A/N: So despite being incapacitated by what felt like strep throat's uglier, angrier brother for ~2 weeks, I still somehow managed to crank this thing out in a month. Neat. So now we're getting into the Atlas arc, which is something I've been looking forward to for a veeeeeeeery long time.

It's time to make the magic happen.

Ruby….

Ruby….

Ruby, darling…

Ruby, come home…

Ruby! I need you!

Ruby, come home!

RUBY!

Ruby bolted upright in bed, panting heavily. She put a hand to her forehead and found that it was damp with sweat.

What the hell was that?

She knew her mother was dead, but that sounded exactly like her. And this weird feeling of anxiety, this churning in her stomach… it felt like there were thoughts crawling around in the back of her mind telling her she needed to return to her mother's grave in Patch now. She knew they wouldn't go away until she listened to them. Feelings from dreams always slipped through Ruby's memory like sand through her fingers, but this? This feeling was vivid, intense, and absolutely here to stay.

In the dim lighting of the bunks, Ruby saw several other operatives sitting up and looking around in dazed confusion. It didn't take long for Ruby to recognize each of them as a member of XCOM's Psi Corps.

What the hell was going on?

"... You need to go back to Patch?"

An hour after waking up, Captain Ruby Rose gathered the other psi operatives in front of Bradford's office. She nodded at his question.

"Yes, sir. I had a weird… I don't know if I'd call it a 'dream,' but a 'vision' sounds pretty dumb, too. I had a weird something this morning that sounded like my mother calling me home, and it still feels like something really important is back there at her gravesite. Some clue or detail that I've missed my entire life that will help us figure out what's going on here on Remnant." Ruby rubbed the back of her neck, realizing how crazy she must be sounding right about now.

"And the Psi Corps?" Bradford asked, gesturing to the operatives standing behind Ruby. "Are they going too?"

Annette shook her head. "No. We agreed to join Captain Rose for this discussion, since we can back up what she is claiming."

Bradford stared at the Major, and Ruby couldn't tell if the Central Officer was surprised or completely unfazed by the idea that Ruby's dream was shared by the rest of the psionic operatives.

Annette took his silence as permission to continue. "We're not personally feeling the same sense of anxiety that Captain Rose is, but we all bore witness to the same dream. It felt like the Captain was broadcasting her emotions for us to read. We all can sense the mental strain that she is getting from this."

"Could it be a trap?" Bradford asked. "Some sort of signal meant to draw Captain Rose into an ambush?"

"Possibly," Annette admitted. It was something Ruby had been too swept-up to consider until Bradford mentioned it. What if Asaru was causing some sort of weird psionic phenomena? She vaguely remembered something about how the Ethereals used Annette as a conduit to compromise the Anthill for the first base assault. Maybe something was causing Asaru to act as a similar projector? As far as Ruby knew, Annette hadn't told Bradford about her little friend, but she trusted the Major to know whether or not something was up with Asaru. "I'm not sure how, though. We haven't seen anything close to resembling psionics on Remnant. How could the enemy fool all of us?"

"We're talking about a woman who managed to turn Ozpin into her ragdoll before knocking out Operatives Lie and Valkyrie with a flick of her hand."

Ruby had forgotten about that. If someone was powerful enough to fake a vision, Salem would be Suspect Number One. But the emotion she felt right now —that insistent itch that she needed to go back to Patch and visit her mother's grave— it felt like a word that was on the tip of her tongue, something she knew should be obvious that was juuuuuuust out of reach. It was driving her mad.

Another one of the psi operatives spoke up. "Sir, if we could lend you our sense of ESP for even a moment, you'd understand how distracting this is for the Captain. It's going to eat away at her mind and twist in her gut until she gets a chance to follow up on her hunch."

Yep. Hearing someone else say it, that definitely sounded suspicious, but Ruby agreed with the observation, one hundred percent.

Bradford rubbed his temples as he worked to parse the situation. With a quiet groan, he looked up at Ruby and asked, "That bad, huh?"

"Yeah," Ruby admitted, "that bad…."

"You realize that we are about to fly out to Atlas, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Where we are extracting Weiss Schnee."

"... Yes sir."

Bradford raised an eyebrow. "And you're certain this can't wait until after you see your partner again?"

Once Ruby realized the implication of Bradford's question, it made her stomach twist. "I'm… certain, sir."

Bradford let out a low whistle, then nodded. "Alright. If this is eating you up that badly, then you'll be pretty useless until you get it resolved. I take it you've considered someone to bring with you? Because there's no way I'm letting you go alone."

"I have," Ruby answered. "I figured that my dad would be a good choice to watch my back. He might be able to help me figure out what I'm missing about Mom's grave back in Patch. I'd thought about asking Uncle Qrow to come along, what with his spycraft experience, but I realized that would be far more important to keep on the Avenger when you guys get to Atlas."

After another tense moment, Bradford nodded again. "Alright. You've got the green light, Captain. I'll leave the preparations and farewells to you." The Central Officer snapped a salute, and the psi ops responded in kind. "Maybe you can check in with Omerta and Ochoa while you're in Valean Airspace. See what Junior's been up to while we've been gone."

"I'll see if Dad and I can make a quick stop over in Vale, sir," Ruby answered.

Bradford nodded. "Stay frosty out there, and I expect to see you in Atlas shortly."

"Sir, yes sir."

Ruby turned around to walk off with the rest of REMCOM's psi squad, and a faint smile crossed her lips. She knew nothing would go wrong. After all, Weiss was waiting for her.

And she'd made Weiss a promise.

Waiting. Emerald hated the waiting. Not the "waiting for a plan to come together" kind of waiting. At least she had stuff to do while they set up and triggered the attack in Vale. No, she hated these moments when Cinder was abruptly summoned to a meeting with the "Benefactor," and she instructed Mercury and Emerald to stay put. Mercury didn't seem to mind, as evidenced by his snoring form sitting across from her in the snowy alley. But too many thoughts crawled into Emerald's mind about what Cinder could possibly be discussing, and she hated that she couldn't drive them out.

Ironic.

Emerald pushed all of the worst-case scenarios to the side to try and focus on something a little more exciting. Maybe this call meant that she, Cinder, and Mercury were leaving Atlas and getting shuffled somewhere else. Emerald had to admit that the marks were pathetically easy in Atlas, but a combination of the cold and the annoyingly-staunch nationalistic pride of the citizens was starting to wear her down. It was important that Cinder was here in Atlas, of course. Schmoozing with the elites, getting on Ironwood's good side, working with… eurgh… Merlot. If someone creeped out Emerald more than the stories she's heard about the Benefactor, it was that guy. Emerald knew he was researching Grimm. She also knew he was augmenting soldiers. While she'd never seen those two lines of research actually cross, his research facility gave her the creeps every time Cinder was asked to pay him a visit.

After all, what kind of person builds their facility into a cliffside overlooking stormy seas?

A particularly loud snort from Mercury pulled Emerald out of her thoughts. His maddeningly cavalier attitude towards just about everything was an enigma that Emerald still hadn't cracked. He didn't seem to really care about anyone involved in their operation, the benefits of their work seemed like more of a side perk to him, and he obviously didn't believe that what they were doing was important. So why did he sign on in the first place, and why is he still sticking around? Well, he probably figured that it's too late to back out now. Their benefactor probably wouldn't take kindly to a deserter. Emerald had no intentions of deserting Cinder, but maybe the idea crossed Mercury's mind once or twice. After all, if he didn't implicitly trust Cinder the way Emerald did, how was he okay with being kept in the dark about everything in the plan that didn't immediately apply to him?

The door on Emerald's left opened up, and Emerald immediately jumped to her feet as Cinder stepped out. Mercury, the unprofessional idiot that he is, woke up with an unceremonious sniff and staggered into an upright position.

"Is everything alright, ma'am?" Emerald asked. Nothing on Cinder's face betrayed any frustration, anger, or concern, but Emerald still felt the need to ask. After all, calls with the Benefactor were rare for a reason.

Cinder nodded. "Of course. I was just discussing with our Benefactor the plans for our next move. XCOM has obviously made things a little more complicated," she said, and Emerald noticed the venom in Cinder's voice when she said that name, "but it's nothing we can't account for."

"So what do you need us to do?"

"You'll be going back to Vale." Emerald did a mental fist-pump at the news. "Unfortunately, I must stay here in Atlas to continue overseeing our operation with the Winter Maiden. However, Lisa Lavender is a potentially dangerous loose end that needs to be contained. I am relying on you, Emerald, to help us resolve the matter delicately."

Emerald's heart swelled at Cinder's words, and she offered a slight bow to Cinder. "I won't let you down, ma'am."

"The two of you will be working with a… dear friend of mine," Cinder continued. "A Mr. Watts. He will contact you when you arrive in Vale, and you will be assisting him as he develops the details of the plan. He is in Vale for another purpose as well, so I ask that you make sure you are efficient with the time you have with him."

"What else is he doing?" Mercury asked. Emerald shot him a glare.

Cinder merely smiled and answered, "Nothing you need to concern yourselves with. Suffice to say that it is important, however." A flash of fire danced behind Cinder's eyes as she stared at Emerald. "Do not pry into his work."

"Of course, ma'am!" Emerald answered quickly. She'd chew out Mercury later for being so rude.

The satisfied look on Cinder's face told Emerald that she'd said the right thing. "Very good. Now then, why don't we go get something to eat? You'll be leaving in the morning, so I thought it would be nice to give you a little send-off dinner."

"That sounds wonderful."

A loud gurgle emanating from Mercury's stomach, and the crass mercenary shrugged. "Yeah, I'd be down for some grub."

Emerald wasn't sure how she was going to deal with Mercury without Cinder to keep her sane.

"Alright, boss. We're flying into Atlesian airspace… now."

Bradford joined Beagle at the helm and looked out to see the vast expanses of snow. Just ahead of them was what looked like a small military outpost, and Bradford's suspicions were confirmed when two small craft lifted off from the airfield while the Avenger's comms lit up.

"This is outpost Chimera-Four of the Atlas military. Identify yourself and state your purpose."

Beagle looked over at Bradford. "You wanna handle this?"

Bradford nodded. "Chimera-Four, this is Central Officer John Bradford of XCOM, onboard the repurposed Atlesian aircraft, Avenger. General Ironwood has extended a public invitation for us to pay him a visit, and we are here to accept his generous offer. We are ready to comply with any requirements and regulations while we are guests in your airspace."

"Need me to wipe a bit of that brown off your nose, sir?" Beagle asked. Bradford slugged him in the shoulder.

"Aircraft Avenger. We have dispatched two escorts to guide you to Atlas proper. Their callsigns are Koltyr-1 and Koltyr-2. Follow all instructions given by your escorts until they have relinquished authority to Atlas command."

On the left and right sides of the command deck, Bradford could see the two Mako-class aircraft holding position next to the Avenger.

"Understood, Chimera-Four. We'll be on our best behavior."

"See that you do, Avenger. Chimera-Four out."

"Well they sound like they're fun at parties," Beagle quipped.

Bradford raised an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten the twenty-one gun greeting we gave to Team RWBY when they rolled up on our doorstep? Or should I remind you that we also had a rocket launcher pointed at Captain Rose during her arrival?"

Before Beagle could offer a retort, the comms lit up again. "Avenger, this is Koltyr-1. Correct your heading twenty degrees west as soon as possible, then increase your altitude to six thousand meters."

"Big Sky?"

"On it," the pilot confirmed from the front of the bridge.

The ship gently banked to the left as her pilot followed the escort's instructions. From there, the flight continued pretty uneventfully for another two hours, with Koltyr-1 giving occasional course corrections that the Avenger dutifully followed. Several officers, like Durand and Arc, filtered in and out of the bridge to see what was happening. They left almost as quickly as they came when they realized that the answer was, more or less, "nothing."

Except for when they were providing course corrections, the escorts remained completely silent. Bradford had returned to his work at his desk on the bridge while Beagle was busying himself with his scroll.

"Central, this is Samuelson. Please copy."

Bradford raised an eyebrow. It wasn't often that the comms technicians made any noise from their corner of the Avenger. "I hear you, Sam. Something wrong?"

"Err… could be. I'm… picking up some low-strength signal chatter from our three o'clock on the VHF frequency. Estimating that it's some thirty miles off, given what I'm seeing of the signal properties-"

Bradford didn't like this. "Spit it out, Sam."

"The chatter is about a Grimm incursion, sir. I checked the ship's map, and I'm pretty sure it's coming from Avitus, which is a small-to-mid-size town. They've got Atlesian and ADVENT forces on-site, but it doesn't sound like they have the situation under control, sir."

"I will advise our escort and see about diverging towards Avitus," Bradford answered. "Thank you, Sam."

"Wish I had better news for you, sir."

"Beags, sound Yellow Alert, please," Bradford requested as he patched into the frequency shared with the Avenger's escort. "Koltyr-1, this is Avenger. Our radio jockeys are picking up some chatter about a Grimm incursion from a settlement some thirty miles off our starboard. Please verify and determine if we are able to assist."

The silence was filled by Beagle barking orders for Strike Teams to prep for potential deployment while the Avenger's technicians called out data and metrics on the ship's status.

"Avenger, this is Koltyr-1. We have confirmed that Avitus is fighting off a… small sortie of Grimm. Local forces have it under control, and so a divergence from our current course is not necessary."

"With respect, Koltyr-1, they do not. And you are currently escorting a ship that is carrying upwards of eight strike teams each comprised of ten highly-trained and equipped soldiers who have extensive experience in Grimm combat. You are doing your countrymen a disservice by not diverging and allowing us to assist. We strongly recommend that you reconsider your assessment."

Beagle snorted. "I take back my brown-noser comment."

Several tense seconds passed, and then, "Avenger, this is Koltyr-1… correct your heading ninety degrees east, and begin your descent towards Avitus. Koltyr-2 is moving ahead to determine the SitRep and assist, if possible."

Bradford saw their starboard escort pulling off and flying ahead towards the town. "Acknowledged, Koltyr-1. Avenger is moving to engage. We will drop two strike teams to Avitus via Bullhead, with more on standby for deployment if the situation requires it. At your discretion, we will also sortie our Mako craft for additional air support."

"We will keep you advised, Avenger. Good hunting."

"Strike Two, this is Central. The town of Avitus is being hit by a wide range of Grimm. From what our radio techs are picking up, they've got large masses of expendable foes, several high-value targets, and a multitude of fliers. From the reports, it sounds like the fliers are capable of spitting fire."

"Not sure if that's better or worse than the Nevermore's razor feathers," Yang quipped.

"Firebrand is dropping you into the center of town. Connect with the local defense forces and work with them to contain the situation. We'll be deploying Strike Three with JNPR just outside of the heaviest fighting so that they can recon and engage accordingly. Central out."

Ilia saw Hogarth look over at her with his usual solemn deadpan gaze. "How's the arm?"

Ilia glared at him as she was reminded of the slightly uncomfortable piece of metal locked around her bicep. "Annoying, thanks for asking."

"You've been with XCOM for all of two days before Bradford has decided to send you out into the field," Hogarth answered evenly. "Forgive us for having a contingency plan in the event that you still haven't seen the error in your ways."

A biting retort was on the tip of Ilia's tongue, but it died when she felt a gentle hand on her knee. She looked to her right and found herself staring at the smiling face of Blake Belladonna.

"Don't worry about him," Blake said. "You're here to make a difference. And it won't be long before the rest of XCOM understands that. Help us deal with these Grimm, and keep putting your best foot forward. They'll see what I see in you."

A twinge of guilt ran down Ilia's spine at Blake's words of encouragement. After what she tried to do to Blake's parents, Ilia didn't believe that she deserved her friend's faith and trust. Which was all the more reason that she owed it to Blake to try. At least the old engineer was kind about the shock band, and apologized for having to test its efficacy before they reached Atlas. She let out a steadying breath and nodded.

A stolen glance across the hold of the Bullhead reminded Ilia that she was deploying with one of those snake… people… things, a "Viper" as Blake called it. Deep down, Ilia knew she was being a massive hypocrite for viewing the Viper as an 'other,' but she couldn't shake the feeling that something about it felt unnatural. Faunus had animalistic traits that represented their heritage, but Vipers? Vipers were half animal. Where did they come from? How had nobody ever heard of them before? And why was this one staring at her?

The Reaper sitting next to the Viper apparently noticed Ilia's concern. "Rossal is wondering if she's offended you in some way. You keep stealing glances at her with a furrowed brow, and she's trying to figure out why."

Ilia didn't need a mirror to know that her face had turned a mild shade of pink.

One of XCOM's operatives (Captain Beagle, right? He was loud enough to remember, anyway) stood up at the front of the Bullhead's cargo hold.

"Alright, Red Menace! In the absence of your fearless leader, Captain Rose, I have been tapped to take point as Two-Actual for this op. Y'all are seasoned veterans, so I won't insult you by telling you how to kill some Grimm. Any questions?"

One of the operatives towards the back raised his hand, and he sounded a little like Beagle when he spoke. "Yeah. Did your boyfriend give you permission to join the op without him?"

Beagle made a face. "Aw, fuck who let the goddamn Kiwi in here?"

"That'd be Captain Rose."

"I swear to God, I better not see a fucking Haka when we go groundside…"

"Nah, I'm saving that one for your funeral."

"Only if I get to sing fucking Waltzing Matilda at yours, you fuckin' cunt."

Ilia leaned over and whispered to Blake, "Are… they going to be a problem?"

Blake glanced back at Ilia with a surprised look. "What? No. That's them being friendly."

"... What."

"We're in position!" Firebrand called from the cockpit. "Drop cables are secure. Go get 'em, Twos."

The sides of the Bullhead slid open, and rappelling cables deployed from the ship's wings. One after another, the soldiers of Strike Two leapt out of the dropship and slid their way down to the town center. Ilia followed after Blake.

"Contacts, dead ahead," Hogarth warned. A rifle shot cracked from overhead, and Ilia watched as the bone plate protecting the forehead of a Manticore split open. A metal rod lodged itself in the exposed cavity seconds later, and the monster fell to the ground with a heavy thud. As Strike Two formed up, several more fliers landed on the street and were reinforced by a horde of smaller Grimm that made Ilia's skin crawl.

Lesser Garm. Small dog-like Grimm with the mid-sections of their bodies completely rotted away, leaving only the spine and ribcage to connect the front and back half of each monster. Their short legs meant that the Garm stayed low to the ground as they skittered across the battlefield, their maws dripping with black ichor and their beady eyes in search of life to snuff out.

Behind them —and thankfully moving away from Strike Two towards the heavier fighting in the middle of town— Ilia spotted several Ravagers wreaking havoc. Unhindered by snow or rocky terrain, the burly, muscled quadrupeds charged across the battlefield with their heads lowered to bring a full rack of heavy antlers to bear on their victims. Where the Garm came up to Ilia's hip at most, the Ravagers were easily twice her height.

"Is that a fucking moose charging the town's defenses?"

Ilia didn't know what a moose was, but assumed it was some sort of wildlife native to Vale or something.

While the Garm were dangerous because of their numbers, and the Ravagers were deadly because of their brute strength, the heavily-armored frames of the short, stocky Trogs allowed them to lumber towards the soldiers on two beefy legs as they dragged their large, club-like arms through the fallen snow behind them. Those would need some coordination to take down. Ilia could work with Blake to trip the monster off its feet, and Yang could follow up by cracking through its armor to kill the beast.

There was a fourth monster that Ilia was keeping an eye out for. She hadn't seen it yet, and she hoped that the chaos here wasn't strong enough to draw it in.

"Ladies," Beagle called out, "You know what to do."

Ilia, Blake, and Yang raced forward towards the monsters and wasted no time stabbing, slashing, and pulverizing them into ash while the rest of the team took measured shots from their rear.

"Nice to have that thing pointed at not-me for a change," Yang said as she caved in the head of another Garm.

"I stabbed you once!" Ilia answered, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

Blake cleared her throat. "Children."

"Sorry, Mom."

"Strike Two, this is Firebrand. I'm seeing some heavy fighting at your two o'clock. Might want to work your way over there and see what's up."

"Copy that, Firebrand. We're on our way. We'll send our Reaper team ahead to scout."

"This is Dragunova of Strike Three. These larger Grimm are causing significant damage. We are working to minimize casualties, but more support would be helpful."

"Nora's having a good time, though."

"Damn right I am!"

The team advanced rather quickly thanks to the efficiency of their huntress trio. Sure enough, the plaza ahead revealed more Grimm engaged with both Atlesian and ADVENT forces. Several hulking Ravagers were wreaking havoc among the defenders' ranks, allowing the Manticores overhead to rain down fire with minimal retaliation. Ilia saw one Atlesian soldier trip and fall in front of one of the monstrous creatures. Her gut turned as the Ravager reared up with the intent to splatter the soldier's guts across the plaza's stonework, but a long, fleshy tongue shot out from seemingly nowhere, wrapped itself around the soldier's midsection, and yanked him away just before the hoofed beast crashed down onto the pavement.

"Nieve reporting in," the team's Reaper said. "Those Ravagers are an attractive target, but the Manticores are doing more damage. Recommend targeting the fliers first."

"Koltyr, requesting air support at our position," Beagle said. "Ground forces are getting fucked by a wing of Manticores and need help ASAP. Launching a green flare to mark our location."

"... Flare located. We're in-bound for a strafing run."

"Koltyr, this is Avenger. If you pick up a tail, drag them towards us. Our point-defense system is online and ready to deal with any Grimm that you can lure into range."

"Copy that, Avenger."

The sound of automatic noseguns chattered overhead as the two fighters soared over the battlefield and tore through the mass of Manticores. The huntresses dodged their way past the Grimm minions and smoldering fires to launch themselves at the closest Ravager. Ilia remembered learning about these things back when she attended school in Atlas. Even without the heavy plating of the Trogs, their thick muscle mass could take a serious beating —even from a trained huntsman— unless…

"Go for the underbelly!" she shouted. "If you can get it to rear back, you've got a clear shot at ripping the monster open for a second or two before it comes crashing down again."

"Lovely," Yang sighed.

"Flier targets have been greatly reduced. Strike Two is moving to clear out ground forces."

Ilia danced around the Ravager as it swung its massive, antlered head to and fro. She dodged and jabbed to rile it up while trying to carefully keep it away from the allied forces. Blake wove in and out alongside Ilia while Yang moved to dispatch the Garm nearby. Sure enough, after Ilia and Blake nettled the monster enough, it reared up to deliver a Remnant-shattering stomp. Blake leapt forward and ran her blade across the creature's belly, and Ilia shot her sword out to puncture its gut. Then a crack preceded a bullet ripping into the weak spot. Ilia could only assume that it was Hogarth taking advantage of the moment from high above the battlefield.

Sure enough, the Ravager roared in pain, allowing Blake to move in and slice the flesh from front to back. Putrid Grimm essence spewed from the wound, and the Ravager crashed to the ground before vaporising into ash.

As Strike Two moved to reinforce the Atlas and ADVENT troopers, Ilia panicked when the latter trained their guns on her squad.

"XCOM!" one of the soldiers barked. His regalia identified him as an officer, and while Ilia couldn't see his eyes under the concealing ADVENT helmet, she could see a thin sneer form on his lips, "Come to steal the glory of our work the way you did in Kuo Kuana? What other ill-gotten plans do you-"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?" Beagle screamed, "Or did you forget that there are goddamn Grimm bearing down on our location? Why don't you point your guns in the sane direction, and we can sort out your little shitfit after the threat's been dealt with?"

"Way I see it, you are part of the threat, scum," the Officer answered, though Ilia was relieved to see that he decided to lower his weapon. "Don't try anything stupid, and maybe I won't arrest you."

Beagle gave an exaggerated bow. "Oh, thank you, your majesty! Can we get back to defending the goddamn town now?"

The battle raged, and while the heavier monsters like the Ravagers and the Trogs forced their way through the Atlesian and ADVENT ranks, some of the defenders were able to respond in kind. Like a bolt of lightning, Nora Valkyrie crashed into the Garm with the force of a meteor. The shockwave from her impact scattered the monsters and sent them crashing into one another moments before Lie Ren danced into melee range of his partner, charged her up, and sent Nora leaping into her next cluster of victims. A makeshift Dust shredder rocket from Beagle exploded between a pair of Ravagers, with the shrapnel embedding itself in the exposed flesh between their legs and leaving them too weak to charge. And finally…

"Holy shit, is that Winter?"

"I guess she's heading up the Atlas unit here."

Where Nora was explosively wreaking havoc among the Garm ranks, Winter Schnee killed with the precision of a scalpel. She'd slice one Garm in half, create several glyphs to jump up onto a low-flying Manticore, murder it with a sword to the back of the neck, drop down onto a Ravager and immobilize it with a gravity well… she moved from one attack to the next like water, but with the deadly edge of an icy razor. As much as Ilia hated anyone who carried that name, she couldn't help but be in awe of the woman's martial prowess. A cheer went up from the Atlas and ADVENT defenders as Winter joined the fight.

Not to be outdone by a Schnee, Ilia found her second wind and redoubled her efforts to fight off the Grimm. The XCOM operatives, too, seemed to be reinvigorated by the timely reinforcements, and ratcheted up their aggression against the Grimm hordes. The marksmen focused down the Garm while the shotgun-wielding Assaults used the explosive force of their weapons to knock over the Trogs at close range. Overhead, Eightball joined Koltyr in wresting air superiority back from the Manticores.

"Two more Ravagers inbound from the west," Elena reported, "Nieve and I will waylay them."

It was strange. Ilia was used to panic when Grimm attacked, and to some degree, she still got that sense from the Atlas troopers. But XCOM? It was like they'd done this a hundred times before. Each and every one of them. Sure, a soldier would cry out like any normal human when a Garm got lucky and latched onto their leg, but the squad reacted swiftly and purposefully to put down the offending Grimm and form up around their wounded compatriot. Even when the 'Kiwi' took a Trog's fist to the chest, Ilia noticed that Beagle was the first to come to his aid and keep the demon dogs off of his teammate while Yang dealt with the Trog.

"It ain't your time to die yet, mate," the Captain commanded as he pulled the man back to his feet. "All good?"

His companion brushed himself off and nodded. "All good."

"Strike Teams, we're seeing more heavy targets inbound on your position. Firebrand is bringing in MEC support to deal with the armor. Branwen and Goodwitch will be accompanying them to provide additional firepower."

Beagle looked up at the incoming Bullhead. "Well, this just got interesting."

Ilia took a steady breath and keyed her comm link. "Central, are you tracking the Grimm targets by their heat signatures?"

A brief silence, then, "Correct, Operative Amitola. They stand out easily against the snow."

Fuck.

"There, uh… there's a native Grimm variant that hides itself in the snow. It's large, deadly, and likely will not register on a heat scan."

"All operatives, recommend you take heed of Amitola's warning. We will do our best to keep you apprised of incoming Grimm, but be on the lookout for this stealth Grimm that may appear."

The MECs arrived: two Jaegers to keep the Manticore fliers in check, and Talos and Gizmo to deal with the onslaught of Ravagers and Trogs. The sides of their railguns glowed a faint purple, and Ilia remembered Dr. Shen mentioning something about modifications to the weapon systems.

"Gravity Dust subsystems are online," Gizmo confirmed. "This should rip through those monsters easily."

It was good that Gizmo felt confident about that, because it didn't take long for the Ravagers to show up. Even with the additional offensive power offered by the MECs, Qrow, and Glynda, the monsters made the defenders earn their victory. Talos was completely in defensive mode, using both his Juggernaut Plating and his hard light shields to protect the soldiers against the Ravagers and Manticores that successfully moved into striking range. Gizmo used her superior mobility in an effort to confuse the monsters by attacking them from their flank. Glynda picked up debris from the shattered battlefield and sent it flying from one creature to the next, wounding them enough for Qrow to move in for the killshot and put them down for good.

Even with all of that, and even with the three Makos flying overhead, more Atlas soldiers had to withdraw, more ADVENT troopers were crushed underhoof, and more XCOM operatives were getting evacc'd onboard Firebrand's Bullhead. Beagle himself took a serious blow from one Ravager's antler swipe, but he flatly refused to fall back despite the rest of the squad telling him to.

"We've got this, Beags!" Yang shouted, "I know it sucks to leave a fight behind, but-"

"Fuck. That. I'm still standing, and I can still pull a trigger. You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Strike Teams, be advised: we're seeing what looks like a small blizzard heading your way. Visibility is about to worsen. Recommend clearing out the Grimm ASAP and taking defensive positions to weather out the snow."

Oh no…

"Lieutenant Dragunova," Ilia called out, "You can sense Grimm, can't you?"

Elena's voice answered in her ear, "I can."

"Then it might be a good idea for you to scout the blizzard and try to detect any large Grimm inside."

"Do you suspect the snow is hiding your mystery Grimm?"

"I hope not."

"Nieve, with me."

"Of course."

Blake took a position next to Ilia and asked, "How many do you think are hiding in the blizzard?"

Ilia squinted as the temperature dropped and stung her eyes. "… Just one."

"Surely we can handle a single target. Unless this is an Ancient Grimm like the dragon that attacked Vale…?"

"You don't know much about Atlesian Grimm, do you?"

"Sure we do," Yang answered as she joined the other two huntresses. "We learned about the Garm, the Trogs, even a little about the Ravagers. Don't remember that thing about their chests being weak, though. Thanks for the tip."

"Have… have you ever learned about the Wendigo?"

Blake narrowed her eyes. "That's just a story meant to scare small children, Ilia."

"No, Blake. It's not."

"Central, this is Dragunova. Amitola is correct: there is a Grimm inside the blizzard."

"Do you have a visual, Outrider?"

"No."

Ilia swore. "It's here."

"Operative Amitola," Bradford said over comms, "it sounds like you're familiar with this threat. What are we dealing with?"

Ilia heaved a sigh. "It's a Grimm that I've heard referred to as a 'Wendigo,' sir. It hunts vulnerable prey while hiding inside a blizzard where it can't be seen. They've only been sighted in Atlas, and very rarely at that. Probably because they usually prey upon people travelling alone, and so nobody is left alive to report the attack."

Beagle shot Ilia a look at the word 'Wendigo.'

"Wendigo?" he asked. "Like, Wendigo Wendigo?"

When Ilia just stared at him (how was she supposed to answer that?) he keyed his comm and said, "Uhhhh, boss? Maybe we don't let Annette know about this one, yeah?"

"You do realize I'm already on the operations channel, Captain, right?"

"Errr… yeah. Right, of course."

"Nieve and I are falling back to Avitus. Be advised that we do not have any details about this contact beyond the fact that it exists. If it can hide itself from my sight… this may prove difficult."

"Yo ADVENT!" Beagle shouted. "There's something fucky with that blizzard coming in. Our scouts are picking up some kind of Grimm in there, but they can't make out what it is. Might wanna be careful."

The Officer looked over at Beagle, but said nothing. The last of the Ravagers had turned to ash mere moments before, and the sounds of pitched battle gave way to the eerie wind slowly blowing into Avitus.

Beagle shrugged, then turned to his team. "Two's and Three's: take up defensive positions. We're operating under Seeker Protocol. That means I want everyone on overwatch and covering each other's backs. We have no idea what this thing is capable of, but I want it pumped full of lead the moment it fucking farts."

Operatives fell into position behind the MECs, behind rubble, inside impact craters… anything within the vicinity that could be used as cover had an operative behind it. Every possible avenue of approach to XCOM's dug-in position had multiple overlapping fields of fire. Fingers were held off of their triggers, but only just. With everyone watching everyone else's back, the blizzard finally flowed into the central square, and visibility dropped dramatically.

"Here we go…" Yang muttered.

Blake twitched, and Ilia looked at her questioningly.

"I just heard a guard scream inside the blizzard," Blake muttered. "This thing isn't wasting any time."

Perhaps it was a good thing that the rest of the operatives didn't share Blake's superior hearing. And so they waited as the agonizing seconds drew on.

"We should advance," one of the operatives said. "Fucker isn't coming to us, so we shouldn't be sitting on our asses while it gets free reign of the town."

"So you want us to play on its terms?" another asked. "Fuck that. Beags warned ADVENT. They had a chance to dig in."

The blizzard continued with no sign of abating. Ilia was acutely aware of the fact that the XCOM operatives were all wearing warm-looking gear while she was outfitted in her usual sleeveless stealth suit. The bitter chill was causing her senses to lose focus, and the snowy pellets assaulting her eyes weren't helping.

Every little gust of wind in the snowstorm drew the attention and gun barrels of the operatives, as they readied their weapons in case the whirl of ice was hiding a Grimm murder-machine that was preparing to slaughter them. Every now and then, the winds would carry the sounds of a shriek, or splintering wood, or (rarely) gunfire. While the XCOM Captain never lost his look of determination, Ilia could see that the other operatives were growing uneasy.

And yet, they held firm. Their officer had told them to dig in, and nobody wanted to be first to break that order, it seemed. As the seconds ticked into minutes, Beagle relented and ordered a slow advance. The operatives looked almost like ghosts as they moved into the blizzard, and the sound of snow softly crunching underfoot added itself to the wails and moans of the veiled battlefield.

Beagle keyed his comm. "Brad, this is getting weird down here. Does the R&D Dream Team have any ideas for sniffing out this frostbitten asshole?"

"There is one thing. Gidjit's idea, actually. You know all those drones that he's been working on with Penny and Lily?"

"Eyes in the sky…" Beagle muttered. "How soon can we get those down here?"

"A few minutes. Lily is scrambling to get them loaded onto the Skyranger so Firebrand can deploy them."

A panicked yell from Ilia's right drew the attention of the squad, and she caught sight of one of the operatives struggling against a shadow as it sought to drag him deeper into the blizzard. Beagle didn't even need to give the order to fire before at least five other operatives unleashed on the monster while Yang dashed in to clobber it. Just as the huntress cocked back her fist, the Wendigo disengaged and vanished in search of easier prey.

"We've got first contact, boss," Beagle reported. "This fucker is fast, and knows when to cut and run."

"We're almost done loading up the Skyranger. Hold out a little longer."

"Circle the wagons team," Beagle ordered. "We're in its territory now, and we are not going to get picked off one at a time. Even if this fucker is a clever girl."

The operatives formed a perimeter, with the MECs standing on the edges to act as cover and (hopefully) more attractive targets for the Wendigo. The huntsmen stood by the MECs, ready to dive into melee at the first sign of their target while the operatives aimed for its large center of mass from a distance.

The Wendigo tried several more times to find an opening in XCOM's formation, and the operatives fired into the snowstorm as a shadow flitted across their vision just out of view. One operative got knocked down by a lucky swipe, but the rest of the squad reacted too quickly for the monster to capitalize on its surprise attack.

"Drones just arrived on the flight deck. Firebrand is flying down with them now. Penny and Nichole will be piloting them remotely."

"Hey guys, it's Lily! I'm uploading a software patch to your UI that'll let you keep track of the drones. If one gets knocked off-line, you can see where it was."

"Hey, Santa? I think your little helper is starting to steal your title as 'Giver of Cool Stuff.' Might wanna step up your game a bit."

The banter provided some much-needed levity in the face of the chilling blizzard. While Firebrand called out over comms with her ETA and other information, Ilia kept her eyes focused on the snowstorm. By this point, she felt like the Wendigo was toying with the team through its shadowy apparitions in the snow. It knew that it couldn't get a good hit on them, so it was instead choosing to fray their nerves.

Could a Grimm really possess enough intelligence to work like that, though? Or was Ilia just projecting that onto the monster?

"Should we try to smoke it out?" one of the soldiers asked. "Have Gizmo warm up her flamer?"

"Do the words 'collateral damage' mean anything to you?"

"Drones are deployed. Good hunting, team."

Ilia noticed several of the operatives tapping their helmets and looking up into the sky.

"Drone markers are live in the HUD," Beagle confirmed. "Baby Shen's flexing some serious engineering muscles over there. Strike Teams: advance carefully while the drone net does its thing. Seeker Protocol is still in effect, but let's see if we can bait this bogan sonuvabitch into doing something stupid."

Blake's ears twitched as she strained to listen for sounds of battle. "More of the ADVENT guards are dying. Seems like the Wendigo isn't focusing entirely on us.."

Further into the white death the squads crept, guns carefully sweeping across the open expanse before them. As before, the huntsmen took point with the MEC's while the aura-less soldiers followed behind them. The freezing storm still fought to deprive Ilia of her focus, but the adrenaline pumping through her veins helped her remain focused on the hunt ahead. While she didn't have access to the drone net, she knew that one or more of the other operatives would raise an alarm if one of the little fliers got knocked offline.

Before long, they came across the first frosted body sprawled across the pavement with his chest ripped open by a deadly gash. Ilia's skin crawled at the sight of black essence rising slowly out of the wound, and she wondered if it was the result of some sort of poison residue caused by the Wendigo's attack. As the team advanced closer to ADVENT's position, they found a second, then a third body, both of which showing similar fates to the first.

"Jesus…" one of the operatives muttered. "How the fuck do you stop this thing?"

"You hide," Ilia answered grimly. "If it can't find any victims caught in the open, the Wendigo moves on. Obviously that's not going to work here."

A moment later, Nichole's cheerful voice chirped over comms. "Contact with an outer drone! Twenty yards directly in front of the advance. Caution is advised!"

Both Qrow and Glynda visibly tensed as they raised their weapons.

"We could try using kinetic force to blow out the blizzard once we know it's close," Jaune suggested. "The Wendigo probably doesn't realize we have a way of detecting it in the blizzard now, so it might not know to move away once it's knocked into an inner drone. Might also stun the thing for a second or two and give us an opening."

Glynda nodded. "A good suggestion. Miss Valkyrie and I should have no issue creating a suitable shockwave."

"If you can hold it still for a short time, my sister and I might be able to skulljack it," Elena added.

"Works for me," Beagle said. "Eyes open, team."

The squad moved forward, and the sounds of another terrified soldier falling victim to the Wendigo drifted through the storm. A surprised cry cut short, followed by the sound of several guns rattling in the direction of the assassination. XCOM had to bring this beast down, here and now. It had to.

"Second drone reporting contact! Ten yards, two o'clock!"

"Now, Nora!" Glynda commanded.

With a yell, Nora leapt into the air, ignited the kinetic strike module on her hammer, and dropped it onto the pavement with a bone-shuddering crash. Without missing a beat, Glynda brandished her riding crop and summoned some kind of kinetic force that swept away the snow in a wide radius around Nora's strike. Ilia squinted as the flurry rushed past her, then looked around to see…

The pictures she saw in books didn't do it justice. The tall, almost gangly-looking monster stood before her, recovering from the shock of Nora's hammer. While the faces of most Grimm looked evil and deadly, the Wendigo's was grotesque. The maw was dislocated, with both blood and ichor dripping off its matted chin. A broken rack of antlers adorned its head, and Ilia swore she could see ribbons of sinewy flesh (ripped from its victims, no doubt) stringing between several of the horns.

Its body looked emaciated to the extreme, with literal ribs showing through a disintegrating layer of black fur. Black blood dribbled from sores on its flank, and a thin layer of steam rose up around the monster as the icy air came in contact with the Wendigo's insides.

Then there were the arms. Bony, disjointed, and way bigger than they should have been for a creature its size. Each ended in a hand in wicked, claw-like fingers, with the cracked nails dyed red with the blood of its victims. This… this thing was a living nightmare.

And it was trying to escape.

"Oh no you don't."

She lashed out with her weapon at the retreating form of the Wendigo as it sought to escape back into its wintery cloak. The point of her blade dug into the calf of the monster's left leg, enough of a hit to cause it to stumble.

"TAKE IT DOWN!"

The railguns boomed, the Wendigo lit up with the holo-targeting of the heavy weapons specialists, and the huntsmen raced forward to keep the monster pinned down. The creature's shriek was earsplitting, and it distracted Yang just enough for her to catch the long, spindly claws straight to the chest and send her sprawling. Blake and Qrow continued forward and drove their blades into the monster's abdomen. A backhand from the Wendigo caused Qrow to meet a fate similar to Yang's.

Even as injured as it was, the creature was fast. It ignored the massive sword still embedded in its flank and zipped around to try and assault the Strike teams. Talos crashed his hard light shield into the Wendigo to knock it away from the operatives, but it landed on all fours in response to the blow and launched itself at the squad once more.

Jaune slammed his shield into the monster, and the momentum sent the Wendigo careening into a pair of operatives.

Behind her, Ilia heard the Schnee yell command, "They've got it in the open! Strike now while it's exposed!"

A mass of Dust rounds erupted from the still-standing soldiers of Atlas and ADVENT, and Ilia instinctively ducked as the bullets wizzed overhead.

While Beagle screamed, "CHECK YOUR FIRE, YOU GODDAMN SHITFUCKS," Ilia launched herself at XCOM's more pressing issue. Because the moment that the Wendigo wasn't focusing on either a huntsman or a MEC, somebody would be dead. She rammed her sword into the Wendigo's neck and flinched as the monster's bloodied head turned to face her.

Ilia moved to dodge the Wendigo's claw, but her danger sense told her that she was moving too slow. A blur of black moved in front of her vision, however, and Blake parried the attack. She nodded at Ilia, and the two of them danced around the Wendigo, just as they'd done with the Ravager earlier in the battle. While the Ravager was slow-witted and easily confused, however, the Wendigo proved to be a much craftier foe. At first, it flailed and floundered in its attempts to counterattack the two moving shadows before trying to make another break for the safety of the blizzard. A timely hammer smash from Nora blocked its path and kept the pale curtain from closing in.

However, the moment Ilia felt like they had the creature twisted around and exposed from their agility antics, the Wendigo lashed out at Blake with an unexpected amount of precision, and it cleanly sliced her arm in two.

"BLAKE!" Ilia screamed. She dashed towards her friend and pulled her to safety even as Yang and Jaune formed a defensive wall in front of the injured huntress. Bullets continued to zip around them as Ilia dashed away with Blake in her arms.

"Blake, you're going to be okay-"

"Ilia, I'm fine," Blake answered. Did she sound annoyed or embarrassed?

Ilia stopped dead and stared at her friend. "You just lost your arm!"

"Not the first time it's happened," Blake answered with a sigh. "Or the second."

Ilia blinked. What the hell goes on at XCOM?

The clashing of swords against claws drew her attention back to the fight with the Wendigo, and Ilia saw that the Schnee had joined the fray. Much as Ilia and Blake had tag-teamed the monster before Blake was wounded, Qrow was taking turns with his Atlesian counterpart to trade blows with the Wendigo. Qrow moved with the grace of a seasoned huntsman, but the Schnee? There was an unnatural power about her. Maybe it was because this monster dared to slaughter so many under her watch. Maybe it was because it dared to do so on her turf. But the speed of her strikes? The force behind her sword arm? It caught Ilia off-guard, to say the least.

By this point, thankfully, the Wendigo was running on fumes. Several operatives had deployed Dr. Shen's newest hard light barriers to protect themselves from ADVENT's haphazard shooting while the MECs moved to box in the Wendigo and Qrow worked with the Schnee to tag-team it. A few seconds later, the Atlesian Specialist let out a bloodcurdling scream and sliced the monster's arm clean off at the shoulder.

The prospect of death so close at hand must have given the Wendigo a second wind. Literally. As the Wendigo let out a chilling screech, the blizzard rushed inward to envelope the monster and its attackers.

"Fuck!"

"Valkyrie! Do your thing!"

The ground shook beneath Nora's hammer, but the gale-force winds didn't scatter like before. By the time Glynda summoned enough energy to telekinetically blast a clearing in the snowstorm, the Wendigo was nowhere to be found. After a second, larger blast completely cleared the weather in the entire courtyard, Ilia realized that the Wendigo (and its personal blizzard) had escaped for good. Before she even had time to register her relief that the threat was gone, however, she heard Qrow yelp in surprise behind her, and Ilia whirled around to see him on the ground with the Schnee levelling her sword at his throat.

"Winter, what-?"

"You let it get away," the Specialist glowered. "I lost a lot of good people here to that monster, and you let it get away."

"C'mon, you know that's bullshit," Qrow snapped. The Schnee let him get to his feet, but her sword never strayed far from his face. Several of the operatives yelled in surprise behind Qrow, but their attention quickly refocused on the ADVENT and Atlas forces training guns on them.

Ignoring the developing standoff, the Schnee kept her eyes locked on Qrow. "I don't want to see your stupid face here any longer than I have to, old man. We were doing fine before you and your merry band of renegades showed up to cause trouble."

"We came to help!" Qrow snarled.

Winter gestured at the field of dead and dying soldiers behind her. "Thanks for the help. Again. Now get out of my sight."

"We're done here," Bradford called over comms. "I'm not sure what's gotten into Specialist Schnee, but it's best if we don't make a bad situation worse. A firefight with ADVENT is the last thing we need right now."

Qrow sheathed his weapon, glaring at Winter's blade the whole time. "We were on our way out, Ice Queen. And I don't know what the hell crawled up your ass and died, but you can bet I'm going to figure it out."

"And why is that?" Winter sneered.

"Because it would kill Weiss to see you like this."

That was clearly the wrong thing to say. "Get out of my sight."

The operatives and huntsmen of XCOM slowly backed up away from the Atlas and ADVENT forces (though not before Beagle raised the back of his hand and made a V sign with his index and middle fingers) and waited for the Avenger's Bullheads to come and extract them.

"Well that was all kinds of fucked up," a voice commented from Ilia's right. The huntress did a double-take when she realized that the source was a short-statured woman dressed in civilian clothing who Ilia didn't recognize as a member of either Strike Two or Strike Three. Not only that, but she was carrying one of the frosted bodies as she stood in the middle of the XCOM gaggle.

"I'm sorry… who are you?" Ilia asked. "And why do you have one of those bodies?"

"You mean one of XCOM's fallen?" the woman asked.

"But that's not-"

Beagle waved Ilia down. "Not now, kid."

"Captain's right," the woman agreed with a smile. "But we can talk later. My name is Odei."

All heads in the conference room —an assortment of officers, huntsmen, and the Archon— looked up when Odei walked in. Bradford stood up from his seat at the far end of the round table, and the rest of the room's occupants quickly followed suit.

"Master Sergeant Furokawa," Bradford said, snapping a salute. "I am extremely relieved to see you with us again, alive and well."

Odei returned the salute and nodded. "I only wish it could be under better circumstances." She took an open seat at the table next to Beagle and looked around the room at all of the familiar (and not-so-familiar) faces. "Got my message, I take it?"

"You mean the one that you passed through General Ironwood?" Bradford asked, eyebrow raised.

That got a chuckle out of the covert operative. "Figured that one out, did you? It's… a bit of a story, but suffice to say that the good General was sufficiently concerned about his prized Specialist to try and seek me out and get a message to you and convince you to haul your ass to Atlas." The mirth from Odei's face faded quickly as she added, "Given the performance Winter put on for us just now, I think it's safe to say that his concern was warranted."

Bradford nodded. "I had the fortune of spending some time with both Winter Schnee and Ironwood before the Vytal incident. What I saw down there was nothing like the calm and collected woman I met in Vale. Do you have any idea what happened?"

The look that Odei gave him did not comfort Bradford. "There's… a lot to unpack here, and it all leads back to a single name. Have you heard of a Dr. Merlot?"

"I'm gonna go ahead and guess that you're not talking about the bottle I keep in my foot locker," Beagle said.

"Never change, Captain," Odei chuckled. "But no, I am referring to a scientist who has been involved with… 'improving' the rank-and-file soldiers of the Atlas military. While I have no evidence as of yet, I assume he is doing something similar for ADVENT as well."

Bradford looked around the table at the other officers present, but none of them seemed to recognize the name Merlot. Neither did the Archon, it seemed, whose face remained as passive as ever.

With nobody speaking up to acknowledge Odei's information, Bradford said, "I take it that a scientist is not improving Atlas's troops with a training program…"

Odei snorted. "Hardly. The initiative is not advertised, and its subjects are instructed to reveal nothing of its existence to those outside the military. As to what it is, not even Ironwood himself knows the specifics of Merlot's work, which is concerning in and of itself, but it's definitely something that enhances the physiology and biomechanics of those who go through the program."

"This sounds a lot like EXALT…" Annette observed.

Bradford had to agree with the Major. On their own, biological enhancements could be considered cause for concern. The opportunity for abuse and shady practices was certainly there. Adding a complete lack of oversight on top of that, though? Odei's description of this Dr. Merlot gave Bradford the impression that he wasn't particularly trustworthy, and if he was being given carte blanche to modify test subjects however he liked…

"Surely Ironwood doesn't approve of this…"

"He doesn't," Odei agreed, "but his hands are tied because Merlot is producing results, and Ironwood is under a lot of political pressure from Atlas leadership to improve the military to ensure another Vytal incident doesn't happen under their jurisdiction.

"I was in Avitus due to some intel from my network that I might find something related to Merlot's project there," Odei continued. "It is possible that this 'something' was simply a field test of his modified soldiers, though."

"You think those soldiers were modified?" Bradford asked.

"You didn't find it the least bit surprising that the ADVENT officer was so quick to point guns at you?" Odei countered, "Or that both the ADVENT and Atlas soldiers seemed to see no problem with turning our squads into collateral damage during the fight with that last monster? Either way, we can have Vahlen and Tygan make a final determination on my hunch."

"... And how are you expecting them to do that?" Bradford asked.

"I may or may not have mistaken an ADVENT corpse for one of XCOM's and carried it aboard the Bullhead during extraction."

Judging by Odei's smirk, Bradford suspected that it wasn't a mistake.

When her comment was met with silence, Odei turned her attention to Qrow as she added, "It might also interest you to know, Mr. Branwen, that Winter Schnee has been modified."

Qrow glowered at the woman. "Don't fuck with me."

"When have you ever known a spook to fuck with intel during a debrief?" Odei snapped back. "Winter is the only reason I knew to look into this whole Merlot business to begin with. Ironwood asked her to undergo the modifications in the hopes that they would be able to learn more about what he was doing if he had someone he could trust on the other end of the operation. Unfortunately, they learned nothing."

Qrow shoved off from the table with an angry curse, kicked his chair over, and stormed out of the room. Silence fell over the remaining occupants for a few moments before Odei continued.

"I've remained in limited contact with Weiss since Winter went under the knife, and Elsa's reports don't indicate any significant change in her sister's appearance, behavior, speech, or anything else. Her short temper with Qrow at the conclusion of the fight, however, was pretty telling that something is off. I don't know if aggression is a side effect of the procedure, or if Merlot is somehow biologically indoctrinating his subjects with a hatred of XCOM and its allies."

"I don't like either of those possibilities," Bradford said with a sigh.

Odei leaned back in her seat and stared evenly at the Central Officer. "I don't think any of us do. So what's the play, Chief?"

"You're the Atlas expert, Odei. You tell me. Way I see it, though, our only option right now is to carry on to Atlas and meet with Ironwood. We've already got to escorts with us who are tasked with seeing that through, so we can't exactly deviate now." Bradford stood up from his seat and rubbed his temples with a heavy sigh. "From there, though? I'm hoping your network has some leads we can follow to deal with this Merlot character. If he's as bad as you think, we cannot afford to let him continue his operations unhindered."

Odei stood up as well, followed by the rest of the meeting's occupants. "As a matter of fact, we do. With each passing day, Weiss is proving that Osiris and Odin made the right choice in keeping her cover intact."

Right. That. There would be time later to mourn the loss of Odei's companions. For now, though?

"Alright. Unless anyone else has something to add, we're done here. Let's go pay a visit to the Good General."

A/N: Right, well I'm excited for this arc. Have I already said I'm excited for this arc? 'Cause I'm excited for this arc.

On a slightly different note, some of you may have noticed that I've gotten... pretty fuckin bad at responding to PM's and reviews. While I could say that my life has gotten busier, or that I've found it a lot easier to engage with people via Discord, those would just be excuses. The fact of the matter is that my lack of responding is on me, and I feel pretty shitty about it. So I'll try to be better about it moving forward. And if I'm still leaving you in the dark? Then I apologize for being a dick.