily darted forward, grabbed a corner of the cloth, and pulled it off to reveal the skeletal structure of… a car?

It definitely had four rugged-looking wheels and a driver's seat equipped with controls that Pyrrha could follow to a couple of systems housed in the rear of the contraption (including an engine). Metal bars wrapped themselves around the cockpit to provide a roll cage for the operator, though they offered no protection against bullets, Nevermore feathers, or anything like that. Aside from the basics that defined the thing as a four-wheeled vehicle, the car didn't appear to be sporting anything special.

That didn't stop Lily from being proud of it, though. "Tadaaaaaa!" She intoned as she gestured towards her work, "This is something that I've been working on for a while, but I didn't want to show you until… y'know… progress was made on your condition."

Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat.

Wait… Lily made this for her?

"It took some convincing to get Yang to agree to let us cannibalize her bike-"

Holy shit.

"... but Dad cut her a deal to greenlight and fast-track a couple of projects in exchange for the hardware, so we've got a pretty solid engine on this thing. Still, had to make some sacrifices in the defensive department to keep her lightweight enough to take advantage of the horsepower. But at the same time-"

"Lily."

The girl cut herself off mid-sentence when Pyrrha said her name, and worry lines grew across her face and fear flickered in her eyes. "Do… you not like it?"

Far from it. Pyrrha was ecstatic that Lily had gone through all this work for her. But it was a lot of work. Did she really deserve it?

"I love it," she assured her friend, "It's… it's amazing that you did all this for me. But aren't there other things that XCOM needs you to work on?"

Lily sat down on one of the vehicle's all-terrain tires and reached for a rag to wipe some of the dirt and grime off her hands and face. In the silence, Pyrrha worried that she'd hurt her friend's feelings.

"I've talked to Jaune a couple of times over the last few months," Lily began, "I… didn't want to annoy you by coming to see you all the time, so I'd ask him how you were doing instead."

The revelation stunned Pyrrha. Behind Jaune and Moira, Lily had been one of her most frequent visitors. Learning that she'd actually wanted to visit more often was surprising, to say the least.

Lily continued, "The one thing he always mentioned, especially early on, was how often you'd say you felt like dead weight, and how you wished you could be helping XCOM like the rest of the operatives and huntsmen. You wanted to be useful again." The girl glanced back at her creation and rapped her knuckles on the metallic frame, "I want you to be useful, too."

"We're working on integration tech that would allow me to be your co-pilot." Nichole added, "It would allow me to provide you with a driving-assist function to help compensate for your reduced strength while you recover, and I would be able to manage several of the memory-intensive auxiliary systems while you focus on operating the vehicle!"

"Kind of like how she co-pilots the Odin with Ryder and Gidjit." Lily noted, "... I'm not planning on integrating Gidjit into the system, by the way."

Pyrrha laughed, but her voice choked about halfway through as her emotions finally caught up with the moment. She looked up through slightly-blurry eyes to see Lily still sitting there, smiling back at her. The young woman didn't say anything, she just sat and watched while Pyrrha soaked in the camaraderie of it all. Nothing needed to be said, anyway. Everyone always talked about how actions speak louder than words, and right now? Lily was practically screaming, 'You matter, Pyrrha. And we haven't forgotten about you.'

"Thank you." Pyrrha whispered, "This is amazing."

"There's actually one more thing I wanted to talk to you about…"

Before Lily could finish, Gidjit's voice sounded over the Skunkworks comms, "PENNY, PENNY, AND LILY. PLEASE REPORT FOR NEXT STAGE OF PENNY RECONSTRUCTION."

Lily's face looked slightly crestfallen before Penny told her, "We'll go on ahead, Lily. I think we'll be alright for a few minutes without you while you talk with Pyrrha."

"T-thanks." Lily said with a smile, "I'll be over with Pyrrha in a little bit."

They waited for Penny and Nichole to leave before Pyrrha asked, "So… what is it you wanted to discuss?"

Lily let out a small, nervous laugh, which only served to further pique Pyrrha's curiosity. If there was something embarrassing or difficult that Lily needed to talk about, Pyrrha definitely wanted to help. After all the work that Lily had done for her, it was the least she could do in return.

"I'm actually kinda glad it's just you and me, since this is a bit more personal." Lily began, "But… I know it's going to be a while before you're strong enough to drive this thing."

Ah. Pyrrha didn't want to show that she was hurt by the observation, especially since nothing in Lily's statement was anything but unbiased truth. So she merely nodded and waited for her friend to continue.

"It's actually helpful for me. There's a lot that still needs to be finished before I'm ready to have the car deployed in the field, and I can definitely use the extra time. But on your end, you're going to be actively working on getting stronger, right? Like, physical therapy and stuff?"

Again, Pyrrha nodded.

"Well, I…" Lily took a deep breath, "I want to help. I've got a lot of work down here with my projects, but I don't care. When you start working to regain your strength, I want to be there to help you and Jaune."

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a few moments, with Lily anxiously trying to figure out what Pyrrha was thinking, and Pyrrha taking a moment to figure out what to make of Lily's declaration. It was plain to see that the young girl's words came from the heart, that she honestly wanted to help Pyrrha in her time of need.

She had to respect that.

"That sounds… grand." Pyrrha answered, with a smile, "I would love to have another friendly face giving me encouragement during my training."

The smile her words earned from Lily immediately told Pyrrha that she made the right decision. Lily hopped up from her tire seat, dashed over to Pyrrha, and knelt down to give her a hug.

"You have no idea how much it means to me that you said yes." Lily said, stepping back to smile at her friend, "I won't let you down, I swear."

At that moment, Pyrrha got an idea. A way to pay back Lily for all her work, and a reason to stay motivated with her physical therapy.

"Let me train you as a huntress while you help me regain my strength." She said, "You should learn how to defend yourself while you're on Remnant, and it will give me another reason to become stronger."

Lily's eyes grew wide at the offer. "I… you, uh… well… that…. Holy shit."

"Think about it." Pyrrha said, smiling, "But for now, we should attend to Penny's reconstruction."

"R-right…" Lily stuttered. She got behind Pyrrha's wheelchair, and the two of them left the vehicle behind and set off for Gidjit's workstation.

"Eyes up, team. Our friendly, neighborhood Jane Doe just arrived."

Yang perked up at the warning and swept her gaze over the crowd. Sure enough, the deer faunus that Hogarth had 'tagged' as a possible person of interest was making her way into the crowd. Was it possible that she was here to listen to Ghira's planned speech? Well of course. But was it also possible that she was here to cause trouble on behalf of a rogue branch of the White Fang? Hogarth's 'adventure' of camping out in the bell tower over the last couple of days indicated that Jane's evening activities were less-than-innocent.

"I still can't believe we've got an EXALT operative watching our backs," Yang muttered to her partner as they watched from the outskirts of the slowly-gathering crowd, "I mean… at least he laid his cards out on the table like that, but can we really trust him?"

Blake leaned back against the wooden railing and shrugged. "Misha trusts him. Says that Hogarth let him in on the secret when they first started working as operatives together. According to him, Van Doorn was only able to kill his brother and end EXALT thanks to Hogarth's assistance."

"True." Yang agreed as she joined Blake on the rail, "And the mimetic skin is pretty damn handy. Especially with what's been going on."

"Speaking of Misha, though…"

Blake nudged her partner and nodded into the crowd. After following Blake's gaze, Yang was able to notice their other XCOM escort casually making his way through the crowd. Mikhail Sokolov was a rather lean Russian operative, and the pair of feline ears adorning his head allowed him to blend in easily with the rest of the onlookers. Despite the seemingly random direction of his ambling, Yang could see that he was slowly circling around towards Jane while staying fairly close to the edge of the crowd.

"She doesn't appear to be armed, but it looks like she's not here to enjoy what Papadonna has to say. Stay frosty, Mishka."

Before the Russian could get any closer to his target, an entourage of guards stepped out of the Belladonna household, followed by Ghira and Kali. Excited murmurs rippled through the crowd, as the citizens of Menagerie eagerly waited to hear what their leader had to say. They knew he planned to speak about the conflict between ADVENT and XCOM, but little else was known beyond that.

"Couple of Jane's friends are showing up," Hogarth warned, "They're sticking to the back for now."

"Gotta admit," Yang said as she pushed off from the railing to follow Blake towards the front of the crowd, "It's nice to have a friendly eye in the sky. Especially since the two of us are a bit… conspicuous."

"Shhh." Blake chided, "Dad's about to speak."

Indeed, Yang looked up to see Ghira approach the podium with several pages of notes in his hand, as well as…

"Oh my god," Yang giggled, "Is your dad wearing glasses?"

"He's noticed that it makes him feel more relatable. Shut up."

Ghira began.

"Citizens of Menagerie, thank you for taking the time out of your day to hear what I have to say. Though I have guided our community for several years now, it still humbles me to see the trust that you all have invested in my leadership. Truly, I thank you."

Ilia had to admit: despite the fact that the old man was frequently at odds with the Albains, and even with Lady Khan herself, Ghira certainly knew how to give a speech.

"And it is that trust that compels me to speak to all of you about the… confusing times that we live in. The fall of Vale was a horrific catastrophe, and I don't doubt that all of you were affected in some way by the tragedy, directly or otherwise. I personally know several people who were in Vale during the attack. While I have been fortunate enough to learn that most of them are now safe, there are others still that I have not heard from since before that night "

"We're on the move, Sister Amitola. Are you sure you can keep the girl distracted?"

"Leave it to me," Ilia whispered as she skirted the edge of the crowd. She'd been keeping eyes on Blake and Yang since they first arrived at the pavillion, keeping herself hidden until the time was right to draw Blake away. Soon, she would have the long-awaited chance to talk with her old friend.

"But we are strong, Faunus and Humans alike. Vale will weather this tragedy, will rebuild itself from the ruins, and will flourish in due time, as it once did before. It is my hope that Remnant does not have to wait long before that day comes."

"Dang," Ilia heard Yang whisper, "Your dad is pretty good at this."

Ilia rolled her eyes and said nothing. Instead, she moved silently, invisibly so that she was positioned in the forest underbrush foliage on the other side of the fence where Blake was resting. Ghira shuffled to the next page of his notes as he prepared to move on to the next segment of his speech. Perhaps now would be a good time for Ilia to make her move as well.

"Blake…"

Blake's ears pricked at the sound of her name, spoken in a voice just below a whisper. The noise would have been lost amid the murmurs of the crowd had it not been for her sensitive hearing, but Blake was certain she heard the voice correctly. And she was equally certain about who that voice belonged to.

"In the meantime, there have been some troubling developments over the past few days that I'm certain you are all aware of. Cinder Fall, though she has done the world a tremendous service by restoring the CCTS, has made it very clear that she believes this 'XCOM' is a group of radicals that do not share our desire for a better future, and that the Order of the Huntsmen is similarly suspect."

"Everything alright?" Yang asked as she noticed Blake's sudden shift in attitude. Hushed whispers and low grumblings rose up from the crowd at the name XCOM, and Ghira paused his speech so he wouldn't need to talk over the noise.

"Escorts are on the move as well, though it looks like they're not approaching the stage," Hogarth noted, "Aside from sidelong glares at Ghira, they do not appear to be hostile. Yet."

"Y-yeah…" Blake answered, craning her neck to see if she could locate the source of the whisper. If it was who she suspected it was, though, Blake knew the attempt was futile. Of all the times to reach out, couldn't she have picked a better moment?

Ghira raised a hand to bring the crowd back to order. "I am not here to tell you she is right. Nor am I here to tell you that she is wrong. What I can say is this: The Fall Maiden has asked us do our due diligence in seeking out the truth. It is my goal to do exactly that. I know very little of this XCOM, but I have had the privilege of working with many huntsmen in my life. The notion that they do not have our best interests at heart is difficult to accept, but I am not willing to write it off simply because it would be inconvenient for me."

"Listen, Yang..." Blake started, hating herself for putting this on her partner. But what choice did she have? "I need to do something real quick. I'll try to be back as fast as I can, but… this is important. Do you mind helping Misha without me for a few minutes?"

Yang sighed, but nodded. "I got you. Just… be quick, alright?"

Blake smiled at her partner, then hopped the fence and slipped into the forest to track down Ilia.

"Jane and crew have left the pavilion. Left one behind. West side. Mishka, head to Point Epsilon to stay close but out of sight."

Mikhail moved through the edge of the crowd, as if he were trying to get a better view of the speaker. When he was within several strides of the adjoining tree cover, however, he ducked away from the crowd and slipped into the shadows of the forest. Even through the muting effect of the trees, Mikhail could still hear Ghira's voice projecting from the pavilion.

"My aim is to approach this situation with an open mind, to give both ADVENT and XCOM the benefit of the doubt until the evidence can conclusively prove who is right and who is wrong. I hope that both organizations truly want a better future for Remnant, and that they are unnecessarily suspicious of each other. Perhaps one day they will reach an understanding, and we can all move forward as a unified force against the Grimm."

"They moved into a building. Haven't seen them enter that one before."

Well that didn't sound good. Mikhail didn't have any weapons on him beyond a concealable switchblade. All of their equipment was left inside the manor for quick retrieval if need be.

"Recommending move to Point Beta," Mikhail muttered.

"Agreed."

Time to relocate to the house. Hogarth could keep eyes on Jane's group, and Mikhail wanted to be ready in the event that they tried something funny with the Belladonna manor.

Just in time for the Q&A.

"Mr. Belladonna! The Fall Maiden restored the world's communication systems. Why are you giving XCOM the benefit of the doubt in light of Cinder's efforts?"

"Ilia…" Blake whispered, "I know you're there."

Blake saw a flicker out of the corner of her right eye, and she turned in time to see Ilia shimmer into view. She looked just like Blake remembered her, if a little older. The two of them didn't say anything for a few moments, just staring at each other in silence as Ghira answered the reporter's question.

"I have received multiple first-hand accounts of XCOM's heroics during the Battle for Vale. Even if you don't believe Captain Beagle's claim that they diverted the Colosseum from the city proper, I've talked with more than one person who saw XCOM's soldiers on the ground, keeping the Grimm at bay and putting their lives on the line so that the civilians in their care didn't have to."

Blake couldn't afford to have Ilia taking her own sweet time with this. She needed to be ready to help Yang and Misha if those agitators tried to pull something dangerous. "Ilia, you called me here for a reason. What is it?"

The hurt in Ilia's eyes made it clear that she was expecting something else. "That's… we haven't seen each other for years, and that's the first thing you can think of?"

"You've… kinda caught me at a bad time," Blake said, glancing back at the pavillion, "I'd love to catch up with you and hear about how you've been, but it'll have to wait. I can't do it right now."

Ghira's Q&A continued with another question, "Do you intend to allow both ADVENT and XCOM personnel to walk freely on Menagerie soil?"

Ilia's skin tinged blue as Blake continued to say the wrong thing. "Blake… how long have you been back on Menagerie without me knowing? How long were you going to wait to try and reach out to me?"

"I didn't know you were here, Ilia."

"You didn't try to find out."

At the pavilion, Ghira answered the reporter's question.

"Of course," Ghira answered, "If they carry themselves with respect and professionalism, I see no problem with offering our hospitality. From the sounds of it, though, XCOM would rather keep a low profile. I don't think we'll be getting any public requests from them to enjoy a stay on Menagerie. Who knows? We might be hosting them even now. So long as their goal is to keep Menagerie's citizens safe from harm, I see no reason to reject them."

"Ilia, it's not that simple." Blake said, a tinge of frustration in her voice.

"But it is! Now that you're here, you can come back with me to the White Fang, and we can continue the good work that we started." Ilia's eyes searched Blake's for sympathy. Her body hunched ever-so-slightly, as if to brace for the letdown she was expecting from her friend. "The good work that your father started. Please, Blake…"

"We've got movement in the house." Hogarth warned, "Bees, move in to support Mishka."

"On it." Yang confirmed.

"I… have to go, Ilia."

Blake turned to rejoin Yang. She only had a split-second to register a small prick in her neck before something wrapped around her feet and yanked her into the dirt.

"No!" Ilia yelled, but a combination of people yelling questions at Ghira in the plaza and the poison she'd been stung with meant that Ilia's voice sounded very far away to Blake.

"Blake hasn't returned from the woods."

"Misha…"

Mikhail sighed, but he knew there was only one answer he could give to Yang. "Go find her, BFG."

Outside, Ghira's interview continued. The people of Menagerie had a lot of questions, it seemed, and their leader firmly believed in making sure that no concern was left unanswered while he had their attention. Good. Remnant needed leaders like that. It was Mikhail's job to make sure that Ghira had all the time he needed to do his job without any agents of chaos stirring up trouble.

"Got no movement from Jane Doe."

Mikhail didn't like that. "I'm heading to the house to grab some gear. Something isn't adding up."

"Agreed."

It didn't take long for the Russian to loop around and slip into the house through the back door. The guard at the entrance nodded as Mikhail moved inside, and nothing seemed out of place. Good. A quick trip down the hall to the guest bedroom where they stashed-

"... Oh, that's not good."

Staring at the unconscious body of one of the guards, Mikhail keyed his mic, "Man down in the house. Somebody managed to slip inside."

Hogarth's heart skipped a beat when he heard Mikhail's warning. How did any agents get past him? He had a perfect view of the clearing surrounding Belladonna house. No way could somebody get across the empty space without him noticing.

"That's not possible, Mishka," Hogarth said, his viewfinder sweeping across the Belladonna house, the forest, and the houses beyond, "Jane never left her building, and nobody ever made it to the manor."

Mikhail didn't answer, but a double-click on the comm told Hogarth all he needed to know.

His comrade was in danger, and he wasn't able to speak.

"Bees. Mishka needs you. Now."

Yang knew that the moment she heard the double-click from the team's ground operative, but complete radio silence from Blake was far more concerning than an unconscious guard. She moved through the underbrush, trying to stay quiet enough to avoid detection by whoever might have incapacitated Blake while still desperately searching for her partner.

And the fact that Ghira was still conducting his assembly meant that Yang couldn't go in guns blazing in an effort to smoke out Blake's assailants.

"Fucking hell, Blake," Yang muttered, "You just had to run off at the worst possible…"

Or did someone intentionally lure Blake away at precisely that moment? Did some assholes working for ADVENT know that the two of them were there to keep an eye on the pavilion talk and put a stop to any trouble that came up? Trouble that might, for example, result in a guard getting knocked out.

"Guys, I think Jane's got more backup than just the posse she came with."

It would've been nice if Yang told Mikhail something he didn't already know. He'd only had enough time to grab his arm guard from the XCOM stash before he'd heard the footsteps coming down the hallway less than a minute ago. And unless Ghira's instructions to the house guards had changed, Mikhail was pretty sure the faunus dressed in guard regalia sneaking through the house wasn't actually here to protect the Belladonna manor. How long had he been here? And what was he up to?

The impostor pulled a small device attached to a bright red crystal out of a small bag that hung on his hip, and Mikhail decided that this guest wasn't here to compliment Kali on the color coordination of her drapes.

He needed to take this guy down quickly and quietly.

The impostor tensed, snapped his head left and right with a semi-wild look in his eye, and gripped his polearm asked, "Is someone there?"

Right. Superior hearing and all that. Well, might as well be direct about it.

"Hey." Mikhail said as he stepped from around the corner. Before the faunus could react, he flipped open his switchblade and threw it at his target. The intruder yelped and stumbled as the knife buried itself in his shoulder, but he didn't have enough time to dislodge the weapon before his assailant charged forward, drove his head into the faunus's face, and yanked the polearm out of his hand as he fell to the floor.

The faunus yanked the knife out of his shoulder and lashed out at Mikhail, who danced back out of range before sweeping the blunt end of his new weapon up to catch his foe by the chin. Outside, Ghira's audience cheered at some statement he made.

"I found her! She's out cold, but she's breathing."

The faunus rolled to his feet, glared at Mikhail, and dove in again with a slicing strike. The operative twirled past the attack and smacked the back of the intruder's head with the flat of his blade to bring the attacker to his knees.

"You're outclassed, whelp," Mikhail growled, "You can either tire yourself out as I beat you into submission, or give up-"

The boy's sudden surge of moment that flowed into a backwards strike was impressive, Mikhail had to admit. He managed to avoid getting stabbed directly in the gut by his own knife, but the operative was slow enough for the faunus's attack to slice his flank.

"I'll never bow to the likes of you, race traitor," snarled the assailant. His successful feint had evidently given the faunus a second wind, and he renewed his assault on Mikhail with increased vigor.

"Mishka hasn't responded in the last two minutes. Get Sabretooth to safety, and get in there."

The faunus cocked his arm back, evidently to use Mikhail's own trick against him. The operative instinctively threw his arm in front of his face, and the folded wings of the armguard deployed just in time for Mikhail to hear a light ting as the dagger bounced off of the small shield. Mikhail swung his shield arm forward, then dropped to one knee and held the business end of his polearm out to counter the melee he expected his foe to attempt.

"Jane Doe's team has left the building, and is moving towards the house."

"I'm on my way."

Indeed, the intruder yelped again as he twisted away from the weapon, though not before Mikhail lashed out with it and smacked the back of the faunus's knees. As the young man fell to the floor, a small device fell out of his bag and clattered to the floor. A device that looked very much like a detonator.

Fuck.

Mikhail dove for the detonator, smashed his foot into the faunus's face, and rolled away to safety once he had the device in hand. The faunus got to his feet, and flashed an evil, if pained, grin.

"I don't have the only detonator," he said before tapping his ear and whispering, "Do it."

Fuck.

As Mikhail dove for cover, he heard the faunus deliver his last words, "For the White Fang. And for my sister."

Less than a second later, Mikhail's world exploded in purifying flames.

As Yang carried Blake through the forest back to her house, she felt the ground shake, saw the gouts of flame erupt from the Belladonna manor, and heard the panicked screams of the people in the plaza.

"Holy shit."

Yang was already moving quickly due to Hogarth's warnings, but it was clearly time to move faster.

Ilia's eyes widened as she saw the house explode. She knew that their mission here was to send a message to the Belladonnas that their acceptance of XCOM would not be tolerated, and she knew that the Albain's were determined to succeed at all costs when they overrode her efforts to peacefully distract Blake. It took Ilia threatening to stab Trifa for her to give up on the idea of kidnapping or murdering Blake in cold blood. She'd probably have to answer to the Albains for that later, but…

But this? Would this not turn the Belladonnas into martyrs? The entire point was to scare them into bending the knee, not to publicly execute them.

What the hell were they thinking?

"Sister Amitola…"

As if they were reading her thoughts, Corsac's voice filtered into her ear, reminding Ilia that she had a job to do.

"Assist your family in making sure the intruder who attacked Brother Sorkin does not escape."

That… was not what Ilia expected to hear. Regardless, it was an order she could fulfill. Under the cover of chaos (and her own skin), Ilia dashed across the space between the forest and the Belladonna house and into the burning building.

"Jane is inside. BFG, You need to get in there and locate Mishka. Now."

"I'm going! I just needed to give Blake to her parents first."

Hogarth watched Yang dash into the building while Ghira and Kali huddled over the prone figure of their daughter. Once the operative confirmed that Yang was inside, he kept his scope trained on all the exits to the house. If Jane and her friends tried to slip out quietly? One of them was getting shot in the ass.

"What a mess…"

Movement out the back door. Yep, that was his little party of raiders. Jane and her three cohorts, along with a body slung over the shoulder of the biggest henchman.

Wait…

Hogarth focused on the body, and swore before keying his comm.

"Disengage, BFG. They've got Mishka."

"WHAT?!"

"Easy, now. I've got this."

Hogarth adjusted the power setting on his rifle, lined it up, led his target, and pulled the trigger. His gun barked once, and he lingered in his now-compromised nest for two seconds to confirm that his shot connected with Jane's leg (her flinch and stumble told Hogarth everything he needed to know) before he packed up his gear and slipped out of the belltower. He had no idea if anybody heard the report from his rifle over the noise of the burning house and the panicking crowd, but he couldn't risk being discovered. Besides. Now was the time to regroup with Yang and figure out what to do next.

He'd seen worse during the Long War. They'd figure out a way through this.

"Ghira! She's waking up!"

"Let me through!"

"Don't smother her, old man! She's still weak."

"Who are you calling-"

"Children, please."

Blake's eyes slowly fluttered open to see three faces peering back at her. The sky looked dark, but light still danced across their faces. As Blake's sense of smell returned, she made a face at the acrid sensation accosting her nose.

"What… happened?"

Yang's expression hardened, "Nothing good."

"A bomb went off in the house, sweetie." Kali clarified, "Several, actually."

"Is everyone… alright?" Speaking was still hard, for some reason. Blake's throat felt dry and raspy, and her efforts to sit up caused a slight spike of pain in her forehead.

Yang gently pushed Blake back down. "Easy, there. The shitshow's over for now, so you've got time to get your strength back. But we've got another problem on the way. Two problems, actually."

"Of course…" Blake sighed, "What's next?"

"Mikhail got captured." Ghira said, "He made a valiant attempt to stop the bombing, and Hogarth confirmed that some of the terrorists carried him out during the chaos and escaped."

Yang grinned. "Not before he shot one in the ass, though. With a tracker round. He's currently trying to zero in on their location. Gonna take some time though, since the tracker isn't very high-tech."

"When are we bailing him out?" Blake asked. Her voice was already feeling a little stronger.

"Soon as Hogarth finds him. And as soon as you're feeling strong enough to join us."

Blake flashed a grateful smile at her partner. She had to admit that Yang knew her pretty well. Misha's capture was definitely her fault. She got distracted by Ilia when it mattered most, and she just knew that Yang would have prioritized locating her over backing up the operative in the house. If she hadn't been an idiot…

"I'm feeling better already." Blake sat up, groaned slightly, and laid back down, "... But maybe a few more minutes wouldn't hurt, either. What's the other problem?"

"Grimm," Ghira said, his expression matching his answer.

Maybe it was Blake's condition that had addled her brain to the point where she hadn't immediately made the connection between the house getting bombed and the threat of the Grimm, but her breath caught in her throat the moment her dad mentioned it. She'd only ever witnessed one full-scale Grimm raid in her time on Menagerie, mostly because its inhabitants were acutely aware of the dangers that lurked if fully provoked.

"That's… not good."

Yang raised an eyebrow, "How bad could it be? A bunch of Beowolves and Ursa… maybe a few Deathstalkers and Nevermore… nothing we can't handle, right?"

The Belladonnas gave Yang a sympathetic look. The young woman really had no idea, it seemed.

"Yang…" Blake started, "You know how Beagle would always talk about Australia, and how it's a giant deathtrap where everything there is genetically engineered to kill you?"

Yang raised an eyebrow, "Yeah… but he was joking. Drop bears don't actually-"

"It's not a joke on Menagerie."

Silence. Then, "Oh."

Ghira groaned. "It's going to take a miracle for us to get through this in one piece."

Blake shook her head. "No. It's going to take XCOM."